WALK DOWN THE MEMORY LANEThis weekend will see rel
This weekend will see release of last biggie of this year from Bollywood ‘Don 2’ where Shahrukh Khan will be seen playing baddie again. Let’s look at his illustrious career and analyze films where he played baddie to the core.
Baazigar
Release Date: 12th November, 1993 Director: Abbas - Mustan
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Rakhee Gulzar, Dilip Tahil, Siddharth, Johnny Lever
Reception: It opened with zilch expectations from its star cast which comprised at that time fairly new comers Shahrukh Khan &Kajol with debutant ShilpaShetty. Film inspired from a novel A Kiss Before Dying, had very unusual plot and first time a Bollywood hero murdered his sweetheart with so much cruelty that it shocked most of the critics & movie goers. It went on to become blockbuster and a new star Shahrukh Khan was born and dream pairing of SRK-Kajol was established with it which is still delivering blockbusters at will. SRK won Filmfare Best Actor award for this performance and film won 3 other awards out of 9 nominations.
BO Performance: It netted 7,75,00,000 INR at box office with the gross collections of 14,00,00,000 and distributor share was 5,50,00,000 and adjusted gross as of today stands 180.78 cr and adjusted nett at 90.39 cr. It was the fourth biggest hit of the year after ‘Aankhen’, ‘Khalnayak’, and ‘Darr’.
In Capsule: It was the path breaking cinema at its best which broke conventional stereotypes of Bollywood hero and gave indian audience their new superstars in SRK and Kajol.
DARR
Release Date: 24th December,1993 Director: Yash Chopra
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Sunny Deol, JuhiChawla, DalipTahil
Reception: It was released almost a month after the stupendous but surprise success of ‘Baazigar’ and again this too had enough shocks to keep audience hooked. Firstly, it was directed by veteran Yash Chopra who was known for romantic films. Second, Sunny Deol was running high on the success of various hits and to see him fighting out with a new comer Shahrukh in such an interesting script made it huge blockbuster. Interestingly the character Shahrukh played was offered earlier to many stars like Aamir Khan &Saif Ali Khan but nobody dared to play a villainous character that too in front of powerhouse performer Sunny Deol. Film went on to become rage especially Shahrukh swept the audience and his mannerism plus ‘KKKKiran’ became his trademark style. SRK was also nominated for Filmfare Best Villain award.
BO Performance: It was made with the budget of 2 croreand it netted 10,75,00,000 with the gross collections of 19,25,00,000 INR. Distributor share was 7,50,00,000.Adjusted nett of 95.41 cr and 190.82 cr is adjusted gross as of today.
In Capsule: it started the association of india’s biggest production house Yash Raj Films with SRK which is still on. Reportedly, Sunny Deol was so miffed with director that he never worked with the production house or SRK again.
ANJAAM
Release Date: 22nd April, 1994 Director: Rahul Rawail
Cast: Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan, Johnny Lever, Himani Shivpuri, Deepak Tijori
Reception: Due to last two back to back successes of Shahrukh in anti-hero roles, ‘Anjaam’ was higly anticipated plus it had no. 1 heroine of those days Madhuri Dixit, first time opposite SRK. Film had too many gruesome shots of violence and was adult certified. So naturally it failed to perform as per expectations but was appreciated by section of audience and critics. Music was super hit and Shahrukh crossed limits in of intensity in playing the character. That’s why Shahrukh won Filmfare Award for Best Villain and became first ever actor in history of Indian cinema to win Best Actor and Villain awards that too consecutive years.
BO Performance: It netted 3.2cr and grossed 5.6 cr INR. It has adjusted gross of 51.21 crand 29.26 cr nett today.
In Capsule: It went down as one of the forgettable films of such a celebrated star cast but still performances of Shahrukh and Madhuri appreciated by cine lovers.
RAM JAANE
Release Date: 30th November, 1995 Director: Rajeev Mehra
Cast: Shahrukh Khan,Vivek Mushran,Juhi Chawla,Punit Issar
Reception: This film was released after one month of the release of ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’ and because of that storm called DDLJ, every other film was overlooked by audience. Film was inspired from ‘Angels With Dirty Faces’ where the rise of don was shown in the underbelly of Mumbai underworld. Shahrukh’s weird dressing sense where he wore blazer without shirt caught attention and despite negative reviews film did well at box office.
BO Performance: It collected INR 6.7 crore nett and INR 11.73 crore gross collections. Today adjusted gross stands at INR 97.63 crore nett and INR 55.79 cr nett. Film is ranked 8th in the list of highest grossers of 1995.
In Capsule: ‘Ram Jaane’ was wasted effort by director where he let down a talented cast and interesting plot but Shahrukh stood tall with his passionate performance.
DON
Release Date: 20th October, 2006 Director: Farhan Akhtar
Reception: Critically film received positive reviews and the twist in the climax made sure it sailed at box office. Shahrukh suited to the core in the mean character of gangster and film stood tall against formidable competition from ‘Jaaneman’ starring Salman and Akshay which released simultaneously but bombed at the box office.
BO Performance: It had nett collections of INR 51 cr and grossed INR 71.25 cr. It has adjusted gross of INR 110.82 crore and adjusted nett of INR 77.96 cr nett as of now. Distributor share was INR 26 cr.It was 5th biggest grosser of 2006.
In Capsule:The magnificent climax set the tone for sequel.
‘Bad’ is ‘GOOD’ for SRK
So after looking SRK’s track record, one can say that he has been fairly successful while essaying characters of ‘grey’ shades. Out of above mentioned 5 films, 4 were successful at box office and he is only superstar of Bollywood who portrayed villainous character with this much success. And going by the buzz around ‘Don 2’, it looks almost certain that ‘BAD WILL BE AGAIN GOOD’ for him.
