Baaghi: A Rebel for Love
Encyclopedia
Baaghi: A Rebel for Love is a Bollywood
film starring Salman Khan
, Nagma
, and Shakti Kapoor
, which was released in 11 December 1990. It was Nagma's first role in Bollywood, as the opening credits note; she was 15 years old when the film was released. In an ironic twist, the DVD cover has a warning noting that the movie is "suitable only for persons of 15 years and older," presumably because the plot revolves around prostitution
. Note, the subtitle "A Rebel for Love" does not appear on the DVD box, nor in the Hindi titles or license at the start of the movie. According to BoxOfficeIndia.Com, Baaghi is reported to have been Bollywood's seventh highest grossing film in 1990, despite its release in mid-December.
The movie opens with a dedication, which reads: "In this year of the girl child, we dedicate our film to those women, who have been victimised by lust and greed and are subjected to social rejection and also laud those who strived to uplift them."
, centres on Saajan, the son of a colonel in the Indian army, and Kaajal, a modest girl from "a respectable family." The film opens with Saajan travelling in a bus, when he catches a glimpse of Kaajal on another bus, and they are both smitten. They do not formally meet and, since Saajan is off to start at college, he does not think he will ever see her again. But his new friends at college, Buddha, Tempo and Refill, one night insist that they all visit a brothel
in a seedier part of Bombay. Saajan only reluctantly agrees, but ultimately refuses to select a prostitute - until he hears a new girl being beaten by her pimp, and decides to protect whoever she is. To his surprise, it is Kaajal again, called Paro at the brothel, who has been kidnapped by a pimp after she was tricked by a job offer in Bombay.
Kaajal, who has only very recently arrived at the brothel and is still a virgin, has adamantly refused to be a prostitute, hence Jaggu, who runs the brothel, beating her. When finally alone with Saajan as a paying client (although he does not, of course, do anything with her), Kaajal explains to Saajan how she was forced to look for work after her parents' deaths, and how this ultimately led to her travelling to Bombay and being kidnapped by Dhanraj then forced to work in Jaggu's brothel. Thanks to Leelabai, the madame who helps run the brothel for Jaggu, Saajan is able to spend time with Kaajal, and Kaajal is somehow able to keep resisting actually becoming a prostitute. Saajan and Kaajal fall in love, and he tries to find a way to get her out of the brothel before Kaajal gives up hope.
When Saajan is finally able to introduce Kaajal to his parents, they - not surprisingly - reject the idea of his marrying a girl from a brothel, even if she was taken there against her will and is actually from a respectable family. Since Saajan's father, Col. Sood, was already angry with his son for refusing to follow family tradition and join the Indian army, this is the last straw, and Saajan is kicked out of his house. He becomes, in his own words, a rebel - a word which is repeated several times in the movie. Since Kaajal is already rebelling against Jaggu because she believes in love, they are now both "rebels for love." With the help of Saajan's college friends, they help Kaajal escape Jaggu's brothel and flee Bombay to Ooty, near where her grandparents live. But just as they are about to be married with Kaajal's grandparents' consent, if not Saajan's father's, police arrive take them back to Bombay, where they claim he's wanted for kidnapping "Paro".
But Saajan's father, upon hearing of his son's heroics in fighting Dhanraj's men to rescue Kaajal, suddenly has a new-found respect for his son, who had previously been a lazy drifter. With the help of Saajan's three friends, Col. Sood finds his son outside Jaggu's brothel, where the "police" (who are actually working for Dhanraj) have returned Saajan and Kaajal to Dhanraj, who is preparing to punish them both for her leaving the brothel. The intervention of Leelabai on Kaajal's behalf leads to yet another fight, with several people switching alliances.
and authored by Sameer. The music was hugely popular when it released and enjoys the honour of being played on radio stations even today. The most popular song of this film is Chandini Raat Hain, rendered by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who was re-launched by Anand-Milind
with this film. Abhijeet
and Anand-Milind
went on to record several songs together since. The songs Tapori and Chandni Raat Hai were straightlifted from Illayaraja movies, Agni Natchathiram
and Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal
respectively.
However, a minor controversy arose when singer Amit Kumar
was mistakenly nominated for Chandini Raat Hai at the Filmfare
awards ceremony. Anand-Milind
were nomintaed at the Filmfare
awards for Best Music but lost out to Nadeem-Shravan
for Aashiqui
.
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film starring Salman Khan
Salman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
, Nagma
Nagma
Nandita Morarji better known as Nagma . At her peak in the 1990s, The Hindu stated that she "dominated Telugu and Tamil cinema" with her movies Killer, Gharana Mogudu, Kadhalan, Baashha and many others...
, and Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor
Shakti Kapoor is an Indian Bollywood actor. He is notably known for playing vulgar comic and villainous roles. He is known for acting alongside comedian Kader Khan as his sidekick along with Asrani in over 100 films.-Early life:...
, which was released in 11 December 1990. It was Nagma's first role in Bollywood, as the opening credits note; she was 15 years old when the film was released. In an ironic twist, the DVD cover has a warning noting that the movie is "suitable only for persons of 15 years and older," presumably because the plot revolves around prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Note, the subtitle "A Rebel for Love" does not appear on the DVD box, nor in the Hindi titles or license at the start of the movie. According to BoxOfficeIndia.Com, Baaghi is reported to have been Bollywood's seventh highest grossing film in 1990, despite its release in mid-December.
The movie opens with a dedication, which reads: "In this year of the girl child, we dedicate our film to those women, who have been victimised by lust and greed and are subjected to social rejection and also laud those who strived to uplift them."
Plot
The story, based on an idea from Salman KhanSalman Khan
Salman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
, centres on Saajan, the son of a colonel in the Indian army, and Kaajal, a modest girl from "a respectable family." The film opens with Saajan travelling in a bus, when he catches a glimpse of Kaajal on another bus, and they are both smitten. They do not formally meet and, since Saajan is off to start at college, he does not think he will ever see her again. But his new friends at college, Buddha, Tempo and Refill, one night insist that they all visit a brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
in a seedier part of Bombay. Saajan only reluctantly agrees, but ultimately refuses to select a prostitute - until he hears a new girl being beaten by her pimp, and decides to protect whoever she is. To his surprise, it is Kaajal again, called Paro at the brothel, who has been kidnapped by a pimp after she was tricked by a job offer in Bombay.
Kaajal, who has only very recently arrived at the brothel and is still a virgin, has adamantly refused to be a prostitute, hence Jaggu, who runs the brothel, beating her. When finally alone with Saajan as a paying client (although he does not, of course, do anything with her), Kaajal explains to Saajan how she was forced to look for work after her parents' deaths, and how this ultimately led to her travelling to Bombay and being kidnapped by Dhanraj then forced to work in Jaggu's brothel. Thanks to Leelabai, the madame who helps run the brothel for Jaggu, Saajan is able to spend time with Kaajal, and Kaajal is somehow able to keep resisting actually becoming a prostitute. Saajan and Kaajal fall in love, and he tries to find a way to get her out of the brothel before Kaajal gives up hope.
When Saajan is finally able to introduce Kaajal to his parents, they - not surprisingly - reject the idea of his marrying a girl from a brothel, even if she was taken there against her will and is actually from a respectable family. Since Saajan's father, Col. Sood, was already angry with his son for refusing to follow family tradition and join the Indian army, this is the last straw, and Saajan is kicked out of his house. He becomes, in his own words, a rebel - a word which is repeated several times in the movie. Since Kaajal is already rebelling against Jaggu because she believes in love, they are now both "rebels for love." With the help of Saajan's college friends, they help Kaajal escape Jaggu's brothel and flee Bombay to Ooty, near where her grandparents live. But just as they are about to be married with Kaajal's grandparents' consent, if not Saajan's father's, police arrive take them back to Bombay, where they claim he's wanted for kidnapping "Paro".
But Saajan's father, upon hearing of his son's heroics in fighting Dhanraj's men to rescue Kaajal, suddenly has a new-found respect for his son, who had previously been a lazy drifter. With the help of Saajan's three friends, Col. Sood finds his son outside Jaggu's brothel, where the "police" (who are actually working for Dhanraj) have returned Saajan and Kaajal to Dhanraj, who is preparing to punish them both for her leaving the brothel. The intervention of Leelabai on Kaajal's behalf leads to yet another fight, with several people switching alliances.
Cast
- Salman KhanSalman KhanSalman Khan is an Indian film actor. He has starred in more than 80 Hindi films.Khan, who made his acting debut with a minor role in the drama Biwi Ho To Aisi with Rekha in a lead role, had his first commercial success with the blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya , for which he won a Filmfare Award for...
... Saajan Sood - NagmaNagmaNandita Morarji better known as Nagma . At her peak in the 1990s, The Hindu stated that she "dominated Telugu and Tamil cinema" with her movies Killer, Gharana Mogudu, Kadhalan, Baashha and many others...
... Kaajal aka Paro - Shakti KapoorShakti KapoorShakti Kapoor is an Indian Bollywood actor. He is notably known for playing vulgar comic and villainous roles. He is known for acting alongside comedian Kader Khan as his sidekick along with Asrani in over 100 films.-Early life:...
... Dhanraj - Kiran Kumar ... Colonel D.N. Sood
- Beena Banerjee ... Mrs. Vandana Sood
- Mohnish BehlMohnish BehlMohnish Bahl Mohnish Bahl Mohnish Bahl (Hindi: मोह्निश बहल,(born 14 February 1963) is an Indian actor working in the Bollywood film industry. He is currently playing the role of Dr. Ashutosh in the show Kuch Toh Log Kahenge-Personal life:...
... Jaggu - Asha Sachdev ... Leelabai
- Salim KhanSalim KhanSalim Khan is an Indian Scriptwriter and Actor. He wrote numerous screenplays for Bollywood films. He frequently collaborated with writer Javed Akhtar; the duo is credited as Salim-Javed.-Personal life:...
... Salim - Pradeep Singh RawatPradeep RawatPradeep Singh Rawat is an Indian actor. He is a Rajput and notable for playing villainous roles in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil films.Rawat's first appearance was in Mahabharat as 'Ashwathama', Dronacharya's son...
... "Buddha" - Raju Shrestha ... Raju
Music
The soundtrack has 7 songs composed by Anand-MilindAnand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
and authored by Sameer. The music was hugely popular when it released and enjoys the honour of being played on radio stations even today. The most popular song of this film is Chandini Raat Hain, rendered by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Abhijeet Bhattacharya, who was re-launched by Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
with this film. Abhijeet
Abhijeet
-Early life:Abhijeet was born in a Bengali family in Kanpur on 30 October 1958, the youngest of four siblings. He passed his matriculation from Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School, Kanpur and Class XII from BNSD Inter College Chunni Ganj, Kanpur; and graduated in commerce from Christ...
and Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
went on to record several songs together since. The songs Tapori and Chandni Raat Hai were straightlifted from Illayaraja movies, Agni Natchathiram
Agni Natchathiram
Agni Natchathiram is a 1988 Tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam. The movie is about two half-brothers who come into conflict with each other in their claim for legitimacy as sons of a common father. The cast includes Prabhu Ganesan and Karthik Muthuraman. The movie's score and soundtrack are...
and Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal
Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal
Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal is a 1989 Indian Tamil language Drama film directed by K. Balachander starring Rahman, Sithara, Geetha, Janagaraj, Jayachitra, Poornam Vishwanathan, Sowcar Janaki, Vivek and Ilaiyaraaja.- Plot :...
respectively.
However, a minor controversy arose when singer Amit Kumar
Amit Kumar
Amit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions...
was mistakenly nominated for Chandini Raat Hai at the Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...
awards ceremony. Anand-Milind
Anand-Milind
Anand and Milind are an Indian music directors duo consisting of Anand Shrivastav and his younger brother Milind. They have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films and are the sons of 60s music director, Chitragupta.-Career:...
were nomintaed at the Filmfare
Filmfare
Filmfare is an English-language tabloid-sized magazine about Indian cinema. Published by The Times Group, India's largest media services conglomerate, in Mumbai , it highlights the doings of the Bollywood film scene...
awards for Best Music but lost out to Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan
Nadeem-Shravan was a music director duo in the Bollywood film industry of India. The duo derives its name from the first names of its two principals, Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod....
for Aashiqui
Aashiqui
Aashiqui is a 1990 Bollywood romance film, particularly noted for its music. The film made the careers of Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal and Nadeem-Shravan. It was released on 23 July 1990.-Plot:...
.
| # | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ek Chanchal Shokh Haseena | Abhijeet | 06:40 |
| 2 | Kaisa Lagta Hai | Amit Kumar Amit Kumar Amit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions... & Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India.She has sung songs in Hindi, Marathi and Nepali.- Biography :She studied at Xavier's College in Mumbai. She was married to the late Arun Paudwal, who worked with music director S. D. Burman as his assistant... |
06:33 |
| 3 | Chandni Raat Hai | Abhijeet Abhijeet -Early life:Abhijeet was born in a Bengali family in Kanpur on 30 October 1958, the youngest of four siblings. He passed his matriculation from Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School, Kanpur and Class XII from BNSD Inter College Chunni Ganj, Kanpur; and graduated in commerce from Christ... & Kavita Krishnamurthy |
04:59 |
| 4 | Tapori | Amit Kumar Amit Kumar Amit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions... & Anand Chitragupt |
05:29 |
| 5 | Har Kasam Se Badi Hai | Abhijeet Abhijeet -Early life:Abhijeet was born in a Bengali family in Kanpur on 30 October 1958, the youngest of four siblings. He passed his matriculation from Ramakrishna Mission Higher Secondary School, Kanpur and Class XII from BNSD Inter College Chunni Ganj, Kanpur; and graduated in commerce from Christ... & Kavita Krishnamurthy |
05:59 |
| 6 | Maang Teri Saha Doon Mein | Amit Kumar Amit Kumar Amit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions... |
01:29 |
| 7 | Saajan O Saajan | Pramila Gupta | 04:52 |