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Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors

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Hari Puttar
Directed byLucky Kohli & Rajesh Bajaj
Produced byA.P. Parigi
StarringSarika
Zain Khan
Swini Khara
Jackie Shroff
Saurabh Shukla
Vijay Raaz
Shamita Shetty
Music byAadesh Shrivastav
Guru Sharma
Distributed byMirchi Movies
Release date
  • 26 September 2008 (2008-09-26)
Running time
86 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Hari Puttar is a 2008 Indian comedy film directed by Lucky Kohli & Rajesh Bajaj. The film features Sarika, Zain Khan, Swini Khara, Saurabh Shukla, Vijay Raaz, Jackie Shroff and Lilette Dubey.[2] It was released on 26 September 2008. The plot of the film is similar to the 1990 film Home Alone.[3]

Plot

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The film revolves around a ten-year-old boy, Hari Prasad Dhoonda (nicknamed Hari Puttar), who has recently moved from India to the United Kingdom. Left home alone with his cousin Tuk Tuk when his parents go on vacation, Hari must deal with two burglars who hope to steal a secret formula Hari's father had created.

Cast

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  • Zain Khan as Hari Prasad Dhoonda aka Hari Puttar
  • Swini Khara as Tuk Tuk

Soundtrack

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The soundtrack for Hari Puttar features songs composed by Aadesh Shrivastav with lyrics by Sameer:

Reception

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Insiyah Vahanvaty of Rediff.com gave the film 3 out of 5, writing, "Despite a few let-downs, the film is engaging and funny, keeping the children at the theatre in splits at the bumbling goondas. Do take your kids for the fun ride!"[4]

Conversely, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave a negative review, calling the script of the film a "script which doesn’t know the meaning of sense."[5] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1 out of 5, writing, "Zain Khan does a decent job. Swini Khara, seen in CHEENI KUM, gets no scope. Sarika looks disinterested. Also, she looks ill at ease delivering Punjabi lines. Lilette Dubey is miscast. As for Jackie Shroff, the less said the better. It's also sad to see actors like Saurabh Shukla and Vijay Raaz being reduced to such roles. They ham! On the whole, HARI PUTTAR - A COMEDY OF TERRORS is a poor show all the way."[6]

Controversy

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Warner Bros. filed a lawsuit against production company Mirchi Movies to stop the release of the film due to the similarity of its title to that of the Harry Potter series. Delhi High Court threw out the case on the basis that the public would be able to differentiate between the two titles, and that Warner had chosen to wait three years until the film's release to file their case.[2][7]

Mirchi Movies CEO Munish Purii has insisted that there is very little similarity between Hari Puttar and any elements in the Harry Potter franchise, and explained that Hari is a popular Indian name, while "puttar" means "son" in the Punjabi language.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Hari Puttar - A Comedy of Terrors - Movie - Box Office India". Archived from the original on 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Warner Bros lose Hari Puttar case". 22 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2008 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ "Hari Puttar fails to conjure Harry Potter magic". The Guardian. 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  4. ^ Vahanvaty, Insiyah (26 September 2008). "Take your kids to Hari Puttar!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Hari Puttar, A Comedy Of Terrors". 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  6. ^ Adarsh, Taran (26 September 2008). "Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  7. ^ "'Harry Potter' takes shot at 'Hari Puttar'". The New York Times. 26 August 2008. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  8. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (25 August 2008). "Warners suit takes issue with Indian film's title". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021 – via www.reuters.com.
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