Special delivery

Irrespective of the length of the role, many an artiste has eclipsed the
entire film with a brief role, writes Surendra Miglani

LENGHT does matter. Or so believe the actors of the Hindi film industry. So we often hear about heroes and heroines trying to hog maximum footage in case they are able to dictate terms to filmmakers. In fact, Akshay Kumar has become "famous" for getting his films "restructured" at the editing table. Sometime ago at an awards function an announcer with his tongue firmly in his cheek said Akshay Kumar had won the award for "Best Editor".

Does a role really become great by being long? Several artistes over the years have proved that it is not always so. There are scores of examples of movies where artistes appeared in brief roles (often referred to as "special" or "friendly" appearances) but eclipsed all other accomplished actors. These roles created such a mesmerising effect on the viewers that they helped even mediocre movies make money at the box-office or saved others from turning complete disasters.

Take the case of the Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye which was released in India last year. In the movie, Naseeruuddin Shah appeared for a mere 15 minute or so as a maulvi who deposes in a court case, hitting out at several notions which he feels have actually been misinterpreted in Islam. However, even in that brief role he overshadowed the entire cast comprising Pakistani artistes. Box-office pundits consider Naseeruddin’s role as one of the main factors responsible for taking the movie to the victory post.

Rajkumar Santoshi’s Damini (1983) featured Sunny Deol in a special appearance even though Rishi Kapoor played the male lead. Deol’s appearance as a lawyer who defends a rape victim (Meenakshi Sheshadri) was so powerful that he ended up bagging most of the prestigious awards, including National Award and Filmfare award.

In Mukul Anand’s Aetbaar (1985), Danny did wonders in the role of a police officer who cracks the mystery of Sharat Saxena’s murder.

And remember Amitabh Bachchan in Andhaa Kanoon (1983) who is convicted of a murder he has not committed and who after his release from the jail, kills the "deceased" in a courtroom right in the presence of a judge to prove the "impotence" of the Indian legal system. In that special appearance, he "snatched" the movie from the lead role players Rajnikant and Hema Malini.

In Raj Khosla’s Prem Kahani (1975), Vinod Khanna played a pathan truck driver, Sher Khan, who gives lift to an injured freedom fighter and transports him to the house of a police officer friend of the latter (Shashi Kapoor). He faces police torture who want him to reveal the whereabouts of the revolutionary and in the end sacrifices his life while in police custody.

In Sridhar’s Dharti (1970), Sivaji Ganesan appeared as a revolutionary who sacrifices his life for the sake of his country during India’s freedom struggle. However, even in that special appearance, he left the lead role players Rajinder Kumar and Waheeda Rehman miles behind. The reviews of the movie highlighted Sivaji’s role and exhorted the audiences to see the visit the theatres for that one role, if not for anything else.

Ramesh Sippy’s Andaaz (1971) had Shammi Kapoor and Hema Malini playing the lead roles. Rajesh Khanna appeared in a brief role (remember the song Zindagi ik safar hai suhana), who is killed in a road accident. But that brief role became the highlight of the movie forcing the audiences to turn up to watch the movie again and again. Dilip Kumar played a special (brief) role of a tribal in Phir Kab Milogi (1974) where Vishwajeet and Mala Sinha played the lead but even in that brief appearance, he created a powerful impact. The audiences walked away with those 30 minutes where the thespian appeared.

Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (1973) depicted Om Prakash playing the role of an old man who loses his family after consuming illicit liquor. He tries to "avenge" the deaths by passing on the information about bootleggers to the police so that the latter can take action against the criminals. The character evoked great sympathy and the role left an indelible impression on the minds of the viewers.

"Prem naam hai mera Prem Chopra"! Who can forget the character enacted by Prem Chopra himself in Raj Kapoor’s Bobby (1973)? Even though the actor appeared only in the climax of the film, he walked way with great honours. In fact, in one of his interviews, Prem admitted that this brief role had earned him more fame than any of his full-fledged roles.

In comparison to male actors, there have been fewer cases of female actors touching dizzy heights in small roles.

Mumtaz’s brief role in B.R.Chopra’s Aadmi auar Insaan (1969) helped her earn the epithet of "oomph girl" and even gave a fillip to her career. Her "accidental" meetings (ittefaq) with Dharmendra and dancing to the accompaniment of Zindagi ittefaq hai`85became so popular that the makers of the movie named their next film as Ittefaq.

Padmini Kolhapure played the childhood role of Zeenat Aman in Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram. She appeared only in a few initial reels but ended up registering a big impact on everyone. Even Raj Kapoor was so impressed by her performance that he cast her as the leading lady in his next film Prem Rog (1982).

Raakhee in Sunil Dutt’s Reshma aur Shera (1971) and Nanda in Manoj Kumar’s Shor (1972) proved that a role to be good does not always have to be long.

HOME