Iconic Bollywood Characters Who Had Their Own Spin-Offs
Posted On: 30 Jan 2023 | Last Updated : 02 Oct 2024 | Views : 1.0k
Defined as storytelling, a movie is not just an allegory of the lead characters, where supporting characters have equal importance in the story, and Bollywood has time and again proved the importance of the supporting characters within the movie. Many times, supporting characters have received equal or even more love from the cineaste in Bollywood, which has been the main reason that motivated the filmmakers to come up with spin-off movies or prequels showing the story of beloved characters, who were merely supporting characters in previous films. A spin-off is a completely different concept from a remake, sequel, or prequel of the movie, which has a completely different storyline, but somehow manages to link the storyline with one of the original movies. In the age of web series or web shows, the concept has gained significant importance, but in Bollywood, this concept has been in existence since the 1970s. After the success of the cult classic, Sholay, released in 1975, the cine-goers fell in love with every character of the movie and were even excited to see the story of every character associated with it. So, today we are going to talk about the supporting characters who became leads in spin-off movies.
1. Victoria No. 203 (1972) - Raja Aur Rana (1984)
One of the best comedy movies of the 1970s, Victoria No. 203, directed and produced by Brij, starred Navin Nischol, Saira Banu, Pran, Ashok Kumar, Ranjeet, Anwar Hussain and M. B. Shetty, etc. This comedy drama is about a treasure hunt, which revolves around stolen diamonds. A thief leaves a pouch filled with stolen diamonds, and gets brutally wounded when he tries to double cross his gang. However, before dying he leaves some clues for two men, named Raja and Rana, to find the diamonds.
The 1984 film Raja Aur Rana featured Pran and Ashok Kumar in the role of Raja and Rana respectively. The movie was a spin-off of Victoria No. 203 (1972), which featured the same actors in the role. However, the movie follows the story of an honest cop named Ranbir Singh, and his friend, Rajinder, who go undercover with Raja and Rana respectively to catch a criminal named Teja. The movie is the retelling of Raja and Rana’s friendship and their transformation.
2. Sholay (1975) - Gabbar Singh (1976 / 2007)
The 1975 cult classic Sholay, directed by Ramesh Sippy, was an action drama set in the village of Ramgarh, which is terrorised by the dacoit named Gabbar Singh (Amjad Khan). A man named Thakur Baldev Singh (Sanjeev Kumar), who was an ex-cop, lost his entire family because of the dacoit, who killed everyone. Since their death, Thakur has only one mission to kill the culprit. He hires two ex-convicts, Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) and Veeru (Dharmendra) to catch Gabbar Singh alive and bring him to him, so that he can kill him.
M. Karnan’s 1976 action-drama Gabbar Singh was the spin-off of Sholay, which features S. A. Ashokan in the lead role of dacoit Gabbar Singh. The movie is the retelling of notorious villain Gabbar Singh, who is responsible for terrorising and ruining the lives of the villagers at Ramgarh. Thus, by featuring in the movie, Gabbar Singh became one of the top Bollywood characters who became leads in spin-off movies.
Another spin-off movie with the same title was Kanti Shah’s Gabbar Singh that released in 2007. This revenge drama starring Amit Pachori, Shiva Rindani and Sapna Sappu revolved around the dreaded dacoit Gabbar Singh along with a female dacoit named Ram Katori.
3. Sholay (1975) - Soorma Bhopali (1988)
The 1975 Sholay is one of the best movies in Bollywood that soon received the title of being cult classic. The amount of love it received from the audience made it one of the most exceptional movies of all time. Another important attribute of the movie is that director Ramesh Sippy ensured to bring best out of every character in the movie, which made every character in the movie so lovable and extraordinary. In fact, it seemed like every character of the movie deserved his/her own spin-off movie, and some of them succeeded in having it.
One such character of the movie, Soorma Bhopali, played by Jagdeep, was one of the funniest and lovable characters of the movie. Jagdeep got so much fame and love for his character that he decided to make a movie based on the character and became one of the iconic supporting characters who became leads in spin-off movies. In 1988, Jagdeep directed the comedy drama Soorma Bhopali, featuring himself, that follows the story of an ignorant yet funny character Soorma Bhopali, who innocently lets others take advantage of his ill-wit, but manages to make every situation hilarious.
4. Sholay (1975) - Basanti Tangewali (1992)
Ramesh Sippy’s 1975 action drama Sholay is definitely one of the best films Bollywood has ever had, which is regarded as one of the most important movies of every actor and crew member associated with the movie. One of the best things about the movie was the way every character was written for the movie. The character of Basanti, played by actress Hema Malini in the movie, became one of the most iconic and loved characters of the movie.
The 1992 action-drama Basanti Tangewali, directed by Kanti Shah, takes its inspiration from Basanti’s character in Sholay, which made Basanti, one of the iconic Bollywood characters who became leads in spin-off movies. The movie follows the story of Basanti, played by actress Ekta Sohini, who lives in a village terrorised by a dacoit. After being wronged by the dacoit and his men, Basanti decides to take revenge and transforms herself to fight the dacoit.
5. Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) - Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)
David Dhawan’s 2002 action romantic drama Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin follows the story of a gangster named Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt), who falls in love with a young beautiful girl named Komal (Aishwarya Rai). However, Munna must deal with a lot of problems and challenges to be with Komal. First and foremost, he must prove his worth to her father Dr. Rastogi (Amitabh Bachchan), who is highly protective of his sister; additionally, he must compete with her lover Raja (Ajay Devgn).
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, the 2003 action-comedy drama Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. is identified as one of the best films of Sanjay Dutt’s career. The movie follows the story of a gangster named Munna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt), who decides to get into a medical college to fulfil his father’s dream to see him as a doctor. By hook and crook, he manages to get into the college, and is helped by his ally Circuit (Arshad Warsi). Meanwhile, Munna also tries to locate his childhood friend, Chinki, who happens to be the daughter of the director of the college. He faces many ups and downs and builds significant relationships with the people in the college and hospital, and manages to make everyone love him incredibly.
The character of Munna is believed to take the inspiration from Munna Bhai of 2002 film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, yet the two characters have totally different backstories. Some elements common between the two characters include the two being gangsters and are in love with the daughter of renowned doctors.
6. LOC Kargil (2003) - Shershaah (2021)
The 2003 action war drama, LOC Kargil directed by J.P. Dutta, takes its inspiration from Indian Army’s successful Operation Vijay which was launched in 1999. The Indian army climbed up the heights of the Kargil sector to strategically flush out Pakistani intruders from the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC). A fierce battle ensues between India and Pakistan, which led to the death of many soldiers, lieutenants, and captains within the Indian army; however, at last, India won the battle.
Director Vishnuvardhan’s action romantic war drama Shershaah is inspired by the life of one of the most important soldiers, Capt. Vikram Batra, in India and Pakistan’s Kargil War of 1999. In LOC Kargil (2003), the character was played by actor Abhishek Bachchan, while in 2021 Shershaah, the character was played by actor Sidharth Malhotra. Capt. Vikram Batra was a young man full of dreams, who was in love with a beautiful young girl Dimple (Kiara Advani) and planned to marry her soon. He joins the Indian army, and soon after joining the army, he climbs the ladder of success and reaches high ranks in the army. He significantly contributed to the Kargil War between India and Pakistan in 1999 and lost his life, which left his lover Dimple devastated. However, Dimple decides to live her remaining life with the sweet memories of her relationship with Vikram.
7. Tashan (2008) - Bachchhan Paandey (2022)
The 2008 action-comedy drama, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, follows the story of four outcast people, with unique personalities, namely Bachchan Pandey (Akshay Kumar), Pooja ‘Guddiya’ (Kareena Kapoor), Jeetendra ‘Jimmy’ (Saif Ali Khan) and Lakhan ‘Bhaiyaji’ (Anil Kapoor). The four set out to find the suitcase containing ₹25 crore that has been hidden by a gangster and its discovery will transform the lives of all four of them.
The 2022 action-comedy drama Bachchhan Paandey, directed by Farhad Samji, features Akshay Kumar in the titular role of Bachchhan Paandey, the character takes its inspiration from the 2008 film Tashan’s character with the same name; thus, becoming one of the Bollywood movies characters who became leads in spin-off movies. Even though the two characters have different stories, they have the same personalities. Bachchhan Paandey of the 2022 film is a notorious gangster, who is followed by a budding film director, Myra (Kirti Sanon), who wishes to make a movie inspired by gangster’s life. Bachchhan Paandey and his henchmen decide to get Myra killed when she learns about the murder committed by the gangster, but he decides to spare her life if she lets him act as a protagonist in the movie. The movie transforms Bachchan’s life and he experiences a change of heart and finally reunites with his mother after years.
8. Kahaani (2012) - Bob Biswas (2021)
Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 thriller drama Kahaani follows the story of a young pregnant woman named Vidya Bagchi, played by Vidya Balan, who travels to Kolkata to find her missing husband, and finds the help of a young cop named Inspector Satya (Parambrata Chatterjee). However, despite trying her best, time and again, Vidya ends up at a dead end. She encounters a serial killer Bob Biswas (Saswata Chatterjee), who kills important people, who might have some information about her husband, and now plans to kill Vidya as well. Vidya manages to escape him, but realises that there is more than what the eyes can see.
The 2021 thriller crime drama Bob Biswas, directed by Diya Annapurna Ghosh, is the spin off of 2012 Kahaani. The movie is inspired by an important character in the movie, Bob Biswas, one of the side characters who became leads in spin off movies. In the 2021 film, the character is played by actor Abhishek Bachchan. Bob Biswas is an assassin, who comes out of coma after years and has difficulty recalling his real identity. However, after great struggle, Bob Biswas puts together the memories of his past life and realizing the truth is caught up in the moral dilemma.
9. Baby (2015) - Naam Shabana (2017)
Neeraj Pandey’s action thriller drama Baby revolves around an elite team from the Indian Intelligence team that sets out to target and eliminate the terrorist group and fail their evil plans. The team named Baby is led by Officer Ajay (Akshay Kumar), and comprises Shabana (Taapsee Pannu), Jai (Rana Daggubati) and Shukla (Anupam Kher). Baby is all set to destroy a potential lethal terrorist operation and capture the mastermind behind such activities and attacks.
The 2017 action drama Naam Shabana, directed by Shivam Nair, is the spin-off or prequel of 2015 film Baby, which follows the story of one of the characters in the movie, Shabana Khan, played by Taapsee Pannu. Shabana’s boy-friend dies, when he tries to protect Shabana from some gangsters. Later, Shabana gets a call from the people who offer her help to avenge the death of her friend in return for joining and helping Indian Intelligence team on one of the important missions to stop terrorist attack. The movie aims at telling the backstory of Shabana and her transformation from a simple girl to one of the best agents of the Indian Intelligence System.
10. The Xpose (2014) - Badass RaviKumar (2023)
The 2014 thriller drama The Xpose revolved around two rivaling actresses, Zara and Chandni of Bollywood. After the mysterious death of actress Zara, Chandni becomes the prime suspect of the murder, as she was the only one who had a purpose to kill the actress. However, Chandni continues to claim to be innocent. It is then to Ravi Kumar (Himesh Reshammiya) who steps in to help Chandni clear her name and prove her innocence.
Directed by Himesh Reshammiya, the 2023 film Badass RaviKumar, featuring himself in the titular role, is the spin-off of the 2014 film The Xpose. The movie tells the backstory of one of the important characters from the movie, Ravi Kumar, who helps actress Chandni to prove her innocence and expose the truth.
11. Bindiya Aur Bandook (1973) - Ranga Khush (1975)
Director Shibu Mitra’s dacoit drama, Bindiya Aur Bandook, starring Kiran Kumar, Asha Sachdev, and Joginder Shelly (as Ranga Daku), was surprisingly a sleeper hit of 1973. Joginder played one of the dirtiest and scariest evil villains on screen who became famous for his unique laughter and dialogue -- 'Ranga Khush'.
Taking a cue from Bindiya Aur Bandook’s success, Joginder produced and directed a Bollywood spin-off movie titled Ranga Khush in 1975, where he played the same character as the evil dacoit. Joginder’s dacoit role eventually became his acting trademark in most films. He later played the same character in Kasam Durga Ki (1982), Ganga Aur Ranga (1994), and Bindiya Aur Bandook 2 (2003).
12. Purana Mandir (1984) - Saamri 3D (1985)
Ramsay brothers’ (Shyam Ramsay and Tulsi Ramsay) horror flick Purana Mandir, starring Mohnish Bahl and Aarti Gupta, was one of the most successful movies of 1984, where the horrifying demon in the film was named 'Saamri' (played by Anirudh Agarwal).
Following the success of Purana Mandir, the Ramsay brothers took a leaf out of it and used the same monster character of ‘Saamri’ (again played by Anirudh Agarwal) for Bollywood’s first 3D horror spin-off movie titled Saamri 3D, released in 1985. The film starred Rajan Sippy and Aarti Gupta in the lead.
