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Pink (2016 film)

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Pink
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Written byRitesh Shah
Story byShoojit Sircar
Ritesh Shah
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Produced by
  • Ronnie Lahiri
  • Rashmi Sharma
  • Sheel Kumar
Starring
CinematographyAbhik Mukhopadhyay
Edited byBodhaditya Banerjee
Music by
Production
company
Release date
  • 16 September 2016 (2016-09-16)
Running time
136 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹30 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹157.32 crore[3]

Pink is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language legal thriller film directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and written by Shoojit Sircar, Ritesh Shah and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.[1] The film is produced by Rising Sun Films on a total budget of ₹30 crore, with screenplay by Shah and music composition by Shantanu Moitra and Anupam Roy.[4] Pink features an ensemble cast, which includes Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang, Angad Bedi, Tushar Pandey, Piyush Mishra, and Dhritiman Chatterjee.[5]

Pink was released worldwide in cinemas on 16 September 2016.[6] The film received widespread critical acclaim for the cast performances, execution, story, screenplay and direction.[2] Pink emerged as a surprising commercial success earning over ₹157.32 crore globally.[3] The film completed a 50-day run theatrically.[7]

At the 64th National Film Awards, Pink won the category of Best Film on Other Social Issues.[8] Pink received 5 nominations at the 62nd Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor (Bachchan) and Best Supporting Actress (Kulhari), and won Best Dialogue (Ritesh Shah).

The film is remade in Tamil as Nerkonda Paarvai (2019) and in Telugu as Vakeel Saab (2021).[9]

Plot

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Minal, Falak, and Andrea are introduced to Rajveer, Raunak, and their mutual friend Vishwajyoti during a night out in New Delhi. After sharing drinks, the group heads to a resort, but the night ends abruptly when the men rush to a hospital to treat Rajveer for a severe, bleeding head wound. Concurrently, the three women return to their shared apartment deeply shaken, hinting at their involvement in the incident. Though they attempt to move on, they are quickly subjected to targeted harassment. Rajveer’s friend, Ankit, threatens their landlord and launches a sexually explicit smear campaign against them online, which ultimately costs Falak her job. When the women attempt to seek legal recourse, local police discourage them, protective of the men's political ties to Rajveer's influential uncle, Ranjit. Undeterred, Minal escalates the issue with the help of her boss and successfully files a formal complaint with a higher-ranking officer.

In retaliation, Rajveer's friends abduct Minal during her morning run. The incident is witnessed by Deepak, an enigmatic elderly neighbor who is unable to intervene in time. The men molest, blackmail, and traumatize Minal inside a moving car before dumping her back home. Days later, the situation worsens when Minal is arrested on attempted murder charges after Rajveer files a counter-complaint painting the three women as sex workers. Distraught by the systemic injustice, Falak and Andrea seek counsel from Deepak, discovering that he is actually a highly reputable, retired criminal defense attorney. Driven by his conscience, Deepak handles the bail procedures and steps out of retirement to represent Minal in court.

In the courtroom, prosecuting attorney Prashant Mehra orchestrates a character assassination against the women. He claims they willingly accompanied the men to the resort, initiated intimacy, and demanded money. Prashant argues that when Rajveer refused to pay for their services, an enraged Minal struck him with a bottle. To sway the court, he systematically attacks their morals, highlighting that Minal chooses to live independently away from her Delhi-based family, drinks alcohol, and stays out late. Conversely, Deepak presents the defense's timeline: the men deliberately isolated the women at the resort, and when Rajveer attempted to rape Minal, she struck him with a bottle in absolute self-defense.

Deepak shifts the trial's focus entirely to the fundamental issue of consent. During a tense cross-examination, Deepak deliberately provokes Rajveer, causing the young man to lose his temper and expose his true colors. Rajveer aggressively insults the women, shouting that they "got what they deserved" simply for choosing to drink and socialize with men. Capitalizing on this outburst, Deepak delivers a powerful closing argument criticizing society's regressive double standards, where independent women are automatically deemed characterless for their lifestyle choices while men are excused for predatory behavior. He firmly establishes that when a woman says "no," it is an absolute boundary that requires no further explanation or validation.

Ultimately, Minal, Falak, and Andrea are fully acquitted of all charges. Rajveer, Ankit, and Raunak are arrested and held for sentencing, while Vishwajyoti is let off with a strict warning. An end-credits sequence confirms the absolute truth of Minal's account, showing the terrifying moment Rajveer tried to force himself on her and her subsequent act of self-defense.

Cast

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Production

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In early March 2016 Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he was shooting a film in Delhi. It was rumoured that the film was titled "Eve".[10] On 13 March Bachchan denied the rumours and announced through Twitter that the film is titled Pink.[11]

Director-producer Shoojit Sircar informed that Amitabh Bachchan accepted the role and Taapsee Pannu was their first choice.[12] Andrea Tariang was also selected to play the role of one of the girls in the film.[13][14] Tushar Pandey, Raashul Tandon and Arjun Chakraborty are making their debut with this film.[15]

Filming

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The principal photography of the film began in New Delhi on International Women's Day, 2016.[16] The looks of Amitabh Bachchan in the movie was created by Shoojit Sircar however the idea of wearing the mask was suggested by Amitabh Bachchan since Delhi is very polluted.[17]

During the shoot, Amitabh Bachchan wandered the streets of New Delhi while wearing a costume in which the public could not recognise him.[18] Amitabh Bachchan finished filming his scenes in April 2016.[19]

Taapsee often broke down on the shooting sets as she felt her character was very strong and challenging.[20] She suffered from viral infection during the court scenes and wanted to dub later, however Shoojit felt that her illness would add more authenticity to the scenes.[21] Despite the hardships Taapsee enjoyed filming the scenes.[22]

The original climax of Rajvir and his friends winning the case was modified so as not to hurt the sentiments of the audience.[23]

A special screening of the film was held for Amitabh Bachchan's co stars and the leading ladies of Bollywood.[24] However Amitabh Bachchan could not attend the screening due to health issues.[25] Taapsee also arranged a special screening of the film for the Telugu film industry at Hyderabad.[26]

Bishan Singh Bedi, father of Angad Bedi, arranged a special screening of the film in Delhi which was attended by cricketers like Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh.[27]

Marketing

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Shoojit Sircar and Amitabh Bachchan questioned their fans on Twitter as to what they think the film title "Pink" is all about.[28] Times of India had opened a contest in which 5 lucky winners got a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan and other 10 winners got free movie tickets of the movie -Pink.[29] The winners were announced on 15-September-2016.[30]

The world television premier was held on 23 – October 2016 on Star Gold and to commemorate the same, Amitabh Bachchan's house Jalsa, Carter Road Promenade and SNDT Women's University were illuminated in pink colour.[31]

The title of the film has no relationship as being the favourite colour of girls but rather conveys that women should have the freedom to speak and walk freely at night.[32]

Soundtrack

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Pink
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Jeenay De Mujhe"Faiza MujahidFaiza MujahidFaiza Mujahid03:58
2."Kaari Kaari"Tanveer GhaziShantanu MoitraQurat-ul-Ain Balouch06:27
3."Tujhse Hi Hai Roshni"Anupam RoyAnupam RoyAnupam Roy04:28
4."Pink Anthem"Irshad KamilAnupam RoyJonita Gandhi, EPR Iyer03:47
5."Tu Chal"Tanveer GhaziShantanu MoitraAmitabh Bachchan03:08
Total length:21:48

Release

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The film was specially screened for the Rajasthan Police so as to train them to be sensitive and sensible about women's rights and dignity.[33] The film was also specially screened at Rashtrapati Bhavan[34] and invited for a screening at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.[35][36]

Critical reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 13 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.

Meena Iye of The Times of India and Shubha Shetty Saha of Indiatimes gave the film 4.5 stars.[37] Mayank Shekhar from Mid-Day gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "The film, up until the closing credits, does not even visually describe the said incident. It grips you still with a gently piercing background score, moments of silence and dialogue, building up the tension, while the audience wonders what really could have happened one unfortunate night when three girls found themselves in a Surajkund resort with three guys."[38]

Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost called Pink a powerful film.[39] Filmfare, India Today, Mumbai Mirror, Hindustan Times, The Statesman, and DNA have given 4/5 stars, highly appreciating the superlative performances, especially of Amitabh Bachchan. Critics like Anusha Iyengar and Mayank Shekhar called it movie of the year. Namrata Joshi of The Hindu also praised the film.[6] Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 3.5 stars.[40]

Rajeev Masand from News18 rated the movie as 4.5/5 mentioning that "I left the cinema, my mouth dry at the end of Pink. This isn't just an important film, but also excellently made. It's a giant leap for Hindi cinema, and easily the best film this year".[41]

Box office

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Pink grossed approximately ₹4.32 crore on first day in India.[42][43] The first weekend collection was ₹21.51 crore.[44][45]

At the end of 7 days the domestic box office collection was ₹35.91 crore.[46] Pink grossed ₹50 crore in first 10 days in India.[47][48]

Accolades

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AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef.
National Film Awards7 April 2017Best Film on Social IssuesDirector: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Producer: Rashmi Sharma Films		Won[49]
Indian Film Festival of MelbourneAugust 2017Best FilmDirector: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Producer: Rashmi Sharma Films		Won[50]
Filmfare Awards14 January 2017Best FilmRashmi Sharma, Pawan Kumar, Shoojit Sircar and Sheel KumarNominated[51][52]
Best ActorAmitabh BachchanNominated
Best Supporting ActressKirti KulhariNominated
Best Female Playback SingerQurat-ul-Ain Balouch for song "Kaari Kaari"Nominated
Best DialogueRitesh ShahWon
Star Screen Awards4 December 2016Best FilmPawan Kumar and Rashmi SharmaWon[53]
Best ActorAmitabh BachchanWon
Best DialogueRitesh ShahWon
Best EditingBodhaditya BanerjeeWon
Stardust Awards19 December 2016Best FilmRashmi Sharma
Pawan Kumar		Nominated[54][55]
Best DirectorAniruddha Roy ChowdhuryNominated
Best Actor (Male)Amitabh BachchanWon
Best ScreenplayRitesh ShahNominated
Best Debutant (Female)Andrea TariangNominated
Zee Cine Awards11 March 2017Best Film (Critics)PinkWon[56][57]
Best FilmNominated
Best DirectorAniruddha Roy ChowdhuryNominated
Best Actor - Male (Critics)Amitabh BachchanWon
Best Actor (Male)Nominated
Best StoryRitesh ShahNominated
Best DialogueWon
Best Female DebutAndrea TariangNominated
Best Directorial DebutAniruddha Roy ChowdhuryNominated
Mirchi Music Awards16 February 2017Female Vocalist of The YearQurat-ul-Ain Balouch for "Kaari Kaari"Nominated[58]
Upcoming Female Vocalist of The YearNominated
Best Background ScoreShantanu MoitraNominated
International Indian Film Academy Awards 14–15 July 2017 Best Film Rashmi Sharma, Pawan Kumar, Shoojit Sircar and Sheel Kumar Nominated [59]
Best Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury Won
Best Actor Amitabh Bachchan Nominated
Best Actress Taapsee Pannu Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Kirti Kulhari Nominated
Andrea Tariang Nominated
Best Lyricist Tanveer Ghazi for "Tu Chal" Nominated
Best Screenplay Ritesh Shah Won
Best Dialogue Won
Best Editing Bodhaditya Bandyopadhyay Won
AACTA Awards6 December 2017Best Asian FilmRashmi Sharma, Pawan Kumar, Shoojit Sircar and Sheel KumarNominated

Remakes

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Language Movie name Actors Director Release year
Tamil language Nerkonda Paarvai[60][61] Ajith Kumar H. Vinoth 2019
Telugu language Vakeel Saab[62] Pawan Kalyan Venu Sriram 2021

Bibliography

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  • Gautam, Chintamani (2017). Pink : The Inside Story. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-9352770397.

References

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  1. 1 2 "Pink (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 9 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Pink Box Office: Amitabh Bachchan film records impressive opening weekend". catchnews.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Special Features: Box Office: Worldwide Collections and Day wise breakup of Pink — Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Pink is a social thriller: Amitabh Bachchan". 11 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Groves, Don (14 September 2016). "Amitabh Bachchan Thriller Set To Clash With Horror Movie Starring Emraan Hashmi". Forbes. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  6. 1 2 Joshi, Namrata (15 September 2016). "Pink: The girls are alright, but the boys?". The Hindu.
  7. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan starrer Pink completes 50 days in theatres". indiablooms.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "64 th National Film Awards, 2016" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  9. ↑ "'Pink is not a film, it is like a movement' – Amitabh Bachchan". Deccan Chronicle. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Pink not Eve: Amitabh Bachchan reveals the name of Shoojit Sircar movie". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  11. ↑ "It's 'PINK' not 'EVE', Amitabh Bachchan confirms title of Shoojit Sircar's next". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 March 2016.[dead link]
  12. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan is an intelligent actor, says Shoojit Sircar". The Indian Express. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Women of 'Pink': Meet Amitabh Bachchan's co-stars Taapsee Pannu, Andrea Tariang, Kirti Kulhari". 16 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan jams with co-star Andrea Tariang — Times of India". The Times of India. 28 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Four young male actors set to make their mark with 'Pink'". The Times of India. 28 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Taapsee Pannu joins Amitabh Bachchan in Delhi for their next film 'Pink'". The Indian Express. New Delhi, India. 13 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  17. ↑ "Even I'm still confused: Amitabh Bachchan". asianage.com. 10 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  18. ↑ Prashar, Chandani (13 March 2016). "Amitabh Bachchan Painted Delhi PINK. No One Noticed?". NDTV Movies. New Delhi, India. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  19. ↑ "Big B wraps 'Pink' shoot, bids emotional goodbye to team". mid-day.com. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Revealed: Why did Taapsee Pannu break down while shooting for 'Pink'?". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  21. ↑ "Taapsee Pannu shot for 'Pink' with a cold". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Watch 'Pink' actress Taapsee Pannu had a blast shooting for the film". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan – Taapsee Pannu starrer Pink's original climax was changed for viewers". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan to screen Pink for veteran actresses". Deccan Chronicle. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "No Amitabh Bachchan in 'Pink' screening for Bollywood ladies". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  26. ↑ "Taapsee's special date with Tollywood's biggies". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  27. ↑ "Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh attend Amitabh Bachchan starrer Pink's special screening". cricketcountry.com. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Pink: Amitabh Bachchan, Shoojit Sircar ask people to guess What is Pink". The Indian Express. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  29. ↑ "Meet Amitabh Bachchan: Participate in the contest now". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Meet and greet Amitabh Bachchan: Winners announced". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan's house turns pink to announce 'Pink' televison [sic] premiere". Deccan Chronicle. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  32. ↑ "Why was movie 'Pink' called 'Pink'? Amitabh Bachchan explains the relevance". indiatvnews.com. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  33. ↑ "Big B's Pink to be screened to Rajasthan police to sensitise them towards women". Deccan Chronicle. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  34. ↑ "Big B, Taapsee thank President for special screening of Pink at Rashtrapati Bhavan". India Today. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  35. ↑ "Amitabh Bachchan's PINK to have a special screening at United Nations". The Indian Express. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  36. ↑ "Big B starrer 'Pink' to have special screening at UN". Deccan Herald. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  37. ↑ "Pink Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India.
  38. ↑ "'Pink' – Movie Review". mid-day.com. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  39. ↑ "Pink review: Amitabh Bachchan teams up with a smashing young ensemble in this powerful film". 16 September 2016.
  40. ↑ "Pink movie review: A blazing indictment of all that's wrong with us". 15 September 2016.
  41. ↑ "Pink Movie Review: Stinging Indictment of Deep-Set Prejudices". News18.com. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  42. ↑ "Pink Has Low First Day". Retrieved 17 September 2016. Pink had a low start on day one grossing around 4 crore nett
  43. ↑ "Pink box office collection day 1: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu starrer earns Rs. 4.32 crore". 16 September 2016.
  44. ↑ "Pink Has Decent Weekend — Strong Trend".
  45. ↑ "Pink box office collection day 3: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu-starrer collects Rs 21.51 cr". The Indian Express. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  46. ↑ "Banjo, Parched box office collection day 1: Amitabh Bachchan's Pink rules over new releases". The Indian Express. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  47. ↑ "Pink Hits 50 Crore in Ten Days – Box Office India".
  48. ↑ "The Alternative HITS – Pink Fifth – Box Office India".
  49. ↑ "64th National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  50. ↑ "Bollywood Stars Shine at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2017 Awards Night". News18. 12 August 2017.
  51. ↑ "62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 Nominations". 10 January 2017.
  52. ↑ "62nd Jio Filmfare Awards 2017: Complete winners list".
  53. ↑ "Star Screen Awards 2016 winners list: Pink wins big, Big B-Alia get best actor and actress award". 5 December 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  54. ↑ "Nominations for Stardust Awards 2016". Bollywood Hungama. 19 December 2017.
  55. ↑ "Winners of Stardust Awards 2016". Bollywood Hungama. 19 December 2017.
  56. ↑ "Nominations for Zee Cine Awards 2017". Bollywood Hungama. 11 March 2017.
  57. ↑ "Zee Cine Awards 2017 complete winners list: Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan bag top honours". 11 March 2017.
  58. ↑ "MMA Mirchi Music Awards". MMAMirchiMusicAwards. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  59. ↑ "IIFA Awards 2017 Winners". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  60. ↑ "Ajith's Pink remake titled Nerkonda Paarvai; first look out". The Times of India. 4 March 2019.
  61. ↑ Taran Adarsh [@taran_adarsh] (25 March 2019). "Release date confirmed... #Tamil remake of #Pink, titled #NerkondaPaarvai, starring Ajith Kumar, to release on 08 Aug 2019... Vidya Balan in special appearance... Currently being filmed in #Hyderabad... Directed by H Vinoth... Produced by Boney Kapoor. The trailer of the movie was released on June 12, 2019" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  62. ↑ "Pink to be remade in Telugu with Pawan Kalyan, as Boney Kapoor collaborates with producer Dil Raju". 2 November 2019.
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