They call him “King” Khan. Shahrukh Khan is Bollywood’s number
one star, and while he’s not quite as big as he was in the late 90’s, he
can still derail a major awards ceremony just by promising not to come.
And it’s easy to see why; the man has the kind of charisma that Tom
Cruise would sell his own mother’s soul for.
I suspect a part of Shahrukh’s appeal is that if he’s in a movie, nine times out of ten you know what you’re getting. While the details of his characters certainly vary, he has a very carefully crafted and polished persona which he uses in most of his films. This isn’t really a bad thing, it’s just giving the people what they want. Still, it makes it easy to forget that Shahrukh really can play other characters. After all, his real breakout role was as the villain in Darr (1993).
Darr opens with a college student named Kiran (Juhi Chawla) lounging in a field, reading a letter from her boyfriend. A sudden shower forces her to seek shelter in a nearby shed. As she starts to take off her soaked clothing, we suddenly switch to Stalker-Cam, and Kiran realizes that someone is watching her!
After the opening credits, we have our first song. A mysterious voice sings “Jaadu Teri Nazar” as Kiran runs around the campus trying to find the singer. She’s charmed, and you can see why; it is a very pretty song. . . unless you’re paying attention to the lyrics. “Whether you agree or deny it, you are mine, Kiran. . . . You are the embodiment of my dreams; unknowingly you are my destiny . . . I will snatch you away from this world” and so forth. Of course, Kiran thinks that her boyfriend Sunil is responsible, and is miffed when he doesn’t show himself.
Sunil (Sunny Deol) is busy, though, and has no time for creepy stalker songs. The daughter of a Minister has been taken hostage by terrorists, and Naval commando Sunil has been assigned to rescue her. So he does, in standard action movie hero fashion, thereby establishing himself as a heroic man of action who is very good at rescuing people from boats.
The college term ends, and Kiran returns home to live with her brother Vijay (Anupam Kher), who speaks almost entirely in cricket metaphors, and her sister-in-law Poonam (Tanvi Azmi). Kiran is annoyed by the fact that Sunil hasn’t come to meet her, so she goes to her room to sulk, opens the closet, and nearly faints when he falls on top of her. This is supposed to be a cute scene that establishes how wonderful their relationship is, but it struck me as a little creepy; even discounting the hide in the closet and pretend to be dead thing, Sunny Deol is a good 11 years older than Juhi Chawla (and looks it), his character has been established as a man of the world while hers has been established as a naive student, and she is wearing a plaid skirt, tight white sweater, and pigtails.
As if determined to show me someone really creepy, the film immediately cuts to Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) walking along the edge of a rooftop and pulling petals off a rose while chanting, “She’s mine. She isn’t mine. She’s mine. She isn’t mine.”
Sunil and Kiran are engaged, and he takes her to look at the flat he’s bought for them, where they have a little musical number about their imagined future life together. Afterwards, Sunil drops her home, but before she can get into the house she’s startled by a man who shines a flashlight in her eyes and mutters, “I love you, K-k-k-kiran,” before running off. She’s shaken, but no one takes the incident very seriously. Until the phone calls start.
Rahul, as it turns out, is the son of Captain Mehra (Dalip Tahil), Sunil’s commanding officer. Father and son aren’t terribly close, though, as Rahul spends most of his time alone in his room, phoning his long dead mother to tell her all about Kiran while three film projectors cycle through various photos of Kiran and “Jaadu Teri Nazar” plays in a continuous loop. Rahul has issues.
From here, the plot develops more or less as one would expect it to. The harassment of Kiran slowly escalates, while Rahul manages to befriend Sunil. Kiran begins to crack under the pressure, and Sunil becomes even more determined to protect her, a few minor characters are killed, and Rahul discovers the perfect way to get closer to Kiran.
Sunny Deol is famously bitter about his part in Darr. Having been cast as the hero, he expected to be the star, but felt overshadowed by Shahrukh’s part. And I can see where he’s coming from; as played by Sunny, Sunil is brave and heroic and made entirely of wood, while Rahul is much more complex. He’s obsessive and ruthless, yes, but also scrupulously honest (Rahul never lies) and with an odd, vulnerable charm. If it weren’t for the insanity, he’d be a very nice guy; he certainly genuinely likes Sunil, and just wishes he’d get out of the way. (Of course, he is insane, and he’s not a nice guy. Given the choice between boring but solid Navy commando and charming, murderous psycho, Kiran makes the right decision.)
The problem is not just that Rahul is a more complex character, though. The problem is that Rahul is played by Shahrukh Khan. Sunny Deol is a fine actor, but he simply can’t match Khan’s screen presence; the charisma gap between them is such that, during the penultimate confrontation between the two, theatergoers cheered for the villain. And that’s basically why Darr is remarkable. It’s a standard-issue stalker melodrama, but it’s also one of those films that forcibly reminds the viewer that yes, Shahrukh Khan is a pretty good actor.
I suspect a part of Shahrukh’s appeal is that if he’s in a movie, nine times out of ten you know what you’re getting. While the details of his characters certainly vary, he has a very carefully crafted and polished persona which he uses in most of his films. This isn’t really a bad thing, it’s just giving the people what they want. Still, it makes it easy to forget that Shahrukh really can play other characters. After all, his real breakout role was as the villain in Darr (1993).
Darr opens with a college student named Kiran (Juhi Chawla) lounging in a field, reading a letter from her boyfriend. A sudden shower forces her to seek shelter in a nearby shed. As she starts to take off her soaked clothing, we suddenly switch to Stalker-Cam, and Kiran realizes that someone is watching her!
After the opening credits, we have our first song. A mysterious voice sings “Jaadu Teri Nazar” as Kiran runs around the campus trying to find the singer. She’s charmed, and you can see why; it is a very pretty song. . . unless you’re paying attention to the lyrics. “Whether you agree or deny it, you are mine, Kiran. . . . You are the embodiment of my dreams; unknowingly you are my destiny . . . I will snatch you away from this world” and so forth. Of course, Kiran thinks that her boyfriend Sunil is responsible, and is miffed when he doesn’t show himself.
Sunil (Sunny Deol) is busy, though, and has no time for creepy stalker songs. The daughter of a Minister has been taken hostage by terrorists, and Naval commando Sunil has been assigned to rescue her. So he does, in standard action movie hero fashion, thereby establishing himself as a heroic man of action who is very good at rescuing people from boats.
The college term ends, and Kiran returns home to live with her brother Vijay (Anupam Kher), who speaks almost entirely in cricket metaphors, and her sister-in-law Poonam (Tanvi Azmi). Kiran is annoyed by the fact that Sunil hasn’t come to meet her, so she goes to her room to sulk, opens the closet, and nearly faints when he falls on top of her. This is supposed to be a cute scene that establishes how wonderful their relationship is, but it struck me as a little creepy; even discounting the hide in the closet and pretend to be dead thing, Sunny Deol is a good 11 years older than Juhi Chawla (and looks it), his character has been established as a man of the world while hers has been established as a naive student, and she is wearing a plaid skirt, tight white sweater, and pigtails.
As if determined to show me someone really creepy, the film immediately cuts to Rahul (Shahrukh Khan) walking along the edge of a rooftop and pulling petals off a rose while chanting, “She’s mine. She isn’t mine. She’s mine. She isn’t mine.”
Sunil and Kiran are engaged, and he takes her to look at the flat he’s bought for them, where they have a little musical number about their imagined future life together. Afterwards, Sunil drops her home, but before she can get into the house she’s startled by a man who shines a flashlight in her eyes and mutters, “I love you, K-k-k-kiran,” before running off. She’s shaken, but no one takes the incident very seriously. Until the phone calls start.
Rahul, as it turns out, is the son of Captain Mehra (Dalip Tahil), Sunil’s commanding officer. Father and son aren’t terribly close, though, as Rahul spends most of his time alone in his room, phoning his long dead mother to tell her all about Kiran while three film projectors cycle through various photos of Kiran and “Jaadu Teri Nazar” plays in a continuous loop. Rahul has issues.
From here, the plot develops more or less as one would expect it to. The harassment of Kiran slowly escalates, while Rahul manages to befriend Sunil. Kiran begins to crack under the pressure, and Sunil becomes even more determined to protect her, a few minor characters are killed, and Rahul discovers the perfect way to get closer to Kiran.
Sunny Deol is famously bitter about his part in Darr. Having been cast as the hero, he expected to be the star, but felt overshadowed by Shahrukh’s part. And I can see where he’s coming from; as played by Sunny, Sunil is brave and heroic and made entirely of wood, while Rahul is much more complex. He’s obsessive and ruthless, yes, but also scrupulously honest (Rahul never lies) and with an odd, vulnerable charm. If it weren’t for the insanity, he’d be a very nice guy; he certainly genuinely likes Sunil, and just wishes he’d get out of the way. (Of course, he is insane, and he’s not a nice guy. Given the choice between boring but solid Navy commando and charming, murderous psycho, Kiran makes the right decision.)
The problem is not just that Rahul is a more complex character, though. The problem is that Rahul is played by Shahrukh Khan. Sunny Deol is a fine actor, but he simply can’t match Khan’s screen presence; the charisma gap between them is such that, during the penultimate confrontation between the two, theatergoers cheered for the villain. And that’s basically why Darr is remarkable. It’s a standard-issue stalker melodrama, but it’s also one of those films that forcibly reminds the viewer that yes, Shahrukh Khan is a pretty good actor.
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