Ajooba

Ajooba is a 1991 Hindi language Bollywood feature film, produced and directed by Shashi Kapoor and also co-directed by the Soviet filmmaker Gennadi Vasilyev. It is a fantasy film loosely based on Arabian mythology (such as One Thousand and One Nights). A Russian language dub of the film was released in the Soviet Union as Vozvrashcheniye Bagdadskogo Vora.

Plot

The Afghan kingdom of Baharistan is ruled by a just and kind Sultan (Shammi Kapoor). All is well in the land except that the Sultan seemingly can't have children. An evil devil-worshipping Vazir (Amrish Puri) seeks to usurp the throne, revive his fauladi shaitan (a huge demon-like figure made of stone), and take over the world. The Vazir instructs his maids to strangle every child born to the 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 Shehezada (prince) eventually becomes Ajooba (miracle).

The Sultan and his wife Malika (Ariadna Shengelaya) kick off celebrations throughout the land. The good court magician Ameer Baba (Saeed Jaffrey), recently returned from his travels to the "land of Hind" (i.e., India), presents a magic sword to the Sultan. The 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...
Read More