| Kaabil | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sanjay Gupta |
| Screenplay by | Vijay Kumar Mishra |
| Dialogues by | Sanjay Masoom |
| Story by | Vijay Kumar Mishra |
| Produced by | Rakesh Roshan |
| Starring | Hrithik Roshan Yami Gautam Ronit Roy Rohit Roy |
| Cinematography | Sudeep Chatterjee Ayananka Bose |
| Edited by | Akiv Ali |
| Music by | Songs: Rajesh Roshan Score: Salim–Sulaiman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Filmkraft Productions Pvt. Ltd B4U Motion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 139 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹35 crore[2][3] |
| Box office | est.₹208.14 crore[4] |
Kaabil (transl. Capable) is a 2017 IndianHindi-languageaction-thriller film directed bySanjay Gupta, written by Vijay Kumar Mishra, and produced byRakesh Roshan under his banner FilmKraft Productions.[5][6] The film starsHrithik Roshan,Yami Gautam,Ronit Roy andRohit Roy. The film’s soundtrack is composed byRajesh Roshan.Principal photography began on 30 March 2016.[7]
The film follows a blind dubbing artist who becomes disillusioned when his wife faces injustice and dies. He becomes a vigilante and decides to seek revenge against those responsible for his wife's death, while also dodging police with a cover that no one would believe a blind man can kill someone.Kaabil was released theatrically on 25 January 2017, and received mixed reviews from critics.[8][9] Roshan was nominated for theFilmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance at the63rd Filmfare Awards.
Rohan Bhatnagar is a kind young man who has beenblind since birth and works as an animationvoice actor for a living. Through his friends, he meets Supriya, aworking woman who is also blind, but proudly independent. The two fall in love and get married. One night, on their way back home after dining out, they are interrupted by Amit Shellar, a local goon and younger brother of Madhavrao Shellar, a well-known politician. He and his friend, Wasim, drunkenly misbehave with the couple, enraging Rohan. The next morning while Rohan is at work, Amit and Wasim sneak into the house andassault Supriya. A horrified Rohan immediately calls the police; officer Chaubey advises him to get his wife medically examined in 24 hours to prove the assault. While Rohan and Supriya are on their way to the clinic, they are kidnapped by Shellar's men and held captive for 36 hours.
After being set free, Rohan and Supriya are criticized by police for the delay in getting Supriyaclinically examined, and are accused of being liars. Heartbroken, they return home. Supriya attempts to live normally but Rohan becomes silent and introspective, which hurts her. One morning, Rohan returns early from work to apologize to Supriya for not being as supportive as he should have, only to find her corpse,hanging from the ceiling fan. Madhavrao visits Rohan and reveals that his brother Amit assaulted Supriya not once but twice. Rohan finds Supriya'ssuicide note, which ascertains that Amit had assaulted her a second time; this second assault led to her suicide. Shattered, Rohan implies to officer Chaubey that he will avenge his wife's death, mocking Chaubey that he will know who did it but will be able to do nothing about it, just like he did nothing about Supriya's case.
Rohan uses his voice-modulating skills to lure the culprits to places that Rohan knows well. First, he tricks Wasim and hangs him, leaving Amit's handkerchief behind to frame Amit. He then lures Amit to the warehouse where he and Supriya were held captive for 36 hours. He finds Amit by scent, tying him down to beburned alive in an explosion. Chaubey suspects Rohan of Amit and Wasim's murders and puts him underhouse arrest. Rohan gets past the police with the help of his friend and calls Madhavrao to a building under construction that was to be Rohan and Supriya's new home. There, Rohan kills him and makes it look like a suicide. Rohan later relates the story to Chaubey: he made it look as if Amit killed Wasim, then Madhavrao committed suicide due to the pain of Amit's death. With no evidence against Rohan, a blind man, Chaubey stands helpless. After this, Rohan scatters Supriya's ashes in the sea.
Sanjay Gupta announced the film in January 2016 withHrithik Roshan portraying the lead role.Rakesh Roshan was confirmed to be producing the project under his production banner FilmKraft Productions Pvt. Ltd, with his brotherRajesh Roshan composing the soundtrack.Yami Gautam was confirmed to play the lead heroine while brothersRonit Roy andRohit Roy were confirmed to play negative roles in the film.[12][13][14]Resul Pookutty was the sound designer, while the cinematography was handled bySudeep Chatterjee andAyananka Bose.
Principal photography commenced inMumbai in March 2016.[15][16] Filming was concluded in July 2016.[17]
Kaabil was released on 25 January 2017 worldwide, clashing withRaees.[18] On 2 February 2017,Kaabil was released acrossPakistan, becoming the first Indian film to be screened in Pakistan, post lifting of ban on Indian films after the2016 Uri terror attack and itsaftermath.[19] It was released inHindi along with itsTamil dubbed version titledBalam.[20][21]
Following the good performance of the film at the box-office, the film was released on around 200 more screens in India, on 2 February 2017.[22]Kaabil was released inChina on 5 June 2019 but performed weakly upon its release.[23]
Taran Adarsh ofBollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "On the whole,Kaabil is gripping, gut-wrenching and is likely to stay with you for a long time."[24]The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Hrithik does all the heavy lifting and remains the only bright spot in this dispirited mess of a movie. He still has the moves. What he needs is a plot."[25] Meena Iyer ofTimes of India gave the film 4/5 stars, noting that the movie seemed to be inspired by the 1989 movieBlind Fury and the 2014 Korean movieBroken.[26] Iyer praised Roshan's performance as his "all-time best", and felt that the character Rohan was "vulnerable as a lover and menacing as a killing-machine". Sarita A. Tanwar ofDaily News and Analysis gave 4/5 stars writing "Kaabil is old-school, emotional and forceful. And an absolute must for all Hrithik Roshan fans. And if you aren't his fan, you might feel differently after this film".[27]
Writing forThe Hindu,Namrata Joshi gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and called it a "predictable revenge and retribution saga that offers nothing new other than the visually impaired protagonists."[28][29] Rachit Gupta fromFilmfare gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Hrithik carries this film on his capable shoulders. His perfectly nuanced performance is the reason you’ll enjoy the thrills of Kaabil".[30]Bollywood Bubble gave 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "‘Kaabil’ will present you a far bitter truth. It'll draw a very uncomfortable, shrewd reality wherein the ones in greater need of support are the ones often thrown on the edge, laughed at. It'll show you a world in desperate need of more compassion, more kindness."[31] Joginder Tuteja ofMovie Talkies gave 4/5 stars and wrote, "Rakesh Roshan has ensured that Kaabil turns out to be a commercial film for the audiences that has all the right ingredients in place and that too in the right proportions. It must have been quite a challenge to have three creative brains (Sanjay, Hrithik and himself) to blend seamlessly and deliver a product which is in just the right synch. That happens with Kaabil and that is the right reason why the final outcome keeps you glued on the screen right till the end."[32]
Business Standard criticized the film's plot and direction: "I’m not sure what’s more infuriating about this film – whether it’s regressive or stupid. Or whether it’s regressive and stupid and joyless and monotonous and silly and pointless. In fact, let’s call Kaabil for what it is: a B-movie with well-known actors. Worse, it’s exacerbated by shoddy CG, fake earnestness and a needless item number."[33][34] Udita Jhunjhunwala fromFirst Post gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "If you are able to look past many of these niggles it's thank to Hrithik Roshan's committed performance which keeps you rooting for his Rohan all the way."[35] Sukanya Varma fromRediff.com gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, writing "Kaabil serves nothing beyond an unabashed platform to vaunt a seething Hrithik, sentimental Hrithik, snarky Hrithik, sly Hrithik or spry Hrithik...".[36] Saibal Chaterjee fromNDTV gave 2.5 out of 5 stars, calling the film "...paisa vasool (transl. worth the money) fare, if not more."[37] Mike McCahill fromThe Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, and remarked that "Sanjay Gupta's tale of a blind dubbing artist avenging the ghost of his wife is the sort of nonsense the Indian film industry stopped churning out 20 years ago."[38]
| Kaabil | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 21 December 2016 | |||
| Recorded | 2016 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 24:37 | |||
| Language | Hindi | |||
| Label | T-Series | |||
| Director | Sanjay Gupta | |||
| Producer | Rakesh Roshan | |||
| Rajesh Roshan chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack album was released on 21 December 2016 byT-Series.[39][40]
The soundtrack was composed byRajesh Roshan. The song "Haseeno Ka Deewana" is a cover version of "Sara Zamana" from Roshan's original soundtrack to the filmYaarana (1981). The originalYaarana version was sung byKishore Kumar, and featuredAmitabh Bachchan andNeetu Singh in the music video. TheKaabil cover version is sung byPayal Dev with rapperRaftaar, while the music video is anitem number featuringUrvashi Rautela.[41]
All music is composed byRajesh Roshan.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kaabil Hoon" | Nasir Faraaz | Jubin Nautiyal,Palak Muchhal | 5:14 |
| 2. | "Haseeno Ka Deewana" | Kumaar, Anjaan | Payal Dev,Raftaar | 3:49 |
| 3. | "Kuch Din" | Manoj Muntashir | Jubin Nautiyal | 4:48 |
| 4. | "Mon Amour" | Manoj Muntashir | Vishal Dadlani | 4:59 |
| 5. | "Kaabil Hoon" (Sad Version) | Nasir Faraaz | Jubin Nautiyal | 1:37 |
| 6. | "Kisi Se Pyar Ho Jaye" | Kumaar,Anand Bakshi | Jubin Nautiyal | 4:10 |
| Total length: | 24:37 | |||
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