Bollywood’s first anti-hero was Sunil Dutt, who immortalised Birju in Mehboob Khan’s classic ‘Mother India’ (1957), who cannot bear the stinging poverty and ultimately turns into a bandit, only to be shot dead by his mother Radha (Nargis). A cult-classic, ‘Mother India’ was a moving tale about an impoverished mother and her fight for survival. As Birju, Sunil Dutt garnered huge praise for his role of a hot-headed villager and a vindictive dacoit.
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