Baazigar

Films like Mother India, Sholay and Lagaan may be the greatest Bollywood movies of all time and I agree that they are but Baazigar is also included in my list. It was the first Shah Rukh Khan film I've seen and that is how I liked him and I still do although he played a villain in the film. Baazigar is the most intelligent revenge thriller I have ever seen even comparing to any Hollywood movie because it is directed by Abbas-Mustan and no one makes better thrillers than them. They are simply one of my most favourite directors and I have always liked their films they are completely unforgettable like Daraar, Ajnabee, Humraaz, Aitraaz, 36 China Town and Naqaab.

The story is beyond fantastic about Ajay (Shah Rukh Khan) who steals the hearts of Seema (Shilpa Shetty) and Priya (Kajol) the daughters of his greatest enemy Madan Chopra (Dilip Tahil). Years ago Madan Chopra snatched away Ajay's family business and property. Now Ajay is grown up and has come back to avenge the death of his father and baby sister. But Ajay didn't plan on falling in love with one of chopra's daughters. Will he forsake all for his love? Or will he forsake his love for the sake of his family? This blockbuster hit will definitely keep you riveted to your seat. It is simply SRH's and Abbas-Mustan's best film ever. Shilpa Shetty was introduced but also SRK and Kajol have appeared for the first time together and they are a landmark couple of Bollywood. The movie also has excellent comedy mainly by Johnny Lever that is still funny. I have seen it more times than any other film and is about 15 years old and I still love it. Music is also good and the best songs are Baazigar oh Baazigar & Yeh Kali Kali Aankhen.

I grew up watching many a Shah Rukh Khan film and after watching this I am an even greater fan of his acting. This films proves how versatile of an actor he is. I won't reveal much of the plot but if you've seen A Kiss Before Dying starring Matt Dillon you'll somewhat get the picture.

At one moment, you experience the fun, lovable, and illuminating essence that SRK is known for. At another moment, you see SRK as an evil, obsessive, and enraged force to be reckoned with.

If you want to experience a film which has both styles of SRK then watch this. It's not a perfect Bollywood film. There are a few flaws with the special effects and it gets gory towards the end but you will enjoy yourself and you will be asking yourself, "How does SRK pull this off?"

An excellent movie.A must watch.One of the best from Bollywood.The story is excellent.It tells about Ajay who lives with his widowed mother.he falls in love with the Chopra sisters Seema and Priya.One day murders Seema by throwing her out of a building.,The reason he does it to take revenge on Madan Chopra.Years back Madan was employed in his fathers company.Madan took control over it.Ajay and his family were thrown.One day his father and baby sister died.Years later he is back for revenge.The movie is plain excellent.This movie can only be the best debut for Srk( Deewana(1992) his first flick was a crap but not a mega crap).His performance is magnificent.Kajol does well.Shilpa is okay.Dalip did good.Rakhee supported well.The dialogs are great.Cinematography is excellent.The direction is excellent.Johnny Lever was good.The music is wonderful.A great movie.Go and watch it. Rating-9/10

'Baazigar' is probably the first commercial Hindi film that centres around the anti-hero. It 'loosely' rips off 'A Kiss Before Dying'. It's not a scene by scene copy and the director duo did smartly Indianize it (unfortunately a lot of it is too Bollywood e.g. the 'dishum dishum' fight sequences). To an extent, as a film, it is better than 'A Kiss Before Dying' as the twists are changed to appeal to the Indian audience. The songs are pleasant but some of the tunes are ripped off too. The whole comedy track featuring Johnny Lever and co deserve to be fast-forwarded. What mainly makes 'Baazigar' more watchable than it's 'original' source is its performances. The film belongs to Shahrukh Khan who does his first anti-hero act and blows the audience away with a strong balanced performance of a multi-layered character. Kajol is lovably hyper in the beginning but she shows her character's gradual maturity with grace. Shilpa Shetty gives a stunning debut act. Rakhee plays the typical distressed mother again. Johnny Lever is irritating as always. The rest of the cast do not impress much either. Technically the film could have used a lot of improvement but one should keep in mind that this is a film of the early 1990s. The end sequence is a disappointment and it sadly brings the film down by a notch but on the whole, 'Baazigar' is enjoyable to watch. In spite of the plentiful plot holes, there are some fine moments like the scenes where Ajay manipulates Seema, Priya discovering the truth about her sister, Priya confronting Ajay...Even though one knows what happens in the end, there's something about the film that makes you sit through it.

Baazigar review :

A huge gamble for then rising star Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) who dared to play the titular anti-hero role rejected by his peers Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar; Baazigar became an instant box office hit and catapulted SRK in to the top league.

Anu Malik's melodious score and Abbas -Mustan's slick direction deserve due credit but Baazigar was all about SRK and the fantastic way in which he portrayed the dual characters - one a scheming lover who bumps off Shilpa Shetty in an iconic scene and second, her sister Kajol's supposedly sympathetic boyfriend. The twist in the tale comes from a missing contact lens which makes for an exhilarating scene where SRK frantically searches for it in the wash basin to avoid being caught!!!

Another fave scene of mine is where he sits on the CEO chair with legs on the table after being newly appointed to lead the business conglomerate of his enemy Dalip Tahil and SRK's expressions in it are just fantastic!!

Despite playing the anti-hero, the audience sympathy goes with SRK once we get to know his tragic backstory with Rakhee playing his maa much before Karan Arjun (1995).

Baazigar not just established SRK but also started his much loved pairing with Kajol - they spell magic together in the 'Baazigar o baazigar' and 'Yeh kaali kaali aankhen' song which became chartbusters.

Released in Diwali 1993 at Dreamland Cinema, Mumbai, the film became a silver jubilee hit and paved the way for Yash Chopra's Darr (1993) another hit with SRK as the villain. Both, Baazigar and Darr, are one of SRK's finest performances and a befitting reward for taking such a huge risk at the beginning of his career. Real life Baazigar, indeed!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni