<p align="left"><b><span class="headline">Abbas- Mustan's Heroes play Villain</span></b></p>
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<span class="normal">They are the 'Men in White' of Bollywood who have
given us some of the best thrillers over the last decade and a half. We
are talking about none other than the director duo of Abbas-Mustan.
Right from their first big hit <i>Khiladi</i> to their most recent flick
<i>Race</i> (which opens across cinemas this week), they have been the
true <i>Baadshah-s</i> of the suspense-thriller genre. The director duo
is also responsible for starting a new trend in Bollywood where in the
conventional hero started playing the villain. When it comes to an
Abbas-Mustan film, you never know which character is black, which
character is white or which character is grey. <b>Desi Tv Forum</b>
takes a look at those actors in some of Abbas-Mustan's best films who
didn't mind defying the stereotype and playing a character the audience
simply loved to hate.<br>
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<b>Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar</b><br>
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Just as Shah Rukh Khan was slowly making his mark in Bollywood with
films like <i>Deewana</i> and <i>Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman</i>,
Abbas-Mustan decided to give him the role of a lifetime in the 1993
super-hit <i>Baazigar</i>. However, there was a slight twist to the tale
as SRK would have to play a person with negative traits (a strict no-no
for any conventional hero in those days). Shah Rukh did take up the
challenge and the rest as they say is history. His mysterious dual
identity in <i>Baazigar</i> as the bespectacled Ajay Sharma and the
suave Vicky Malhotra took everyone by shock and surprise. Very few
conventional heroes would agree to throw their leading lady from the
terrace of a high-rise but SRK did it with ease and in the most
convincing manner. With <i>Baazigar</i> striking gold at the box-office,
SRK followed up his menacing act in films like <i>Darr</i> and <i>Anjaam</i>
and suddenly playing the bad guy was considered as cool. </span></td>
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<p class="normal" align="left"><span class="normal"><b>Arbaaz Khan in Daraar</b><br>
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Salman's younger brother Arbaaz made his debut with Abbas-Mustan's thriller, <i>
Daraar</i>, in the year 1996. Unlike conventional heroes, Arbaaz Khan started
his Bollywood career with a dark, negative character of an over-possessive,
psychotic, wife-beating husband. Surely he must have thought if Shah Rukh 'Khan'
can do it, why can't I? <br>
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The movie which starred Juhi Chawla as Arbaaz's tortured wife and Rishi Kapoor
as the hero didn't exactly set the cash registers ringing. However, Arbaaz's
villainous act did fetch him the coveted Filmfare Award and that too for Best
Villain. </span></p>
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<p class="normal" align="left"><span class="normal"><b>Akshay Kumar in Ajnabee</b><br>
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Abbas-Mustan brought to the Indian screen the hitherto unexplored topic of
wife-swapping with their 2001 thriller <i>Ajnabee</i>. The film which marked
sexy siren Bipasha Basu's debut in Bollywood also starred Akshay Kumar, Bobby
Deol and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles. The story of two couples (Akshay -
Bipasha) and (Bobby - Kareena) set in the scenic locales of Switzerland,
actually takes off during the intermission point when, after a night of
wife-swapping, Bipasha Basu is found murdered and Bobby Deol is framed. You keep
guessing what's gonna happen next in this slick thriller. However, the surprise
package of this suspense thriller is Akshay Kumar's portrayal as a shrewd and
cunning man. No one could have guessed that the 'seedha-saadha' Akshay would do
a complete U-turn with this role. But as we said it earlier, you never know
what's in store in an Abbas-Mustan thriller. What's more the 'Khiladi' Kumar
even bagged a Filmfare award for the Best Villain for this role. </span></p>
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<p class="normal" align="left"><span class="normal"><b>Akshaye Khanna in Humraaz</b><br>
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<i>Humraaz</i> starring Bobby Deol, Amisha Patel and Akshaye Khanna was
initially talked about for its chartbusting music with some rocking tracks like
Bardaasht. However once the film released in 2002, it was Akshaye Khanna's
superlative performance that became the talk of the town. The film, a love
triangle with a suspense element to it had Akshaye's character change colors
like a chameleon and it was difficult to predict what would happen in the next
scene. In the end, the audiences got their money's worth and Akshaye got some
awards and rewards from one and all for his suave performance. </span></p>
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<p class="normal" align="left"><span class="normal"><b>Priyanka Chopra in
Aitraaz</b><br>
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Abbas- Mustan surely gave a fillip to many actors' careers by casting them as
negative characters in their suspense thrillers. However, they even didn't leave
the actresses behind. The director-duo's film <i>Aitraaz</i> had Akshay Kumar
and Kareena Kapoor playing the main lead but it was Priyanka Chopra who proved
to be the dark horse once the film released in 2004. The sexy siren didn't
hesitate playing the role of (the much older) Amrish Puri's wife in this
engrossing drama. Cast in a challenging role with grey shades, Priyanka proved
her mettle as the temptress 'Sonia Roy' who would go to any extent to get the
man she wants. Priyanka was the unanimous choice to receive the Filmfare Best
Villain award that year. In fact, soon after this film, the Akshay- Priyanka
jodi became the talk of the town and provided some fodder for gossip-mongers.
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<p class="normal" align="left"><span class="normal"><b>Bobby Deol in Naqaab</b><br>
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Abbas Mustan's most recent release <i>Naqaab</i> was not a match considering
their earlier suspense thrillers. The director duo tried to recreate the <i>
Humraaz</i> magic again by roping in Bobby Deol and Akshaye Khanna along with
newcomer Urvashi Sharma in this suspense thriller. However, they failed to
create any magic this time around as the plot of the film left the viewers
confused. While in <i>Humraaz</i>, Akshaye played the negative role, the
director duo decided to experiment slightly and gave Bobby's character some grey
shades in this flick. Although Bobby did try his best to infuse life into his
role, the audience wasn't as interested and excited this time around and <i>
Naqaab</i> proved to be a damp squib at the box-office. </span></p>
Abbas- Mustan's Heroes play Villain
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