Top 10 Iconic Antagonists Present In Bollywood In 70s

A Bollywood movie is incomplete without a villain. Villains are the characters who spread their negativity and audience loathe them. A Bollywood film is successful because of the war between good and bad. It is very easy to portray the protagonist but establishing as an antagonist is a tough job. There were some very outstanding villains in 70s who amazed the audience with their skills. Here are some of the iconic baddies of the seventies.

1. Pran

The veteran villain of Bollywood, Pran has always been director's favorite to portray a gray shade. It is because of him that the negative roles had started to get much importance. His first movie as an antagonist was 'Ziddi'. He was praised for his acting. His role as Gajendra in “Ram Aur Shyam” was one of the iconic characters enacted by him. Sometimes he was paid more than the hero because of his skillful work. He was one of the awesome villains of sixties and seventies. Pran has worked in many movies some of which are ‘Aah’, Jaagte Raho. He enacted every character with ease whether it is a villager or a businessman. He received the " Villain of the Millennium" award at Stardust in 2000 for portraying the antagonist in many movies.

2. Amjad Khan

Who can forget the dialogue " Yeh Haath Mujhe De De Thakur." Gabbar Singh in ‘Sholay’ became the biggest vicious man of the industry. Amjad Khan did justice to this character. His contribution to the success of Sholay is immense. It is astonishing that Amjad Khan was not the first choice of Ramesh Sippy. He acted in about 100 movies in his career giving new definition to the role of a villain. Some of his works are ‘Parvarish’, Ganga Ki Saugandh, Muqqadar Ka Sikander, Mr. Natwarlal, and ‘Suhaag’. With his commendable work, he became one of the leading villains of seventies.

3. Ajit Khan

No one can forget the role of Lion in ‘Kalicharan’ which made Ajit one of the memorable villains of Bollywood. He started to play the negative role with the movie ‘Suraj’ followed by Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baarat, Naya Daur, and ‘Nastik’. His one the most remembered character is of Teja in Zanjeer. His one of the dialog of Kalicharan- “Saara Shehar Mujhe Lion Ke Naam Se Jaanta Hai." He is also remembered for his “Mona Darling” dialog in Yaadon Ki Baarat. Ajit’s characters were soft spoken, yet they were forceful.

4. Prem Chopra

Prem Chopra started to do gray shade roles from 1967, but he got public recognition for the role of Prem Chopra in the movie ‘Bobby’ released in the year 1973. His characters were such that murder, blackmailing, and every wrong thing were right for him. His one-liner in Bobby-“Prem Naam Hai Mera- Prem Chopra" is one his popular dialog. His other movies are ‘Upkar’, Purab Aur Paschim, Kati Patng, ‘Kranti’, Do Raaste, and ‘Dostana’. He was enough to daunt everyone with his malevolent intentions.

5. Ranjeet

He rose to fame by the portrayal of negative role in the movie Amir Garib. He was one of the infamous baddies who was an acolyte villain. He portrayed the character of lustful men. He made a record of committing 350 on-screen rapes. His best roles as villains are in ‘Sharmele’, Haath Ki Safai, ‘Vishwatma’, ‘Dharamveer’, Amar Akbar Anthony, Reshma Aur Shera, and ‘Laawaris’. He was infamous among the female audience making him a evil man.

6. Prem Nath

He was the mute villain of the Bollywood. His character, Sir Judah in Karz was one of the malicious antagonists in Bollywood. His character used to give orders by sequence of knocks and his wingman used to decipher it. He was a versatile actor who could play an ignoble villain as well as an upright person. His some of the works as a villain are of a Diwan in Raja Jaani, a murderer in Johnny Mera Naam, and underworld don in Dharmatma.

7. Jeevan Hindi

The Narad Muni of the Bollywood enacted many gray shade characters. He many times portrayed the unfaithful sidekick who overpowered his boss with his tricks. He is well known for his role as refined antagonist Robert in Amar Akbar Anthony. He could enact any negative role whether it is of a villager or an urban. His other works include Dharam Veer and ‘Suhaag’. His dialogue delivery made the villain look more bad making him one of the best antagonists.

8. Lalita Pawar

One of the leading female villain of seventies, Lalita Pawar had a career span of about 70 years. She was the evil mother-in-law who used to torture her daughter-in-law. She was often seen creating rifts between the main couple of the movie. She was surely one of the best antagonists that Bollywood had.

9. Madan Puri

Madan Puri with a career of 40 years did around 400 movies. Introduced as a hero, Puri turned into a villain and then the uncle of the protagonist. He did justice with his gray shade roles, and no one can perform better than him for those characters. His movies as a villain include ‘Deewar’ and Rafoo Chakkar.

10. Vinod Khanna

Vinod Khanna has mainly done positive roles, but he never hesitated from doing any gray shade character. He was good in portraying both protagonists as well as the antagonist. His negative characters were ardent and significant. He was one of those actors who gained popularity not only as main lead but also as a villain. His work as an antagonist is Aaj Milo Sajna, Mere Apne, and Mera Gaon Mera Desh. His character in Parvarish and Reshma Aur Shera also had a gray shade. His role in Reshma Aur Shera was critically acclaimed. He was surely a cruel man in the early seventies.