Deshdrohi
Deshdrohi (English: Anti-National) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Jagdish A. Sharma. It was scripted and produced by Kamaal Rashid Khan, who also appeared in the lead role alongside Manoj Tiwari, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Gracy Singh and Zulfi Syed.[2][3] Released on 14 November 2008, it received negative reviews from critics and audience, with criticism aimed at the performances. It is often considered one of the worst Bollywood films of all time.[4]
Deshdrohi | |
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Theatrical release poster featuring the cast of characters | |
Directed by | Jagdish A. Sharma |
Produced by | Kamaal Rashid Khan |
Written by | Kamaal Rashid Khan |
Starring | Kamaal Rashid Khan Manoj Tiwari Hrishitaa Bhatt Gracy Singh Zulfi Syed Aman Verma |
Music by | Nikhil |
Edited by | Nasir Hakim Ansari |
Distributed by | O.K. International |
Release date |
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Running time | 139 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹3 crore[1] |
Box office | ₹75-80 lakhs[1] |
Plot
The theme of the film consists of politics, prostitution, pimp business, and corruption. At the start of the film, a man named Raja Yadav (Kamaal Rashid Khan) arrives in Mumbai from Uttar Pradesh searching for a watchman's job, after leaving his father and neighbour, Neha, both behind in his village in Uttar Pradesh.
In Mumbai Raja meets Shekhar, a gangster, who works as a watchman and a pimp, 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 realizing 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, he fails and is killed. The police pursue Raja and Sonia, who is 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 Shrivastav.
How Raja and Sonia will escape the law and teach the criminals a lesson is the story of the film.[5]
Cast
- Kamaal Rashid Khan as Raja Yadav
- Gracy Singh as Sonia Patil
- Manoj Tiwari as Shekhar
- Kader Khan as Abdul Bhai
- Hrishitaa Bhatt as Neha R. Raghav (Few lines as Mona Ghosh Shetty)
- Mukesh Tiwari as Baba Kadam, a corrupt politician
- Zulfi Syed as Rohit
- Aman Verma as Shrivastav
- Ranjeet as Raja's father
- Avtar Gill as Raja grandfather
- Aryan Vaid as a dancer in a song
- Yashpal Sharma as Rajan Nayak
- Raza Murad
- Kim Sharma
- Nirmal Pandey as Deputy Chief Minister Nagesh Kulkarni
Controversy
There were accusations that the movie was cashing in on the 2008 attacks on North Indians in Maharashtra. The head of the Mumbai office of Central Board of Film Certification opined that the movie has scenes that were derogatory to a particular community.[6] Maharashtra Navnirman Sena 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 7 November.[7][8][9] 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.[10] After a two-month ban it was released on 23 January 2009 in Maharashtra.
References
- https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1365
- "Humshakals, Deshdrohi, Himmatwala: worst films of the decade". 1 August 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- "Deshdrohi". Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- "Sadak 2's IMDb Ratings are so Bad, Kamaal R Khan's 'Deshdrohi' Seems Like a Masterpiece". CNN-News18. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
- "Movie Blog » Movie Preview: Desh Drohi watched by only Kamal Rashid Khan". Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- 'Deshdrohi' set to cash in on anti-immigrant sentiment - Express India
- "Can 'Deshdrohi' pass the acid test?". Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- Police, and MNS, to decide on Deshdrohi - Mumbai - DNA
- "NDTVMovies.com : Bollywood News, Reviews, Celebrity News, Hollywood news, Entertainment News, Videos & Photos". Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- `Deshdrohi' maker moves HC today - The Times of India