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Birthday Love: Arshad Warsi’s five unforgettable characters

Arshad Warsi is a name in the Indian film industry that has attained a lot of success due to his comical roles in films. Warsi has bags of talent as he can dance, he’s a choreographer, a TV host and of course a fantastic actor.

19th April marks the birthday of Warsi therefore BizAsiaLive.com will look back at five of his unforgettable characters.

Romy in ‘Hero Hindustani’ (1998)
Nikki (Namrata Shirodkar) is a wealthy girl who lives in London with her grandfather, she lives a very modern lifestyle and isn’t in touch with her roots. Seeing this, her grandfather wants her to get married to an Indian boy but isn’t aware that Nikki already has a boyfriend. To avoid having to get married to the boy of her grandfathers choice Nikki goes to India and hires Romy (Warsi) who is a tourist guide by profession as her fake husband and has him to come back to London with her.

The film had Warsi going through various comical situations not forgetting his scenes with Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor they were hilarious. It’s a romantic comedy that would be enjoyed even today.

Circuit in ‘Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.’ (2003)
Till date Circuit is one character of Warsi’s that is hard to forget. Circuit is a loyal friend who would do anything for Munna (Sanjay Dutt), he’s fearless and always happy.

Warsi was given a rough look as he was always dressed in a black kurta paired with some denim jeans. He had short hair and lots of gold jewellery to bling up his outfit not forgetting his cool shades. Munna (Dutt) wouldn’t be the same without Circuit as he is his right hand man or as some might say his side kick.

Perhaps it is the first role where he has attained such success and that too for playing the role of a goon. The way he spoke and the way he moved he completely fit into his role without any issues.

His acting was so on point that he won the ZEE Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic role.

Jai in ‘Kabul Express’ (2006)
It was a film set in the depths of Afghanistan based on a serious topic. Warsi played the role of a cameraman who along with his journalist buddy (Suhel) John Abraham have been sent there to produce a documentary. Although they knew that things would be dangerous they never expected to come face to face with it. They along with an American journalist get kidnapped by what the world would consider a terrorist but after spending some time with him they see a less terrifying side to him.

There was a lot of action and drama in the film as well as some light moments. Warsi acted very well and showed what it would be like for any human being to be stuck in a situation such as his. Abraham and Warsi worked well together as a team. Their scenes together displayed humour, anger, sadness and at times they questioned what was happening around them. It was an interesting film and a very different role from what Warsi has ever done but he succeeded.

Babban in ‘Ishqiya’ (2010)
Warsi had a rugged and a very raw look in the film. He had eyeliner in his eyes, a long moustache and was dressed in jeans with his shirt half buttoned.

His role was of a con man who along with his uncle (Naseeruddin Shah) did whatever they could to make money and not get killed at the same time. His character was full of mischief and didn’t mind a bit of romance when he could get the chance, sadly that is what seems to get him and his uncle into trouble every time. Babban and his uncle seem more like friends due to the way they speak with one another they’re very laid back.

Warsi’s role was appreciated so much that he was nominated for the IIFA and Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actor category. His hard work paid off as he won the Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

The film was such a success that later a sequel was made called ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ in 2014 which saw Madhuri Dixit and Huma Qureshi join the cast.

Shaan in ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ (2007)
It was the first football film of its kind in Bollywood. Set in Southall a group of South Asian men have a passion for football and regularly play matches against other teams however their love for the sport isn’t enough to help them win a match. The local people see them as a joke and don’t class them as a serious football team. Shaan (Warsi) who is the captain realises he alone can’t help the team and needs serious help or else they will lose the chance to ever play football again.

Warsi was seen playing more of a serious role his character had leadership qualities and he was the one that others could look up to. It was refreshing to see Warsi move away from his usual comical roles and try something different. He was able to pull off the role very well and was very convincing that he was a football player. As well as being a football player he was a protective brother and a loving husband. There were many different shades to his character in the film. Overall his performance was very entertaining.

BizAsiaLive.com wishes Arshad Warsi happy birthday and all the best for his upcoming film ‘Golmaal Again’.