Bollywood has an oversupply of syrupy heroes – that guy who tops BA exams, makes Maa proud, romances a girl, does not touch her till marriage, gives a moral science lecture to the baddie before beating him up only to later hand him over to the cops. Not that we hate that guy, but he’s a tad too “LOL! look, jackass!” to take.
Our fascination with badass heroes started pretty late. In a country obsessed with the moral high-ground, it took an angry young man to bend rules to do what is right. It’s been a procession since then – some unintentionally hilarious, some cool enough to be imitated. We draw up a list for you. Check out!
Most Badass Bollywood Characters
Check out the 7 most popular and badass Bollywood characters.
SAIF ALI KHAN as LANGDA TYAGI (OMKARA)
The limper. The liar. The traitor. Langda Tyagi was a character so meticulously etched that every little detail, from the drag of the gun to the tobacco-stained teeth contributed a little more to bring out the rigid persona of Langda Tyagi.
It was a departure of sorts for Saif Ali Khan, but his performance as Langda Tyagi easily remains one of Hindi cinema’s top 10 performances ever!
SUNNY DEOL as GOVIND (DAMINI)
Of course, you’ve gotta admire a guy who has got the guts to yell “Taarikh pe taarikh taarikh pe taarikh milti aayi hai my lord, par insaaf kabhi nahi mila” right in the middle of a courtroom.
Cinematic liberties aside, Sunny Deol has made a career out of playing badass characters, but none had the impact like Advocate Govind in Damini.
He had a dhai kilo ka haath, he had some clap-worthy arguments in the court, and he had a voice whose decibels can possibly match those of Arnab Goswami’s. Now, if that’s not scintillating, I don’t know what else could be!
AAMIR KHAN as MUNNA (RANGEELA)
The guy has no guts to tell the girl he loves her, but Munna’s ready to splatter some hulpatti to anyone who’d become an obstacle that way.
The tone, the delivery, the look – Aamir Khan nailed it so well that Munna became the milestone against which all taporis in Bollywood since have been measured.
The highlight of this tapori swag is the restaurant scene where Munna asks a befuddled waiter to switch on the fan. “Sir the AC is on” “Haan to idhar ghuma na” … inspired stuff!
NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI as FAIZAL KHAN (GANGS OF WASSEYPUR)
He smokes cigarettes, cannot speak English, is addicted to ganja, isn’t conventionally good-looking or handsome, but with a pager tucked to his waist and sunglasses to adorn his face, as he approaches Huma Quereshi’s house, Nawaz has the swag of a badass rockstar.
More badass is the nonchalant manner in which he struts the gun all through the film, like a toy in a toddler’s hand. Even more badass is his unending Bonnie and Clyde inspired bullet spree showered on Ramadhir Singh in the climax.
Everyone will rave about Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chaddha, or Tigmanshu Dhulia’s stunning performances in the film, and reserve the residual set of laurels usually the rest of Nawaz. But in all honesty, Nawaz owned the film in the final two hours like no actor amongst that humongous cast did.
You’ve ought to see Gangs of Wasseypur for 5.5 hours in a go-to understand the impact that Nawaz makes post-Bajpayee’s exit.
SALMAN KHAN as CHULBUL PANDEY (DABANGG)
That is the most dhamaka entry any actor’s ever made on screen. I still remember my eardrums going numb while sitting in a single-screen theater in Dombivali. A merry, corrupt, questionable cop with a rather hypocritical moral side to him.
Chulbul Pandey was truly Robinhood in a very formidable way. He was as casual about calling his girl ‘jabraat’ as he was about mizzling bullets on a thug. He was as ferocious as a cop, as he was as a step-son.
This was, officially, the most fun we’ve seen Salman Khan have on-screen in his entire career. The swag, the tone, the setting, the character … it was all tailor-made for him.
He spouted lines with style, danced with insouciance, and threw all caution to the wind. This was a Salman Khan we all like to see, as opposed to the sleepwalker we’re presented with rather regularly.
AMITABH BACHCHAN as VIJAY DINANATH CHAUHAN (AGNEEPATH)
“Vijay Dinanath Chauhan, poora naam. Baap ka naam, Dinanath Chauhan, maa ka naam Suhasini Chauhan. Gao, Mandwa. Umar chattis saal, nau mahina, aath din aur yeh solva ghanta chaalu hai. Hay!” The most iconic lines an actor got in his career.
Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was ready to put all laws and orders on a hack to achieve that one final goal – regain control of Mandwa from Kaancha Cheena. Never has revenge seemed cooler than when it was when Bachchan walked up to a jail cell, shot at his perpetrators, and offered back the same bullets he was shot with as final goodbye. Seriously badass!
The ridiculous ease with which Vijay recovers from bullets fired at him. Unbelievably, almost absurdly jumping off an exploding boat and emerging at the beachfront. These were scenes that would have supplied endless laughs in a 90s MithunDa riot.
But Vijay Dinanath Chauhan was such a strongly etched character with every justifiable reason given for him to do all wrongs for that one right, that you sat with your jaw touching the floor, watching Bachchan Sr. own it all in what was his pack-up phase.
AKSHAY KUMAR as BACHCHAN PANDEY (TASHAN)
The MOST badass of em’ all! Many may have skipped Tashan for the sheer amount of negativity surrounding it. Of course, the film is trash, but Bachchan Pandey deserves a viewing. It is easily one of the most epic characters created by a modern Indian filmmaker.
Bachchan Pandey is as easy with stealing electricity as he is with flaunting a gun. He is as coy around women as he is unsparing around enemies. A couple of well-choreographed action scenes, some delightful dialogues, and Akshay Kumar at his peak – this one for the hall of fame board!
