Khiladi was the movie that started it all for Akshay Kumar. It was his first hit followed by a line of movies leveraging the lucky term “khiladi” in their titles. Its a murder mystery movie. Though the murder is committed only halfway we are entertained by a host of masala elements typical of Hindi movies, so there’s nothing to complain!

The Plot

Khiladi begins with a chase sequence. Raj Malhotra (Akshay Kumar) is following a businessman Bahadur Singh (Sharat Saxena). Bahadur Singh is involved in horse racing etc and returning from the bank after withdrawing a huge amount ( 3 lakh rupees). Raj corners and shoots him with a dummy pistol. This was a prank. Raj’s friend Bonny (Deepak Tijori) appears and admonishes Bahadur Singh for not living up to his name, getting scared and making him lose his bet with Raj. It is revealed Raj and Bonny are college going friends and keep betting on the go. Apparently Bonny keeps losing every time.

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We are introduced to Raj’s family. He lives with his elder brother inspector Suresh Malhotra (Shakti Kapoor) and his wife Sudha (Beena). Suresh is aware of his brother’s betting habit and warned him time and again (to no avail!).

Its the first day of college. Typical of Hindi movies, we are assured of pranks, teasing, fights, songs and romance. We are introduced to the college gang including Sheetal Nath (Sabeeha). Sheetal’s father is Kailash Nath (Prem Chopra) who is a businessman cum politician preparing for the upcoming elections. Other quirky characters like the principal (Dinyar Contractor) and P.T. professor P.K. More (Tinu Anand) add to the fun.

Raj and his friends have planned a prank on the college staff, serving them a cold drink which induces a “winking effect.” What follows is a long winking session involving the staff members. Inadvertently impacted by this prank is Neelam Chaudhary (Ayesha Jhulka) who is a new student. Raj sees Neelam and sparks fly (from his end only). Neelam is not impressed though Sheetal explains Raj is a good guy. Rose day follows and we are treated to a girls vs boys song.

The girls are going to Nasik for a basketball tournament and the Raj and Bonny follow them disguised as girls leading to hilarious consequences involving P.K. More. All of them end up in the lock-up and Neelam’s uncle (Anant Mahadevan) kindly assists in getting them released. Couple of songs later, Raj and Neelam fall in love.

Back in Mumbai, the boys receive a verbal thrashing from Sheetal’s father Kailash Nath, who threatens to inform Raj’s inspector brother of his (drag) doings. Raj begs him not to do so and he reluctantly agrees.

The girls tease Raj and Bonny. Raj challenges them to a new bet. He will compel Kailash Nath to come begging on his knees. The plan is to “kidnap” Sheetal and demand a hefty ransom of Rs. 5 lakhs from Kailash Nath. The challenge is accepted.

On the agreed day, Sheetal and Neelam are coming to meet Raj and Bonny. Unexpectedly, a car tries to crush them as they are crossing the road. Bonny saves them and catches a glimpse of a woman driving the car. Luckily they escape with minor injuries.

As planned, Raj calls up Kailash Nath posing as a kidnapper. Sheetal pleads him to pay the amount. Kailash Nath is flustered and says he will need to visit the bank to arrange the ransom amount and can only pay it tomorrow. Raj discusses with the others and they decide to spend the night in Manori island.

They reach Manori island and hire a cottage from Anna Pillai (Johnny Lever). Anna is hard of hearing and keeps cribbing of his 4 chhote chhote bachche for whom he needs to earn money to educate them etc. Raj returns home in order to collect the money next morning. Luck by chance, he comes to know his brother has tapped Kailash Nath’s phone and is aware of the location where the ransom will be delivered. Raj manages to call Kailash Nath in the nick of time and the ransom is successfully delivered at a revised location.

Raj and Bonny return to the cottage where Neelam and Sheetal are eagerly waiting. Neelam meets them outside and Raj shows the bag of money confirming he has won the bet. But their joy is short lived.

As they go in to inform Sheetal, they find she has been stabbed and breathes her last in front of them. A fun plot has turned in to a tragedy. They manage to return to Mumbai and hide the corpse in the a car parked in a movie theatre’s parking where it gets discovered.

By now we have reached halfway and the rest half is dedicated to the murder investigation. Inspector Suresh is getting closer to the killer. And Raj, Bonny and Neelam are desperately trying to hide the truth.

Kailash Nath is distraught. He has received the much needed sympathy factor for the elections due to his daughter’s unexpected death. But things are not that smooth and he has other things to worry about. He is getting blackmailed by a dancer Julie (Kunika) who can damage his prospects in the election.

So we have a group of desperate characters and a murderer to be caught. And more murder on the cards. How will this end?

The Music

This was one of Jatin Lalit’s initial movies and they do a good job by delivering catchy tunes. Wada Raha Sanam, Kya khabar thi jaana, Dekha teri mast nigahon mein, Khud ko kya samajhti hai and the climax song Tu shama main parwana tera complement the situations. Hoke man aaj magan was added after the movie’s release.

My Thoughts

Overall Khiladi is an entertaining movie and has aged well. The director duo Abbas-Mustan ensure the suspense is maintained till the end. The first half is casual but the second half becomes serious as the murder investigation progresses.

Akshay Kumar proves his khiladi credentials in the action scenes. The supporting cast is good. Shakti Kapoor and Prem Chopra were both well known villains at that time. Their casting in apparently positive roles manages to confuse the viewer! And Johnny Lever is specially impressive in his small comic role.

Trivia: Sabeeha’s mother was the well known 50s & 60s actress Ameeta. In one of the scenes, we see Bonny being admitted in “Ameeta” Hospital.