GOBINDA

Contributed by: The James Bond Movie Encyclopedia by Steven Jay Rubin

Giant bodyguard to Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), portrayed by veteran Indian actor Kabir Bedi in Octopussy. Unsmiling and unsympathetic, with hands that can crush dice cubes—reminiscent of Oddjob and the Slazenger 1 golf ball in Goldfinger. Gobinda also has that semi-Jaws quality of gaining the audience’s respect even as he’s trying to kill Bond. His attempts on 007 become increasingly difficult. First, there’s the wild three-wheeler chase through Udaipur, followed by the raucous tiger hunt through the bush that surrounds the Monsoon Palace, then the train-hopping escapade in West Germany.

Finally, Kamal asks the ever-dutiful Gobinda to climb outside their twin-engined plane and battle Bond in midair. In a classic moment in the series, Gobinda sticks a blade in his mouth, summons up his resolve, and crawls outside the aircraft for one final confrontation. As they’re maneuvering for position on the plane’s fuselage, Bond is able to whip the radio antenna into Gobinda’s face. Stunned, his burly adversary loses his grip and falls to his death.

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