Khudai

This is a classic in the true sense of the word. Commercial actors always play it safe & are shy to experiment. But Rajesh Khanna has all along be different.

Sample this - Ittefaq, Anand, Aavishkar, Red Rose & Khudai.

In Khudai, his performance is effortless. Madhavi has also done a great job & kept pace with the veteran. The film had a poor run when it was release, probably due to inadequate publicity & also because it did not have any ingredient to attract the masses.

I watched it on TV & over the years, it has attained the status of a classic.

Rajesh Khanna is one of those very actors who can be proud about his body of work. Khudai would definitely rank amongst his top ten performances.

Khudai - is one of the last movies in which Rajesh Khanna the Super Star is playing the title role. The movie is based on a life of a film director who ultimately dies for the film. The idea of the movie is great but the presentation suffers and the music by Jagjit Singh is a weak link. The movie again was not properly released in 1993 and a no of Rajesh Khanna original fans have not seen the movie. The movie is sometimes shown on TV channels. It is a must see as the characterisation by the Super Star is well done but the movie has suffered due to poor presentation and poor release. It is a must see, if available.

This film is inspired on the real life tragedy of Late Guru Datt Saheb. While viewing this film, one has to feel by heart that the character portrayed by Mr. Khanna is a landmark for a classic performance Indian cinema has ever produced. One can not even imagine this character to be characterized in such depth except Mr. Rajesh ji. It is not out of place to mention here that he has won the Best Actor Award at Ujvegistan for this film, for which he is most genuinely deserved. Moreover, in every angle, this film must be categorised under the all time classic artistic Indian films. I must appreciate the fact especially because it is the capability of only Mr. Khanna that he had shown his boldness to accept this challenging role without thinking its box report result, when cheap trend Amitabh brand multi starry formula films were dominating the box office.

Khudai review :

Said to be influenced by legendary actor-director Guru Dutt's life, Khudai had an aging Rajesh Khanna as a sensitive director with the pretty Madhavi playing his muse. Their guru-shishyaa relationship is misconstrued to be an affair by the media which angers his son Brando Bakshi.

Next, Rajesh Khanna starts a film called Khudai and casts his son Brando opposite Madhavi. In a unique twist, Brando falls in love with Madhavi which upsets Rajesh and he stops his film midway.

An intense plot with some philosophical dialogues, Khudai was a delayed project and didnt find distributors for a theatrical release. It was finally premiered in 1994 on Zee TV.

Of the cast, Rajesh Khanna was earnest as the serious director who cannot conform to the mindless cinema which Bollywood had transformed in the 80s. Interestingly, Khudai mocks the lost and found formula as well as the sex and violence content which was synonymous with then Bollywood. In one scene, Khanna admonishes Madhavi for signing 23 films at a time - something common in those days.

Madhavi was the center of attraction in Khudai and though her performance is marred by the uneven characterization, the dusky beauty looks absolutely ravishing in most of the scenes. Deepika looked too young as Khanna's supportive wifey. Brando Bakshi failed to impress.

Overall, Khudai has its moments but doesnt impress in totality. As for its comparison with Guru Dutt's life, I seriously doubt the films authenticity.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.