While filmmaker Sriram Raghavan has often been credited for shaping some of Hindi cinema’s most riveting thrillers, he recently revealed that he once unknowingly wrote his own version of Baazigar. In a conversation with Pinkvilla, he spoke about how his early story bore striking similarities to the 1993 revenge drama. He also discussed how Shah Rukh Khan had strong views on how the protagonist should be portrayed in the film and somewhere wasn’t entirely convinced with the version of Abbas-Mustan.
Sriram said that his version was closely inspired by the novel A Kiss Before Dying, which had earlier been adapted into a Hollywood film and then, loosely, into Baazigar. “I was more faithful to the book,” he explained. “And in the book, the guy is just a psychopath… uska kya hai… he wants to get married rich… usko ek ameer ghar mein shaadi karna hai…” (His motive is simple—he wants to marry into a rich family). “Aur usmein kya hai, the first girl he loves… she loves him too. But she gets pregnant, and her father is so orthodox ki usko maloom ho gaya hai ki aisa kuch hua hai…” (In the story, the first girl he loves becomes pregnant, and her orthodox father finds out). “He will not only refuse to let them marry, but he’ll also destroy the boy. So all the thrill was there in my story… even him killing her by pushing her off the rooftop.”
As the conversation progressed, Sriram also discussed what he had heard about Shah Rukh thoughts during the development of Baazigar. Apparently, when the story was first narrated to him, Shah Rukh had advised directors Abbas-Mustan to keep the character dark and faithful to the original novel. “Shah Rukh had said, ‘Why are we even doing this? I like the guy being the maniac. Why do you want to give him a reason?’” He also mentioned that Shah Rukh referred to a scene from the English film starring Sean Young, where the young protagonist sees a billboard of a millionaire and becomes obsessed with becoming one himself.
Interestingly, despite his initial reservations, Baazigar turned out to be a career-defining film for Shah Rukh. It not only earned him widespread acclaim but also marked Kajol’s first major box office success and introduced Shilpa Shetty to Hindi cinema.
