HUM/ BAASHHA

So I saw Baashha today. Yes The Rajnikant starrer. Remake/ revision of the Amitabh Bachchan comeback vehicle Hum. Incidentally, Rajnikant played a role in that one too. I know that in my mind, I would be comparing the two movies but before that, a review of the movie in question itself.

I came to this movie only after having heard a song in Sivaji where the three movies Billa, Ranga, Baashha are mentioned. I also know that Rajni Sir has played almost every role in Tamil cinema that AB played in Hindi. Don=Billa I even caught a glimpse of this one. I caught Baashha just now and yes it is a revisitation of the Hum plot. I have not found anything on Ranga except that it is a 1982 movie…but I digress..

This movie begins with introducing us to Manik who is a do-gooder and well-wisher of the public in general. He is also portrayed as a righteous, non-violent somewhat cowardly man who is trying to fulfill his father's wishes pertaining to his step-siblings. Needless to say he does so but as with every movie, this movie wouldn't be one if he didn't have a deadly secret. He does which gets revealed to us post interval…that he was once a feared gangster in Mumbai who became one only to wipe out the truly cruel and negative character Mark Antony played very well by Raghuvaran. He succeeded and faked his own death to carry out his promise to his dying father.

Antony comes to know of this, escapes jail and kidnaps his whole family to exact revenge but as always the hero wins. Somewhere in between he also manages to charm a rich girl who happens to be the daughter of the person who betrayed him in Mumbai on Antony's orders and then killed Antony's family and looted his home.

That said the movie itself is not bad. In fact if you don't know the story beforehand, (and even if you do) it is entertaining enough to hook you. Needless to say Rajni sir steals the show all the way. Raghuvaran is good the way only he can be. Music leaves a lot to be desired. Except the chant of Baashha whenever Rajnikant is on screen, nothing really suits either the movie or the mood. Naghma is beautiful but her role was not really needed. She is there just to justify the song sequences which jar the pace of an otherwise slick enough movie.

Now to the comparisons. Perhaps these are not objective as I had seen Hum when I was about eight or nine years old. And I remember fondly as Jumma chumma became the anthem of the nation. Despite being ripped off from Mory Kante's Tama Tama and the whole brouhaha over composition (which I was blissfully unaware of at the time…and I believe LP did a much better job than Bappi Da) the song was catchy, and involved you when you saw it or heard it. I even remember the theme played whenever Amitabh lost his temper. Yes it is safe to say that the movie had an impact on me. Despite starting off grim and boring, I ultimately liked it.

So which was the better one. HUM period. Although an enticing thought is whether HUM would have been more effective had it been presented as Baashha…non linearly. I try to imagine it and find that yes. Just imagine…you're expecting to see AB as angry young man. Instead he starts off as an ageing patriarch who is cowardly as cowardly come. The family is happy among itself when the youngest brother is revealed to be in love with the General's daughter. At the General's place, he is spotted by Girdhar (Anupam Kher) who is trying to sell sub-standard tanks to the army. The middle brother's family gets kidnapped and that's when he receives a phone call for Tiger….It gives me goose bumps.

Hum had a much better production design despite being made 4 years earlier. Better music which is catchy even today. The plot is convoluted better and is more cathartic than Bashha. In Baashha there is no real sense of sacrifice for the step-family. No real emotionally charged desperate sequence as when the parents get murdered. Danny comes across as more menacing than Raghuvaran and Anupam Kher is brilliant…and the best part of the movie….Kadar Khan in a double role..

All in all, both movies are good but Hum is better.