Bollywood loves its animals. Apart from the plethora of dogs we’ve seen on-screen – from Tuffy in Hum Aapke Hain Koun to Bhidu in Chillar Party – pigeons, snakes, elephants and tigers have all had their day in the sun. Despite this, we’re yet to see Hindi films truly dig their heels into the human-to-animal universe, except for a smattering of examples over the decades. Unlike American movies that have used the trope in every possible genre, Hindi films still rely on shapeshifting to introduce villainy or an exotic (usually female) seductress. Amar Kaushik’s upcoming Bhediya seems to hint at an anti-hero despite his bloodthirsty tendencies and one can hope that it will lead to a more courageous step into the shapeshifting universe – one that can tap into, say, the nuances of self-righteousness (The Emperor’s New Groove), the divisive power of intolerance (the X-Men series) or perhaps act as a grim warning for the future (Dibakar Banerjee’s segment in Ghost Stories). Until then, we take a look at the times Bollywood turned its characters into fantastical beings.
Snakes: Nagina (1986)
The concept of an “icchadhaari naagin” was nothing short of a cultural phenomenon in Bollywood. Its pioneer, second perhaps to only Reena Roy’s Naagin (1976), was Sridevi in Nagina. While the actress isn’t shown to actually transform into a snake in the film – her change is marked only by a pair of shockingly-blue contact lenses – real snakes do make a lot of appearances in the film. As her loyal minions, they chase down cars and bite everyone from scheming villains to random men leering at our heroine. The film went on to , with director Harmesh Malhotra immediately announcing a sequel. Nagina cemented the icchadhaari naagin as a protagonist, with a flurry of films following the same formula released over the next couple of years – Nigahen (1989), the sequel to Nagina; Naag Nagin (1989), Sheshnaag (1990), Naache Nagin Gali Gali (1990), Tum Mere Ho (1990) and Vishkanya (1991). Special shout to Jaani Dushman (2002), which featured Armaan Kohli as a naagraaj – the less-popular, male counterpart to a naagin.
