Baazigar

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For the tribe, see Bazigar.

Baazigar
Baazigar 1993.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAbbas-Mustan
Written byRobin Bhatt
Akash Khurana
Javed Siddiqui
Produced byGanesh Jain
Champak Jain
StarringShah Rukh Khan
Kajol
Siddharth Ray
Shilpa Shetty
Rakhee Gulzar
Dalip Tahil
Johnny Lever
CinematographyThomas A. Xavier
Edited byHussain M. Burmawala
Music bySongs:
Anu Malik
Production
company
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 12 November 1993 (1993-11-12) (India)
Running time
182 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹2 crore
Box office₹14–18 crore

Baazigar (transl. Gambler) is a 1993 Indian Hindi language romantic thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Venus Movies. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Dalip Tahil; while Raakhee, Shilpa Shetty, Siddharth Ray, and Johnny Lever appear in supporting roles. It is a contemporary thriller about a young man seeking to avenge the fall of his family. The story is loosely based on Ira Levin's 1953 novel A Kiss Before Dying and its 1991 film adaptation of the same name.[1] This was Shah Rukh Khan's breakthrough role as the sole lead (his first as an anti-hero), Kajol's first commercial success and Shetty's film debut.[2] The film also features Dalip Tahil, Raakhee, Siddharth Ray and Johnny Lever as other supporting characters with soundtrack composition by Anu Malik.[3]

Baazigar had a global theatrical premiere on 12 November 1993, coinciding with Diwali.[4] Made on a budget of ₹20 million, the film was declared a super hit at box office with worldwide accumulation of ₹140 million.[5] Apart from emerging as a major financial success, the film has become a cult film over years due to its suspense, screenplay, story, music and starcast performances.[6] It was the first collaboration between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, who went on to become one of India's most beloved on-screen couples. It helped establish Khan, Kajol, Shetty and Malik in Bollywood and the soundtrack has sold over 10 million units.[7]

The film earned 10 nominations at 39th Filmfare Awards ceremony.[8] It won Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Music and Best Actor for Khan.[9] A Telugu remake, Vetagadu, was released in 1995,[10] before a Tamil remake, Samrat, was released in 1997 and a Kannada remake, Nagarahavu, was released in 2002.[11]

Plot[]

Madan Chopra is a project manager in the company run by Vishwanath Sharma, a wealthy businessman who lives happily with his wife Shobha, 5 year-old son Ajay and newborn daughter Bani. Madan has two daughters, Seema and Priya. Upon knowing that Madan was embezzling money, Vishwanath gets him jailed for 3 years.

3 years later[]

Madan completes his jail term and returns. He apologizes to Vishwanath for the past; Shobha persuades him to re-employ Madan. However unbeknownst to anyone, Madan has returned to exact revenge. One day, Vishwanath goes on a business trip so he hands the power of attorney to Madan who uses this to become the company's owner.

Vishwanath learns of this after return but it got late. The Sharma family is ejected from their palatial home after Madan takes a loan on Vishwanath's name. Ajay sees Madan eve-teasing Shobha as she comes to ask for their home back. She subsequently curses him to tragedy and helplessness later on in life.

Due to the poverty given by Madan, Vishwanath dies of a heart attack and baby Bani dies of illness, leaving Shobha into a state of shock as a result of the loss of him and Bani. In her mental instability she is unable to recognize Ajay as her son. Heartbroken, Ajay vows to make Madan pay. His only mission in life now becomes the downfall of Madan.

15 years later[]

Ajay has grown up to seek revenge from Madan, now a rich businessman. He himself has got his admission in the college where Seema studies, and makes her fall in love with him. Madan takes part in his last car race only to learn that another participant Vicky, who Ajay assumes the role as, let him win on purpose to meet him.

Madan is impressed with him; Priya falls in love with him. Thus, Ajay dates both daughters in different identities. Later, he asks Seema to commit suicide with him when Madan fixes her marriage with someone else. They write and sign suicide notes, but he lies that he was testing her and rips up his note while keeping hers.

They plan wedding at registrar's office. However Ajay takes Seema to roof of the building and pushes her off, murdering her. He then discreetly mails her suicide note to her home. Madan orders the case closed to prevent embarrassment. Suspecting Seema cannot do suicide, Priya secretly continues the investigation with Inspector Karan Saxena.

6 months later[]

Seema's colleague Ravi who had a crush on her, tells Priya that he has a photo of Seema with Ajay at a party back at his hostel. Before she can reach Ravi to see photo, Ajay finds out and murders him. In their struggle he forces him to sign a suicide note which makes it appear as Ravi is Seema's murderer. The investigation is halted a second time.

Meanwhile Ajay, posing as 'Vicky', slowly wins Madan's confidence. Seema's friend Anjali meets Priya and Ajay at a shop. She also has a photo of Seema and Ajay at her party. Priya and 'Vicky' get engaged. Anjali tries to warn Chopras that Ajay is 'Vicky'. Ajay arrives at her place and kills her, stuffing her body in suitcase and throwing in a river.

History repeats itself as Madan hands over attorney power to 'Vicky'. However a man and his dog find the body and Priya realizes the killer is alive. Ajay hastens his plans realising she is hellbent on finding the killer and he has fallen in love with her. His plans hit a glitch when he and Priya run into real Vicky, Ajay's friend whose identity he took which makes Priya suspicious.

Madan is shocked to know the company is run by Sharma group after returning from his trip. Ajay reveals truth of his desire to seek revenge and kicks Madan out. Priya learns Ajay's truth from Vicky and rushes to his home. She is shocked to see marriage locket in photos of him with Seema. Ajay comes home; Priya confronts him with his misdeeds.

He then reveals her his painful past. Priya realizes it is Madan who is at fault as Ajay introduces her to Shobha. Madan arrives, shoots Ajay and gets him beaten by goons. Soon Shobha returns to her senses and Madan injures her, angering Ajay.

He fights the goons viciously and is about to kill Madan. But Karan persuades him to have mercy for Shobha's sake. Madan takes the chance to stab him with a rod. Ajay laughs and impales him with the same rod, killing him. He collapses in Shobha's arms. Priya, Karan and Shobha watch despondently as Ajay dies, finally at peace.

Cast[]

Production[]

The film's premise is a subversion of a concept loosely inspired by a Hollywood film, A Kiss Before Dying (1991), which itself was based on a novel of the same name. While it borrows the basic premise, Baazigar tells a different, subversive story. While Matt Dillon's character in A Kiss Before Dying is a villain who murders for money, Baazigar subverts this, with Shah Rukh Khan's character instead being a sympathetic anti-hero seeking vengeance for the brutal injustices done to his family.[12]

Several A-list Bollywood stars were approached for the lead role, but they turned it down, due to the character being a murderous, negative anti-hero. Salman Khan was the first choice, but he turned it down, with his father Salim Khan saying Salman was not ready for such a gamble. Anil Kapoor and Akshay Kumar was the next choice, but he also rejected the offer, as it went against his "heroic" on-screen image. Shah Rukh Khan eventually convinced producer Ratan Jain that only he could pull off the role; Jain liked his confidence, and cast him in the role. However, his casting was criticized by trade pundits who incorrectly predicted that "a boy with cute dimples" would never be accepted as an anti-hero.[12] Sridevi was supposed to play both female roles (twin sisters) as did Sean Young in original film, but the director realized that because of her popularity, the audience will not be able to sympathize with the hero if he kills the character played by Sridevi, hence they decided to cast different actresses.[13]

Music[]

The music was composed by Anu Malik and won him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director.[14] The song "Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein" bagged singer Kumar Sanu his fourth consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer after Aashiqui, Saajan and Deewana.[15] Other singers featured in the album are Asha Bhosle, Pankaj Udhas, Alka Yagnik, Vinod Rathod and Sonali Vajpai. The soundtrack was released by Venus Music.[16] Dr. Alban's song "It's My life" was also featured.

A soundtrack was also released in Marathi. The film's soundtrack album sold 10 million units,[7] making it the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack album of 1993.[17] The soundtrack " Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein" was inspired by the African hit "Yeke Yeke" and others.[18]

Baazigar
Soundtrack album by
Anu Malik
Released1993
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelVenus Music
Anu Malik chronology
Phool Aur Angaar
(1993) 		Baazigar
(1993) 		The Gentleman
(1994)

Track listing[]

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Baazigar O Baazigar"Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik07:31
2."Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein"Kumar Sanu, Anu Malik07:53
3."Kitabein Bahut Si"Asha Bhosle, Vinod Rathod06:28
4."Chhupana Bhi Nahi Aata"Vinod Rathod07:01
5."Chhupana Bhi Nahi Aata" (Not in Film)Pankaj Udhas05:31
6."Samajh Kar Chand Jis Ko" (Not in Film)Vinod Rathod, Alka Yagnik08:53
7."Aye Mere Humsafar"Vinod Rathod, Alka Yagnik07:29
8."Tere Chehre Pe" (Not in Film)Kumar Sanu, Sonali Vajpai07:09
Total length:57:51

Box office[]

Baazigar was a commercial success and the fourth highest-grossing Indian film of 1993, below another Shah Rukh Khan film, Darr.[19] Baazigar's collections in India were ₹7.75 crore net and ₹14 crore gross,[19] equivalent to ₹250 crore (US$35 million) adjusted for inflation.[20]

Accolades[]

Award Category Recipients and Nominees Results
39th Filmfare Awards Best Actor Shah Rukh Khan Won
Best Music Direction Anu Malik
Best Male Playback Singer Kumar Sanu for "Yeh Kali Kali Aankhein"
Best Screenplay Robin Bhatt, Javed Siddiqui, Akash Khurana
Lux New Face Shilpa Shetty Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Shilpa Shetty
Best Performance in a Comic Role Johnny Lever
Best Lyricist Dev Kholi for "Yeh Kali Kali Aankhein"
Best Male Playback Singer Kumar Sanu for "Baazigar, O Baazigar"
Best Female Playback Singer Alka Yagnik for "Baazigar, O Baazigar"

Influence[]

The later Hollywood films Almost Famous (2000) and Baywatch (2017) had strikingly similar posters to Baazigar. The posters of the two films feature Kate Hudson and Priyanka Chopra, respectively, wearing sunglasses that reflect other cast members, similar to the sunglasses Shah Rukh Khan wears on the poster for Baazigar.[21]

References[]

  1. ^ M.K. Raghavendra (15 December 2014). Seduced by the Familiar: Narration and Meaning in Indian Popular Cinema. OUP India. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-19-908798-3.
  2. ^ "From 'Baazigar' to 'Dilwale' - A look at SRK and Kajol's on-screen magic". The Express Tribune. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  3. ^ Taliculam, Sharmila (4 April 1997). "Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty". Rediff.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  4. ^ "Baazigar to Krrish 3: Diwali hits, misses and clashes from Bollywood". Firstpost. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Fan trailer tonight: 5 times Shah Rukh Khan wowed us with his 'dark side'". Daily News & Analysis. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. ^ Katiyar, Arun (30 April 1994). "What the stars don't foretell". India Today. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Bollywood hinges on Hindi film music industry, fans soak up wacky new sounds". India Today. 31 October 1994. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  8. ^ "rediff.com: Shah Rukh's best movies!". 26 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan Filmfare Awards 1992 - 2009". YouTube. 30 May 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  10. ^ "Telugu Cinema Etc - Idlebrain.com". www.idlebrain.com.
  11. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (14 October 2016). "Nagarahavu aka Shivanagam movie review: Live audience response". www.ibtimes.co.in.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Iyer, Meena (14 July 2014). "Baazigar: The rise and fall of Shah Rukh, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  13. ^ "Roles Rejected by Sridevi".
  14. ^ "I dont want other music directors to catch up with me: Anu Malik". India Today. 15 November 1994. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  15. ^ Press Trust of India (13 August 2012). "Melody will return to Bollywood songs: Kumar Sanu". Business Standard. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  16. ^ Vijayakar, Rajiv (4 November 2015). "Anu Malik and Shah Rukh Khan: Sharing more than birthdays". Bollywoodhungama.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  17. ^ "Music Hits 1990-1999 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
  18. ^ "How A 1956 Italian Song Became A Shah Rukh Khan Song In 1993".
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Box Office 1993". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  20. ^ "Darr - Movie (1993 inflation rate)". Box Office India. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  21. ^ "Did Baywatch copy the poster featuring Priyanka Chopra from Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar and Kate Hudson's Almost Famous?". Bollywood Hungama. 20 April 2017.

External links[]

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