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Showing posts with label 2016 Films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016 Films. Show all posts

Monday, September 18, 2017

Rustom (2016)

Rustom is a 2016 Indian period crime thriller film written by Vipul K. Rawal, directed by Tinu Suresh Desai and produced by Neeraj Pandey. It features Akshay Kumar, Ileana D'Cruz, Arjan Bajwa and Esha Gupta in the lead roles.

The film is based on the real life incident of Naval Officer K. M. Nanavati and businessman Prem Ahuja.

Principal photography of the film was commenced in February 2016 and it was released on 12 August 2016.

Akshay Kumar received the National Film Award for Best Actor at the 64th National Film Awards for his performance in the film.


Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Production
  • 4 Box office
    • 4.1 India
    • 4.2 International
  • 5 Music
    • 5.1 Score
    • 5.2 Songs
  • 6 Awards
  • 7 Track listing
  • 8 External links


 

Plot


The story dates back to the late 1950s and revolves around an Indian Naval Officer Rustom Pavri (Akshay Kumar), who is happily married to Cynthia Pavri (Ileana D'Cruz). Their marriage hits the rocks when Rustom discovers about his wife's affair with his friend Vikram Makhija (Arjan Bajwa). After returning early from his ship's deployment, Rustom discovers Vikram's love letters in Cynthia's cupboard. While trying to find her, Rustom sees them together. He returns home and waits for Cynthia to return and then confronts her with the love letters, but walks away before Cynthia can explain. Rustom then gets himself a pistol from the Naval Ship's Armory and makes a Trunk call to Defence HQ, New Delhi. Afterwards, he searches for Vikram, first in his office and then at his home. After Rustom enters Vikram's bedroom, the servant hears three gun shots and rushes to the room, to discover Vikram's body in a pool of blood and Rustom walking away with the pistol in his hand. Rustom immediately surrenders to the police and Inspector Vincent Lobo (Pawan Malhotra) starts the investigation.


Vikram's sister Priti Makhija (Esha Gupta) meets with public prosecutor, Lakshman Khangani (Sachin Khedekar) to get Rustom the toughest punishment possible. Truth, a local newspaper, publishes the news adding some spice to it, which creates a stir in the city. On the one side the Navy supports its officer and asks the police to hand over his custody to them while on the other side the Parsi community offers help by hiring a good defense lawyer. Rustom refuses everybody's help and decides to fight the case on his own and prefers police custody. While the Editor in Chief of Truth, Erich Billimoria (Kumud Mishra), creates a sympathetic image for Rustom in public, Rustom's senior Naval officer Rear Admiral Prashant Kamat (Parmeet Sethi) sends two goons to his house to search for a set of documents, but they fail to find anything. Scared, Cynthia rushes to jail to inform Rustom, who hasn't talked to her ever since he is in custody. Rustom finally meets and listens to Cynthia's story, about how she was lonely and upset when Rustom went away to London for many months. With the connivance of Priti, Vikram took advantage of Cynthia's loneliness and she fell for him. However, on the day of Vikram's murder, Cynthia had already broken-up with him for the sake of her marriage. Vikram cannot bear her spurning him and slaps her hard. She gets injured and walks out of Vikram's house.


On Rustom's instructions, Cynthia blackmails Rear Admiral Prashant Kamat for Rs 5 crore in exchange for the vital documents he needed. In the court hearing, Rustom unexpectedly pleads not guilty in front of the Judge Patel (Anang Desai), which leads to a 9-member jury trial. At the culmination of the trial, Rustom is found not guilty by the jury since he shot Vikram in self-defence. Meanwhile, it is found that Vincent Lobo was in Delhi and he had met the office secretary of the Ministry of Defence to obtain the recording of the trunk call that Rustom had made. When back in Bombay, the trunk call is played, convincing almost everyone that Rustom is guilty, and the court proceedings end for the jury to decide on their opinion. In the police station on the night of the court proceeding, Rustom tells Vincent Lobo the truth: he was posted in London for several months inspecting an aircraft carrier that the Navy wants to purchase, but on inspection, it was found by Rustom that the carrier's hull was corroded, and it would have to be repaired and modified before the carrier could be transferred to India. Vikram was in charge of the aircraft carrier, and he attempted to bribe him in order to convince him to say that the carrier is seaworthy. When Rustom attempted to notify the defence secretary in London, the secretary also attempted to bribe him and get the carrier to India. Vikram attempted to persuade him and Rustom then slapped him showing his power of his uniform. The next day it is shown that Rustom is proved not guilty by the jury and he walks free. Then it is shown in the flashback that Vikram had dated Cynthia to show Rustom his power of money and take revenge on him, but not for her beauty. Lobo is told that Rustom did not reveal about the aircraft carrier as then everyone would think the navy to be corrupt and then not believe in them just because of few officers. Rustom and Cynthia walk out of the court with their heads held up high and then the film rolls into the credits. In the end it is shown that after Rustom's trial, the jury system is abolished in India. And also Defence Secretary K.G.Bakshi committed suicide by shooting himself on INS Vishal unexpectedly.


Cast


  • Akshay Kumar as Commander Rustom Pavri
  • Ileana D'Cruz as Cynthia Pavri, Commander Rustom Pavri's wife
  • Arjan Bajwa as Vikram Makhija
  • Esha Gupta as Preeti Makhija, Vikram's sister
  • Pawan Malhotra as Senior Inspector Vincent Lobo
  • Usha Nadkarni as Jamnabai, Cdr Pavri's maid servant
  • Sachin Khedekar as Public Prosecutor Lakshman Khangani
  • Kumud Mishra as Erich Billimoria
  • Anang Desai as Judge Patel
  • Parmeet Sethi as Rear Admiral Prashant Kamath
  • Indraneel Bhattacharya as Captain C. P. Cherian
  • Kanwaljit Singh as Defense Secretary K. G. Bakshi
  • Brijendra Kala as head constable Tukaram
  • Gireesh Sahedev as Lt Cdr Pujari
  • Abhay Kulkarni as Inspector Patil
  • Varun Verma as Lt Bisht
  • Sammanika Singh as Rosy, receptionist in Vikram's office
  • Deepak Gheewala as Bhanabhai, Vikram's house help
  • Ishteyak Khan as Chandu
  • Naman Jain as Dagdu
  • Subhashis Chakraborty as Ranjit Das, hotel waiter
  • Vipul K. Rawal as Captain
  • Suresh Sippy as Chief saheb
  • Rajesh S. Khatri as Damodar
  • Samir Shah as Ramesh Shirke
  • Haresh Khatri as Dr Asher
  • Nagraj Manjule as Advocate Sohrab Khandwala
  • Mohit Satyanand as Jamshedji Jeejabhoy


Production


The Rustom production filmed on location in Kent in April 2016 for the romantic montage where Rustom (Akshay Kumar) and Cynthia (Ileana D'Cruz) visit England including The Chequers Inn pub in Aylesford, Canterbury, Maidstone, Leeds Castle, Dover seafront and South Foreland Lighthouse. The Historic Dockyard Chatham also features for the naval port and ship scenes.


Box office


India


The film was released alongside Mohenjo Daro on 2317 screens across India on August 12, 2016. Rustom collected approximately ₹14.11 crore on its opening day. The film collected ₹50 crore in its opening weekend and ₹90.9 crore in its first week in India.


International


The film also performed well internationally, grossing approximately $3 million in its opening weekend.


Music


Score


The film score was composed by Surinder Sodhi.

Songs


The songs featured in Rustom were composed by Arko Pravo Mukherjee, Raghav Sachar, Ankit Tiwari, and Jeet Gannguli, with lyrics written by Manoj Muntashir.


The first song from the film's soundtrack album, "Tere Sang Yaara", sung by Atif Aslam and composed by Arko Pravo Mukherjee was released on 6 July 2016. The second track of the film, titled "Rustom Vahi" was released on 13 July 2016. All lyrics are penned by Manoj Muntashir. The full music album was released on 14 July 2016.


Awards


Akshay Kumar won the best actor for his role in the movie at 64th National Film Awards.







Track listing


No. Title Lyrics Music Singer(s) Length
1. "Tere Sang Yaara" Manoj Muntashir Arko Pravo Mukherjee Atif Aslam 4:50
2. "Rustom Vahi" Manoj Muntashir Raghav Sachar Sukriti Kakar 3:20
3. "Tay Hai" Manoj Muntashir Ankit Tiwari Ankit Tiwari 3:48
4. "Dekha Hazaro Dafaa" Manoj Muntashir Jeet Gannguli Arijit Singh, Palak Muchhal 3:30
5. "Dhal Jaun Main" Manoj Muntashir Jeet Gannguli Jubin Nautiyal, Akanksha Sharma 4:53
6. "Jab Tum Hote Ho" Manoj Muntashir Ankit Tiwari Shreya Ghoshal 4:18
7. "Rustom Vahi Theme" Raghav Sachar 1:23
8. "Rustom Vahi - Marathi" Manoj Muntashir Raghav Sachar Jasraj Joshi 3:07
9. "Rustom Vahi - Male" Manoj Muntashir Raghav Sachar Jasraj Joshi 3:10
10. "Tere Bin Yaara (Reprise)" Manoj Muntashir Arko Pravo Mukherjee Arko Pravo Mukherjee 3:46

External links

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Dishoom (2016)

Dishoom is a 2016 Indian action comedy film written and directed by Rohit Dhawan. The film stars John Abraham, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez in lead roles alongside Akshaye Khanna as the antagonist, marking his comeback to acting after a four-year break. Dishoom released worldwide on 29 July 2016, and mixed reviews from critics and audiences, and opened well at the box office.


Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
    • 2.1 Special appearances
  • 3 Production
    • 3.1 Filming
  • 4 Music
  • 5 References
  • 6 External links
 
 
 

Plot


During a cricket tournament in the Middle East, 48 hours prior to the final match between India and Pakistan, India's top cricketer Viraj Sharma (Saqib Saleem) goes missing. Indian authorities get a video tape of an unknown man claiming to have abducted Viraj till the India vs Pakistan cricket match two days later and warning them not to cancel the match. Attempting to avoid media outrage, Gayatri (Mona Ambegaonkar), the Defence Minister of India, sends special task force officer ACP Kabir Shergill IPS (John Abraham) to U.A.E for a 36-hour manhunt. After being received by and getting into a semi-scuffle with a local officer, Saeed Naqvi (Tarun Khanna), Kabir, who is a no-nonsense cop, bumps into a rookie Indo-Emirati police officer Junaid Ansari (Varun Dhawan), who has never been able to solve a case but has a good knowledge of the town which he acquired during his first incomplete case of finding a dog named Bradman.


Both Kabir and Junaid start their investigation with a CCTV footage of Viraj's hotel and find out that on the night of his disappearance, Viraj went out with a local girl, Samira Dalal (Nargis Fakhri). On confronting her, she reveals that she took Viraj to a friend's party but he left soon. Kabir and Junaid roam around the town to meet a local goon nicknamed Khabri Chacha (Vijay Raaz) who directs them to Sameer Gazi (Akshay Kumar), the city's biggest party animal who met Viraj in the same party, but still could not get any clue. Finally, the duo gets a breakthrough by tracking down Viraj's cellphone from the apartment of a pick-pocketer, Ishika (Jacqueline Fernandez) who claims to have stolen the cell phone from a stranger, the previous night, in a supermarket. They also manage to capture the person in the video, but discover that he is just a struggling actor being used as the face in the video by the real kidnapper. However, Junaid is shocked when the actor recognizes the "stranger" Ishika had mentioned as the fugitive who conducted his audition, and rubs a sketch clue of evidence right out to Kabir, who asks Saeed, Junaid's superior, to identify the stranger.


Meanwhile, it is revealed that the real kidnapper is a cricket bookie Wagah (Akshaye Khanna), who along with his assistant Altaf (Rahul Dev), the stranger, has abducted Viraj and offered him 300 million rupees to under play in the final. They finally close the deal for 500 million. But when the deal didn't work out and Viraj closeted onto them, bluffing an imposterly Wagah into believing he would underplay, they kidnap him permanently till the final match is played. In the current time Kabir, a suspended-from-duty Junaid and Ishika go to an underground Arabian club in Altaf's native state Abuddin, full of goons and guns, where, during the journey, Junaid reveals to Ishika that Kabir suffered from cancer and has lost his smile since, and she, in turn, warms up to Kabir, sending photos of both together while he is still asleep, to his recently turned ex-girlfriend Alishka, with whom he had a breakup. Kabir spots Altaf and both try to chase him down but before they could succeed, a sniper kills Altaf. Wagah calls and confesses to Kabir that he got him killed and they should stop searching for Viraj. Wagah confronts Viraj, threatens to kill his family, shoots both a Mumbai-based partner and his own manager, and asks his wife to leave with their son, finally stranded, with only Bradman by his side.


On returning to Abu Dhabi, Kabir and Junaid are taken off the case and Kabir ordered to fly back to India. But at the 11th hour Junaid gets a clue of Viraj's whereabout through a camera on Bradman's neck, as Wagah has hidden him in a yacht near the team's hotel. Both reach the location only to discover that Wagah has fled leaving behind Viraj tied with a time bomb after Wagah realised that Bradman, who is apparently his pet, carried over his neck a GPS tracker band Junaid tied out to never lose track of Bradman. With minutes to blast Kabir negotiates with Wagah to stop the bomb in return of 5 billion rupees from Indian Government. Wagah takes the money but refuses to stop the bomb. After witnessing the blast from a distance Wagah walks into the cricket stadium expecting the match to begin without Viraj. But to his shock Viraj is alive and walks into the ground all ready to play as a parallel flashback reveals Kabir and Junaid helped Viraj to get out of the jacket by dislocating his shoulder and all three had jumped into water just before the blast.


After seeing his plan failed, Wagah tries to run away only to be apprehended by the duo. Kabir returns to India along with Ishika, while Junaid, who regains his duty, gets a marriage proposal from an Indian girl, Muskaan (Parineeti Chopra) and he also plans to fly to India to meet her.


Cast


  • John Abraham as Kabir Shergill
  • Varun Dhawan as Junaid Ansari
  • Jacqueline Fernandez as Meera Behl / Ishika
  • Akshaye Khanna as Wagah
  • Saqib Saleem as Viraj Sharma
  • Tarun Khanna as Inspector Saeed Naqvi
  • Rahul Dev as Altaf
  • Mir Sarwar as Hadeed, a weapons trader in Abuddin
  • Mansoor as Captain


Special appearances

 

  • Akshay Kumar as Sameer Gazi, a party animal and prime suspect
  • Nargis Fakhri as Samira Dalal
  • Vijay Raaz as Khabri Chacha
  • Parineeti Chopra as Muskaan Raza Qureshi
  • Satish Kaushik in a voiceover appearance as Arif Qureshi
  • Manu Malik as the person in the lift
  • Sahil Phull as Customs Officer Vishal Sinha, Kabir's former colleague
  • Anupriya Goenka as Alishka Iyer, Kabir's girlfriend
  • Jatin Gaur as Rashid, a technical expert
  • Faisal Rashid as a fanatical Pakistani fan in the video who had supposedly captured Viraj
  • Mohinder Amarnath as Dhananjay, Viraj's coach
  • Rameez Raja as himself in the form of a commentator


Production


Filming


The first schedule of the film started on June 27, 2015 at Mehboob Studio. Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez joined the set on 4 July 2015. Abu Dhabi was also a filming location; the production crew chose Abu Dhabi, as they would benefit from the Emirate's 30% rebate scheme.


Music


The music for Dishoom is composed by Pritam while lyrics have been penned by Kumaar, Mayur Puri and Ashish Pandit. The music rights have been acquired by T-Series. The full music album was released on 15 July 2016.



No. Title Lyrics Music Singer(s) Length
1. "Sau Tarah Ke[11]" Kumaar, Ashish Pandit Jonita Gandhi,Amit Mishra 3:58
2. "Toh Dishoom" Mayur Puri Pritam Raftaar, Shahid Mallya 4:02
3. "Jaaneman Aah (Version 1)" Mayur Puri Aman Trikha, Antara Mitra 3:50
4. "Sau Tarah Ke Revisited" Mayur Puri Abhijeet Sawant, Aditi Singh Sharma 3:59
5. "Jaaneman Aah (Version 2)" Mayur Puri Nakash Aziz, Antara Mitra 3:50
6. "Ishqa" Kumaar Abhijeet Sawant, Antara Mitra 2:47
7. "Subha Hone Na De (Remix)" Kumaar Mika Singh, Shefali Alvares 4:59



External links




Thursday, August 31, 2017

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)

Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (English: This Heart is Complicated) is a 2016 Indian romantic drama film written and directed by Karan Johar. It features Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in lead roles. It was released on 28 October 2016 on the Diwali weekend.


Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Production
    • 3.1 Development
    • 3.2 Filming
  • 4 Release
    • 4.1 Screening issue
  • 5 Box office
  • 6 Critical reception
  • 7 Soundtrack
    • 7.1 Track listing
  • 8 Accolades
  • 9 External links


 

Plot



In London, a chance meeting between Ayan Sanger and Alizeh Khan ends up with them kissing instinctively. Later, when they break up with their lovers, Lisa D'Souza and Dr. Faisal Khan, the two begin to spend time together at discos, restaurants, and tourist places. While Ayan falls in love with Alizeh, she considers him to be only a friend. One day, Alizeh stumbles upon DJ Ali, her ex-boyfriend, who wants to reconcile. Confused, Alizeh stops hanging out with Ayan and they cease communication. A few days later, Alizeh calls and invites Ayan to her wedding with Ali in Lucknow. Ayan is petrified on hearing this but agrees to the invitation. At the wedding, he tells Alizeh he loves her but she rejects his feelings causing Ayan to leave the ceremony heartbroken.


At the airport to board a flight to Frankfurt, Ayan meets Saba, a poet, who is leaving for Vienna. She consoles Ayan and gives him a note with her poetry and number on it. Ayan calls after three months stating that he is in Vienna and wants to meet her. Saba meets him at a disco and they end up sleeping together. Ayan learns that Saba is divorced and has no place for love in her heart. Ayan also meets Saba's ex-husband, Tahir Taliyar Khan in a gallery, who tells him that love is not a weakness but empowering. Ayan who had blocked Alizeh from everywhere, finally calls and reconnects with her. Ayan begins to send pictures of Saba to Alizeh to induce jealousy. One day Alizeh informs Ayan that she's coming to Vienna and wants to meet him. Ayan invites her for dinner, but Alizeh thinks Ayan has found love in Saba and is happy for him. Meanwhile, Saba begins to develop feelings for Ayan, but he loves Alizeh. Seeing his love for Alizeh, Saba leaves Ayan.


Ayan continues to harbour love for Alizeh and becomes a famous singer. He meets Ali one day and realises that they have parted ways. Ayan goes to Alizeh's favourite point and waits there until she arrives.


Alizeh tells Ayan that she is diagnosed with cancer stage IV and will not live much longer. Ayan and Alizeh try to make the best of their time together. Ayan tries to make Alizeh love him, but Alizeh is stubborn. This leads to a fight between the two, and Alizeh decides to leave Ayan. Eventually, Ayan makes peace with the fact that he and Alizeh can at best be friends and nothing more. The screen blacks out and goes back to the beginning where Ayan, still a popular singer, is giving an interview based on the love of his life. Ayan sings the song "Channa Mereya" which is inspired by Alizeh, then finishes the interview.


Cast


  • Ranbir Kapoor as Ayan Sanger
  • Anushka Sharma as Alizeh Khan
  • Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Saba Taliyar Khan
  • Lisa Haydon as Lisa D'Souza
  • Imran Abbas as Dr. Faisal Khan
  • Fawad Khan as DJ Ali
  • Shah Rukh Khan as Tahir Taliyar Khan (Cameo Appearance)
  • Alia Bhatt as DJ (Cameo Appearance)
  • Neha Dhupia as Voiceover Reporter (Cameo Appearance)


Production


Development



The film was first announced in November 2014. Writer-director Karan Johar said that for the past year and a half, he had been developing a story that he needed to work on for several months.


However, while he was in New York, the idea for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil came to him and he wrote the screenplay in 30 days. When he came back to India, he spoke to the three lead actors and they all signed on immediately. Johar stated that he was motivated to cast Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the film after getting to know them by acting with them in Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet (2015). He added that he was excited to cast Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after several unsuccessful attempts to cast her in his previous films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006).


Actor Fawad Khan was cast to play a role of a DJ, describing his role as "not exactly a cameo but it becomes a backbone for a certain conflict of a character in the movie." Lisa Haydon has also confirmed that she will appear in the film. In September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival, Johar confirmed that Shah Rukh Khan had also filmed a scene for the movie. In October 2016, he confirmed that Alia Bhatt would also make a cameo appearance in the film.


On 6 February at the India Conference at Harvard, Johar revealed that in the film Ranbir Kapoor plays the character of a Hindu boy named Ayan and Anushka Sharma plays a Muslim girl named Alizeh.


Filming



Principal photography began in September 2015 with Kapoor and Sharma in London. At the end of September, the team filmed some portions in Paris. In October, they began shooting in various locations in Austria, including the city of Vienna. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan joined the crew in Vienna in mid-October after the release of her film Jazbaa. In March 2016, Kapoor, Sharma, and Khan were seen filming in Mandawa, Rajasthan. In July 2016, Johar tweeted a photo of Kapoor and Sharma on set in Mumbai for the last schedule.


Release


Screening issue


On 8 October 2016, Indian political party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), proclaimed that they would not allow the release of the film, following nationwide protests surrounding the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir on 18 September 2016 and the decision by Cinema Owners Exhibitors Association of India preventing the release of films with Pakistani actors in four states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Goa. Citing the casting of Pakistani actor, Fawad Khan, in the film, the MNS warned theater owners around the country to not screen the film, threatening them with vandalism. Announcing that security will be tightened at theaters along with sufficient police protection, Maharashtra chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, commented on the issue, saying, "Anyone found taking the law into their hands will be dealt with firmly." He also informed that 12 MNS members were sent to judicial custody after they barged into a Mumbai theater and held a protest on 19 October 2016.


Commenting on the ruckus behind his film's release, director Karan Johar said that the circumstances in which the film was filmed in 2015 were completely different. "Going forward, I would like to say that of course, I will not engage with talent from the neighbouring country, given the circumstance. But with that same energy, I beseech you to know one thing – that over 300 people in my Indian crew have put their blood, sweat, and tears into making my film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. I don't think it's fair for them to face any kind of turbulence on account of other fellow Indians," he further added in a video statement. He was heavily criticized by news and social media for buckling under pressure. However, people from the film fraternity like Mukesh Bhatt and Shyam Benegal supported Johar and his film, and requested the people to consider the film and its release without giving importance to the actors' nationalities.


On 20 October 2016, filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt said that his discussion with Union home minister, Rajnath Singh, had been consequential, and affirmed that the film will be screened throughout the country without any violence. However, he promised that he would not make any more films with Pakistani actors.


Box office


Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was made on a total budget of over 100 crore ($15 million), including marketing and distribution costs. Prior to its release, the film had already recouped 75 crore ($11.2 million) from music, satellite and digital rights, so it needs to recover only 25 crore ($3.7 million) from the domestic box office. Worldwide, the film earned ₹90.84 crore ($13.6 million) on its opening weekend, while ComScore reported an estimated $12.8 million from 14 markets. As of November, it has made $21.3 million worldwide.


In India, its domestic market, the film had to compete with Shivaay which was released on the same day during the lucrative Diwali weekend. On its opening day the film made 13.30 crore, the third biggest for both Kapoor and Sharma, and the sixth biggest for a Bollywood film of the year. Through its opening weekend, It scored a debut of 35.60 crore ($5.3 million) net in its three days on 3,200 screens, equating to a gross 49.84 crore ($7.65 million), the ninth-biggest debut of the year and the best ever debut for Johar, beating My Name is Khan ₹31.50 crore ($4.7 million). On Monday, it saw a hike in ticket sales, earning 17.75 crore ($2.65 million) due to holiday. In its first full week, the film earned ₹80.19 crore ($12 million) in India alone and $20.2 million worldwide. The film continued to dominate the box office in its second weekend, earning $3.2 million from 2,000 screens (−1,200 screens). In just 10 days, the film earned 97.17 crore ($14.6 million) net and has become the sixth highest-grossing Bollywood film in the country. Morever, the film now ranks as the highest-earner for Aishwarya, beating Dhoom 2's 82.30 crore ($12.3 million) in 2006; the fourth biggest for Anushka as well as for Ranbir.


In the United Kingdom, it recorded the biggest Bollywood opening of the year with ₹4.88 crore ($772,891), debuting at eighth place at the U.K. box office. However, this is inclusive of previews. Including previews, Sultan would be the clear winner with a $1.3 million debut in July. But excluding previews, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is ahead of the former. In the United States and Canada, the film received a limited release across 302 theaters and grossed 14 crore ($2.13 million) in its opening weekend finishing in tenth place.


By the end of its theatrical run, the film grossed 160.69 crore in India and total 237.56 crore worldwide.

Critical reception


Ae Dil Hai Mushkil received mixed reviews. With critics praising the lead casts performances, soundtrack, and direction. But criticized the story and the runtime Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 60% score based on five critic reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 40 out of 100, based on four critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


Bollywood Hungama gave 4/5 ratings and commented, "a contemporary and a progressive take on relationships from the master story teller Karan Johar".


Raja Sen and Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com respectively rated 4/5 and 3.5/5 and said, "Thank you, Karan Johar for this film feels like a sob. Johar has improved massively as a storyteller, this film is more polished and assured than anything he's done before." and, "As evident by his body of work, Karan Johar has a sweet spot for this attribute, in the splendidly romantic and richly satisfying ADHM."


Nihit Bhave of The Times of India rated 3.5/5 and said, "a beautiful-looking film that isn't bereft of logic".


Subhash K. Jha of Deccan Chronicle rated 2.5/5 and said, "ADHM is one good looking film with actors who epitomise human beauty." Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times rated 2.5/5, saying "ADHM offers little in terms of story and fails to get the audience empathise or feel for the characters and events in the movie."

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated 2/5 and said, "Johar is unable to go the extra mile, hope that Johar will come up with something newer and sharper the next time around." Mike McCahill of The Guardian rated 2/5 and said, "Despite controversy over the casting, Karan Johar's romance, has a failure of nerve about Hindu-Muslim relations."


The Hindu commented, "ADHM is the latest in the brand of cinema that isn't so much as plot driven as it is focused on characters, relationships and interactions."


Reuters commented, "ADHM has neither gravitas nor the charm to be worth remembering."


Soundtrack



The film's soundtrack was released on 26 October 2016 by Sony Music India. The film had five initial promotional singles released from the soundtrack. Audio Jukebox was released at YouTube on 2 November 2016.


Pritam received the Best Music Director distinction at the 62nd Filmfare Awards, while Arijit Singh won the "Best Playback Singer Award" for the title song of the film. Amitabh Bhattacharya won Best Lyricist" Award for "Channa Mereya".


Track listing


The reprised versions of songs "Bulleya" & "Channa Mereya" and "Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo" were released separately in the deluxe edition of the album, but not added in soundtrack album. However, latter of these, which is written by Fayyaz Hashmi and was originally composed by Sohail Rana, was recreated and featured in the film too.


All lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya; all music composed by Pritam.



No. Title Singer(s) Length
1. "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" Arijit Singh 4:29
2. "Bulleya" Amit Mishra, Shilpa Rao 5:49
3. "Channa Mereya" Arijit Singh 4:49
4. "The Breakup Song" Arijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi, Badshah, Nakash Aziz 4:12
5. "Cutipie" Pradeep Singh Sran, Nakash Aziz 3:51
6. "Alizeh" Arijit Singh, Ash King, Shashwat Singh 4:42


Deluxe edition


No. Title Artist(s) Length
7. "Bulleya" (Reprise) Arijit Singh, Shilpa Rao 5:48
8. "Channa Mereya" (Unplugged) Arijit Singh 2:51
9. "Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo" Shilpa Rao 2:45



Accolades


Award Date of Ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Playback Singer (Male) Arijit Singh for "Channa Mereya" Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Playback Singer (Male)Arijit Singh for "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" Nominated
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Playback Singer (Female) Jonita Gandhi for "The Breakup Song" Nominated
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Music Director Pritam Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Music Album Sony Music India Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya for "Channa Mereya" Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best LyricistAmitabh Bhattacharya for "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" Nominated
Stardust Awards 20 December 2016 Best Film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Nominated
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Director Karan Johar Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Costume Design Manish Malhotra, Anaita Shroff Adajania and Samidha Wangnoo Nominated
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Actress Anushka Sharma (also for Sultan) Won
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Nominated
Stardust Awards20 December 2016Best Actor Ranbir Kapoor Nominated
Screen Awards4 December 2016Best Supporting Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Nominated
Screen Awards4 December 2016Best Music Director Pritam Won
Screen Awards4 December 2016Best Male Playback Amit Mishra for "Bulleya" Won
Screen Awards4 December 2016Best Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya for "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" Won
Screen Awards4 December 2016Best Actress Anushka Sharma Nominated
Screen Awards 4 December 2016 Best Actor Ranbir Kapoor Nominated
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017RD Burman Award for New Music Talent Amit Mishra for "Bulleya"Won
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Playback Singer - Male Arijit Singh for "Ae Dil Hai Mushkil" Won
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Playback Singer - MaleAmit Mishra for "Bulleya" Nominated
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Playback Singer - Female Jonita Gandhi for "The Breakup Song" Nominated
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Music Director Pritam Won
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya for "Channa Mereya" Won
Filmfare Awards 14 January 2017 Best Director Karan Johar Nominated
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Actress Anushka Sharma Nominated
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best Actor Ranbir Kapoor Nominated


External links





Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A Flying Jatt (2016)

A Flying Jatt is a 2016 Bollywood superhero action film co-written and directed by Remo D'Souza and produced under the banner of Balaji Motion Pictures. It features Tiger Shroff, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Nathan Jones in the lead roles. A Flying Jatt narrates the story of an ordinary man (Shroff) who gains superpowers. The film released worldwide on 25 August 2016.


Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Reception
  • 4 Soundtrack
  • 5 Graphic novel
  • 6 External links

 

Plot

The story begins with a strong influential businessman Mr. Malhotra (Kay Kay Menon) who has his factory on a land near a lake into which pollutants and toxins are leaked. He wants to build a bridge across it for faster transportation but cannot do so due to a sacred tree present on the other side of the lake on a piece of land which belongs to Mrs. Dhillon.

Mrs. Dhillon is a hard core Punjabi woman living with her two sons Aman Dhillon (Tiger Shroff) and Rohit Dhillon (Gaurav Pandey). Aman is a martial arts teacher in a school. He has a crush on Kirti (Jacqueline Fernandez).

Malhotra who wants to get rid of the tree brings in Raka (Nathan Jones), a mutant, to get the job done.

He reaches the spot but Aman is present there and tries to stop Raka. Raka sticks Aman against the tree and tries to kill him. He does not notice that Aman has got a certain glow emanating from his body after hitting the tree. Raka tries to insert the saw blade into his neck but as soon as it touches the skin, a sudden thunderstorm hits the tree. The impact throws back Raka and he lands in Malhotra's factory's garbage area.

Next morning Aman finds himself on his bed alive with no sign of any injury and presumes all that happened to be a dream. He does not notice the khanda that has appeared on his back, which is also carved on the tree. That day, he and his brother notice a few unusual things such as easily catching fast balls from a bowling machine, learning new stuff quickly by just touching items, etc. Later his mother also confirms this by hitting Aman various times witj a sharp knife and all wounds are healed within seconds, confirming he gained access to a rapidly advanced healing factor. She immediately declares him a super hero.

She even tells him the story of his father Sardar Kartar Singh Dhillon, a sikh who went to Shaolin to learn martial arts and was named "Flying Jatt". She asks Aman to take up the legacy of his father and keep "Flying Jatt" as his superhero name to which he agrees. Initially various events takes place like flying low due to his fear of heights, misunderstandings due to his costume, but he is recognised when he saved hostages from a terrorist attack at an airport. He even proposes to Kirti in the process and reveals his identity.

Raka, who had been missing all this while, is found alive but is now stronger and more dangerous than before because he has more toxins deposited in his body and started growing stronger with increased pollution. Aman goes to battle him various times but is fatally injured. To save him from further pain, his brother Rohit goes in his place as Flying Jatt and gets killed. Not wanting to lose her other son, Mrs. Dhillon decides to leave the town.

Aman decides to stay, saying that he can leave the town, but the cries and sounds of pain of the people would never leave him. Aman's mother asks him to wear his father's turban, but he refuses. She then reminds him of a story of their town, in which all women were kidnapped. It was only the men of the town that had saved all of them while wearing their turbans. She said their turbans gave them power, and the power of his father would be with him if he would wear his turban. Aman then finally agrees to wear the turban and fight Raka.

On the other hand, the people who think Flying Jatt is dead decide to defeat Raka on their own and even Malhotra joins them.

They decide to eliminate pollution by planting trees everywhere, but Raka comes to kill them once and for all, but Flying Jatt suddenly appears. Raka, in a fit of rage, drags Flying Jatt to the tree and tries to kill him when his mother comes in front and prays, giving more inspiration to Aman who gets up, and, while cutting through the clouds, takes Raka to an asteroid near Earth. He says that there is no place on earth to defeat him, but he becomes vulnerable on the pollution free asteroid. After a long fight, Aman finally inserts his kara (steel bracelet) into Raka due to which Raka explodes. Victorious Aman returns to earth.


Cast


  • Tiger Shroff as Aman Dhillon / Flying Jatt
  • Jacqueline Fernandez as Kirti
  • Nathan Jones as Raka
  • Kay Kay Menon as Mr. Malhotra
  • Amrita Singh as Mrs. Dhillon
  • Gaurav Pandey as Rohit
  • Shraddha Kapoor as Herself (cameo appearance)

Reception


The Times of India gave the film 3 and a half stars out of five.

Firstpost said "The film's comedy, occasional inventiveness and aura of innocence are what make it effective in its own way, despite the lack of depth. D'souza had displayed his natural wit even in his first film F.A.L.T.U. in 2011. A Flying Jatt could have been so much better than what it is, if he had not kept one eye fixed Westward for inspiration. This one is perhaps best suited to the very very young."

The Economic Times said "Overall, the director seems to have lost the plot after the second act, as the narrative meanders making the entire comic affair agonising."

Anupama Chopra from the Hindustan Times gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, and said "The first half of A Flying Jatt has moments of fun — I loved that despite being a superhero he has a fear of heights, so he flies very close to the ground. But post-interval, laughter takes a back seat."


Soundtrack


 The songs are composed by Sachin-Jigar.

TrackList

No. Title Lyrics Music Singer(s) Length
1. "A Flying Jatt" Vayu & Raftaar Sachin-Jigar Mansheel Gujral, Raftaar, Tanishkaa 4:48
2. "Toota Jo Kabhi Tara" Priya Saraiya Sachin-Jigar Atif Aslam, Sumedha Karmahe 5:23
3. "Beat Pe Booty" Vayu Sachin-Jigar Sachin Sanghvi, Jigar Saraiya, Vayu 3:17
4. "Bhangda Pa" Mayur Puri Sachin-Jigar Vishal Dadlani, Divya Kumar, Asees Kaur 3:58


Graphic novel


A Flying Jatt has been made into a graphic novel by Thought Bubbles Studio Planet. The story continues where the film ends.


External links




Baaghi (2016)

Baaghi (English: Rebel) is a 2016 Indian martial arts film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala under his banner of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. It features Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles, with Sudheer Babu in a supporting role. Journalists noted similarities between the film and the 2011 Indonesian film The Raid: Redemption and the 2004 Telugu-language Indian film Varsham.

The film was released worldwide on 29 April 2016. Made on a budget of 350 million (US$5.2 million), Baaghi has earned over 1.20 billion (US$18 million) worldwide. The film has grossed 100 crores from India.

Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Production
  • 4 Music
  • 5 External links


Plot


The movie starts with martial arts champion Raghav (Sudheer Babu) kidnapping Sia (Shraddha Kapoor) from her film's set and taking her to Bangkok. Sia's father P.P. Khurana (Sunil Grover) goes to government offices for help but no one is ready to assist them since Raghav is an influential man. Khurana then turns to the man that shares a past with Sia: Ronny (Tiger Shroff).

In a flashback, Ronny and Sia meet on a train. Raghav sees Sia at the train station and tells his men to get information about her. Ronny visits the school of Guruswamy in Kerala. In a letter to Guruswamy, Ronny's father explains that Ronny is a Baaghi (rebel), and asks him to make Ronny a good human being. Ronny and Sia fall in love, and Sia gives him a ring she got from her father, asking him to always keep it. Raghav asks for Sia's hand from Khurana, but Khurana is overcome by greed when he sees how much money Raghav offers for Sia. He agrees to hand Sia over to Raghav but when he sees that Ronny has Sia's ring, he realizes she is in love with Ronny. He informs Raghav, who decides to kill Ronny.

Ronny beats up Raghav's men when they manhandle Subbu, a mute little boy Ronny is close to, only for Raghav to get him arrested later on. Guruswamy tries to persuade Raghav, his son, to stop pursuing Sia, but Raghav poisons and kills him to get him out of the way. Ronny is heartbroken to hear of Guruswamy's death, since he had seen him as a father figure. Khurana then creates a misunderstanding between Sia and Ronny to separate them, which works, and the two part ways.
In the present, Ronny reaches Bangkok and visits Raghav's fight club, beating the strongest fighter there to get Raghav's attention. The next day, Ronny breaks into the house of Raghav's right-hand man, Viju, and threatens Viju's wife at gunpoint, forcing him to reveal Sia's location. Ronny finds Sia and escapes with her. The two stop at an island on their way back to India, where Sia discovers her father's deceit when she sees that Ronny is still wearing her ring. The couple reconciles but Raghav and his men attack them. Viju shoots Ronny, who falls off a cliff.

Raghav takes Sia back to his place. It is then revealed that Ronny is alive. It turns out that Viju had used blank bullets in his gun, sparing him as Ronny had spared his wife's life earlier. Raghav kills Viju when Viju says that he believes Ronny to be right.

Ronny storms Raghav's building and single-handedly fights off all of the killers and swordsmen in Raghav's employ. He reaches Raghav, who initially overpowers him, but when Raghav reveals that he was the one who murdered Guruswamy, Ronny becomes enraged and uses Guruswamy's signature moves to kill Raghav. At the end, Ronny becomes the new teacher in Guruswamy's school, where a statue of Guruswamy now stands.


Cast


  • Tiger Shroff as Ronny
  • Shraddha Kapoor as Sia Khurana
  • Sudheer Babu as Raghav Shetty
  • Sunil Grover as P. P. Khurrana (Sia's father)
  • Shaurya Bharadwaj as Guruswamy (Raghav's father)
  • Sanjay Mishra as Harry
  • Aryan Prajapati as Subbu
  • Sourav Chakraborty as Viju

Production


Shroff trained and took up stunt classes for the film. Sajid Nadiadwala hired a special team of 50 people to keep Shroff's look under wraps. The makers did not want his look to be revealed because of his role in the film being distinct from his role in Heropanti. Telugu actor Sudheer Babu was signed to play a negative role, making his Bollywood debut. Shooting for Baaghi started on 27 May 2015. The shooting of the film completed on 21 February 2016.


Music


 The music of the film is composed by Meet Bros, Amaal Mallik, Ankit Tiwari & Manj Musik while the background score is given by Julius Packiam. Lyrics of the movie are penned by Kumaar, Abhendra Kumar, Sanjeev Chaturvedi & Raftaar. The first song of the movie Sab Tera was released on 18 March 2016 which is sung by Shraddha Kapoor & Armaan Malik. The full music album was released on 29 March 2016.

TrackList

No. Title Lyrics Music Singer(s) Length
1. "Sab Tera" Sanjeev Chaturvedi Amaal Mallik Armaan Malik, Shraddha Kapoor 3:48
2. "Let's Talk About Love" Raftaar, Sabbir Khan Manj Musik Raftaar, Neha Kakkar 3:21
3. "Cham Cham" Kumaar Meet Bros Meet Bros, Monali Thakur 4:44
4. "Agar Tu Hota" Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay Ankit Tiwari Ankit Tiwari 5:28
5. "Girl I Need You" Kumaar Meet Bros Meet Bros, Arijit Singh, Roach Killa, Khushboo Grewal 4:57



External links



Baar Baar Dekho (2016)

Baar Baar Dekho (English: Look Again and Again) is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Nitya Mehra which marks her debut in Hindi cinema. The film stars Katrina Kaif and Sidharth Malhotra.

The film was released in India on 9 September 2016.


Contents


  • 1 Cast
  • 2 Production
    • 2.1 Development
    • 2.2 Filming
  • 3 Music
  • 4 Release
    • 4.1 Certification issue
    • 4.2 Box office
    • 4.3 Critical response
  • 5 External links


Cast


  • Sidharth Malhotra as Jai Varma
  • Katrina Kaif as Diya Varma
  • Sarika as Jai's Mother
  • Ram Kapoor as Diya's Father
  • Taaha Shah Badusha as Jai's younger Brother
  • Sayani Gupta as Chitra
  • Rohan Joshi as Raj
  • Rajit Kapur as Priest


Production


Development


In October 2013, it was announced that Nitya Mehra, assistant director to films Life of Pi and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, would be making her directorial debut with Excel Entertainment on their new project. The film was rumoured to feature Aamir Khan and later Hrithik Roshan in the leading male role and Deepika Padukone in the leading female role. In September 2014, it was officially announced that the film will be co-produced by Karan Johar of Dharma Productions and that Sidharth Malhotra will feature in the film. Later in April 2015, Katrina Kaif was confirmed to feature in the film, opposite Malhotra. Initially titled Kal Jisne Dekha, Baar Baar Dekho reportedly is based on an ageing romance spanning 30 odd years.

Filming


Principal photography began on August 28, 2015, in Glasgow, Scotland, and went for over a month. Filming then continued in Delhi and Mumbai from November 2015 onwards. On February 22, 2016, the team filmed "Sau Aasmaan" in Krabi, Thailand, for a week.


Music


The music is composed by Amaal Mallik, Arko, Badshah, Jasleen Royal and Bilal Saeed. The first song "Kala Chashma" was released on 27 July 2016. The full music album was released on 3 August 2016. The music rights are acquired by Zee Music Company.

TrackList

No. Title Lyrics Music Singer(s) Length
1. "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan" Prateek Kuhad Jasleen Royal Jasleen Royal, Prateek Kuhad 3:33
2. "Sau Aasmaan" Kumaar Amaal Mallik Armaan Malik, Neeti Mohan 3:54
3. "Dariya" Arko Arko Arko 3:37
4. "Nachde Ne Saare" Aditya Sharma Jasleen Royal Jasleen Royal, Harshdeep Kaur, Siddharth Mahadevan 3:14
5. "Teri Khair Mangdi" Kumaar(Additional Lyrics: Bilal Saeed) Bilal Saeed Bilal Saeed 3:45
6. "Kala Chashma" Amrik Singh, Kumaar Prem Hardeep Amar Arshi, Badshah, Neha Kakkar & Indeep Bakshi 3:07



Release


Certification issue


In August 2016, the film was granted a U/A certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). However, the examining committee of the board asked the producers to remove two visuals from the film which involved sequences depicting an actor wearing a brassiere and another referencing Savita Bhabhi, a popular Indian pornographic cartoon character.

Box office


Baar Baar Dekho opened at 6.75 crores on the first day.


Critical response


Rediff.com gave the film 1 out 5, calling it "catastrophically stupid," and commenting that "a feeble script is built on constant, relentless revelations with artlessly expository dialogues." Subhash K. Jha from NDTV gave the movie 4/5, and mentioned that there "is plenty to celebrate in Baar Baar Dekho, not the least of its virtues being the ability to deliver marital home truths without sermons or soliloquies.". Writing for The Hindu, Namrata Joshi commented that the movie features "passionless performances and cardboard characters" that lack depth. "There are no standout performances, no scenes that can pack in an emotional wallop and the conversational dialogue turns banal beyond a point." The Indian Express gave the movie 1.5 out of 5, noting that "Katrina Kaif’s limited emoting abilities, Sidharth Malhotra’s one-note performance and a banal script" make watching the film once "way more than enough." India Today criticized the performance of the lead actors in the film: "Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif both seem to think they are in the film to make it look good. There's hardly any acting on the part of either. While Katrina's moments of frustration and sorrow invoke the stray laugh from the theatre, Sidharth's neither-here-nor-there Jai hardly makes an impact."


External links




Udta Punjab (2016)

Udta Punjab (English: "Flying Punjab") is a 2016 Indian crime-drama film co-written and directed by Abhishek Chaubey. It is based on drug abuse in the Indian state of Punjab. Produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under their banner Balaji Motion Pictures, in association with Anurag Kashyap's production house Phantom Films, it features Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and, Diljit Dosanjh in lead roles.

On 4 June 2016, the Central Board of Film Certification sought a stay on the film's release citing that the themes dealt with in the film were too vulgar for the general audience. As a result, the producers were directed to make a total of 89 cuts in the film. However, on 13 June 2016, the Bombay High Court struck down the stay and gave permission for the film's national release, albeit with a single cut in the screenplay. The film was released worldwide on 17 June 2016. Made on a budget of 400 million (US$5.9 million), Udta Punjab has earned over 996 million (US$15 million) worldwide.


Contents


  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Planning and filming
  • 4 Music
    • 4.1 Track listing
    • 4.2 Production
  • 5 Release
    • 5.1 Controversies
    • 5.2 Online piracy issue
  • 6 Reception
  • 7 Box office
  • 8 External links


Plot


Tejinder "Tommy" Singh (Shahid Kapoor), also known as "Gabru" among his fans, is a 22-year old London-born Punjabi musician who lives a luxurious lifestyle assisted by his successful music career. Together with ostentatious crew that is led by Tayaji (Satish Kaushik) and cousin Jassi (Suhail Nayyar), he indulges in uncontrolled consumption of cocaine. Tommy, is popular for his adrenaline-pumping songs that both were written with the help of and are about intoxication. However, Tommy has no qualms about his songs glorifying violence and drug-addiction. However, his frequent bouts of drug-snorting cost him his contract and land him in jail. In prison, he meets two of his die-hard fans who remark how Tommy's lifestyle had 'inspired' theirs. Realizing that his songs have adversely and negatively affected teenagers, Tommy decides to change his ways upon release. Few days later, Tommy engages in an altercation with Tayaji and accidentally shoots him, injuring his ear. This causes Tayaji to send Tommy and his crew to a farmhouse so that he can prepare for an upcoming concert.

Working on a farm is an unnamed Bihari migrant (Alia Bhatt), frequently called Bauria by a co-worker in the fields, whose dreams of playing national level hockey for the country were shattered so she came to Punjab to work as a labourer. Bauria works as a farmworker for a local landlord who use agriculture as a front for drug peddling. One night, while roaming around in the farm, she finds a packet. Upon tearing open its contents and tasting it, she realizes that it is some kind of drug, and hence, resolves to sell it. Her search for a potential buyer lands her in great trouble as she is chased and captured by a gang of drug peddlers. They forcibly keep Bauria at their place where she is sexually and physically abused, given drugs and prostituted to several men including police officers from the local police force. Some weeks later, Bauria manages to escape from the house.

In this neighboring town also lives Preet Sahni (Kareena Kapoor), a doctor-cum-activist who runs a rehabilitation center. Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh) is a class-two policeman attached to the town's station who knows about the smuggling of drugs his seniors are allowing on a large scale. But when it affects his family, his brother, Balli (Prabhjyot Singh), overdoses on Chaand (a locally-made drug) and is brought to Preet's clinic, he realizes the grave situation. She educates Sartaj about the drug problem and partly accuses him for his brother's state. Together, they decide to find the root cause of the problem.

Appearing before his audience in the concert, instead of singing, Tommy starts preaching. Infuriated by his speech about how one should lead his/her life, his fans try to admonish him, and start throwing bottles at him. Tommy gets angry and urinates on the crowd. Making a run out of the concert to save himself from the crowd's angst, Tommy goes and hides inside a dilapidated structure. There he meets Bauria and together they start sharing their stories. However, the next day, Bauria is recaptured by the same gang who had kept her imprisoned.

Preet has been working in Punjab actively with drug abuse survivors and their families. She runs her own clinic in the area where she operates a residential rehab center. With help from a reformed Sartaj who discovers that his own brother is hooked to a locally-made drug, manages to find that the antagonist behind the drug problem in Punjab is an elderly man called Vikrant who has flourished with the support of MP Maninder Brar. Sartaj and Preeti go to extreme measures to collect evidence against the Parliamentarian and put together a report to be sent to the state's Election Commission to thwart Brar's campaign for another term in power. Sartaj develops feelings for her and asks her out to which she reciprocates willingly. However, one night, after returning from work, she is apprehended and fatally stabbed by Balli, who was being treated against his wish at her rehab center. The policemen who come to investigate her murder also come across her report.

In the presence of the drug mafia, Sartaj is questioned by his senior about the report. At the same time, Tommy, who is on the run from the police and has been searching for Bauria, jumps and enters the enclosure, alerting everyone including Vikrant and the senior policeman. He fatally hits Vikrant with his hockey stick and tries to make a move upstairs. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sartaj grabs his senior's service revolver and shoots everyone but Tommy. He then rushes inside the house to get his brother Balli, who is being held captive by Vikrant's wife. He shoots her and frees Balli, while Tommy goes upstairs and helps Bauria beat her captors. Finally, as Tommy and Bauria run off, Balli kneels down and cries in front of his brother whose face is expressionless. Later when Tommy calls Bauria on his crew member's phone to ask her real name. Sitting by a beach, she catches sight of a foreigner having fun. Inspired, she utters "Mary Jane".


Cast


  • Shahid Kapoor as Tejinder "Tommy" Singh/Gabru
  • Kareena Kapoor as Dr. Preet Sahni
  • Alia Bhatt as "Bauria"
  • Diljit Dosanjh as ASI Sartaj Singh
  • Satish Kaushik as Tayaji
  • Suhail Nayyar as Jassi
  • Prabhjyot Singh as Balli
  • Harpreet Singh as Samsheer
  • Manav Vij as Jhujar Singh, Sartaaj's senior officer


Planning and filming


Principal photography of the film commenced in March 2015, Three of the actors Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and Alia Bhatt halved their fees for the film.


Music


The music for Udta Punjab was composed by Amit Trivedi with lyrics by the late Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Shellee and Varun Grover. The background music was composed by Benedict Taylor & Naren Chandavarkar. The music rights are acquired by Zee Music Company.

The first song "Chitta Ve" was released on 4 May 2016. Two more Singles "Da Da Dasse" and "Ik Kudi" were released before the Release of Final soundtrack. The Complete Soundtrack consisting of 7 songs was released on 18 May 2016.

Track listing


All music composed by Amit Trivedi.

Original Track Listing

No. Title Singer(s) Length
1. "Chitta Ve" Babu Haabi, Shahid Mallya & Bhanu Pratap 4:48
2. "Da Da Dasse" Kanika Kapoor & Babu Haabi 4:01
3. "Ikk Kudi" Shahid Mallya 4:35
4. "Ud-Daa Punjab" Vishal Dadlani & Amit Trivedi 4:35
5. "Hass Nach Le" Shahid Mallya (Backing Vocals: Shadab Faridi, Suhas Sawant & Arun Kamath) 4:30
6. "Vadiya" Amit Trivedi 4:29
7. "Ikk Kudi - Reprised Version" Diljit Dosanjh 2:44


Production


Amit Trivedi said about the soundtrack, "The film required a really dark soundtrack. So, I had to incorporate psychedelic trance and hip hop into it. It will be edgier and more in-your-face than anything else seen in Bollywood music before. I don't know how the audience will react to it because it is not something that we are used to. But I do know that there are people who have an appetite for psy-trance and hip hop in India. So, I hope it is received well". The movie's music rights were sold for 18 crore (US$2.7 million), making it the biggest such deal in Bollywood history.


Release


The movie has been reported to have had issues with the censor board over profanities and scenes of drug use. On 9 June 2016, the Censor Board came out with a list of 94 cuts and 13 pointers prior to the film's release. One of the pointers even included deleting the names of cities in Punjab. On 13 June 2016, Bombay High Court cleared Udta Punjab with one cut and disclaimers. The scene where Shahid Kapoor's character Tommy Singh is shown urinating in front of a crowd needs to be chopped off, ruled the court. The CBFC has been directed to issue an 'A' certificate to Udta Punjab in two days.


Controversies


The row over the film being drug-themed slated for release on 17 June escalated with co-producer Anurag Kashyap hitting out at CBFC chief Pahlaj Nihalani, calling him "oligarch" and "dictator" and that it was like living in North Korea. The makers of the film are said to have been asked by the Revising Committee of the Censor Board to remove all references to Punjab and to make 89 cuts. Kashyap got the support of several filmmakers including Karan Johar, Mahesh Bhatt, Ram Gopal Varma, Aamir Khan, Imtiaz Ali, Varun Dhawan and Mukesh Bhatt. "It is a dark day for freedom of expression and creativity in the country," Mukesh Bhatt said, calling Pahlaj Nihalani a "stooge" of the government. It was later cleared by Bombay High Court with the number of cuts reduced from 89 to a single scene, wherein a character is seen urinating. The Court directed the Board to issue an 'A' certificate before the scheduled release of the movie. According to The Economist, Nihalani "was appointed by the BJP, whose coalition partner in Punjab, the SAD, had much to lose from bad publicity" resulting from the movie, due to a subplot in the movie drawing "a parallel with the real-life case of a convicted drug lord who named the SAD deputy chief’s brother-in-law as his accomplice".

It has been alleged that Udta Punjab is plagiarised from the book named High Society which also had parallel stories about a rock musician, trafficked woman and a police officer seeking to blow the cover on the illegal drug trade.


Online piracy issue


On 15 June 2016, some parts of the film were leaked online onto various peer-to-peer sharing websites. While some torrent sites hosted torrent files containing a forty-minute clip, the whole film was also uploaded on other media sharing sites like Mega. Indiatimes.com reported that the leaked clips allegedly contained the text "FOR CENSOR" on the top-left corner, implying that the leaked copies were part of the samples shared with the Censor Board. The Huffington Post reported that the producers of the film had filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime cell in Mumbai. It added that Balaji Motion Pictures and Phantom Films, its producers, had succeeded in pulling down as many as 600 links from the web. Commenting on the leak, the film's spokesperson said, "Two copies of the CD were sent to the CBFC and this version is from the same source. It's literally a no-brainer to conclude where the leak has come from and, sure enough, the cyber crime cell will get to the bottom of this."



Reception


Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 4.5 stars out of 5. Rajeev Masand of CNN-News18 writes "the film is hard-hitting and uncomfortable to watch, and mixes dark humor to a tale about the dirty drug and political nexus in Punjab", giving it 3.5 rating out of 5. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 3 stars out of 5, saying it is "the kind of film which has something to say, and it says it with both flair and conviction". Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 4 stars out of 5, saying "Udta Punjab is a wake-up call, an important film and a mighty impressive one at that, carrying a loud anti-drug message". Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times wrote "Udta Punjab works mostly because of its tone and stand against drugs, though the second half is no match for the first", giving the film 3.5 rating out of 5. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 4 stars out of 5, writing "Udta Punjab is littered with standout scenes, but none matches the sledgehammer impact of the climax". Namrata Joshi of The Hindu described the film as "a gut-wrenching look at the frightening dystopia that is Punjab today owing to rampant drug abuse".


Box office


The film earned approximately 10.05 crore (US$1.5 million) in India, with an additional 3.46 crore (US$510,000) coming from overseas revenue on its opening day. The film grossed 46.94 crore (US$7.0 million) worldwide during its opening weekend and 75.82 crore (US$11 million) worldwide in its first week. As of 9 July 2016, the film has earned 99.67 crore (US$15 million) worldwide.

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