Salman Khan Was The Original Baaghi

This post was first published on Filmcompaion portal: Salman Khan Was The Original Baaghi (filmcompanion.in)

Much before Tiger Shroff played a Baaghi in 2016, and even before Sanjay Dutt played the Baaghi in 2000, Salman Khan was the original Baaghi way back in 1990. It was the initial years of his career, and the idea germinated from him. The movie was about a wayward son, who gains purpose after falling in love, and how he rebels for a cause.

Salman had just started out, and was full of energy. Even his choice of movies, be it Patthar ke Phool or Love, Saajan or Suryavanshi, was character-driven and focussed on the story and script. It was never about him, it was about telling a different story each time.

In such an endeavour, Baaghi was like breath of fresh air. Here was Saajan Sood, not burdened by his father’s business legacy or grief-stricken childhood or someone who had to sell his soul in exchange for something; none of that drama. On the contrary, his father, Colonel Sood, played by Kiran Kumar, isn’t happy that his capable son isn’t joining the army and is totally undisciplined with no goal to chase. Meanwhile, Saajan has a chance meeting with Kaajal, played by Nagma in her debut feature. It’s love at first sight for him and his eyes keep searching for her.

But the second time he meets her, it’s in a shady brothel. Never had he imagined that the sweet innocent girl would turn out to be victim of a body-scavenging racket and forced into prostitution. And this is where he turns a rebel. The unassuming nature of Saajan, his shy smile and iron fist, made for an interesting watch. It was like Salman was preparing to play Radhe and Tiger, from back then. In the movie, it didn’t look like Saajan had a chance against Dhanraj and Jaggu, played by Shakti Kapoor and Mohnish Bahl, respectively. His angry young man look also came as a surprise to his female fans, who had only seen him as a chocolate boy in Maine Pyar Kiya, which had been released the previous year.

In fact, at some level, Baaghi paved the way for Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak, which is on similar lines. Sanjay Dutt, with his fitness and build, took it a notch further. But in the romance quotient, Baaghi trumps Sadak. Salman did not have the ripping muscles, it was not a requirement back then. But he had enough power in his eyes and the noble intention was felt through his body language. Playing a virtuous lover, modest in his manners, and a complete greenhorn, to transforming into a baaghi with all grit and determination was made believable because of good direction by Deepak Shivdasani. The way Saajan takes on the world, without any style, but deft inner strength and with the help of his friends was a departure from the past where heroes would go all alone in their mission.

Salman was choosy about his roles and he took risks early on in his career. There was no genre that he stuck to. Also, his natural boyish charm stayed and stuck on for so long that he still cashes in on it. What he added to his repertoire was the six-pack and the shirtless look. After that, he has never had to look back. But it all started here, with Baaghi, his first action hero role.

 

Kaun Banega Mera Pati

Every young woman dreams of a perfect marriage. There is a right time in your life to get married, to become a wife and mother. I am a cultured Indian woman with good values and I have reached a stage where I need a companion with whom I can share my love, joy, sorrow and success with. For me that time has arrived. However I want to solemnize my marriage in the presence of all my fans who have been supportive throughout — Rakhi Sawant

No, this post is not on Rakhi Sawant. In fact, I wanted to write this from quite sometime but her new reality show Rakhi Ka Swayamvar pushed me into writing it without further delay. I was just twiddling my thumb and wondering about all those actresses who are still single and what’s going on in their mind/heart. While we see that the guys entering the industry are mostly committed/married, the girls are still out there looking/thinking/choosing etc.

When Aamir Khan, SRK, Sunil Shetty etc entered the industry, they were married already. Then guys like Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Fardeen Khan, Zayed Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan etc also tied the know. In fact, right now except Salman from yester-years and Ranbir Kapoor from current generation are the only eligible bachelors. But just see this list of actresses and their ages mentioned [social faux pas, we can mention their weight but not their age] and you may wonder too, what are they waiting for!

Manisha Koirala – 38 yrs – Having made her debut in Saudagar, she had a great start to her career. But somewhere down the line she lost her way. She was briefly seen in Company, Lajja etc; but her last best work was a decade ago in Dil Se. She dated quite a few guys, but recently it has been reported that she is engaged to Christpin Conroy, the Australian ambassador to Nepal.

Nandana Sen – 41 yrs – D/o Amartya Sen – She made a late debut in movie industry and no one knows where he career is going. Firstly, I was shocked to know that she is in her early 40’s; I thought she was in mid 30’s. So, there you have it; 40+ and still single.

Tabu – 38 yrs – Her career had a late start, thanks to Prem getting delayed by 5 years. This child-artist who had acted alongside Dev Anand had to wait really long for her film debut. She finally made her mark with movies like Chandni Bar, Maqbool, Chini Kum etc. Yes, the chini is still kum in her life.

Urmila Matondkar – 35 yrs – Another child artist, first seen in Shashi Kapoor’s Kalyug and then in Masoom; she had a great time in the industry. With movies like Rangeela, Judaai, Kaun, Indian etc she had a nice run in BO; sh also earned critical acclaim for Pinjar and Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara. But off-late looks like her career is ending the same way it started, spate of flops.

Lisa Ray – 37 yrs – She never belonged here, although she did rise to fame with Afreen video and movies like Kasoor, Bollywood Hollywood and Water. Wonder who her supermodel hubby is gonna be!

Preity Zinta – 34 yrs – She is one brave woman, coming from army background and not back-tarcking on her statements in court, she has lived the life she has wanted to. She was really good in whatever she did, even IPL. She is in a long relationship with  Ness Wadia and she has never hidden that, hats off to her. But, we all are waiting for the official ceremony.

Nagma – 34 yrs – She tried her luck in Hindi movies, when it did not work out well she went down-South and created waves with Kadhalan, Love Birds etc. But she too lost her way, joined Art Of Living; she is still somewhere learning to live, living to learn.

Sushmita Sen – 33 yrs – One of the most out-spoken actresses and she started the trend of not hiding anything and being open to the world, whether it was the relationships she had with married men or the adoption of a girl-child whom she named Rene, meaning ressurrection. Wish she finds a nice guy and ressurrects her life.

Shilpa Shetty – 33 yrs – I have already written about here, click here. All I can say is that, its not over till the official ceremony is performed.

Rani Mukherjee – 31 yrs – She was a winner all the way, starting with KKHH. She did some fabulous work in Black, Saathiya etc, but now she is struggling with her last few movies not doing well. She also had to come clean on Adi Chopra when people/media suspected that she secretly married him. Hope she finds someone the way her cousin Kajol did, and settle down.

The list is quite long and it will get boring if I start listing out everybody. But I do think that there is a right time for everybody when they have to make a call. Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Meenakshi Shehsadri etc have done it in the past; retire gracefully or at least retreat and take some time off for themselves and concentrate on personal life. By the way, I am not getting judgemental or overly concerned about it. It was just a thought, so please do take it the right way.

Ths post was first published on PFC