In this weekly series, Rahul Desai lists 50 of Hindi cinema’s favourite “third wheels” – that is, memorable characters whose roles are little more than fleeting cameos and little less than supporting turns – since 1990. There will be no particular order: just a colourful recollection of emblematic faces who’ve left us craving for more. After Peepli Live in 2010, one of India’s finest actors, Raghubir Yadav, was in danger of drifting into C-grade oblivion after starring in unmentionables like Gandhi To Hitler and Mainu Ek Ladki Chahiye. In the former, his role as the German dictator exchanging letters with Mahatma Gandhi was as misguided as the kitschy film, while in the latter, he played a ‘comical’ lawyer who defends a rapist by behaving like a lecherous old…
Top 50 Memorable Bollywood Characters: Loknath from Newton
In Raghubir Yadav’s deft hands, the character becomes the sort of good-natured uncle who would rather keep everyone entertained than endure the pointlessness of his profession
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- by Rahul Desai

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About the author
Rahul Desai
A film critic (formerly of Mumbai Mirror, Catch News) and columnist (The Hindu), Rahul Desai writes about everything cinematic under Mumbai's hot sun, including short films, web shows and desi B-movies. When he isn't writing, you can find him in obscure countries nostalgically identifying locations of the films he writes about.

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