राजा हिन्दुस्तानी
Raja Hindustani is pure masala - it's fair to say that Raja Hindustani is the Platonic form of masala.
The plot is Bollywood's classic time-tested poor-guy rich-girl romance. GOAT favorite Aamir Khan is the titular character - his name also means "Indian king" - a proud taxi driver. He meets Aarti (Karisma Kapoor) when she arrives in his town for an extended vacation and hires him and his cab to shepherd her around. After a few obligatory misunderstandings, Raja and Aarti fall for each other. Aarti's family schemes to drive them apart, however, and much weeping, hand-wringing, anger, and other masala elements - like a drunk Raja making a scene at a classy party - ensue.
Raja HIndustani, like many masala films, is better in the first half as the characters are introduced and their relationships established than it is in the second half, where the tensions rise in pitch and where Raja appears to go somewhat insane. The climax is bizarre and over-the-top. Still, it's not an awful film, and somehow works better than the sum of its parts would suggest. It also includes a few really terrific songs, like "Pardesi pardesi jaana nahin" and "Aaye ho meri zindagi mein". It was a tremendous hit in its day, though I'm not sure it holds up well.
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