They could have been the ‘it’ jodi of the time but soon Bunty Aur Babli released and Rani Mukerji-Abhishek Bachchan were everything the fans were talking about. Bunty Aur Babli starred Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan.
Hum Tum was also one of the first films where Saif registered a hit without any other male lead in the film. Much like SRK, Saif had the talent to be witty and play a romantic lead and Rani was the woman whose screen presence was quite reminiscent of Kajol in the 90s. And it seemed like they fit the mold perfectly. In every decade, Hindi cinema is looking to find its new perfect jodi and since SRK and Kajol had reached that status with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the hunt for the next perfect screen pairing was on. At this point, it seemed that they could be the new SRK- Kajol.
As they fought each other in ‘Ladki Kyu Na Jane Kyu’, their infectious energy gave the film an upbeat start. Saif’s ‘Tom Cruise look’ got him his first National Film Award and for Rani, who was already the reigning Bollywood queen at the time, this film gave her a chance to showcase her mature, emotional side. For Saif and Rani, their first outing together was as Karan and Rhea in Hum Tum and it turned out to be a complete game changer. It was in this phase of the early 2000s that Saif Ali Khan found a new lease of life in the film business and Rani Mukerji solidified her image as the girl-next-door. Rani Mukerji and Saif Ali Khan became the ‘it’ couple after Hum Tum. Love stories or romcoms aren’t the ‘it’ genre anymore but watching Saif and Rani in the promos of Bunty Aur Babli 2, we can’t help but look back on the days when the 21st century was taking off, and the idea of romance and relationships in Hindi movies was starting to evolve. They made movies like Salaam Namaste and Saathiya that were primarily love stories, but were presented as a new take on Bollywood rom-coms. In spite of the plentiful plot holes, there are some fine moments like the scenes where Ajay manipulates Seema, Priya discovering the truth about her sister, Priya confronting Ajay.Even though one knows what happens in the end, there's something about the film that makes you sit through it.To paint a picture, this was a time when YRF made movies like Hum Tum and Tara Rum Pum where relationships looked modern, but were backed by the traditional filmy pyaar. The end sequence is a disappointment and it sadly brings the film down by a notch but on the whole, 'Baazigar' is enjoyable to watch. Technically the film could have used a lot of improvement but one should keep in mind that this is a film of the early 1990s. The rest of the cast do not impress much either. Rakhee plays the typical distressed mother again. Shilpa Shetty gives a stunning debut act. Kajol is lovably hyper in the beginning but she shows her character's gradual maturity with grace. The film belongs to Shahrukh Khan who does his first anti-hero act and blows the audience away with a strong balanced performance of a multi-layered character. What mainly makes 'Baazigar' more watchable than it's 'original' source is its performances. The whole comedy track featuring Johnny Lever and co deserve to be fast-forwarded. The songs are pleasant but some of the tunes are ripped off too. To an extent, as a film, it is better than 'A Kiss Before Dying' as the twists are changed to appeal to the Indian audience. It's not a scene by scene copy and the director duo did smartly Indianize it (unfortunately a lot of it is too Bollywood e.g. It 'loosely' rips off 'A Kiss Before Dying'. 'Baazigar' is probably the first commercial Hindi film that centres around the anti-hero.