Psychopathic Manchild meets Shah Rukh Khan. End Result: Baazigar.
Baazigar, literally meaning "Gambler" in Hindi is The Film of the Book, a Kiss before Dying and a psychological thriller about a man who would do anything to avenge the wrongs done to his family.
Ajay Sharma vows to bring Madan Chopra to his knees for abusing the trust of his parents, cheating them of their business, indirectly leading to the death of his father and infant sister, propositioning his mother and destroying his mother's sanity. To do so, he decides to charm Madan's two daughters, Seema and Priya, separately from each other and to dispose of anything in his way that stops him from his objective.
He charms older sister Seema and becomes her secret lover. He convinces her to keep their relationship a secret because of his poverty but little does she know that he is pulling an elaborate Xanatos Gambit that would lead to her...just wait.
He impersonates and dons another identity, Vicky Malhotra, a rich man who races for fun and makes a living selling sports cars. He manages to charm Madan Chopra by deliberately losing the race and charms Priya by confessing that he lost because he could not bear her disappointment if her father lost. Unknown to the sisters, he dates them both on the sly. Priya tries to arrange a date with her sister to talk about Vicky but circumstances lead to her to cancel this date. We are introduced at this point to Inspector Karan.
Meanwhile, Madan Chopra arranges a marriage for Seema and when she goes all distraught to Ajay, he convinces her that suicide is the only option and that they both should write a suicide letter. After she gives him the letter, he pretends that he was just testing her resolve and proposes that they get married the next day in a Registrar office. As soon as she arrives, Ajay pushes her off from the balcony. The case is ruled a suicide (because of the suicide note) though her sister Priya is not convinced. As she suspects that Seema's lover might be her killer, Ajay starts to wipe out all evidence linking him to her, including people.
Features Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan. This gained Shah Rukh Khan acclaim, as it was rare for a Bollywood actor to act out a Villain Protagonist.
Tropes included in the film:
- Attempted Rape: Priya is almost raped by a bunch of thugs. Ajay rescues her and wins her trust.
- Bittersweet Ending: You can't wait for Ajay to get his comeuppance which he does in the end, but you can't help feel sorry for what happened to him.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Ajay is a vengeance-driven murderer who adores his mother and goes Ax-Crazy if she's harmed.
- Evil Laugh: Madan Chopra laughs when he stabs a blood-drenched Ajay with a spear. Then Ajay starts laughing as well.
- Fanservice:
- Shilpa Shetty's introduction as Seema focuses on her posterior. She then proceeds to put on a bathing suit and generally becomes the Fanservice of this movie.
- Shah Rukh Khan roams around with nothing but a towel and an open shirt in the beginning of the movie.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Ajay kills Seema in cold blood as vengeance, cementing him as a Villain Protagonist.
- Hate Sink: Although Ajay is the Villain Protagonist, he has many redeemable qualities to prevent him from being this trope. On the other hand, Madan Chopra is arguably the most reprehensible character in the whole movie and does many heinous things, which lets us know we are not supposed to root for him.
- I Kiss Your Foot: Villain Protagonist Ajay kisses the feet of his girlfriend Seema, the daughter of his nemesis Chopra, before pushing her to her death.
- Manipulative Bastard: Every single person Ajay meets is charmed by him, which is his means of systematically destroying everything Madan Chopra holds dear.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Ajay was able to romance Seema because he was like a plushie and a nice nerdy guy who was not enamored of her like 99% of humanity. When Ajay starts to fall in love with Priya, he convinces himself that she would start hating him if she knew his being a murderer and liar.
- Taking You with Me: Chopra impales Ajay, who returns the favor with a fatal hug so that they'd both die.
- You Can Barely Stand: Ajay is beaten to a pulp by mooks before proceeding to his confrontation with Madan Chopra.
- You Killed My Father: Chopra's involvement in the deaths of Ajay's father and sister drive his vengeance spree that ends in Chopra's own death.
