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Allies
Willie Scott
Wilhelmina "Willie" Scott
Played By: Kate Capshaw
Voiced By (Latin American Spanish): Andrea Coto (first dub), Cony Madera (second dub)
"I'm not going to have anything nice to say about this place when I get back!"
An American singer who worked at Club Obi Wan in Shanghai, she ends up getting caught in Indy's adventures through China and India, and soon falls in love with him.
- '80s Hair: Willie's hairstyle is half a century ahead of its time.
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: During the entire scene where Indy bursts into her room and pushes on the breasts of a statue that serves as a secret entrance to Kali's temple. "I'm right here!"
- Brainless Beauty: In her Establishing Character Moment she not only quickly reveals her airheadedness ("this Nurhachi's a real small guy", referring to the ashes of Nurhachi that are being kept in a jade funeral urn) but her vanity too ("He put two holes in my dress from Paris!" after being held at knifepoint). She gets a bit better as the film goes on, though, and even punches out a Thuggee guard during the mine cart chase.
- Butt-Monkey: Poor Willie gets put through the absolute wringer in the movie. She's constantly put in peril, has several bugs crawl over her, terrorized by the wildlife, is unable to eat a meal for nearly an entire day due to its nauseous quality, and nearly killed several times over the course of the movie.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She's never seen again after this movie even though it's a prequel. The books reveal that she got stuck in one more "adventure" with Indy in Hong Kong before they broke up and she went back to America.
- City Mouse: Is clearly not suited for any sort of adventure or outdoor activity.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: With Indy being attacked by a Mook that is climbing into their minecart and Short Round having no chance of overpowering him, she finally finds it within herself to throw a punch for the first time in the film. She knocks him out with one punch, derailing their pursuers in the process. Indy is very impressed after seeing this.
- Deadpan Snarker: Several times throughout the movie she'll make a dry comment about Indiana Jones or just about anything in general.
- Damsel in Distress: To the point where most fans consider her a
Damsel Scrappy. - Defrosting Ice Queen: Interviews with Spielberg indicate she was meant to be this trope. Unfortunately, she didn't come off this way to most viewers.
- Diamonds in the Buff:Indy: You wear your jewelry to bed, princess?
Willie: Yes. And nothing else. - The Ditz: Especially compared to Marion, who is a clever Action Girl, Willie is a rather dumb and materialistic Spoiled Brat.
- Gold Digger: When she learns about the Majahraja of Pankot Palace. Then she finds out he's only around ten.
- It's All About Me: When Indy heads off to sleep in his room, she tells Indy that he'll come back to her in five minutes and is very sure of it. She gets upset when he doesn't show up (if mostly because he's in a fight with a Thuggee assassin). Instead of simply going to him (as Indy suggested if she really wants him), she just calls out to him for blowing his chances, therefore missing the fact that Indy is in trouble."Indiana Jones, this is one night you'll never forget! This is the night I slipped right through your fingers! SLEEP TIGHT AND PLEASANT DREAMS! I could have been your greatest adventure."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Nine times out of ten, she's abrasive to Indy and Short Round and is self-centered, spoiled and often unpleasant, but she otherwise has moments where she handles situations without freaking out, and even acts like a Mama Bear to Short Round at times.
- Large Ham: A lot. She's certainly enjoying herself.
- The Load: Is spectacularly useless. Except when she saves Indy and Short Round's lives. In particular, she saves the antidote, enabling Indy to continue on this particular adventure. And since this is a prequel to Raiders, this makes her essentially responsible for the entire series.
- Mama Bear: Actually takes on this role towards Shorty during the final third of the movie, saving him from falling through a high bridge and keeping him in front of her when Mola Ram forces them to go back across said bridge so that he can't hurt him.
- Meaningful Name: Apparently, her name is derived from the "Wilhelm Scream". She's also named after Steven Spielberg's pet dog, much like how George Lucas had named Indy after his pet dog.
- Ms. Fanservice: Willie can be quite sexy when she's comfortable in the situation.Indy: So... wearing your jewels to bed, princess?
Willie: Yes.... And nothing else. Does that surprise you? - Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: She's originally from Missouri, and the drawl tends to slip back in when she gets really mad.
- Screaming Woman: And how. Kate Capshaw said it
was not her specialty, and she even had to learn how to shriek properly. - Skewed Priorities:
- A firefight has erupted in a large crowded room with you right in the middle, but sure, just focus on chasing down that large diamond that fell from your outfit instead of getting to safety. And just because you end up in a car that's getting shot at not long after, doesn't mean you can't be more concerned that you've just chipped one of your nails. At least she gets better at this by the end.
- Indy and Short Round are about to be crushed by a collapsing-ceiling trap. Willie not only takes her dear sweet time, she becomes more concerned about a broken nail rather than the fact that two people are about to die! (To be fair, she didn't outright know they were in fatal danger when she started complaining.)
- Spoiled Brat: Is always complaining about the luxuries she can't have in the middle of the jungle.
- Took a Level in Badass: It was gradual, but she rescued Indy and Short round from a spike trap. She also punched out a guy clinging to their mine cart and slowly but surely took on a Mama Bear attitude towards Short Round.
- Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Indy is forced to reply to her in that way.
- You Can Keep Her!: Needless to say, Indy's threat didn't exactly work.
Short Round
Wan Li (AKA Short Round)
"He no nuts. He's crazy!"
Played By: Ke Huy Quan
Voiced By (Latin American Spanish): Patricia Acevedo (first dub), Rodrigo Gutiérrez (second dub)
Voiced By (European French): Jackie Berger
"I keep telling you, you listen to me more, you live longer!"
A 12-year-old Chinese boy who works as a taxi driver in Shanghai, he ends up following Indy and Willie to British India.
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Regularly leaves out "to be" verbs and ignores noun/verb agreement.
- Audience Surrogate: He is meant to be one for the kids watching the film, allowing them to realize their dream of wanting to go on cool adventures with Indiana Jones, be semi-adopted by him, and even being able to save him from danger.
- Badass Adorable: A kid who manages to get past vast amounts of armed mooks.
- Bratty Half-Pint: He has a lot of the traits associated with this trope, although he also makes himself more useful than is usual for this character archetype.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Whatever happened to him? He is never seen or mentioned after Temple of Doom. According to the (possibly non-canon) comics he had a few more adventures with Jones before he went to a boarding school and they parted ways.
- Getaway Driver: Acts as one for Indy in the opening scene.
- Honor Before Reason: Goes back to save Indy even though he had a good opportunity to escape.
- I Know Karate: Northern-Style Kung Fu, actually. Ask the Thuggee guards whose arses he kicked.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At times a little insufferable, Short Round's still loyal to Indy and a heroic character.
- Kid Sidekick: Is Indiana Jones's partner, friend and nag. Indiana met him when he was a street orphan trying to pick Indy's pocket. His parents were killed during the Japanese bombing of Shanghai in 1932.
- No Indoor Voice: He tends to shout.
- Recruited from the Gutter: Indy relates how he first met his Kid Sidekick, Short Round, when the latter was a street orphan trying to pick his pocket. Short Round's loyalty saves him from "the Black Sleep of Kali Ma" later in the film.
Wu Han
Wu Han
Played By: David Yip
Voiced By (Latin American Spanish): José Antonio Macías
A Chinese archaeologist and a friend of Indy, who accompanies him during his confrontation with Lao Che at Club Obi Wan.
- Flat Character: Gets little-to-no proper context before he dies.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: After his death scene, Indy never dwells on him again.
- It Has Been an Honor: In his dying moments he reminds Indy of their great adventures together.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He's one of Indy's closest allies. Gets introduced in the opening scene and is then shortly killed off by one of Lao Che's thugs.
Zalim Singh
Zalim Singh, the Maharajah of Pankot
Played By: Raj Singh (on-set actor), Katie Leigh (voice)
A 13-year-old king who rules the princely state of Pankot in British India.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Zalim is thirteen years old, yet he is the ruler of Pankot.
- Bilingual Bonus: The Maharajah of Pankot is called 'Zalim' which means evil in Hindi. Fitting, as he is a bad guy. But only because his second-in-command was feeding him mind-control juice.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: He has been put under the Black Sleep by Mola Ram. Luckily, Short Round snaps him out of it.
- Creepy Child: He enjoyed torturing Indy with a voodoo doll when he is under the Black Sleep.
- It's Personal: He became furious when Short Round kicked him to stop him from torturing Indy, and personally whipped him.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Assists Short Round once his brainwashing has been eradicated.
- Voodoo Doll: His weapon of choice.
Phillip Blumburtt
Captain Phillip James Blumburtt
Played By: Philip Stone
A British Indian Army officer stationed near Pankot. His troops end up battling the Thuggee cult during the climax.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Of the 11th Poona Rifles.
- I Am Very British: His very name suggests and sounds like a combination of "bombastic", "bluster" and "pomp". This trope also applies to Earl Weber, played by Dan Aykroyd, who affects such an over-the-top English accent, that his name comes out as "A-Wubbuh" when he introduces himself.
- Officer and a Gentleman: Though he isn't in the film very much, he comes off as a professional and perfectly capable leader.
Marhan
Marhan
Played By: D.R Nanayakkara
""We know you are coming back, when life return to our village. Now, you can see the miracle of the rock.""
A shaman from the village of Mayapore.
- Answer to Prayers: Marhan prayed to Shiva for help on finding the stone. And that prayer was answered when Indy was guided to the village and undertook the quest to retrieve the Shiva Linga and the children.
- Because Destiny Says So: He tells Indy and his companions that he had a vision where a man would fall from the sky to rescue the children of Mayapore and return the Sankara Stone. And that Shiva brought Indy here to fulfill that mission.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Marhan is a peaceful man but when Mola Ram tried to rip out his heart during his attempt to steal the Sankara Stone. He protected himself with an incantation and summoned a blast of fire to push back the dark priest.
- Creepy Good: Marhan has a very unsettling laugh but carries no evil intentions whatsoever.
- Determinator: When Mola Ram stole the stone from the village, a famine was created as the livestock and crops died and the well dried up. The Thuggee offered food and resources to Mayapore if they would turn to Kali. Marhan chased them away and convinced the villagers to persevere. When a fire erupted among the fields and the children got stolen, an emissary of the Thuggee returned and promised that their problems would be resolved if they turned to Mola Ram. Marhan sent that emissary to meet Kali in hell. Despite the hardships that Mayapore experienced, Marhan persevered until help finally arrived.
- Seer: Marhan was able to predict that Indy would arrive to help Mayapore and knew that he would succeed in his quest to retrieve the stone and the children.
- You No Take Candle: English isn’t a language that Marhan is very fluent in, and neither was the actor who played him. Steven Spielberg told the actor the lines and he would repeat them back and mimic his movements.
Enemies
Lao Che
Lao Che
Played By: Roy Chiao (on-set actor), Ron Taylor (voice)
A Chinese gangster who owns the Club Obi Wan in Shanghai. He meets with Indy to bargain over the ashes of the Qing dynasty emperor Nurhaci, but Lao's treachery soon leads to the two men trying to kill each other.
- Carrying the Antidote: Lao Che is at least chivalrous enough to swindle and poison Indiana in a reversible way.
- The Don: The Chinese version of this.
- Karma Houdini: He tries to murder Indy and cheats him yet he got off scot-free, after murdering one of his friends. There were plans to have him return in a sequel, but following the death of Roy Chiao, the plans were scrapped.
- No Honor Among Thieves: He'd rather have Indy near-fatally poisoned instead of honoring their deal.
- Outliving One's Offspring: The two men accompanying him at the table are his sons Kao Kan and Chen. Chen is killed when Indy throws a skewer into his abdomen.
- Starter Villain: He's the biggest threat to Indy in the first act, and disappears afterward.
- The Triads and the Tongs: He's a powerful Shanghai mob boss.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Lao Che is ultimately this to Mola Ram's crusade. Double-crossing Indy in the prologue sets off the chain of events that strands Jones in India and pits him against the Thugees for control of the Shankara Stones.
- What Could Have Been: His character was enough of a fan favorite for Spielberg to consider bringing him back for a sequel, even possibly making him the antagonist of what would become Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Sadly, any plans for the character's return were quashed when Roy Chiao died in 1999.
Chattar Lal
Chattar Lal, the Prime Minister of Pankot
Played By: Roshan Seth
"Your friend has seen, and she has heard, and now she will not talk."
Maharajah Singh's top royal advisor in Pankot, who is secretly working for the Thuggee cult.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's not clear if he is following the Thuggee of his own volition or is brainwashed under the Black Sleep of Kali. The sourcebook suggests he may be under control of his own actions, as it claims he escaped the temple with stolen treasures.
- Death by Adaptation: In the novelization and the comic book adaption, Chattar meets his death by getting knocked into the lava pit when fighting Indy.
- Evil All Along: Chattar appears friendly to the heroes when they first step into Pankot Palace, but he is later seen supporting the Thuggee cult.
- Evil Chancellor: The Prime Minister of Pankot is in cahoots with the Thuggee.
- Karma Houdini: According to the official sourcebook, Chattar escaped the temple with stolen treasures after getting defeated by Indy.
- Majored in Western Hypocrisy: Chattar Lal, prime minister to the Maharaja of Pankot, attended Oxford.
- Treacherous Advisor: Chattar served as prime minister to the Majaraja and secretly subjected him to the Black Sleep of Kali so the Thuggee can operate freely within Pankot.
- Uncertain Doom: In the film, the last we see of Chattar Lal is when he gets stuck under the wheel in the sacrificial chamber and is subsequently seen to be unconscious and his fate remained unclear. The sourcebook claims he escaped with stolen treasures.
Mola Ram
Mola Ram
Played By: Amrish Puri
Voiced By (Latin American Spanish): Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza (first dub), Humberto Vélez (second dub)
"Drop them, Dr. Jones! They will be found; you won't!"
The leader of the Thuggees, an evil cult that commits human sacrifices for the Hindu goddess Kali. He has kidnapped an entire village's worth of children to use them as slave miners in his search for the legendary Sankara Stones.
- Ax-Crazy: He's rather calm and composed for the most part, but he takes a lot of enjoyment in what he does. His Establishing Character Moment has him tear out a man's heart while grinning and burning him alive, clearly enjoying the whole thing.
- Bad Boss: Expends his men with the angst of spending ammunition, as shown by him casually dropping a mook down to his death to knock Indy into the mouths of the crocodiles and then laughing about it (he's not even mad that he missed). He also orders the water tank knocked over and smashed, sending a huge tidal wave down the mine tunnels without regard for the six or seven Thuggee guards in mine carts who went down there after Indy and co.
- Bald of Evil: He wears an animal skull for his rituals, but has not a hair on his head save for his eyebrows. It gave him such a striking appearance that Amrish Puri decided to keep his head shaved afterwards and became extremely popular for playing villain roles in Hindi films.
- Beat Still, My Heart: The infamous sacrifice scene, where he plunges into a sacrifice victim and rips out his still-beating heart is possibly the most famous example of this trope. Especially when it starts beating faster the closer the victim is to the lava pit and ends up getting caught in flames.
- Big Bad: Of the second film (though it's actually a prequel), since the cult is responsible for the children disappearing. Notably, the only Big Bad in the series to be defeated by Indy himself. Belloq was killed by the wrath of God, Donovan was tricked by Elsa into drinking from the false Grail, Spalko was knowledge-d to death by the aliens and Voller dies in a plane crash in Ancient Syracuse. That said, Shiva does at least get an assist on the defeat by responding to Indy's incantation by turning the stones molten and burning through the bag containing them, distracting Mola Ram. Bonus points for the stone that burned his hand being completely cool to the touch after briefly flipping through the air and landing in Indy's hand.
- Big "NO!": Yells one as Indy cuts the bridge he and his Thugee goons are standing on.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The shooting script and novelization had Mola Ram have the same confused and bewildered, snapping-out-of-brainwashing reaction as everyone else that was mind-controlled after handling the glowing stone. In those versions he looks confused and terrified for a second, then falls to the crocodiles. The final film is more ambiguous, as he merely looks puzzled and confused.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Well, prequel anyways — to Belloq. Belloq was a greedy archaeologist who didn't particularly care about the cultures and religions he poached artifacts from, and a hired gun for the Nazis. Mola Ram is a cult leader and sorcerer who fully believes in the religious significance of the artifacts he steals, and is clearly the one in control of his operation. Belloq is introduced by the ten minute mark of Raiders and is established as being a persistent rival to Indy who has no problem getting his hands dirty in the field; Mola Ram isn't introduced until the beginning of the third act in Temple, and prefers to stay hidden in the shadows.
- Crown of Horns: Wears a headress made of a bull's skull as the Thuggee cult's leader.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Falling off a cliff and being eaten by crocodiles is not a nice way to go.
- Death Glare: Thanks to his actor, who was famous for giving these, Mola Ram does this often in the movie.
- Disney Villain Death: Tries to catch one of the red-hot Sankara Stones with one hand while hanging onto the cut bridge with the other, and ends up falling to the crocodiles.
- Eaten Alive: He's still alive when he lands in the river despite hitting the side of cliff several times. He would wish he hadn't because he ends up feeling his body being torn to shreds by the crocodiles.
- Establishing Character Moment: His introduction shows Mola Ram conducting human sacrifice by tearing someone's heart out and lowering them into lava with sadistic glee, showing him to be a viciously cruel and over the top cult leader with splendor.
- Evil Gloating: He gives a good one while preparing to brainwash Indy by putting him into the Black Sleep.Mola Ram: The British in India will be slaughtered, then we will overrun the Muslims. Then the Hebrew God will fall, and then the Christian God will be cast down and forgotten. Soon, Kali-ma will RULE THE WORLD.
- Evil Is Hammy: Amrish Puri delivers a very grandiose performance as Mola Ram with some intense facial expressions and line delivieries. His introductory scene alone has him holding up a man's flaming heart while laughing maniacally as said man plummets into a pit of lava, establishing that Ram is a man who loves his job.
- Evil Laugh: Has a somewhat dark and deep laugh, best observed when he is introduced sacrificing a victim and when he escapes through a trap door when Indy fights to save Willie.
- Evil Sorcerer: He's using supernatural abilities on a few occasions, like when holding the sacrificial victim alive after ripping his heart out.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Mola Ram possesses a deep, commanding voice that only adds to his imposing nature as cruel cult leader.
- Faux Affably Evil: When Indy is captured by the cultists, Mola Ram is quite lighthearted, with big, creepy smiles and a mellow voice... his laugh is quite off-putting, as well.
- The Fundamentalist: He is a devout follower of Kali (who is basically the God of Evil in this movie's theology) and everything he does is supposedly to make her more powerful so she can Take Over the World.
- Horns of Villainy: His ritual headdress is a bull's skull with large, curled horns to ramp up the evil factor. Particularly noteworthy as cattle are sacred in Hinduism, which makes his choice of headwear all the more blasphemous.
- It's All About Me: He ultimately reveals he cares only about himself, bellowing "the stones are mine!" during his struggle with Indy.
- Jerkass: Practices human sacrifice, enslaves children, brainwashes adults, and has world domination and the extermination of all other religions next on his to-do list. But he also isn't above tearing one of his own guards off a cliff to drop him on Indy, then having a hearty chuckle about it. Overlaps with Evil Is Petty.
- Just Desserts: His ultimate fate is to be eaten by crocodiles.
- Kick the Dog: He doesn't have a reason to force kidnapped children to slave in his mines, but he does anyway. It seems to be motivated by pure sadism rather than anything else.
- Knight of Cerebus: Mola Ram is a much darker character than even the franchise's other villains. He inflicts shockingly graphic violence regularly, and he's portrayed quite ominously. Whenever he appears, the film enters into horror territory. Given that the franchise also includes plenty of Nazis, the fact he's one of the most horrific antagonists takes some doing.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He wanted to use the Sankara Stones in order to make the Thuggee unstoppable, but ends up being killed by one after burning his hand on one and falling into a river of crocodiles. He also earlier threw one of his own Thuggee soldiers at Indiana Jones into the river, making his death even more ironic.
- Obviously Evil: His sinister appearance and actions in his introduction leave little doubt that Mola Ram is a very evil man.
- Oh, Crap!: While he's normally calm and composed for the most part, particularly when he's in control of the situation, he has a huge moment of this when Indy cuts the bridge he and several of his Thugee goons are on.
- Orcus on His Throne: He's content to wait and lead the operation from the temple, and has his men do most of the work. He only goes into the action during the climax to reclaim the Sankara Stones.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: His attire consists of black and red robes and he also sports red paint on his arms and head. He does plenty in the film to establish himself as a very evil person.
- Religion is Magic: Either his religion grants him the power to rip someone's heart out without them dying, or it allows him to create the illusion that this is happening for anyone who sees the act.
- Religion of Evil: How Kali-Ma is presented in the film, and he's at the head of it.
- Sadist: He clearly enjoys his cruel actions. His Establishing Character Moment has him gleefully and brutally murder a man in a human sacrifice, all the while grinning and cackling.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Rather prominently wears a bull's skull as a headdress along with some teeth in his necklace.
- Slasher Smile: He does several of these, one notable example would be when he sees
◊ the brainwashed Maharajah. - We Have Reserves: Pushing his own men to their deaths, hoping their falling bodies will knock Indy from the rope bridge.
- Would Hurt a Child: Has children enslaved to work in his mines to collect gems and search for the missing Sankara Stones, having the older ones brainwashed under the Black Sleep of Kali to do his bidding. He later does not hesitate to threaten Short Round on the bridge at knife point along with Willie.
Thuggee Chief Guard
Thuggee Chief Guard
Played By: Pat Roach
The Thuggee enforcer who also supervises the enslaved children. He gets in a fistfight with Indy, though it doesn't end well for him.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Prior to his death, he hysterically begs for help from the same man he was brutally trying to murder for the last three minutes.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He is in charge of overseeing the slaves at Pankot Palace, and also gives Indy a good fight.
- Beard of Evil: A brutish henchman with a huge bushy beard.
- Brownface: Caucasian English actor Pat Roach is coated in makeup to appear Indian for this role.
- The Brute: In addition to being gigantic, he is a violent and merciless human being who enjoys beating children.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He gets his sash caught in a rock crusher and then gets dragged, feet-first, into it slowly all while begging for Indy to save him. Indy even tries to save the guy, but to no avail. Then the film cuts to above the crusher and we see a smear of blood on it. At this point, no one could blame Willie for looking away.
- The Dragon: He is Mola Ram's top henchman.
- Giant Mook: Similarly to the German Mechanic from the previous film, he's a big guy. They're even both played by the exact same actor.
- Ground by Gears: He meets his end ths way by getting pulled into a rock crusher.
- Hate Sink: He is a ruthless slaver that would whip children for failing to work properly.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He is killed by the same rock crusher he tried to kill Indy with moments before.
- Oh, Crap!: He's practically freaking out and pleading for his life when he gets pulled into the rock crusher.
- Sadist: During the initial fight, he has a chance to kill Indy with a sledgehammer then and there. Instead, he throws away the hammer and drags Indy over to the rock crusher because he thinks it would be more fun to kill him with that.
- Stout Strength: Is heavy and strong.
- Would Hurt a Child: The first time we see him, he is using a whip on a child who collapsed in the mines.
