It’s been over two decades since Baadshah hit theatres. Director Abbas Burmawalla, one half of the iconic filmmaker duo Abbas-Mustan, looks back on the Shah Rukh Khan starrer, its reception then and now, and shares memories of working with the cast.
After Baazigar you collaborated with Shah Rukh Khan in Baadshah, but that didn’t work?
After the success of Baazigar we didn’t want to make a film of the same genre, so we decided with SRK to make a slapstick comedy, a multi-layered film with lots of laughter. At that time it didn’t work because people were expecting a film like Baazigar… but now people are loving it. Baadshah is very near to our heart and we are happy that we made that film.
Why do you think Baadshah couldn’t be another Baazigar?
Baadshah and Baazigar were two different genres of script. We wanted to play with some misunderstandings, some unexpected turns and twists, and thrills with comedy in the climax so that the assassination of the Goa chief minister, played by Raakheeji, looked entertaining. We are proud to make Baadshah and it’s very close to us.
What was it like working with Shah Rukh a second time?
Working with SRK is a delight any time, so there were no issues at all and we were comfortable throughout in the making with so much input coming from him. We are missing Amrish Puriji so much, there is no one who can replace him. Same with Raakheeji, she is a director’s actor.
We haven’t had any film from Abbas-Mustan for a very long time?
We have completed two films and will come up with an announcement soon… and there are a couple of scripts we are working on.
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