Stories of heroes are also stories about villains. The arc of a heroes’ journey may be the very stuff of the plot, but it’s the existence of villains that compels that rise.
We see the same in 3 Bahadur, the latest film from Pakistan that’s all the rage.
A trio of heroes — school friends Amna, Saadi and Kamil — gain superpowers when they demonstrate a desire to combat the thugs that terrorise their town, Roshan Basti. The thugs are underlings of the evil overlord Mangu who gained his superpowers after pledging allegiance to the devil incarnate, Baba Balaam. The heroes' acquisition of superpowers is staggered; the more bravery they show, the more powerful they become.
The heroes are adequately fleshed out — there's Amna, whose speed, strength and sass make her the centre of attention; smart and serious Saadi with a tragic backstory; and Kamil, who's endearingly silly but kind to a fault. There's a balance of brawn, brains and heart in this superhero trio.
But one feels that the portrayal of the villains is not so nuanced; in fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that very little is known about the villains, nothing except their evil intentions and ultimate defeat.
Baba Balaam is fiery, fanged and in Mangu's words, "so hideous", which is indication enough of his devil-on-earth status.
Mangu is large, intimidating and malicious enough to pose a credible threat to the 3 Bahadurs, and his slightly kooky gang of thugs, drawn in a variety of shapes and sizes, flash enough steel to have us convinced of their menace. But the inner psyches of these villians are left largely unexplored.