It’s not a secret that Bollywood, on multiple occasions, has promoted toxic characters as its heroes. The characters, who should have been shamed for being toxic and misogynistic, were celebrated as heroes. But, not just with heroes, Bollywood makes mistakes with their villains too.
Yes, there are some male characters, who were promoted as villains but they weren’t. We hated them so passionately because we were so blinded by the charm or sob stories of the main lead. Don’t get us wrong, these characters were definitely flawed. But, labelling them as sadistic villains would be wrong.
We hated and loathed these male characters when we first watched them. However, after growing up and being a bit flawed ourselves, we realized that they were actually not that evil and had a reason to be the way they were.
Here are these selected male characters, who were hated by everyone but in fact, are highly misunderstood.
1. Anshuman from Jab We Met
Okay, we all hated Anshuman – Geet’s boyfriend. But did he deserve all that hate? We rewatched all the scenes where either Geet or Anshuman are talking about their relationship. And neither of them ever bring up the topic of marriage as a mutual decision. It is always “Meri shaadi,” “Main toh bhaag rahi hoon” and never “Anshuman aur main….” Even when Aditya berates him for letting Geet go, Anshuman says that he never wanted marriage in the first place.
Geet didn’t even give him an idea that she was taking such a huge step. Rather than discussing it with him, Geet surprised him by showing up at his place of work. And, dropped a bombshell on him that she has run away from home to elope with him. Seriously?
Anshuman not only answered Geet’s calls from Manali but also advised her to return home. What more could he have done? Should he have kept on dating her, knowing what she all wanted was to get married? Should he have gotten married to her despite not being fully happy with it or not being in a financial position to do so, because of Geet’s immature decisions?
In one particular scene, Aditya tells Anshuman that he broke Geet’s dream world despite knowing all that she had left behind for him. But, was that even a valid argument?
2. Chatur Ramalingam from 3 Idiots
Okay, Chatur had his flaws. We all have seen classmates who would try really hard to be the teacher’s pet or make sure they get the highest marks. But do we really need to hate Chatur? He was definitely better than Rancho, who had not only committed identity fraud but also got his friends expelled (while he topped all exams). And, how could we even forget how Rancho turned Chatur’s speech into a disgusting rape joke. If you want to hate someone, hate Rancho.
3. Subodh from Dil Chahta Hai
Dil Chahta Hai had a major problem when it celebrated its problematic character Akash as a hero. But, it had another issue when it made us hate Subodh. No one ever wanted to be Subodh or date a Subodh or have him as a friend because he was stuck-up, the human form of a time-table. But, did he deserve so much hate?
Subodh was someone who genuinely cared about Pooja. From remembering important dates to taking Pooja out on romantic outings to tolerating Sameer who mocked him, Subodh was a progressive and caring boyfriend who deserved better.
4. Narayan Shankar from Mohabbatein
Every time we watch Mohabbatein, we tend to hate Raj more than Narayan Shankar. Yes, in fact, Narayan Shankar was actually not that bad. He was a strict father but he really loved his daughter. And, he grieved her loss. But, stupid Raj kept on portraying him as heartless and kept blaming him for his daughter’s death. Who does that to a grieving father? Seriously, who does that?
Narayan Shakar was the principal of a reputed boys’ boarding school. How could he allow his students to break hostel gates and eve-tease girls on Holi? On the other hand, what kind of teacher Raj was? He manipulated his students for his own selfish motives and encouraged them to focus on love affairs than studies!
5. Dr J. Asthana from Munna Bhai M.B.B.S
Okay, we do agree that how he insulted Munna’s parents was entirely wrong. But would you label him as evil?From running a hospital to maintaining discipline as dean while managing a gangster who cheated on an exam, can you really blame him for acting the way he acted?
Even in real life, any doctor would agree with Dr. Asthana. We got him wrong, he wasn’t the bad guy!
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