"As there is a use in medicine for poisons, so the world cannot move without rogues."--- Films would be truly colourless and unexciting without villains and the most vital question remains, who would provide the hero to prove his heroism! At the inception of the Indian cinema the Bollywood villains were mainly replicas of mythological characters. As original scripts became the norm the villains there would create a number of problems for the heroes. The film ended with the villain being vanquished by the hero. The age old concept, `victory of good over evil` was predominant.

The Bollywood villains have at times overshadowed the leading actors with their performances. During the Golden Era of Indian Cinema several leading actors started their careers as villains. One of the most glaring examples is Dilip Kumar in Aan (1949). His character in Aan has negative shades. Another superstar who followed the footsteps of Dilip Kumar was Shah Rukh Khan. His first film to be released was Baazigar wherein his character drifted away from the traditional heroes. Apart from them the popular Bollywood villain in the 1950s was Premnath. His debut movie was Aag under the RK banner. He went onto star in movies, such as, Teesri Manzil, Johnny Mera Naam, Roti, Kapada Aur Makaaan, Dharmatma and Desh Premee.

The other popular villain of that age was Pran. He appeared in most of the films with Shammi Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and other Bollywood heroes. He is remembered for his role in Munimji, Ram Aur Shyam, Madhumati, Kashmir ki Kali, Brahmachari and a host of other films. At a later stage of his career he played character roles. He has acted in around 350 films and is the recipient of Padmabhushan.

Ajit is another name that is unforgettable when one discusses about Bollywood villains. He was born as Hamid Ali Khan. His unique way of dialogue delivery and impressive personality made him one of the most sophisticated villains of all time. He immortalised the negative characters in Zanjeer, Kalicharan and Yaadon Ki Baraat. Other contemporary Bollywood villains were Rehman, Madan Puri and others.

The representation of villains is quite fascinating as it has changed over the decades: from urban tycoons and village money-lenders in the 1950s and 1960s to smugglers violating law in the 1970s, unyielding patriarchs in 1980 romance films and politicians or terrorists in the 1990s. The villains in Bollywood were depicted as affluent people, powerful and, of course, corrupt. In the 1990 films a variation of gangster films came into vogue that trace the interest in the underworld, victims of religious fundamentalism turning to terrorism and films centering on police forces.

The angry young man image of Amitabh Bachchan was well countered by the Bollywood villains. Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor and others were some of the popular Bollywood villains. But the one man who snatched away the spotlight from everyone was Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh in Sholay. Amjad Khan walked away with all the applause. It was his debut movie as a villain. Gabbar Singh`s dialogues were a national rage. Even today the film is remembered for the character Gabbbar Singh. There are very few films in the Indian film industry that are remembered for their anti heroes; Sholay is definitely one of them. Amjad Khan went onto act in several other films as the Bollywood villain. Satte pe Satta, Mr. Natwarlal, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, Kasme Vaade, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Suhaag, Barsaat Ki Ek Raat, Kaalia, Nastik and several other movies are credited to him.

At around this time another villain entered Bollywood-Utpal Dutta. With an inimitable style and conniving smile he became a favourite. His talent was unquestionable and his screen presence stunning. He immortalised his characters in films like Barsaat ki Ek Raat, Amanush and others.

The rightful heir to Amjad Khan was Amrish Puri. Blessed with an authoritative voice and superb personality he was perfect as the dominating villain. He suited all kinds of negative roles- a tyrannical landlord, a sophisticated crook and also the role of a strict father. His character of Mogambo in the film, Mr. India was a major hit. He became famous overnight. Some of his hit films include Hum Paanch, Vidhaata, Saudagar, Aaj Ka Arjun, Shaenshah, Meri Jung, Deewana, Zindagi Ek Jua, Ghatak, Pardesh, Karan Arjun, Damini, Tejashwini, Gadar, Yaadein, Nayak and others.

Alongside Amrish Puri several other actors rose who played the villain in Hindi films. They are Ranjeet, Jeevan, Danny Denzongpa and later Ashish Vidyarthi, Ashutosh Rana, Nana Patekar, Sadhashiv Amrapurkar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Dalip Tahil, Sayaji Shinde, Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Mohan Agashe, Gulshan Grover and others.

Amongst these actors special mention of Naseeruddin Shah is probably necessary for his role in Mirch Masala as the lecherous Subedar. He was outstanding in the role. There are two things for which Mirch Masala is remembered, one is Smita Patil and the other actor is, undoubtedly, Naseeruddin Shah.

Mohan Agashe is primarily a stage actor but he has established himself as one of the best villains in Bollywood. He has appeared in films like Mrityudand, Trimurti, Gangaajal and others. His effortless performance has won him accolades from all sections. He has also been part of several Maratha movies as well.

To quote Alfred Hitchcock "In the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog. Audiences are smarter today. They don`t want their villain to be thrown at them with green limelight on his face. They want an ordinary human being with failings." Truly there has been a huge transition for the villains of the silver screen. Today they are more anti heroes than villains. The trend started with Shah Rukh Khan and today many heroes have played negative characters in the commercial films. The difference between villain and hero has vanished now.

Lead actors like Sunjay Dutt, Ajay Devgan, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan, Suniel Shetty, Akshay Kumar, Viveik Oberoi, Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan and others are ready to portray such characters onscreen that are tinged with the shades of gray.

Actresses in Bollywood have portrayed negative roles with equal ιlan. Earlier there was Nadira, Lalita Pawar, Shashikala, Bindu, Aroona Irani, etc. With the changing times the leading ladies of Bollywood do not shy away from experimenting with their roles either. Female actors in Bollywood, such as, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Kajol, Bipasha Basu, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Esha Deol, UrmilaMatondkar and other heroines have exploited this genre.

Today it would be wrong to term these actors as Bollywood villains. They are rather anti heroes or heroines. Truly enough they portray a part of man i.e. the `id` that is constantly kept wrapped up under the veils of civilisation.