Hichki

After acquiring the rights of Brad Cohen's book Front of the Class, Malhotra, who had previously directed the 2010 adaptation of Stepmom, titled We Are Family, approached multiple production studios over the next four years but none of them were willing to back his project as they couldn't see any commercial scope in it.[14] Finally, he met Aditya Chopra, who approved the project after a narration and directed him towards Maneesh Sharma as he himself was busy with his own directorial venture Befikre.[15] Malhotra's original draft of the script had a male as its central protagonist which he changed into a female on Sharma's suggestion.[16]

In October 2016, it was reported that Mukerji had signed Yash Raj Films' next venture being directed by Malhotra.[17][18] In February 2017, Mukherji herself confirmed that she would be playing the lead role in Malhotra's next film titled Hichki.[19][20] In preparation for the role, Mukerji interacted with Cohen, who gave her advice over Skype, and she trained to make her character's motor and vocal tics appear spontaneous and not rehearsed.[9]

The principal photography commenced on 4 April 2017[21][1][22] and the final scenes were shot on 5 June 2017 at Mehboob Studios in Bandra, Mumbai.[23][24][25] The crew wrapped up the patch up shoot with Mukerji on 12 November 2017.

By 17 May 2018, prior to the film's release in Chinese and Russian markets, the film had grossed ₹76.54 crore (US$11 million ) worldwide, including ₹59.24 crore gross (₹46.21 crore nett) in India, and ₹17.3 crore (US$2 million ) overseas.[5] In Russia, where the film released on 6 September 2018, the film grossed $20,157 (₹14.2 lakh ) as of 30 September 2018.[30]

In China, where it released on 12 October 2018,[31] the film grossed US$21.13 million (₹1,531.3 million ) by 9 November 2018,[6] making it the fifth highest-grossing Indian film in China after Dangal, Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Hindi Medium.[32] As of 10 November 2018, the film has grossed US$21.83 million in China.[27] Hichki became one of the top five highest-grossing Bollywood films of 2018, after Padmaavat, Sanju, Race 3 and Baaghi 2.[32]

In Hong Kong, where the film released on 8 November 2018, it grossed HK$1.11 million ($141,582) in its opening weekend (ending 11 November 2018),[33] equivalent to ₹10.2 million .[7] As of 14 December 2018, it has grossed HK$2,869,318[28] (US$365,984), equivalent to ₹2.6 crore . As of 23 November 2018, the film has grossed ₹232.2 crore (US$33 million ) worldwide.

Hichki has received mixed reviews from critics. Praise was directed at Mukerji's portrayal of Tourette syndrome, but critics criticized the lengthiness and predictability of the script, and the film's somewhat generic nature.[34][5] On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 9 reviews.[35]

Rachit Gupta of The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, "For all its shortcomings, the movie still has plenty of freshness, insights and emotional intelligence."[36] Rajeev Masand gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and said that, "Hichki is inconsistent but well-intentioned.[37] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of and said that, "A novel plot idea is buried under an avalanche of narrative cliches in Hichki. The tale at the heart of Hichki is definitely inspirational. If only it had been a tad more inspired, it might have hit home with far greater force."[38] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "It's well-intentioned and will move you, but it could have been so much more."[39] Namrata Joshi of The Hindu reviewed the film saying that, "Rani Mukerji lords over a film that plays out predictable, pontificatory and manipulative by turn."[40]

Shalini Langer of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that, "While Rani Mukerji is good as always, the actors who play the students are also natural and without any artifice, with the film cleverly dodging stereotypes just when you suspect one around the corner."[41] Kriti Tulsiani of News18 gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "while Rani strikes the right chord and gets the intricacies of her hiccups right, the film doesn't elevate much from its hiccups and remains only partly engaging."[42] Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 saying that, "Hichki's greatest handicaps are its predictability and sentiment."[43] Rohit Bhatnagar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 saying that, "Hichki, a story of acceptance in the world of intolerance is a decent watch! It's a Rani's show all over but don't expect an extraordinary plot."[44] Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "Hichki is a genuinely earnest film made with heart. But it doesn't take enough risks and consequently doesn't touch a raw nerve in the way that Taare Zameen Par did."[45] Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters also criticized the film, saying, "Even if you ignore the core issues in the screenplay, Hichki doesn't even get the underdog winner story right." and also specifically criticized the film's similarity to Dead Poets Society. Raja Sen of NDTV gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Rani Mukherji's strong portrayal of a Tourette Syndrome sufferer emerges skin deep in a film that never goes beyond the obvious"[46]