For the majority of viewers, Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar (1993) is the film that revolutionized mainstream Hindi cinema by introducing a protagonist with questionable morals. More than 30 years after the events of the film, the filmmaking team Abbas-Mustan considered the film's inspiration and the reasons why they thought Shah Rukh's character was still the star, even if his actions were not.

The tale behind a dangerous narrative

The filmmakers lately spoke with Baazigar, a picture that drew inspiration from a number of sources and was tailored to the preferences of Hindi filmgoers at the time, about their courageous storytelling decisions.

"It was a novel concept at that time," said Mustan Burmawalla. We saw Shah Rukh's persona as a hero; he was bad, but he was our hero, and you also have to comprehend why he did what he did in the movie. For example, it's alright if a character's personality becomes bad if he's doing something bad, but in the background he has redeeming features or if there's a cause for him to change.

first, a darker draft

The original screenplay, he continued, had a much darker tone. The movie's protagonist was originally a wholly bad individual who suffered a hard childhood as a result of his alcoholic father's beatings of his mother and his own hopeless ambition to become very wealthy. The hero decides to begin a relationship with a millionaire's two daughters after becoming an adult, and then kills one of them in order to gain control of her father's money. Later on, the second girl kills the character after finding out his real goals. This was the original screenplay for the movie, he said.

They came to the conclusion, though, that a movie with little emotional substance might not do well at the box office. They made the decision to modify the character's motives, taking influence from the emotional themes present in mainstream Hindi movies, especially those made by Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai. Without the feelings, especially those of the parents, the movie "would not work," according to Mustan.

Using tragedy to foster empathy

They then chose to introduce some context about Ajay Sharma's (SRK) tragic past, which includes the deaths of his father, younger sister, and mother's trauma. They reasoned that despite his wicked actions, these facts would provide the audience with a better understanding of him and inspire compassion..

The importance of the movie's framework was also highlighted by Mustan. After telling the producer of the change in tone, they looked for time to get the new version ready, he said, adding that "the screenplay was the most important aspect of Baazigar."

A turning point in Shah Rukh Khan's career

By accepting and excelling in roles that were not typical of a leading man, Shah Rukh Khan's Baazigar represented a watershed moment in his career and showed his readiness to push the boundaries.

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