Never before has a third- time superhero wanted to play the role of the villain instead. Little wonder. Kaal, the vampire-faced sneer- ridden quadriplegic who infests the world with the shake of two fingers and his wicked mind, not only has the evil laugh down pat; but it is whom the film Krrish 3 opens to. More menacing, cruel and colder than any of the previous Krrish villains, and probably Indias most dastardly offence since Mogambo, Kaal puts the shivers back into villainy. Rakesh Roshan, director of the franchise and father to superhero actor Hrithik Roshan, says he obviously couldnt allow the switch, much to his sons dismay. It is deliberate, this focus on Kaal over Krrish. As the franchise grows, the superhero needs stronger axe to battle. Read: Box Office: Krrish 3 beats Chennai Express and becomes all-time highest grosser When Roshan says he rewrote the script three to four times, what he was getting right was the exact proportion of evil the story would swing on. Accused of being inspired by various sources from X-Men to Magneto and Avengers, Roshan says superheroes and villains the world over follow format. The formula for the supervillain has remained unchanged, says Roshan. Believable, strong backbone, a strong back story, and above all the justification for evil: the belief that what the villain is doing is right for him, from his point of view. The villains perspective is what drives the perspective in Krrish 3. The classic formula that makes a come back with Kaal, after Ra One, Dr Dang, and Mogambo, harks back to the inspiration for Mogambo itself: Shakaal, the supervillain equipped with sharks and a tank of victim-chewing alligators. The genial now 69-year old Kulbushan Karbandha, who played the bald pated Shakaal, is currently touring with his play Aatmakatha in Kolkatta, and remembers it as a simpler time. It was when people were either bad or good. The hero was good by all means, and the villain, as black as night itself he smiles. Shakaal was Karbandhas first all out commercial role, having acted in 12 art films of the time. Ramesh Sippy, who created Shakaal, asked Karbandha to play it straight he recalls. It was probably the most clear cut role in the film. While Karbandha attributes most of the build up around Shakaal to the sharks and the other add ons crafted by production, as an actor, he says, the villain forces you to bring out all that you can to make someone hate you. The aim is to bring out revulsion Karbandha built a back story inside his own head: of Shakaals genius, his having gone down the wrong path, to justify his evil to himself and thereby make it more convincing. This process of crafting an internal back story is integral to the believable super villain. In 1986, Anupam Khers Dr Dang in Karma, directed by Subhash Ghai, brought to life the terrorist Dr Dang, in an attempt to craft a larger than life villain. Ghai famously admitted that it was Khers menacing walk that won him the role. Small immortal quirks, a walk, a rub of the head, or in the case of Kaal, Vivek Oberois tap of the fingers, are defining characteristics. Shakaal, written by the duo Salim-Javed, further became the inspiration for one of Indias most immortal supervillains: Mogambo, in the 1987 film Mr India, with the climax scene being repeated as tribute. The supervillains progress was interrupted by the anti hero. 1993 proved to be the year of the anti hero with strong roles like Gulshan Grovers pock marked Chhapan Tikli in Sir (1993), or the Yakuza style cruelty of his character Tauke in Naraaz (1994). Sanjay Dutts Khalnayak (1993) brought home the Jack Nicholson inspired Joker - the deranged bad guy, that peaked with Shah Rukh Khans Baazigar (1993) and Darr (1993). The incremental negativity mutated into a twisted cruelty, typical of Ashutosh Ranas roles in Dushman (1998), and Lajja Shankar Pandey in Sangharsh (1999). Is the return to the classic formula, the peaking of the antihero formula? The anti hero, often a character equal to the hero in stature or screen presence, found relevance in a world where people were themselves becoming increasingly complex. Anupam Kher, who gave up playing villains after his portrayal of Dr Dang, says there are bigger villains in our day to day life. Rapists, politicians, terrorists, murderers. We see them all the time. And they are real. in that context, screen villains like dr dang became comical and unconvincing. as realism took over the space of evil, the supervillain receded. In a society filled with anti heroes today, with reflections of corruption and wrong doing reaching everybodys doorstep, effectively, evil must supercede itself once again. With the return to the classic super villain, all black is essential to distinguish good from bad at all. In 2010, the slow return to the larger than life villain, more powerful than the hero, began with Rajnikanths Enthiran. Arjun Rampals character Ra One stole the show in the eponymous film the following year. The trajectory has peaked with Vivek Oberois portrayal of Kaal. Without exception every actor who has played a supervillain calls it a triumph of endurance. Arjun Rampal calls his role as Ra One, the villain in the eponymous film by Abhinav Sinha, his most challenging to date. My role as Ra 1 was physically the most challenging says Rampal, who is no stranger to physical exertion. I wanted to look like a machine he says. In the quest to perfect the look Shah Rukh Khan, who was producing the film, felt it important that a unique look be set for the character, something that would stay with the audiences after the film. The detailing for Ra 1 was greater than that lent to his own role as the protagonist. It was Shah Rukhs idea to shave my head and take it to the next level says Rampal, adding Till now kids come and shake my hand with that mesmerized look in their eye and gasp Ra 1 Rampal says. That mesmerized look is what the supervillain aims for. In terms of women, the only woman to have played a supervillain, or its equivalent, remains Shabana Azmi who played the role of the witch Makdee, in Vishal Baradwajs Makdee in 2002. It is not that Indian cinema has lacked women in negative roles, Azmi says pointing out the Lalita Pawar modeled female wickedness, but to push a woman beyond regular screen needs of beauty to aspects of evil and ugliness, is itself a great leap. Azmi says Vishal and she worked hardest on the look. 12 inch heels, lengthy fingernails and a painful wig. The witch had one eye different from the other. Though they were aiming for repelling and frightening, the result she says surprised her. Contrary to what we might think, children are actually attracted to that which is frightening. They would come to my house in hoardes, which I was quite shocked by. Then I realized there is an attractiveness in the ugly and the frightening as well. This balance; stretching repulsiveness to a believable over-the- topness is what Azmi says is crucial. For a woman especially, there is a need to temper the role because the freedom can be extremely liberating especially in the context of over glamourised heroines. There is the constant need to play it with restraint. Tell the believable lie Azmi says. In super villain terms, larger than life crime, violence, and capacity for evil becomes necessary to stand out from the every day stream of the negative. Indias top supervillains: Khulbhushan Kharbanda as Shakaal in Shaan (1980) Anupam Kher as Dr Dang (1986) Amrish Puri as Mogambo in Mr India (1987) Shabana Azmi as Makdee in Makdee (2002) Rajnikanth as Chitti in Enthiran (2010) Arjun Rampal as Ra One (2011) Vivek Oberoi as Kaal in Krrish 3: (2013)
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:35:30 +0000
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