Meet Bollywood's celebrity snakes

From Kaa to Boa, reel-life snakes, whether in live-action or animation, are almost always the ultimate nemesis. India, however, offers a better deal to these slithering creatures owing to their mythological roots what with Lord Shiva wearing one around like a garland as a mark of wisdom.

And while the West doled out its fictional comic-book heroes like Batman and Spiderman, we've got our very own Nagraj -- the Serpent King with innumerable superpowers. So it's no surprise that Bollywood has conflicting interpretations for this reptile in its movies -- both as friend and enemy.

With Hisss, directed by Hollywood's Jennifer Lynch starring Mallika Sherawat in all her prosthetic creepiness is all set to spew venom on its wrongdoers, rediff.com lists some of Bollywood's best-known snake movies.