| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Abhinay Deo |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Aamir Khan Kiran Rao Ronnie Screwvala Jim Furgele |
| Story by | Akshat Verma |
| Starring | Imran Khan Vir Das Kunaal Roy Kapur Poorna Jagannathan Shenaz Treasurywala |
| Music by | Ram Sampath |
| Editing by | Huzefa Lokhandwala |
| Distributed by | Aamir Khan Productions UTV Motion Pictures |
| Release date(s) | July 1, 2011 |
| Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | English Hindi[1] |
| Budget |  25 crore (US$5.58 million)[2] |
| Box office | 55 crore (US$12.27 million)[3](three weeks nett total) |
Delhi Belly (Hindi: दिल्ली बेली) is a 2011 Bollywood comedy film shot primarily in Englishwith little Hindi,[1] directed by Abhinay Deo, starring Imran Khan, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Vir Das, Poorna Jagannathan and Shenaz Treasurywala. The film, written by Akshat Verma, is produced by Aamir Khan Productions and UTV Motion Pictures. The theatrical trailer of the film premiéred with Aamir Khan's Dhobi Ghat on January 21, 2011 while the film was released on July 1, 2011.[4][5][6] The film was given an 'A' certificate for its adult language and content.[5]
Contents[hide] |
[edit]Plot
It revolves around three roommates, Tashi (Imran Khan), Nitin Beri (Kunaal Roy Kapur) and Arup (Vir Das) leading an unkempt and debt-ridden life. Tashi's girlfriend Sonia (Shenaz Treasurywala) agrees to deliver a package for Vladimir Dragunsky (Kim Bodnia). Sonia then asks Tashi to deliver the package. Tashi, in turn, asks Nitin to do so. But Nitin is unable to do so as he is experiencing 'Delhi Belly'. The package keeps floating around and is finally handed to the recipient, a gangster named Somayajulu (Vijay Raaz) by Arup. Apart from the package, Arup also has to deliver a package which contains Nitin's stool sample to Nitin's doctor. He mixes up the two which makes Somayajulu furious and he starts the investigation by interrogating Vladimir. Meanwhile Nitin manages to photograph his landlord with a prostitute. He sends an envelope to his landlord which contains a copy of the photographs. Sonia is with Tashi when his co-journalist Menaka (Poorna Jagannathan) calls him for an important work. When he reaches the place he realizes that it is just a party and Menaka had called him just to have fun. Menaka's ex-husband Rajeev has an altercation with Tashi and hits him on the eye. Tashi retaliates and knocks Rajeev out. As Tashi and Menaka leave they are chased by a furious Rajeev and his friends. The duo barely manages to escape.
Vladimir informs Somayajulu that the mix-up must have been caused by Sonia as she didn't know what she was carrying in the package. Somayajulu calls Sonia, informs her about the mix-up and asks her to give him the address of the person who had delivered the package. When Tashi arrives at his apartment he notices that Somayajulu has taken the place under his control making Arup stand on a stool with his neck tied to a tie from the ceiling fan. On interrogating, Somayajulu discovers the location of his package.
Nitin gets the package from his doctor's office which Somayajulu snatches and opens. Inside it are thirty diamonds. He examines them and orders his men to kill everyone. One of them pushes the stool on which Arup was standing. The other one gets ready to kill Tashi. Meanwhile, the fan to which Arup was tied falls down along with the ceiling and injures most of Somayajulu's men. Tashi, Arup and Nitin escape along with the diamonds and spend the night at Menaka's place. The next day they sell the diamonds to a local jewellery shop owner. They celebrate their good fortune which is cut short by Somayajulu's call saying if he doesn't get his diamonds back, he will kill Sonia. The trio, feeling disgusted, goes to get the diamonds from the jewellery shop owner, only to be told that they will have to pay him double.
The trio starts worrying when Tashi comes up with a plan. Nitin, Arup, Tashi and Maneka disguise themselves in burqa and go to the jewellery shop. They con the owner, take back their diamonds and return his money. They then go to the hotel where Sonia is held by Somayajulu. On the other hand the police is after Tashi's car. Tashi, Arup and Nitin reach the hotel room and see Sonia. They ask Somayajulu to take the diamonds and leave her. Meanwhile the police arrive at the hotel room and start shooting. Somayajulu and his gangsters fire in return.
In the end, only Nitin, Arup, Tashi and Sonia survive the gunfight. Menaka is upset to learn about Tashi's engagement and leaves him. Tashi breaks off his engagement to Sonia. Later it is revealed that Nitin managed to keep the real cash with him while duping the jewellery shop owner. The film ends when Menaka comes over to Tashi's to hand over his car's wheel cover lost while escaping from Rajeev. Tashi manages to jump into her car through the open window and kisses her.
Producer-actor Aamir Khan is seen performing an item song during the end credits of the film.
[edit]Cast
- Imran Khan as Tashi Malhotra
- Kunaal Roy Kapur as Nitin Beri
- Vir Das as Arup
- Poorna Jagannathan as Menaka
- Shenaz Treasurywala as Sonia
- Vijay Raaz as Cowboy
- Paresh Ganatra as Manish Chand Jain
- Raju Kher as Zubin Mehra
- Rahul Singh as Rajeev Khanna
- Rahul Pendkalkar as Prateek Jain
- Pradeep Kabra as Brajesh
- Lushin Dubey as Sonia's Mother
- Rajendra Sethi as the Jeweller
- Shilpa Mehta as Tashi's Mother
- Anusha Dandekar as VJ Soniya
- Aamir Khan as Disco Fighter (Special Appearance)
- Sona Mohapatra as Stage Singer (Cameo in the song 'Bedardi Raja')
- Kim Bodnia as Vladimir
- Bugs Bhargava as Swapan Bannerjee
- Mansee Desshmukh as Ritu Kohli
- Zafar Karachiwala as Vivek Uniyal
- Ramesh Kannaa as Mr. Kohli
- Ashraf Ul Haq as Tito
[edit]Production
[edit]Development
This film was written by Akshat Verma, a Los Angeles based writer, who first wrote the screenplay as a part of the his studies at Screenwriting programme at UCLA, under the title Say Cheese. Subsequently after he lost his job as a copywriter in US, around 2005, he revived the script, which clearly took inspiration from Guy Ritchie's 2000 film Snatch.[7] Akshat had to compile 15 drafts before the movie went on floors. It took him more than three years to finish writing the story.[8] He visited Mumbai along with Jim Furgele, to unsuccessfully pitch the film to various film producers, eventually after submitting a draft to Aamir Khan Productions, he left.[7] The script was thrown into a pile of scripts in Aamir Khan's office, where Kiran Rao randomly picked it, read it and began to laugh. Soon it was read by Aamir Khan who contacted the writer who was initially hesitant that it might ruin the clean, family entertainment tag of Aamir Khan Productions, though Aamir had produced two A-certificate films before, Peepli Live and Dhobi Ghat.[9]
[edit]Casting
Earlier, Ranbir Kapoor and Chitrangada Singh were to star in the film. After both of them backed off, Aamir signed his nephew Imran Khan[10]for the lead role following the tremendous success of his debut film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Shooting for the film began in August 2008 in Delhi. Indian comedian Vir Das was also signed to star in the film. According to director Abhinay Deo, "Delhi Belly is an ensemble piece. It's not a film about Imran Khan. He is only one of the several protagonists. There are others whose characters are just as important. There is Kunal Roy Kapoor, Vir Das and Poorna Jagannathan, an Indian actress from LA".[11] The film was stuck at the editing table for a long time. Initially, Aamir was to spearhead the editing but he got busy with his own films.[12]
[edit]Reception
[edit]Critical reception
Delhi Belly received widespread critical acclaim and currently holds a 91% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[13] Nikhat Kazmi of the Times of India rated the film with four out of five stars, and said - "All in all, Delhi Belly is a fine example of how the brightest and the boldest, when they pool in their talent, can create a film that is guaranteed to give you your money's worth, even as it re-writes all the moth-balled rules of an ageing industry. Enjoy the experience."[14] Pratim D. Gupta of The Telegraph called Delhi Belly "an insanely funny ensemble comedy" and praised writer Akshat Verma's "original screenplay, which knows the difference between physical comedy and slapstick humour."[15]Behindwoods gave a score of three and a half stars and said that the film was "Only for those with a cast iron stomach." further citing "In conclusion, it may be said that Delhi Belly caters to a section of the populace that is cool when shit happens."[16] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the movie with four and a half stars and wrote - "Eventually, Delhi Belly works big time predominantly for the reason that it's a pioneering motion picture, an incredible film that dares to pierce into an untapped and brand new terrain. The unblemished, racy screenplay coupled with super performances and a chartbusting musical score will make it a winner all the way."[17] Nikita Kapoor of FilmiTadka ratedDelhi Belly with four out of five stars and wrote in her review "a special shout goes out to the writer of this brilliant stuff, Akshat Verma, Delhi Belly is a first of its kind Adult Comedy in India, this can seriously turn out to be a path breaker, trend setter, but yes I also worry, in an industry which likes to follow the 'formula', Indian shores might soon hit with gross and vulgar rip-offs of American Pie, etc."[18] Mihir Fadnavis of Daily News and Analysis called the script "hilarious" and "bitingly perceptive" and gave the film four out of five stars, saying "I haven't had this much fun at the movies in a long time".[19] Mathures Paul of the The Statesman gave the film four out of five stars, and wrote, "It’s a fashionable film for fashionable youth."[20] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the movie three stars out of a possible five, saying "Delhi Belly has a tight, pacy plot which has lots of satisfying little set-ups and pay-offs".[21] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film three and a half out of five stars, saying "Delhi Belly is a filthy comic thriller that works because it's a smartly paced wild-ride". He also praised Vijay Raaz's performance, saying that the gangster's role had been "played wonderfully".[22]
The movie also received high praise from critics outside India. Lisa Tsering of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "Sexy, filthy and thoroughly entertaining comedy" and that it "marks a welcome shift in contemporary Indian cinema." She however pointed out that Aamir Khan"overstays his welcome" in his cameo at the end of the film, and that "a momentary glimpse would have had more impact."[23] Kevin Thomas of The Los Angeles Times said that "Akshat Verma's script is imaginative and funny, the film's stars are engaging and "Delhi Belly" adds up to pleasing escapist fare."[24] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also praised the film, saying that "The sheer daftness and goofiness of this Bollywood comedy-farce makes it likable."[25]
Other reviewers, however, deplored the scatological basis of most of the the humour and the hackneyed scenarios in the movie. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express had this to say in her review: "After a while, the continuous bad tummy rumbles and farts, and the non-stop cussing, wears thin. And please, wearing burqas as disguise is not the only way you can have characters on the run in the grungier parts of town, even if you overlay the chase with the ultra-clever, super-catchy Bhaag D K Bose ditty. There are, believe us, other ways."[26]
[edit]Box office
The film opened very well at the box office. It collected around 36 crore in first week of screening all around India and US$ 1.6 million (7.25 crore) overseas.[27][28] The film collected 55 crore nett gross in India by the end of its third week, being declared a super hit.
36 crore in first week of screening all around India and US$ 1.6 million (7.25 crore) overseas.[27][28] The film collected 55 crore nett gross in India by the end of its third week, being declared a super hit.[edit]Controversies
On July 3, 2011, the Government of Nepal banned screening of the movie citing the reluctance by the cinema halls to remove offensive scenes from the film.[29] However, Nepal's censors later agreed to clear the film for viewing by theatre goers above 16 years. An offending scene showing one of the protagonists, played by Kunaal Roy Kapur, visiting a brothel, was cut and some expletives in two scenes were muted.[30]
