| Aitraaz | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Abbas–Mustan |
| Produced by | Subhash Ghai |
| Screenplay by |
Shiraz Ahmed Shyam Goel |
| Starring |
Akshay Kumar Kareena Kapoor Priyanka Chopra |
| Music by | Himesh Reshammiya |
| Cinematography | Ravi Yadav |
| Edited by | Hussain A. Burmawala |
Production company |
Mukta Arts |
| Distributed by | Mukta Arts |
Release date |
|
Running time | 159 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ?110 million |
| Box office | ?260 million |
Aitraaz (English: Objection) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan. Produced by Subhash Ghai, it stars Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, and was the third film collaboration between Kumar and Chopra. Aitraaz features Amrish Puri, Paresh Rawal and Annu Kapoor in supporting roles. The screenplay was written by Shyam Goel and Shiraz Ahmed, and Himesh Reshammiya composed the soundtrack.
The film tells the story of a man accused of sexual harassment by his female superior. It was released on 12 November 2004 to positive reviews, Chopra receiving widespread critical acclaim for her performance as Sonia Roy. Aitraaz was a commercial success, grossing over ?260 million at the box office against a budget of ?110 million. It has been noted for its bold subject of sexual harassment.
Aitraaz received several accolades, particularly for Chopra. At the 50th Filmfare Awards, she received two nominations: Best Supporting Actress and Best Performance in a Negative Role, winning the latter and thus becoming the second (and final) actress to win the award. Chopra also won the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress and the Screen Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role. The film received ten nominations at the 2005 IIFA Awards, winning three.
Contents
Plot
Raj Malhotra (Akshay Kumar) is a product engineer for a telecommunications company, Air Voice. Priya Saxena (Kareena Kapoor), a junior lawyer goes to Raj's house for an interview, mistaking him for barrister Ram Chautrani (Annu Kapoor), a neighbour and Raj's friend. They fall in love, marry and are soon expecting a child. Raj expects to be promoted to CEO when the company's chairman (Amrish Puri) arrives with his new wife, Sonia Roy (Priyanka Chopra) to announce the promotions. Sonia Roy is named the company's new Chairperson; and after a discussion with her husband, she announces the promotions. The CEO position instead goes to Raj's friend Rakesh (Vivek Shauq), while Raj is placed on the Board of Directors. At a party, Raj, accompanied by Priya, learns about his new boss, Sonia Roy. Priya is surprised that Sonia is the wife of the much older Mr Roy. Raj and his colleagues talk about Sonia being very attractive and the age difference between her and her husband, and Raj jokes that his magnetic personality was responsible for his massive promotion. It is implied that Raj may have encountered Sonia previously.
A flashback explores Raj's previous relationship with Sonia. Five years earlier, Raj and Sonia (then a model) meet at a beach in Cape Town. They fall in love and move in together; Sonia becomes pregnant with Raj's child, which makes him happy, but Sonia refuses Raj's marriage proposal and says she is going to terminate the pregnancy as her child would stand in the way of wealth, fame, power and status and their relationship ends.
The next day, Rakesh tells Raj about a defect in the company's new mobile handset: a call goes to two people simultaneously—the intended recipient and another random person on the phone's contact list. Raj needs Sonia's permission to stop production, and she invites him to her house to discuss the matter. Sonia makes provocative and sexually explicit statements to Raj, who ignores her. She then aggressively tries to pursue Raj, who resists. Although he repeatedly rejects her advances, Sonia continues trying to seduce him. As he leaves, Sonia threatens to punish him for spurning her. The next day, he learns that Sonia has told her husband that he sexually harassed her. Since he has admitted finding Sonia attractive, his claim of innocence is not believed, and the company pressures him into resignation.
Raj asks Chauthrani to take his case; Chauthrani tells him not to resign, and to keep going to work. This case goes to court; Sonia and Roy engage a lawyer (Paresh Rawal). Initially, the bulk of the evidence is against Raj and the case gains widespread media attention. Raj's bank manager returns from Bangkok and gives him a tape that recorded Raj's encounter at Sonia's house. After the tape is proven genuine, Chauthrani is struck by a car driven by a goon hired by Sonia and the tape is destroyed. When Priya asks Raj why he called their bank manager from Sonia's house, he replies that he had called Rakesh, and the call went through to the bank manager as well due to the defect in the company handset. Priya continues the case after Chauthrani's injury. She exposes Sonia's earlier relationship with Raj in Cape Town and finally plays Rakesh's voice mail to the court - revealing what really occurred between Raj and Sonia. It is revealed that Sonia married Roy for money, power and status, but when he could not satisfy her sexually, she tried to resume her relationship with Raj. Priya wins the case and Roy leaves Sonia. Guilt-stricken and humiliated, Sonia commits suicide by jumping from a building. The end credit scene shows Raj and Priya walking their child.
Cast
The cast is listed below:
- Akshay Kumar as Raj Malhotra
- Kareena Kapoor as Priya Saxena Malhotra
- Priyanka Chopra as Sonia Roy
- Amrish Puri as Ranjit Roy
- Anu Kapoor as Barrister Ram Chauthrani
- Paresh Rawal as Advocate Patel
- Vivek Shauq as Rakesh Sharma
- Preeti Puri as Jenny (Raj's secretary)
- Upasna Singh as Kanchan
- Dinesh Lamba as Chauthrani's assistant
- Anil Nagrath as Judge
Production
The director duo Abbas–Mustan took inspiration from National Basketball Association player Kobe Bryant, who was accused of rape by a fan; they began developing the film when they read about his sexual-assault case in the newspapers. About the film's unusual title, they said the word "aitraaz" was colloquial and suited the subject. Shyam Goel and Shiraz Ahmed wrote the screenplay. Hussain A. Burmawala and R. Verman were responsible for film editing and art direction, respectively.
The film was announced in October 2003 by producer Subhash Ghai, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his production company Mukta Arts. The media reported that Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were cast in lead roles, making it the third film collaboration between Kumar and Chopra after the highly successful Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004). Kumar was cast as Raj, a working man accused of rape at his workplace; Kapoor portrayed his supportive wife, who goes to extremes to defend him. According to the directors, Kumar was cast against type; he generally played action heroes, and they wanted him to underplay his character. Abbas–Mustan, known for stylish thrillers and intriguing antagonists, cast Chopra in her first negative role. She plays a woman, married to a business magnate more than twice her age (played by Amrish Puri), who falsely accuses her ex-lover (Kumar) of raping her to seek revenge. Chopra was initially apprehensive about such a bold character, due to the controversial theme of sexual harassment, but Abbas–Mastan and Subhash Ghai convinced her to accept the role. The director duo had previously offered her the lead role in their 2002 thriller Humraaz, which she could not do.
Kumar described his character as "realistic" and a "new-age metrosexual" man. The actor revealed that he enjoyed the strengths and weaknesses of his character, adding " is not afraid to show his feelings and does not feel emasculated by his situation." Kumar further stated: "There's a quiet dignity and heroism associated with my character. He doesn't fight for applause. He fights for his convictions." In an interview with Tribune India, Kapoor remarked that Indian women would identify with her character. She said her character "stand by in his moment of distress and helplessness, like every Indian woman would." Chopra described her character Sonia as "charming and focused", commenting that her "philosophy is that she has to achieve her goals at any cost. She knows one thing: that nothing can come in between her desires and herself." Owing to her conservative upbringing, Chopra found it difficult to identify with her "man-eater role". Playing an "extremely negative character" proved a challenge, and she had to mentally prepare herself for an hour before each scene.
Manish Malhotra and Vikram Phadnis designed the costumes and the cinematography was handled by Ravi Yadav. The film was mainly shot in Cape Town, Goa, Pune and Mumbai. Chopra, who was simultaneously filming four other productions, revealed that because of her busy schedule the producers of her other films had to move their sets to the Filmistan Studio, where Aitraaz was being made. She wept during filming of the sexual-harassment scene; it took the directors several hours to remind her she was only playing a character, and further filming was postponed. The music video of the title track "Aitraaz – I Want to Make Love to You" with Kumar and Chopra was shot in one take with a Steadicam. Salim–Sulaiman composed the background score for the film.
Soundtrack
| Aitraaz | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Himesh Reshammiya | |
| Released | 24 September 2004 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 72:16 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Label | Sony Music |
| Producer | Himesh Reshammiya |
Aitraaz's soundtrack was composed by Himesh Reshammiya, with lyrics by Sameer. The album contains fifteen songs: seven original, and eight remixes. The vocals were performed by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Adnan Sami, K.K., and Alisha Chinai. It was released on 24 September 2004 by Sony Music.
The soundtrack was generally well received by music critics, who praised its lyrics and vocals. Planet Bollywood gave a rating of 7 out of 10, calling it a "good album". Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama rated the album 3 out of 5, praising "I Want To Make Love To You" (all three versions): "Sunidhi Chauhan is excellent in this wonderfully-composed track that shocks everyone with the intensity of the lyrics and the music". He concluded, "Except for two or three average songs here and there, the majority of songs in Aitraaz do keep you engaged".
The music topped charts on a number of platforms in India. The soundtrack was one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the year, with 1.5 million units sold according to Box Office India.
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