#ThrowbackThursday: Baadshah’s Comedy Lies In Its Creative And Wild Imagination. It’s So Much Better Than The Sexist Comedies We See These Days
What kind of movies did you watch while growing up? Like most of us, I got all of my entertainment from romance and family dramas such as DDLJ and all of Sooraj Barjatya’s films. They may seem cringey now, but back then, it was all the rage. I have actually fought with my sister to watch Hum Saath Saath Hai. Don’t judge me, I was very young. But what I really don’t regret is spending my time on those hilarious comedies. Agreed, there was not a shred of logic in it, but boy, a little imagination can take you a long way.
From Andaz Apna Apna to Awara Paagal Deewana, comedies back then were so potent that you’d remember the jokes even years later. One such movie is Shah Rukh Khan and Twinkle Khanna starrer Baadshah. The film was declared a flop on the Box Office but somehow, every person I meet says they loved the movie. So it seems, I am really not the only one with a goofy, unsophisticated sense of humour.
This is why this Thursday I decided to revisit the light-hearted film. I mean, there are some dark sub-plots in Baadshah – like deaths, assassinations, betrayal, etc. And yet, the comedy leaves you feeling so entertained and vacuums all stress away from your heart, at least momentarily. This is exactly what we need during this period – to find humour in difficult circumstances.
The film, as the title suggests, revolves around Raj (has to be SRK), a guy trying to make it big as a private detective. Baadshah is the name of his agency, which kinda becomes his pseudonym too. Of course, most of his cases seem rather funny and his larger-than-life performances at the crime scene lead to him losing most of his payment to damage-repair and compensation. So even though he is a brilliant detective, he is struggling to make it in the industry. The best part? It’s his office that he and his entourage effortlessly manoeuvre around and they transform the same place into a hospital, a withered home and a high-tech office.
How can we ever forget the time when Dr Rustom who was supposed to do his mother’s operation walks in? The guy using a typewriter without a paper inserted in, SRK signing a document with invisible ink apparently, and the robotic voices – I think this is the goofiest goof can get! And when Johny Lever pretends to be a doctor and declares he wants to give one owl and one goat eye to Baadshah. This reminds me of the brief period when Baadshah pretends to be blind while trying to woo Seema (Twinkle Khanna). I have never seen someone use a refrigerator as a wardrobe except in this movie!
It was even more hilarious because we assume detectives to be all serious and these guys definitely wanted to be perceived as classy, to attract big clients. However, put them in a plane and they ask the air hostess to heat the food they got from home.
I am sure you guys remember the whole plot, even though it was an illogical but funny AF series of coincidences. People who want Gayatri Bachchan assassinated send an agent named “Baadshah” while our Baadshah here is on a mission to rescue a businessman’s bacchi from her kidnappers. Amidst all that confusion and mix-ups, we get comic, romantic and action moments. Who would have thought you’d get all in one?
To help Baadshah in his pursuit, there are several innovative technologies are available – like X-ray glasses, a weaponised car, sticky shoes, etc. But what makes it so funny is Baadshah’s surprise at being introduced to these and how he played around; we wouldn’t expect a detective to do that.
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I can’t believe this hilarious film with the most remarkable characters flopped! Johny Lever’s performance was brilliant, to say the least. But then again, when is it not? Instead of promoting sexist comedies, I think people should have given this movie a chance while it was still in theatres. But I guess when they watched it on TV they realised that it’s not an action but more of a comedy film and a wonderful one at that.
