Producer: Bhawar Jain & Girish Jain
Director: Abbas-Mustan
*ing: Shahrukh Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Rakhee Gulzar, Johnny Lever, Amrish Puri
Music: Anu Malik

Released on : August 27, 1999

Reviewed by: Tanmeet Kumar
tanmeet@indolink.com

out of 
Baadshah is the latest offering from Abbas-Mustan, who brought us thrillers like Baazigar (Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty), Daraar (A Sleeping With the Enemy remake starring Juhi Chawla, Rishi Kapoor, and Arbaaz Khan), and Soldier (A whodunnit starring Bobby Deol and Priety Zinta) in the past. While those three movies are of the suspense genre, Baadshah is more of an action/comedy film. The film stars Shahrukh Khan, who has not had any release since Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Twinkle Khanna, who badly needs a hit. The film is not terrible, but could have been better, if only some of those "comedy" sequences had been cut out. The script is full of holes and is irritatingly inane at times. The same could be said about Soldier, which was a decent movie with boring and senseless comedy sequences.

Baadshah is the story of Raj, who's a small time James Bond wannabe known, in some circles, as Baadshah. Baadshah's job includes catching diamond smugglers and helping an arranged couple make it to the alter (!). Twinkle Khanna plays Seema, a girl whose father (Avtar Gill) is dying. Seema's father's last wish is to see his daughter married to a man of his choice, for which he hires Baadshah. Baadshah plans to woo Seema and then to break her heart, so that she will hate him and marry her father's choice. How he choses to woo Seema, however, is really silly, even for an Indian flick. But anyways, Baadshah succeeds in wooing Seema, but falls for her himself, much to the father's dismay. However, Baadshah remembers his duty and calls the romance quits. He betrays Seema and the love story, we assume, is over for now. The rest of the movie consists of inane subplots, leaving a certain audience member confused and on the brink of tears. Into the mess come the villains, who have kidnapped the daughter of a wealthy industrialist. Baadshah is sent to rescue her and, on this mission, he is confused with another Baadshah (Deepak Tijori) (who has been killed by the villains), and is sent on a new mission to protect an important political figure (Rakhee Gulzar). Seema, meanwhile, is on a mission with the CBI, trying to arrest a fraud who is after her money. So now we have a huge mess with plots and subplots galore. Suspense and drama ensue.

Baadshah is quite enjoyable movie. Abbas-Mustan try very hard to make the film work, and it does at times. Shahrukh Khan has done a very good job with his role. Twinkle Khanna looks very good and has definitely improved her acting skills. Mela should win her accolades, if the hype is to be believed. Of the supporting cast, Johnny Lever is good. Usually, I don't enjoy Johnny Lever trying to make a fool out of himself, but he wasn't too bad in this movie. Jaspal Bhatti, a better actor and funnier comedian, would have done a better job. Rakhee doesn't have much to do, but does a swell job with her political role.

Music by Anu Malik is enjoyable. "Hum To Deewane", "Woh Ladki Jo", "Mohobbat Ho Gayi", and the title track are all hummable. The main problem with the movie is the complicated and, at times, inane script. The story is laugh worthy at times, but also quite enjoyable at times. Perhaps I was expecting a sleek suspense thriller rather than a comedy/action film. Baadshah does have some suspense, but is, on the whole, a comedy movie. The film is much better then Khan's last comic venture Duplicate but doesn't quite reach the same level as Baazigar, which was a brilliant suspense thriller. Technically, the film is slick and crisp. The film is a lot better than some of the drivel that comes out of Bollywood these days and, for that reason, should be a hit. Abbas-Mustan could've done with a better plot, but they do their best to redeem the movie. Up next for the duo is the suspense flick Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, starring Salman Khan, Priety Zinta, and Rani Mukherji. The film is supposedly a whodunnit. Also expect an untitled remake of Fatal Attraction, another suspense film starring Akshay Kumar, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, and Kareena Kapoor. So Abbas-Mustan's future is looking bright. Hopefully, Baadshah is a hit. Watch Baadshah once or twice, but don't expect the film to be another Baazigar.