Deshdrohi

Deshdrohi
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Jagdish A. Sharma
Produced by	Kamaal Rashid Khan
Starring	Kamaal Rashid Khan Krishna Abhishek Hrishitaa Bhatt Gracy Singh Zulfi Syed Aman Verma
Music by	Nikhil - Vinay
Release date(s)	14 November 2008 23 January 2009 (in Maharashtra)
Running time	139 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Deshdrohi is a 2008 Hindi movie dealing with the regional influences present in India. The film stars Kamaal Rashid Khan, Krishna Abhishek, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Gracy Singh and Zulfi Syed.

Plot

The themes of the film “Desh Drohi “ include politics, corruption and the common man. At the start of the film a man named Raja arrives in Mumbai searching for a job, after leaving his father and both neighbour and sweetheart, Neha, behind in his village.

In Mumbai Raja meets Shekhar, who works as a watchman, and Sonia, who works for Baba Kadam, a drug dealer. At one point Raja helps Sonia escape from an attack by a group working for another drug dealer called Rajan Nayak, the enemy of Baba Kadam. The two eventually fall in love.

After realising that living in Mumbai is particularly difficult for North Indians, Raja petitions Shrivastav, a North Indian politician who exploits common people for his political career, for help. The drug mafia of Mumbai city is assisted by politicians and the media want to reveal the corruption prevalent in the city.

Due to his involvement, Raja is marked for death by Rajan Nayak, who contracts a police inspector to kill both him and Sonia. However the Inspector fails and is killed. The police pursue Raja and Sonia, who are also running from Rajan Nayak. Raja attempts to get help from Shrivastav, to no avail, and even Sonia's boss, Baba Kadam, abandons the pair.

Pushed to the limit, Raja resolves to kill all involved, in which he is helped by Inspector Rohit Raghav, the new husband of Raja's village sweetheart, to kill Srivastva.

How Raja and Sonia will escape law and teach the criminals a lesson is the story of the film.^[1]

Controversy

There were accusations that the movie was cashing in on the prevailing anti-immigrant sentiments in Maharashtra. The head of the Mumbai office of Central Board of Film Certification has opined that the movie has scenes that were derogatory to a particular community.^[2] Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has expressed their protests against the movie. The Mumbai police served a notice for a special screening to find any objectionable content that might trigger unrest. Due to the protests and problems with exhibitors, the release date of the movie was postponed by a week from the original date of November 7.^[3][4][5] The movie was released on 14 November, except in Maharashtra, where it was banned by the state government for 60 days under the Bombay Cinema Regulation Act. The producers of the film petitioned the Bombay High Court to lift the ban on the movie.^[6] After a two-month ban it released on 23 January 2009 in Maharashtra.

Reception

Although the film has reportedly made nothing, the critical response to the film was overwhelmingly negative.^[7] The film received the Lajja Award for Worst Treatment of a Serious Issue at the Golden Kela Awards held in Delhi.^[8].

References

1. ^ http://movies.dcealumni.com/archives/movie-preview-desh-drohi/
2. ^ http://www.expressindia.com/story_print.php?storyId=381831
3. ^ http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=148009
4. ^ http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1204575
5. ^ http://movies.ndtv.com/newstory.asp?slug=Deshdrohi+mired+in+controversy&id=ENTEN20080071798
6. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Deshdrohi_maker_moves_HC_today/articleshow/3714918.cms
7. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/Deshdrohi/articleshow/3714605.cms
8. ^ http://entertainment.oneindia.mobi/bollywood/news/2009/32493.html

External links

• Deshdrohi at the Internet Movie Database
• Deshdrohi Review