Murder (2004 film)
| Murder | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Anurag Basu |
| Story by | Anurag Basu |
| Produced by | Mukesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt |
| Starring | Emraan Hashmi Mallika Sherawat Ashmit Patel |
| Cinematography | Fuwad Khan |
| Edited by | Akiv Ali |
| Music by | Anu Malik Amir Jamal Najam Sheraz Miles Raju Rao (background score) |
| Distributed by | Vishesh Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | est. ₹50 million (US$600,000)[1] |
| Box office | est. ₹247.5 million (US$3.0 million)[2] |
Murder is a 2004 Hindi erotic thriller film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mukesh Bhatt. It stars Emraan Hashmi , Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel in the lead roles and is set in Bangkok, Thailand. It is an uncredited remake of the 2002 Hollywood film Unfaithful.[3]
Murder released on 2 April 2004 and, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, managed to become a highly successful venture at the box office, earning a "super hit" status from Box Office India.[2] The film was a huge breakthrough for its lead actors, particularly Hashmi and Sherawat. It received an A certificate from the Indian Censor Board for its erotic subject and scenes.
Today, it has become a film series spawning over two sequels, Murder 2 in 2011 and Murder 3 in 2013.
Plot
The story follows Simran (Mallika Sherawat), a young woman married to Sudhir (Ashmit Patel), a workaholic and ex-husband of her dead sister, Sonia. Simran married Sudhir in order to give motherly love to Sudhir and Sonia's son. Due to her lonely, passionless married life, she begins an affair with her college love, Sunny (Emraan Hashmi), whom she accidentally meets. Sunny came in Simran's life after many years. She starts telling lies to Sudhir so as to meet Sunny daily. She gets so engrossed in their affair that she forgets all her commitments as a wife and mother, and she realizes that it is grossly wrong. She decides to end the affair but, to her surprise, she finds another woman named Radhika with him. Simran then realizes her mistake of sleeping with Sunny just because of an unhappy marital life. She laments her unfaithful act.
Meanwhile, Sudhir starts to have doubts about his wife, and hires a detective to trace Simran's whereabouts. His doubts are confirmed when the detective provides him photographs of the two together. He also finds out that Sunny is a womanizer, with many girlfriends. The next day, Sunny suddenly goes missing. The police come to their house and inquire about him on a report registered by his girlfriend. Simran sees the photographs of her and Sunny in Sudhir's pants, and realizes that Sudhir has something to do with Sunny being missing. It is revealed that when Sudhir goes to Sunny's apartment asking him to end the affair, he fatally beats him and buries his body, in the heat of the moment. Simran accepts her mistake, supports Sudhir, and then tries to take the blame of Sunny's murder on herself. This develops and strengthens their love and faith. With Sunny murdered, she is arrested by the police and pleads guilty. On the other hand, Sudhir claims that it is he who killed Sunny. This confuses the police. Moreover, the body is missing from the burial spot.
The story takes a u-turn when it is found that this "murder" never took place; rather it was a plot planned by Sunny with the aid of Radhika to separate Simran and Sudhir, so that he could continue his love affair with Simran. Only Simran comes to realize this, and she is trapped by Sunny. Sunny chases Simran into a jungle, where Sudhir arrives and has another fight with Sunny. He manages to beat him, and Sunny leaves as he sees the two together, seemingly realizing their love for each other. However, Sunny then runs up behind Sudhir with a shovel but is then shot in the back by a police officer, who arrives just in time. The couple reunites with the love developed on the strong foundations of the test of mutual support and understanding to lead a happily married life.
Cast
- Mallika Sherawat as Simran Sehgal
- Emraan Hashmi as Sunny
- Ashmit Patel as Sudhir Sehgal
- Raj Zutshi as Inspector Rajvir Singh
- Kashmira Shah as a Lounge singer
- Krsh Chawla as Kabir Sehgal
Reception
Murder received mixed reviews from film critics in India. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated it 3 out of 5 and called it an "engrossing entertainer".[4] Anupama Chopra in her review for India Today called Sherawat "the hero of the film" but criticized the screenplay.[5] At the box office, it opened well and grossed over ₹247.5 million.[2] The film was elevated to "super hit" verdict by Box Office India after its second weekend.[2] It was also the ninth highest-grossing film of the year 2004.[2]
Soundtrack
The music is composed by Anu Malik, Amr Diab, Miles, Amir Jamal and Najam Sheraz. The music was recreated by Anu Malik and the original composers were given their credit to prevent increased plagiarism in India. Lyrics are penned by Sayeed Quadri and Rahat Indori.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bheege Hont" | Sayeed Quadri | Kunal Ganjawala | 4:32 |
| 2. | "Bheege Hont – Instrumental" | Instrumental | 4:30 | |
| 3. | "Dil Ko Hazar Bar" | Rahat Indori | Alisha Chinoy | 4:34 |
| 4. | "Jaana Tere Pyar" | Sayeed Quadri | Amir Jamal | 4:22 |
| 5. | "Kaho Na Kaho" | Sayeed Quadri | Amir Jamal | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Kaho Na Kaho – Instrumental" | Instrumental | 5:08 | |
| 7. | "Zindagi Iss Tarah" | Sayeed Quadri | Sonu Nigam | 5:37 |
| 8. | "Zindagi Iss Tarah" | Sayeed Quadri | Anuradha Paudwal | 5:37 |
Controversies
The soundtrack for the film has been criticized as being copied from other sources. In particular, the song "Jaana Jaane Jaana" is a reported copy of the song "Firiye Dao" by Miles, a pop band from Bangladesh. Miles later sued the filmmakers, which resulted in the song being removed from the film's original soundtrack. The Bangladeshi band also sought compensation for 'hurting it's business interests'. However, due to challenges in terms of uncertainty about the outcome, lack of information and lack of initiative from the relevant authorities on either side, compensation has not (as of 2005) been yet awarded.[6][7]
Remake and sequels
The film was remade into Kannada as Ganda Hendathi in 2006.
A sequel titled Murder 2 was released on 8 July 2011 with Emraan Hashmi and Jacqueline Fernandez in the lead roles. Commercially, the sequel surpassed the collections of Murder, becoming a blockbuster.[8] After the success of the first two installments, the producers released a third installment, Murder 3,[9] on 15 February 2013. The film, which was an official remake of Spanish film The Hidden Face,[10] starred Randeep Hooda, Aditi Rao Hydari and Sara Loren in the lead roles. However, unlike the earlier parts, it only performed moderately well at the box office.[11] A fourth film is also in development with Hashmi returning, after not appearing in the third film.[12]
References
- ^ Nag, Ashoke (27 February 2005). "'Murder' makes a killing at box office". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Box Office 2004". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ Sen, Sushmita (8 August 2014). "From 'Jai Ho' to 'Raaz': 21st Century Bollywood Remakes of Hollywood Films". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ Adarsh, Taran (1 April 2004). "Murder Review". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ Chopra, Anupama (19 April 2004). "Derailed plot". India Today. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
- ^ Abul Kalam Azad (15 December 2005). Managing the Challenges of WTO Participation. Cambridge University Press. p. 53. ISBN 9781139449007. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "Band cries Murder over tune lift". The Telegraph — Calcutta. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ "Huge July With Surprise MURDER 2 Topping". Box Office India. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Murder 3 next year". Hindustan Times. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- ^ "Murder 3 is a remake of Spanish film". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ Adarsh, Taran (22 February 2013). "Top 5: 'Murder 3' recovers cost, in profit zone!". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ PTI (13 May 2016). "Emraan Hashmi confirms that 'Murder 4' is in the pipeline". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 22 May 2016.