Koimoi Reader Anuj Radia, who had earlier written – 6 Bollywood Movies That Missed The Oscar Train, 5 Relationship Mediators In Karan Johar’s Movies, Big Brother vs Bigg Boss, has once again written an interesting feature on Bollywood’s significant Principals. Read here:
Singing, dancing, pranks and melodramatic students seem to be the super – hit formula for a Hindi college movie. Nevertheless, it seems that in every college movie, there is always a dean who essays a humorous/negative and a pivotal role in the lives of the protagonists. So here is a tribute to all the principals!
1. Mr. Malhotra Of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Played By Anupam Kher
When we talk of College deans, the first name that comes to mind is Anupam Kher as Mr. Malhotra in Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The quirky character initially provided comic relief. For instance, many of his dialogues such as “I said no short-skirts in this college please!” became memorable. Furthermore, his flirtatious relationship with Miss. Briganza (Archana Puran Singh) enhanced the comical quotients of the movie. The fact that he played the role of Tina’s (Rani Mukerji) father, who accepted her and Rahul’s marriage, his character became a significant part of the love story. Even after Tina’s demise, the role continued to help little Anjali (Sana Saeed) patch up Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) with Anjali Sharma (Kajol).
2. Narayan Shankar Of ‘Mohabbatein’ Played By Amitabh Bachchan
“Parampara, Prathishtha, Anushasan. Yeh teeno Gurukul ke niyam hai.” Remember this dialogue from Mohabbatein? These were the words uttered by the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, who essayed the role of the austere Principal, Narayan Shankar. In a way, Narayan Shankar was a negative role as he was strongly against Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) and Megha’s (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) relationship. In fact, the situation became so serious that Megha committed suicide. A few years later, Raj Aryan returned to Gurukul to challenge Narayan Shankar’s principals… But this time as a music teacher, promoting love. Due to Mr. Bachchan’s power-packed performance, the character of Narayan Shankar became immensely popular.
3. Three Most Famous Roles Played By Boman Irani
When we talk of college deans, how can we forget about Boman Irani? Let’s take a look at three big movies in which Mr. Irani portrayed the role of a principal:
a) J. Asthana Of Munna Bhai MBBS
The movie narrates the story of a goon, Murli Prasad Sharma aka Munnabhai (Sanjay Dutt) who wants to really pursue his father’s dream of becoming a doctor. However, he gets an admission in Dr. Asthana’s college… A man who hates Murli.
So the originality of Dr. Asthana’s character was his laughing after he got angry… As laughter therapy lessens blood pressure. The character was comic and negative at the same time. Moreover, the role was prominent throughout the movie… Even more so, as Murli falls in love with his daughter, Suman aka Chinky (Gracy Singh)!
b) Main Hoon Na’s Principal
Main Hoon Na was Farah Khan’s debut as a director, and that too starring Shah Rukh Khan. In the film he plays a soldier, disguised as a college student in pursuit of his step-brother Lucky (Zayed Khan).
Boman Irani portrays the quirky dean of a college in Darjeeling. Specific characteristics such as forgetting things and people, and unknowingly agreeing to things were humorous. Although the character was there to provide comic relief, it nevertheless made the audience enjoy his screen presence.
c) Viru Sahastrabudhe AKA Virus Of 3 Idiots
In 2009, Hindi cinema’s box office records were broken by this movie. You guessed it right, I’m talking about 3 idiots. This coming-of-age movie depicts the lives of Rancho (Aamir Khan), Farhan (R.Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi), who study at the Imperial College of Engineering. On this journey, they encounter some strange things about life and education.
Mr. Irani played the role of dean Viru Sahastrabudhe (‘Virus’) who dislikes Rancho, he becomes an anti-villain and displayed comical traits… Such as his unusual style of talking and writing with both his hands at the same time. Therefore, the character had quite a pivotal role in the film as he was not only the dean, but also the strict father of Rancho’s love interest, Pia (Kareena Kapoor). Ultimately, we can only say ‘Bhaiya Aal Izz Well!’
4. Rishi Kapoor
Rishi Kapoor, is another versatile actor. From playing the hero during the 70s-80s to playing villainous roles, Mr. Kapoor has shown that he can play any role with perfection. So of course, Rishiji too played the role of a significant dean in the two movies, both of opposite genres.
a) Kucch To Hai’s Professor Bakshi
Anurag Basu’s film was adapted from the 1997 slasher flick, ‘I know what you did last summer’. The movie followed a similar concept… A group of friends are involved in an accident, and the victim haunts them. Rishi Kapoor played a sinister murderous dean, Professor Bakshi… Who ultimately became the victim of the accident and stalks the friends (spooky). Although the movie was not a success, Rishi Kapoor’s performance was very menacingly impressive!
b) Student Of The Year’s Yogendra Vashisht
In SOTY, Rishi Kapoor played the eccentric principal, Yogendra Vashisht, who fancies Coach Shah (Ronit Roy). If we compare this character to the one of Kuch To Hai, it was more comical. Moreover, the quirkiness of the character is what contributed to the success of it. For instance in one scene, the dean walks across the football pitch, despite it being scorching weather, he put up his umbrella. It was eccentric things like this which made the character different. Also, he introduced the SOTY competition in the college. Thus, he became the ultimate dosti/pyaar breaker!
In conclusion, without the deans, I think a Hindi college movie would be completely adhura (incomplete)! I mean the singing, dancing, pranks and romance is all good… But the deans are one of those significant aspects which enhance the film’s quality!
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