A dive into Sanjay Dutt's memorable villainous turns in Bollywood, ranking his darkest roles from underwhelming to iconic.
Key Points
- Sanjay Dutt is set to appear in two new films, Raja Shivaji as Afzal Khan and KD -- The Devil in a gangster role, continuing his trend of playing antagonists.
- These are among several negative roles across a career spanning four decades, many of which offer little room for audience sympathy.
- Dutt has not confined his villainous portrayals to Hindi cinema. He has taken on formidable antagonist roles across South Indian films in multiple languages.
The 'Khalnayak' of Hindi cinema is set to embrace his darker side once again on the big screen.
On May 1, Sanjay Dutt returns as a historical antagonist in the bilingual Raja Shivaji, directed by Riteish Deshmukh, where he essays Afzal Khan, the Mughal general who met his end at the hands of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Of course, this is only one among several negative roles across a career spanning four decades, many of which offer little room for audience sympathy. What is more, Dutt has not confined his villainous portrayals to Hindi cinema.
He has taken on formidable antagonist roles across South Indian films in multiple languages, including Leo, KGF Chapter 2, Double iSmart and The RajaSaab.
To make things even more interesting, a day before the release of Raja Shivaji, Dutt will also be seen in the Kannada film KD -- The Devil in a rugged gangster role, though it remains unclear whether he plays a full-fledged antagonist.
As we wait to see whether Dutt delivers yet another compelling turn, Sreeju Sudhakaran checks out 15 Hindi films where he played the antagonists, ranked from worst to best.
15. Rakht (2004)
A remake of the Hollywood supernatural thriller The Gift (2000), this film features an ensemble led by Bipasha Basu. Dutt steps into the Greg Kinnear role as a school principal whose fiancée goes missing.
The narrative builds a romantic track between his character and Basu's, only to reveal his darker side in the climax.
The problem lies in the performance. Dutt appears too laid-back in the earlier portions and when the character turns villainous, the menace feels unconvincing, resulting in a flat payoff. Fortunately for him, he is not the only miscast here; co-star Suniel Shetty (also the producer) also hams it up playing the role of a mentally challenged mechanic.
14. Baaghi 4 (2025)
In comparison to what we saw in Rakht, there is at least some intent and menace in what Sanjay Dutt brings to Baaghi 4. The problem is that the film itself is so poorly mounted that very little of it holds together.
Despite Dutt's brooding appearance and his character's brutal killings, his character's motivations, particularly his desire to marry a young woman who resembles his deceased lover, and silly designs to trick the hero (Tiger Shroff) come across as ludicrous.
This is further weakened by a noticeably lethargic screen presence and body language from the actor.
13. Khauff (2000)
Khauff is the Hindi remake of the American thriller The Juror (1996), directed by Sanjay Gupta, with Manisha Koirala and Sanjay Dutt essaying roles originally played by Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin.
Dutt plays a hitman assigned to eliminate Koirala's character, an eyewitness in a high-profile murder case. Instead of killing her outright, he woos her into falling in love with him before attempting to bump her off.
The issue is that while Dutt looks stylish in the role and does exhibit flashes of menace, such as killing the heroine's friend in cold blood, the film never fully commits to his villainy, eventually blunting his edge. Still, we at least get to see Dutt shake a leg to the zippy Gori Gori Tu Chali Kaha.
12. Department (2012)
Far from Ram Gopal Varma's finest work, Department boasts a strong ensemble, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Rana Daggubati, Paresh Rawal and Vijay Raaz, yet does little justice to their talents.
Dutt plays a senior police officer who initially appears upright, intent on eradicating organised crime, only to be revealed later as complicit with the very gangs he is meant to destroy.
While Dutt's performance is serviceable, the lacklustre direction offers him little support, leaving the character underwhelming.
11. Panipat (2019)
Ashutosh Gowariker's take on the Third Battle of Panipat is a largely forgettable affair, with casting emerging as one of its biggest drawbacks.
Arjun Kapoor feels miscast as Peshwa Sadashiv Rao Bhau, and Sanjay Dutt fares no better as the antagonist Ahmad Shah Abdali.
While he fits a certain visual expectation of the character in the present political climate, his body language comes across as lazy, and the performance lacks the menace the role demands.
10. Luck (2009)
Soham Shah's action-adventure revolves around a group of people who test their fortune in a series of deadly games orchestrated by Karim Musa, a criminal who believes deeply in his own luck. Dutt plays Musa with his trademark flair, but the role feels more like an extended cameo than a fully realised antagonist.
Ultimately, his character is less about outright villainy and more about pushing others into perilous situations. Despite an intriguing premise, the film remains largely forgettable.
The movie also stars Imran Khan and Shruti Haasan (in her acting debut) in the lead roles.
9. Aladin (2009)
When Sanjay Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan share screen space, one expects sparks, but that has not always translated into box office success. This marks yet another collaboration where they find themselves on opposing sides.
In Sujay Ghosh's modern reimagining of the Aladdin tale, Dutt plays Ringmaster, a twisted showman loosely inspired by P T Barnum, complete with a troupe of eccentric followers.
While he brings energy and theatricality to the part, the film's lack of narrative charm and visual magic reduces the impact, leaving the performance stranded in an otherwise dull affair.
8. Musafir (2004)
Sanjay Gupta's lackluste remake of the Hollywood thriller U-Turn at least features a captivating ensemble including Anil Kapoor, Sameera Reddy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Koena Mitra, Aditya Pancholi and Sanjay Dutt.
Dutt plays Billa, a feared gangster whose money is stolen, prompting a relentless pursuit for retribution.
He is not a conventional antagonist; while he kills those who betray him without hesitation, he also displays flashes of mercy, such as sparing a child with the expectation of future revenge or letting a former aide go in the climax.
And when he is not eliminating traitors, he even breaks into dance in songs like Saaki and Ishq Samunder.
=7. Hum Kisise Kum Nahin (2002)
David Dhawan's remake of the Hollywood comedy Analyze This (1999) generated considerable attention for its star-studded cast, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Ajay Devgn and Aishwarya Rai, with Dutt playing a PTSD-afflicted gangster and Bachchan his hassled therapist.
The film itself is an average adaptation that falters when it slips into unnecessary melodrama in the third act.
That said, Dutt is fairly effective here, and his portrayal of the obsessed gangster remains one of the film's more entertaining elements.
6. Prassthanam (2019)
Sanjay Dutt turned producer with this remake of a 2010 Telugu film of the same name, while playing the role of a powerful politician harbouring a dark secret.
Like his roles in Rakht and Department, the character is presented as a benevolent man in the beginning, but things are not what it seems.
The screenplay offers several twists, and while his performance remains measured, what truly works is how the film gradually peels back layers of the character, revealing a deeply manipulative and morally compromised core beneath the surface.
5. Dhurandhar 1 and 2 (2025/2026)
Not a straightforward villain, Dutt's SP Chaudhary Aslam, based on a real-life Pakistani cop, operates firmly in morally grey territory. He is portrayed as a corrupt officer tasked with bringing down Rahman Dakait while simultaneously being on Dawood Ibrahim's payroll.
In the first film, Chaudhary collaborates with Ranveer Singh's Hamza, but in the sequel, he turns against him after suspecting his true identity.
Dutt's larger-than-life swagger is used effectively across both films (his intro scene in the first film to the score of Hawa Hawa was quite massy), making Chaudhary Aslam one of his more memorable roles in recent years.
4. Shamshera (2022)
Karan Malhotra's period dacoit drama pits Ranbir Kapoor's titular rebel against Sanjay Dutt's Daroga Shuddh Singh, a sadistic prison warden aligned with the British. The character borders on caricature in its depiction of evil, but what elevates it is Dutt's performance.
Embracing the theatricality with a deliberately hammy approach, combined with his natural swagger, he turns Shuddh Singh into an entertaining screen presence.
That said, he has delivered a far superior villainous turn in a better-written role in another Malhotra film, which appears higher in rank on this list.
3. Son of Sardaar (2012)
Again, not a conventional villain in the truest sense, considering this remake of the Telugu film Maryada Ramanna (directed by S S Rajamouli) treats the character in a largely light-hearted manner, and he does undergo a change of heart by the end.
Strip away the humour, though, and Balwinder Singh Sandhu, aka Billu, is a violent man who does not hesitate to kill those who cross him, driven by a thirst of revenge for years.
His only restraint is his rigid sense of honour, which keeps sparing the life of the fortunate protagonist Jassi (Ajay Devgn). The film makes effective use of Sanjay Dutt's imposing presence to convey menace, while also giving him ample room to showcase his comic timing.
2. Khalnayak (1993)
Technically, Sanjay Dutt is not a full-blown villain here but a misguided anti-hero who turns over a new leaf by the third act. But if he insists on calling himself a Khalnayak, who are we to argue.
Subhash Ghai's entertainer follows Ballu, a feared criminal who escapes custody and goes on the run. It is only when he falls for an undercover cop, played by Madhuri Dixit, that he begins to develop a conscience and reckon with his actions.
Dutt is terrific in the grey-shaded role, one that nearly cemented him as a bona fide box office superstar had his real-life misdemeanours not interrupted his career in the mid-90s.
1. Agneepath (2012)
If Wilson Fisk and Bane had a desi cousin, this Kancha Cheena would be him. Karan Malhotra's remake of the 1990 Amitabh Bachchan starrer is not a scene-by-scene retelling, and that works strongly in its favour.
While Danny Denzongpa brought a suave menace to Kancha Cheena in the original, I find Dutt's interpretation far more intimidating and visceral. The bald pate, the chilling grin, the sheer physicality all combine to create a villain you instinctively fear.
It is a role perfectly aligned with Dutt's persona, and he commits to its brutality with complete conviction.
The film also boasts another formidable antagonist in Rauf Lala, brought to life memorably by the late Rishi Kapoor, making it a rare showcase of two standout villains in one Hindi film.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
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