Drama and Music have always been the integral parts of every diverse culture and society. But with changing times the elaborated form of Nāṭya Śāstra, that is cinema as we Indians love to call it, came into existence and conquered the entertainment sector. We, as the audience, enjoy watching movies with different genres, plots and star casts. Indian cinema has been the favourite of people of the nation and around the globe since time immemorial. In a nation like ours, we idolize the lead character so much that they become synonymous with Demigods in our subconscious.
Most of the time, we watch movies only because of the lead character. But today, I am here to tell you about some movies where the supporting cast, with their limited appearance, outshined the lead and created a humungous legacy. Today we bring to you some very special supporting roles played in our Hindi cinema that turned out to be a treat for the people watching them around the globe, thereby leaving a lasting impression on their minds.
Veer Zaara
The year was 2004. Shah Rukh Khan was at his peak as the heart-throb of the nation. Not even in wildest dreams could someone imagine competing with him. But Manoj Bajpayee, with his unique style of acting skills, appeared in Veer Zaara, that too for a few scenes. And those were enough.
In those moments, the audience watching the silver screen forgot that the lead character was King Khan. It was Manoj Bajpayee who ruled the roster. And that was a thumping announcement of the arrival of Manoj Bajpayee in the big league.
Hera Pheri
When you have Khiladi Kumar on the screen, people’s pupils rarely take a break. The same was the expectation with Hera Pheri. Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty were supposed to hog the limelight. But even today we remember ‘Babu Bhaiya’ rather than the name of the characters of Akshay and Suniel. Such was the dialogue delivery combined with precise facial expressions.
Paresh Rawal played the role of an anxious old man of the bunch in a charming fashion. Not for a moment did the audience feel that he was supposed to be an addendum. Instead, Akshay and Shetty looked incomplete without Paresh Rawal.
Ham Dil De Chuke Sanam
It was a time when people were dying to see both Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai together in a romantic role. Bhansali brought the most glamorous and talked about love birds of that time together for Ham Dil De Chuke Sanam. Ajay Devgan was just supposed to be a sidekick. But he simply shattered away the aura and charisma of the Salman-Aishwarya duo.
With his gentleness, he exemplified the changing morals of the Indian social apparatus. His deep intense eyes that spoke volumes and the flawless way with which he delivered dialogues are still imprinted in our memories. When Aishwarya finally decided to stay with Ajay in the end, the audience felt like it was them that won. Ajay Devgan took away Aishwarya Rai and the audience to his side with his style and ease.
Shaurya
Deep voice, an upright attitude, politically incorrect messages, a grey personality and on top of that a Senior Army Official during the Congress era. Now contrast that with the lead character. The lead character was liberal, a patient listener and a man with no care for established norms.
You will assume that the youth would like the latter. Instead, K K Menon, singlehandedly turned the tables.
The calmness with which he rebukes Rahul Bose for disrespecting ‘coffee’ was the first clue of his brilliance. He later showed it in parts throughout the movie. Its pinnacle arrived when he launched a castigating attack on the pathetic state of the defence apparatus due to political compulsions. “Bloody Democracy” is the phrase that Brigadier Surya Pratap Singh introduced to the Indian psyche.
Also Read: Sanjay Khan – The lecherous demon behind the “handsome gentleman”
Damini
When Rishi Kapoor was present, every other character was on the periphery. In one such movie, he had to star along with Meenakshi Sheshadri. To diversify the characters, filmmakers had chosen Amrish Puri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.
Sunny Deol did not have a chance. Moreover, he appeared as a side show and that too as an advocate in opposition to Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol was not a perfect character. He had his flaws and drank a lot. His lifestyle was not acceptable to the average Indian of the time. It was easy to hate the drunk lawyer. But Sunny reversed the equation and ended up not only overshadowing the entire star cast but adding a national award to his name for the power-packed role he delivered in the movie.
Run
There is a hierarchy in acting. Some actors are overshadowed by the lead actors of the movie. Then there are some who own silver screen presence. Vijay Raaz is one of those rare actors. It is now a fact that he is now an immutable characteristic of every movie he has acted in.
Case in point is RUN. Though Abhishek Bachchan was the lead in the movie, it was Vijay Raaz who occupied the most attention. The man represented every migrant going to Delhi. Though his character was humiliating in nature, people connected with him more than Junior Bachchan. Since the movie got released in 2002, RUN is known for Vijay Raaz and not Abhishek Bachchan.
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