Naah hero no. 1, naah coolie no. 1, yeh hai film no. 1

While it was Rudraksh that gave rise to this cult of ours, it was another movie that made us aware that there is an entirely new genre of movies that we never appreciated before. While Rudraksh was the seed, this movie was the soil, the fertilizer. In fact, half of the name Badmaskh comes from this. The movie is Badmaash No. 1. Never heard of it? Well, we hadn't either, until that fateful day in Bombay Music House, Berkeley. We were looking for a movie to rent, when we heard Kunal laughing hysterically. He held up a DVD, and said "we have got to watch this". The cover itself was just amazing - we knew then, that we had found a gem. The back cover revealed more treasures - here is an excerpt.

Amrish Puri in & as Badmash No1. Ranjeet Singh is a devil minded person who simply knows how to take unfair and undue advantage of any given situation and therefore he is notorious for being Badmash No1.

The words devil minded revealed that this was exactly the degenerate movie that we were looking for. After considerable debate as to who will actually rent it (we were too embarassed to take it up to the counter), we finally got it. It didn't disappoint us. Memorable things include:

• Fighting for "Yeh Taaj", the crown that Amrish Puri has. Inside some crude cage, in god knows what era, Ranjeet Singh's brother fights people who want the crown.
• The unique weaponry used - there is a weird sort of sword / saw which is obviously made of cardboard with silver wrapping. Bad props aside, none of us has ever even seen a weapon of this calibre. Has to be seen to be believed.
• The title song, which seems like it is shot in a different time as compared to the rest of the movie. This has given rise to the belief that the movie was shot long ago, abandoned, and then repackaged with the song at a much later time. Nevertheless, its one mystery that still evokes considerable laughter among us.
• The main protagonist, Sanjay, who enters with the line "Mujhe mummy ne bheja hai", and is promptly recognized, as if that is his calling card.
• The jungle vigilante, Sheru - who happens to be a horse.
• The hero's father, who looks like a bus conductor from interior Tamil Nadu.
• The one-armed teacher
• The song which has the heroine singing in her towel, and the hero ogling like a retarded child - quite a scene.
• Of course, who can forget the memorable Jyotishi, who claims that Ranjeet Singh will die in six months. Ranjeet Singh then kills him and claims that the Jyotishi's life will be added to Ranjeet's life.
• The villian with the lightning bolt on his face - who is employed by Ranjeet Singh when all else fails. He is supposed to be a devious mastermind, and certainly looks like the kind of depraved person you would expect in such a movie. His amazing plan involves painting a nude portrait of Aruna Irani (without her knowing), the hero's mother. She foils his devious plan by tying a Rakhi on his hands, thus making him her brother who has to protect her. Quite fascinating I tell you. Of course, he goes on to prove his devotion by saving her from acid in her bathtub - after looking at her QUITE suggestively for what seems like ages.

Anyway, this movie is the second glimpse of heaven afforded to us. With every new movie we watch, we are slowly realizing that we won't get any further glimpses .. but that won't stop us from trying. Of course, this movie has another charm - all efforts to purchase it have been unsuccessful. More on that later ... for now, I would say, if you want to appreciate why we have smiles on our faces in the worst of times, please see the two movies - Rudraksh and Badmaash No. 1. Your lives will never be the same again.