Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty starrer ‘Baazigar’ completes 31 years of its release.
In India's cinematic landscape where trends and tastes change rapidly, 'Baazigar' continues to be the timeless gem, because of enduring power of storytelling and memorable performances. Commercially successful 1993 film has already achieved the cult status. The more we revisit this classic, the more we appreciate how it provided the foundation for Shah Rukh Khan's extraordinary career, legendary onscreen pairing, and bollywood’s definition of an anti-hero. On the anniversary of the release of this thriller, let's explore some not-so-popular trivia revealed by cast and makers and how it changed Bollywood.
Credit - Insta/@ig_v1nit
Imagine Baazigar without SRK! Well, right now, it's impossible to imagine because of his amazing acting prowess. However, the actor was not the first choice for the iconic role of Ajay Sharma. The director duo Abbas Mustan wanted to cast Salman Khan who already delivered blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya. As he preferred feel-good family drama, the role went to Anil Kapoor, who also declined because of the anti-hero role. Eventually, the director casted a fresh big screen face when SRK accepted the role.
Credit - Jansatta
The directors wanted Sridevi to portray the dual role of sisters (Priya and Seema). However, the protagonist killing a well established face in the first half led to several objections from the producer. The makers felt, the brutal killing scene might hurt the fan base, so they opted for a newcomer. That's how, Shilpa Shetty came onboard and at the time of shooting she was only 17 years old.
Who can forget the marvellous performances of SRK and Rakhee Gulzar in the climax of Baazigar as a son returns to her mother after taking the revenge! During shooting, the actress felt that the protagonist should not die in the end. Also, some of the distributors felt the death of hero might hamper the box office performance of the movie. So, the team shot two different climax scenes. The first one was death of Ajay Sharma’s character and another one was his arrest by police officers. However, after the editing, the distributors felt the original version more apt for the theme of the film. The rest is history!
Credit - Venus YouTube
Festival clashes are very popular in Bollywood for decades. In 1993, four films were released on the occasion of Diwali. Apart from Baazigar, other films were Ajay Devgn-Urmila Matondkar starrer ‘Bedardi’, Jeetendra-Moushumi Chatterjee-Deepak Tijori starrer ‘Santaan’ and Avinash Wadhavan-Siddharth-Shilpa Shirodkar starrer ‘Parwane’. Baazigar, with an offbeat concept, phenomenal performances and hit music became a superhit in the box-office.
Trends have always kept on changing in bollywood, be it in years or decades. From post-independence era to 90’s there were very few commercial movies made in bollywood where male protagonist dies at the end.
Credit - Insta/@srk_ashiyanaa
Makers and distributors feel ‘tragic’ endings don't work in bollywood. Baazigar, a high octane thriller mixed with family emotions, drama and a pinch of comedy surprised the audience with twists. When nobody dared to portray the negative role, one newcomer shocked everyone with exceptional performance. 'Baazigar' holds historical significance in the evolution of Bollywood commercial cinema as it brought a wave of anti-hero films challenging the conventional hero-centric storytelling. This, truly opened the door for filmmakers exploring complex human psyche.
Watch this gripping thriller on Amazon Prime Video.
