As a melting pot of faiths and traditions, India has a fascinating mix of people that Hindi movies have depicted with varying degrees of accuracy from time to time. Where on the one hand, you have the bumbling hen-pecked Parsi, on the other, you have the laidback, dance-loving Christian who is always looking for a drink. These may be some rather stereotypical portrayals; however, over the years Bollywood has created some loveable and memorable Christian characters. Let's us take a look:
She was the quintessential enthusiastic mother who wanted her daughter to marry well. Pearl Padamsee’s role in Baton Baton Mein was the cheerful, loveable, irrepressible aunty-next-door. She was much more believable as an Indian Christian than Amol Palekar’s Tony Braganza in the same film - his stereotypical goatee notwithstanding.
Amitabh Bachchan’s role as Anthony Gonsalves is memorable for being lovable and endearing in a film that best speaks to the diverse and multi-faith India that we love. He prays, he fights, he drinks, he sings, he dances, he loves and speaks fluent Bambaiya! – one of the most memorable Christian characters in a Hindi film!
Nadira played the Anglo Indian mother of Julie in the film, a woman who enjoyed dancing and having her drink. This movie is also remembered for having the first ever fully English song in a Hindi film – My Heart is Beating.
Bobby remains one of the most endearing of Hindi film romances – a love against all odds – economic, class and religious. The delightful Dimple Kapadia playing teenaged Bobby in her itsy-bitsy polka dotted clothes and her red bikini became the stuff of young men’s fantasies for a long time to come.
Simi Garewal played the stereotypical prim Christian school teacher to Raj Kapoor’s younger self in Mera Naam Joker… this Christian character was the teacher every school boy had a crush on.
Jennifer Kendal as Violet Stoneham was brilliantly hopeful and vulnerable in the film – her quiet and uneventful existence is evocative of some of the painfully lonely lives that we know so many people live. The poignant film was a beautiful showcase for Jennifer Kendal’s highly underrated abilities.
The D’mello played by Satish Shah is at first the corrupt official who loves everything American and then the most hilarious dead body ever in a Hindi film.
It was India's Love Story, the heartbreaking story of doomed lovers; one of whom was dying of terminal cancer. Ranjeeta essayed the role of her lifetime, as Lily who suffered from leukaemia and died in the end - the sob-fest Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se.
Two decades after she played Bobby, she played Mona in Saagar opposite the same Rishi Kapoor when she came out of her self-imposed exile. And everyone said that the mature Dimple as Mona was even more irresistible than her teenaged self in Bobby all those years ago!
Oscar Fernandez played by Boman Irani in this hugely enjoyable movie with an ensemble cast is a memorable Christian character – a mature man on his honeymoon with his Muslim wife who makes up with his estranged daughter.
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