Birthday Special: Danny Denzongpa – most stylish villain of them all

If one was to mention this actors name they will remember him as one of the greatest villains in Indian cinema. He has done some positive roles in his time but it was his negative roles that made him the star he is. In fact he was the first choice for the role of Gabbar Singh in ‘Sholay’ (1975) but due to date issues he had to miss out on the role.

25th February marks the birthday of the legendary actor Danny Denzongpa. To mark this occasion BizAsiaLive.com will look back at five of Denzongpa’s roles that saw him in a negative role.

Omar Zafar in ‘Bang Bang’ (2014)
A powerful criminal that wants the Kohinoor and will stop at nothing to get hold of it. He is wanted by the law and at one point is captured by them but with the help of his men he manages to escape.

He is very confident and knows that he can get away with almost anything because he has wealth and a trustworthy team that will help him if need be. When Colonel Viren Nanda (Jimmy Shergill) goes to talk to him he couldn’t care less and seems to make a joke of him.

Omar (Denzongpa) has class as he is often dressed in a coloured jacket and smart trousers. He has a shaved head and likes to wrap a scarf around his neck.

Gajendra in ‘Lajja’ (2001)
He was the richest man in the village and the meanest. Gajendra (Denzongpa) didn’t do anything for anyone unless there was something in it for him. Due to one of his wrong actions he ended up losing one of his hands in an incident but that still didn’t stop him from doing wrong. His younger brother Virendra played by Gulshan Grover was just like him evil and greedy.

Both brothers treated the women in the village badly and they didn’t like it when people in the village praised others.

Denzongpa’s role was full on negative and he played his role so well that one actually hated him.

Kancha Cheena in ‘Agneepath’ (1990)
Kancha (Denzongpa) was a smart businessman who wouldn’t let anyone get in the way of his matters and if someone dare to do so, he would find a way to get rid of his problem. It wouldn’t be wrong if one said that Denzongpa made a stylish villain in this film. He dressed in smart suits with a cravat wrapped around his neck. For accessories he wore stylish sunglasses and flashy watches with his hair slicked back with gel.

The funny thing is that the hero in the film Vijay Dinanath Chauhan (Amitabh Bachchan) praises the villains way of dressing by saying ‘saath mein apne tailor ka bill bhi pejhna, yeh tumhara kapra pehne ka style humko bohat acha laga’(also send the bill for your tailor, I like your style of dressing).

Shera in ‘Andar Bahaar’ (1984)
In the words of Raja (Anil Kapoor) Shera (Denzongpa) is as good as poison. All he cares about is money and he will do anything to get it whether it is through robbery or murder. He has a habit of befriending people so that he can get what he wants, once he has attained what he wants he won’t think twice about ending the persons life no matter how much they’ve helped him.

Denzongpa’s character had a very serious nature who never let his guard down. The stare he gives is very chilling and would scare anyone.

He had a very casual look in this film consisting of a pair of denim jeans and a vest, his hair slicked back with big sideburns.

Randhir in ‘The Burning Train’ (1980)
Ashok (Dharmendra), Vinod (Vinod Khanna) and Randhir (Denzongpa) have all been friends from a young age. Vinod (Khanna) and Randhir (Denzongpa) are the two that have always competed with one another even when they have grown up.

Randhir (Denzongpa) is angered when he learns that Vinod (Khanna) also loves Sheetal (Parveen Babi) who then later marries her. To make matters worse when it comes to a project regarding a Super Express train it is Vinod’s (Khanna) proposal that is chosen which leaves the overconfident Randhir (Denzongpa) bitter.

Unable to handle the rejection he comes up with a plan that will destroy the six years of hard work by Vinod (Khanna) that will destroy the lives of many people.

Denzongpa’s role of Randhir showed how far a person can go to get revenge.

The team at BizAsiaLive.com wishes Danny Denzongpa a happy 70th birthday!