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Dilwale (2015 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Dilwale' is an 2015 Indian Hindi-language action romantic comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.[http://www.ibtimes.co.in/when-heropanti-actress-kriti-sanon-picked-shah-rukh-khan-over-akshay-kumar-622992 When 'Heropanti' Actress Kriti Sanon Picked Shah Rukh Khan over Akshay Kumar]. Ibtimes.co.in (10 February 2015). Retrieved on 13 July 2015.[http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-kajol-to-be-the-leading-lady-in-shah-rukh-khan-rohit-shetty-s-dilwale-2061727 Kajol to be the leading lady in Shah Rukh Khan-Rohit Shetty's 'Dilwale' Daily News & Analysis]. Dnaindia.com (17 February 2015). Retrieved on 13 July 2015 Varun Sharma, Vinod Khanna, Johnny Lever, Boman Irani, Kabir Bedi, Pankaj Tripathi, Mukesh Tiwari, Sanjay Mishra and Chetna Pande play supporting roles.
'Dilwale' released theatrically worldwide on 18 December 2015, one week prior the Christmas period, to mixed reviews with praise directed towards the humour, action sequences, music, cinematography and cast performances but was criticised for its length, screenplay and overall execution. Although the films domestic collection was considered below expectations, grossing over 150 crore net domestically, it became the sixth highest-grossing Indian film overseas and earned over worldwide, becoming the 27th highest grossing Indian film of all time. It earned six nominations at the 61st Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor for Khan and Best Actress for Kajol.
Plot
Veer Bakshi and Raj Bakshi are brothers who work as a car tuner in Goa. Veer meets an educated-young girl named Ishitha, where he helps her, but damages the car of a customer in the process. As a penance, Raj makes Veer to fix the car in the night, where Veer falls asleep while fixing the car. When he awakes, he finds that the car's sound system is stolen.
Meanwhile, Veer gets into a tussle with a drug baron named King, when he beats one of the henchmen, who threatened Ishitha and gets knocked out. Raj breaks the fight and admits him to the hospital. Raj learns of King's hideout, where he along with his friends Shakti Kumar Saigal and Anwar Ali Mirza kill the gang members and burns their stash, where Raj reveals himself as 'Kaali'. King suspects Raj to be Kaali, due to the tussle between him and Veer. However, Raj humbleness causes King to wrongly assume about Raj and makes a deal to fix their car, in exchange for their protection.
'2000': In Bulgaria, Raj and Veer are the sons of a crime boss named Ranadhir Bakshi, who comes across Meera during one of their chases with Randhir's rival, Dev Narayana Malik. The two begin to spend time with each other. During a shipment delivery to his father, Raj gets attacked by Dev's henchmen where he learns that Meera is Dev's daughter. Meera spares Raj as it is her birthday.
When they follow each other in their cars, Raj saves Meera from dying and tells to never see him again. Meera declares her love for Raj, who forgives her and they renew their relationship. Raj and Meera reveal their relationship to Randhir and Dev, who agree. However, Dev starts a shootout, but gets killed by Randhir. Meera sees Raj with a gun and shoots him. Raj survives and decide to leave with Veer to start a new life where Meera also does the same.
'Present': Veer discovers that Siddhu, Shakthi's brother (Veer's friend) was the thief who stole the car's parts, but spares him as Siddhu reveals that he did this for his girlfriend Jenny. Veer propose to Ishitha where Raj learns about their relationship and decide to meet Ishitha's family. However, Raj objects after learning that Ishitha is Meera's sister and Meera also rejects Veer.
Veer and Ishita try to figure about their siblings dislike towards each other. After they are fed with false stories by Shakthi and Anwar, they come up with several plots to bring Meera and Raj together. Mani, Raj's lieutenant is attracted to King's car where he steals and brings the car to the shop. Veer, Mani and Siddhu discovers drugs in the car's decklid and burns them. King's men arrive at Meera's house at night, but Raj shows up as Kaali and thwarts them from causing her any harm.
Meera issues an ultimatum that, in order to marry Ishita, Veer must move in with Meera, leaving Raj in the process. As an angered Veer proceeds to storm out, Meera reveals to Veer that Raj was actually Randhir's adopted son and is not Veer's biological brother. After a confrontation, Raj reveals to Veer that he indeed is not his brother. Raj confronts Meera and reveals his innocence. Malik's right hand, Raghava reveals Raj's innocence, which leaves Meera distraught with regret and remorse and takes Ishita to Raj's house, declaring that Veer can live with Raj and Ishitha after marriage.
At Sidhu and Jenny's wedding in a church, King finds his car which is used as a wedding car and brings Mani, Oscar and Veer where he learns that they burnt his drugs and a fight ensues where Raj reveals himself as Kaali and thrashes King. King tries to kill Raj, but Meera takes the bullet, and King is beaten up and thus defeated by Raj's men. Meera is admitted to the hospital, where she recovers and reunites with Raj.
Cast
* Shah Rukh Khan as Raj "Kaali" Bakshi
* Kajol as Meera Malik
* Varun Dhawan as Veer Bakshi
* Kriti Sanon as Ishita "Ishu" Malik
* Vinod Khanna as Randhir Bakshi
* Kabir Bedi as Dev Malik
* Varun Sharma as Sidhu Saigal
* Johnny Lever as Mani Tripathi
* Boman Irani as King Bhattacharya
* Mukesh Tiwari as Shakti Saigal
* Pankaj Tripathi as Anwar Ali Mirza
* Chetna Pande as Jenny D'Costa
* Sanjay Mishra as Oscar D'Costa
* Nawab Shah as Raghav Shankar
Production
Development
In January 2015, Rohit Shetty announced a project with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead which would be their second collaboration after the 2013 film 'Chennai Express'. Shetty stated that he would start filming in March 2015.[http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-kriti-sanon-chooses-shah-rukh-khan-over-akshay-kumar-2059480 Kriti Sanon chooses Shah Rukh Khan over Akshay Kumar Daily News & Analysis]. Dnaindia.com (9 February 2015). Retrieved on 13 July 2015. Shetty paired actress Kajol with Khan, making it the seventh time they were cast opposite each other. He also signed actor Varun Dhawan who was reportedly playing Khan's brother, while actress Kriti Sanon was signed opposite him.Baker, Steven. (8 February 2015) [http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/bollywood/news/a627486/rohit-shetty-remains-coy-over-shah-rukh-khans-next-leading-actress.html Rohit Shetty remains coy over Shah Rukh Khan's next leading actress Digital Spy]. Digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved on 13 July 2015.Filming
Principal photography began on 20 March 2015 with Dhawan in Goa. Khan and Kajol first joined the crew for filming in Bulgaria from June 2015. Later that month, the first song from the film was shot on Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, in Bulgaria. The schedule there was wrapped up by late July. In August 2015, a romantic song featuring the lead pair was shot in Iceland. The entire team then left for Hyderabad in early September to shoot what was touted to be the final schedule of filming. However, the work in Hyderabad was completed by late October, and filming officially came to an end with a brief schedule in Goa, the same location where it was started. In December, after the promotions had commenced, another song was shot in haste. It featured all four lead actors and had to be played simultaneously with the end-credits.Release
Theatrical
'Dilwale' was released in the United Arab Emirates a day before its worldwide release on 18 December 2015. The film was released in around 3100 screens in India.On 14 December 2015, in the United Kingdom, the film received a 12A classification from the British Board of Film Classification for "moderate violence". The film's UK distributor chose to remove thirteen seconds to obtain this rating (the excised material being scenes involving stronger violence than possible for a 12A rating). An uncut 15-rated version is available.
Home media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sony Pictures Networks as part of a deal worth .Reception
Box office
'Dilwale' made around worldwide in its opening weekend, the third highest of the year.India
The film, releasing alongside 'Bajirao Mastani', opened number one at the box office, and collected nett in India on its opening day, the third highest of the year after 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo' and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. The film showed little drop on its second day, and earned nearly nett. On its first Sunday, 'Dilwale' took in approximately nett, bringing the three-day nett to an estimated . 'Dilwale' had a first week of nett in the domestic market.
The film earned around nett in its second weekend. It grossed little over nett in week two, taking its business to nett. The film made around nett more in the third week.
Khan expressed disappointment with the film's domestic performance in India. Kajol was also reportedly disappointed, with reports claiming that she regretted turning down the lead role in a Sujoy Ghosh film in favour of 'Dilwale'.
Other territories
'Dilwale' had the highest opening of 2015 abroad and the second highest ever, with a weekend gross of around 8.5 million. The film also set an all-time record opening in the Gulf. In Pakistan, the film earned in its first three days. The film collected 9.13 crore in 'Pakistan' in the first week. The film went on to earn over $13 million overseas in the first week, again the highest of the year.
'Dilwale' grossed another $3.75 million in the second weekend, for an overall $16.75 million in ten days. After two weeks, the film's earnings abroad were more than $20.5 million. The film had grossed around $23.3 million outside India as of 12 January 2016 to become the highest-grossing film starring Shah Rukh Khan in overseas markets.
'Dilwale' sales reached more than $25 million following openings in new markets such as Germany, Netherlands and Indonesia. The film went on to earn approximately $26.6 million (INR 1756.5 million) by February 2016. The film's final overseas gross was US$30.2 million (194crore), the highest ever for a Shah Rukh Khan film, and making it the twelfth highest-grossing Indian film overseas.
Critical response
The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh from 'Bollywood Hungama' gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "On the whole, 'Dilwale' is akin to a mouthwatering meal that satiates the craving of those who relish masalathons, besides being an absolute treat for SRK-Kajol fans. An unadulterated crowd-pleaser, 'Dilwale' delivers what you expect from a Rohit Shetty film: King-sized entertainment. Go for it!". Komal Nahta in his review of the film said, "'Dilwale' is a masala entertainer from the start till the end." Rachit Gupta from 'Filmfare' gave it 4/5 stars and added, "'Dilwale' is the quintessential popcorn flick. It's colorful, bright and entertaining. It smartly keeps its play on the SRK-Kajol chemistry (watch out for the brilliant ending). It has fantastic music. Decent laughs too. Definitely worth a dekho." Sarita A Tanwar of 'DNA' gave the film 3/5 stars, saying "'Dilwale' is flawed, but it's right for those who believe that love does conquer it all, actually."Ananya Bhattacharya of 'India Today' also rated the film 3/5 and concluded, "'Dilwale' is immensely enjoyable despite an oh-my-god-this-is-so-predictable story. Keep your brains out of the picture, and you have an out-and-out entertainer which fits perfectly in the mould of a guilty pleasure. Go indulge!" Shubha Shetty-Saha of 'Mid-Day' gave the film 3 stars as well and said, "Watch this for the chemistry between SRK and Kajol which refuses to simmer down even after all these years." Meena Iyer from 'The Times of India' gave the film 3/5 stars, criticizing the plot, and stated, "'Dilwale' leans heavily on Shah Rukh's mega-stardom, Varun's effervescence, breathtaking locales (Iceland and Bulgaria), orchestrated car chases and over-the-top situations, which have you chuckling."
'NDTV' felt that the film's plot "went in circles" and that while Kajol was great, the film overall failed to appeal. 'The Economic Times' gave the film 2.5/5 stars and felt that it "lacked soul and freshness" and stated that it would only appeal to fans of Khan and Kajol. Rajeev Masand of 'IBN Live' gave the film 2 out of 5 and said, "The real problem with 'Dilwale' is the sheer artificiality of the enterprise. From the rainbow-hued sets and the touched-up landscapes in the Gerua song, to many moments of comedic and emotional payoff, so much of it just feels fake." Namrata Joshi of 'The Hindu' commented, "With 'Dilwale', Rohit Shetty goes hopelessly wrong despite much that he had at his disposal, including a power-packed cast and producer". Joshi also felt that the attempt to repackage Khan and Kajol had backfired. Rohit Vats of 'Hindustan Times' gave the film a 1.5/5 rating and called the plot "highly predictable". Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Even in the context of Shetty's oeuvre, Dilwale is a low. It made me nostalgic for Chennai Express...Rohit and leading man Shah Rukh Khan have clearly positioned Dilwale as a masala entertainer. Which means that we must not expect logic, coherence, characters or depth." Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and said, "Budget and access. These have long been Shetty's favoured Lego blocks, and they have never been more visible than in Dilwale, where the greatest on screen pair in modern Hindi cinema are reduced to insignificance."
Accolades
Soundtrack
The songs featured in the film as are composed by Pritam, and lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.
Amar Mohile has composed the film score.
A track titled "Gerua" was released on 18 November 2015 as the first single prior to the soundtrack album's release. The second single to be released was "Manma Emotion Jaage" which was released on 26 November 2015. The album features seven tracks and was released on 4 December 2015 by Sony Music India. Sony Music India acquired the music rights of the film for a record .
The song "Gerua" also had different versions. An Arabic version called "Telagena" was released on 11 December 2015 while a Malay version entitled "Warna Cinta" featuring vocals from Aliff Aziz and Kilafairy was released later on 18 December 2015.
References
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