Mahavir Shah

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

Bollywood villains are one of a kind!

Right from the early era of Pran, where he was so hated for his negative characters that Indians stopped naming their children Pran. Whenever Ranjeet and Manmohan would appear on screen, the audience would know that the hero’s sister is not safe. In the ’80s and ’90s, Shakti Kapoor and Gulshan Grover, two handsome guys, made it big and ushered in a certain comical touch to their villainy. Of course, Amjad Khan, Amrish Puri, Danny and Prem Chopra remained the big daddies of the baddie brigade.

Our today’s article is on one such actor, who was not as big as the above-mentioned stars but had the evil streak in his performances to look convincing as the villain. He was Mahavir Shah, the grey eyed handsome baddie of Bollywood. Our readers may know him only for his negative roles but Mahavir was a versatile actor, who got typecast in the Hindi film industry.

Mahavir Shah was born on 5th April, 1960 in a Gujarati family in Mumbai. He was fond of acting from a tender age and started with Gujarati theatre. While doing plays, Shah got a chance to act in Hindi films and his Bollywood debut was at the young age of just seventeen years. The film was 1977 thriller Ab Kya Hoga, starring Shatrughan Sinha and Neetu Singh. Mahavir had a small but a pivotal role in it.

In 1982, Richard Attenborough’s Oscar winning Gandhi showcased the talent of many Indian artists like Rohini Hattangadi, Alok Nath, Om Puri, Saeed Jaffrey, Supriya Pathak, Neena Gupta, Anang Desai, Pankaj Kapur, etc. Mahavir Shah also got an opportunity to be a part of this classic, in which he played a cop.

This character of cop became his alter ego later and Mahavir went on to play the policeman in most movies he worked for the next twenty years. He invariably played the slimy corrupt cop, who is on villain’s side and makes life miserable for the hero.

After Gandhi, Mahavir played some promising roles like the prosecution lawyer in Rajiv Rai’s Yudh (1985). The year 1986 saw N. Chandra making his directorial debut with the runaway hit Ankush. Mahavir Shah played a corrupt industrialist, who rapes the heroine Nisha Singh and is later, avenged by her four unemployed friends. Ankush became a milestone in Shah’s career and he got flooded with offers, mostly secondary villain roles like brother, henchman of the main villain or a corrupt cop.

Mahavir Shah’s next notable role was in Feroz Khan’s Dayavan (1988), where he was pitted opposite the legendary Vinod Khanna and Khan himself. The same year, Shah played the baddie cop in N. Chandra’s blockbuster hit Tezaab and this villainous character got him noticed so much that filmmakers typecast him in that role. In practically every movie after Tezaab, Mahavir played the bad cop.

Most of the films signed by Mahavir Shah featured a stellar star cast and earned big bucks at the box office. These include Paap Ka Ant (1989), Azaad Desh Ke Gulam (1990), Police Public (1990), Baaghi (1990), Thanedaar (1990), Narsimha (1991), Shola Aur Shabnam (1991), Tirangaa (1993), Aankhen (1993), Gurudev (1993), Phool Aur Angaar (1993), Raja Babu (1994), Jai-Kishen (1994), Coolie No.1 (1995), Sapoot (1996), Judge Mujrim (1997), Yes Boss (1997), Mehndi (1998), Kachche Dhaage (1999), Baadshah (1999) and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000). Apart from these negative roles, Shah also played positive characters in Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai (1990),100 Days (1991) and Hum Dono (1995).

Judwaa (1997) and Haseena Maan Jaayegi (1999) are the only two movies, where Shah played a cop but didn’t have a negative character. In Judwaa, he played a fearless policeman pitted against Mukesh Rishi, who kills him in public. This was his most memorable character in a positive role.

Apart from Bollywood movies and theatre, Mahavir Shah also worked in Gujarati films. He is best remembered for Amdavad No Rickshawalo (1990). He also appeared in television serials like Suraag, Marshall, Dastaan and above all, The Zee Horror Show. Mahavir Shah’s career was well balanced between films, television and theatre. He had a bright future in front of him.

Unfortunately, destiny had some other plan for him. On 31 August, 2000, at the peak of his career, Mahavir Shah passed away in a road accident at Chicago, Illinois. Shah was on US tour with his family and Gujarati theatre troupe at the time of this accident.

There were some reports that time that Mahavir was drunk when he met with the accident and drove to the other side of the road, which caused the mishap. This is totally wrong. In reality, Mahavir’s vehicle was knocked down from behind by a bigger car, which made him lose control. He actually escaped unhurt but rushed out of the car to see whether his family and the artists are safe. At that moment, another speeding car came and knocked him down. Mahavir Shah died at the age of just forty years.