Listicle: 10 supporting characters who stole the show

They were meant to be sidekicks, villains, or blink-and-miss roles. But these 10 supporting characters had all our attention

Listicle: 10 supporting characters who stole the show

• 
  Satyajit Sen in Call Me Bae

  Satyajit Sen (Vir Das) isn’t meant to be likeable. He’s a media mogul mentoring a Gen-Z intern. But his on-screen charisma is so engulfing that one almost misses how manipulative he really is. His monologues sound like TED talks dipped in poison. His icy lines, tailored suits, and psychological manipulation gives an edge to a show about fashion and fresh starts. Oh, he has an estranged daughter — and a human side too.
• 
  Margaret Grey in My Lady Jane

  While the main characters are off chasing love and freedom, the innocent but devious baby sister turns her every scene into a masterclass in controlled chaos. Margaret Grey (Robyn Betteridge) is elegant, sharp and quietly cunning (“I don’t scheme, I strategise,” she says), but also longing for love and acceptance from her family. This little kid murders her brother-in-law with a pear! Who saw that coming?
• 
  Namrata Bidasaria in Mismatched S3

  In a season in which everyone is breaking up, making up or launching an app, Rishi’s BFF Namrata (Devyani Shorey) refers to herself as a side-heroine in her own story. Namrata is in love with a woman, but not yet out to her family. The parents don’t take it well. “I’m finally free but all alone,” she says. But she builds her relationship with Ayesha and stands strong against bullies. Truly, the emotional heart of the season.
• 
  Pfannee and Shenshen in Wicked: Part I

  Glinda (Gah-LIN-dah) and Elphaba are the main friendship in this tale of how the good and bad witches from The Wizard of Oz met. Pfannee and Shenshen (Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James) are meant to be Glinda’s glossy sidekicks. They’re both devoted to her, to shiny costumes and to their mean-girl vibes. It’s the kind of comic relief you need in a story about the origin of a monster.
• 
  Martha in Baby Reindeer

  This was supposed to be Donny’s (Richard Gadd) IRL story about being stalked. But it’s the stalker Martha (Jessica Gunning), obsessive, unhinged, shabby, piteous, psychotic, who holds it all together. She weaponises kindness, emails and baked goods. She’s relentlessly present. One moment she’s crying at the bus stop, the next she’s threatening to ruin Donny’s life; still smiling. It’s unsettling but weirdly addictive.
• 
  Inspector Shyam Manohar in Laapataa Ladies

  In a genius casting decision, Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan plays a small-town cop, tasked with figuring out how one villager ended up with someone else’s bride. Kishan brings hero energy to the small role – petty power-trips, smirks, side-eye. He delivers his lines like he’s pitching a brand deal. Every pause and every glare is deliberate. He didn’t find the ladies in the end, but he found a way to make the little role shine.
• 
  Vanraj Kashyap in Shaitaan

  Vanraj (R Madhavan) isn’t your average villain. Underneath those sunglasses, silk scarf and warm smile, he’s soft-spoken and weirdly zen. This brand of horror – no drama, no screaming – is scarier. Vanraj uses black magic to control a young girl. He almost doesn’t need it. That hypnotic stare and stillness are enough. The scene in which he casually asks a father to kill his own daughter? Chills.
• 
  Madison Masters in Hit Man

  Masters (Adria Arjona) isn’t just a woman looking for a hitman to solve her domestic issues. She’s the one doing the scheming. She hires Gary to supposedly pull the strings, but goes from victim to cool, detached mastermind halfway in, leaving us questioning who the real bag guy is. There are some raw moments when she confronts her abusive husband. They hit harder than any of the action scenes.
• 
  Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in Dune

  Part Two. Right from his first scene, Feyd (Austin Butler) oozes charm and danger. Don’t trust his smirk. As our hero Paul Atreides mounts his revolts, Feyd makes power moves in the background and brings his strengths to a gladiatorial fight. Heros need to find themselves. Feyd’s done that already and is in complete control of himself. It’s what makes for elegant cruelty. And for a memorable role.
• 
  Lajjo in Heeramandi

  The Diamond Bazaar. In a show where every character is fighting for the spotlight, Lajjo (Richa Chadha) waltzes in and quietly burns the place down with tragic grace. The alcoholic courtesan craves something far riskier than a drink: Love. She doesn’t get the sweeping speeches, but her silences speak volumes. Her drunken performance of Masoom Dil Hai Mera, mid-season, lifts the show. It’s unfiltered heartbreak in the middle of all that dressed-up drama.