Pradeep Kabra

Pradeep Kabra’s the kind of actor who’s made a name for himself playing the bad guy in Bollywood. Not your everyday villain, though—he actually brings a weird sort of charm to the roles, you know? His first big-screen gig was in Run (2004), which had Abhishek Bachchan and Bhoomika Chawla running the show, plus Boney Kapoor and Sridevi backing it up. Not bad for a debut, right? After that, he jumped into Family: Ties of Blood (2006), getting to share screen space with heavyweights like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar. That’s like being tossed into the deep end, no floaties. Then in 2007, he popped up in Wounded, a film with Seema Parihar that digs into the whole dacoit scene in Chambal—real gritty stuff. Kabra’s just got this knack for slipping into intense stories. He kept busy, grabbing a role in Siddharth: The Prisoner (2009), a thriller that’s not exactly light weekend viewing, but hey, some people like a little darkness. By 2011, the guy was everywhere—Double Dhamaal, Delhi Belly, Chillar Party. The next year, it was Chaalis Chauraasi. Kabra didn’t slow down; he kept stacking up credits—Bang Bang, Ab Tak Chhappan 2, Dilwale, Ranchi Diaries, Veere Di Wedding, and even Sooryavanshi, which was a huge hit. Plus, he’s not just a film guy. He’s done TV too, popping up in C.I.D., Adaalat, and Maddam Sir. Guy’s got range, no question.