Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Foreign Film Wednesday: Darr (1993)

 

Darr (1993). Directed by Yash Chopra. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla.

Spoiler alert: I love Indian movies movies and Shah Rukh Khan.

Darr stars Shah Rukh Khan relatively early in his career as Rahul, a young man who is obsessed with Kiran, a college student engaged to manly Sunil. He proceeds to stalk her by phone and in person, insinuating himself into the life of the young couple until a harrowing showdown aboard the world's flimsiest fishing boat settles the matter. It's disturbing and suspenseful but doesn't shirk on the musical numbers, so its energy is a little all over the place. But it's still pretty great.

There's not much else to say about it. It's kind of long (3+ hours) but that's normal for Indian movies. The music is fun even though the two big numbers showcase Rahul either singing about his obsession with Kiran or actively stalking her at a Holi celebration. At first his obsession seems kind of funny and then it really turns scary and disturbing, especially after Kiran and Sunil actually marry, when the creep factor really amps up. I have to say though that last fight scene is comedy gold.

I am a huge Shah Rukh Khan fan and will watch anything he's in so was a no-brainer for me. There is a four-part documentary series on Netflix called The Romantics, about the Indian film industry and the Chopra film family in particular; Khan is interviewed about this movie and his other big movie with the Chopra family, DDLJ. It's interesting and fun to watch alongside this movie.  Khan is now one of the best known actors in the world and the Chopra family helped make him a star.

It was neat to see him play against the type he'd later be known for, the dorky comedic romantic hero, and although this wasn't my favorite of his films, if you like Indian movies like I do and you want to see some baby Shah Rukh, it's worth your while.

 

Darr is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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