Actors Who Could Never Get Rid Of Their Best ‘Bad’ Performances

Actors who got smacked for just doing their job i.e. being the anti-hero.

Amrish Puri in a still from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. 

What do you wish to see when you go for a movie? A storyline so solid that you want to believe every word of the fictional world you’re being shown. And of course, performances that stay with you. Something so good that you take the character home with you, and his emotions, feelings, and dilemmas too. Right?

Well, that’s probably how these actors envisioned their roles too, wanting to give audiences a real taste of the character they were portraying. But guess what? We could never shake off their on-screen image to appreciate them in any other avatar. Here are our favourites-

Ashutosh Rana

Remember him? Let’s refresh your memory. You saw him pretty recently in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania (2014). But the actor became famous for his portrayal of a psychopath in Dushman (1998) and a religious fanatic in Sangharsh (1999).

Ashutosh Rana in Dushman (1998) and Sangharsh (1999). 

These roles made it difficult for us to digest him as Alia Bhatt’s nice father in Humpty Sharma... without being reminded of his anti-hero image.

Ashutosh Rana plays Alia Bhatt’s father in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. (Photo courtesy: Dharma Productions)

Amjad Khan

Coming to the baap of all villains - Amjad Khan. Iss list mein teen aadmi hain. And he is the one who made villains in Indian cinema, in one word, the hero of the film.

Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh in a scene from Sholay.

The veteran actor went ahead and did a lot of other films after Sholay, with shades of Gabbar seeping through them. But even he couldn’t top his own magnificent avatar as the village dacoit from doing that.

Amrish Puri

Wouldn’t you say his image as Chaudhary Baldev Singh in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge worked better because you had seen him don the hat of the perfect villain for such a long time?

Every time I try to picture these actors in another role, these on-screen performances come screaming back to me. It’s tough to imagine them in other kind of roles because they were so dreadfully good in their villainous avatars.  

So let’s take a moment to appreciate anti-heroes, who have the gumption to take on roles that they will surely be remembered for. But equally hated, as well.