Mithya

Mithya
Directed by	Rajat Kapoor
Produced by	Arindam Chaudhuri
Written by	Rajat Kapoor Saurabh Shukla
Starring	Ranvir Shorey Neha Dhupia Naseeruddin Shah Vinay Pathak
Music by	Sagar Desai
Cinematography	Remo
Editing by	Suresh Pai
Release date(s)	8 February 2008
Running time	110 min
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	INR 3,03,27,459 (till 17 March 2008)

Mithya is a 2008 Indian film co-written and directed by Rajat Kapoor and produced by Planman Motion Pictures. The film stars Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Naseeruddin Shah and Vinay Pathak in pivotal roles. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by Sagar Desai. The film which was released on 8 February 2008 opened to good reviews.

Production

It was first reported in August 2006 that Arindam Chaudhuri's Planman Motion Pictures was working on a new film. Actor-director Rajat Kapoor was to direct this venture that was to have criminal underworld as its basic premise. Naseeruddin Shah, Neha Dhupia and Ranvir Shourie were reported as its cast. Shooting for this film commenced in July 2006.^[1]

Sanchita Bhattyacharya, the winner of 2006 singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, made her singing debut in the Hindi cinema industry through this film. Director Kapoor and music director were quite convinced about her singing abilities. The producers were hopeful of utilizing Bhattacharya's recent success while promoting the film's soundtrack.^[2]

Actress Neha Dhupia immediately accepted Kapoor's offer for the film.^[3] She considered the film to be among one of her best performances. Though it was evident from the initial media reports, some found her presence in the film rather surprising.^[4] By being good friends with director Kapoor, actor Ranvir Shorey found it better to work with him in this film.^[4]

Release and reception

The film was first screened at the 9th Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema.^[5] Although the film was to feature at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the film was not complete by the nomination deadline. The organizers did not want to compromise on the quality of post-production by rushing through it.^[6]

The film's commercial release was on February 8, 2008. Having arrived at the box office with no expectations, the film didn't have a favorable opening in the initial days. Slowly the collections showed signs of improvement based on the word of mouth. Based on this, the trade analysts felt that the film will be able to recover its shoestring budget.^[7] By the end of the first week, the film had a decent profit. Due to the film's offbeat nature, it did quite well mainly in Mumbai and New Delhi with collections exceeding Rs. 7.5 million (approximately US$167,000) and Rs. 6 million respectively.^[8] In the subsequent two weeks, huge budget films such as Jodhaa Akbar caused a corresponding drop of 65% and 50% in the film's box office collections. However by the fifth week, the film had Rs. 52.5 million as its cumulative box office earnings. Trade analysts even called the film as the dark horse of the first quarter of 2008.^[9][10]

While rating 4 out of 5 in his review, noted critic Rajeev Masand spoke highly about Rajat Kapoor's directorial abilities. He said that the film was a "brave, mature effort by a discerning director."^[11] Masand wrote highly about Ranvir Shorey by saying that the actor's performance "merits an impromptu ovation."^[11] In her review, well-known critic Nikhat Kazmi liked Kapoor's unconventional approach to the usual storyline. Besides appreciating Shorey for his performance, she had high regard for Neha Dhupia and rest of the ensemble cast.^[12] Other movie critics such as Taran Adarsh, Anupama Chopra and Raja Sen wrote generally good reviews for the film.^[13][14][15]

References

1. ^ Tankha, Madhur (2006-08-08). "A brand new treat for film lovers". The Hindu. http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/08/stories/2006080805080200.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
2. ^ "Bollywood break". The Hindu. 2006-11-23. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2006/11/23/stories/2006112300760100.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
3. ^ Kumar, Ashok (2007-07-27). "I have a mad streak in me, says Neha". Financial Express. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/I-have-a-mad-streak-in-me-says-Neha/207162/. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Ghuman, Simrat (2007-07-27). "Rajat Kapoor ready with another rib-tickler". CNN-IBN. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rajat-kapoor-ready-with-another-ribtickler/45690-8.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
5. ^ "'Mithya' applauded at Osian's". Indo-Asian News Service (Monsters and Critics). 2007-07-26. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/indiancinema/news/article_1335230.php/Mithya_applauded_at_Osian_s. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
6. ^ "Make way for Planman Motion Pictures THE LAST LEAR!". Bollywood Trade News Network (Glamsham.com). 2007-08-07. http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/07/aug/17_amitabh_bachchan_rituparno_ghosh_the_last_lear_080702.asp. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
7. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (2008-02-16). "Box Office Analysis". Indiaglitz.com. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/36629.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
8. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (2008-02-21). "Box Office Analysis". Indiaglitz.com. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/36742.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
9. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (2008-03-1). "Box Office Analysis". Indiaglitz.com. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/36930.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
10. ^ Tuteja, Joginder (2008-03-13). "Box Office Analysis". Indiaglitz.com. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/37205.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Masand, Rajeev (2008-02-08). "Review: Mithya never stops unravelling". CNN-IBN. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/review-mithya-never-stops-unravelling/58517-8.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
12. ^ Kazmi, Nikhat (2008-02-08). "Review: Mithya". Times News Network. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/moviereview/2767931.cms. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
13. ^ Adarsh, Taran (2008-02-08). "Movie Review". bollywoodhungama.com. http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/12913/index.html. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
14. ^ Chopra, Anupama (2008-02-09). "Ranvir Shorey's Mithya evokes mixed response". NDTV. http://www.ndtv.com/news/videos/video_player.php?page=5&id=23375. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 
15. ^ Sen, Raja (2008-02-08). "Mithya works". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/movies/2008/feb/08mithya.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-04. 

External links

• Mithya
• Mithya at the Internet Movie Database