Laaga Chunari Mein Daag

Vibhavari (Rani Mukherjee), nicknamed Badki i.e. the elder one, and Shubhavari (Konkona Sen Sharma) , affectionately called Chutki i.e. the smaller one are the daughters of Shivshankar Sahay (Anupam Kher) and Savitri (Jaya Bachchan). They live on the banks of the Ganges in Banaras. Life is full of happiness and joy for the two sisters, although the family is poor and their house badly needs repairs. Savitri struggles to financially support the family by sewing clothes, and Badki left school before completing 12th standard in order help out her mother to earn more. Both Savitri and Badki are determined to ensure that Chutki completes her education, while Shivshankar spends his days buying lottery tickets and vocalizing his resentment that Badki was not born a son.

When her father becomes ill and greedy relatives threaten to sue the family for their house, Badki goes to Mumbai to find work, but is continuously rejected due to her lack of education and qualifications. She begs her friend Karan to introduce her to his sleazy boss, Gupta, who offers her a job on condition that she sleeps with him. Desperate, Badki does so, only for Gupta to reveal that he had manipulated her for sex; he refuses her the job and throws money at her, leaving her anguished. Feeling defeated and out of options, Badki becomes an escort, taking only wealthy men as clients. Coached by Karan's friend Michelle, Badki learns English and how to dress modernly, and goes by the name "Natasha." Badki lies to her father and Chutki that she found work as an event planner, and sends money for Shivshankar's medicines, house repairs, and a family lawyer. Although Savitri knows the truth and is pained by it, she does not dissuade Badki for fear of losing the steady income of money. Through one of her clients, Badki meets and falls in love with attorney Rohan (Abhishek Bachchan) in Zurich, but leaves him fearing that he would be disgusted by her profession.

Meanwhile, Chutki completes her MBA and comes to live with Badki in Mumbai. She starts working at an agency and begins a relationship with her boss, creative director Vivaan (Kunal Kapoor), who soon proposes to her. While wedding preparations begin in Banaras, Savitri calls Chutki to implore her not to attend, for fear of Badki's profession being discovered and bringing shame on the family. Chutki then inadvertently discovers Badki's secret and while initially upset, she apologizes to Badki for their family's selfishness. Chutki fiercely vows to remain by Badki's side and begs her to attend her wedding.

At Chutki's wedding in Banaras, Badki comes face-to-face with Rohan, who in a plot twist is revealed to be Vivaan's older brother. Old feelings resurface between the two and Rohan asks Badki to marry him. Badki refuses, feeling that Rohan would never accept her if he knew the truth, and informs her mother of his proposal. Savitri is terrified of the possibility of Chutki's wedding being ruined, and blames Badki for coming to Banaras. Chutki, however, rebukes her mother for overlooking Badki's sacrifices for the family and urges Badki to finally put herself first, whatever consequences there might be on Chutki's marriage. Shivshankar overhears this conversation and, along with Savitri, realizes what Badki has suffered for the family's sake. Badki divulges her profession to Rohan, who shocks her by revealing that he knew from the moment they were introduced by her client in Zurich. He explains that he deeply admires her character and the sacrifices she made for her family, and wants to marry her. Badki accepts, and the two couples marry in a joint wedding ceremony.

Saif Ali Khan was originally approached for the role of Rohan that went to Abhishek Bachchan,[7] and Vidya Balan had earlier been offered the role that went to Konkona Sen Sharma. Laaga Chunari Mein Daag was Jaya Bachchan's first film since Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003.

The production of the film gathered some controversy when a lighting crew-member drowned in the Ganges River.[8] During a shooting session in Varanasi, bodyguards of Rani Mukherji aggressively moved media people and fans away from the film set. A political and media storm followed, as various groups insisted that Mukherji should have stopped the security guards. The actress then apologised to the media, though claiming the media were trying to get too close to both her and Konkona Sen Sharma.[9] Some scenes involving Mukherji and Bachchan were shot in Bern, Switzerland and Lucerne, Switzerland.

• Director: Pradeep Sarkar
• Producer: Pradeep Sarkar and Aditya Chopra
• Writer: Pradeep Sarkar
• Dialogue: Rekha Nigam
• Music Director: Shantanu Moitra
• Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire
• Editing: Kaushik Das
• Cinematographer: Sushil Rajpal
• Choreography: Howard Rosemeyer
• Costumes: Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Subarna Ray Chaudhuri, Shiraz Siddique
• Sound Design: Rishi Oberoi

The film's soundtrack was released on 10 September 2007. Songs such as "Hum To Aise Hain" and "Kachchi Kaliyaan" featured playback singers such as Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal and KK. The soundtrack received a 3 out of 5 rating on indiaFm.com.

The film premiered on 12 October 2007 in Mumbai and was released on the same day in North America. The film opened well as it was highly anticipated. However, due to negative reviews as well as the competition it faced from the more successful Bhool Bhulaiyaa, it became a box office dud in India. However, it was more successful overseas.

In an interview with the filmmaker Pradeep Sarkar, said: "It was a tight budget film made with ₹150 million and already on the first week it has made ₹250 million gross worldwide. In what way we are saying that it is not doing well?"[1] asked Sarkar. "Admitting that the film did take a slow start in the domestic market, he's hopeful it will grow on audiences in the weeks ahead, much in the same way that his debut film Parineeta did. "[1]

In India, the film critically received a generally negative response, with reviewers criticizing the repetitious and obsolete story line. Raja Sen of Rediff.com said the movie "takes us back to a kind of cinema we thought we were done with. Indian cinema threw off the dupatta just a little while ago; let's not shackle it back down".[10] Taran Adarsh from indiaFM said it "stands on a shaky script and has all chances of slipping".[11] Martin D'Souza of Glamsham.com noted, "this is a big letdown" from the director of the well-received Parineeta.[12] The Hindustan Times wrote that, "This one comes out smelling of mothballs, like a wedding dress stored for decades in an attic trunk. Not surprising, since the plot is vintage 1977 from Aaina, and the 1995 award winning Marathi film Doghi" (made by Sumitra Bhave with Uttara Baokar, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Sonali Kulkarni and Renuka Daftardar).[13] Anupama Chopra found the film "a cauldron of wonderful cinematic talent, undone by half-baked writing".[14]

Critical response in the United States to the film was more mixed. Frank Lovece of Film Journal International said that the film put "glossy Bollywood confection" in a historical context, calling it a "good old-fashioned, Douglas Sirk-style women's weepie ... so universal you could substitute Joan Crawford for Rani Mukherji and New York City for Mumbai".[15] Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide found the film "breaks no new ground but is solidly entertaining"[16] while David Chute of L.A. Weekly said, "The movie works so hard to transform its shocking subject into acceptable material for middlebrow melodrama that it never deals with it".[17] Rachel Saltz of the New York Times termed the film, "A fascinating blend of musical, melodrama and feminist fairy tale".[18]

According to Box Office Mojo, the Domestic gross in the Opening Weekend was 19.7 million (approx.)or US$320,987;[19] being release in 60[19] theatres, the close Date was 4 November 2007[19] and It was in release for 28[19] days(4 Weeks).

Total lifetime grosses was 41.6 million (approx.) or US$675,102[19] (7.2%[19] of the total Worldwide Collection), at the Foreign market the collection was 533.1 million (approx.) or US$8,679,460[19] (92.8% of the total Worldwide Collection).[19] Total Worldwide collection 574.7 million or US$9,354,562[19] reported until 4 November 2007.[19]

• Official website
• Laaga Chunari Mein Daag at IMDb