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Aiyaary

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Aiyaary
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNeeraj Pandey
Written byNeeraj Pandey
Based onAdarsh Housing Society scam
Produced by
  • Shital Bhatia
  • Dhaval Jayantilal Gada
  • Aksshay Jayantilal Gada
  • Motion Picture Capital
Starring
CinematographySudheer Palsane
Edited byPraveen Kathikuloth
Music byScore:
Sanjoy Chowdhury
Songs:
Rochak Kohli
Ankit Tiwari
Production
companies
Distributed byReliance Entertainment
Release date
  • 16 February 2018 (2018-02-16)
Running time
160 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget65 crore[2]
Box office34.07 crore[3]

Aiyaary (transl. Magic or trickery)[4] is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film[5][6] written and directed by Neeraj Pandey.[7] Produced by Shital Bhatia, Dhaval Gada & Motion Picture Capital and distributed by Reliance Entertainment, Plan C Studios, Friday Filmworks & Pen India Limited. The film features Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra, Adil Hussain, Kumud Mishra, Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. Inspired by the Adarsh Housing society scam,[8] the film's narrative centers around the relation between a colonel and his protege that gets affected when the latter becomes disillusioned upon overhearing a conversation and goes rogue with sensitive data related to his covert organization, prompting the colonel to race against time and hunt him down.

After having its release date rescheduled from 26 January to 9 February to yet another week,[9] it was released on 16 February 2018.[10][11]

Plot

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During a surveillance in South Block, New Delhi, Major Jai Bakshi overhears a conversation between Retired Lt. Gen Gurinder Singh, an Indian Arms Lobby representative and the Army Chief Pratap Malik. Gurinder tries to bribe him on behalf of a Czech firm, but threatens to expose the Data & Systems Diagnostics (DSD), a confidential operations unit which Jai is a part of, when Malik does not comply. Suspecting a major scam in the army, Jai continues with the surveillance for 2 months before going rogue with his cyber-expert girlfriend, Sonia, taking along information related to his organization.

Colonel Abhay Singh, Jai's mentor, learns of this and decides to pursue Jai, while he himself is pursued secretly by Officer Brig. Srinivas, who reports his movements to Gurinder. After a meeting with Malik, who explains to him about the real culprit and a powerful arms dealer named Mukesh Kapoor, Abhay finds his car pursued and manages to escape, while the pursuers sent by Srinivas keep following the car. The DSD shifts their location to an undisclosed location, and Gurinder enlists the help of a journalist named Kamya and provides her sensitive information that can expose the army's secrets. Abhay flies to London, and so does a disguised Jai, who is picked up by Sonia upon his arrival.

In London, Jai manages to frighten Gurinder into transferring all his money into Jai's account while Abhay meets Tariq, a middle-man for Intelligence agents, who arranges guns and tries to locate Jai and Sonia, eventually alerting Jai. A desperate Abhay meets Mukesh and tells him his agents have captured Gurinder. He makes a deal with him, telling him to kill Jai and Sonia in exchange for the information he possesses as it threatens both the parties. While Jai is en-route to meet an MI-6 agent to sell him the information, Mukesh's sniper tries to kill him. A few agents are killed, and Jai is wounded, but manages to escape. Abhay picks up Sonia and calls Jai from her phone, telling him to come at a spot. Jai arrives, but is repeatedly punched by Abhay, who then holds him on gunpoint while Jai justifies his actions and questions what the elder generation plans to leave for the present one.

Hearing this makes Abhay agree with him, who subsequently picks up a call from Mukesh, on Jai's behalf. He asks him to free Tariq in exchange for all the information Jai would personally deliver to him. Abhay heads back to India, disguised, where he follows Jai's instructions and meets Baburao, an old man who reveals about an army housing scam in Mumbai, involving Gurinder and the Defence Minister. Abhay records his statement and hands it over to Kamya, his ex-girlfriend, who decides to play it after listening to Baburao's words. Gurinder, rescued by Srinivas after capturing DSD agents, receives the same audio recording and shoots himself after listening to it.

The housing scam is exposed, due to which Srinivas is forced to free the captured DSD agents. The Indian Army and DSD's reputation is saved, while Jai goes to meet Mukesh. Right before entering the building, as he is being watched by Mukesh's agent, Jai decides not to hand over the information and disappears as a bus passes. Mukesh decides to let everything go, while Jai reunites with Abhay after 2 months.

Cast

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Production

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The film was announced in April 2017. It was shot in Delhi, London, Kashmir, Cairo, Agra and more. Some of its scenes were also shot in the premises of Galgotias Campus One.[12] Aiyaary is directed by Neeraj Pandey.

Music

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Aiyaary
Soundtrack album by
Released1 February 2018 (2018-02-01)[13]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length17:15
LanguageHindi
LabelZee Music Company
ProducerTIPS Film Ramesh Tourani
Rochak Kohli chronology
Monsoon Shootout
(2017)
Aiyaary
(2018)
Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety
(2018)
Ankit Tiwari chronology
Baadshaho
(2017)
Aiyaary
(2018)
Lover
(2018)
Official audio
Aiyaary - Full Movie Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The music of the film is composed by Rochak Kohli and Ankit Tiwari while lyrics are penned by Manoj Muntashir. The background score is composed by Sanjoy Chowdhury. The songs are sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, Palak Muchhal, Ankit Tiwari, Amit Mishra, Neha Bhasin and Rochak Kohli. The first song of the film, Lae Dooba, which is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, was released on 29 December 2017. The second track of the film, Yaad Hai, which is sung by Palak Muchhal and Ankit Tiwari, was released on 17 January 2018. The third track of the film to be released was Shuru Kar which is sung by Amit Mishra, Neha Bhasin and Rochak Kohli and was released on 25 January 2018. The music album of the film includes 4 tracks and was released on 1 February 2018 at YouTube by Zee Music Company.

Track listing
No.TitleMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Lae Dooba"Rochak KohliSunidhi Chauhan3:50
2."Yaad Hai"Ankit TiwariPalak Muchhal, Ankit Tiwari5:20
3."Shuru Kar"Rochak KohliAmit Mishra, Neha Bhasin & Rochak Kohli4:03
4."Lae Dooba"Rochak KohliAsees Kaur2:11
Total length:15:24

Release

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Theatrical

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The film was originally scheduled to be released on 26 January 2018, but this was moved in order to avoid a clash with Padmaavat. The film was then scheduled to be released worldwide on 9 February 2018[14] but was later postponed to 16 February 2018.[15]

It was banned by the Pakistan Central Board of Film Censors for portraying Pakistan in a negative light.[16]

Home media

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The film was released on DVD by Reliance Home Video & Games. The satellite rights were secured by Star Gold while the digital streaming rights went over to Netflix, where the film was released uncensored.

Reception

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Critical response

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The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rotten score of 20% based on 10 reviews with an average rating of 4.1/10.[17]

Alaka Sahani of Indian Express gave the film a rating of 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that "Even though the movie puts together an impressive ensemble cast comprising some of our best actors, it takes a lot of time to establish their characters. A veteran in Neeraj Pandey movies, Manoj Bajpayee carries the film on his shoulders."[18] Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 2 stars out of 5 and wrote "On the whole, AIYAARY misses the mark and is a huge letdown on the account of its flawed script and the lengthy runtime. At the box office, it will be a disappointing fare."[19] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV criticized the film, saying that, "Aiyaary, comatose and convoluted, is like a patient who's been wheeled in on a stretcher and declared dead on arrival. It never manages to get up on its feet and break into a saunter, let alone a sprint." and gave the film a rating of 1.5 stars out of 5.[20] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 1 star out of 5 and said that, "Aiyaary is sketchily-written and not compelling. It tests patience even if you are a fan of the genre."[21]

Shrishti Negi of News 18 gave the film a rating of 1.5 stars out of 5 and said that, "Unlike Pandey's other films, there is a nonsense of flatness in Aiyaary. Apart from a few scenes, the movie seems to be randomly constructed and fails to evoke any thrill."[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Aiyaary". BBFC.
  2. ^ "Aiyaary box office collection: Siddharth Malhotra sulks yet again".
  3. ^ "Aiyaary Box Office Collection | India | Day Wise | Box Office - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. 16 February 2018.
  4. ^ "Sidharth Malhotra on working with Neeraj Pandey, Manoj Bajpayee in Aiyaary: It's a film I'm very proud to be part of". 14 February 2018.
  5. ^ "Aiyaary (2018) – Neeraj Pandey – Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related – AllMovie". AllMovie.
  6. ^ "Neeraj Pandey's action-thriller Aiyaary is based on Adarsh Scam – NewsX". 8 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Aiyaary Trailer – Neeraj Pandey". YouTube. 19 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Big relief for Aiyaary! SC rejects Adarsh society plea to stay Neeraj Pandey film's release", Financial Express, 16 February 2018
  9. ^ "The Real Reason Why Aiyaary Rescheduled Its Release Date".
  10. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (17 February 2018). "Box Office: Worldwide collections and day wise break up of Aiyaary – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama.
  11. ^ "Just like the movies, audience remains unpredictable". The Hans India. 25 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Another feather in Greater Noida's cap, Galgotias University becomes preferred destination for film shootings and promotions". tennews.in: National News Portal - Breaking News, Live News, Delhi News, Noida News, National News, Politics, Business, Education, Medical, Films, Features. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Aiyaary (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes.
  14. ^ "BREAKING: Sidharth Malhotra – Manoj Bajpayee starrer Aiyaary shifted to February 9". Bollywood Hungama. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Aiyaary misses the mark and is a huge letdown". Bollywood Hungama. 16 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Pakistan does it again". Deccan Chronicle. 16 February 2018.
  17. ^ "Aiyaary". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Aiyaary movie review: Manoj Bajpayee carries the film on his shoulders". The Indian Express. 17 February 2018.
  19. ^ "Movie Review: Aiyaary misses the mark and is a huge letdown". Bollywood Hungama. 16 February 2018.
  20. ^ "Aiyaary Movie Review: Below-Par Sidharth Malhotra Stars In Comatose Film". NDTV.
  21. ^ "Aiyaary movie review: Manoj Bajpayee, Sidharth Malhotra film reminds you of TV show CID". Hindustan Times. 16 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Aiyaary Movie Review: Manoj Bajpayee Rescues The Film From Sidharth Malhotra". News 18. 16 February 2018.
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