Ajooba

<p>The kingdom of Baharistan is ruled by a kind ( ). All is well in the land, except that Sultan seemingly can’t have any child. An evil devil-worshipping ( ) seeks to usurp the throne, reviving his (a huge demon-like figure made of stone) and take over the world. Vazir instructs his maids to strangle every child born to Sultan. Finally, however, a spark of divine intervention (presented literally as a spark which descends from the heavens and enters the womb) renders the next newborn son immune to the poisons and strangulations administered by the maids. This Shehzada ( ) eventually becomes (Miracle). Sultan and his wife Malika ( ) kick off celebrations throughout the land. The good court magician Ameer Khan ( ), fondly called “Ameer Baba”, the very much close friend of Sultan, recently returned from his travels to Hind ( ), presents a magic sword to Sultan. Sultan thrusts it into a pillar (verifying its keenness) and Ameer Baba pronounces that it may be drawn out of the stone again only by a member of the royal family (rather like the ). Soon after, Sultan privately discusses about the traitors in the kingdom, with Ameer Baba. Vazir overhears their discussion, eventually tricks Ameer Baba, steals his Necklace of Immortality, throws him into the dungeon, attempts to murder Sultan and his family and take over the throne. Sultan escapes with his wife and child. After a pitched battle involving magic carpets, storms and ships, Sultan is missing. Malika is blinded and the young Shehzada is washed ashore by a dolphin (whom he eventually thinks of as his mother) to a blacksmith. This blacksmith adopts the kid, trains him in all the worldly and martial arts and thus creates . In the meantime, Vazir blames Ameer Baba for Sultan’s murder, takes over the throne and begins ravaging the land, always uttering his slogan (Long live the Devil). is a masked rider in black (rather like Zorro) who thwarts Vazir’s lackeys as they pillage the lands and harass the citizens. His plain self is Ali, an ordinary restaurateur and his chum is Hassan ( ). Together they foil Vazir’s evil schemes, raid his caravans and woo their girls. Ali falls for Rukhsana ( ), the daughter of Ameer Baba, returned from Hind (to rescue her imprisoned father), while Hassan’s affections are for Vazir’s Shehzadi Henna ( ). Ajooba inflicts constant pain upon Vazir. Vazir eventually raises his and plans an all-out attack. The King of Hind, Karan Singh ( ) brings his forces to aid Ajooba. The resulting war brings all the central characters together. Several questions are essentially resolved in the ensuing war. The climax is a panorama of demons, magical horses and donkeys, a full-scale combat between Vazir’s army and the Hind army, enchanted swords and a final revelation about the true identity of Ajooba. The film was made in the wake of (1980), an earlier themed Indian-Soviet production (based on the story of ) that became a success in both India and the Soviet Union. The film had a budget of , which was amongst the highest at the time. This film was produced in association with in . There are several stars whose speech is not in sync with Hindi dialogues. Supposedly, worked in this film free, as a favour to his longtime collaborator and friend . The film was a financial success in the Soviet Union, where it was released as ( ) in July 1990. It was the last successful collaboration between the Indian and Soviet film industries. In India, the film was commercially unsuccessful at the box office. This article about a Hindi film of the 1990s is a . You can help Wikipedia by . This article related to a Soviet film of the 1990s is a . You can help Wikipedia by .</p>