Dr. Sudhirendar SharmaVillains on celluloid (and in real life) are necessary evils without whom ‘hero’ doesn’t get the credit of being termed ‘good’. From Sukhilal to Gabbar and from Dr Dang to Mogambo, the rustic and suave variants of villains have enthralled the audience with some memorable performances. Quite often, these are the exaggerated images of the ugly and the wicked in real life.
Through such images one can construct the social, economic and political reality prevailing in the society at that time. Even at the cost of being repetitive, villains have earned the appreciation of viewers over the decades. Tracing the advent of villains in Bollywood cinema, Tapan Ghosh locates the unending dual between the hero and villain in the backdrop of the battle of the good and the bad in our mythologies. How else have the audience been unwittingly trained to distinguish between the good and the evil, and invariably feel happy when good triumphs? (Click cover to read more)
