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Kurbaan (2009 film)

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Kurbaan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRensil D'Silva
Written byScreenplay:
Rensil D'Silva
Niranjan Iyengar
Dialogues:
Anurag Kashyap
Story byKaran Johar
Produced byHiroo Yash Johar
Karan Johar
StarringSaif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Vivek Oberoi
Kirron Kher
Om Puri
Dia Mirza
CinematographyHemant Chaturvedi
Edited byAsif Ali Shaikh
Music bySalim–Sulaiman
Production
company
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 20 November 2009 (2009-11-20)
Running time
160 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹500 million (US$6.0 million)[1]
Box office₹429 million (US$5.1 million)[2]

Kurbaan (transl. Sacrificed) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film[3] directed by Rensil D'Silva and produced by Karan Johar. The film, set against the backdrop of global terrorism, features Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Kirron Kher, Om Puri and Dia Mirza in starring roles.[4] Released on 20 November 2009, the film deals with an underground organization's attempt at instilling fear by means of terrorism in the United States. It also intersperses philosophical arguments over the corruption of religious beliefs in an attempt to rectify the damage to non-involved Muslims the world-over. Though the film received positive critical feedback the film was a commercial failure.

Plot

Avantika Ahuja (Kareena Kapoor), an academic living in the United States, returns to Delhi after her father falls ill. While in India she meets Ehsaan Khan (Saif Ali Khan), a University professor from Mumbai; and the two become friends and soon fall in love. After some time, Avantika must return to work. Ehsaan readily agrees to emigrate for her, and the couple are soon married and living in America. Avantika helps Ehsaan in getting a job, and he is appointed as a professor to teach 'Islam and the Modern World' at the same university where she works. The pair live a happy life in a quiet suburb populated by many South Asian families.

Salma (Nauheed Cyrusi), Avantika's neighbour, is effectively being confined in her own home by her husband Hakil. She manages to inform Avantika about the situation and requests her to contact Rehana (Dia Mirza), a friend and TV reporter. Avantika meets with Rehana and her boyfriend Riyaz (Vivek Oberoi), a Muslim American war journalist who has just arrived from Iraq. Together they discuss Salma's problem and the trio conclude that Salma is probably the victim of domestic violence. Rehana plans a meeting with Salma, but is unable to meet her since she is leaving to Iraq, as part of a United Nations envoy.

Avantika is overjoyed to learn that she is pregnant. While waiting for Ehsaan, she takes a walk around her street. Overhearing voices, she decides to investigate and finds out that a group of men from her neighborhood, lead by the elder Bhaijaan (Om Puri), are planning a mission. They aim to bomb the plane that Rehana is travelling in, since it is carrying a large group of diplomats and media personnel. Avantika realises that they are part of a terrorist group and also comes across Salma's dead body. The men see her and chase her to her house, where she meets Ehsaan. At first he consoles her, but soon reveals that he is also a part of the terrorist group. Avantika realizes that she is nothing but a pawn in Ehsaan’s game - he married her to legitimately obtain residency in the United States.

Bhaijaan asks Ehsaan to kill Avantika since she is now a liability, but after learning that she is pregnant, Ehsaan decides not to. Ehsaan keeps Avantika captive in their home and threatens to kill her father in India if she tries to inform anyone of what she knows. Avantika manages to make a phone call, and calls Rehana in order to warn her. The call goes to voice mail and it is too late, Rehana has already boarded the flight and the bomb has already been planted. The plane explodes, killing Rehana and all others on board.

A heartbroken Riyaz finds Avantika's voice message for Rehana, and begins his own quest to uncover the real culprits behind the flight bombing. Going undercover, Riyaz joins Ehsaan's lectures and soon befriends him. Avantika and the other wives of the group are watched over by Aapa (Kirron Kher), Bhaijaan's wife. Aapa explains the reasons for Jihad to Avantika, and also reveals that Ehsaan was an Afghani man with no political ideology, until his first wife and son were killed by American bombs. Riyaz engages in a passionate debate with other students regarding the topic of Islam, and Ehsaan is impressed. While trying to dispose of Salma's decomposing body, Hakil and Ehsaan attract the attention of police. Ehsaan kills Hakil and the surrounding policemen, and sets the car on fire. Salma's partially burnt body is found, and the FBI distributes pictures of her in order to learn her identity.

Ehsaan finds Riyaz to be a perfect replacement for Hakil. Ehsaan introduces Riyaz to Bhaijaan, who is initially suspicious of the new recruit. He tests Riyaz by ordering him to shoot at a random man serving at a fast food counter. Riyaz is reluctant but follows through, however it turns out there was no bullet in the gun thus leaving the man unharmed. Having passed the test, Ehsaan makes Riyaz a part of their next mission to bomb several subway stations in New York.

Riyaz and Avantika begin to work together to foil the plan and bring down the terrorist group. Riyaz sets up a meeting with the FBI for the next day but his plan is derailed when one of the men sees Salma's picture, and Bhaijaan decides to bring the date of the mission forward.

The group go ahead with their plan - the women travel together with Aapa and the men have three bombs between them, to be detonated at separate stations. While on the subway, Riyaz's colleague bumps into him and accidentally reveals his real identity to Ehsaan and Bhaijaan. Riyaz tries to escape and, in the chaos, shoots Bhaijaan. Before dying, Bhaijaan informs Ehsaan that there are three more bombs, which were placed in the bags of the women, unknown to them. One bomb is with Avantika, who is being escorted by Aapa. Realising that both Avantika and his unborn child will die, Ehsaan decides to let Riyaz go, and sets out to find Avantika.

Riyaz informs the FBI of the situation and they rush to each station, trying to find both the men and women. They are able to safely retrieve the explosives from the women, while the men detonate their bombs. Ehsaan kills Aapa in order to free Avantika, and he admits that he loves her and asks her to take care of their child. Ehsaan manages to disarm the last bomb, but is fatally wounded as he escapes from three policemen who were chasing him. Before leaving, Avantika asks Ehsaan what his real name is, which he reveals to be Khalid. As she leaves the train, she hears the gunshot of Ehsaan killing himself.

Cast

Production

Development

In February 2008, Khan and Kapoor were confirmed as leads for the film.[5] Kapoor called her role challenging and hinted of John Abraham featuring in the film.[6] In December 2008, UTV Motion Pictures acquired the distribution rights of the film.[7] In an interview with Rediff, D'Silva agreed that its Karan Johar's story. Johar told him about the film and for the next few months, D'Silva couldn't get it off his head. D'Silva learnt from a common friend that Karan loved the story, so he asked D'Silva to direct it.[8] D' Silva went on to add that the film is a very intricate story from India to the US, pondering into state of Islam in the modern world. He acknowledged it as a woman's story,[9] where Avantika Ahuja (Kapoor) plays a Psychology lecturer in New York. She comes to India to take care of her ailing father and joins the Delhi University. She meets Ehsaan Khan (Khan), they fall in love, marry and go back to the US. Post the movement, things with them turn topsy-turvy.[10] D'Silva cleared that the film was not based on 9/11 attacks.[10]

When Johar was quizzed on the film script bearing resemblance to Arlington Road, he stated it does have theme of terrorism.[11] As per D'Silva, the film story has three elements - the romance between Khan and Kapoor; thriller element; and it also carries a social message.[12] In January 2009, Anurag Kashyap stated the title of the film as "Jihaad" in an interview with The Telegraph.[13] In an interview with Livemint, D'Silva was quoted saying: "Character played by Khan is an “urban, educated, liberal" Muslim, in love with a Hindu girl (Kapoor)."[14] He noted a fair urban shift in the cinema on portraying Muslim characters. Adding further on Khan's character; which was not "the decadent, sozzled nawab cavorting with courtesans; not “Khan chacha", the benevolent other, or wearing a Faiz topi".[14]

Casting

Shanoo Sharma was roped in as the casting director.[15] Kirron Kher plays the role of an Afghan for the first time.[16] She worked on her dialect and at times, arranged for her own clothes. She was clear about how she wanted to look and play the role.[17] Before Oberoi was finalized, Akshaye Khanna and Irrfan Khan were considered.[18] In an interview with The Telegraph, Aki Narula confirmed designing the costumes for the characters.[19] Tara Sharma was approached for a role but rejected due to personal reasons.[20] In an interview with Subhash K Jha, Oberoi was quoted saying: "When I read the script, my first question to Karan was, why me? He laughed and said it was because I was talented and I could pull it off. And I love working with Kareena. We share a great rapport after Yuva and Omkara." The casting was finalized by Karan Johar.[9]

Costumes

Kareena Kapoor[21]

Aki Narula discussed with D'Silva on the screenplay and locales to design the costumes. As she knew filming schedules in Delhi around October (winter season) she researched the different styles by going to the colleges, canteens and the local markets. For Kapoor she designed full sleeve t-shirts with v-necks and dark coloured ankle length churidars with Jaipuri work, mojri and scarves. Her costumes featured rust, burgundy, olive green, blue and purple colors as observed during Delhi University scenes. Accessories worn were silver oxidized jewels. In the track "Shukran Allah", Kapoor's salwar was of 60 metres of fabric. As the plot progresses to US, Narula kept the leads' outfits with the ideology that "travelling abroad you'd carry some clothes with you". She avoided designing or collaborating with US brands to keep the transitions real. Additionally, Narula gave her trench coats (Zara), jeans and track pants, sporting her sacred pendant. Towards the terror plot, she is donned more of grey, blue and blacks are seen in costumes.

Saif Ali Khan[21]

Narula kept Khan's costumes simple with jeans and shirts in blue, grey and green with v-neck sweaters apart from pathani kurtas with jeans. After moving to US too, his outfits introduced were long jackets in blue and grey. During the terror scenes he was made to wear of darker colors in leather. Johar, D'Silva and Narula decided that a stubble or beard gives grittiness to the character. Hence, Khan is seen unshaven.

Dia Mirza, Vivek Oberoi, Om Puri, Kirron Kher[21]

Mirza was given short skirts with jackets and work bags, in black formal work outfits whereas Oberoi in lot of dark jeans, t-shirts, sweaters, wind cheaters in navy blue, grey, olive green, and black leather jackets. His outfits were from Zara and H&M. Puri was with suit vests. Intentionally all his pathani kurtas were washed by a dhobi to get the worn look, which he noticed. Kher received a long tunic, long skirts and shawls wrapped around her head to justify her as an Afghan. She was very involved with her outfits. She had her ideas that she shared with Narula and worked together on her looks.[21]

Filming

Principal photography commenced in November 2008 in Philadelphia.[14] A set was erected to shoot replica of a terrorist attack.[14] Khan noted the cold weather conditions was an added difficulty to get the pitch and tone right while delivering dialogues. The characters were shooting in sync sound.[22] Also, Kapoor fainted on the sets.[23] However, Khan flew down to India due to health reasons on 22 December 2008.[24] D'Silva made an attempt to film in UK but cancelled due to lack of permissions and security issues.[25] Delhi based scenes were shot in February 2009.[26] In May 2009, filming continued in New York.[27] Johar's production house was accused of not paying its employees on the film's sets in US.[28] In August 2009, the film was set to enter its last schedule in Pune. However, it was cancelled owing to the outbreak of swine flu.[29] As per D'Silva, Oberoi's scenes were 80 percent of the film. His character was central to the drama.[10] Oberoi was in D'Silva's room in Philadelphia every night to discuss diction, dialogues and looks. Oberoi has most single shots in the film.[30] At times, a few scenes' treatments were rewritten by Johar.[10]

Soundtrack

Kurbaan
Soundtrack album by
Salim–Sulaiman
Released12 October 2009 (2009-10-12)
Recorded2008-09
StudioBlue Studios, Mumbai
Aslam Studios, Mumbai
YRF Studios, Mumbai
Bernie Grundman Studios, Los Angeles
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length24:08
LanguageHindi, Arabic
LabelSony
ProducerSalim - Sulaiman
Salim–Sulaiman chronology
Luck
(2009) 		Kurbaan
(2009) 		Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year
(2009)

The original score and soundtrack for the film was composed by Salim-Sulaiman. Salim Merchant agreed that the songs have a sufi touch in them, as requested by Johar.[31] The duo was approached while they were composing Koochie Koochie Hota Hai. [31]However, the composers were focused on the original score. Merchant pointed out that Shukran Allah was based on Khan's character were he is paying gratitude to God for giving him the love of this life.[31] The Arabic lines translate to, 'Thank You, Allah (SWT), and All the Praise in this World is For You'. Originally a prayer, the composers decided to turn into a love song.[31] As per Merchant, Ali Maula was another chanting kind of song, sung by him. When they composed the song, they were unsure of its fitment in any film. They played it to Johar and D'Silva who approved it for Kurbaan. Sulaiman Merchant called the track "Rasiya" as 'passionate', a song picturised on an intimate scene by Khan and Kapoor scene.[31] Being pictured on a married couple, they kept maturity in the composition keeping a balance of sensuality.[31]

Salim Merchant and Sonu Nigam were nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer at the 55th Filmfare Awards in 2010 for the song "Shukran Allah".[32]

Tracklisting

All tracks are written by Niranjan Iyengar, except track 3 written by Irfan Siddiqui.[34]

Kurbaan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[33]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Shukran Allah"Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Salim Merchant04:50
2."Dua"Sukhwinder Singh, Kailash Kher, Marianne D'Cruz Aiman05:00
3."Ali Maula"Salim Merchant04:37
4."Rasiya"Shruti Pathak, Kareena Kapoor03:05
5."Kurbaan Hua"Vishal Dadlani04:18
6."Ali Maula" (Remix)Salim Merchant04:08
Total length:24:08

Release

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 4 reviews. Kurbaan received moderately positive critical reception from critics in India and overseas.

In his review for Economic Times, Gaurav Malani wrote: "Kurbaan is an outcome of sensitive filmmaking, Technically the film is proficient in all departments.Undoubtedly the narrative bears a striking resemblance to Kabir Khan's New York both in terms of the theme and setting of the story and structure of the screenplay." He gave the film a score of 3 (out of 5).[35] Critic Taran Adarsh in his review for Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 (out of 5), noting "KURBAAN is embellished with superlative performances. Saif is extra-ordinary in a role that only proves his versatility once again. He claimed the film as most powerful film to come out of the Hindi film industry in 2009, so far. The film has a captivating plot, gripping screenplay, super performances and a climax.[36] Rajeev Masand noted "It’s a compelling thriller that doesn’t shy away from touching prickly issues, director Rensil D’silva makes a confident debut with a film that is respectable and engaging." He assigned a score of 3 on 5.[37] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 3 out of 5, noted: "Written sharply by producer Karan Johar, and directed intelligently by first-timer Rensil D'Silva, the film enunciates, with admirable clarity, contemporary conundrums."[38] A review by Anil Sinanan for Time Out denoted, "However, this has to be applauded for exploring a topical and sensitive subject in the widest commercial context. Interesting, entertaining and solidly executed." The score assigned was 3 on 5.[39] Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 on 5, adding on 'Kudos to Karan Johar for shifting gears completely and entering into serious territory.'[40] Ram Tarat of Future Movies UK, pointed "A chilling yet appropriately tempered and charismatic antidote to your archetypal seasonal fare, Kurbaan is a gripping white knuckle ride that turns at all the right places for the ultimate thrill ride." He added on a score of 4 (out of 5)[41]

Box office

The movie grossed around ₹40 million approx on its opening day. Overall its collection was mediocre except in Mumbai territory where it collected around ₹15 million on its first day. The Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer couldn’t boost the collections even on first weekend. The collections did not show a big leap and the movie just managed a fair business over its first weekend. The collections dropped on Monday taking its four-day business to only ₹157.5 million approx. At the end of first week of release it seemed that the film would not even do a net business of ₹300 million. .[42]

In the US, the film has grossed $743,209.[43]

Controversies

A petitioner, Mohammed Ali, filed a petition in Bombay High Court to stay the release of movie after claiming two of the songs in the movie were obscene. The court declined to stay the release and sought the responses of Karan Johar, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=158
  2. ^ https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=158
  3. ^ "Kurban". British Board of Film Classification.
  4. ^ "Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor playing terrorists in Rensil D'Silva's film". IndiaFM. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  5. ^ "Saif, Kareena to star in Karan Johar film". www.rediff.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  6. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (28 October 2008). ""No patch up with Bachchans" : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  7. ^ Shah, Kunal M. (19 December 2008). "Wake up YRF". Ahmedabad Mirror. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Shooting Kareena 'topless' in Kurbaan". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b "'Karan Johan has been highly misunderstood'". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b c d "'Kurbaan is not based on the 9/11 tragedy'". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Dostana is a clean happy watch: Karan Johar". Hindustan Times. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Kurbaan is a cross-genre film: Rensil - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Moving beyond art". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Sharma, Sanjukta (25 June 2009). "The new Bollywood Muslim". mint. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  15. ^ Bhatia, Ritika (12 September 2015). "Shanoo Sharma: The star maker". Business Standard India. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Shooting Kareena 'topless' in Kurbaan". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  17. ^ "'That some love stories have blood on them gets evident from the poster'". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Kareena Kapoor's 'Kurbaan' has many interesting trivia that fans should know, Read more". Republic World. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  19. ^ "The brief". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  20. ^ "Tara Sharma begins her first post-delivery film shooting this". 28 October 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ a b c d "Designer Akki Narula on dressing Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in Kurbaan". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  22. ^ "When Saif, Kareena got depressed!". Hindustan Times. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Kareena Kapoor faints, says no to size zero". Hindustan Times. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  24. ^ "Health scare for Saif again? - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  25. ^ "Rensil Asked to Leave UK without shooting much - Mid Day". Mid-day. Retrieved 30 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  26. ^ "Shape Up". The Indian Express. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Vivek Oberoi gifts Kareena-Saif an impromptu holiday". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  28. ^ "We've lost our reputation, says KJo". Hindustan Times. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  29. ^ "Pune schedule of Qurbaan cancelled due to swine flu epidemic : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". 10 August 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Why was Vivek Oberoi missing from Kurbaan promos?". Hindustan Times. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d e f "Salim-Suleiman: Scoring for Kurbaan". Rediff. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  32. ^ "Filmfare Awards 2010 Nominations - 55th Filmfare Award Nominations List". www.awardsandshows.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  33. ^ "Kurbaan (Audio CD)". Amazon. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  34. ^ "Salim-Sulaiman, Niranjan Iyengar – Kurbaan". Discogs. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  35. ^ Malani, Gaurav. "Kurbaan: Movie Review". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  36. ^ "Kurbaan Review 4/5 | Kurbaan Movie Review | Kurbaan 2009 Public Review | Film Review". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  37. ^ "Love in the time of terror « Rajeev Masand – movies that matter : from bollywood, hollywood and everywhere else". Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  38. ^ "Kurbaan - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  39. ^ "Kurbaan". Time Out Worldwide. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  40. ^ Kurbaan Movie Review {3.5/5}: Critic Review of Kurbaan by Times of India, retrieved 30 January 2021
  41. ^ "Kurbaan". Future Movies. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  42. ^ Lakra, Usha (24 November 2009). "'Kurbaan' suffers rejection at box office | Kurbaan". ApunKaChoice.com. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  43. ^ "Kurbaan (2009)". Box Office Mojo. 24 December 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  44. ^ "Bombay High Court allows release of Karan Johar's 'Kurbaan'". Sify. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
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