5 Bengali superstars who excelled in a negative role

It’s relatively easy for an actor to essay out a goody two shoed character. However, when cast in a negative role, very few actors can nail that category. Not only does this make them more polished actors but also keeps us surprised as fans. Afterall, only a few courageous people have the guts to portray an antagonist. Let’s take a look at these 5 superstars of Bengali film industry who surprised the movie buffs with their negative characters.

A career that spanned over three decades witnessed Uttam Kumar in around 211 films. Among them, Pijush Bose’s 1975 film ‘Baghbondi Khela’ is believed to be the iconic actor’s first ever appearance in a negative character. Uttam played an evil politician expert in cross-border smuggling, money laundering, illegal property business and a man who loves prostitutes. The movie, largely based on a story by Prafulla Roy, didn’t do well at the box-office as the Bengali audience failed to accept their idol portraying a completely negative role. They were shocked to see their romantic hero as a villain.

How can anyone forget Mayurbahon! Soumitra Chatterjee as the handsome Mayurbahon from Tapan Sinha’s 1961 hit 'Jhinder Bandi'. This film pitted the legendary Uttam Kumar against Soumitra. The former was enjoying a matinee God status at that time and the latter was slowly climbing his way to superstardom with great performances and spontaneity. And the rest is history! They simply created sheer magic in this remake of 'The Prisoner of Zenda'. Here Soumitra was the antagonist and to some extent overshadowed protagonist Uttam Kumar. After ‘Jhinder Bondi’, many even fell in love with an antagonist Mayurbahon more than the protagonist Shankar Singh.

Who could have imagined Jisshu Sengupta in a negative role! Jisshu as the cunning Kashinath Kundu showed it’s his sheer ability to face any challenge in any roles that makes him different from other actors. Jisshu’s shady character in 'Zulfiqaar' is the mastermind behind ganglord Zulfiqar’s murder, just like Roman senator Cassius who was a leading instigator of the plot to murder Julius Caesar. Srijit Mukherji’s inspiration for this 2016 hit came from not just one, but two tragedies: 'Julius Caeser' and 'Antonio and Cleopatra'. Though both are different plays, these two classics bring one single historical connection that was explored in the modern context.

In Birsa Dasgupta’s 'One' Prosenjit Chatterjee excelled in a completely negative character. He played a scientist who invests his entire genius in evil deeds. His powerful performance clearly showed his masterclass in breaking the cliches. Prosenjit’s other negative role came in Kamaleswar Mukherjee’s ‘Khwato’ in which he was an erotic novel writer Nirbed Lahiri. When your physical pleasure outgrows the moral and ethical restrictions then the definite line between an animal and a human being gets blurred. Prosenjit’s in and out negative role in this film surprised everyone. How many actors would dare to accept such a challenging role!

Aniket Chattopadhyay’s ‘Kabir’ spreads the message of humanity, diving deep into the psychology of terrorists and exploring the manipulation of religion. This is the first time Dev played a negative character. He faced severe critical flak for his recent films but ‘Kabir’ gave him the much-needed calm reserve, and there are some moments in which he literally excels as the mysterious, charming yet a cunning stranger that any young lady would regret befriending. It would have been rather easy for the actor to make another masala movie. But world cinema is changing rapidly. Films are now made based on real-life characters. So, Dev decided to play a negative character for the sake of the film.