JLF 2022: Hindi Film Villians with Bajpayee, Vittal

The second day of the Jaipur Literature Festival started rather 'wicked' with a discussion of the book ' Pure Evil: The Bad Men Of Bollywood' with the author Balaji Vittal and Actor Manoj Bajpayee.

In pure evil, Vittal examines, in delicious details, the misdeeds of gangsters, the sly relative, the corrupt policeman, and the psycho killer!

In conversation with speaker Pragya Tiwari, Bajpayee talked about his iconic role of 'Bhiku Mhatre' in Ram Gopal Varma's critically acclaimed 1998 crime film 'Satya' which opened up doors of fame for the actor in Bollywood. 

"Bhiku Mhatre was dangerous because he was emotional and vulnerable. I never looked at him from the eyes of evil and villainy. But I actually pitied him. He never thought from his brain, but his heart, always," said Bajpayee.

He further added, "Till you know the evil intentions of a man, he is just a common man like all of us sitting here."

Balaji Vittal talked about the evolution of villains and how the definition of nationalism shifts with the ever-changing dynamics of society.

He said, "Cinema reflects what is happening in society. Before 1947, villains were Britishers but only metaphorical. Then smuggling and mafia came into place. Before 1970, politicians, policemen were good people, and after the 70s  they were downright criminals. It all directly reflects how society is functioning."

He further talked about how the cinema has evolved,  as villains are now seen as humans before being evil. "Backstory matters. Now, each villain has a backstory, a trauma, that thrived him to villainy. How villain became villain," said Vittal.

Talking about his character of Sardar Khan, the immoral womanizer in the movie Gangs of Wasseypur, Bajpayee said, "I decided I'm not going to make him just a killer, but a person who is addicted to sex. A villain so hyper-sexual,  he can give up killing for sex. A reluctant mafia guy."

Villains are ever-changing in the wide spectrum of cinema and will evolve as time passes.