There is something about grey shades that tends to attract audiences when it comes to the world of movies. However, when there is an inherent flaw in the character as well, it is a tricky thing to actually get it right. A miss here or there, and audience interest could well fade away, or worse even result in a complete turn off. This is the reason why when some of the actors get it right in terms of enacting a flawed character, it is indeed a reason to rejoice. Let’s take a look at 10 such actors who nailed it well while enacting a grey character for screen.
Shahid Kapoor – Kabir Singh [278.24 crores]
In the history of Bollywood a character may not have been discussed as much as the one Shahid Kapoor played in the title role of Kabir Singh. The choicest of words were reserved for the character which had its own way of dealing with things when it came to the woman of his life, or as he says – ‘Meri Bandi’. Well, audiences loved it big time and made the film a blockbuster.
Aamir Khan – Dangal [387.38 crores]
He couldn’t fulfill his dream of become a world champion in wrestling, so he practically thrust it down the throats of his two daughters. That was Aamir Khan’s character of a Haryanvi wrestler in Dangal, a film which turned out to be a major success due to the conviction of all involved. Of course, Aamir Khan brought in a humane element to the person which worked well.
Ranbir Kapoor – Sanju [342.53 crores]
When you are enacting the part of Sanjay Dutt on screen, you know that one episode after another would have some or the other flaw written all over it. Neither does the real life Sanjay Dutt regret his actions over the years nor does Ranbir Kapoor make it come across like that in his superb potrayal of the character. Women, booze, drugs and rock-n-roll – he did it all!
Ranveer Singh – Simmba [240.31 crores]
He took bribes from the bad men and scared away the ones who are good. Yes, he had a heart of gold but he first thought about himself. That was Simmba for you in the world created by Rohit Shetty where eventually the leading man saw right in the face of wrong. Ranveer Singh pretty much lived the part of a corrupt Maharashtrian cop and then roared when asked to.
Dhanush and Sonam Kapoor – Raanjhanaa [60 crores]
When it comes to love, there cannot be any boundaries. That’s what Dhanush thought in the romantic drama by filmmaker Aanand L. Rai. The simpleton went to all extent when it came to fetching attention of the love of his life, played by Sonam Kapoor. On her part, even Sonam’s character came with grey shades and that’s what made this love story beautiful as well as sad.
Shah Rukh Khan – Don [50 crores]
Shah Rukh Khan made his career out of playing a flawed character in films like Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam. Though he diverted his attention to romantic roles in the interim period, audiences fell in love with him all over again when he showed his mean streak in Don. He was flawed, he was evil, and he was ruthless. Still, there was certain charm about Don that was magnetic.
Akshay Kumar – Ajnabee [17 crores]
Think Ajnabee, and you end up remembering his famous swapping gesture on the face of Bobby Deol. Even as he danced to the tune of ‘Mehbooba Mehbooba’ and made an indecent proposal of swapping wives [Bipasha Basu, Kareena Kapoor], it was the naughty grin of Akshay that was forgettable. Audiences knew that he was moralistically wrong and still loved him.
Emraan Hashmi – Jannat [32 crores]
Talking about being moralistically wrong, right from the days of his first film Footpath to his last release Why Cheat India, Emraan Hashmi has enjoyed playing a character with grey shades. There are countless films where he has gone flawed. However, more often than not he has got away as there was something good in him that always won over. Jannat was one such film.
Sanjay Dutt – Khalnayak [10 crores]
‘Jee haan, main hoon khalnayak’ – More than an announcement, it came across as a challenge of ‘Let’s see what you can actually do about this’! Subhash Ghai created a filmy character for Sanjay Dutt in Khalnayak which was so flawed that it didn’t mind wooing the woman [Madhuri Dixit] who was already someone’s [Jackie Shroff] beloved. The film was a huge success.
Vidya Balan – The Dirty Picture [80 crores]
Though women in Bollywood are mostly shown to be righteous, Vidya Balan broke rules when she appeared as Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture. Producer Ekta Kapoor and director Milan Luthria backed her up to the fullest as she did quite a few things that were moralistically wrong as everything was fair when it came to ‘entertainment, entertainment and entertainment’.