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Ranbir Kapoor to play a fierce daaku in Shamshera: Here's revisiting Bollywood’s dacoit era

Ranbir Kapoor will play a fierce daaku in Shamshera. Here’s looking at other memorable bandit dramas over the years...

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(Clockwise from top left): The first look of Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera; Sunil Dutt in Mujhe Jeene Do; Dilip Kumar in Ganga Jamuna; Vinod Khanna in Mera Gaon Mera Desh; Seema Biswas in Bandit Queen; Amjad Khan in Sholay; Irrfan Khan in Paan Singh Tomar; and Sushant Singh Rajput on the sets of Son Chiraiya
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The announcement of Ranbir Kapoor playing a dacoit in Shamshera sent ripples of excitement in the film trade. Since the ’50s, many mainstream Bollywood heroes, and in later years, even heroines have played bandits with aplomb. There have been several instances when the janta has rooted for the daaku with the swag. Then for lack of imagination, the daaku-dramas went missing. With news reports stating that several dacoits, including sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, being eliminated in encounters, this subject became insipid.

Earlier this week, when Yash Raj Films announced that a suave Ranbir would transform into Shamshera, they piqued the curiosity of cinegoers. After all, in today’s age of social media and technology, it will be interesting to see how the makers revive this genre from the yore once again. 

Walking down memory lane, one realised that several actors who joined the industry in the 1980s and ’90s, like Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar have never played a dacoit on screen. Ajay Devgn, however, played a Robinhood-kind of an outlaw as Bhulwa in Rajkumar Santoshi’s social drama Lajja (2001), which focused on the plight of women from different backgrounds in India.

Incidentally, after considerable time, we’ll get to see heroes play outlaws in reel life. Earlier this year, Sushant Singh Rajput began shooting for Abhishek Chaubey’s (of Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya and Udta Punjab fame) Son Chiraiya in the ravines of Chambal Valley, which is a famous dacoit terrain. It’s true that one or two swallows don’t make a summer; but, the fact that YRF, one of the biggest banners of Bollywood, is making a film with Ranbir playing a dacoit, is enough reason to revisit this genre. Here’s looking at some daredevil on-screen daakus...

SUNIL DUTT

He’s perhaps one actor who has played a bandit the most number of times. From Birju (Mother India/1957) and Thakur Jarnail Singh (Mujhe Jeene Do/1963) to Raja Thakur (Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye/1974) and Birju (Daaku Aur Jawan/1978), the mild-mannered Dutt saab was a favourite choice with filmmakers, who wanted to cast him as a bandit.

DILIP KUMAR

The thespian not only produced Ganga Jamuna, but also played a dacoit who speaks in the Awadhi dialect. Despite a six-month delay, the movie went on to become a huge hit in India as well as in the Soviet Union.

VINOD KHANNA

He is the only actor after Sunil Dutt to play a bandit in multiple movies. From the villainous Jabbar Singh (Mera Gaon Mera Desh/1971), Mangal Singh (Aakhri Daku/1973) and Surajbhan Singh Sarju (Patthar Aur Payal/1974), VK also turned a daaku with a large heart when he essayed the character of Thakur Lakhan Singh in Kuchhe Dhaage (1973).

SEEMA BISWAS

The actress’ portrayal of Phoolan Devi in Bandit Queen (1994) Shekhar Kapur’s biopic on Phoolan Devi won her the Best Actress National Award. The much-acclaimed movie, which got into a controversy when Phoolan Devi fiercely disputed its accuracy and fought to get it banned, also bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Costume Design for Dolly Ahluwalia.

IRRFAN KHAN

He played the protagonist in filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia’s biopic on Paan Singh Tomar, an athlete and soldier who became a bandit after he had to pay for his own land in a feud. Not only did Paan Singh Tomar (2012) win the National Award for Best Feature Film, but Irrfan’s fabulous performance also saw him win the Best Actor honour.

AMJAD KHAN

When he started shooting his part for director Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975), he was initially nervous. But he overcame the anxiety and enthralled moviegoers with his brilliant performance as Hindi cinema’s most famous and menacing dacoit, Gabbar Singh.


(Clockwise): Dharmendra in Patthar Aur Payal; Sanjay Dutt in Jeeva; Mithun Chakraborty in Daata; Amitabh Bachchan in Ganga Ki Saugandh; Sunny Deol in Dacait; Zeenat Aman in Daku Hasina; and Sridevi in Sherni

DHARMENDRA

He played the perfect foil to Vinod Khanna’s Sarju as the good-hearted dacoit Chhote Thakur Ranjeet Singh in Patthar Aur Payal (1974).

AMITABH BACHCHAN

In keeping with the revolt against oppression by thakurs and zamindars of the bygone era, Bachchan’s naive Jeeva becomes an outlaw to avenge his mother’s death in Ganga Ki Saugandh (1978).

SANJAY DUTT

Though not as many times as his father Sunil Dutt, but Sanjay played a bandit in two films — Jeeva (1986) and Jai Vikranta (1995). Neither was half as successful as Dutt Sr’s dacoit dramas.

SUNNY DEOL

Like his dad, Dharmendra, Sunny, too, played the outlaw only once. His performance as the innocent Arjun Yadav who becomes a dacoit in Dacait (1987), the Rahul Rawail directorial, saw the revenge saga become a semi-hit at the box office.

MITHUN CHAKRABORTY

The actor teamed up with director Sultan Ahmed (who made a couple of dacoit dramas with Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt) for Daata (1989). By this time, the genre was losing the audience’s interest, which is probably why this film didn’t work.

ZEENAT AMAN AND SRIDEVI

If men can play outlaws, can women be left behind? Zeenat Aman and Sridevi are perhaps the only two leading ladies from their generation to play bandidas on screen. However, neither the former’s Daku Hasina (1987) nor the latter’s Sherni (1988) worked at the BO.

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