Baadshah (1999)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Directors:

Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla
Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla

Writers:

Shyam Goel (screenplay)
Neeraj Vora (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 1999 (India)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

World's most favorite detective

Plot:

K. Jhunjhunwala would like to locate his missing/runaway daughter, Seema Malhotra, so that he can get...

Plot Keywords:

Explosion | Exploding Car | Abduction | Slapstick | Airport

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Rakhee Gulzar	...	Chief Minister Gayetri Bachchan
Shahrukh Khan	...	Raj 'Baadshah'
Twinkle Khanna	...	Seema Malhotra
Amrish Puri	...	Suraj Singh Thaper
Johnny Lever	...	Ram Lal
Prem Chopra	...	CBI Chief
Shashikala	...	Baadshah's Mother
Deepak Tijori	...	CBI Agent Deepak Malhotra
Sharat Saxena	...	Moti
Sachin Khedekar	...	Tyagraj Bachchan
Pankaj Dheer	...	Chief Security Officer Khanna
Deepshika	...	Rani
Saurabh Shukla	...	Saxena
Avtar Gill	...	K. Jhunjhunwala
Razak Khan	...	Manikchand (as Razzak Khan)

Runtime:

India:175 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Film City, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company:

Venus Records & Tapes

Trivia:

During the filming of "Hum to Deewane Huye," while Twinkle Khanna was dancing in the rain in a sari, she tripped and fell down and was drenched in mud.

Quotes:

Raj: The amalgamation before the fluctuation and ramification of the constitutional ambiguity and the judicial paradoxical position can be a verbal turmoil.
Casino manager: He's right!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

Just gotta love it

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!