5 Films Where ‘Shamshera’ Villain Sanjay Dutt Was Not Celebrated Enough

Sanjay Dutt, the Bollywood actor lovingly known as Sanju baba to his fans, has stirred a tornado of controversies with his personal life throughout his career. He is back on the big screen with Shamshera this year. The actor is essaying the role of the main antagonist, Daroga Shudh Singh, in this Ranbir Kapoor starrer.

Dutt has portrayed the role of a villain in several of his earlier films, including the iconic 1993 Subhash Ghai film Khalnayak, the 1999 film Vaastav, the 2004 Anil Kapoor starrer Musafir, the 2019 historical drama Panipat, and the more recently released pan-India hit KGF Chapter 2, among others.

Dutt’s personal life was way more intriguing to the audience than his career and thus many of his films were overshadowed by the headlines his personal life made. However, he has given numerous hits in his career including Sadak, Naam, Saajan, Munna Bhai MBBS, Loc, among several others.

But today we have curated five films where the actor played the villain's role with gusto and was not celebrated enough.

Inaam Dus Hazaar (1987)

Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic North by Northwest, Dutt plays the role of a salesman in the film. His character was sought by both the police and the crime syndicate. It is said to be one of his most underrated performances where he played a gentle salesman after portraying tough guy roles in a series of films. The film also stars Meenakshi Sheshadri, Gulshan Grover, Amrish Puri, and Raza Murad, among others in pivotal roles.

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Gumrah (1993)

As per media reports, Gumrah sees the actor at his best. The action crime drama film directed by Mahesh Bhatt based on the Australian mini series Bangkok Hilton has Sridevi as the main character and Dutt as a fan who comes to the former’s rescue when she lands in legal trouble. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Reema Lagoo, and Rahul Roy in pivotal roles.

Hathyar (2002)

A sequel to Vaastav, this Hindi action crime drama film portrays Dutt as an extremely good guy who is tempted to do morally dubious things. The film’s opening and climax scenes have been reportedly rankedas the best in the actor’s career until now. Other actors featured in the film include Shilpa Shetty and Sharad Kapoor.

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Kabzaa (1988)

In the 1988 Hindi crime action drama film Kabzaa, Dutt explored an intense role of a young boy who needs to make peace with his conscience. This film happened shortly after the actor’s comeback with filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt’s 1986 Hindi film Naam. The film also stars Raj Babbar, Aloknath, and Paresh Rawal, among others.

Agneepath (2012)

Though the film has been talked about a lot post its release, it was mostly about if it could do enough justice to the 1990 original Agneepath starring Amitabh Bachchan. The conversation mostly centered around if Hrithik Roshan could match up to Big Bachchan. Even though Dutt did get some appreciation for his portrayal of the menacing Kancha Cheena, he should be appreciated more for it.

Now we have to wait and watch if Shamshera can be added to the list of his career best or it is one of those roles that only vaguely comes to mind whenever Dutt’s name is mentioned.