When Govinda opened up on why he would never do a villainous role in movies

Popular Bollywood actor Govinda turns 60 today. The actor who broke many box office records in the 90s with his comedy film collaborations with director David Dhawan, gradually faded into oblivion as the 2000s set in. The actor, known for his tardiness and for his penchant for doing solo lead projects only, had refused many popular film offers because he was offered a supporting part in the film. However, another important pattern visible in his filmography is that the actor, popular for his comedies, never did a single villainous role during the peak of his career.

I would never project negativity: Govinda

The actor, during his promotional interview for his 2000 film Shikari, spoke about how his character in the 2000 film surely has negative shades, and yet ‘it doesn’t project any negativity in the film.’ Throughout the said interview, Govinda kept insisting that ‘it is not a negative role, but instead a character with negative shades.’

The Hero no. 1 actor elaborated on his stance after some prodding, “I would never project any negativity in the film, because I don't want anyone among my fans to be influence by any of these films of mine, or any of these films to have a bad repurcussion on the society.”

I didn't have a knack for action: Govinda

In the same interview, the actor also admitted to having very limited experience with action movies. The actor stated, “I have done a few action movies like Khuddar, Shola aur Shabnam, Muqabla and all. But I didn’t have a knack for action. I didn’t know how to create it.” He later created Shikari director N. Chandra for teaching him how to go about action.

Unfortunately, Shikari failed at the box office, despite boasting of an impressive cast like Govinda, Karishma Kapoor and Tabu. Years later, during his second innings in the movies, Govinda eventually sign a role with villanous streak - it was the 2014 Shaad Ali film Kill Dil, where Govinda co-starred with new age stars like Ranveer Singh, Parineeti Chopra and Ali Zafar.