Kya Dilli Kya Lahore

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore
Directed by	Vijay Raaz
Produced by	Karan Arora
Screenplay by	Aseem Arora; Pratham S. Jolly; Manu Rishi
Story by	Aseem Arora
Starring	Vijay Raaz; Manu Rishi; Raj Zutshi
Music by	Sandesh Shandilya
Cinematography	Raaj Chakravarthy
Edited by	Archit D. Rastogi
Production; company	Picture Thoughts Production
Distributed by	Wave Cinemas
Release date	2 May 2014; ; ; ; ;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Kya Dilli Kya Lahore is a 2014 Bollywood war drama film set in 1948, post-Independence period and deals with the subject of Indo-Pak partition. The movie stars Vijay Raaz, Manu Rishi, Raj Zutshi and Vishwajeet Pradhan in the lead roles, and credits Gulzar as the presenter.

The film is produced by Karan Arora and marks the directorial debut of actor Vijay Raaz. The first look of the movie was released at Wagah border. It was released worldwide on 2 May 2014 to extremely positive reviews.

Plot

In 1948, a cross-fire erupts at an isolated stretch of Indo-Pak border, leaving only two soldiers alive. One is an Indian soldier of Pakistani origin while the other is a Pakistani soldier of Indian origin. An ironic story of pride and survival begins when, in an attempt to evade danger, they bump into each other. And amidst continuous exchange of bullets, altercations and murkier situations, it evolves into a journey of human connection with an unforeseeable end.

Cast

Vijay Raaz — Rehmat Ali
Manu Rishi — Samarth Pratap Shastri
Raj Zutshi — Barfi Singh
Vishwajeet Pradhan — Pakistani captain

First look

“Lakeerein hain to rehne do,
kisi ne rooth kar gusse mein shayad kheech di thi.
Unhi ko ab banao paala aur aao kabaddi khelte hain.
Lakeerein hain to rehne do."—Gulzar

The first look of Kya Dilli Kya Lahore was unveiled at Wagah border (Punjab) with a symbolic colourful flag lowering ceremony. The star cast held a candlelight vigil on 14 August 2012. Giant posters of the movie were set up where hundreds flocked to watch the ceremony. The first look was very impressive and Gulzar's shayari had touched people's hearts.

Staff reaction

Raaz says that "It is a very emotional film" for him and that "It is a very innocent story."^[7] "The film comes with the message that humanity is bigger than any religion or any country and that's what we have tried to convey..."

About his involvement, Gulzar sahib says that "This subject (partition) is very close" to his heart and he has been "writing about it a lot." He further adds, "After seeing the film, I was surprised to know that many youngsters have been associated with the film and yet they have brought the essence of the whole film so well. Karan had brought the script to me and after they completed the film, he brought it to show it to me. The film was bang on. The film talks about peace yet is not preachy and there is no blood shed, it is a human drama and very relevant."^[8]

Producer Karan Arora added that this "is not like a typical Bollywood extravaganza, it is a simple film." He is "not worried about the commercial viability" of Kya Dilli Kya Lahore and is content to know that he made "an honest film."^[9]

Production

Vijay Raaz says that he "was thinking about direction when the story came to me. We have grown up on Partition stories so I was naturally attracted to the film. It is a simple story but at the same time it is very difficult."^[10]

The writers Aseem Arora, Pratham Jolly and Manu Rishi won Best Screenplay award at the prestigious 5th Dada Sahab Phalke Film Festival.

It got rave reviews and appreciation from critics. Mumbai Mirror, NDTV and Times of India gave Kya Dilli Kya Lahore three stars while Divya Sologoma gave it four stars praising the content's purity and mentor Gulzar's poetry.