Most Underrated · Men
Pavan Malhotra
पवन मल्होत्रा
“Carried the most important Indian film about Muslim marginalisation, and then vanished from the conversation.”
- Screen debut
- 1986
- Best in
- Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989)
- Also see
- Bagh Bahadur · Black Friday · Bhaag Milkha Bhaag · Children of War · Fauda-style TV work
No social account is listed here because we could not positively confirm an official one. We link verified first-party accounts only — a fan page or a namesake would be worse than nothing.
The case
Malhotra has been the lead of genuinely major films — Salim Langde, Bagh Bahadur — and is nonetheless introduced to new audiences as a face they half-recognise. His Tiger Memon in Black Friday is the most unshowy portrait of a mastermind in Indian film: a tired businessman making calls.
Where to start
Begin with Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989). It's in this canon — read our entry on it. Then work through Bagh Bahadur, Black Friday, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
See how we defined “underrated” and why some obvious names are missing in our methodology essay.
In the canon