Sharukhan Films

Deewana (meaning: Crazy or Passionate) is a 1992 Bollywood Musical Romantic Action film directed by Raj Kanwar, produced by Guddu Dhanoa and Lalit Kapoor.
It starred Divya Bharti, Rishi Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan. This was Shahrukh Khan's debut release, though he was not the lead, and only appears in the second half. He replaced Armaan Kohli who walked out of the project due to creative differences after the first schedule. The film released on June 25, 1992.

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Reception
  • 4 Soundtrack
  • 5 Awards
  • 6 Sequel
  • 7 References
  • 8 External links

Plot

Kajal (Divya Bharti) falls in love and marries a famous singer named Ravi (Rishi Kapoor). They live their newly married life happily for a while, until tragedy strikes: Ravi's greedy uncle Pratap (Amrish Puri) and cousin Narender (Mohnish Behl), who are determined to lay their hands on Ravi's wealth. Narender first tries to rape Kajal but fails when he is caught. Pratap then hire hoodlums to murder Ravi, and he is thrown off a cliff. Along with Ravi, Pratap's son, Narender, also dies.
Kajal's mother-in-law (Sushma Seth) takes Kajal away from the depression of losing her husband to start a new life. In a new city, the widowed and depressed Kajal tries to get over her pain. One day a young man, Raja (Shah Rukh Khan), accidentally hits Kajal's mother-in-law, meets Kajal and falls in love with her. When he tells Kajal he loves her, Kajal tells him that she is a widow. Raja's father tells a bunch of thugs to get rid of Kajal and Raja severs ties with his father after finding out. He begs Kajal's mother-in-law to have Kajal marry him. As her mother-in-law feels that Kajal should marry again, she persuades her.
Raja and Kajal get married but Raja tells her that he will not touch her until she accepts him. He looks for a job and his friends open a garage with him. One day, Raja goes to check out a jeep but has an accident when the brakes fail. Kajal becomes shocked when she hears this and runs to see him. After returning from the hospital, Kajal accepts him and falls in love with him, and the two are finally happy together. Things are well until one day, Raja rescues a man from hoodlums. He gets him treated and befriends the man, whose name is Ravi.
When Raja brings Ravi to Kajal, she is shocked to see that her husband's new friend is none other than her first husband, who apparently survived his uncle's attempt to murder him. When the truth is revealed however, Kajal stays with Raja, and Ravi's mother leaves with Ravi. Ravi's uncle figures out that Ravi is alive and has Raja and Kajal kidnapped, saying that he will let them go if Ravi signs the property papers. Raja escapes and he and Ravi beat Pratap, after which they find Kajal, tied up with a bomb strapped around her. Ravi manages to switch off the bomb and take it off her, but Pratap appears and says he will kill Raja and make Kajal a widow again. Ravi protects Raja and he and Pratap fall. Ravi sets the bomb off, causing a large explosion, killing Pratap and him once and for all. Kajal and Raja stay together and live happily ever after, honoring Ravi's memory.

Cast

  • Rishi Kapoor as Ravi
  • Divya Bharti as Kajal
  • Shah Rukh Khan as Raja Sahai
  • Amrish Puri as Dhirendra Pratap
  • Mohnish Behl as Narendra Pratap (Dhirendra's son)
  • Alok Nath as Mr. Sharma
  • Sushma Seth as Ravi's Mother
  • Dalip Tahil as Ramakant Sahai (Raja's father)

Reception

Deewana was the second highest grossing film of 1992, grossing at INR 170 million and was given the verdict of a 'Super-Hit' by Box Office India.

Soundtrack

Deewana
Soundtrack album by Nadeem-Shravan
Genre Film soundtrack
Label Venus Music
Nadeem-Shravan chronology
Paayal
(1992)
Deewana
(1992)
Bekhudi
(1992)
Nadeem-Shravan's soundtrack won them their third Filmfare Award in a row after Aashiqui (1990) and Saajan (1991). Shah Rukh Khan's career debut begins with the song "Koi Na Koi Chahiye".
Track # Title Singer(s) Length
1. "Aisi Deewangi" Vinod Rathod, Alka Yagnik 06:59
2. "Sochenge Tumhe Pyar" Kumar Sanu 06:03
3. "Teri Umeed Tera Intezar" Kumar Sanu, Sadhna Sargam 06:19
4. "Payaliya" Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik 07:57
5. "Tere Dard Se Dil" Kumar Sanu 04:51
6. "Teri Isi Ada Pe Sanam" Kumar Sanu, Sadhna Sargam 05:12
7. "Koi Na Koi Chahiye" Vinod Rathod 06:23
8. "Teri Umeed Tera Intezar (I)" Kumar Sanu, Sadhna Sargam 02:13

Awards

Filmfare awards
  • Best Lyricist – Sameer for "Teri Umeed Tera Intezar"
  • Best Male Playback – Kumar Sanu for "Sochenge Tumhe Pyar"
  • Best Music Director – Nadeem-Shravan
  • Lux New Face – Divya Bharti
  • Best Debut – Shah Rukh Khan

Sequel

Deewana sequel is planned by the producers and directors it will go on floors in 2013 or 2014. The story of the sequel will be different from the original film.  Casting is on for the film and it has been announced. Nadeem-Shravan the original musical duo will once again return to compose for the sequel.



Baazigar (English: Gambler) is a 1993 Bollywood crime thriller film directed by Abbas-Mustan, it is a contemporary thriller about a young man who stops at nothing to get what he wants.The story of Bazzigar was own from Saraswatichandra novel.  This was Shah Rukh Khan's breakthrough role as the sole lead and Shilpa Shetty's debut film. Baazigar was the first film where Shah Rukh Khan played the role of an antagonist and also the first film which earned Khan a Filmfare Award for Best Actor. The film is a remake of 1991 Hollywood film A Kiss Before Dying.

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Soundtrack
  • 4 Box office
  • 5 Filmfare Awards
  • 6 References
  • 7 External links

Plot

When reputed businessman Vishwanath Sharma (Anant Mahadevan) discovers that his manager Madan Chopra (Dalip Tahil) is embezzling money right under his nose, Sharma has him thrown in jail. After Chopra completes his jail term, he re-approaches Sharma and asks for forgiveness. Vishwanath rebukes him, but his wife Shobha (Rakhee) takes pity on Chopra's daughters and pleads to her husband. Chopra is reappointed in the company. However, Chopra has come back to exact revenge on his former boss. Slowly, but surely, Chopra regains the confidence of Sharma.
One day, when Sharma has to go for a business tour, he hands over the power of attorney to Chopra. Chopra, who has been waiting for such chance, usurps Sharma's company and becomes its de facto owner. Sharma learns of this treachery, by which time his family is ejected out of their home. More tragedy strikes the Sharma household when his newborn daughter dies of fever and Sharma himself dies while trying to buy medicines for her. Devastated by the turn of events, Shobha goes insane, while her son Ajay decides to avenge the wrongdoings by making Chopra pay in the same coin.
Years later, a young Ajay (Shah Rukh Khan) is studying in the same college as Chopra's daughter Seema (Shilpa Shetty). Ajay manages to cozy up to Seema, and she falls in love with him. Meanwhile, Ajay takes up the persona of Vicky Malhotra and creates a good impression in the minds of both Chopra and his younger daughter Priya (Kajol). Ajay begins a double game whilst keeping both the parties in dark.
Ajay manages to keep his affair with Seema a secret, while a believing Seema too doesn't let anybody know that she is in love. When Chopra decides to get Seema married, she decides to elope with Ajay. Ajay takes advantage of the opportunity and tricks her into writing a suicide letter. Later, on premise of getting married secretly, Ajay calls Seema to the registrar office. He takes her to the terrace and throws her down, using her suicide note to close the case as suicide. Chopra too hastily has the case closed to prevent any further embarrassment.
Ajay uses Seema's death to gets close to Priya and Chopra. Priya, however, is suspicious that her sister didn't commit suicide. With help of her college friend and Police Inspector Karan Saxena, she decides to investigate the matter secretly. Ravi, another friend of Seema, who had a crush on her, tells Priya about Seema's secret lover. Ravi finds a photo where Seema and Ajay are together at a birthday party, but is killed by Ajay. Ajay forces Ravi to sign a suicide note, making Priya and Karan believe that Ravi must have been Seema's lover and murderer.
Later, Priya and Vicky meet Seema's college friend, Anjali, who thinks that she recognizes Vicky. When she finds out the photo as well, she calls the Sharma household during Vicky's and Priya's engagement party. Vicky intercepts the phone, impersonates Chopra, and arrives at her place. He strangles her, stuffs her body in a suitcase, and throws it in the river. Priya and Karan realize that the murderer is still alive. Meanwhile, history repeats itself, with Chopra handing over the power of attorney to "Vicky". Ajay decides to hasten up his plans on learning that Priya and Karan are still bent on finding the killer.
Ajay's plan hits a glitch when he and Priya run into the real Vicky Malhotra, Ajay's friend whose identity he had taken. Priya becomes suspicious and decides to contact this Vicky. After returning from his business trip, Chopra is shocked to find that the company is run by a Sharma group. Now, Ajay reveals the truth to Chopra and sends him out of the company after humiliating him.
Meanwhile, Priya too learns of Ajay's true identity from Vicky and rushes to Ajay's home in Panvel. She is shocked to see a poster of Ajay and finds the marriage chain with his photo with her sister's in a locket. Ajay comes home and she confronts him with his misdeeds. He tells her the whole story and she is shocked at the news of what her father did to his family. Chopra arrives with his henchmen to kill Ajay. After seeing Ajay being beaten by Chopra and hearing his the evil Chopra's name repeated, Shobha regains her sanity and runs to her son's defense. Ajay starts bashing Chopra's goons. We see Priya's and the police inspector's faces sympathetic with Ajay. In a standoff with Chopra, Ajay decides to spare Chopra's life, but then Chopra stabs him with an iron bar and laughs. Ajay begins to laugh as well and he rams himself, and the long protruding metal bar, into Chopra's stomach, with both plummeting down from a high wall killing Chopra.
Ajay makes it back to his mother who finally recognizes her son. Ajay promises her that he's gotten revenge for their family and reacquired everything that was meant to be his; now wanting only to rest peacefully in her embrace. Priya and Karan watch sadly as Ajay dies in his mother's arms, a smile on his face.

Cast

  • Shah Rukh Khan as Ajay Sharma/Vicky Malhotra
  • Kajol as Priya Chopra
  • Shilpa Shetty as Seema Chopra
  • Raakhee as Shobha Sharma {special appearance}
  • Dalip Tahil as Madan Chopra
  • Siddharth Ray as Inspector Karan Saxena
  • Johnny Lever as Babu Lal
  • Anant Mahadevan as Vishvanath Sharma
  • Resham Tipnis as Anjali Sinha,Seema's Friend
  • Dinesh Hingoo as Bajodia Seth
  • Manmauji As Cook
  • Adi Irani as Real Vicky Malhotra
  • Master Sumeet as Young Ajay
  • Sharad Sankla as Charlie (a guy in party)
  • Raju Shrivastav as a guy in party with charlie

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Anu Malik and won the Filmfare award for best music director. The song titles are listed below. The soundtrack was released by Venus Music.
Baazigar
Soundtrack album by Anu Malik
Genre Film soundtrack
Label Venus Music
Anu Malik chronology
Phool Aur Angaar
(1993)
Baazigar
(1993)
The Gentleman
(1994)
Song Singer Picturised on Songwiter
"Baazigar O Baazigar" Alka Yagnik & Kumar Sanu Shahrukh Khan & Kajol Nawab Arzoo
"Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein" Kumar Sanu & Anu Malik Shahrukh Khan & Kajol Dev Kohli
"Kitabein Bahut Si" Asha Bhosle & Vinod Rathod Shahrukh Khan & Shilpa Shetty Zafar Gorakhpuri
"Chhupana Bhi Nahi Aata" Vinod Rathod Siddharth & Kajol Rani Malik
"Chhupana Bhi Nahi Aata" Pankaj Udhas In soundtrack, excluded in the film Rani Malik
"Samajh Kar Chand Jis Ko" Alka Yagnik & Vinod Rathod In soundtrack, excluded in the film Zameer Kazmi
"Ae Mere Humsafar" Alka Yagnik & Vinod Rathod Shahrukh Khan & Shilpa Shetty Gauhar Kanpuri
"Tere Chehre Pe" Kumar Sanu & Sonali Bajpai In soundtrack, excluded in the film Rani Malik

Box office

Baazigar was a commercial success and the fourth highest grossing Hindi film of 1993.

Filmfare Awards

  • Best Actor - Shah Rukh Khan
  • Filmfare Best Male Singer - Kumar Sanu for "Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein"
  • Best Music Direction - Anu Malik
  • Best Screenplay - Robin Bhatt, Javed Siddiqui, Akash Khurana




Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (Hindi: कभी हाँ कभी ना English: Sometimes yes, sometimes no) is a 1994 Bollywood romantic comedy film directed by Kundan Shah, and starring Shah Rukh Khan, Suchitra Krishnamurthy, and Deepak Tijori. This is one of the rare mainstream Hindi movies in which the hero plays the role of a loser. It has been considered one of Shah Rukh Khan's best performances, and he has said that it is his favorite film.  He received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for his role. For this film, Khan took a signing amount of Rs 5,000 and did the entire film for Rs. 25,000.
The film was remade in Telugu as Swapnalokam (1997) with Jagapathi Babu.

Contents

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

Plot

Everyone loves Sunil (Shah Rukh Khan) except his own father Vinayak. Sunil and his friends start a band and Anna, his childhood friend, returns after many years. After she joins the group, everyone is excited, especially Sunil, who secretly loves Anna. The only other person knowing this is his sister. As Anna joins the group, they start hunting opportunities to make it big in the music world. Chris, another band member and Sunil's best friend, is Sunil's antithesis in nearly everything. Chris is a studious person and son of an affluent couple.
Anna's father decides to get her married to Chris. Now, Sunil tries to change his image to get Anna, but when he learns that Anna loves Chris too, he is devastated. A jealous Sunil starts creating a rift between the two but eventually gets caught. Anna slaps him and walks away. Gradually, the duo forgive Sunil, but they don't realize why he did this. Sunil's fortune takes a turn once again when Chris's parents refuse the marriage of Chris and Anna, because Anna is from a lower class. Chris has to leave Anna devastated.
Sunil consoles Anna in this period. Now, tide has turned in Sunil's favour and Anna's father gives a go to their marriage. Sunil is happy, until he learns that Anna still loves Chris. Sunil decides to re-unite them. The Sullivans too realize their mistake. Chris and Anna's wedding is announced: Sunil gets to be the best man. As Chris and Anna are about to exchange rings, Chris's ring slips out of his hand. Everybody starts searching for it. Whoever gets the ring can claim Anna's hand. So, Sunil gets one more chance. Sunil spots the ring but feigns ignorance. Chris finally "finds" the ring and marries Anna.
Just after the wedding, Sunil is shown packing his bags and leaving his father's home to find his own destiny. Vinayak, who has learnt the background story, makes up with his son, stating that he is proud to be Sunil's father. Sunil is seen walking in moonlight, where he meets a girl (Juhi Chawla). Some time later, Sunil and the girl are seen walking in the moonlight and talking merrily. Anthony and Bosco, two criminals who had seen Sunil and his group's show, see Sunil with the new girl and break the fourth wall saying that Sunil will be all right. The criminals hear a police siren and scamper away.

Cast

  • Shah Rukh Khan as Sunil
  • Suchitra Krishnamoorthi as Anna
  • Deepak Tijori as Chris
  • Ashutosh Gowarikar as Imran
  • Kurush Deboo as Yezdi
  • Aditya Lakhia as Tony
  • Naseeruddin Shah as Father Braganza
  • Satish Shah as Simon, Anna's Father
  • Anita Kanwal as Chris's mother
  • Rita Bhaduri as Mary Gonsalves
  • Ravi Baswani as Albert Gonsalves
  • Anjan Srivastav as Vinayak, Sunil's Father
  • Sadiya Siddiqui as Nikki, Sunil's Sister
  • Ajit Vachani as Charles, Chris's Father
  • Goga Kapoor as Anthony Gomes the Don
  • Virendra Saxena as Vasco, Anthony's Right
  • Tiku Talsania as Patel the Bar Owner
  • Juhi Chawla as (Special Appearance)

Music

Composed by Jatin-Lalit, the song Sachi Yeh Kahani Hai has been lifted from the song Rasputin by the band Boney M. (preludes/interludes) and the main tune from Johnny Wakelin's "In Zaire".
No. Title Singer(s) Length
1. "Ae Kaash Ke Hum"   Kumar Sanu 05:10
2. "Aana Mere Pyar Ko Na Tum"   Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik 03:59
3. "Deewana Dil Deewana"   Udit Narayan, Amit Kumar 07:37
4. "Woh To Hai Albela"   Kumar Sanu, Devaki Pandit 05:09
5. "Sachi Yeh Kahani Hai"   Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Vijeta Pandit 06:30
6. "Kyon Na Hum Milke Pyar"   Amit Kumar, Udit Narayan, Vijeta Pandit 04:21


Anjaam (Hindi: अंजाम, Urdu: انجام, English: Consequence) is a Bollywood thriller drama movie released on 22 April 1994. Directed by Rahul Rawail, it stars Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Tijori, Himani Shivpuri, Tinnu Anand, Kalpana Iyer and Kiran Kumar. The film's music was composed by Anand-Milind with lyrics written by Sameer. The film is about the consequence / result (Anjaam) of the slightest mistake and how it can ruin your whole life. It also focuses on the atrocities committed against women.
This was the first time that Madhuri Dixit and Shahrukh Khan were paired together.  Khan and Dixit were praised for their respective performances. Madhuri Dixit earned a Filmfare Best Actress nomination for her role but won the award for her performance in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. Khan was again featured in a negative role - he received the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his performance. He was nominated for the same award the previous year for his performance in Yash Chopra's Darr. The film was a failure at the time of release but has since then achieved a cult classic status.

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Soundtrack
  • 4 References
  • 5 External links

Plot

Vijay Agnihotri (Shah Rukh Khan) comes from a wealthy family and is very spoiled as well as psychopathic. He meets Shivani (Madhuri Dixit) in an airplane who is a flight attendant with whom he instantly falls in love but she shows no interest in him – this does not stop Vijay and he continues to pursue her, only to be rejected every time. Vijay informs his mother that he intends to marry Shivani. When they approach Shivani’s family with a proposal, they witness that Shivani had married another man named Ashok. Vijay is now heartbroken. Shivani and Ashok decide to move to America.
Four years later, Vijay still cannot forget Shivani and repeatedly turns down marriage proposals brought by his mother. He comes across Shivani again and Ashok who have a daughter named Pinky. Vijay befriends Ashok with fake airline project as the hope of getting closer to Shivani. Ashok is totally oblivious to Vijay's real intentions, to the extent that he does not believe Shivani when she tries to convince him of what Vijay is planning against them. One day, Ashok kicks Shivani out of their house after they have an argument. Vijay witnesses this and severely beats Ashok, leaving him unconscious. When Ashok is being treated in the hospital, Vijay removes the oxygen mask keeping Ashok without oxygen supply, thereby killing him. Shivani attempts to convince the police that Vijay is responsible for Ashok’s death. However, Vijay bribes his friend, Inspector Arjun Singh, to provide an alibi, meaning Shivani could not be believed and Vijay is released without charge. Vijay then approaches Shivani's house and begs her to say she loves him. When she refuses, he frames Shivani for his attempted murder and she is sentenced to three years in prison whilst Pinky is placed under the care of Shivani's sister and drunkard brother-in-law (Tinu Anand). Her brother-in-law treats Pinky extremely badly which eventually causes her to run away with the help of her aunt. Vijay accidentally kills Shivani’s sister and daughter by running his car over them. Shivani learns about their deaths and realises Vijay is the one who killed them. Shivani decides go to any lengths to seek revenge. In an attempt to escape, she makes a complaint about the brutality of her prison guard. Again her plea is ignored. In prison she comes to know that she is pregnant with Ashok's child . When the prison guard learns that Shivani tried to complain, she gives her a severe beating which causes her to have a miscarriage. Shivani soon kills the prison guard by dragging her to the gallows and hanging her by her neck. But as there is no evidence, she is not convicted for that.
Three years later, Shivani is released from prison. First, she goes to her brother-in-law's house and kills him by choking him with rupee notes and chewing off a significant amount of flesh from his arm. Inspector Singh learns about the murder and suspects Shivani. He tries to rape her in a barn, but she sets the barn on fire killing him in the process. She then searches for Vijay where she comes to know that he has moved to Bangalore. She then goes to work at a hospital for the mentally ill and finds Vijay, who had become paralysed in the car accident after running over Shivani's family. She volunteers to look after him and rehabilitate him. When cured, Vijay begs Shivani to say she loves him. She opens her arms to him. Whilst they embrace, she stabs him and then starts attacking him for everything he did. She confesses that she made him better for one purpose: to kill him. (She says it's a sin to kill a handicapped person, who cannot defend himself.) Eventually, they both dangle from a cliff (with Vijay holding onto Shivani’s foot). Vijay says that if he falls to his death he'll take Shivani with him. Shivani then says that it is not as necessary for her to live as it is for Vijay to die. So she lets go off the cliff and they both fall to their deaths.

Cast

Actor/Actress Role
Madhuri Dixit Shivani Chopra
Shah Rukh Khan Vijay Agnihotri
Deepak Tijori Ashok Chopra
Johnny Lever Champa Chameli
Himani Shivpuri Nisha
Sudha Chandran Shivani's sister
Beena Padma Agnihotri
Kiran Kumar Arjun Singh
Baby Gazala Pinky Chopra
Tinnu Anand Mohanlal

Soundtrack

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Planet Bollywood 7.5/10 stars 
Rakesh Budhu of Planet Bollywood gave the album 7.5 stars stating, "Anjaam’s tunes are overall a mix fare but the songs that were sweet and melodious were enough to project the soundtrack to higher standards".
# Title Singer(s) Length
1 "Badi Mushkil Hai" Abhijeet 05:30
2 "Chane Ke Khet Mein" Poornima 05:50
3 "Tu Samne Jab Aata Hai" Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik 05:55
4 "Barson Ke Baad" Alka Yagnik 04:13
5 "Sun Meri Bano" Alka Yagnik 05:56
6 "Kolhapur Se Aaye Jhumke" Sadhana Sargam 05:04
7 "Partighat Ki Jwala" Sapna Awasthi 01:49


Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (English: The Brave Hearted Will Take Away the Bride), also known as DDLJ, is a 1995 Indian romantic comedy musical film. It was written and directed by debutante director Aditya Chopra, produced by his father Yash Chopra, and stars Shahrukh Khan and Kajol. The film tells the story of a young couple who fall in love on a European vacation, and relates how the boy tries to win over the girl's parents so that she can marry him rather than the boy that her father has chosen for her. It was filmed in India, London, and Switzerland.
Earning over INR106 crore (US$18 million) in India and INR16 crore (US$2.7 million) overseas, the film was declared an "All-time Blockbuster" and became the biggest Bollywood hit of the year, as well as one of the biggest Bollywood hits ever.  During the 1996 awards season, the film won 10 Filmfare Awards, the most ever for a single film at that time, as well as the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was ranked by Indiatimes Movies among the "25 Must See Bollywood Films". It was one of two Hindi films in the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" list along with Mother India. It was also placed twelfth on the British Film Institute's list of the top Indian films of all time. The film was declared an all-time blockbuster and it remains as the longest-running film in the history of Indian cinema. As of 2013, it is still playing at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai, completing 900 weeks on 11 January 2013.

Contents

  • 1 Plot
  • 2 Cast
  • 3 Production
  • 4 Themes
  • 5 Soundtrack
  • 6 Reception
  • 7 Accolades
    • 8 Legacy
    • 9 References
    • 10 Further reading
    • 11 External links

    Plot

    Raj Malhotra (Shahrukh Khan) and Simran Singh (Kajol) are two NRIs (Non Resident Indians) living in London. Although both value their Indian roots, they have experienced different parenting styles. Simran has been raised by her conservative father Baldev (Amrish Puri) while Raj's father (Anupam Kher) is more liberal.
    Simran has always dreamt of meeting a perfect boy who is the one for her. Her mother Lajjo (Farida Jalal) warns her against this, saying these dreams will never come true. Her father Baldev soon receives a letter from his friend Ajit (Satish Shah) who lives in Punjab. Ajit wants to keep a promise he and Baldev made to each other 20 years ago — to have Simran marry his son Kuljeet (Parmeet Sethi). Simran is disappointed by this news — she does not want to marry somebody whom she has never met before. Meanwhile, Raj has failed his degree which strangely makes his father proud of him. Raj asks his father if he can go on a train trip with his friends around Europe. His father agrees. Later, Raj enters Baldev's shop and steals some beer which infuriates him, making him call Raj a disgrace to Indians. Simran is also invited by her friends to go on the train trip. Simran tells her father that she thinks she should be allowed to go because it will be her last chance to see the world before she marries a complete stranger. Baldev lets her go but tells her not to betray his trust.
    On the trip, Raj and Simran meet. Raj constantly flirts with Simran, much to her irritation. Then, the two miss their train to Zurich and are separated from their friends. They start to travel with one another to catch back up and become friends in the process. Raj falls in love with Simran on the journey and when they both part ways back in London, Simran realises that she is in love with him too. Simran tells her mother about the boy she met — Baldev overhears the conversation and becomes furious with her. He says that the family will move to India the next day. Meanwhile, Raj tells his father about Simran and that she is getting married soon. When Raj says he believes Simran loves him too, his father encourages him to go after her. Raj arrives at her house in London, only to find that she has already left for India. She left a souvenir they had bought together on their trip on her front porch, which encourages Raj to keep chasing her.
    In India, Baldev is delighted to be reunited with his friend Ajit and all his relatives. Simran and her younger sister, Chutki, meet Kuljeet, Simran's fiance, and instantly dislike him due to his arrogance. Simran still cannot forget Raj and is miserable about having to marry Kuljeet. Her mother tells her to forget Raj because she knows that Baldev will never accept it. The next morning, Simran hears a familiar sound and runs out to the fields to find Raj there. She begs him to take her and run away because she knows her father will never let them be together. Raj refuses and says he will only marry Simran with her father's consent. Raj befriends Kuljeet and quickly gets accepted by both families. Soon Raj's father arrives in India and also becomes good friends with everyone. Eventually Lajjo and Chutki realise that Raj is the one Simran fell in love with in Europe. Lajjo tells Raj and Simran to run away, but Raj still refuses. Baldev finally accepts Raj, until he discovers a photograph of Raj and Simran in Europe, and realises that Raj is the boy Simran had told them about. He openly insults and slaps Raj, telling him to leave.
    Raj and his father are waiting at the station when Kuljeet and his friends arrive and attack them. Eventually Baldev and Ajit arrive and stop the fight. Raj boards the departing train with his father. Simran soon arrives with her mother and sister. She tries to join Raj on the train but Baldev stops her. Simran begs him to let her go, saying she cannot live without Raj. Baldev thinks and realises that nobody can love his daughter more than Raj does. He lets her go, and she runs to catch the train as it takes off.

    Cast

    • Shahrukh Khan as Raj Malhotra, an NRI living in London
    • Kajol as Simran Singh, an NRI living in London
    • Anupam Kher as Dharamvir Malhotra, Raj's father
    • Amrish Puri as Chaudhary Baldev Singh, Simran's father
    • Farida Jalal as Lajwanti "Lajjo" Singh, Simran's mother
    • Pooja Ruparel as Rajeshwari "Chutki" Singh, Simran's sister
    • Satish Shah as Ajit Singh, Baldev's friend in India
    • Parmeet Sethi as Kuljeet Singh, Ajit's son
    • Mandira Bedi as Preeti Singh, Ajit's daughter
    • Achala Sachdev as Simran's grandmother
    • Himani Shivpuri as Kammo Kaur, Simran's aunt
    • Anaita Shroff Adajania as Sheena, Simran's friend
    • Karan Johar as Rocky, Raj's friend
    • Arjun Sablok as Robby, Raj's friend

    Production

    Yash Chopra decided to launch his son Aditya, who had been working with him as an assistant director and producer, as a director with Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge. Aditya had total editorial control and made the film according to his own tastes and sensibilities. Yash did not see major portions until it was nearly complete.
    The film was among the first to be produced with the large and rich South Asian diaspora in the West as its target.  Some films that later followed this trend include Pardes (1997), Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham (2001), Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), and Salaam Namaste (2005); the diaspora market is seen as a safer financial investment than the desi market.  Director Aditya Chopra originally wanted to cast Tom Cruise for the role of Raj, as he wanted it to be an Indo-American affair, but was dissuaded by his father/producer Yash, who did not want a foreign star.  They decided to go with a theme of non-resident Indians (NRIs). Chopra then asked Saif Ali Khan to play the lead role. But he declined, prompting Chopra to approach Shahrukh Khan for the same,  who initially was not really interested because of the romantic nature of the film. Chopra eventually convinced him to do it, and Khan has since then expressed his gratitude to Chopra for making him a star.  Chopra then cast Kajol to star opposite Shahrukh Khan. The two actors had previous worked together in Baazigar (1993) and Karan Arjun (1995).
    The first sequence filmed was of Kajol for the "Ho Gaya" song.  Filming of the European trip scenes was done mainly in Switzerland, including Saanen for the train station and bridge scenes,   Montbovon for the churches, and Gstaad for a song sequence.  Numerous scenes were shot in England and India.
    Saroj Khan was the choreographer. After several disputes with Chopra, she was replaced by Farah Khan near the end of the shoot. Farah choreographed "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane." Manish Malhotra was in charge of costume design, with help from Karan Johar. Sharmishta Roy was the art director.  The film's title was suggested by one of the actors Kirron Kher, and was taken from the song "Le Jayenge Le Jayenge" from the 1974 film Chor Machaye Shor. The character of Raj sings small parts of this song throughout, and it recurs at the end. DDLJ is believed to be the only film with a "Title suggested by" credit.
    After filming was complete, Chopra decided to make a Hollywood-style documentary of the filmmaking process, which had never been done before in India. Karan Johar and Chopra's brother Uday were put in charge. On 18 October, The Making of DDLJ was aired on Doordarshan, two days before the film's premiere.
    DDLJ was the second Bollywood production and the first Yash Raj Film to be mixed in Dolby sound. It released in India with Dolby SR and a very limited release with Dolby Digital 5.1 which was brand new in India at the time.

    Themes

    Yash Raj Films was previously known for using foreign (non-Indian) locations for item numbers in their films. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge started the trend for films designed to appeal to the Indian diaspora, which have foreign locations as integral parts of the story. The characters are themselves diaspora, and tend to be able to move around with ease between India and the West.  This film repeats the usual conservative agenda of family, courtship and marriage, but it proposes that Indian family values are portable assets that can be upheld regardless of country of residence.  In fact, Raj (who was brought up in London) is the "good guy" of the story, whereas Kuljeet (raised in India) is seen as the "bad guy". This is a reversal from typical Indian films, which usually portray Indians as being morally superior to Westerners.
    The story also aims to capture the struggle between traditional family values and the modern value of individualism.  Though Raj and Simran want to be together regardless of her father's plans for her, Raj tries to win over the father rather than simply eloping. In this and other Indian stories, family values are ultimately considered more important than the romantic plot. Individual desires have to take a back seat to moral values and rules of conduct.  The film implies that "Indianness" can be defined by the importance of family life: whether at home or abroad, it is the Indian family system that is recognised as the social institution that most defines being Indian.
    Also there are themes of the purity/sanctity of women being related to the purity/sanctity of the nation. In the scene after Raj and Simran spend the night together and Simran is concerned that something happened, Raj tells her: "You think I am beyond values, but I am a Hindustani, and I know what a Hindustani girl’s izzat (honour) is worth. Trust me, nothing happened last night." This speaks to the Indian diaspora and their need to try and sustain their value system.

    Soundtrack

    Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
    Soundtrack album by Jatin Lalit
    Released
    25 July 1995
    Genre Hindi Film Soundtrack
    Length 38:32
    Label
    Sa Re Ga Ma
    Producer Jatin Lalit
    The soundtrack features 7 songs composed by Jatin Lalit, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi and voice rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet, and Udit Narayan. Anand Bakshi won his third Filmfare Best Lyricist award after 14 years. Bhasker Gupta wrote for All Music that the soundtrack was the best of Jatin Lalit's career, and calls it the beginning of the fifth wave in Indian cinema soundtracks.
    The soundtrack became the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year.  It was listed by Planet Bollywood as number 6 on their list of 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks,  and in 2005 was judged the top Hindi soundtrack of all time by on-line voters on the BBC Asian Network.  The wedding song "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" from the film became an all-time hit, and is played in weddings across the South Asian diaspora to this day. 
    No. Title Singers Length
    1. "Ghar Aaja Pardesi"   Manpreet Kaur, Pamela Chopra 7:29
    2. "Mere Khwabon Mein"   Lata Mangeshkar 4:17
    3. "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane"   Udit Narayan 5:14
    4. "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main"   Asha Bhosle, Abhijeet Bhattacharya 5:51
    5. "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko"   Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 5:49
    6. "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna"   Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 4:50
    7. "Tujhe Dekha To"   Lata Mangeshkar, Kumar Sanu 5:02

    Reception

    Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge opened to full houses and good reviews all over the world.  It was a hit among both Indians and NRIs,  and became the first Hindi film blockbuster to feature NRIs as main characters.  Earning over INR1.06 billion (US$18 million) in India and INR160 million (US$2.7 million) overseas, the film became the biggest Bollywood hit of the year,   and second highest grossing of the 1990s behind Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, becoming the second Bollywood film to gross over INR1 billion (US$17 million) worldwide.  It eventually became one of the biggest Bollywood hits of all time.  Adjusted for inflation, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is believed to be among the top five highest grossing Hindi films. Its adjusted gross is approximately INR2.93 billion (US$49 million).
    Tom Vick reviewed the film for Allmovie and said, "An immensely likeable movie, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge performs the rarely achieved feat of stretching a predictable plot over three hours and making every minute enjoyable."  When DDLJ toured the United States in 2004 as part of the Cinema India showcase, "The Changing Face of Indian Cinema",  Charles Taylor reviewed the film for Salon.com and said: "It's a flawed, contradictory movie—aggressive and tender, stiff and graceful, clichéd and fresh, sophisticated and naive, traditional and modern. It's also, I think, a classic."  Avinash Ramchandani of Planet Bollywood gave the film a 9/10 rating and stated, "Comedy and story, this movie has both, following in the Yash Raj lineage of delivering memorable films." He remarked, "Aditya Chopra has balanced his film well and delivered a memorable film that will probably be watched for years to come.
    Anupama Chopra included the film in her list of "The 20 Best Hindi Films Ever Made", writing, "Perhaps the innocence of Raj and Simran’s romance in which they can spend the night together without sex because Raj, the bratish NRI understands the importance of an Indian woman’s honor. Perhaps it’s the way in which the film artfully reaffirms the patriarchal status quo and works for all constituencies—the NRI and the local viewer. Or perhaps it’s the magic of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol who created a template for modern love, which was hip and cool but resolutely Indian."  She also calls the film a milestone that shaped Hindi cinema through the 1990s.  In 2004, Meor Shariman of The Malay Mail called the film a "must watch" for Bollywood fans, and also for those seeking an introduction to Bollywood.
    Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was ranked amongst Indiatimes Movies list of the 25 Must See Bollywood Films.  It was one of the three Hindi films in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list (the others being Mother India from 1957 and Deewaar from 1975).  It was placed twelfth on the British Film Institute's list of top Indian films of all time.  It is one of the films on Box Office India's list of "Biggest Blockbusters Ever in Hindi Cinema".  The film did very well on the awards season of its release. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, and swept the Filmfare Awards with 10 wins, a record number at the time.

    Accolades

    Filmfare Awards

    Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge won set the record at its time for the most Filmfare awards going to a single film with ten.  It was also the second film to win the four major awards (Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress), after Guide in 1966. 
    Wins
    • Filmfare Best Movie Award: Yash Chopra
    • Filmfare Best Director Award: Aditya Chopra
    • Filmfare Best Actor Award: Shahrukh Khan
    • Filmfare Best Actress Award: Kajol
    • Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award: Farida Jalal
    • Filmfare Best Comedian Award: Anupam Kher
    • Filmfare Best Lyricist Award: Anand Bakshi, "Tujhe Dekha To"
    • Filmfare Best Screenplay Award: Aditya Chopra
    • Filmfare Best Dialogue Award: Aditya Chopra, Javed Siddiqi
    • Filmfare Best Male Playback Award: Udit Narayan, "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna"
    Nominations
    • Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award: Amrish Puri
    • Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Jatin Lalit
    • Filmfare Best Male Playback Award: Kumar Sanu, "Tujhe Dekha To"
    • Filmfare Best Lyricist Award: Anand Bakshi, "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyar Sajna" (nominated twice in this category)

    National Film Awards

    • National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment

    Star Screen Awards

    • Star Screen Award for Best Film: Yash Chopra
    • Star Screen Award for Best Director: Aditya Chopra
    • Star Screen Award for Best Actor: Shahrukh Khan

    Legacy

    In 2001, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge overtook Sholay (1975) as the longest-running film in Indian cinema.   As of 2013, it is still playing at the Maratha Mandir theatre in Mumbai.   Producer Yash Chopra decided to organise a celebration in February 2011, when the film completed 800 weeks of running, and theatre owner Manoj Desai said he has no plans to discontinue the screening of the film.  There are often people in the audience that have seen the film 50 times or more, but still clap, cheer, mouth the dialogues, and sing along with the songs,  raising comparisons with Hollywood's longest running film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). People keep coming back not just to see the film, but also to be a part of an experience.  In early 2011, a theatre strike threatened the film's uninterrupted showing streak. Producer Yash Chopra contacted theatre owners to try and ensure that the film would continue. He hoped that the film would continue to run for at least 1000 weeks.

    Kajol and Shahrukh Khan in the climactic train scene
    Audiences appreciated the duo of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol so much that they went on to work together in several other successful films including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), and My Name Is Khan (2010), and are often referred to as Indian cinema's most loved on-screen couple.  Khan himself credits this film with making him a star,  and says that the film "changed the entire scene for romantic movies of the 90s".  Some newer films have paid homage to classic scenes from the film. For example, Jab We Met (2007), Bodyguard (2011), Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and Chennai Express (2013) included scenes very similar to the train scene in DDLJ, wherein a girl is running to catch a moving train and is helped aboard by a boy with his outstretched arm.   The Western-made film Slumdog Millionaire also contains a scene where a young girl and young boy replace the adults usually seen in the "train scene". Also unlike the original, the scene does not end happily; the boy pulls his hand away and the girl is left behind. The film's popularity has also led to numerous other references in contemporary films.
    The British Film Institute (BFI) commissioned a book about Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. It was the first Hindi film chosen for a series of studies on international films, called "BFI Modern Classics". The author was Anupama Chopra, and the book was released in 2002.  After an unexpectedly long delay, the film was released on DVD by Yash Raj Films on 7 January 2002. The release included the making-of documentary, and highlights from the film's premiere, and from the 1996 Filmfare Awards ceremony.
    In 2006, members of the film team were honoured at a dinner event on the occasion of the film's 500 week anniversary. It was hosted by the Consulate General of Switzerland in Mumbai and by Switzerland Tourism.  In 2010, Yash Raj Films signed an agreement with Indian and Swiss tour companies to provide a tour package called "YRF Enchanted Journey". It will allow people visiting Switzerland to view sites and filming locations from famous Yash Raj films including DDLJ. 





    Dil To Pagal Hai (translation: The Heart Is Crazy), also known as DTPH, is a 1997 Indian coming of age musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film depicts the love lives of the dancers in a musical dance troupe. It stars Madhuri Dixit, Shahrukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor, with Akshay Kumar in a supporting role. It was Khan's third collaboration with Chopra after Darr and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to be precise third as producer and second as director. The soundtrack was composed by Uttam Singh, while the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi.
    It was the first Bollywood film to be shot in Baden-Baden and Europa Park, both German tourist attractions. Dil To Pagal Hai was the second biggest hit of 1997, as well as receiving much praise for its storyline and soundtrack. Additionally, the film won three National Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards. The film has attained classic status over the years     and is regarded as one of Chopra's best 

    Contents

    • 1 Plot
    • 2 Cast
    • 3 Production
    • 4 Soundtrack
    • 5 Reception
      • 6 Awards
        • 7 References
        • 8 External links

        Plot

        Rahul and Nisha (Karisma Kapoor) are members of a massive dance troupe. They are the best of friends, although Nisha is secretly in love with Rahul. Rahul announces his desire to direct a musical named Maya. The members of the troupe, including Nisha, have their doubts about the title character when Rahul cannot describe her to them. Pooja (Madhuri Dixit) also has a passion for dancing. Having been orphaned at a young age, she has been raised by close friends of her parents.
        Rahul and Nisha go shopping for clothes one day. When Rahul is trying on some clothes, he starts whistling a tune and Pooja (who is also trying on clothes) pays particular attention to this tune. Rahul soon comes up with a script for the play he wishes to direct and shows it to Nisha who still has her doubts. On Pooja’s guardian’s birthday, there is a mix up – Pooja’s family receives a parcel with sandwiches (which the dance troupe ordered) and the dance troupe receives Pooja’s guardian’s birthday cake. Rahul goes to Pooja’s house to switch the parcels and starts whistling the same tune he whistled in the clothes shop – Pooja again pays attention to this. On Valentine's Day, Rahul and Nisha attend a party with the dance troupe where Rahul expresses his disbelief in love. Nisha is upset by Rahul’s heartless attitude. Rahul accidentally calls Pooja’s house and when she disconnects the phone, Rahul starts whistling the same tune and she again listens hard to it. On Nisha’s birthday, she gets drunk and tells Rahul she loves him – he does not respond as he does not love her in return. Pooja is soon taken to Germany by her guardian’s son Ajay (Akshay Kumar) who has been in London for months. When the two return to India, just as Ajay leaves to fly to England, he proposes to Pooja and she accepts.
        During rehearsals for the play, Nisha injures her leg and the doctor says she cannot dance for a few months. Rahul needs a new woman to play the lead role in the play. He comes across Pooja dancing one day and believes she is perfect for the role. He begs her to come to their rehearsals and she agrees. Rahul and Pooja become close friends. Nisha soon returns from hospital and is upset that she has been replaced. Knowing that Rahul does not reciprocate her love, she decides to leave for London. Throughout rehearsals for the play, Rahul and Pooja find themselves falling for one another. When Rahul drops Pooja home one day, he starts whistling his tune making Pooja realise that she has fallen for the man she often heard. The next day, the two go to meet Pooja’s old dance tutor Tai (Aruna Irani) who believes the two are blatantly in love. At the wedding of two members of the dance troupe, Rahul and Pooja confess their love for each other.
        On the day the play is to be run for the first time, Ajay arrives and tells everyone that he is Pooja’s fiancé. Rahul is heartbroken but tries not to show it. Nisha, who has returned, notices Rahul’s devastation and explains how she too was devastated when he did not love her in return. Rahul edits the end of the play to reflect his heartbreak. On the night of the play, Ajay plays a recorded tape where Pooja described how she felt about Rahul, implying that Ajay thinks Rahul and Pooja are meant to be together. Pooja now realises she truly loves Rahul and the two confess their love on stage as the audience applauds them. Also, backstage, Ajay ends up asking Nisha whether she is already married or not (implying he wishes to start a relationship with her).

        Cast

        • Madhuri Dixit as Pooja
        • Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul
        • Karisma Kapoor as Nisha
        • Akshay Kumar as Ajay
        • Farida Jalal as Pooja's guardian/ Ajay's mother
        • Deven Verma as Pooja's guardian/ Ajay's father
        • Aruna Irani as Pooja's teacher

        Production

        Dil To Pagal Hai was Chopra's second of four movies to star Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role. It was the third film to feature Shah Rukh Khan opposite Madhuri Dixit. Originally the role of Nisha had been offered to Juhi Chawla as Chopra wanted the two leading actresses of that time to appear together on screen but Chawla did not want to play second fiddle to Dixit especially after playing the main lead actress in Chopra's Darr. In the end, Karisma Kapoor was cast and Chawla said in 2014 that she now regrets her decision of saying no to so many good films during her peak because by doing so, she has made superstars of little actresses. Her comment implied mainly towards Karisma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon.

        Soundtrack

        Dil To Pagal Hai
        Soundtrack album by Uttam Singh
        Released 1997
        Genre Feature film soundtrack
        Label Saregama
        Producer Yash Chopra
        Uttam Singh chronology
        Jazbaat
        (1994)
        '''Dil To Pagal Hai'''
        (1997)
        Dushman
        (1998)
        The songs for the film were composed by Uttam Singh. Lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The music was a major hit among the public, with the album becoming the bestselling Bollywood soundtrack of the year.
        It is one of the highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack album, with 12.5 million copies sold and second overall after Aashiqui.
        Track # Song Singer(s) Duration
        1 "Dil To Pagal Hai" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 5:38
        2 "Are Re Are" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 5:37
        3 "Bholi Si Surat" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 4:16
        4 "Dholna" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 5:20
        5 "Are Re Are (Part-2)" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 2:06
        6 "Pyaar Kar" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan 6:46
        7 "Koi Ladki Hai" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Aditya Narayan 5:32
        8 "Ek Duje Ke Vaaste" Lata Mangeshkar, Hariharan 3:27
        9 "Le Gayi" Asha Bhosle, Udit Narayan 5:43
        10 "The Dance Of Envy" (Instrumental) 3:15
        Another song titled "Chanda Ki Chandni" was sung by Kumar Sanu and Lata Mangeshkar but was not included in the album.

        Reception

        Critical reception

        Dil To Pagal Hai received highly positive reviews upon release. Critics praised its storyline and music amongst its other aspects. Omar Ahmed of Empire gave the film 4 out of 5 stars with the verdict, "It's great eye-candy, painting a portrait of a newly prosperous India in rainbow colours. Good performances too make this a cut above the Bollywood average."  Apunkachoice.com also gave it 4 out of 5 stars and commented, "Though Yash can't give his die hard fans again a run-away-hit like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, this movie is worth watching for its exotic foreign locales and excellent choreography by Shiamak Davar and Farah Khan."  Avinash Ramchandani of Planet Bollywood thought that the film was worth at least one watching. He wrote, "Shah Rukh, Madhuri (though a bit chubby), Karisma, and even Akshay do a good job and Yash Chopra’s potentially award winning direction are just a few reasons to go watch it."
        Dil To Pagal Hai has attained classic status over the years.    Sanoobar Patel of BizAsia Showbiz wrote, "‘Dil To Pagal Hai’ really is one of those films which you can’t help but fall in love with, every time you watch it. Yash Chopra showed his brilliance in bringing together some big name stars and making us adore them. An unforgettable film with some fantastic characters and an even better soundtrack… and this is what makes it an out-and-out classic."  Neha Kirpalani of businessofcinema.com stated, "The maverick director also introduced us to some very Western concepts, like Valentine's Day, dance shows and plays and the concept of people in urban India dating before marriage (something that was quite uncommon in Hindi films). And yet, there were some deep-rooted Indian values in the film, like finding your soulmate and loving them for all eternity, and as Nisha proclaims, the ability to love and spend your entire life with one person until the end of time."  Ameet Bhuvan of madaboutmoviez.com observed, "Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), came at a time when Bollywood was undergoing a sea change. A churn was on in the way films were made, the way they were received and the people who were watching it. DTPH is perhaps the best example of how mainstream Hindi cinema blended to manage new tastes while still not alienating traditional likes.
        Many websites and newspapers including Yahoo! Movies, Rediff.com, IBNLive and The Times of India have listed Dil To Pagal Hai as one of the top 10 Yash Chopra films  

        Box office

        Dil To Pagal Hai made a worldwide gross of INR58 crore (US$9.7 million) and was the second highest grossing movie of 1997. It was given the verdict of a ' Blockbuster' in India and a 'Blockbuster' overseas.

        Awards

        1998 National Film Awards

        1998 Filmfare Awards

        The film swept most of the major categories at the year's Filmfare Awards.

        1998 Zee Cine Awards







        Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (translation: Some Things Happen), also known as KKHH, is a Hindi coming of age romantic comedy drama film, released in India and the United Kingdom on 16 October 1998. It was written and directed by Karan Johar, and starred the popular on-screen pair of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol in their fourth film together. Rani Mukerji featured in a supporting role, while Salman Khan had an extended guest appearance.
        Filmed in India, Mauritius, and Scotland, this was Karan Johar's directorial debut. One of his goals for the film was to set a new level for style in Hindi cinema. The plot combines two love triangles set years apart. The first half covers friends on a college campus, while the second tells the story of a widower's young daughter who tries to reunite her dad with his old friend.
        The film was extremely successful in India and abroad, becoming the highest grossing Indian film of the year, and the first Bollywood film to enter the UK cinema top ten. The soundtrack also became the biggest seller of the year. The film won many major awards including the "Best Film" honours at the Filmfare Awards, the National Film Awards, Zee Cine Awards, Screen Awards, and Bollywood Movie Awards. Years after its release, it still makes appearances on Indian television and has achieved an iconic status.

        Plot

        Rahul Khanna (Shah Rukh Khan) and tomboy Anjali Sharma (Kajol) are best friends in St. Xavier's College. The college principal Mr. Malhotra (Anupam Kher) has a beautiful daughter Tina (Rani Mukerji), who comes to St. Xavier's from London to finish her degree. She becomes friends with both Rahul and Anjali. When Anjali realizes that she is in love with Rahul, she is encouraged by her motherly housekeeper Rifat Bi (Himani Shivpuri) to tell him so. Instead, Anjali is left heartbroken when Rahul tells her that he loves Tina. Anjali decides to leave college and shares a tearful goodbye with Rahul, going away from Rahul and Tina's lives forever. Tina then realizes that she came between two best friends who actually loved each other. After college, Rahul marries Tina and, in a year of marriage, Tina gives birth to a baby girl. Tina has complications in her pregnancy and has little time left, so she writes eight letters to her daughter (one for each of her first eight birthdays), so that she will know her mother. Before dying, Tina asks Rahul to name their daughter Anjali.
        Eight years pass, and Rahul is a single parent living with his daughter and loving mother (Farida Jalal). On her eighth birthday, little Anjali Khanna (Sana Saeed) reads the last and most important letter that her mother left her; it tells the story of Anjali Sharma and how she was always Rahul's true love. Anjali Khanna is given the mission of reuniting Rahul with Anjali Sharma and bringing back Rahul's lost love. Anjali Sharma is no longer the tomboy she was in college; she is now more feminine, and is engaged to Aman Mehra (Salman Khan). However, she explains to her mother (Reema Lagoo) that she does not really love him and is marrying him as a compromise as she feels she can never love again after losing Rahul. Aman also suspects that she does not really love him. Anjali Khanna and her grandmother search for Anjali Sharma and soon learn that she is going to be working at a summer camp. They travel there, with a plan to later lure Rahul to come as well, and the two Anjalis meet each other. One night while watching television, Anjali Sharma realizes she has met her best friend's daughter, and that Tina is dead. Rahul soon arrives at Camp Sunshine, where he and Anjali Sharma are surprised and delighted to see each other again, sharing a sweet reunion. Throughout the days spent at the camp, Rahul and Anjali feel themselves falling in love. However, Anjali remembers that she is engaged and feels guilty. Aman arrives and tells Rahul that he is Anjali's fiancee. Rahul is heartbroken but congratulates Anjali. She takes this as him rejecting her again, so she leaves summer camp and decides to get married to Aman as soon as possible.
        After seeing Tina in a dream, Rahul and his family go to Anjali's wedding, where Rahul silently confesses to Anjali that he loves her, and watches in tears as she is brought forth for the wedding. Realizing this, Anjali is hesitant to go on with the marriage, and stands weeping. Aman notices the tears in her eyes and realizes that she has always been in love with Rahul. He releases Anjali from the engagement and tells her to marry Rahul. Rahul and Anjali have an emotional hug and as the two marry, little Anjali has a vision of Tina smiling and giving her the thumbs up.

        Cast

        • Shah Rukh Khan as Rahul Khanna: A student at St. Xavier's college, and Anjali Sharma's best friend. He marries Tina and they name their daughter 'Anjali.'
        • Kajol as Anjali Sharma: The college's tomboy and Rahul's best friend, who is secretly in love with him.
        • Rani Mukerji as Tina Malhotra: The principal's daughter, feminine, sophisticated, an alumna from Oxford University. She is the woman with whom Rahul eventually has a daughter, but has always felt guilty for coming between Anjali and Rahul. She passes away after giving birth to her child.
        • Salman Khan as Aman Mehra: Anjali Sharma's loving fiancé.
        • Sana Saeed as Anjali Khanna: Named after Anjali Sharma, she is Rahul's and Tina's daughter.
        • Farida Jalal as Mrs. Khanna: Rahul's mother.
        • Anupam Kher as Principal Malhotra: Tina's father. He is slightly infatuated with Ms. Briganza.
        • Archana Puran Singh as Ms. Briganza: A showy English teacher. She flirts with Principal Malhotra.
        • Reema Lagoo as Mrs. Sharma: She is Anjali Sharma's mother and has doubts about her daughter's motives for marrying Aman.
        • Himani Shivpuri as Rifat Bi: St. Xavier's girl's hostel housekeeper.
        • Johnny Lever as Col. Almeida: The manager of Camp Sunshine.
        • Parzan Dastur as Silent Sardarji: A Sikh boy at Camp Sunshine that never talks.
        • Neelam as herself in a special appearance: She is the host of The Neelam Show.

        Production

        Story

        After the experience of assisting and acting in his friend Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Karan Johar was encouraged to try his own hand at directing. With Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, he chose to pair up the same lead actors, Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, for his own romance film.  During the filming of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Khan had also encouraged Johar to make his own film, and said that he would be willing to star in it.
        Johar first wrote a story, which was a love triangle between a tomboy, a very pretty girl and a slightly insensitive boy, but he shelved the idea because he was not very satisfied with it. Then he wrote another plot about a widower and his child, which he shelved as well. Eventually he decided to merge the two stories into one. He explained in an interview with Rediff.com: "It was about the trauma of a widower and his little child. How the child really wants a mother and how she brings her mother into her father's life. Then I thought: Why not bring a youth aspect to the story? Why not a flashback? That's how the story got made."  The story also includes a "personal desires vs. parental loyalties" theme,  and has some "East meets West" themes, but instead of the characters going abroad, it creates a virtual West inside India.

        Development

        Karan Johar was certain from the beginning who he wanted to cast in the lead roles, having observed Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol during the making of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.  It took longer to fill the role of Tina. The role was written with Twinkle Khanna in mind, but she turned it down.  Other actresses such as Tabu, Shilpa Shetty, Urmila Matondkar, Aishwarya Rai, Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor were offered the role but also turned it down.  Rani Mukerji, without being asked, read the script and volunteered for the part, which gave a boost to her career.
        Johar, who is also a costume designer, wanted to set a new level for style in Hindi cinema with this film. He and his friend Manish Malhotra, the film's costume designer, made trips to London for costumes, much to the chagrin of his father and producer Yash Johar, who was concerned about the budget. Many of the costumes in the film prominently displayed logos from designers such as DKNY and Polo.  In addition to the designer fashions, Johar also created a somewhat fantastical world where the students speak Hinglish and enjoy a pristine college campus, where there is no crime or hate, and traditional Hindu values are pervasive.  Johar admitted that the look and feel of the college scenes in the film were patterned after Beverly Hills 90210, saying, "The art, the costumes, tilt toward the West, but the soul of the film is Indian."  He hired Sharmishta Roy as art director, and told him to produce something similar to Riverdale High School of the Archie Comics, with some 90210 influence as well. Johar said of the outcome, "If you see KKHH, Shahrukh plays Archie, Rani Mukherji plays Veronica, and Kajol played Bettie. It was exactly that. And the principal looked like Weatherbee, and Mrs. Grundee was Archana Puran Singh."  Johar also hired Farah Khan to do the choreography, Jatin-Lalit to provide the music, Santosh Thundiyil as cinematographer, and Nikhil Advani as his associate director. Shabina Khan assisted Manish Malhotra with costume design.

        Filming

        Filming began on 21 October 1997. The crew was young and inexperienced to the point where Shah Rukh Khan had to explain basic technicalities of filming. Khan later said, "Karan makes no bones of the fact that his technical knowledge of filmmaking was not at its peak when he made the biggest hit of the decade."  The entire film was shot in nine and half months  with a substantial part of it shot in Mauritius.   The title song was filmed in several picturesque locations in Scotland  over a ten-day period.
        During the bicycle sequence in the "Yeh Ladki Hai Deewana" song, Kajol lost control of her bike, fell flat on her face and was knocked unconscious while also injuring her knee. During the promotional Making of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai TV special, Kajol stated that the accident was her most memorable part of shooting the film because she doesn't remember it.  During preparation for the reunion scene where the two leads met after more than 8 years apart, the director told them to improvise and rehearse the reactions that they might use, but he secretly taped them, and was so pleased with the result that it was put into the film.

        Music

        The Kuch Kuch Hota Hai soundtrack was composed by Jatin-Lalit and the lyrics were penned by Sameer. It was released by the Sony Music label on 13 August 1998.  The album features playback singers Kavita Krishnamurthy (as Tina Malhotra and Mrs. Sharma), Udit Narayan (as Rahul Khanna), Alka Yagnik (as Anjali Sharma), and Kumar Sanu (as Aman Mehra). Mukul Deshpande of Planet Bollywood rated the soundtrack 8.5 out of 10 stars although he did not like all of the songs.  The album became the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year.  The title song remained on the Indian music charts for over a year,  and in 2012 it was voted as the most popular film song of the previous decade by NDTV. The full soundtrack came in second place in a similar poll conducted by the BBC.
        Kuch Kuch Hota Hai: Track listing
        No. Title Singer(s) Length
        1. "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai"   Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik 4:56
        2. "Koi Mil Gaya"   Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy 7:16
        3. "Saajanji Ghar Aaye"   Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy 7:14
        4. "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (Sad)"   Alka Yagnik 1:26
        5. "Yeh Ladka Hai Deewana"   Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik 6:36
        6. "Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayee"   Alka Yagnik, Manpreet Akhtar, Udit Narayan 7:03
        7. "Raghupati Raghav"   Alka Yagnik, Shankar Mahadevan 2:05
        8. "Ladki Badi Anjaani Hai"   Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik 6:23
        Total length:
        42:59

        Release

        Reception

        While comparing the film to Dil To Pagal Hai of 1997, Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 3.5 out of 5 stars. She especially liked the performance of Kajol, and thought that the film would appeal to young and romantic viewers primarily for its "MTV ambiance" and "Valentine Day flavours". On the negative side, she said "The second half however gets drowned in a sea of emotions. Too many people begin to cry a bit too much."  Anish Khanna of Planet Bollywood rated the film 9.5 out of 10 stars, calling it "pure escapist cinema at its best." He praised the cinematography, choreography, set decoration, and also raved over Kajol's performance, along with her onscreen chemistry with Shah Rukh Khan. Overall, he said "Karan Johar makes an impressive directorial debut, has a good script sense, and knows how to make a film with S-T-Y-L-E."  In contrast to these views, the reaction of Sujata C J, writing for Rediff.com, was that the film was very disappointing, with many cliches and a bad story line, though Santosh Thundiyil and Sharmishta Roy were praised for their camerawork and art direction, respectively.  Nandita Chowdhury in a review for India Today, said that Karan Johar was almost able to rekindle the Khan-Kajol magic of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and that overall the film was "a good distraction".

        Box office

        There were great expectations for Kuch Kuch Hota Hai leading up to its premiere, because it re-united the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge team of Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, and specifically concerning the debut of Karan Johar; whether he would be in the same league as Aditya Chopra as a first-time writer/director.  After an "Excellent" opening, it earned INR450 million (US$7.5 million) net and INR770 million (US$13 million) gross in India, became the highest grossing Indian film of 1998, and was declared by Box Office India to be an "All Time Blockbuster".  It was one of the biggest foreign films ever at the UK box office at the time,  earning almost £1.5 million,  and becoming the first Bollywood film to break into the UK cinema top 10.  In South Africa, the film made more money than Titanic.  It was also very popular in the Netherlands, where it toured three times to sold out theatres.  The films's total collection in overseas markets was US$6.25 million.  The film went on to make a lifetime worldwide gross of INR1.03 billion (US$17 million),  becoming the third Bollywood film to gross over INR1 billion (US$17 million) worldwide.  Adjusted for inflation, it has grossed INR1.83 billion (US$31 million).

        Accolades

        Kuch Kuch Hota Hai won many awards, including sweeping all the major categories at the year's Filmfare Awards, held on 21 February 1999.  It was the third film to win the four major awards (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress) at Filmfare. Others include Guide (1966), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995) (also starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol), Devdas (2002) and Black (2005).
        National Film Awards
        Filmfare Awards
        Wins
        Nominations
        Star Screen Awards
        Zee Cine Awards
        Bollywood Movie Awards

        Post-release

        Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has been the subject of reviews and critical analysis following its initial release. Fuad Omar called it a phenomenal debut for director Karan Johar; he said that the film has a memorable "feelgood factor".  Subhash K Jha called the film "a simple stylish, sensuous and ambrosial love story," further adding that the chemistry between the lead pair was unbeatable.  A reviewer for Timeout Film Guide, while commenting that the second love triangle went on too long, liked most of the film, saying that "its performances, camerawork, storytelling and extensive musical numbers [are] all energetically colourful."  In 2004, Meor Shariman of The Malay Mail called the film a "must watch" for Bollywood fans, and also for those seeking an introduction to Bollywood.  The film has also been criticized for creating unreal worlds and characters,  to which Johar has said that this was part of his vision of escapism.
        A few years after its release, Sony purchased satellite rights for the film for INR 4 crore.   The film was also released on VHS, DVD, and eventually Blu-ray.  Now Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, along with Johar's second film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., often play on television to consistently high ratings. Johar said, "It’s gratifying to know that they've aged well and passed the test of time."  One of the best examples of the iconic status of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was the 2012 film Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi. Farah Khan and Boman Irani re-created scenes and characters from KKHH for posters to promote their film,  and also paid homage in one of the songs, "Ramba Mein Samba".  In 2010, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was selected by Time as one of their "Five Essential Bollywood movies to Netflix".
        Koochie Koochie Hota Hai is an animated remake of the original, directed by Tarun Mansukhani. Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Anupam Kher are reprising their roles as Rahul aka Rocky, Anjali aka Angie, Tina, and the Principal. New cast members include Uday Chopra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Sanjay Dutt and Simi Garewal. The story will have an anthropomorphic animal cast.  As of October 2012, Karan Johar has placed the project on permanent hold. He said, "Animation films are not working nowadays, so as of now I have kept it on stand-by."

        See also






        Mohabbatein (translation: Love Stories), is a 2000 Indian musical romantic drama film directed by Aditya Chopra. It was Chopra's second directorial venture after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and was filmed at India and England. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan in pivotal roles, along with six young debutantes. Aishwarya Rai appeared in flashbacks as Khan's lover. The film's soundtrack was composed by Jatin-Lalit, while the lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. Mohabbatein is most notable for being the first time that Bachchan and Khan appeared on-screen together.
        The film went on to do well both critically and commercially. It became the second highest grossing film of the year and was thus declared a superhit.  It also won several awards including the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor, given to Khan and Bachchan respectively.

        Plot

        Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the strict headmaster of Gurukul, a prestigious all-boys university. Narayan wants the best out of his students, and places emphasis on tradition, honor and discipline. He has run the university for 25 years, over that time has forbid the students from any kind of romance — anyone he catches falling in love will be expelled. The film focuses on three of the school's students: Sameer (Jugal Hansraj), Vicky (Uday Chopra) and Karan (Jimmy Shergill) who all fall in love. Sameer is in love with Sanjana (Kim Sharma), his childhood friend. Vicky falls for Ishika (Shamita Shetty), a student at the all-girls university next door to Gurukul. Karan becomes smitten with Kiran (Preeti Jhangiani), a girl he sees one night at a train station. All three know that if they're caught they'd be expelled, so they at first do not pursue their love interests.
        Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) joins Gurukul as a music teacher. He challenges the status quo and slowly introduces changes that Narayan disapproves of. Raj is a strong believer of love, and when he learns the stories of the three boys, he encourages them to follow their hearts. The boys take his advice, but are disappointed: Sameer discovers that Sanjana has a boyfriend; Vicky only makes Ishika dislike him when trying to woo her; Karan learns that Kiran is married to a pilot who is assumed dead. Raj tells the boys to not be disheartened, and tells them that his love, Megha (Aishwarya Rai) is dead, but he continues to love her and imagines that she is still by his side. Raj encourages the boys to continue to stay loyal to their loves.
        One day Raj throws a party in Gurukul, inviting the students from the girls' school from next door as part of his plan to spread love in Gurukul. Narayan is furious and threatens to fire him. Raj then reveals he was a student at Gurukul years ago, and he fell in love with Megha, who was Narayan's only daughter. Narayan had Raj expelled without ever seeing his face, and afterward Megha committed suicide. Raj returned to Gurukul as a teacher in the hopes of changing Narayan's ways and honoring his love for Megha. Raj promises that before he leaves Gurukul, he will fill it with so much love that even Narayan will not be able to remove it. Narayan accepts this challenge, and allows Raj to continue as a teacher for a while longer.
        Sameer, Vicky, and Karan one by one win over the girls they love. Narayan retaliates by tightening the rules of Gurukul, but the boys continue to break the rules, which encourages other students to do the same. Narayan finally decides to expel the three, and Raj speaks up on their behalf, telling Narayan that he is the instigator and the boys should not be punished for it. Raj also says that he feels Narayan lost the battle, because his daughter left him and now Raj (who considered Narayan an elder) is leaving him. Raj's words make Narayan realise his mistake. He publicly apologises to the students and steps down as the principal, allowing Raj to take over. Raj turns Gurukul into a love-filled university. In the end Raj, Narayan and a vision of Megha walk happily together towards the gates of Gurukul.

        Cast

        Production

        Before the production of the film, Amitabh Bachchan was attempting a revival of his career but it was of little success. Also, he was in financial trouble with the bankruptcy of his production company, ABCL, which was hurting his image. These troubles left him almost penniless, and it was at this time that he contacted his friend and director/producer Yash Chopra, who told him of an upcoming production that he could be in.  With Mohabbatein, he was finally able to shed his "hero" image and to play older, more mature roles.  This was the first film in which Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan appeared together. This created a strong buzz for the film as it brought two huge stars of different generations together.
        Filming took place in India and England.  Longleat was used as the location for filming Gurukul University. Oxford and Cambridge Universities were also used for filming. The scene where Narayan Shankar walks right before meeting Raj Aryan was filmed at the Queen's College, Oxford. The railway station scenes were shot at Apta Railway Station, Panvel Maharashtra, India. The scene where Karan asks for friendship from Kiran was shot at Birla Mandir, Revdanda, Alibag, Maharashtra, India. It was rumored that Sridevi was approached to be a love interest to Narayan Shankar, but she turned down the role.  Midway through the filming of the song "Aankhein Khuli", Jugal Hansraj fractured his foot, which required him to wear a cast for the rest of the filming of the song. Aishwarya Rai was slated to only make a guest appearance, but her presence generated so much interest that her role was promoted to that of a regular character.

        Music

        Mohabbatein
        Soundtrack album by Jatin-Lalit
        Released 2000
        Genre Feature film soundtrack
        Length 49:48
        Label YRF Music
        Producer Yash Chopra
        Jatin-Lalit chronology
        Dhai Akshar Prem Ke
        (2000)
        '''Mohabbatein'''
        (2000)
        Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
        (2000)
        Professional ratings
        Review scores
        Source Rating
        Planet Bollywood 9.5/10 stars
        The music of Mohabbatein was composed by Jatin Lalit while lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi. The album was very well received by the audience. It was the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the 2000s.
        Music was used extensively throughout the film and features leitmotifs that relate to each of the main characters (each couple having unique theme music).
        Avinash Ramchandani of Planet Bollywood gave the album 9.5 stars stating, "Mohabbatein is an outstanding album with several new singers making a splendid debut, as well as a commendable job by Jatin-Lalit, and brilliant lyrics by Anand Bakshi".
        The songs included on the official soundtrack:
        # Song Singer(s) Length
        1 "Humko Humise Chura Lo" Lata Mangeshkar & Udit Narayan 07:52
        2 "Chalte Chalte" Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawdekar, Pritha Mazumdar, Udhbav, Manohar Shetty & Ishaan 07:38
        3 "Pairon Mein Bandhan Hai" Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawdekar, Pritha Mazumdar, Udhbav, Manohar Shetty & Ishaan 07:01
        4 "Aankhein Khuli" Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan, Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawdekar, Pritha Mazumdar, Udhbav,
        Manohar Shetty, Shahrukh Khan & Ishaan
        07:02
        5 "Soni Soni" Udit Narayan, Jaspinder Narula, Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawdekar, Pritha Mazumdar, Udhbav,
        Manohar Shetty & Ishaan
        09:07
        6 "Chalte Chalte 2" Shweta Pandit, Sonali Bhatawdekar, Pritha Mazumdar, Udhbav, Manohar Shetty 02:49
        7 "Zinda Rehti Hain Unki Mohabbatein" Lata Mangeshkar & Udit Narayan 02:03
        8 "Mohabbatein Love Themes" Instrumental 02:20
        9 "Rhythms of Mohabbatein" Instrumental 03:56

        Reception

        Critical reception

        Mohabbatein received positive reviews from critics. Alok Kumar of Planet Bollywood called it "a feel-good film that takes feeling good to new heights." He wrote, "The film made me care for the characters, something that has not happened since Pooja Bhatt’s brilliant performance in Zakhm or Kajol’s heartwarming performance in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Mohabbatein’s lead characters are very well etched and seem real, which is different from most films, whose characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts.  Jennifer Hopfinger of thebollywoodticket.com said, "watching Khan and Bachchan go toe-to-toe with grandiose speeches about love and fear—emotions that the two actors have embodied professionally—is ample entertainment."  Savera R Someshwar of Rediff.com commented, "It's a mish-mash alright. But it is also a successful, feelgood film. You'll enjoy yourself as you watch it."  Giving the film 4 out of 5 stars, Tanuka Chakraverty of apunkachoice.com said, "The film's highlights are the one-to-one scenes of Amitabh and Shah Rukh. While the former is a veteran and his histrionics now seem to be an extension of his charisma and aura, the latter gives a matured performance. Shah Rukh is finally a controlled performer with Mohabbatein. He takes Amitabh head on and succeeds in giving compelling shots, not wincing even once.  Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 out of 5 stars. He praised the conflict between the lead characters and the three love stories depicted in the film but criticized its excessive length.

        Box office

        Mohabbatein did very well at the box office. It grossed over INR741.1 million (US$12 million) at the worldwide box office.  It also became the second highest grossing Hindi film of the year at the domestic box office and was thus declared a "Superhit."

        Awards

        Filmfare Awards

        Other Awards




        Devdas is a 2002 Indian romantic drama filmdirected by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and based on the 1917 Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella Devdas. This is the third Hindi version and the first film version of the story in Hindi done in colour.   The film follows Devdas (Shahrukh Khan), a wealthy law graduate, who returns from his studies in London to marry his childhood sweetheart, Paro (Aishwarya Rai). However, the rejection of this marriage by his own family sparks his descent into alcohol, ultimately leading to his emotional deterioration.
        Devdas was declared a hit in India by Box Office India and won the Filmfare Award for Best Film. The film also won five National Awards and a further nine Filmfare Awards, tied with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with the most Filmfare Awards any film had won at the time (later beaten in 2005 by Bhansali's Black). It was received well by western audiences alike and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was also India's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was ranked #74 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.  Time Magazine named Devdas as the best movie of 2002 among all the movies released around the world in 2002.  The film was recently included in Time Magazine's top 10 movies of the millennium worldwide.
        The acting was seen by many as the primary factor for the film's success, with Shahrukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit all winning Filmfare Awards for their performances. The film's success was also attributed to the dance performances, with Dixit's "Maar Daala" considered one of the most iconic of her career and the song "Dola Re Dola" becoming a hit due to the unique dance duet between Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit, two of the leading actresses of the epoch. At the time of its release, Devdas was the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced, with a reported budget of Rs 500 million.

        Plot

        Sir Narayan Mukherjee (Vijay Crishna), a zamindar, and his wife Kaushalya (Smita Jaykar) have heard that their younger son, Devdas (Shahrukh Khan), is coming home from a law school in England to their mansion in Tal Sonapur, Bengal after an absence of ten years. When Kaushalya tells her neighbor Sumitra about Devdas' impending return, Sumitra is as overjoyed as Devdas' own mother, and with tears in her eyes she reminisces with Kaushalya about Devdas' and her daughter's deep childhood friendship. She describes how when Devdas was sent off to England at the age of ten, her daughter Paro had chased his carriage weeping, trying to return to him 3 rupees that she owed. The young girl Paro had lit an oil lamp for Devdas under the belief that by doing so he will return sooner. She tends to this lamp throughout her childhood in honor of her dear friend, never allowing it to extinguish.
        On the day of his return, Kaushalya insists that everyone in the family should close their eyes so that she will be the first person to see her son. Her plan backfires, however, when instead of coming straight home, Devdas goes to see "Paro" Parvati Chakraborty (Aishwarya Rai), his childhood sweetheart, first. This incident makes Kaushalya jealous and at first she refuses to receive her son when he arrives, but he cajoles her and they joyfully reunite. In the ensuing weeks it becomes clear that the years apart have turned Devdas' and Paro's friendship into love. It seems to everyone, including Paro's mother Sumitra (Kirron Kher), that Devdas and Paro will get married, but Devdas's scheming sister-in-law Kumud (Ananya Khare) reminds Kaushalya of Paro's maternal lineage, which consists of nautch girls and nautanki performers. This is considered inappropriate for an alliance with the Mukherjee family. When Sumitra announces her desire for Devdas and Paro to marry, Kaushalya rejects and humiliates her in public saying that she was from a far lower class in society than themselves. Devastated, Sumitra vows to ensure that Paro will get an even better marriage and assures Kaushalya that she will find her daughter a husband richer than the Mukherjee family within a period of seven days. She soon arranges for Paro to marry Thakur Bhuvan Chaudhry (Vijayendra Ghatge), a forty-year-old widowed aristocrat with three grown children.
        Meanwhile, Devdas' harsh and ambitious father also rejects Paro and tells Devdas that both Paro and her mother belong in a brothel. Devdas leaves his parents' house and takes refuge at a brothel with his college friend Chunnibabu (Jackie Shroff). He leaves a letter for Paro, falsely stating that love had never existed between them. At the brothel, Devdas meets a good-hearted tawaif (courtesan) named Chandramukhi (Madhuri Dixit), who falls in love with him. Soon, Devdas realizes his mistake in abandoning Paro. He returns to Paro at the time of her wedding to Bhuvan Chaudhry and asks her to elope with him. Paro refuses, reminding him of the way he had discarded her so easily. Grieved, Dev leads Paro to her bridal procession and Paro, still holding the lamp, sobs as she is carried away.
        Paro learns from her new aristocrat husband that he has married her only to be mother to his children and lady of the estate, but that his love is only for his late first wife and he has no plan to have a true love relationship with her. Paro dutifully fulfills all her responsibilities, serving as a kind mother to the children and exemplary lady. Devdas, having lost Paro, is heartbroken. He moves to Chandramukhi's brothel permanently and becomes an alcoholic.
        When Paro hears that Devdas' father is on his death bed, despite his past cruelties to Devdas and herself, she rushes to his bedside to offer comfort. He asks to see his son Devdas, but Devdas only arrives later, drunk, at his father's funeral.
        Eventually, Devdas becomes so ill that the slightest dose of alcohol could kill him. He returns to the family home to heal, and discovers that his sister-in-law has stolen his mother's keys to the family safe. He confronts his sister-in-law and brother demanding they return the keys. An altercation ensues, and when his mother appears asking what is going on, the sister-in-law claims that Devdas had stolen the keys. His mother again believes the sister-in-law and sides against Devdas. Without denouncing the true culprits, Devdas leaves, banished.
        News of Dev's alcoholism reaches Paro, who arrives at Chandramukhi's brothel and angrily accuses her of manipulating Devdas into drinking. She soon realizes, however, that Chandramukhi deeply cares for Devdas. Chandramukhi urges Paro to convince Devdas to stop drinking; Paro attempts to persuade him, but Devdas remains stubborn. He promises Paro that before he dies, he will come to her doorstep one last time.
        Paro invites Chandramukhi, whom she has befriended, to a celebration of Durga Puja at her husband's home and introduces Chandramukhi to her in-laws without revealing her profession. However, Bhuvan's ill-natured son-in-law Kalibabu (Milind Gunaji), a frequent visitor to Chandramukhi's brothel who made inappropriate advances towards Paro, reveals Chandramukhi's background and humiliates her in front of Bhuvan and the guests. He also tells Bhuvan of Paro's relationship with Devdas. As a result, Bhuvan punishes Paro by permanently forbidding her from leaving the mansion.
        Devdas tells Chandramukhi that he loves her but that she must let him go. He decides to travel the country; while on a train, he meets his old friend Chunnibabu, who urges him to drink in the name of friendship. Devdas drinks knowing full well it will be fatal.
        On the verge of death, Devdas travels to Paro's house to honor his promise, collapsing under a tree in front of the main gate. Paro at first is only told that the man outside is an anonymous traveler. She performs prayers inside the house, and as she throws flower petals on the icon, flower petals likewise fall on Devdas outside. Paro then learns that it is Devdas outside the gates, and, screaming his name, runs through the mansion and grounds attempting to reach him. Bhuvan sees this and orders the servants to shut the gates. Devdas sees a blurred image of Paro running towards him, but the gates close just before she can escape, leaving her sobbing inside. When the gate slams shut, Devdas dies, whispering Paro's name with his last breath. At the same time, the lamp that Paro had lit for him flickers out.

        Cast

        Location and sets

        The major part of the movie was filmed at Dharavi, Mumbai, recreating the early 20th century Calcutta.  Chandramukhi's kotha was constructed next to an artificial lake, to make it look like a set in Benaras on the Ganges.  A temple city surrounded the set, for which inspiration was taken from the Dilwara Temples in Rajasthan.  For the creation of Paro's room in a haveli 12,20,00,008 pieces of stained glass were used.  Additionally, there were a few accidents on set during the making, resulting in the death of 2 people.

        Soundtrack

        Devdas
        Studio album by Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr
        Released March 2002
        Genre Soundtrack/Filmi
        Length 183 minutes
        Label Universal
        Ismail Darbar chronology
        Deewangee
        (2002)
        Devdas
        (2002)
        Shakti: The Power
        (2002)
        Professional ratings
        Review scores
        Source Rating
        Planet Bollywood 9/10 stars 
        The film soundtrack was predominately composed by Ismail Darbar while lyrics are penned by Nusrat Badr, Prakash Kapadi and Pandit Birju Maharajand. It features playback singers Shreya Ghoshal (as Parvati), Kavita Krishnamurthy (as Chandramukhi), and Udit Narayan (as Devdas). Shreya Ghoshal made her Bollywood debut through this film. She caught the attention of Ismail Darbar when she participated in Sa Re Ga Ma Pa competition. She was also able to impress Bhansali when she sang bhajan of Lata Mangeshkar.  She sang five songs in the album, which won her much critical acclaim and several accolades.
        Aniket Joshi of Planet Bollywood gave 9 stars stating, "Rarely have we an album where ALL the songs are perfectly sung, Devdas is such an album."
        Track # Song Singer (s) Composition/Lyrics Length
        1 "Silsila Ye Chaahat Ka" Shreya Ghoshal Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 05:26
        2 "Maar Dala" Kavita Krishnamurthy & K.K. Prakash Kapadia & Nusrat Badr 04:39
        3 "Bairi Piya" Udit Narayan & Shreya Ghoshal Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 05:22
        4 "Kaahe Chhed Mohe" Pt. Birju Maharaj, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Madhuri Dixit Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 05:22
        5 "Chalak Chalak" Udit Narayan, Vinod Rathod & Shreya Ghoshal Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 05:12
        6 "Hamesha Tumko Chaha" Kavita Krishnamurthy & Udit Narayan Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 06:02
        7 "Woh Chand Jaisi Ladki" Udit Narayan Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 04:32
        8 "Morey Piya" Jaspinder Narula & Shreya Ghoshal Sameer 05:40
        9 "Dev's Last Journey - The Theme" Rashmi Sharma, Supriya Raghav Chatterjee Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr - Music: Monty 04:09
        10 "Dola Re Dola" Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shreya Ghoshal & K.K.. Ismail Darbar & Nusrat Badr 06:36

        Awards

        Filmfare Awards
        Devdas won ten awards at the 2002 Filmfare Awards, and was the fourth film to win the four major awards (Best Movie, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress).
        National Film Awards
        Devdas won five awards at the 2002 national awards:
        Star Screen Awards
        Devdas won five awards at the 2002 Star Screen Awards:
        IIFA Awards
        Devdas won six awards at the 2003 IIFA Awards:
        MTV Asia Awards
        Devdas won the 2003 Asian Film Award. 
        British Academy Film Awards
        Devdas was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 2003.

        Box office

        Devdas grossed INR535 million (US$8.9 million) and was declared an all time blockbuster at the Indian box office by Box Office India.  The film was the highest grossing film of 2002.  It grossed INR843.0 million (US$14 million) worldwide.  When adjusted for inflation its total gross worldwide is INR1.55 billion (US$26 million).   It opened strongly at multiplexes in Mumbai with a whopping 100% occupancy at theatres.







        Swades: We, the People (Hindi: स्वदेश, pronounced [sʋəˈd̪eːʃ], own country) is a 2004 Indian film written, produced and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Gayatri Joshi in her first film. Although a failure at the Indian box office, it was successful overseas and received universal critical acclaim and a cult following from Indian and other South Asian audiences around the world.   The film was featured on Rediff's list of the 10 Best Bollywood Films of the decade.  It was later dubbed and released in Tamil under the title Desam.

        Plot

        Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan) is a NRI working as a Project Manager at NASA. He had been a student at the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school. After the death of his parents and twelve years in the US, he decides to return to his village, in India to find his nanny, Kaveri Amma (Kishori Balal), with whom he has lost touch. After visiting the Old-Age home where Kaveri Amma resided, he finds out through her friend, Kaveri Amma was taken to a village Charanpur. Along the way, he meets a number of interesting people; there's the village postmaster, eager to know more about e-mails and the Internet, while also having a keen hobby of wrestling; the ex-freedom fighter who teaches history at the local school and is a lone voice of reason amongst the village elders; there's also a cook who harbors ambitions of opening a dhaba on a US freeway, and sees in Mohan an opportunity to get a visa.
        While Mohan soon adapts to life in the village and endears himself to its people, he also develops a cat and mouse romance with his childhood acquaintance Gita (Gayatri Joshi), who actually brought Kaveri Amma from the Old-Age Home to be with her and her brother, Chiku. Gradually he also encounters some of harsher aspects of the village; among them are poverty, caste discrimination, child marriage, illiteracy, child labor, a general disregard for education and an apathy to change. He tries in his own way to bring about some change, even succeeding to the point of dissuading the village elders from moving the local school to smaller and far-away premises. In doing this, he earns the respect of Gita, who also runs the local school.
        One day Kaveri Amma sends him to a village called Kodi to collect dues from a farmer named Haridas who has rented Gita's land. Along the way, Mohan realizes that the problems he had seen in the village mirror those faced by almost all other villages in the country. Haridas, the farmer who owes rent, has no money to feed his own family, mainly because the villagers would not support his attempts at a change of occupation from weaving to farming. Mohan returns empty handed, but is full of a new sensitivity and perspective towards the harsh realities of rural India. This journey to Kodi and back proves to be the turning point in Mohan's life and he comes back with a resolve to improve the quality of life of the villagers.
        He enlists the support of a few hundred men and guides them through the building of a reservoir beneath a perennial spring on a nearby hill. Buying turbines and other equipment with his own money, he sets up a small hydro-electric power plant that would solve the problem of irregular electricity and make the village self-sufficient.
        By then, it's time for him to leave as his project at NASA is nearing its final stage. Kaveri Amma, whom he had intended to take along with him, refuses to come citing the difficulty of adapting to a new culture at such a late stage in her life. Gita, whom he had fallen in love with and who had fallen in love with him, also refuses to come with him, wanting to remain in the country and continue running the school that her parents had founded. He returns alone but feels a growing sense of responsibility towards his country and guilt for not being able to do much for the welfare of its people. He finishes his project at NASA before resigning and returning to India.

        Production

        Motivation

        Swades is inspired by the story of Aravinda Pillalamarri and Ravi Kuchimanchi, the NRI couple who returned to India and developed the pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools.[6][7][8] Gowarikar spent considerable time with Aravinda and Ravi, both dedicated Association for India's Development (AID) volunteers. He supposedly visited Bilgaon, an Adivasi village in the Narmada valley, which is the backdrop of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) movement. The people of Bilgaon are credited with doing 200 person-days of shramdaan (community service) to make their village energy self-sufficient. The Bilgaon project is recognised as a model for replication by the government of Maharashtra. Shubham Gupta was also the character[who?] in that movie.[which?]
        Many film critics familiar with South Indian cinema allege that Swades is a remake of the Kannada film Chigurida Kanasu, based on a novel of the same name by K. Shivaram Karanth, a playwright and Jnanpith Award recipient. This claim was repudiated by Swades writer M. G. Sathya who said that he had been working on the story since the 1980s. The rudimentary theme of the film, however, resembles the Kannada literary masterpiece.

        Themes

        Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi noted the theme of Gandhism in the film.  The name of the main character portrayed by Shahrukh Khan is Mohan, which was Mahatma Gandhi's birth name (Mohandas or "Mohan"). Swades opens with the following quotation from Gandhi:
        Hesitating to act because the whole vision might not be achieved, or because others do not yet share it, is an attitude that only hinders progress.
        Gowariker tries to address the lack of a scientific temperament and widespread ignorance among the rural folks through the energetic number "Ye Tara Wo Tara" where Mohan is seen encouraging the children to experience the fascinating world of stars through his telescope. In a symbolic manner, the song rejects the defunct divisions of casted and class and at the same time, through its protagonist, tries to instill in the audience an appreciation of curiosity and observation.

        Casting and filming


        Panorama of Menawali, the village in Maharashtra where Swades was shot
        The role of Mohan was first offered to Hrithik Roshan who refused after reading the script.  Then Shahrukh Khan got this offer from Ashutosh Gowariker.
        Swades was the first Indian film to be shot inside the NASA research center at the Launch Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   The rainfall monitoring satellite known as the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) in the film is an actual NASA mission and was launched in 2014. 

        Reception

        Critical reception

        The film received overwhelmingly strong critical acclaim from critics. Most of the critics felt that Shahrukh Khan's performance in Swades was his best performance till date. Subhash K Jha of Indiatimes Movies gave 4.5 stars out of 5 and said "Swades is a unique experiment with grassroot realism. It is so politically correct in its propagandist message that initially you wonder if the government of India funded the director's dream."
        Mayank Shekhar from MiD DAY gave 4 stars and called it 'bravo!' and added "I cannot think of a better film for the longest that deserved a stronger recommendation for both touring cinemas of India's villages, and plush multiplexes of Mumbai or Manhattan." Jitesh Pillai of the Sunday Times of India gave 4 stars and said "After Lagaan, what? The answer's blowing in the wind. Swades. Here's the verdict: This is a gusty and outstanding film. Welcome back to real, solid film-making." He added "Swades is undoubtedly the No 1 movie of the year." Shradha Sukumaran of Mid-Day gave 3.5 stars and said "At the end of it, Swades is a far braver film than Lagaan. It could have hit the high note — if it hadn't tried so hard."
        Swades went on to become a cult classic and currently holds a rating of 8.5 out of 10 on the Internet Movie Database, and Khan's performance as Mohan Bhargava is considered one of his best by many.
        Avijit Ghosh wrote in The Telegraph, Kolkata, "With its gentle humour, the film acts as an entertaining vehicle for social change. And hopefully, it will do more for positive nationalism than the Union government's Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) ads ever will. Few recent Bollywood films have songs so beautifully integrated with the script. If only debutante Gayatri Joshi could emote, many scenes could have had so much more spark. Acting out a village school teacher with a mind of her own needed a new millennium Nutan, not a pretty, slimline dummy. Swades is naive. But it is also decent, chaste and brave. Only the boldest of filmmakers can make a mainstream movie where the climax is not about saving the country from terrorists or uniting desperate lovers but getting electricity to a north Indian village. 

        Box office

        Swades grossed INR152.5 million (US$2.5 million) in India and was given the verdict of a flop.  Many attributed this to its competition with Veer-Zaara, another Shahrukh Khan film, which had released on Diwali only three weeks earlier and was still continuing to garner strong box office collections. However, in the overseas market Swades made $2,790,000 and was given the verdict of a semi-hit.  Swades had a lifetime worldwide gross of INR342.6 million (US$5.7 million).
        Swades was Shahrukh Khan's first flop after many years; in that year he had two other major hits—Main Hoon Na and Veer-Zaara.

        Soundtrack

        Swades
        Soundtrack album by A.R.Rahman
        Released 2004
        Recorded Panchathan Record Inn
        Genre Feature film soundtrack
        Label T-Series
        Producer A.R. Rahman
        A.R.Rahman chronology
        Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa
        (2004)
        Swades
        (2004)
        Kisna: The Warrior Poet
        (2004)
        Professional ratings
        Review scores
        Source Rating
        Planet Bollywood 9/10 stars link
        A. R. Rahman's soundtrack was acclaimed by critics and audiences. His background score won him the Filmfare award. However, he lost the Filmfare award for Best Music Director to Anu Malik. It remains the only time he has been nominated for the award and not won. Udit Narayan won the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the track "Yeh Tara Woh Tara". All lyrics written by Javed Akhtar, all music composed by A. R. Rahman.
        No. Title Artist(s) Length
        1. "Yeh Taara Woh Taara"   Udit Narayan, Master Vignesh, Baby Pooja 7:13
        2. "Saanwariya Saanwariya"   Alka Yagnik 5:17
        3. "Yun Hi Chala Chala"   Udit Narayan, Kailash Kher, Hariharan 7:28
        4. "Aahista Aahista"   Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam 6:49
        5. "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera"   A. R. Rahman 6:28
        6. "Pal Pal Hai Bhaari"   Madhushree, Vijay Prakash 6:50
        7. "Dekho Na"   Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan 5:46
        8. "Pal Pal Hai Bhaari" (Flute) Naveen 3:38
        9. "Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera" (Shehnai) Madhukar T. Dhumal ( musician ), 4:00

        Tamil Version

        The Tamil soundtrack under the title Desam  was also composed by A.R. Rahman. Lyrics were written by Vairamuthu and Vaali.
        Title Singer(s) Length
        Thirukona Moolam S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Master Vignesh, Baby Pooja 7:13
        Kaaviriya Kaaviriya Madhushree, Alka Yagnik(Humming) 5:17
        Unnai Kelai T.L. Maharajan, Hariharan 7:28
        Kettenaa Naan Sukhwinder Singh, Sadhana Sargam 6:49
        Unthan Desathin Kural A. R. Rahman 6:28
        Mazhai Mega Vanna Chithra, Srinivas 6:50
        Thai Sonna K.J. Yesudas, madhushree 5:46
        Unthan Desathin Kural (Shehnai) Madhukar T. Dhumal ( musician ), 4:00

        Awards

        National Film Awards
        Filmfare Awards
        Global Indian Film Awards
        Zee Cine Awards
        Star Screen Awards
        Stardust Awards
        Bollywood Movie Awards
        Film Café Awards
        Rupa Cinegoers Awards for Jury Best Actor

        See also





        Chak De! India (English: Go India!) is a 2007 Hindi-language Indian sports drama film about field hockey in India. Directed by Shimit Amin and produced by Yash Raj Films, with action by Rob Miller of ReelSports, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team. In the plot, after a disastrous loss to the Pakistan hockey team, Khan is ostracised from the sport. He and his mother are further forced from their ancestral home by angry neighbours. Seven years later in an attempt to redeem himself, Khan becomes the coach for the India women's national field hockey team with the goal of turning its sixteen contentious players to win the women hockey world cup. His team at first hates him due to his strict training regime (and attempts to make them work as a team) and pressurises him to resign.But soon his team realises its mistake and apologises to him. He then convinces the administration to allow the women's team for world cup and wins the world cup astonishing everyone and leading the women's team to the Gold, Khan restores his reputation and returns with his mother to their home, welcomed by those who had shunned them years before.
        Chak De! India explores religious bigotry, the legacy of the partition of India, ethnic and regional prejudice, and sexism in contemporary India through field hockey. Production for the film began after Jaideep Sahni decided to write a fictional screenplay based on the winning of the Gold by the Indian women's field hockey team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games after reading about it in the newspaper.   Thus the characters, while inspired by the real team and coaches, were invented by Sahni. Although some media outlets compared Kabir Khan to real-life hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi, Sahani has stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental.
        Made on a budget of INR240 million (US$4.0 million), Chak De! India earned a worldwide gross revenue of INR1056.5 million (US$18 million). By the end of its theatrical run, Box Office India declared the film a "blockbuster." It also became the third highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2007. Chak De! India was critically acclaimed and went on to win numerous awards in the Best Film category including the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
        The suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation in April 2008 emphasised the film's influence. After a new hockey council was formed, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan, stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force."

        Plot

        Chak De! India opens in Delhi during the final minutes of a (fictional) Hockey World Cup match between Pakistan and India, with Pakistan leading, 1–0. When the Indian team captain, Kabir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is fouled, he elects to take the penalty stroke himself. His strike, however, flies just above the goal and India suffers a crushing defeat. Soon after the match ends, the media begins to circulate a photograph of Khan accepting a handshake from the captain of the Pakistan team. This action leads to a nation-wide smear campaign which alleged that Khan (who is a Muslim)  might have "thrown" the game in an act of sympathy towards Pakistan. The religious prejudice exhibited towards Khan by the entire society at large   forces him and his mother (Joyoshree Arora) out of their ancestral home and into exile. Seven years later, Mr. Tripathi (Anjan Srivastav), the head of India's Hockey association, meets with Khan's friend and hockey advocate Uttamaji (Mohit Chauhan), to discuss the Indian women's hockey team. Tripathi argues the team has no future since, the only long term role for women is to "cook and clean." Uttamaji, however, informs him that Kabir Khan (whom no one has seen for seven years) wants to coach the team. Though initially sceptical, Tripathi ultimately agrees to this arrangement.
        Khan thus finds himself in charge of a group of 16 young women from various sections of India, who are divided by their own competitive natures and individual prejudices. While Komal Chautala (Chitrashi Rawat) from Haryana, conflicts with Preeti Sabarwal (Sagarika Ghatge) from Chandigarh, Balbir Kaur (Tanya Abrol) from Punjab has an extremely short temper and bullies Rani Dispotta (Seema Azmi) and Soimoi Kerketa (Nisha Nair), belonging to the remote villages in Jharkhand. Mary Ralte (Kimi Laldawla) from Mizoram and Molly Zimik (Masochon "Chon Chon" Zimik) from Manipur (in North-East India) are both treated as "foreigners" by virtually everyone they meet and face repeated sexual harassment. The team's captain, Vidya Sharma (Vidya Malvade), is forced to choose between hockey and the wishes of her husband Rakesh's (Nakul Vaid) family, while Preeti's fiancé, Abimanyu Singh (Vivan Bhatena), the (fictional) vice captain of the India national cricket team, is deeply threatened by her involvement with the team.
        Khan realises that he can only unite the girls if they develop the discipline to work as a team. This leads him to have his assistant Krishnaji (Vibha Chhibber) bench a number of players during the first few days, including the most experienced player, Bindia Naik (Shilpa Shukla). In response, Bindia engineers a revolt which leads Khan to resign. As a gesture of good will, Khan, however, invites Krishnaji, the team manager Sukhlal (Javed Khan), and the girls to a farewell lunch. During the lunch, a few boys start teasing Mary, leading to a large brawl between the girls and the boys. The quarrel, however, unites the girls and destroys their anger towards Khan. They request him to remain as their coach. Khan, impressed by the display of their team spirit, eventually agrees and further trains them on various aspects.
        Their newly found unity is, however, challenged by Tripathi who suddenly decides that the women's team will not go to Australia for "The World Championship." Khan, however, forces him to agree to a challenge match with the men's team on condition that if the girls win, they will be allowed to go to Australia. The girls eventually lose the match, but their courageous performance is well praised by the men's team and forces Tripathi to change his mind and send them to Australia. During "The World Cup", the girls compete against teams such as the Hockeyroos (Australia), the Black Sticks Women (New Zealand), the Las Leonas (Argentina), and the South Korean team among others. While still working to overcome their differences, the girls eventually learn to act as a single unit, leading them to win the Championship. In doing so, they not only destroyed the prejudices which once separated them, but also proved to their families and country the merits of women's hockey. Khan, restoring his reputation and proving his mettle, returns his ancestral home with his mother, welcomed by the once angry neighbours.

        Cast

        General

        Chak De girls

        Shortly after the film's release, the media began referring to the 16 actresses who portrayed members of the team as the Chak De girls.   The panel of judges at the Screen Awards also used this term when they awarded the 2008 Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress to the Chak De girls.
        Actor Character Portrayed State Position
        Anaitha Nair Aliya Bose West Bengal Right Out, No. 7
        Tanya Abrol Balbir Kaur Punjab Full back, No. 3
        Shilpa Shukla Bindiya Naik Indian Railways Center half, No. 5
        Arya Menon Gul Iqbal Uttar Pradesh Left, No. 10
        Shubhi Mehta Gunjan Lakhani Andhra Pradesh Right HalfM, No. 4
        Chitrashi Rawat Komal Chautala Haryana Right In, No. 8
        Kimi Laldawla Mary Ralte Mizoram Defender, No. 15.
        Masochon Zimik Molly Zimik Manipur Left Half (back), No. 6
        Sandia Furtado Nethra Reddy Andhra Pradesh Left Out, No. 11
        Nichola Sequeira Nichola Sequeira Maharashtra Bench /Utility player, No. 12
        Sagarika Ghatge Preeti Sabarwal Chandigarh Center Forward, No. 9
        Kimberly Miranda Rachna Prasad Bihar Utility player, No. 14
        Seema Azmi Rani Dispotta Jharkhand Right Defender, No. 2
        Raynia Mascerhanas Raynia Fernandes Maharashtra Utility player, No. 16
        Nisha Nair Soimoi Kerketa Jharkhand Defense, No. 17
        Vidya Malvade Vidya Sharma M.P. Captain and Goalie, No. 18

        Production

        Development

        Many of the incidents shown in the movie are true. How the coach actually throws a girl out when she is not listening, and then goes out himself and there are three to four other girls also standing there because they disobeyed his instructions. The actual game-situations we had to actually challenge another team after being disallowed from participating in an international tournament's qualifiers, and give it in writing, that we will qualify [...] And lastly the coach's portrayal, he goes to the match on a scooter. The team wins, but he still returns on a scooter.
        —Kaushik on Chak De! India
        A short article about the winning of the Gold by the women's team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games inspired screenwriter Jaideep Sahni to create a film about the Indian Women's Hockey Team.  Director Shimit Amin noted the lack of coverage of the women's team by the media and stated that "there are a lot of odds these players are up against".
        The screenplay drew from interviews with current members of the women's field hockey team as well as the coaches. Sahni noted that, "the story of Chak De was deeply inspired by the real life story of ex Chief National Coach Maharaj Krishan Kaushik and his Indian Women's hockey team's real feat of winning the Commonwealth and many other championships."  Kaushik subsequently suggested hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi's name to the production crew. After Sahini approached them both, Kaushik and Negi became involved with the development of the film. While not initially enthusiastic about being involved in the film, Negi changed his mind after reading the screenplay.
        The media often compared the character of Kabir Khan to Negi (who faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan during the 1982 Asian Games).    In response Negi commented that, "this movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life".  Sahani has also stated that he was unaware of Negi's tribulations while writing the script and that the resemblance with Negi's life was coincidental.

        Casting and filming

        Salman Khan was initially signed to do the lead role, but later withdrew due to creative difference with the director  The role was confirmed for ShahRukh, who had initially refused it when it was offered to him by producer Aditya Chopra due to a conflicting schedule at the time when he was working on Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. However, because of the long process taken for pre-production works, he was able to take up the part.  In an interview with Rediff, Khan stated that he also accepted the role of Kabir Khan because he liked "the thought of a film whose plot is about women [...] I think young women should be encouraged in every field of life. It's difficult being a woman and that's why I try do such films every year."  In addition, he was a hockey player during his college days and aspired to be a professional hockey player before he suffered a back injury.  Khan noted that while this background helped him during the filming, he also felt that the experience of playing again after a long time was "very difficult and different". Khan tore a hamstring three days before the filming was over. 
        Khan's role is described as offbeat because it departed from his usual onscreen romantic image and didn't include any lip syncing songs and no female lead.  The casting of the actresses to portray the hockey players took over six months. Amin described the process as "very, very difficult" and "very strenuous because the requirement was they had to play – and act". A training camp was set up for four months, and the girls had to learn the rules of the game, take acting lessons and go through a strict diet. Moreover, precautions were taken to make sure of the safety of the actors.  He noted: "Learning hockey is very tricky unlike, say, football. You have to know how to hold the stick, how to manoeuvre it, so it doesn't look fake on screen (...) For those who were originally players, we had to make sure they were able to act as well. The dialogue was weighty; it isn't frivolous. It has to be delivered with a certain tone, in a certain manner." The actors, including Khan and the rest of the supporting cast went through a lot of rehearsals and script readings before principal photography began.
        Kaushik and his team taught the crew "all [they] knew about hockey." In an interview, Kaushik stated, "I taught him (Sahni) everything about the game, starting from how the camp is conducted, how the girls come from different backgrounds and cultures, the psychological factors involved. Also how the coach faces pressure to select girls from different states and teams."  After Negi's name was suggested, the latter assembled a team of hockey players to train the girls in the film.
        Negi coached the cast stating, "I trained the girls for six months. Waking up at 4, traveling from Kandivili to Churchgate. We would retire around 11 in the night. It was tiring. But we were on a mission [...] They couldn't run; couldn't hold the hockey sticks. I ensured none of them [would have to] cut their nails or eyebrows (as the players do). The girls have worked very hard. I salute them."  Some of the actors such as Chitrashi, Sandia, and Raynia were cast because they were actual hockey players.  ReelSports, under the direction of Sport Action Director Rob Miller,   also worked with Negi to train the girls and Khan for the film. Of working with Khan, Negi recalled that everything was planned, "including the penalty stroke that SRK missed. That shot alone took us nearly 20 hours as I was keen that it should be very realistic. I took the help of a lot of my former teammates. But more importantly, it was so easy working with SRK. He is unbelievably modest and was willing to do as many re-takes as we wanted." 
        Chak De! India was filmed in India and Australia (Sydney and Melbourne). ReelSports Solutions cast 90 hockey players and 9,000 extras for the film.

        Soundtrack

        Chak De! India
        Soundtrack album by Salim-Sulaiman
        Released 1 August 2007
        Genre Film soundtrack
        Length 28:92
        Label YRF Music Sony Music
        Producer Salim-Sulaiman
        Salim-Sulaiman chronology
        Dor
        (2006)
        Chak De! India
        (2007)
        Aaja Nachle
        (2007)
        The soundtrack for Chak De! India was released on 1 August 2007 and is composed by Salim-Sulaiman with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni. Salim Merchant commented in a 29 February 2012 interview that the title song, "Chak De! India," "almost became the sports anthem of the country, especially after India won the Cricket World Cup. It was no longer our song but the country's song."   Salim-Sulaiman composed the song with this intention.
        No. Title Singers Length
        1. "Chak De! India"   Sukhwinder Singh, Salim Merchant, Marianne D'Cruz 4:43
        2. "Badal Pe Paaon Hai[39]"   Hema Sardesai 4:05
        3. "Ek Hockey Doongi Rakh Ke[40]"   KK, Shahrukh Khan 5:36
        4. "Bad Bad Girls"   Anushka Manchanda 3:39
        5. "Maula Mere Le Le Meri Jaan"   Salim Merchant, Krishna Beura 4:47
        6. "Hockey – Remix"   Midival Punditz 5:17
        7. "Sattar Minute"   Shahrukh Khan 2:05

        Release

        Chak De! India had its international premiere on 9 August 2007 at Somerset House in London as a part of the India Now festival, a three-month season celebrating India's culture and its contribution to London life.   It premiered globally in cinemas in 10 August 2007. In India, the film was released in 400 screens, a relatively minimal number at the time, which was a result of the commercial failure of previous releases by Yash Raj Films.
        The film was screened on 30 May 2009 at the opening of the SPAR Cup in Durban, South Africa to welcome the Indian Women's National Field Hockey Team.  The SPAR Cup is a lead up to the 2009 Hockey Champions Challenge in October. India competed against three other teams: Hockeyroos, Las Leonas, and the South African Women's National Field Hockey Team.  It was also invited to be screened at the 21st Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) held in 18–26 October 2008. Among the 790 films from 72 countries, Chak De! was showcased in the Winds of Asia-Middle East section which features some of the outstanding films from East Asia, South East Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.  On 30 August 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requested a copy of the Chak De! India script for a place in the Margaret Herrick library.

        Home media

        The DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released by Yash Raj Films on 3 November 2007 as a 2 disc pack with subtitles in English, Arabic, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Tamil and Malayalam languages. The companion disc with special features included 32 minutes of deleted scenes (without subtitles), music videos, a documentary on the making of the film, and guest appearances by the Chak De Girls and members of the India women's national field hockey team on CNN-IBN and NDTV.

        Reception

        Critical reception

        Chak De! India was critically acclaimed in India and abroad.

        India

        Subhash K. Jha gave the film a rave review stating, "First things first! "Chak De India" is an outright winner. A triumph of the spirit, and of craftsmanship! While director Shimit Amin of "Ab Tak Chhappan" fame has crafted a film with immense staying power and exceptional integrity and gusto, the thought-process behind the endearing endeavour harks back to a series of well-crafted Hollywood films about team spirit, the low-spirited team and the burnt-out disgraced and exiled coach who motivates the team and galvanises his own dormant spirit into a wide-alert status."  Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and argues that it has "great performances by a bunch of unknowns, a gritty pace and a marvellous restraint make Chakde India an unbridled ode to patriotism without any hysterical chest-beating. And yes, for all you SRK fans and bashers, this time the verdict gotta be unanimous: Chakde Shah Rukh! Can you better this?"   India Today describes Chak De! India as, "the most feisty girl power movie to have come out of Bollywood ever. The girls, from the truculent Haryanvi Komal to the angry Bindiya, from the Punjabi Balbir to the very proper Punjabi, Chandigarh ki kudi Preeti, may be drawn from stereotypes but they shatter them with aggressive performances, staring Khan in the eye, almost defeating the Indian men's hockey team, assaulting a gang of boys and showing the six-time Australian team a thing or two about how to win."  Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu asks "when did we last make a solid ensemble film about sports – one that's not about a few players saving the day but about the triumph of teamwork? Chak De is that rare film where the hero watches from the stands and lets a bunch of 'what's-her-name-again' girls do all the winning [...] At another level, Chak De is about women's liberation. It is one of the best feminist films of our times. Next, the girls themselves are the closest we've seen to a representation of India in any sports movie we've seen. They are not 16 pretty young things. The casting is first-rate. The rawness in the performances actually makes you forget these are actors. Though we begin by warming up to the ethnic/race differences among the players, soon enough, Amin skirts their inter-racial conflicts behind the uniform, the great leveller."  Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated that "Chak De's... a winner all the way," he further added: "it's an immensely satisfying movie experience, I'm going to go with four out of five and two thumbs up for director Shimit Amin's Chak De India."  Apart from critics, Chak De! India tied with Taare Zameen Par for the Best film of 2007 according to various Bollywood movie directors such as Madhur Bhandarkar, David Dhawan, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Anurag Basu, and Sriram Raghavan.

        Overseas

        Anil Sinanan of The Times adds that, "First time director Shimit Amin has fashioned a gripping film: we keep rooting for our girls even though it is fairly obvious what the final result will be. This is achieved via a script which eliminates most of the usual trappings of the formula, and focuses on the game. Romance is absent, parents are sidelined and no one breaks out into song and dance, Lagaan-style whilst training."  Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC gave Chak De! India 4 out of 5 stars stating that, "while the tale of the sporting underdog is hardly new, Jaideep Sahni's screenplay-offers a rare look at a popular Indian sport often overshadowed by cricket. But it's not the type of bat and ball, or the number of practice sessions that are at issue here. Instead, the gender and personal prejudices of the players underpin the story."  Andy Webster of The New York Times argues that the film gave a fresh look to the conventional underdog sports film and compared the premise to the win at the FIFA Women's World Cup.[58] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and describes it as "A rare mainstream Indian movie without musical numbers (though it features original songs), Shimit Amin and Jaideep Sahni's inspirational sports drama shoulders an unusually heavy thematic load, including the quest for personal redemption of a disgraced athlete, second-rate treatment of women's teams and the need for modern India to set aside inter-state and -faith rivalries in favor of loyalty to a united nation."  Derek Elley of Variety describes the film as "a patriotic heartwarmer that scores some old-fashioned entertainment goals" and that it "is almost an anthem for India's new-found economic clout and its recent 60th-anniversary celebrations of independence from U.K. rule – and it gets a stirring title song from composing team Salim-Sulaiman and lyricist Jaideep Sahni (who also scripted). Thus, it's hardly a surprise when the team of 16 girls from all over India finally get it together to beat the bejeezus out of their international opponents."

        Box office

        Upon release, the film recorded a below average opening in India. This lower-than-expected occupancy level was an outcome of its limited release in various territories including West Bengal.  However, due to the strong critical response the film received, collections increased with the final outcome of over 80% occupancy for the weekend.  Subsequently, Chak De! India was granted tax exemptions by the state of Bihar (which reduced tickets prices).  The film's box office collections increased and it eventually grossed INR220 million (US$3.7 million) in its first week.  By the end of its theatrical run, Chak De! India became the third highest grossing film of 2007 in India, with revenues of INR676.9 million (US$11 million) domestically.  Box Office India declared it a "Blockbuster."
        Chak De! India opened at number 20 in the US, number 11 in the UK, and number 12 in Australia.  It earned a total of INR35 million (US$580,000) in the United Kingdom, INR45 million (US$750,000) in North America, and INR35 million (US$580,000) from the remaining overseas proceeds.

        Accolades

        Chak De! India has won numerous awards including eight for Best Film from: The Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild, The Australian Indian Film Festival, The Billie Awards, The International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), The Screen Awards, The UNFPA-Laadli Media Awards, The V. Shantaram Awards, and The Zee Cine Awards. It also received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.

        Impact

        Suspension of IHF

        The suspension of the Indian Hockey Federation in April 2008 emphasised the film's influence. India Today used the film to label the event in two articles titled, "Operation Chak De impact: Jothikumaran resigns"  and "Operation Chak de impact: Furore in Lok Sabha".  The Indiatimes, in an article titled, "Five wise men set for a Chak De act" also argued, "It looks like Indian hockey has done a real Chak de this time around".  In addition, former hockey player, Aslam Sher Khan, who was appointed by the Indian Olympic Association to head a committee which will replace the IHF, pointed to the film as a model to work towards. He stated in an interview, "We have to make a Team India as you have seen in bollywood blockbuster Chak De! India. There are players from several parts of the country. We have to unite them to make a powerful force."  In another interview, he emphasised that he wants "to create a Chak De effect" on hockey in India.





        My Name Is Khan, which is commonly referred to as MNIK,  is a 2010 Indian drama film directed by Karan Johar, written by Shibani Bathija and starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles. Produced by Hiroo Johar, Gauri Khan and Shahrukh Khan, the film was jointly produced by Dharma Productions and Red Chillies Entertainment at a budget of INR38 crore (US$6.3 million). My Name Is Khan's distribution rights were bought by Fox Star Entertainment for a sum of INR100 crore (US$17 million), making it the most expensive Bollywood film of 2010  and also the highest-value buy over for any Indian film, surpassing the previous record of INR90 crore (US$15 million) set by Ghajini.
        Before its release, the film generated a great deal of publicity for three main reasons: first, the many political controversies surrounding the film and its lead actor; second, Khan's presence in the film (he was last seen in a leading actor role in December 2008, when Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released); and third, the reunion of the "golden pair" of Khan and Kajol, who last appeared together in the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001.
        My Name Is Khan debuted in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on 10 February 2010.  It premiered globally in cinemas on 12 February 2010.  It was also screened as part of the 60th Berlin International Film Festival's official selection the same month.
        On its release, the film broke many box office records.  My Name Is Khan was the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas at the time. Within four weeks, the film crossed the INR70 crore (US$12 million) mark in India and became the first film of 2010 to do so and is the highest grossing film released in February. In the overseas markets, the film grossed US$23 million(INR103 crore).   My Name Is Khan is currently the 10th highest grossing Bollywood film with a worldwide gross of INR200 crore (US$33 million).   The film was released on DVD in India on 28 April 2010. Blu-ray in India, plus a DVD release worldwide followed on 10 August 2010.

        Plot

        Rizwan Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) is a Muslim child who grew up with his brother Zakir (Jimmy Shergill) and his mother Razia Khan (Zarina Wahab) in a middle-class family in the Borivali section of Mumbai. Rizwan is different from other children, however. He has certain gifts, particularly a special ability to repair mechanical things. His difference leads to special tutoring from a reclusive scholar and extra attention from his mother, both of which lead to heightened jealousy from his brother Zakir, who eventually leaves his family for a life in the United States.
        Despite this resentment, as an adult Zakir sponsors Rizwan to come and live with him in San Francisco after the death of their mother. It is at this time that Zakir's wife, Haseena (Sonya Jehan) diagnoses Rizwan with Asperger syndrome. Rizwan also begins to work for Zakir where Zakir runs 'Mehnaz Herbal Beauty Products, and in the process he meets a Hindu woman, Mandira (Kajol) and her young son, Sameer or Sam (Yuvaan Makaar), from a previous marriage. Mandira is a hairdresser. Despite Zakir's hostility to the match, Khan and Mandira marry and settle down in the fictional town of Banville. Both Mandira and Sameer take Rizwan's last name as their own. They also live next door to the Garrick family. Sameer is close to their young son, Reese (Kenton Duty and Michael Arnold) while Mark (Dominic Renda) is a reporter and Sarah (Katie A. Keane) is a friend of Mandira.
        The Khans' perfect existence gets disrupted, however, after the September 11 attacks. Mark goes to cover the War in Afghanistan and dies there, much to both Sarah and Reese's distress. At the same time, the Khan family begins to experience post 9–11 prejudice in their community, and Reese begins to turn against an older Sam (Arjan Aujla) as well. One afternoon, an argument between them turns into a racially motivated schoolyard fight between Sameer and a gang of older students. Reese, acting on behalf of Sam, tries to stop the fight, but is held back. Sam dies of a ruptured spleen in the hospital. A shattered Mandira blames Rizwan for Sam's death, stating that Sam "died only because his last name was Khan." She then tells Rizwan that she no longer wants to be with him. When he asks her what he has to do to be together with Mandira, she sarcastically tells him that he has to tell the people of the United States and the President that his name is Khan and that he is not a terrorist.
        Rizwan takes Mandira's request seriously, and thus sets out on a journey that takes him from one U.S. state to another, to first meet President George W. Bush(Brent Mendenhall) and later the new President-elect. During this quest, he travels to Wilhemina, Georgia, and befriends Mama Jenny and her son Joel. Later, in Los Angeles, he prays in a mosque and overhears violent rhetoric from Faisal Rahman (Arif Zakaria). He reports this to the FBI but there is no response at that moment. Later, while waiting in a crowd to meet President Bush and repeating again and again, "My name is Khan and I am not a terrorist," Rizwan is clubbed down, arrested and placed in a prison by police who misinterpret his statement thinking he said he was a terrorist.
        While in the prison he is interrogated as a terrorist suspect and meets the psychiatrist Radha (Sheetal Menon) who believes he is innocent. He is later released after a media campaign by some Indian student reporters Raj (Arjun Mathur) and Komal (Sugandha Garg) and Bobby Ahuja (Parvin Dabas), who prove his innocence by unearthing his attempts to inform the FBI about Faisal Rahman. After his release, he returns to hurricane-hit Wilhemina to help Mama Jenny and her son. His efforts attract media attention, and numerous Muslims come to help as well.
        At the same time, a remorseful Reese confesses to Mandira and reveals the identities of the gang who killed Sam. She informs Detective Garcia (Benny Nieves) who has been assisting her on the case, and he arrests the gang. Mandira later gets a call from Sarah to forgive Rizwan, "I've lost my husband; don't lose him."
        Mandira realizes her error, she joins Rizwan in Georgia, and their love rekindles. However, at the moment she arrives, Rizwan is stabbed by one of Faisal Rahman's followers (Sumeet Raghavan), who accuses him of being a traitor to Islam, and Rizwan is rushed to the hospital. With Mandira's help, Rizwan survives and meets the new President-elect Barack Obama(Christopher B. Duncan) who tells him, "Your name is Khan and you are not a terrorist." The film concludes with Rizwan and Mandira going back home.

        Cast

        Production

        Themes

        According to Karan Johar, writer, co-producer and director of My Name Is Khan, the film is about "a multitude of perspectives of the various opinions, facts, and propaganda that comes with the global issue of discrimination and intolerance towards a race of people completely unassociated with the evils of terrorism."  In an interview, Shahrukh Khan stated that My Name Is Khan is "not about terrorism, or 9/11. It’s about a relationship between two people, between an individual and the State, and between an individual and the country. In short, there are the three important components: a love story, Islam, and a mild form of autism."
        "I think it’s an exceptionally relevant time, as the unity of our nation is of paramount importance, and I am very happy to witness such a movement in front of my eyes. We are all coming together to fight for a common cause – called humanity. Everyone knows that terrorism has no religion and it will never have a religion. As a filmmaker, I believe that I have a social responsibility and I promise to fulfill that."
        Karan Johar's response to the increased unification between Hindus and Muslims in India, especially after 26/11
        Khan also noted that the film focuses on themes concerning "the relationship between the Western world and Islam and how that has changed over the past few years." He describes the film as about "the journey of one family and how it changes because of 9/11" and suggests "we touch upon that in a very unbiased and educated way."  He also stated that, "it’s not about a disabled man’s fight against disability. It’s a disabled man’s fight against the disability that exists in the world—terrorism, hatred, fighting ... My Name is Khan is also about Islam and the way the world looks at Islam but we are not taking any sides. We are only trying to say that there are only good people and bad people. There are no good Hindus, bad Hindus, good Christians, bad Christians. Either you are a good person or a bad person. Religion is not the criterion, humanity is."
        Karan Johar explained that MNIK lacked "quintessential pre-requisite elements", describing it as "a story with a strong message, professing humanity and goodness and putting it out on a big cinematic scale." He also affirmed that the film would "open windows and doors to many people who have stories to tell and are shy to put their story on the celluloid." When asked about comparisons between the film and the 2009 release Kurbaan, noting that both have dealt with similar topics, he added: "I'd say that Kurbaan didn't have 'hope', whereas MNIK had 'hope'. Kurbaan was more darker, grittier and a grey look at a situation, whereas MNIK is a hopeful, far more positive and a lot more positivity in its finishing reels with a triumph to the human spirit. Kurbaan was very cinematic and interesting in its approach but it didn't offer a solution. Rather it just tells the problem. MNIK offers you that solution."

        Casting and filming

        Production of the film took place in India and the United States. Filming began in Los Angeles during December 2008   and one of the locations used was UCLA.  Johar next continued production in Mumbai during April 2009.  During June 2009, production moved to San Francisco  and the Bay Area, where they filmed a key scene at the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.
        Shahrukh Khan and Kajol were cast in the lead roles, reuniting them after many years.   The film faced a temporary setback in late December when actor Aamir Bashir was denied a visa to the United States.  He was eventually replaced by Jimmy Shergill as Khan's younger brother.  Although Shabana Azmi was originally cast as Shahrukh Khan's mother  she left the production after his shoulder injury delayed the filming schedule.   She was replaced in the role by Zarina Wahab.  Tanay Chheda portrayed Shahrukh Khan's character as a child living in the Borivali section of Mumbai.  Chheda was chosen because he resembles Khan and because he is recognisable to an international audience after portraying "middle Jamal" in Slumdog Millionaire.  He had earlier worked with Khan in the remake of the 1970s superhit Don: The Chase Begins Again. American actor Christopher B. Duncan was chosen to portray President Barack Obama.   Duncan is known for his interpretation of Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
        Johar had difficulties finding a mosque to film in. According to actor Arif Zakaria, "I don't know if Karan tried to get permission in Mumbai. But we were to shoot in a mosque in Los Angeles and hard as Karan tried to convince the authorities that his film would not propagate anti-social values, he was denied permission [...] We finally shot the two-day scene with Shahrukh Khan on the set of a mosque constructed at The Club in Andheri."  Johar also shot for an important scene inside of the studio of CBS 5 . San Francisco's Film Commission Director Stephanie Coyote was responsible for giving permission to the crew to shoot in the film studio.  While shooting for the film, Khan suffered from severe pain in the neck and headaches which were caused by the expressions and posture of Rizwan Khan. His character in the film who has Asperger's Syndrome, has a way of jutting his neck out at a particular angle and wears an expression which has his eyebrows raised in every scene. As he would shoot for hours, he'd get severe migraines. Director Karan Johar admitted that "Shahrukh's character Rizwan had to arch his eyebrows and focus his eyes on a certain place before every take. Halfway through the shooting of the film, Shahrukh developed severe headaches as result of all the pressure it would put on his head so he had to see a neurosurgeon for that."
        After filming in Los Angeles was completed, Johar stated that, "in all my 11 years as a filmmaker I’ve never felt the experience to be so different. The content of My Name Is Khan is diametrically opposite to whatever I’ve done in the past."  He described working with both Shahrukh Khan and Kajol again as "magic. They build an inexplicable energy on screen." Johar also stated that he was "blown away by Shahrukh who had done monumental research on his autistic character in the film. I was zapped by how much he knew about the subject."
        Johar also asked Khan to co-produce the film under his production company Red Chillies Entertainment, Talking about the initiative, the director said:"we were both passionate about the subject, we said why not co-produce the film? We’ve known each other so long ... that this new initiative is just an extension of our emotions. Besides, I can never make a film without Shahrukh."

        Release

        My Name is Khan debuted in Abu Dhabi, UAE on 10 February 2010.  It released globally in cinemas on 12 February 2010.  MNIK had a two phase release. To begin with, it had a mainstream release in India coupled with a regular Diaspora release in UK, US, Gulf, Australia and various other countries. "After that in the months of April and May, we would be looking at a mainstream theatrical release in countries like Germany, Poland and other parts of North America," detailed Johar.

        Marketing


        Khan, Kajol and Johar while unveiling the first look of the film
        My Name Is Khan was screened as part of 60th Berlin International Film Festival's official selection in February 2010, but went out of competition.  The website eBay auctioned the tickets for the film's screening at the Berlin Film Festival for a record price of £1,000 each. All the tickets were sold out in five seconds.
        The first look of My Name Is Khan unveiled at a grand function at Mumbai by Johar, Khan and Kajol and was then be beamed across 70 countries worldwide on the Star TV Network.  Says Karan, "This is a first in the history of Bollywood – that the promos of a film will play across such a wide platform. And, this has mainly been made possible because of our synergy with Fox Star Studios...and also the first time a Bollywood company is tying up with a mainstream Hollywood studio. So, there are many firsts to this venture."   The trailer of the film was released at the premiere of the Hollywood film Avatar.  My Name is Khan marked the first instance of a film using the Roadblock advertising technique to market a film, in which the three-minute trailer was aired on all leading television channels simultaneously.
        "I will add that MNIK is a very special topic about humanity in the garb of a Muslim character [...] The film is made on a large canvas and the subject material is adapted in terms of humanity in a very entertaining way [...] the message of love, the way it has been shot internationally and the way of releasing it, might have all the possibilities of an international release. It is going to be released in a way no Hindi film has been released internationally before"
        Shahrukh Khan's response to questions siting the film as "international" with a "far reaching influence" that should be seen by all
        The makers of the film made various brand tie-ups to for the promotion of the film. Dish TV entered into a strategic marketing alliance with Fox Star and spend approximately INR4 crore (US$670,000) in a month-long 360 degree integrated marketing campaign which ran across all India to co-promote the brand and the movie.  Reebok created an entire MNIK footwear and apparel collection to promote the film.
        On 1 February 2010, Khan and Kajol became the first Indian movie stars to ring the opening bell of the New York stock exchange NASDAQ. They were invited by Fox Searchlight Pictures to do so as part of their promotion for My Name Is Khan.  Shahrukh Khan also appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross as part of its promotion in the UK, becoming only the second Indian after Shilpa Shetty to do so.

        Pre-release revenues

        On 7 August 2009, Karan Johar signed a deal for INR100 crore (US$17 million) with Fox Searchlight Pictures, who will market and distribute it in India (Fox Star Studios) and worldwide (Fox Searchlight).  It covers all rights except music, which has been bagged by Sony Music.  The satellite television rights for showcasing My Name Is Khan were sold to Star Plus for a sum of INR15 crore (US$2.5 million).

        Reception

        India

        My Name Is Khan received generally positive reviews by top critics in India. It received 3.7/5 at Wogma.
        Subhash K. Jha (film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood) gave My Name Is Khan a rave review arguing that Rizwan Khan "repairs almost anything, including irreparably damaged relationships. But this film about damaged lives needs no repairing. My Name Is Khan is a flawless work, as perfect in content, tone and treatment as any film can get [...] My Name Is Khan is no ordinary film. Long after the wary-of-physical-touch Rizwan has finally shaken hands with President Obama, long after the heat and dust of racial and communal hatred has settled down the core of humanism that the film secretes stays with you. Yes, we finally know what they mean by a feelgood film."  Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India also gave it five stars, describing My Name Is Khan as, "indubitably one of the most meaningful and moving films to be rolled out from the Bollywood mills in recent times."  Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave My Name Is Khan four and a half out of five stars and argues, "When a film stars two of the finest talents of the country, you expect nothing but the best. SRK, well, how does one describe his performance? To state that this is his best work so far would be cutting short the praise he truly deserves [...] Kajol is pure dynamite and casting her for this character was the most appropriate decision. No other actress could've matched SRK in histrionics the way Kajol has. In fact, SRK and Kajol complement each other wonderfully well and this film only proves it yet again. It's a powerhouse performance from this supremely talented actress."   Sarita Tanwar of Mid-Day gave the film four and a half out of five stars and described it as "near-perfect", concluding that "The Karan-Shah Rukh-Kajol combo strikes once more."
        Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave My Name Is Khan three and a half out of five stars, arguing that "the film shamelessly tugs at your heartstrings and on more than one occasion wallops you to weep. Aided by solid camerawork, tight editing and a layered story, Johar crafts an engaging, stirring saga that is earnest and noble. With this message movie in the mainstream format, the director takes a step in the right direction."  Sudhish Kamath from The Hindu wrote, "My Name is Khan is populist, yet layered with rich political subtext. It's all about types, yet every character feels real. It's about generalisations and yet it chooses to dwell on the specifics. It's all heart and spirit that you can't help but overlook the flaws and admire it."  According to BBC critic Manish Gajjar, who gave the film four out of five stars, the film is "a fiction-based film refreshingly told with realism of racial profiling on American soil. It's a rare treat for Hindi commercial cinema and a crossover audience."  Pratim D. Gupta from The Telegraph in a positive review concluded, "My Name Is Khan has conscience and courage and two heartfelt performances. It can try your patience a bit but it will not leave you untouched."  Namrata Joshi from Outlook, giving the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, described it as "a gentle, affecting and heart-warming film that makes you smile through your tears. It looks at contentious issues but offers overwhelming hope and renewal."

        United States

        The film received mostly positive reviews from American critics and media outlets. As of 21 February 2010, the film has a score of 50 out of a scale of 100 on the review aggregate website Metacritic, based on seven reviews.  Rotten Tomatoes lists an approval rating of 80%, with 4 positive and 1 negative review.
        Rachel Saltz of The New York Times states, "Khan is one of a handful of Hindi films (New York, Kurbaan) about Indians living in a paranoid, post-9/11 America, and there’s something fascinating about looking at this country through a Bollywood lens, even when the story is a kind of fairy tale. (Most interesting here is the link made between black Americans and Indians, especially Muslims.) Skilfully directed by Karan Johar and with an evocative score by Shankar, Ehsaan & Loy, Khan jerks tears with ease, while teaching lessons about Islam and tolerance."  According to Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter, My Name Is Khan is, "a film that delves compellingly into Americans' anti-Muslim hysteria" as it tackles "a subject American movies have mostly avoided – that of racial profiling and the plight of Muslim-Americans. It also allows Shah Rukh Khan to display his talent to an even wider audience. It's well worth the 162-minute journey."  Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times argues that My Name Is Khan is "a potent, energetic heart-tugger and Khan and Kajol, major Bollywood stars, are highly appealing and equal to the demand of their emotion-charged roles."  Jay Wesissberg of Variety describes My Name Is Khan as a "riotously overstuffed and enormously enjoyable drama" with "confident camerawork [which] is matched by exceptional production design" He also states that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are a "delight together and her natural warmth makes the relationship even more believable."
        My Name Is Khan was not India's official entry to the Oscars as best foreign language film, but it made it to the reminder list of films eligible for the 83rd Academy Awards.  This means that it was eligible to win in any category.

        Box office

        My Name Is Khan opened very well in most places across the world, and set many records in the process.  However, the performance of the film could not sustain beyond the first or second week in some places, including India and USA. It grossed INR727.5 million (US$12 million) domestically,  but still is generally regarded as "below expectations" due to the high price, while the overseas performance of the film has been record breaking. The film's worldwide collections reached INR2 billion (US$33 million).  and an 'All-time 2nd biggest' in overseas markets, where it was the second highest grosser ever.

        India

        My Name is Khan worldwide Collections breakdown
        Territory Gross (After entertainment tax)
        India INR727.4 million (US$12 million)
        Distributor share:
        INR369.6 million (US$6.2 million)
        Entertainment tax:
        INR240 million (US$4.0 million)
        Overseas
        (Outside India)
        US$23 million
        US$4,018,771 (United States)
        Worldwide INR2 billion (US$33 million)
        In India, the film opened with a massive INR295 million (US$4.9 million), which was the third-highest weekend for a Bollywood film, behind 3 Idiots and Ghajini. It recorded the third-highest first day business across India, behind 3 Idiots and Ghajini at the time of release. The film broke the record of Race for the biggest opening weekend in the first quarter of the year. The film was reported to have done very well in multiplexes, but comparatively on the lower side in single screens. The film managed to collect INR460 million (US$7.7 million) in its first week  and debuted at #1 at the Indian box office, thus attaining the third highest first-week net collections, again behind 3 Idiots and Ghajini.
        After its first week, the film began experiencing large drops in collections from many parts of the country. The drops ranged from 60% – 70% for the first few weeks, and started reducing for the later weeks. The film generally did not sustain well at most places, and was therefore given a "Hit" tag,  becoming only the second hit of 2010 (after Ishqiya). It was the ninth highest-grossing film according to Indian collections that time, and the fourth highest-grossing film of 2010. In rankings based on distributor share, My Name is Khan comes in fifth behind Dabangg, Rajneeti, Golmaal 3 and Housefull.   The film managed to retain the #1 spot at the Indian box office for two consecutive weeks, and remained in the top five for six consecutive weeks. At the end of its theatrical run, My Name Is Khan earned INR734 million (US$12 million) in India.

        Overseas

        My Name Is Khan grossed $23 million in the overseas markets making it the highest grossing Bollywood film overseas at the time.    The film grossed the biggest opening day overseas, taking an estimated INR17 crore (US$2.8 million), beating the overseas opening day collections of 3 Idiots. The film also grossed the biggest opening weekend overseas, taking an estimated INR25 crore (US$4.2 million), again beating the overseas opening weekend collections of 3 Idiots which grossed INR18 crore (US$3.0 million). In its first week, it grossed INR39 crore (US$6.5 million). As of August 2010, the film has grossed $4,018,771 in the United States and $37,001,087 elsewhere for a worldwide total of $41,019,858.
        In the UK, it made £123,000 on its opening day,  which was more than the combined total of 3 Idiots in its first two days (£121,000). By the end of the second week, My Name Is Khan became only the third Bollywood film to cross the £2 million mark in the UK, after Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Veer-Zaara, according to the exchange rates prevailing at their respective times of release.
        My Name Is Khan debuted in USA in 120 theaters, breaking the record set by 3 Idiots which debuted in 119 theaters. The film broke the record for an opening weekend in the US, earning US$1,994,027. The film debuted at #13 at the American box office. By the end of the first week, the film grossed US$2,552,283, second only to 3 Idiots which had a Christmas holiday week. By the fourth week, the film earned US$3,868,89, breaking Shahrukh Khan's previous record set by Om Shanti Om. On the 51st day of screening in the US, My Name Is Khan broke the US$4 million barrier, and became only the second Bollywood film ever to cross this mark, after 3 Idiots. 
        In Australia, the film earned an impressive A$39,000 on its opening day, and was ranked No. 11 in the market. By the first weekend, the film earned US$437,687, defeating the previous record set by 3 Idiots (US$350,000).   In New Zealand and Fiji, the film earned NZ$13,627 on its opening day, and earned NZ$144,831 (US$100,698) in its first week. By the second weekend, the film earned NZ$268,838 (US$184,933).
        In the Middle East   the response to the film has been described as "huge" and it earned approximately US$300,000 on its opening day.  In Egypt it earned more than 2 million Egyptian pounds.  By the end of its first weekend, the film grossed US$890,000, breaking the previous record set by Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (US$830,000). It broke all previous box office records by the end of the first week, earning US$1.75 million.
        My Name is Khan also opened well in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Far East. The film became the highest-grossing film in Pakistan, breaking the records set by Avatar, 3 Idiots and Wanted.   By its third week, My Name Is Khan has become the highest-grossing Bollywood film in the Middle East, earning US$ 3.3 million.  In South Africa, the film earned US$85,214 in its opening weekend.  In Malaysia, it earned MYR105,527 (US$31,106) in its opening weekend, and by the second weekend, the film had earned MYR410,864 (US$ 120,452).  In Nigeria, the film earned an "impressive" NGN2,310,137 (US$15,362) in its opening weekend.  In Ghana, the film earned GHS10,599 (US$ 7,443) by the second weekend. In Indonesia, the film has grown from six to 14 screens and has seen a jump of 300 percent in week three.  The film has also grossed $425,825 in 7 weeks at the Bahrain box office.  The film has also grossed an impressive $55,073 in Poland in its opening weekend.  The film grossed $270,698 in South Africa.  The film also made $58,683 in Lebanon region.  My Name Is Khan released in Hong Kong on 5 January 2012 and collected $107,197.

        Box office records

        My Name Is Khan created several records, both in India and around the world. In India, the film smashed the record for a Bollywood release in the month of February, breaking the previous two-year record held by Jodhaa Akbar. The film also broke the record for a Bollywood release in the first quarter of the year, breaking the previous two-year record held by Race. In the UK, the film broke the four-year record of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, and became the highest-grossing Bollywood film in the UK. In the Middle East it is also the highest grossing Bollywood film. As of date My Name Is Khan is the third second highest-grossing film in overseas markets, next to 3 Idiots and Dhoom 3.




        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Hindi: रब ने बना दी जोड़ी; translation: A Match Made by God)  is a 2008 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by Yash Raj Films. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan and movie debutant Anushka Sharma. Khan plays a mild-mannered office worker named Surinder Sahni, whose love for the beautiful and vivacious Taani (Sharma) causes him to transform himself into the loud and fun-loving "Raj" to win her love. It was released worldwide on 12 December 2008 and marked Chopra's return to directing after an eight-year break, following his previous film, Mohabbatein.
        The film was not heavily promoted pre-release, contrary to previous Khan or Yash Raj films, mainly because of the filmmakers' decision to keep it low-profile because of the terror attacks in Mumbai.  Upon release, the film received positive reviews and broke many box office records. It was declared a blockbuster despite the fact that it was released only two weeks after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, amidst uncertainty and apprehensions from the trade regarding market conditions at the time. At the end of its theatrical run, it grossed over INR1.58 billion (US$26 million) worldwide and was also the highest-grossing film of the year in the overseas market, thus becoming Yash Raj Films and Shahrukh Khan's highest-grossing film at the time of its release.  The film's soundtrack was composed by Salim-Sulaiman, and it became the first Bollywood soundtrack to reach the top ten albums sales for the iTunes Store.
        The film's script was recognised by a number of critics and was invited to be included in the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, just a day after its release.  The script is accessible for research purposes only; students, filmmakers, writers and actors are among the regular patrons.

        Plot

        Shy, introverted and kind-hearted Surinder "Suri" Sahni (Shah Rukh Khan) is an office employee for Punjab Power. He meets the daughter of his former professor (M.K. Raina), beautiful and vivacious Taani Gupta (Anushka Sharma), during the preparations for her wedding. A short time later, the shocking news arrives that her fiance and his wedding entourage were killed in a road accident. Taani's father suffers a heart attack at the news. Fearing that Taani will be alone in the world, the professor, on his deathbed, requests that Suri marry her. Suri silently concedes because he likes her anyway, and Taani tearfully agrees for her father's sake.
        After an impromptu wedding, Suri takes Taani to his ancestral home in Amritsar. While his good nature leads Suri to treat her with exceptional care – he even lets her have his bedroom all to herself – he is too frightened to profess his love for her. Taani tells him that, while she will try to be a good wife and thus respect her role in his life, she can never love him due to having no love left within her after the loss of her fiance. Suri, grateful for the increasing acts of wifely affection that she shows, proceeds to indulge her wishes. These include regular evening trips to the cinema to see Bollywood movies which appeal to Taani's fantasies about romance and her passion for dancing. She soon asks for Suri's permission, which he grants, to take an expensive dance class with a visiting Bombay company, Dancing Jodi, to unwind from her mundane life at home.
        During those evenings spent at the movies, Suri realises it is the strong, masculine images that Taani admires, and later he asks his long-time friend, Balwinder "Bobby" Khosla (Vinay Pathak), a hair-salon owner, for grooming advice so as to win her love. Bobby gives him a complete makeover which includes shaving off his mustache (an accidental gag), modding his hairstyle, and fitting him out in funky Western-style clothing including aviator-style shades with oversize pastel lenses. Suri is thus transformed into "Raj Kapoor," a name he borrows from the hero of a movie that Taani had admired. He joins the dance class to be near her. By chance, or, as he puts it, by divine choice, he becomes Taani's partner in the competition. Despite Raj's initial over-the-top attempts to emulate the "cool" images from movies, which turn her off, he and Taani become friends as they work together on their dance routine. Suri feels encouraged when Taani does not to tie a rakhi on "Raj's" wrist during the festival of Raksha Bandhan (doing so would indicate that she thought of him only as a brother). Thus, after some time, Raj declares his love for her.
        Taani is shocked, to say the least, and enters into a period of internal conflict. Suri also faces a dilemma in Taani's misery. He thus attempts to win Taani's love as Suri, an act which only alienates her further. She eventually runs away to find Raj to tell him the predicament she is in, hoping he will help her. He offers to elope with her, which she agrees to, tearfully. They set the date for their elopement to the next night, the night of the competition. Suri is disappointed that Taani cannot see his love for her as himself, only as Raj. Later that night, Suri tells Bobby that he will end the charade in his own way, sacrificing his cravings for her love, leaving her his property and transferring himself to Delhi.
        On the day of the competition, Suri takes Taani to the Golden Temple to gain God's blessings for her performance that night and, internally, also for her life with(out) Raj. While there, Taani has a realisation in which she believes God has shown her a sign that her marriage to Suri is divinely inspired. For the first time she reflects on her husband and becomes aware of the strength and integrity of Suri's character, something she can grow to love. Taani thus tells Raj that she cannot choose him over her husband. She leaves him in what appears to be a state of shock with tears in his eyes. When the time comes for their performance, Taani is stunned to see Suri instead of Raj joining her on stage. While dancing Taani puts two and two together and through a series of flashbacks awakens to the fact that Suri is in fact Raj. Backstage she confronts Suri, and when he confesses his love for her, she tearfully admits that she returns his feelings. The two, having won the competition, head off on a honeymoon to Japan.

        Cast

        Special appearances during the song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" (in order of appearance):

        Production

        Theme

        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi tells a story from the point of view of an ordinary person and, most importantly, conveys a message that being 'ordinary' is cool. The filmmakers were confident that it would be able to strike a chord with millions because the film has ordinary people as its target audience:
        "As middle-class people, so many of us have a routine life. We wake up in the morning, get dressed, go to office, come back, sometimes for a change we buy things to take home, watch TV, eat dinner and go to sleep. And then we repeat this day after day, week after week. Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi talks about one such man who lives a routine life. It is simple film at heart."

        Casting and filming

        In February 2008, Aditya Chopra announced that he will helm another film titled "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi" and that it will star his lucky mascot, Shah Rukh Khan. The female lead was to be a newcomer who would be chosen following a massive talent hunt for a young, demure woman with quintessential Punjabi features.  In May, Yash Raj announced the casting of the 19-year-old model Anushka Sharma as the heroine opposite Shahrukh Khan. Yash Chopra commented:
        "We were looking first for someone who could truly embody the spirit of small town Punjab. We know we have found her in Anushka. While she has no previous acting experience, we have seen that unique spark in her that makes us confident that she will be a standout even opposite Shah Rukh"  Sharma was chosen over hundreds of girls for this role and was kept hidden from the media during the filming. When asked about that, Khan said: "The idea was not to keep her a secret; we wanted her work to speak for her. When new actors come into films, it is important for people to see their work and then question them. It becomes easier after the film releases."  Vinay Pathak was cast to play an important role in the film, making it its first commercial outing.
        Filming began in May 2008; Yash Chopra was present at the shoot.  A portion was shot with Khan at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.  Khan had to lose the six-pack abs he developed for the song "Dard-E-Disco" of Om Shanti Om since he was essaying the role of a very normal, regular person.

        Promotion

        The first poster of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released in October in theatres and multiplexes across India, with full-page advertisements in national dailies. The first theatrical promo was released on 14 November, during the screening of Karan Johar's Dostana. Initially very little was known about the movie, and there were many theories floating around on the Internet about the story.   The first music promo of the song "Haule Haule" was released on 2 November 2008, across all leading television channels to coincide with Khan's birthday.  The song promo had received unanimous praise from the public.

        Release

        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was released across 30 countries worldwide on 12 December 2008 on over 1,200 screens, including approximately 300 prints for the overseas market, making it the first time a Bollywood film was released on such a wide scale.  Before release, the film witnessed a large volume of advance bookings.  Aditya Chopra, who is known for maintaining secrecy over his films and not showing them to anyone until the day of release, made an exception and held a special screening on 23 November 2008 at Yash Raj Studios. The screening was attended by Khan and his family, Karan Johar, Yash Chopra and debutante Anushka Sharma.
        There was a huge debate in the industry whether Aditya Chopra's decision to go ahead with the release of film in the wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai was the right one. With the trauma of the terrorist attacks on Mumbai city on 26, 27 and 28 November still fresh, there was divided opinion on the release schedule. While some felt that Chopra should go ahead with the release because the public, tired and depressed after watching news of the attacks and the aftermath on television screens, would be waiting for a true entertainer to divert its mind, others thought he should postpone the film release as the audiences, not just in Mumbai but all over the country, were still not in a mood to visit theatres.

        Home media

        Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi 3.5 out of 5 stars stating that it is a good choice if you "want to watch a clean family movie at home." The DVD includes the documentaries, The Making of the Film and The Making of the Songs ("Haule Haule", "Dance Pe Chance", "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte") as well as a number of deleted scenes and interviews.  The film was released on Blu-ray a year after its theatrical release.

        Trivia

        Most of the scenes in the movie have a resemblance to the Yellow Color. If you see the movie especially the song Haule Haule, there is yellow color in almost all the frames.

        Reception

        Critical reception

        Upon release, the film received positive reviews. Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times calls Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi an "agreeably amusing comedy/romance/musical" noting that, "the magnetic Khan is a skilled enough comic actor with his physical transformation—like a Peter Sellers-ish recessive turning into a Jerry Lewis extrovert—that believing Taani wouldn't notice isn't difficult."  Rachel Saltz of The New York Times describes it as "soft, sweet and slow, in the words of one of its songs. It deftly blends comedy, the ruling tone of the new Bollywood, with melodrama, the ruling tone of the old."  Manish Gajjar of the BBC gave the film 4 out of 5 stars noting that, "Shah Rukh Khan makes you laugh and cry as the nerdy-looking, clumsy, bespectacled Surinder and the all hip and happening Raj. A true professional in his own right, Khan breezes through his dialogues during the emotional and comic scenes."  Frank Lovece of Film Journal International argues that it is "smarter and more self-aware of its rom-com contrivances than most Hollywood movies" and notes that while "the movie's cleverness eventually devolves into a simplistic Harlequin-Romance-for-males wish-fulfillment about beauty and the geek, it's a very well-acted variation on a Hollywood staple."  Critic and author Maitland McDonagh of MissFlickChick.com stated that the film, "has been dismissed in some quarters as self-conscious and artificial, a coyly self-referential reworking of outdated movie tropes a la Todd Haynes' Far From Heaven, but it works for me in a way that most contemporary Hollywood romcoms don't."
        Some critics did not give the film very favourable reviews. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN was critical, giving it two out of five stars and stating that "Aditya Chopra's return to direction after eight years is marked by a flawed script, which in turn spawns a disappointing film. Where's the smart dialogue and the spirited characters that defined his debut film, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge? There's no trace of either in this film ... the problem then, at the root of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, is that much like those artificial sets in the film, the emotions too are contrived."  Derek Elley of Variety argues that the film has "a huge, hollow center that sinks the project early on ... A paper-thin script drags itself to the finish line amid tiresome mugging by Khan, a huge credibility gap (she never recognizes him without his glasses and mustache?) and a blah score with only one showstopper (featuring five famous actresses)."
        A number of critics have further noted the similarities between this movie and superhero films. Khalid Mohamed, of the Hindustan Times, gave the film three and half out of five stars stating that Suri "is a soul brother to the mousy Clark-Kent-cum-Superman" who "makes you laugh and sob alternately."  Mayank Shekhar from Mumbai Mirror gave the film three out of five stars and argues that "[The] same person, oppositely twinned, is usually the stuff of super-hero films; the kinds of Clark Kent-Superman, Peter Parker-Spiderman etc. You feel entirely lost in this fantasy flick, because for most part, it’s built around something so intimate and real. It’d be much easier to travel to foreign countries around far-fetched situations with fake heroes."  In addition, Sudish Kamath of The Hindu states that while Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi could have been an interesting art film exploring the dynamics of an arranged marriage, the director instead "treats this character type like Sam Raimi would treat Spider-Man ... Superhero 'Raj' slips into costume and out, complains how it gets uncomfortable around the crotch, to win over his Mary Jane with not much saving-the-world business to keep him busy. But while Spidey does it for a bigger reason than just MJ, Raj’s sole motivation is to stalk his wife and play out his fantasy as somebody else. His obsession with his alter-ego reaches new heights when he wants his wife to cheat on the real him—the goofy Surinder Saini who starts off well."

        Box office

        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi collected INR420 million (US$7.0 million) in its opening week.  By its fourth week, it had earned INR860 million (US$14 million), making it Shah Rukh Khan's third consecutive blockbuster in two years.[citation needed]  The film grossed $8.43 million in the overseas market of which $2.09 million was contributed by the United States and $2.24 million from the UK, and was declared as a blockbuster overseas.
        At the end of its theatrical run, it grossed INR1578.9 million (US$26 million) worldwide, thus becoming Yash Raj Films' and Khan's highest-grossing film at the time of its release.  It was the second-highest-grossing film domestically and the highest-grossing in the overseas market that year.

        Soundtrack

        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
        Soundtrack album by Salim-Sulaiman
        Released 12 December 2008 (India)
        Genre Feature film soundtrack
        Length 24:29
        Label Yash Raj Music
        Producer Yash Raj Films
        Salim-Sulaiman chronology
        Fashion
        (2008)
        Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi
        (2008)
        8 X 10 Tasveer (2009)
        The soundtrack of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was composed by Salim-Sulaiman. The song "Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte" pays homage to Bollywood actors Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna, Shammi Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor and actresses Nargis, Nutan, Helen, Sharmila Tagore and Neetu Singh. The performance of the song includes appearances by Kajol, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji.
        Serbian pop singer Jelena Karleuša remade the song "Dance Pe Chance" as "Insomnia" in 2010, and it became a huge hit. Bulgarian pop singer Ivana also made a copy of the same song as "Nedei".
        The Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi film score is the first Bollywood soundtrack to reach the top-ten albums sales for the iTunes Store.
        Track No Song Singer(s) Duration
        1 Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai (Male) Roop Kumar Rathod 4:44
        2 Haule Haule Sukhwinder Singh 4:25
        3 Dance Pe Chance Sunidhi Chauhan, Labh Janjua 4:22
        4 Phir Milenge Chalte Chalte Sonu Nigam 6:36
        5 Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai (Female) Shreya Ghoshal 1:43
        6 Dancing Jodi Instrumental 3:59

        Awards

        2009 Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
        2009 Filmfare Awards
        2009 International Indian Film Academy Awards
        • Nominated:Best Actor
        • Nominated: Best Supporting Actor – Vinay Pathak
        • Nominated: Best Lyrics
        • Nominated:Best Male Playback Singer 
        2009 Stardust Awards
        • Nominated: Stardust Award for Superstar Of Tomorrow – Female
        • Nominated:Best Film
        • Nominated:Best Director
        • Nominated: Stardust Award for Star Of The Year – Male
        2009 Star Screen Awards
        • Nominated:Most Promising Newcomer – Anushka Sharma
        • Nominated:Best Actor – Shah Rukh Khan
        • Nominated:Best Choreography
        • Nominated:Best Male Playback Singer
        • Nominated:Best Female Playback Singer
        • Nominated: Best Lyrics


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