Force (2011 film)

In July 2004, Gautham Menon agreed terms to direct a version of Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi with Sunny Deol in the lead role and revealed that the script was written five years ago with Deol in mind, but the film eventually failed to take off.[4] Producer Vipul Shah approached him to direct the Hindi version of the film in 2010 as Force with John Abraham and Katrina Kaif, and Menon initially agreed before pulling out again.[5] He cited that he felt the eight years gap between the releases of it with the original was too long; subsequently Nishikant Kamat of Evano Oruvan and Mumbai Meri Jaan fame was roped in by the producers to direct the remake.[6] Initially, Asin was signed up to reprise her role that she played in the Telugu remake of the film – Gharshana, but as the film became delayed, dates clashed with her other film, Ready, hence she was forced to withdraw from the film.[7] She was consequently replaced by Genelia.[8] The villain was chosen as Vidyut Jamwal, a model turned actor who had reportedly won the role from 500 other people who were originally considered. He had to undergo strenuous training to build a body that could be comparable to the hero of the film.[9]

The shooting of the film ended in February 2011, after sixty five days of shoot.[10] During the filming, John Abraham stated that "With Nishikant I have discovered the magic of raw action, but what is even more beautiful is the romance in 'Force'. This I believe will be my first pan India film after a long gap."[11] The film involved tough stunts which Allan Amin, who worked with John Abraham earlier in Dhoom, had choreographed.[12]

Controversy broke out for the film, in a scene where John and Genelia were being married. Sources claim that the ceremony conducted was so authentic that had they completed the last round they would have actually been man and wife.[13] Again, following the reports of Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia's marriage plans, the priest insisted that the couple could not marry as Genelia is already married to John.[14]

All lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Bollywood Hungama	[17]
Planet Bollywood	[18]
Filmfare	[19]

Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave 3 out of 5 stars and said "Force delivers as promised and turns out to be an impressive soundtrack. While 'Khwabon Khwabon' was anyway expected to be the USP of the soundtrack, 'Main Chali' turns out to be another number that works quite well for the soundtrack. Overall, an album that has a potential to turn much bigger if the film too turns out to be a good success."[17] Tanuj Manchanda of Planet Bollywood gave 7 out of 10 and quoted in his review that "After hearing all songs, one can say that this is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year both in terms of lyrics and compositions. Harris Jayaraj has proved his mettle time and again and this time also he succeeds with flying colours. Javed akhtar as usual is dedicated towards giving his best. And the best part of the album is that all songs except 'Dum Hai To Aaja' are soulful and a treat for all music lovers and does not have any remixes to rob off the impact. Force is definitely recommended!"[18] Devesh Sharma at Filmfare awarded it 3 out of 5 stars and quoted "Overall, Jayraj has arrived on the Hindi music scene and one looks forward to hearing more of his original tunes (and not reprises) in future."[19] Komal Nahta of Koimoi.com stated that, "the songs have not become as popular as they are nice. Javed Akhtar's lyrics are appropriate."[20]

DNA India rated the movie by giving 4 out of 5 stars stating that "Force is high voltage action".[22] The Times of India gave Force 3 and half stars out of 5, asking all Gods of War enthusiasts to go for the film.[23] On the contrary, The Deccan Chronicle gave 2 and half stars out of 5 and wrote, " Force doesn’t live up to its title…at all".[24] Hamara Bollywood[25] gave the film 3 out of 5 stars saying "in the category of action movies, Force just might be the best one of the year". Komal Nahta of Koimoi.com also rated 2.5 out of 5 stars. Komal Nahta further stated that "On the whole, Force will be liked by the youngsters, especially guys. In the final tally, it will prove to be an above-average fare, thanks to the impressive start all over".[20] Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times gave 2 stars out of 5 concluding that, "Force is hardly a force to reckon with".[26]

Upon release, the film opened to decent start at the domestic box office and packed cinema halls, "witnessing 100% occupancy across shows", according to Boxofficeindia.com.[27] The film grossed ₹48.4 million (US$680,000) in India on the first day.[28] Force has fared well, despite number of screens and shows being limited. It collected approx Rs 245.2 millionnett in Week 1. Breakdown:- Fri 50.5 million Sat 47.5 million Sun 62.0 million Mon 24.2 million Tue 21.5 million Wed 21.0 million Thu 18.5 million Force is John's biggest opener, in solo lead. The film dropped on Monday but then held steady collections through the weekdays but the collections were low.[29] Force fell heavily in its second weekend taking an 85% fall from its first, it collected 20 million nett which took its ten-day business to 235.0 million nett.[30] Moreover, Force had a poor opening of around $500,000 in Overseas. The opening figures from United Kingdom were £65,000, North America $100,000, UAE $160,000 and Australia $60,000.[31] The movie collected 347.2 million in India and was declared "Above Average" by Boxofficeindia.com.[32]