Kulbhushan Karbhanda moved to Mumbai after he got a call from Shyam Benegal.
The Bondesque villain Shakal from the 1980 movie Shaan, played meticulously by Kulbhushan Karbhanda, has become an iconic antagonist shown in films.
For years, a movie’s legacy was most prominently spearheaded by its leading actor but on occasions, we have had antagonists that have often become iconic. They have also sometimes even overshadowed the protagonist. Amjad Khan’s Gabbar Singh and Amrish Puri’s Mogambo are two such roles. A third one is the Bondesque villain Shakal from the 1980 movie Shaan, played meticulously by Kulbhushan Karbhanda. Shakal was modeled after James Bond villains with hi-tech technology at his disposal and the actor was critically acclaimed for his role.
However, it is sometimes wrongly reported that Shaan was Kulbhushan Karbhanda’s debut film. Shaan was the first mainstream commercial film of the veteran actor but he had earlier appeared in a slew of movies of the parallel genre. Before transitioning to mainstream cinema. he was a regular in Shyam Benegal’s films like Junoon, Nishaant, Manthan, Bhumika and Kalyug. He was one of the most sought-after actors in parallel cinema due to his vast experience working in theatre.
After finishing his studies, Kulbhushan Karbhanda and a couple of his college friends established the theatre company Abhiyaan. Later, he joined Delhi’s Yatrik, a bilingual theatre repertory that was established in 1964 by director Joy Michael. He later shifted base to Kolkata and worked with the theatre group Padatik before moving to Mumbai to act in films after he got a call from Shyam Benegal.
After Shaan, he appeared in many commercial films like Joshilay, Ghayal, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Border and Lagaan. His stint with parallel cinema also continued simultaneously as he appeared in all of Deepa Mehta’s Elements trilogy films, Fire, Earth and Water.
Kulbhushan Karbhanda can currently be seen on several digital platforms, including Amazon Prime’s Mirzapur (2018) and Mirzapur 2 (2020), where his portrayal of Satyanand Tripathi, better known as Bauji, received praise from fans all over the world. The series has run successfully for two seasons, and a third is currently in pre-production. Due to high demand, filming of Mirzapur season 3 will start soon.
