Dada Badmash (2002)
Cast: Shaan, Saima, Yusuf Khan, Moammar Rana, Meera, Saud, Resham
Director: Sangeeta
Synopsis: Follow up to smash hit Sher e Lahore is much of the same garbage.
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

Madame Sangeeta spat out this effort in a matter of days with the idea of repeating a winning formula she had struck with her recent Punjabi smash Sher e Lahore. This film follows the same trite, violent, vulgar path that Sher e Lahore adopted and hopes to match the latter’s box office muscle in the coming weeks.

The movie is more of the same Chaudhary blood feuds—a succession of posturing and shouting scenarios, punctuated at regular intervals with raunchy dances to the rasping vocals of hot property Naseebo Lal. The singer, evoking memories of the late great Madame Noor Jehan with her earthy, nasal delivery, has already assumed a massive presence in the Punjab, where producers have taken to displaying her name prominently on advertising billboards along with the director and stars. This was an honour that only the great Madame Ji was ever accorded.

Naseebo may not yet be in Madame Ji’s league and may never be, but she is indeed a worthy talent and follow-up to a legend and, in time might well create a tale of her own.

Dada Badmash involves a typically infantile plot of clan animosity with the usual ingredients of murder and revenge. Comical bloodbaths dominate proceedings with some respite in the form of seriously saucy gyrating by Saima, Meera and Resham that leaves little to the imagination. Shaan does his Sultan Rahi impersonation to good effect.

At the same time, Moammar Rana tries his utmost to appear manly and aggressive and exude the requisite levels of masculinity that Punjabi cinema demands. The poor fellow has had to assume this manic, deranged persona to survive in an industry dominated by the Badmash genre. Saud has a brief role (mercifully), which suggests a badly faltering career; expect to see lots of him on TV shortly.

Veteran Yusuf Khan plays the title role of the yeti-like Dada Badmash and looks supremely ‘ghairatmand‘ (righteous) or comical, depending on your point of view. There is a shocking new find paired with Resham, who does his utmost to appear in another realm of machismo despite looking (and behaving) like a child. He is undoubtedly a young actor with a bright future, even if he is possibly the worst actor we may have ever encountered.

The glamour is provided by Saima, who seems more top-heavy with each advancing year. Is it just those plasticky, PVC-type skintight body-hugging clothes that she’s been given to wearing increasingly these days that accentuate her already remarkable assets? She knows how to thrust and heave in Lollywood’s finest time-honored tradition.

Dada Badmash Meera provides plenty of lewd, suggestive gyrations during her fabulous ‘tip tip’ number, which is the pick of the numerous racy songs. Resham, whose career has reached the point when she is being paired with debutant mutants, shows she is second to none in the pelvic thrust and bust jerk department, as she proves in her Junglee Kabooter number. However, the girls don’t have much to do besides pelvic acrobatics.

It’s a nonsensical film without plot or reason, yet this kind of fare is a staple diet these days, and somehow or the other, the film-going masses appear to be able to make some coherent sense out of them— a skill that seems to have altogether escaped us.