It Takes All Kinds to Make 70s Bollywood Leading Men
By Nina Patel

The 70s were a booming period for Bollywood, a time in which heros ranged from dapper and debanoir to dark and angry. Four men in particular epitomized the mood of the moment, including the indomitable Amitabh Bachan. For these actors, everything from the hair to the clothes, the demeanor to the dialogue lent itself perfectly to the kind of hero they have since come to represent. Compared to present day Bollywood, the 70s offered a far larger variety of protagonists played to exquisite perfection by actors who understood that the hero is as much a flawed man as the knight in shining armor.

Dev Anand - Dapper and Debanoir
Dev Anand was the poster child of the handsome and suave urban gentleman. "Dev Anand's forte was the boy next door. Part lover, part clown, part do-gooder," raves one critic. His mannerisms were delicate, his dialogue musical and his clothes smacked of old world grace. But he was really known for his utter nonchalance when playing any role, a performance so distant and soft that it would have made any Russian ballerina proud. The charming arm's length Anand always kept from the audience helped him make the girls swoon without disturbing a single hair in the puff on his head.




Shashi Kapoor - Sensitive Lovin'
Shashi Kapoor always struck one as someone who had just got off the plane after a few years at Cambridge University. The sensitive British type, he was infinitely graceful and his handsomeness was porcelain and wonderful. He looked great in white, whether it was a starched kurti pajama, or a shirt with tight trousers. Kapoor usually played the civilized, educated young man pained by the injustices of the world and epitomized the slightly bewildered aristocrat who always managed to come to the rescue.

Amitabh Bachan - Angry Young Man
In utter contrast to the nonchalance of Dev Anand and white purity of Shashi Kapoor was the dark, angry young man played by the rugged Amitabh Bachan. Talk, dark and handsome with a deep voice that left his virility in no doubt, Bachan's repeating role as the angry young man catapulted him to superstardom. At every step, his grimy clothes, his long legs in bell bottoms and his unkempt hair complimented his intense glair and scowl, as he battled state and system with cynical resentment.



Feroz Khan - Bad-Ass Dude
Feroz Khan had the looks and he had the body. So he decided to not only act but also direct films in which he epitomized the kind of hero that relied mostly on looks and body. His movies are considered kitsch classics of action films. His shirt unbuttoned atop tight fitting trousers, Khan tried his hand at all kinds of action films including the Bollywood equivalent of Westerns. All the while, he had a cigarette dangling from his lips, a beautiful damsel in distress and a horse waiting at his beck and call. But Khan played the kind of hero that wasn't really bothered by the subtleties of life as long as the reflection in the mirror looked good.