Baadshah

Baadshah (Emperor) remains the cult classic Bollywood by Abbas-Mustan duo with SRK in the lead. Even if you watch it with the modern lens, 20+ years later, it will remain the same - Khan's quirky character, the zesty genre-banding plot, original comedy, and the good-old 90s vibe that just brings back the memories. TN.

Only a complete curmudgeon could dislike this film. It's a brilliant slapstick parody of the spy/private eye genres with the Baadshah of Bollywood himself, Shahrukh Khan, hamming it up gloriously as a slightly dim-witted private detective who is innocently drawn into a conspiracy to assassinate the prime minister of India. The hilariously complex plot of mistaken identities and spy/counter spy is so twisted it took me several viewings to actually make it all out. (The fact that I was having to read subtitles didn't help) Surprisingly, the story holds together much better than it seemed to at first.

Bollywood is notorious for stealing from Hollywood, and Baadshah is no exception. (For all you other non-Hindi speakers, "Baadshah" means King, like the one in a deck of cards) The opening dance number, Main Te Hoon Pagal, is clearly inspired by the "Cuban Pete" song from "The Mask", and later on whole scenes are copied nearly frame for frame from a couple of Jackie Chan movies: Mr. Nice Guy and Rush Hour. The results are just great good fun.

The high point has to be the campy, outrageous "Baadshah, O Baadshah" nightclub number with Khan strutting his stuff amid a huge chorus of dancers in a whirl of silver lame and pyrotechnics. For a guy who claims to be a very bad dancer, he has an easy grace and agility that makes him a joy to watch.

Khan's performance in Baadshah is perfect. The comedy is fantastic, and there isn't a dull moment. The supporting cast, including Twinkle Khanna, Johnny Lever (if you can stand him), and the ever-essential villain, Amrish Puri, are wonderful. Like most Hindi films, there's a mish-mash of everything you can imagine: drama, slapstick comedy, teary-eyed pathos (gotta see the Khan cry at least once in every film), romance (gotta see the hero dance around trees at least once in every film) high-tech James Bond gadgets, hilariously bad special effects; Baadshah has it all!

Okay, let's face it, we've all seen this before. Every single scene. But Shah Rukh Khan adds such a refreshing and believable twist to the story that you'll be seeing it again for the first time. I was roaring with laughter the whole movie. No one knows what anyone else is doing in this movie, everything is a case of mistaken identity. But the humor is it's strength. I absolutely recommend, it's not intended to be taken seriously, just enjoyed. Fun songs, cute dances. Wow, I liked it! Am I biased because I'm a Shah Rukhaholic? You bet! You will find yourself singing "Baadshah" in the supermarket the next day, remembering a scene and chuckling to yourself out loud.

This has to be the best comedy movie of SRK till date! Abbas-Mustan created a comic film ahead of its time, may be this was the reason why film didn't do well in theaters after release. Anyway, I love watching this movie on television whenever possible and it has fair audience viewership on TV. It's one of this movies like Andaz Apna Apna which didn't do well at release but rocks the Television screen till date. Except for few glitches and songs, the film is one of best comic movies from 90's. SRK has played the comic-detective character bang on! And almost all the co-stars have played their roles to perfection. Especially the Johnny Lever and gang. Twinkle looks hot and beautiful. The film also has a logical story flow, of course you may find some illogical comedy but that's accepted in a comic film. The film successfully touches the elements of humor, thrill and bit of romance. Recommend you to watch this movies with you friends, you are sure to get some laughter riot.

This was the first movie which makes me fall in love with Shahrukh Khan in my childhood. I was not a huge fan of romantic movies at that time and never seen Shahrukh.. this was the first instance where I found him genuinely an entertaining, not only because of him but the plot and screenplay of this movie was fantastic and I still enjoy watching this movie on tv even in 2022..