These characters have entertained us despite the fact that they do not have any name at all.
“My name is Anthony Gonsalves.”
“Rahul, naam toh suna hoga?”
“Prem naam hai mera. Prem Chopra.”
“Vijay. Dinanath. Chauhan. Poora naam.”
“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.”
Be it Hollywood or Bollywood, a character’s name bears a lot of weight.
But there are quite a few iconic characters on celluloid whose nameless stature is the reason of curiosity, mystery and impact.
Here’s an assorted list of both.
PK
Buzz is Aamir Khan plays an alien in the anticipated year-end release, PK.
Also, if the promos are any indication his character comes without a name: “Naam kachhu nahi hai humara. Baki na jaane kahe sab mujhe PK-PK bulawat hain.” (I don’t have a name. although I don’t understand why everybody keeps addressing me as PK-PK.)
A Wednesday
As the anonymous caller who shakes up the entire Mumbai police department with his threats and demands to arrest terrorist activities in the city, Naseeruddin Shah plays his ‘common man’ card rather effectively in A Wednesday.
The Seven-Year Itch
Golden age sex symbol Marilyn Monroe is simply referred to as ‘The Girl,’ who catches her middle-aged married man’s fancy in the Billy Wilder comedy.
More importantly, it features Monroe’s famous flying skirt on a subway grate sequence.
The Man With No Name Trilogy
Clint Eastwood’s Yojimbo-inspired spaghetti western relies on the towering star’s relentless swagger and smugness to make the Man with No Name trilogy, namely Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly one of the most definitive roles of his career.
Khote Sikkey
Feroz Khan’s incognito avatar in the desi western Khote Sikkey models itself around Clint Eastwood’s legendary character from the afore-mentioned trilogy and, amazingly enough, pulls it off too.
Main Azaad Hoon
In Tinnu Anand’s remake of Meet John Doe, we never learn Amitabh Bachchan’s true name. He simply adopts the nom de plume ‘Azaad’ under which journalist Shabana Azmi pens thought provoking columns against exploitative politicians.
Oh Darling Yeh Hai India
Ketan Mehta’s experimental and quirky caper starring Shah Rukh Khan was a box office turkey and a giant bore starring wife Deepa Sahi as a whimsical prostitute whose real name is unspecified.
She introduces herself as Miss India.
Hero
In Zhang Yimou’s action-packed international blockbuster, martial arts expert Jet Li plays an anonymous swordsman conspiring to assassinate the King.
Drive
Hollywood hottie Ryan Gosling is a stuntman-turned-getaway driver in the violent, noir drama Drive. Guess with a face like that, it doesn’t really matter what his name is.
Kaun
Ram Gopal Varma’s sinister whodunit starring a creepy Manoj Bajpai and demented Urmila Matondkar unravels through the period of one rainy night leaving little time for pleasant interaction.
And the mystery deepens with us never finding the true story behind Urmila’s unnamed Ma’am.
Kill Bill
Quentin Tarantino’s two-volume vendetta story revolves around a brutally tormented Uma Thurman’s retaliation against the heinous crimes committed towards her by Bill and rest of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad.
While we eventually learn she’s Beatrix Kiddo in the second movie, Thurman is simply known as ‘The Bride’ in the first.
