Tashan (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Tashan


caption = Movie poster for "Tashan".
writer =
starring = Akshay Kumar
Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Anil Kapoor
director = Vijay Krishna Acharya
music = Vishal-Shekhar
cinematography = Ayananka Bose
producer = Aditya Chopra
Yash Chopra
distributor = Yash Raj Films
released = April 25, 2008
language = Hindi
runtime = 131 min
country = flagicon|India India
website = http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/tashan/tashan.html| amg_id = 1:431453 | imdb_id = 0995752

"Tashan" (English: Style) is an Indian Bollywood film starring Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles. Produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under Yash Raj Films, the film, which released on April 25, 2008, marks the directorial debut of Vijay Krishna Acharya who wrote the screenplay and dialogues for films like "Dhoom" (2004) and "Dhoom 2" (2006).

Production

Pre-production work on the film began in late 2006 with Akshay Kumar being signed first, and Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor next. [cite web|author=Adarsh, Taran|title=Yash Raj's new project!|url=http://indiafm.com/news/2006/12/27/8514/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2006-12-27] In early 2007, Anil Kapoor was signed on to play a negative role in the film. [cite web|author=IndiaFM News Bureau|title=Anil Kapoor returns to Yash Raj Films|url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/01/29/8750/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-01-29] This film marked the return of Kumar and Kareena Kapoor to the Yash Raj banner after the former's "Yeh Dillagi" (1994) and "Dil To Pagal Hai" (1997), and the latter's "Mujhse Dosti Karoge!" (2002). Anil Kapoor also made a comeback to the Yash Raj banner after 16 years. His last film with the banner was "Lamhe" (1992).

Apart from the major star cast, Khan's son, Ibrahim, also made his acting debut, where he played the younger version of his father's character. [cite web|author=IndiaFM News Bureau|title=Saif's son makes his debut in Tashan|url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/09/28/10169/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-09-28] [cite web|author=Vyavahare, Renuka|title=Saif’s son is quite a nawab!|url=http://movies.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2538331.cms|publisher=Indiatimes|accessdate=2007-11-14] Sources later indicated that all the actors would be seen sporting new looks designed by designer Aki Narula, with Kareena Kapoor in a very glamorous role and reportedly donning a bikini. [cite web|author=TNN|title=Bebo’s going grunge|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Buzz/Bebos_going_grunge/articleshow/2903577.cms|publisher=The Times of India|accessdate=2008-03-27] [cite web|author=IndiaFM News Bureau|title=Kareena in a bikini?|url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/10/29/10332/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-10-29]

In June 2007, the cast began filming in Kerala, and later continued shooting in Laddakh and Rajasthan. [cite web|author=ApunKaChoice|title=Kareena Kapoor working day and night|url=http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20070606-2.html|publisher=ApunKaChoice.com|accessdate=2007-06-06] [cite web|author=ApunKaChoice|title=Saif and Kareena mobbed by fans|url=http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20070807-4.html|publisher=ApunKaChoice.com|accessdate=2007-08-07] [cite web|author=ApunKaChoice|title=Saif Ali Khan grows moustache for 'Tashan'|url=http://apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20070809-2.html|publisher=ApunKaChoice.com|accessdate=2007-08-09] Pictures of Khan and Kareena Kapoor were taken in September 2007 while shooting for the film in the Fort area of Mumbai. [cite web|author=MiD DAY|title=Saif-Kareena shoot for Tashan on Mumbai streets|url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/09/24/3062/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-09-24] Some portions of the film were later shot in the city of Haridwar on the banks of the river Ganges and Greece. [cite web|author=Abid|title=Kareena shoots for Tashan at Haridwar|url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/11/28/10509/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-11-28] [cite web|author=Screen Weekly|title="I play a high society girl in Kambhakht Ishq" - Kareena Kapoor|url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/12/24/3384/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-12-24]

The first promo was shown on November 30, 2007 with the release of Anil Mehta's "Aaja Nachle". [cite web|author=IndiaFM News Bureau|title=Tashan theatrical shown with Aaja Nachle|url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/11/30/10523/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2007-11-30] In a poll conducted by "indiaFM", "Tashan" ranked first on the list of "Most Awaited Movies of 2008". [cite web|author=Bollywood Hungama News Network|title=The Most Awaited movies of 2008|url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/02/08/3550/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-02-08] To promote the film, Yash Raj Films built communities on social networking sites like Facebook, Orkut and YouTube. [cite web|author=Businessofcinema.com Team|title=Yash Raj promotes Tashan on Facebook, Orkut, YouTube|url=http://www.businessofcinema.com/newboc/frontend/news.php?newsid=7666|publisher=Business of Cinema|accessdate=2008-04-02]

Synopsis

In the beginning, we see Jimmy Cliff (Saif Ali Khan), a call center executive who also teaches English, as the narrator. Pooja Singh (Kareena Kapoor) shows up outside his class and says she needs private tutoring. Without any hesitation, Jimmy quickly agrees as he has already fallen in love with her; he later finds out that Pooja's boss Bhaiyyaji (Anil Kapoor) is the one that has to be tutored. As their love grows, Pooja reveals that she is only working for Bhaiyyaji to pay her debts and then go to Haridwar for her father's funeral. They decide to steal Bhaiyyaji's money and run away. The couple succeed in their mission, and Jimmy asks Pooja to guard the money while he goes to the call center.

At the call centre, Jimmy learns that Bhaiyyaji is a maverick gangster who enjoys killing people and goes home to warn Pooja. Unexpectedly, Pooja has run away with all the money. Bhaiyyaji hires Bachchan Pande (Akshay Kumar), a gangster to catch Jimmy. After getting caught, Jimmy and Bachchan head towards Haridwar to find Pooja and recover Bhaiyyaji's money. When they reach there, Pooja sees them and runs away. Unable to find Pooja there, Jimmy and Bachchan set off to find her again. While on the road, the duo get into a silly fight about the radio station and get in an accident, where their car falls into the water.

Along with Jimmy and Bachchan, Pooja comes out of the water too. She tells them that she has hid the money in several different places. Jimmy and Pooja decide to run away with the money with the help of Bachchan. The duo decide that Pooja should seduce Bachchan just like how she did to Jimmy. While on their journey to recover the money, Pooja and Bachchan find out that they are each other's childhood love, and they both fall in love. After recovering all of the money, Bachchan decides to leave with it, not knowing that Jimmy has replaced the money with stones.

When Pooja realizes what he has done, she tells Jimmy the truth about Bhaiyyaji killing her father. To save Bachchan, Pooja and Jimmy head to Bhaiyyaji's lair with the money. When they get there, Jimmy pretends to betray Pooja and slaps Bachchan. He tells Bhaiyyaji to give him his gun so that he could kill Bachchan. After getting the gun, Jimmy instead points it to Bhaiyyaji and takes him as hostage. He heads towards a car with Pooja and Bachchan following him. Surrounded by lots of men with guns, Bhaiyyaji manages to jump out of the car and everybody begins shooting at them. After a lengthy fight scene, Bhaiyyaji is killed by Pooja stabbing him with a knife. In the end, Jimmy opens up his own call centre, where only girls work, and Bachchan and Pooja get married.

Cast

* Akshay Kumar as Bachchan Pande
* Saif Ali Khan as Jeetender Kumar Makhwana (Jimmy Cliff)
* Kareena Kapoor as Pooja Singh
* Anil Kapoor as Lakhan Singh Ballebaaz (Bhaiyyaji)
* Sanjay Mishra as
* Manoj Pahwa as
* Yashpal Sharma as ACP K.S. Hooda

Crew

* Producer: Yash Raj Films
* Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya
* Story: Vijay Krishna Acharya
* Cinematography: Ayananka Bose
* Lyrics: Piyush Mishra, Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt Guptan & Kausar Munir
* Music: Vishal-Shekhar
* Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant
* Editing: Rameshwar S. Bhagat
* Sound Design: Ali Merchant
* Production Design: Fayyaz Badruddin (YRF - Design Cell)
* Executive Producers: Aashish Singh & Sanjay Shivalkar
* Art Director: Sukant Panigrahy
* Costume Design: Aki Narula

Reception

Box Office

Before the release of the film, "Tashan" received an advanced booking, which ranged from 25-35% tickets sold for the weekend at the major centres. [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Tashan Set To Embark On Huge Start|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=200&nCat=news|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-03] On the day of its release, the film opened to a 75-80% response but well short of the expected bumper opening due to the multiplex revenue sharing problem, which didn't allow the film to be released in major multiplexes across India. [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Tashan Opens Well|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=201&nCat=box_office_report|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-03] [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Tashan Struggles At The Box Office|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=206&nCat=news|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-03] Due to this, the film lost a major chunk of its revenue and collected a total of 18 crores after its first week. [cite web|author=Adarsh, Taran|title=Rejected!|url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/business_talk/318.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-03] [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Tashan Well Below Expectations|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=210&nCat=box_office_report|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-03] Although the following week, an agreement was made between Yash Raj Films and the multiplexes, which allowed the film to be screened from May 3, 2008 onwards at multiplexes across the country, [cite web|author=Bhandari, Rohini|title=YRF, multiplexes settle for all films; Tashan screens 3 May|url=http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=8167|publisher=Business of Cinema|accessdate=2008-05-03] the film managed to add only another 7 crores to its collections and was declared a flop. [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Bhoothnath Opens To A Poor Response|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/boxdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=214&nCat=box_office_report|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-11]

Meanwhile, the film opened to below average response overseas. [cite web|author=Boxofficeindia.Com Trade Network|title=Tashan Opens To Below Average Response|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/overdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=207&nCat=overseas_report|publisher=BoxOffice India|accessdate=2008-05-03] During its first week, the film collected £ 181,838 [approx. Rs. 1.45 crores] on 46 screens and debuted at number 13 in the U.K charts.cite web|author=Adarsh, Taran|title=Major disappointment!
url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/208.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-03] In the U.S, the film debuted at number 24 and collected $ 301,226 [approx. Rs. 1.20 crores] on 75 screens whilst in Australia, "Tashan" debuted at number 17 and collected a total of $ 148,087 [approx. Rs. 59.44 lacs] on 13 screens. During its second week in the overseas market, the film experienced a heavy fall and was declared a flop. [cite web|author=Adarsh, Taran|title=Supreme disaster!
url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/209.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-11]

Reviews

"Tashan" opened to mixed reviews, which ranged from average to negative. Most of the critics criticized the film's lacklustre script penned by director Vijay Krishna Acharya. Critic Taran Adarsh from "indiaFM" gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 rating and concluded that it was "...one of the weakest films to come out of the Yash Raj banner."cite web|author=Adarsh, Taran|title=Movie Review: Tashan
url=http://indiafm.com/movies/review/13446/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-03] Rajeev Masand from "CNN-IBN" described the film as "...a road movie...that is going in all the wrong directions." [cite web|author=Masand, Rajeev|title=Masand's Verdict: Tashan is terribly trashy|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/masands-verdicttashan-lacks-style/63972-8.html|publisher=IBNLive|accessdate=2008-05-03] On the other hand, Sanjay Ram, who gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, wrote, "The film, though with many slips, is thoroughly engaging and entertaining. The vibrancy and spunk keeps it alive and loaded." [cite web|author=Ram, Sanjay|title=Film Review: Tashan|url=http://www.businessofcinema.com/news.php?newsid=8032|publisher=IBNLive|accessdate=2008-05-03] Film critic Maitland McDonagh from "TV Guide", a frequent reviewer of Bollywood movies, described the film as "a delirious crime romp [that] borrows pop-savvy attitude from Quentin Tarantino, stylized gun play from Sergio Leone and stylized hand-to-hand combat moves from Hong Kong action films. The result is a nutty, ridiculously entertaining neo-noir pastiche with lavish musical numbers." [cite web|author=McDonagh, Maitland|title=Tashan Review|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/tashan/review/293552|publisher=TV Guide|accessdate=2008-05-06]

The reviews regarding the performances of the lead actors varied, with most of the critics agreeing that Akshay Kumar was the main highlight of the film followed by Kareena Kapoor. Taran Adarsh noted, "Tashan" belongs to Akshay Kumar completely. No two opinions on that. Take Akshay out of this film and the movie is a big zero. He's the lifeline of this project... [whilst] Kareena Kapoor is fantastic. She looks gorgeous, acts very well...and yes, she carries off the bikini with élan." Sonia Chopra from "Sify" concluded, "It is Akshay and Kareena who sizzle in the film and have the best parts."cite web|author=Chopra, Sonia|title=Tashan|url=http://sify.com/movies/bollywood/review.php?id=14655472&ctid=5&cid=2425|publisher=Sify|accessdate=2008-05-03] On the other hand, Anil Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan's performances met with mixed reactions. Sonia Chopra further explained "Anil plays the baddie to the hilt... [and] Saif...gives a strictly lukewarm performance."

Music

Infobox Album | Name = Tashan
Type = Album
Artist = Vishal-Shekhar


Released =

March 28, 2008 (India)
Recorded =
Genre = Feature film soundtrack
Length =
Label =

YRF Music
Producer = Aditya Chopra & Yash Chopra| Reviews =
Last album = "Om Shanti Om"
(2007)
This album = "Tashan"
(2008)
Next album = "Bhoothnath"
(2008)

Released on March 28, 2008 by Yash Raj Films, "Tashan"'s soundtrack was composed by Vishal-Shekhar whilst lyrics were penned by four different lyricists: Piyush Mishra, Anvita Dutt Guptan, Vishal Dadlani and Kausar Munir. Joginder Tuteja from "indiaFM" gave the film's soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars and noted, "Songs in "Tashan" excite, get on to you quickly and make you put them on a repeat mode. There is not a single dull moment in this entire album, which has its tallest highpoints in 'Dil Dance Maare', 'Dil Haara' and 'Falak Tak'. [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|title=Music Review: Tashan|url=http://www.indiafm.com/movies/musicreview/13446/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-03-29]

The soundtrack of the film debuted at number 3, where it stayed the following week. [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|date=April 7, 2008|title=Top Ten albums of the week |url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/04/07/3748/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-04-21] [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|date=April 14, 2008|title=Top Ten albums of the week |url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/04/14/3770/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-04-21] On the week of the film's release, the album moved up to number 1. [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|date=April 21, 2008|title=Top Ten albums of the week |url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/04/21/3795/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-04-21] However, due to the film's failure at the box office, the album couldn't sustain its position over the next several weeks. [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|date=May 5, 2008|title=Top Ten albums of the week |url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/05/05/3844/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-14] [cite web|author=Tuteja, Joginder|date=May 12, 2008|title=Top Ten albums of the week |url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2008/05/12/3864/index.html|publisher=IndiaFM|accessdate=2008-05-14]

References

External links

* [http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/tashan/tashan.html Official website]
*imdb title|id=0995752|title=Tashan
*rotten-tomatoes|id=1194308-tashan|title=Tashan
*metacritic film|id=tashan|title=Tashan
*mojo title|id=tashan|title=Tashan
*amg movie|id=1:431453|title=Tashan