Jo darr gaya, samjho mar gaya!

Some bandits portrayed in Hindi cinema have left their indelible mark, while others have been eminently forgettable

BY sHRAdHdA ARJUn

Recently one evening, when I had decided to unwind to watch a film, I looked forward to some lighthearted Bollywood flick. My better half though, was in the mood to watch Paan Singh Tomar – a biopic of a most wanted dacoit instead! I was in no mood to spend an evening watching violence, listening to obscene language and vulgarity.

I was drawing a reference from Shekar Kapoor’s intense and brutally honest film, The Bandit Queen. It was a film that was banned initially and after several ruthless cuts by the censor board, it still managed to stir up quite a lot of controversy post-release. People were shocked and shaken by what they saw in the film.

Phoolan Devi attained celebrity status almost overnight! People took notice of a brilliant actress who had literally given the role all she had, and Seema Biswas stood tall and carried the film on her shoulders with her stellar performance.

Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly remembered the very famous one-liner from Sholay: Kitne aadmi thae? Who could possibly play the role of a filmy dacoit better than Gabbar? Sholay’s Gabbar was to be originally played by the Big B – the “angry young man” then; however Amjad Khan was chosen to play the role. He essayed the role with such panache that Gabbar’s lines, his gait, laughter and mannerisms were etched into the minds of the audience forever. A performance so effective that Amjad Khan himself couldn’t pull off a Gabbar ever again! When Amitabh Bachchan years later played the role of Gabbar in RGV’s Aag it was a damp squib. Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay was perhaps the first original “western” that achieved blockbuster status that was unbeaten for over a decade.

Vinod Khanna better known for his cop roles, also tried his hand at playing a baddie, in fact he was very convincing as a dacoit, in not one but three films! Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Pathar Aur Payal and Kacche Dhaage. Mera Gaon Mera Desh was a multi-starrer which had Dharmendra pitted against him. However Vinod’s performance stole the show. He did make quite an impression as a menacing dacoit and these films reiterated his reputation as perhaps the bestlooking bandit in Bollywood. However he’s not the first “hero” in Bollywood who dared to play the baddie, Dilip Kumar did in the film Gunga Jumna, in the role of the brother on the wrong side of the law. He wowed the critics and masses alike with his impeccable portrayal of a Bhojpuri bandit. Until then everyone had seen him play several roles mostly as the protagonist of the film, who would sing songs, recite couplets, fight for good and even give up his life for love. This film changed the way people perceived the star; he essayed a myriad of complex emotions playing this role in

Gunga Jumna

Actors in Bollywood often get stereotyped into playing the same kind of roles one film after another, and in that league there has been one actor who has played the bad guy in many films. Pran with his stern face and ruthlessness on screen made him one of the most celebrated film stars in Bollywood. He gave a very memorable performance as a selfseeking dacoit in the Raj Kapoorstarrer Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai. Raka (Pran) emerged as one heck of an unsettling dacoit with a fierce get-up. This malicious character went on to become one of the best roles of his career.

While I believe that Ajay Devgan’s role as Omkara in the film Omkara was probably quite close to playing the role of a bandit, he did play one in Lajja. It was a brief role but he did garner a lot of wolf whistles when he appeared on screen. His loquacious delivery of dialogues and flounce as the bandit Bulwa who saves the damsel in distress made him a tad unconventional as a dacoit.

“Sunny Deol ka gussa!” we all know what that means. But his on-screen fury hit another level altogether playing a dacoit in Rahul Rawaii’s film Dacait. Not that anyone remembers the film, let alone the fact that he ever played this role. It’s probably one of the biggest flops of his career. Despite his histrionics and gripping temperament as a dacoit, the film did nothing for his career. It was a predictable plot wherein an innocent man turns into an outlaw to avenge the death of is family by an evil “Thakur” with a corrupt village police connection. However he went on to play a dacoit yet again in J.P Dutta’s Yateem, which fared probably slightly better than the former. Yateem was not a commercial success either.

Talking about forgettable on-screen dacoits, Sanjay Dutt starrers Jeeva (1986) and Jai Vikranta (1995) were huge disappointments. Jeeva’s only strong point was its music, which was composed by the legendary RD Burman and its lyrics penned by the living legend Gulzaar. These films were nothing in comparison to what Dutt Senior had played in his prime. Sunil Dutt who was seen as a mild mannered protagonist in most films turned into a powerhouse of intensity as an avenging brigand in Mother India. He then outdid himself playing the role of Jarnail Singh in Mujhe Jeene Do. These two films were huge hits. Mother India received a lot of appreciation from the west and was selected as one of the final five nominees for the best foreign language film at the Oscars. As Jarnail Singh in the film Mujhe Jeene Do Dutt provided an insight into his human side. However his third attempt at playing a ‘daaku’ in the film Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye was nowhere close to the charisma of his previous performances in dacoit dramas.

So, did I watch Paan Singh very large extent it even justifies, and nearly advocates this outlaw’s actions. The film has layers and the character of Paan Singh Tomar is complex and undergoes several transformations. I was stunned by the simplicity of the film; I’d like to think that it was perhaps the best way to tell a tale effectively. It seems to have achieved moderate success at the box-office as well. Which just goes to prove that an honest film made with sensitivity and empathy, not just towards the protagonist but also towards the audience, ends up being a successful one. So with great satisfaction that night my partner and I managed to watch a film that thankfully did not upset our systems, and yet gave us some food for thought! Now I’m looking forward to a film to beat that!

Tomar and more importantly, did I enjoy the film? I watched it with a million preconceived notions and expectations, only to be pleasantly surprised by Irrfan Khan’s understated and engaging performance as the protagonist. It was raw, authentic, uncomplicated, poignant and free from a lot of prejudice. Most past films about dacoits have either been too violent and insensitive, or they have been way too ‘filmy’, much like caricatures of a dacoit. This film is refreshingly different to others in this particular genre. You empathize with the protagonist, and even cheer for him at times. This bandit seems to have a sense of humour about himself and his life in general. Having said that, the film also People took notice of a brilliant actress who had literally given the role (Phoolan Devi) all she had, and Seema Biswas stood tall and carried the film on her shoulders with her stellar performance.

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