A (Hindi) Movie Nearly Every Night: Baadshah

Baadshah (1999)
Dir. Abbas Alibhai Burmawalla, Mastan Alibhai Burmawalla
Starring: Rakhee Gulzar, Shahrukh Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Amrish Puri

"So, there is a reason for what the beauty is doing! There is certainly a mystery."

pretending to be a blind singer/dancer.
sure, that seems realistic

Mistaken identities, nutty musical numbers, convoluted and extended beyond interest plots -- what more could you want in a movie? It's silly, no doubt about it. Why would you watch this? No reason at all. I certainly can't give you one, God knows. It suited me fine, but I can sit through just about anything (with the exception of Gangs of New York -- dude, why couldn't he just kill The Butcher and get on with it? 2 hours later and he still hasn't done it?? Honestly).

I followed this through mostly because I had nothing else to do, but also because I really like Shahrukh Khan.

What? You've never seen someone kiss a door before?

There's something about him that transcends whatever kooky movie they put him in. It's not just charisma, although he's got plenty of that. It's the way he lets the audience know that he knows that you know that this is just entertainment. It's not changing the world or solving the mystery of existence. It's just playing around and he's wants you to know that he's aware of the fluff factor and if that's what you're looking for, well, wink-dimple, he's your man.

frame in a frame: Badshah spies on the spy from an apparently very deep closet

Sure, he makes serious films now and then, but he knows when it's his job to give you an escape from drama. He's part Brad Pitt, part Bugs Bunny. It's the same with Hema Malini and it's why I like her and why it pays off to watch all of Seeta Aur Geeta. They let themselves go completely into the fun of making movies and allow you in on the joke. "It's fun, see? We're having fun." It's like a cold beer on a hot day or riding the Zipper at the fair, but doing it with a lot of friends around and some really bouncy music.

But, let's face it, the real reason I like Shahrukh is because he looks good in glitter. Tell me I'm wrong.