Now, the baddies in Bollywood beef up

From John Abraham to Hrithik Roshan to Salman Khan — almost all of Bollywood’s leading men have been sporting their super-buff hot bods in their recent films, but giving them equal takkar on screen are the baddies, who’re not too far off when it comes to showing off their perfectly toned abs! And an increasing number of films now see a face-off between what one would deem equals physically at least.

So, if Hrithik will be seen sporting his muscled bod in Agneepath so will villain Sanjay Dutt. Vivek Oberoi, who turns baddie in the Krishh sequel, too has been working on his bod to face Hrithik. Vidyut Jamwal sported an equally fit body as the villain in the recent John-starrer. Similarly, a super-toned Arjun Rampal will face an equally fit Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One and apparently Aamir Khan will also be his muscled best as the villain in Dhoom 3.

The sudden surge of these hot-bod-baddies is easy to explain, say trade analysts. “The stronger the adversary, the tougher it looks for the hero to bash him up and when he ultimately does, he automatically becomes that much more of a hero. A film works only if the antagonist is as strong as the protagonist,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

While they point out that most baddies over the years have always been physically fit, it’s only post Dabangg in which Sonu Sood sported a body to match Salman’s that the trend caught on. “It also has to do with the fact that most of these baddies are heroes themselves including Arjun, Sanjay, Vivek…” adds Taran.
“It’s the bad guys, who make the good guys look good,” agrees trade analyst Bharati Pradhan. “So, when you take a good-looking villain, who’s also super-fit, the herogiri works that much more,” she adds.

“Whether the hero or the villain,  it’s important to look convincing enough. When a hero bashes up the baddie, the viewers should not feel like anyone else too could have beaten him up just as easily, ” Arjun had earlier said. Sonu echoes a similar sentiment. “It’s important to look invincible on screen, so that when the hero takes him on, you know it’s not going to be easy for him.”