Happy Birthday Arshad Warsi! Listing Down 5 of the Most Underrated Performances of His Career

Arshad Warsi celebrates his 50th birthday today! On behalf of the entire Latestly desk, I wish the supremely talented and funny actor a Very Happy 50th!

Not many know this but Arshad Warsi had begun his Bollywood career in the '80s itself, starting off as an AD. His first screen appearance was as one of the dancers in a song from the Jeetendra movie Aag Se Khelenge, along with Sajid Khan. Arshad later made a transition to choreography for Anil Kapoor and Sridevi's Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja.

As an actor, Arshad made his acting debut as one of the leads (along with Chandrachur Singh) with the Amitabh Bachchan production Tere Mere Sapne in 1996. The movie was a semi-hit, but that was the only gleam of success Warsi saw for quite a few years. Delivering flops after flops in succession, Bollywood was almost ready to write him off when 2003 arrived and with that came in the cult hit Munnabhai MBBS. His role as the lovable sidekick Circuit in both Munnabhai MBBS and its sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, gave Warsi a fresh lease of life to his career. Bollywood discovered that Warsi has a truly funny streak which they exploited in movies like Dhamaal and Golmaal franchise, Hulchul, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, Sunday, Salaam Namaste and so on. As a leading man, though Warsi has achieved very limited success, but we know that there is a wonderful performance in the offing.

On the occasion of his birthday, we look at what we feel are the five most underrated performances of Arshad Warsi in his career. Feel free to use our comments section to tell us if we missed out on any of his other wonderful acts in the below list.

Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II

Shashanka Ghosh's black comedy is mostly remembered for Kailash Kher's soulful Allah Ke Banday song. But the movie is more than that - it has an interesting premise, some funny black comic moments and Prashant Narayan and Arshad Warsi's excellent camaraderie.

Sehar

If I say Sehar happens to be Arshad Warsi's best movie as a solo lead, not many can argue with me on that. For one, this terrific, slow burn of a realistic cop drama didn't get the attention it needed at the box office. Which is real bad, since it boasts of some fantastic performances (especially Warsi, Pankaj Kapur and Sushant Singh), some nail-biting sequences and a cracker of a climax. Warsi has never been so good in a serious role!

Kabul Express

Kabir Khan's debut movie is definitely interesting for finding some humour in the trying condition of the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. And you have to credit much of that humour to Arshad Warsi's weary and worried cameraman.

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

Vivek Agnihotri's football drama may be too inspired by Chak De India, but it has its moments and some interesting performances from the cast, especially a spirited Arshad Warsi. John may be the hero of the show, but Arshad has the stronger base both as a character and as a performer.

Dedh Ishqiya

I know Ishqiya is considered one of the best black comedies made in Bollywood. But the same amount of love is not given to its much superior, but not quite crowd-appealing sequel. Both Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah are fantastic here, and they are supported by some excellent performances from Madhuri Dixit, Huma Qureshi and a scene-stealing Vijay Raaz. Too bad, the underperformance of the sequel won't get us the third part!

Once again, Many Many Happy Returns of the Day, Dear Arshad Warsi! Hope we can see you and Sanjay Dutt back together for the third Munnabhai movie!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2018 01:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).