Paa (film)
Paa | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | R. Balki |
Written by | R. Balki |
Produced by | Amitabh Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan Sunil Manchanda Mahesh Ramanathan |
Starring | Amitabh Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan Vidya Balan Paresh Rawal Arundhati Nag |
Cinematography | P. C. Sriram |
Edited by | Anil Naidu |
Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Reliance Big Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 133 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹150 million (US$1.8 million) |
Box office | ₹310 million (US$3.7 million)[1] |
Paa (Hindi: पा, English: Father) is a 2009 Indian comedy-drama film directed by R. Balakrishnan (credited onscreen as R. Balki) starring Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vidya Balan.[2] The film is based on a rare genetic condition known as progeria and places emphasis on a father-son relationship. Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, in real life, are father and son respectively, but in Paa, they played opposite roles. The film was released worldwide on 4 Dec 2009. Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja scored the music. The film was critically acclaimed in India and fared well at the box office.[1] Despite a warm reception from Indian film critics, the film received mixed reviews from overseas film critics, according to the websites Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. Amitabh Bachchan received his third National Film Award for Best Actor and his fifth Filmfare Best Actor Award and Vidya Balan got her first Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Plot
Auro (Amitabh Bachchan) is an intelligent and witty 12-year-old boy with an extremely rare genetic disorder called progeria. Mentally he is twelve and very normal, but physically he looks five times older. In spite of his condition, Auro is a very happy boy. He lives with his mother Vidya (Vidya Balan), who is a gynaecologist. Amol Arte (Abhishek Bachchan) is a young, cold-blooded politician. He is out to prove to the world that "politics" is not a bad word. He is a man with a mission. Auro is Amol's son; however, Vidya conceals this from him. Amol meets Auro when he visits the boy's school as a chief guest. He comes on the occasion of a competition on the "visionary of India". Amol decides Auro as the winner, impressed by the white globe he made. But being with such a big politician Auro was found by the media. The next day the media tries to enter his school. Auro, annoyed at this, sends him an e-mail, which says "I hate you". Amol reads it and takes a restraining order from High Court stating that nobody can disturb him without permission. Auro, relieved, tells him of his desire to visit the president's house. But due Amol's political issues he fails to make it on the decided day. Auro, however, loses confidence in him but later agrees to go to Delhi with him although he now knows that Amol is his father. Though Amol does not know that Auro is his son, he takes him to Delhi to see the president's house. Auro says that he still needs to forgive Amol for his first mistake (not accepting him) , but he dosen't tell him what it is. When on his 13 birthday he is in hospital he tells his mistake. Auro, tries to get his mother and father back together, but Vidya resists, still hurt by the fact that Amol wanted her to have an abortion when they first found out she was pregnant. Amol realises his mistake though, and proposes to Vidya, as he is still in love with her. He stays by Auro's side when he finds out that Auro is his son. Auro's health begins to deteriorate as he reaches his 13th birthday, his physical defects catching up. However, he is finally able to reunite his mother and father once again as Vidya gives in to her feelings for Amol and her motherly love for Auro.They get married in the hospital a fake one, so they can do the real one later. Auro, succumbing to his disease, says his last words "Maa" to Vidya and "Paa" to Amol before dying with a satisfied smile.
Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan as Auro
- Abhishek Bachchan as Amol Arte
- Vidya Balan as Dr. Vidya
- Paresh Rawal as Mr. Arte
- Arundhati Nag as Vidya's mother (Auro's grandmother)
- Satyajit Sharma as Jaikirt
- Prateek Katare as Vishnu
- Taruni Sachdev as Auro's classmate
Production
Casting
The film had Amitabh Bachchan playing the role of a child who is suffering from Progeria, a genetic disorder which leads to quick acceleration of ageing process in children. Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh's real-life son played the role of his father.
Vidya Balan was the only choice for the mother's role. She suited well for this role, and she is also really hot to play this. Initially, she was criticised for putting on weight. But it was certain, as she played Auro's mother. Arundathi Nag, the wife of late Kannada actor-director Shankar Nag was asked to play the role of Vidya's mother (Bachchan's maternal grandmother).[3]
Filming
Most of the parts were shot in Lucknow and some parts of the film were shot in UK and Malaysia.. A small portion of the filming was done at Cambridge. The clock of Corpus Christi College and courtyard of St. John's College have been shown in a song sequence. The film was also shot in Taiping, Malaysia. The King Edward VII school was actually one of the Malaysian local schools, namely the Victoria Institution.
One of the notable things in the movie was the Amitabh's prosthetic make up. It was done by Hollywood's Christien Tinsley (famous for his work in The Passion of the Christ, Catwoman and other films) and Dominie Till of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy fame.
There was a plan to make a sequel named Maa, but Balki stopped it. In the words of Balki, "My main aim was not to make a film on progeria. My main motive behind making Paa was to reverse the roles of Amitabh and Abhishek. I decided to do something like this because once I was with both of them and I saw Abhishek behaving in a very matured manner. It was then that this idea struck me."[4]
Paa was Abhishek Bachchan's first venture into producing films for his family company AB Corp. Ltd. Abhishek not only was one of the lead actors in Paa, but was the main hands-on producer in charge of the film's budget, marketing, and the entire production of the film. It took hours for Amitabh Bachchan to put on his makeup and to take it off.[5][6][7]
Soundtrack
Untitled | |
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The soundtrack (songs and the background score) was scored by veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja. "Halke Se Bole" is based on the Tamil song "Putham Pudhu Kaalai" from his 1980 film Alaigal Oivathillai. "Gumm Summ Gumm" is based on the Malayalam song "Thumbi Vaa" which Ilaiyaraaja had composed for the 1982 Malayalam film Olangal. The song "Mere Paa" is based on his Tamil song "Kaatru Vizhi", from Balu Mahendra's film Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam. The song has an eclectic mix of Irish and Tamil Folk music, both seamlessly fused to create a soothing melody that appears as a leitmotif, in the film's theme music.
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mudhi Mudhi Isteffaq Se" | Lata Mangeshkar | 2:53 |
2. | "Gumm Summ Gumm" | Bhavatharini, Shravan | 4:40 |
3. | "Udhi Udhi Iteffaq Se" | Lata Mangeshkar | 2:36 |
4. | "Hichki Hichki" | Sunidhi Chauhan | 4:22 |
5. | "Gali Mudhi Ittefaq Se" | Shaan | 2:40 |
6. | "Halke Se Bole" | Chorus | 1:22 |
7. | "Mere Paa" | Amitabh Bachchan | 4:16 |
8. | "Paa Theme (Remix)" | Instrumental | 3:21 |
Awards and nominations
Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|
57th National Film Awards[8] | National Film Award for Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress | Arundathi Nag | Won | |
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi | AB Corporation Ltd, Sunil Manchanda, R. Balakrishnan, Mahesh Ramanathan |
Won | |
National Film Award for Best Make-up Artist | Christien Tinsley, Dominie Till |
Won | |
16th Star Screen Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won | |
Best Child Artist | Pratik Katare | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Arundathi Nag | Won | |
Jodi No. 1 | Amitabh Bacchan, Abhishek Bachchan |
Won | |
Best Film | AB Corporation Ltd, Sunil Manchanda |
Nominated | |
Best Director | R. Balki | Nominated | |
Best Story | R. Balki | Nominated | |
Best Screenplay | R. Balki | Nominated | |
Best Dialogue | R. Balki | Nominated | |
Best Background Score | Ilaiyaraja | Won | |
Best Playback Singer (Female) | Shilpa Rao for "Mudi Mudi" | Nominated | |
Best Editing | Anil Naidu | Nominated | |
Best Cinematography | P. C. Sreeram | Nominated | |
Best Audiography | Tapas | Nominated | |
8th Stardust Awards | Star of the Year – Male | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Supporting Actor | Abhishek Bachchan | Won | |
Star of the Year – Female | Vidya Balan | Nominated | |
55th Filmfare Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won | |
Best Supporting Actress | Arundathi Nag | Nominated | |
Best Movie | AB Corp Ltd. | Nominated | |
Best Director | R. Balki | Nominated | |
11th IIFA Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won | |
Best Makeup | Christien Tinsley, Domini Till |
Won | |
Best Movie | AB Corporation Ltd, Sunil Manchanda |
Nominated | |
Best Director | R. Balki | Nominated | |
IIFA Best Supporting Actor Award | Abhishek Bachchan | Nominated | |
IIFA Best Supporting Actress Award | Arundathi Nag | Nominated | |
IIFA Best Story Award | R. Balki | Nominated | |
IIFA Best Female Playback Award | Shilpa Rao for "Mudhi Mudhi" | Nominated | |
7th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won | |
Lines Gold Award | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won | |
FICCI Frames Excellence Awards | Best Actor | Amitabh Bachchan | Won |
Best Actress | Vidya Balan | Won |
- Won – Matri Shree Media Award for Best Film: 2010 – R. Balki
References
- ^ a b "Boxofficeindia.com". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ "Paa: Complete cast and crew details". Filmicafe Media Inc. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ H Hooli, Shekhar. "Arundhati Nag's role in Paa gets rave reviews". Oneindia Entertainment. Greynium Information Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
- ^ "Big B-Abhishek role reversal main motive behind 'Paa'". Siliconindia.com. 13 November 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
- ^ Bollywoodhungama, 24 November 2009
- ^ India Today, 1 December 2009.
- ^ Bollywoodhungama, 10 December 2009
- ^ PTI. "Big B wins National Award for Paa". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 6 April 2012.