So what does friendship mean to you? A bond, not necessarily by blood, that imbibes un-demanding love, care, harmony and of course, sacrifice. Sure, not the life-giving one, but sacrifice does play an important role in friendship. In Bollywood films, we have seen some amazing movies on friendship. Some of the prime examples being, Sholay, Andaz Apna Apna, Dil Chahta Hai, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Chasme Baddoor, Rang De Basanti, Angry Indian Goddesses and even the recent, Veere Di Wedding. While these movies celebrated friendship in their own ways, we need to find a tribute to play our 'respects' to those unlucky friends who lost their all (not just lives) in the name of friendship.
So on the occasion of Friendship Day, we have this special feature for you where we commemorate these unfortunate dosts, who may not be infallible, but they proved their friendship in the most devastating ways.
Jai in Sholay
Actor: Amitabh Bachchan
The classic case of Bollywood's unluckiest friend. The ever reticent Jai was about to settle in marital bliss, having got the nod to marry the widowed Radha. However, Gabbar Singh plays spoilsport in kidnapping both his BFF Veeru and his ladylove Basanti, and in ensuring their safety, Jai loses his life. Might say Radha is unluckier than him in losing another chance of having a happier life.
Baban in Tezaab
Actor: Chunky Pandey
The issue is, Babban did give any hint of being a dead meat throughout the movie - he was the prankster leader of his minions, a happy go lucky guy with a slight hint of romance with his BFF Munna's sister. But in a heart-wrenching moment, Babban comes in the way of a knife that was meant for his friend and we say goodbye to the most endearing character Pandey has done in his career.
Bindiya in Raanjhanaa
Actor: Swara Bhasker
From being harassed, bullied and beaten by her childhood pals in the name of 'friendship', Bindiya bore all. Until that day arrived when the (one-track) love of her life, Kundan, walked out of the wedding with her (something he himself agreed to) just so he can tackle ego issues with his crush.
Sukhi in Rang De Basanti
Actor: Sharman Joshi
Sure, every heroic character in RDB is unlucky by the end, either by being killed or in being bereaved. But Sukhi is the unluckiest of them all. Immature by nature, Sukhi at least had the good sense to know that killing a Union Minister in vengeance is a really bad idea. He wasn't even a part of the ploy, and yet, he sticks up to his friends and becomes the first one to get killed in the police shootout at the radio station. And he died a virgin too! Bummer!
Omar Aijaz in New York
Actor: Neil Nitin Mukesh
First, he was friend-zoned in college when he loved was in love with his BFF. Keeping a low profile years later, Omar gets reluctantly dragged into spying on his now-married friends by the CIA, thereby opening old wounds. In the end, some of his actions inadvertently caused the death of these friends while he ended up taking care of their kid out of guilt.
Reese Garrick in My Name is Khan
Actor: Kenton Duty
Speaking of guilt, how can we forget Reese, who was once the best friend of Kajol's son in the movie? Sure, he behaved like an ass to his BFF, but Reese had his reasons. The poor kid lost his father in the US-Taliban war, and like many in his country, blamed his Asian friend's ethnicity. The other boy, Sameer, should have given him some space to cool things off but gets accidentally killed by Reese's new friends, something Reese tried to stop but failed to. Consumed by guilt over the incident, Reese finally confesses to Sameer's mother and sent to a correctional facility which I am sure will lead to a much-troubled youth.
Nikolai in Go Goa Gone
Actor: Ross Bucharn
The hefty Russian might be Boris (Saif Ali Khan)'s henchman, but the latter treated him more like a friend. I don't remember him having any sort of dialogue in the film, but he did protect his boss and was by there by his side every damn zombie time. So we really felt bad when Nikolai got bit by a zombie, leading to the film's most understated touching moment, where Boris says goodbye to his friend without a word. And yeah, Boris also later kills him when he returns as a zombie.
Balli in Jannat 2
Actor: Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub
Ayyub has been getting stereotyped as that best friend-cum-sidekick in movies like Raanjhanaa, Raees but his role in Jannat 2 makes the most impact. When his friend, played by Emraan Hashmi, even as the latter gets deeper into his double-game with gang rivalry, Balli stands by him even when he doesn't know what his BFF is up to. To the point that he even allows himself to get killed in place of his friend.
Katekar in Sacred Games
Actor: Jitendra Joshi
Sure, Sacred Games is not a movie, rather a web-series on Netflix. But we can't resist adding the poor, affable if slightly bigoted Head Constable Katekar to this list. His bond with his senior Sartaj Singh goes beyond of duties and he is available at every beck and call of Sartaj, much to the chagrin of his wife. Even when he is right in the middle of love-making! And the guy loses his bigotry helping Sartaj in his latest mission, only to be brutally killed by a perp. We miss you Katekar!
Agree with our list of unlucky friends in Bollywood? Do you think any more should have made it to the list? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 05, 2018 05:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).