Dulhe Raja (1998)

Say what you will, but 'Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare' will forever SLAP as one of the best songs ever. 

Rewatched this one after a long time, and well, it was not the laugh riot that I remember it being- I have vivid memories of laughing my ass off while watching this movie is a kid. I mean, it's not like I sat stone faced and bored throughout the movie this time, there were moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud, but not on the same scale as before. It's comforting certainly- some might argue it hasn't aged well (it hasn't) but what can I say, a childhood is a childhood. I'm sorry I didn't consume enough intellectual stuff as a kid, and that a lot of my nostalgia is concentrated in being Bollywood trash.

Dulhe Raja didn't leave me bored. It left me a bit frustrated though, mostly because of the bit where Raveena reveals her plan to Govinda on her birthday party, and the way he reacts. I'm personally sick of men being aggressively "possessive lovers" and being celebrated for it, and even the tiniest hint of this has the ability to trigger me. Otherwise, the Govinda-Kader Khan-Johnny Lever holy trinity of 90s comedy has its moments, and is probably the best part of the movie. I was quite shocked to discover that this wasn't directed by David Dhawan, which might explain why it wasn't nearly as funny as I remembered. Not that I have rewatched any "golden era" David Dhawan movies recently, although I am planning to rewatch Biwi No. 1 (1999) soon. Will arrive at a conclusion then, I suppose.

I guess I don't really regret rewatching this- I was prepared for it to be a lot worse and problematic than it was (oh God, I just remembered the Muslim lady in a burqa but it's actually Govinda scene in the beginning of the movie), so it wasn't exactly #childhoodruined for me. However, it wasn't like Chachi 420 (1997) or even Hera Pheri (2000) where I felt vindicated for loving that movie for most of my life. It was fine, comforting like I said, but nothing more than that, nothing special. And sometimes, that much is enough. Not really, but I don't want to be negative right now, after having just seen a rat and trying not to freak the fuck out because of an impending anxiety attack at 2 am. Okay I'm fine. I'm fine. Skip the movie, unless you're trying to explore 90s Bollywood comedy or something, but DO NOT sleep on 'Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare'. I mean it, that song needs to be celebrated more than it is currently. *grooves out*

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