Wanted (2009 film)
| Wanted | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Prabhu Deva |
| Written by | Shiraz Ahmed |
| Story by | Puri Jagannadh |
| Based on | Pokiri (Telugu) |
| Produced by | Boney Kapoor |
| Starring | Salman Khan Prakash Raj Ayesha Takia Mahesh Manjrekar Vinod Khanna |
| Cinematography | Nirav Shah Sethu Sriram |
| Edited by | Dilip Deo |
| Music by | Songs: Sajid–Wajid Background Score: Salim–Sulaiman |
Production companies | Eros International BSK Network & Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Sahara One Motion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 178 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹35 crore[1] |
| Box office | ₹128.23 crore[1] |
Wanted is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Boney Kapoor. It is a remake of the 2006 Telugu film Pokiri. The film stars Salman Khan in the lead role with Prakash Raj, Ayesha Takia, Vinod Khanna, Mahesh Manjrekar and Inder Kumar while Prabhu Deva, Govinda and Anil Kapoor make special appearances.
Set in Mumbai, the plot revolves around an undercover IPS officer disguised as thug whose killer instincts earn him not only his girlfriend's disapproval and a corrupt cop's enmity but also the attention of a wanted don. Nirav Shah and Sethu Sriram handled the cinematography while Dilip Deo edited the film. The soundtracks were composed by Sajid–Wajid, while Salim–Sulaiman handled the background music score. The film was shot primarily in Mumbai with songs filmed in Australia and other foreign countries.
The film was released theatrically on 18 September 2009 to generally mixed-to-positive reviews with critics and audience praising the performances (particularly Khan, Raj, and Manjrekar), music, humor, and mass moments but criticizing the direction and use of cliches. The movie became a commercial success, grossing around ₹93 crore (US$11 million) and thus, it emerged as one of the biggest successful films of 2009. The film received 3 IIFA nominations and 1 Filmfare Award.
Plot
[edit]The city of Mumbai is rife with the nefarious activities of land mafia. There are two rival gangs: one under Gani Bhai, who resides in Dubai, and another operated by a local goon named Datta Pawle. They threaten builders and landowners into giving them protection money or property through force, extortion, or murder. Ashraf Khan IPS take charge as the new Police Commissioner of Mumbai and starts cracking down on crime in the city.
Radhe is a thug, who is abducted by Genghis and his henchmen. Radhe has taken a contract from Pawle to beat up Genghis, which he does. However, Golden Bhai, Gani Bhai's brother invite Radhe to join their gang. Radhe declines stating that he does not work for any gang, but is ready to do anything for money. Meanwhile, Radhe falls in love with Jahnvi, an aerobics teacher, when he visits his friend Ajay's aerobics class, but she mistakes him for a pervert. Jahnvi lives with her widowed mother Laxmi and younger brother Ballu. Sonu Gates, a software engineer, lives above Jahnvi's house and frequently, albeit comically and unsuccessfully, tries to convince her to marry him. Daulat Talpade is a corrupt Senior Inspector in the colony where Radhe and Jahnvi live and is on Gani Bhai's payroll. He lusts for Jahnvi and decides to make her his mistress, even after she rejects him multiple times.
Radhe's first assignment with Gani Bhai's gang is to kill a member of Pawle's gang. However, The police show up at the spot where Radhe and the other gangsters are waiting. Radhe engages the cops long enough for the others to finish the task and flee. He also helps Jahnvi escape from Talpade. She is impressed by his kindness, and a friendship soon blossoms between the two, leading to the development of unspoken romantic feelings for each other. When Jahnvi tries to express her feelings to Radhe, they are attacked by members of Pawle's gang, whom Radhe finishes off. Jahnvi is shocked to learn that Radhe is a gangster with no qualms about killing people. Later, Talpade arranges for some thugs to pretend to assault Jahnvi, so that no decent family will want to take her as their daughter-in-law, as a result of which with no other option, Jahnvi and Laxmi will accept his demands. Radhe learns of this and thrashes Talpade incognito. After much ado and mental anguish, Jahnvi accepts Radhe's love. Soon, Gani Bhai arrives from Dubai and kills Pawle. He also meets Radhe to discuss the killing of a minister by blowing up a school. Radhe disagrees with Gani Bhai's method as it would involve killing innocents, including women and children.
In the middle of their argument, the police raids the club and arrests Gani Bhai. His gang members retaliate by kidnapping Ashraf's daughter, drugging her and creating a lewd video of her which they threaten to release to the media if Gani Bhai is not released, forcing the embattled commissioner to release Gani Bhai. However, in her drugged state, Ashraf's daughter reveals that her father had placed an undercover officer as a mole in Gani Bhai's gang. The gang members find out that an IPS police officer by the name of Rajveer Shekhawat, the son of a retired police inspector Shrikant Shekhawat, has gone undercover to finish off the underworld mafia gangs and is now a part of their gang. Gani Bhai kills Ajay, believing he is Rajveer. However, it is revealed that Ajay was actually Shrikant's adopted son. Gani Bhai then kills Shrikant to lure the real Rajveer. When Rajveer actually turns up, everyone, especially Jahnvi and Talpade are shocked to see that he is none other than Radhe. Rajveer had gone undercover by posing himself as Radhe and had killed all the gangsters under Ashraf's orders. After Shrikant and Ajay's funerals, Radhe forces Talpade to call Gani Bhai to find out his location, which is Binny Mills. He goes there and starts to kill Gani Bhai's gang members one by one, rescuing Ashraf's daughter in the process.
In a final confrontation, Radhe thrashes and kills Gani Bhai by slashing his throat with a broken glass window, following which he shoots Talpade by saying the following words: Ek bar joh maine commitment kar di uske baad toh main khud ki bhi nahi sunta (transl. Once I get committed, I won't listen even to my own words)
Cast
[edit]- Salman Khan as IPS Rajveer Shekhawat / Radhe
- Prakash Raj as Shamsuddin Asghar Gani (Gani Bhai)
- Ayesha Takia as Jahnvi Verma
- Sarfaraz Khan as Aslam Khan
- Inder Kumar as Ajay Shekhawat
- Vinod Khanna as Shrikant Shekhawat
- Mahesh Manjrekar as SI Daulat R. Talpade
- Mahek Chahal as Shaina
- Govind Namdeo as Police Commissioner Ashraf Taufiq Khan
- Aseem Merchant as Golden Bhai
- Harry Josh as Genghis Khan, Golden Bhai's henchman
- Manoj Pahwa as Sonu Gates
- Sajid Ali as Radhe's friend
- Raju Mavani as Datta Pawle, who plans to kill the local MLA
- G. V. Sudhakar Naidu as Shiva, Datta Pawle's henchman
- Prateeksha Lonkar as Laxmi Verma
- Anil Kapoor as Ravi Patwardhan in song "Jalwa"
- Govinda as Raj ghorpade song "Jalwa"
- Prabhu Deva as Special Appearance in song "Jalwa"
- Anupam Shyam as Dilip Topi
- Vijay Patkar as Ganesh
- Manesha Chatarji as Commissioner's daughter
- Salman Yusuff Khan as Special Appearance in song 'Most Wanted Title Track'
Production
[edit]Director Prabhu Deva was also the director of the previous Tamil remake, Pokkiri.
Asin Thottumkal & Ileana D'Cruz were approached for the role of Janhvi, but due to other commitments, both rejected the offer. Consequently, the role went to Ayesha Takia. Nana Patekar was originally offered the role of Gani Bhai but due to his busy schedule, the role went to Prakash Raj, who was seen in the original.[2] Salman Khan became very excited after hearing the script and agreed to the role. Part of the film was shot in the Greek Islands of Rodos, Santorini, and Paros.[3]
Music
[edit]| Wanted | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 10 August 2009 (India) | |||
| Recorded | 2008–09 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | T-Series | |||
| Producer | Sajid–Wajid | |||
| Sajid–Wajid chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Bollywood Hungama |    [4] |
The music of the film was given by Sajid–Wajid. The album received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with some songs seeing positive response. The songs "Jalwa", "Love Me Love Me" and "Le Le Maza Le" became a huge hit among the audiences.[5]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ishq Vishk (Main Yahan Tu Bhi Yahan)" | Sameer | Kamaal Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suzanne D'Mello, Aastha Gill | 04:48 |
| 2. | "Dil Leke" | Arun Bhairav | Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Suzanne D'Mello (English Vocals) | 04:35 |
| 3. | "Le Le Mazaa Le" | Wajid Ali, Shabbir Ahmed | Suzanne D'Mello, Sowmya Raoh, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Nikita Nigam, Carlyta Mouhini | 04:11 |
| 4. | "Jalwa" | Jalees Sherwani | Wajid Ali, Earl D'Souza | 04:31 |
| 5. | "Tose Pyaar Karte Hai" | Shabbir Ahmed | Wajid Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan | 03:47 |
| 6. | "Most Wanted Track" | Salman Khan | Salman Khan | 04:26 |
| 7. | "Love Me Love Me" | Jalees Sherwani | Wajid Ali, Amrita Kak | 04:06 |
| 8. | "Dil Leke" (Remix) | Arun Bhairav | Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal | 03:15 |
| 9. | "Main Yahan Tu Bhi Yahan" (Remix) | Sameer | Kamaal Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suzanne D'Mello, Aastha Gill | 04:04 |
| 10. | "Jalwa On The House" (Remix) | Jalees Sherwani | Wajid Ali, Earl D'Souza | 04:15 |
| 11. | "Tose Pyar Karte Hai" (Bhojpuri Makhan Mix) | Shabbir Ahmed | Wajid Ali, Earl D'Souza, Sunidhi Chauhan | 04:53 |
| 12. | "Love Me Love Me" (Mama Papa Mix) | Jalees Sherwani | Wajid Ali, Amrita Kak | 04:43 |
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]Wanted received positive reviews from critics. Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India gave it 4 out of 5 stars praising Khan's performance. Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave it 4 out of 5 stars saying, "WANTED rides on Salman Khan's star power. He may not be the best actor in town, but in a film like WANTED, in a role that seems like an extension of his personality, you can't think of anyone else enacting this role with flourish." Raja Sen from Rediff gave a negative rating of 2 out of 5 stars and said, "The writing is both amateurish and crass, while the songs are plain hideous...Khan might be having fun, but the fact a film like Wanted underscores is how badly Bollywood needs a breed of younger leading men. And how the existing lot need roles that fit."[6][7] Indicine gave it 3 out of 5 stars, calling it "watchable for Salman Khan" and the "best out and out action flick of Bollywood".[8]
Accolades
[edit]- Nominated: IIFA Award for Best Movie – Boney Kapoor
- Nominated: IIFA Award for Best Actor – Salman Khan
- Nominated: IIFA Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role – Prakash Raj
- Best Film of the Year – Action / Thriller – Boney Kapoor[11]
- Best Action – Vijayan Master[12]
Legacy
[edit]The success of Wanted kick-started Salman Khan's career as an action hero and boosted his super-stardom which was declining prior to that with films like Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? and Marigold not doing well. This film started Khan's tradition of releasing his films on the occasion of Eid. Khan's dialogue from the movie, "Ek bar joh maine commitment kar di uske baad toh main khud ki bhi nahi sunta" became very popular among the audiences and one of his most iconic ones. This film also started the trend of Khan going shirtless in his climax fight scenes.[13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Wanted – Movie". Box Office India.
- ^ "Wanted: Trivia and Bloopers". Gomolo.in. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ^ Wanted (2009 – Hindi film), ELINEPA, 2003
- ^ "Wanted : Music Review by Joginder Tuteja". Bollywood Hungama. 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
- ^ Joginder Tuteja (15 August 2009). "Music Reviews". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008.
- ^ "Wanted Movie Review {4/5}: Critic Review of Wanted by Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ "Wanted: Movie Review by Taran Adarsh". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
- ^ Review: Wanted Hindi Movie Review. Indicine.com (19 September 2009). Retrieved on 2015-09-19.
- ^ "3 Idiots, Dev D top winners at Filmfare Awards". The Times of India. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ "Nominations for IIFA 2010". IIFA.com. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ "Winners of Max Stardust Awards 2010". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ "Winners of Nokia 16th Annual Star Screen Awards 2009". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
- ^ "11 Years of Wanted: The Rise And Resurgence of Salman Khan". Mid-day. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
External links
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