After winning hearts with his romantic lover-boy image earlier, Varun Dhawan surprised the audience with his intense performance in 'Badlapur'. With the film's release, we take a look at 10 films that proved to be image-changers for Bollywood actors


Varun Dhawan - 'Badlapur'

After cementing his romantic chocolate-boy image with 'Student of the Year', 'Main Tera Hero' and 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania', Varun Dhawan is all set to change that with 'Badlapur'. He essays the role of a man who avenges the murder of his wife. His intense performance in this thrilling revenge saga is sure to stun Bollywood and his fans.


Shahid Kapoor - 'Kaminey'

With its commercial and critical success, 'Kaminey' catapulted Shahid into the 'big league' of actors. Not only that, it also proved to be an image-changer for Shahid, who had been typecast into lover-boy roles with films like 'Ishq Vishk', 'Vivah', 'Jab We Met' and 'Kismat Konnection'. Four years later, the Kapoor lad teamed up with Vishal Bhardwaj again and went a step ahead in breaking away from his lover-boy image in the highly-acclaimed 'Haider'.


Ranbir Kapoor - 'Besharam'

After having played the cool, calm and composed debonair in 'Bachna Ae Haseeno', 'Wake Up Sid' and 'Raajneeti', Ranbir shocked everyone with his transformation into a lewd and loutish car thief for 'Besharam'.


Ranveer Singh - 'Lootera'

His flamboyant on-screen persona in 'Ladies vs Ricky Bahl' and 'Band Baaja Baaraat' transformed into a demure one in the period drama film 'Lootera'. Ranveer has admitted to 'Lootera' being one of his most difficult performances, and him adapting to the change garnered him critical acclaim.


Riteish Deshmukh - 'Ek Villain'

He was dubbed as the king of sex comedies, but Riteish Deshmukh surprised one and all with his transformation in 'Ek Villain', where he made his debut as an antagonist. His dark and intense performance in the film became the talk of the town and garnered rave reviews.


Saif Ali Khan - 'Omkara'

With films like 'Dil Chahta Hai', 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', 'Hum tum' and 'Salaam Namaste' to his credit, Saif Ali Khan had built an on-screen persona of a likeable friend. However, his physical as well as role transformation to essay the character of 'Langda' Tyagi in 'Omkara' garnered him major acclaim, earning him the awards for Best Actor in a Negative Role at the Filmfare, Star Screen, Zee Cine and IIFA ceremonies.


Shah Rukh Khan - 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'

After being recognised for his unconventional choice of portraying villainous roles in the films like 'Darr', 'Baazigar' and 'Anjaam', 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' proved to be a breakthrough for SRK as it established the King Khan as the king of romance. In the years to come, he garnered critical and commercial success with love sagas like 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai', 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', 'Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham' and 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'. Rest is history.


Akshay Kumar - 'Once Upon Ay Time In Mumbai Dobaara!'

After donning the avatar of an action, comic and romantic hero, Bollywood's Khiladi added another feather to his cap by portraying the character of a flamboyant gangster, Shoaib Khan, based on Dawood Ibrahim, in the film 'Once Upon Ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara!'. He managed to put on such a fine act that Al Pacino said the film's promos and posters reminded him of his own film 'The Godfather'.


Sanjay Dutt - 'Agneepath'

It was that phase where Sanjay Dutt was being recognised for his comic timing. He had appeared in a string of comedy films like 'Munna Bhai MBBS', 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'All The Best', 'Dhamaal' and many more. However, in 'Agneepath', he stunned his fans and critics by playing the role of the wicked Kancha, an unscrupulous man, mocked for his hairless appearance, who deals in cocaine. His physical as well as character transformation for 'Agneepath' was well acclaimed.


Ajay Devgn -'Golmaal'

Known for his signature brooding look, one would never have guessed that the action-romantic hero could pull off comedy just as well. He first proved his comic mettle in Rohit Shetty's 'Golmaal', triggering a string of collaborative projects between the two. Ajay and Rohit have delivered entertainers like 'Golmaal Returns', 'Golmaal 3', 'All The Best, 'Bol Bachchan', 'Singham' and 'Singham Returns'.