It’s Kajol’s birthday today, the actor who has given us countless Bollywood gems over the years. Kajol began her career in the 1990s, when flamboyant dancing and singing, as well as breathy emotional dialogues, were essential ingredients for a blockbuster. Kajol starred in the era’s biggest successes, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaaenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and no matter how much we dissect the films today, they shaped the ideas of Bollywood romance, for better or worse. While everyone is aware of Kajol’s huge hits, she also starred in some films that were so outrageous that they were absolutely brilliant to watch. They were completely entertaining and masala in every sense of the word.
Here’s a look back at some of Kajol’s underrated, outrageous gems that make for an absolutely hilarious watch.
Hameshaa (1997)
This is a reincarnation story starring Aditya Pancholi and Saif Ali Khan in addition to Kajol. Aditya Pancholi’s Yash Vardhan (who is still playing his Yes Boss character) becomes obsessed with Kajol and must have her at any cost, but she’s already fallen for Saif Ali Khan’s smarmy Raja (it pretty much took one song of complimenting her dupatta from Saif). In a rather dramatic scene on a cliff, he allows Raja to fall to his death, and a vengeful Rani jumps as well, promising to return.
Twenty years later, Yash finds Rani and vows that she will never find Raja, but he fails once more. Rani tracks down Raja and convinces him that she is his previous life’s love. As Yash falls off a cliff, the story has a happy ending.
Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kiya (1998)
Ah, the days when Salman Khan dazzled an entire generation by playing guitar on the beach while shirtless. Arbaaz Khan played Kajol’s overprotective brother Vishal, who doesn’t want Salman’s overly cheerful Suraj near his affectionate and innocent sister, Muskaan (Kajol). He takes his job very seriously and resorts to mediaeval forms of torture, such as dragging Suraj around by horses. Despite this, Suraj’s love overcomes all obstacles and passes all tests, including a surprise cooking test. The film featured trademark Bollywood slapstick comedy, as well as intense action scenes near the end. And what is a Bollywood film without a heroine being kidnapped at random and paraded in the khet?
Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha (1998)
Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha, an attempted remake of French Kiss, stars Ajay Devgn and Kajol as two strangers who fall in love despite being on two very different missions. Shekhar, played by Ajay Devgn, is a thief (for good reasons, of course), and Kajol plays Sanjana, a broken-hearted woman who discovers her boyfriend is cheating on her. Shekhar and Sanjana collaborate, with hilarious results. The trademark airport chase, an almost-hostage situation, and basically Kajol tripping everywhere and being a disaster on two feet as her character Sanjana is supposed to be bumbling and clumsy are all present.
Dil Kya Kare (1998)
Kajol described her character in this film as having “shades of grey.” The film was oddly perplexing, with Ajay Devgn and Kajol meeting on a train in the midst of riots. He saves her, and they spend the night together as strangers in a dangerous situation (What?). She vanishes the next morning, and he discovers several years later that his adopted daughter’s biological mother is Kajol. Regrettably, he is married to Mahima Chaudhary. Boom. The film was widely panned, but the excessive emotion, gushing dialogue, and appearance by Chandrachur Singh make it a really enjoyable watch. Who is looking for nuance in this situation? And why is that?
Karan Arjun
Cashing in on the magic between Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, we got Karan Arjun, another story about reincarnation, also starring Salman Khan. Packed with iconic dialogues (‘Mere Karan Arjun aayenge’ for one), and blaring songs like Jai Maa Kali (You can’t ever forget Kajol dancing like one possessed in a temple), Karan Arjun serves for the perfect 90’s binge. It had all the gorgeous weirdness of that era, as depicted in that one song, Jaati Hoon Main, something that even makes SRK and Kajol cringe today. But hey, we all need a good laugh sometime.