From an Era where only a certain Amrish Puri and Amjad Khan were hailed as master villains, playing prime antagonists to lead heroes in almost every other Bollywood film, the industry has definitely come a long way ahead. While most prefer the stereotype black and white characters to comply with, there are certain heroes who still opt for the thing in between and beyond – the grey. Mysterious and mystic as the colour tempts to be, the negative hero has always ruled most our hearts and for solid reasons!

The irregularity that a certain grey shade brings in a character is spellbinding. From the lead heroes who have gone all mainstream trying their hands at playing the negative with aplomb, we have some really brilliant negative acts that enthralled us throughout the year.

John Abraham in a still from Race 2

A villain who looks better than a hero, has a chiseled body and oozes sex appeal like no other! Difficult to imagine but easier to accept as we had John taking up the reins in Race 2! History has it that John, who had otherwise been shunned by critics for his one and half expressions in all his roles, had scored magic whenever he ditched the black-n-white turned towards the grey. Be it Dhoom or the iconic Zinda, both left us open-mouthed with his superlative portrayal of the negative! And with Race 2, John turned a stylish villain, all set to rob our hearts a little more than what Saif Ali Khan did with his heroic maneuvers. Conniving manipulations, betrayals and surprising twists: John had us in awe as he perfected his negative role with Race 2! And given the ending, we just hope to have John back in the series a third time around. Why not!

Sonu Sood in a still from Shootout At Wadala

More than his name, he was more famous as the capricious Chhedi Singh from Dabangg. Until a Shooutout at Wadala happened! Sonu had his dream role as he went all out to portray the cunning and malicious Dawood Ibrahim on screen. With a graceful amount of finesse, Sonu sod pulled out a brilliant performance as he marveled as the villain. If Shooutout at Wadala did work, it wasn’t just the hero’s one sided game. Sonu played a huge role and the effects were visible.

Ronit Roy in a still from Boss

He wowed us in Udaan and he certainly was the best thing about this mindlessly sloppy masala film. Ronit Roy powered the performance level up by eons as he brilliantly brought out the beast in him to full throttle by combating Akshay Kumar in one of the grueling climaxes ever seen. While Akshay failed to rise upto the expectations, courtesy his miserable acting flak, it was Ronit who single handedly tried his best to make Boss a paisa vasool entertainer that it sought out to be. Outperforming the lead by miles, Ronit definitely deserves a place in this coveted list, for sure!

Vivek Oberoi in still form Krrish 3

While most of us shunned the film because of its tacky outline and a good-gone-bad screenplay, Vivek Oberoi served as the saving grace. Although his character was rather a facsimile from numerous Hollywood entertainers, Vivek managed to infuse life into menacing Kaal with consummate ease. No villain had the power to have made such a vivid effect by just being entangled to the wheelchair, throughout the major portions of the film. But when the mastermind decided to do so, he struck gold. Kaal, definitely a lifetime performance by Vivek Oberoi, somehow managed to pack in the right punches the film needed! Forget Krrish 3, its time for a Kaal series, maybe?

Jaideep Ahlawat in a still from Commando

Enthralling the audiences, Jaideep Ahlawat zoomed into the category without much a do as he let his villainous AK do all the talking. Ominous and intimidating, Jaideep’s stares can give lumps in the throat and his no-eyeball look added to the gravitas. While we hardly have our villain perfect their look (last we rightfully remember was a Kancha Cheena) we had Jaideep going all out to make AK a bewitching watch. Plus, the gibberish Santa Banta jokes that he cracked elevated the fun element as well.

Prakash Raj in a still from Singh Saab The Great

Definitely the next Amrish Puri of this generation, Prakash Raj, who was rather subdued in all his previous outings made a strong and staggering comeback with a stellar performance as Bhoodev in this Anil Sharma flick. Dooning the role of a corrupt politician and taking it through the meanders of being sly to manipulative and ruthless at the same time, Prakash Raj delivered an astounding performance. Plus the way the film turns the bad guy Bhoodev back on the right tracks was worth applauding. As we sign off there is one request to Prakash ji. Can we have more Singh Saab and Singhams and less of Dabanggs and the Policegiris, please?

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