#bollywood basically

The movie opens with a car race, in India. So we already know it’s fantasy fiction. SRK loses intentionally to Kajol’s dad, but that’s because he has a bigger prize in mind.

His hair dripping with sweat, SRK looks into Kajol’s eyes, and she melts like an ice-cube in the Sahara desert.

BUT.. the metaphor is inside another metaphor, which is gift-wrapped with murder and destruction. The hero loses his heroism in gaining his revenge, because his plan is to kill this man and take over his business empire.

SRK seduces, woos and promises to marry his elder daughter, before sending her plummeting to her death. He does this to bring pain to Daleep Tahil, the target of his actions. Unexpected, crushing, irreversible pain.

But revenge is an uncontrollable beast, once let loose. Our hero realizes this as his thirst for blood, and laziness regarding proper disguises, lead him to murder again to cover the first one. And then again to cover that.

After ruthlessly killing her sister and her friends, SRK makes himself literally the only living person Kajol can hang out with. He woos and he charms, and suddenly realizes that this time the love is real, because true louw can blossom anywere, like a lotus in the mud.

He flatters her with blatant lies about her eye and skin color, while secretly plotting the destruction of everything around her, as his pogrom continues.

At the climax, SRK reveals his true purpose - to avenge the death of his father, caused by Kajol’s father. By lying, cheating and finally killing the man he lost the race to, our hero has finally taken his revenge.

“Did I not do well?” he asks her.

"Well, you could have NOT died. That would have been a good plan too.”

“...Yeah.”

But such emotional plot twists aside, it is bravery that makes me love Baazigar. I miss the SRK that could make this kind of film. Father died, homeless, and poor Learns to drive race cars. Goes to college, on presumed racing scholarship. Woos girl. Kills girl. Kills girl’s friends. Uses the emotional window to move in with younger sister. Marries her. Keeps killing people. Insults her cop-friend. Takes over company. Dies while killing father.

Revenge is addictive.