Main Hoon Na

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Main Hoon Na
Main Hoon Na poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byFarah Khan
Written byScreenplay:
Abbas Tyrewala
Farah Khan
Rajesh Saathi
Dialogues:
Abbas Tyrewala
Story byFarah Khan
Produced byGauri Khan
Ratan Jain
StarringShah Rukh Khan
Sushmita Sen
Zayed Khan
Sunil Shetty
Amrita Rao
CinematographyV. Manikandan
Edited byShirish Kunder
Music byScore:
Ranjit Barot
Songs:
Anu Malik
Production
companies
Distributed byRed Chillies Entertainment
Eros International
Venus Records & Tapes
Release date
  • 30 April 2004 (2004-04-30)
Running time
182 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget210 million[1]
Box office840 million[2]

Main Hoon Na (Translation: I'm there) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language masala comedy action flick written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Sushmita Sen, Sunil Shetty, Amrita Rao and Zayed Khan and follows Ram Sharma, an Indian soldier sent undercover as a university student to protect a general's daughter from a rogue soldier.[3]

The film began development in 2001, and faced a number of delays during production. Main Hoon Na is notable for approaching the Indo-Pakistani conflict from a neutral perspective. It was filmed at St. Paul's School and the surrounding state of West Bengal. The film is also the first produced and distributed by Red Chillies Entertainment, and is produced by Gauri Khan. Initially scheduled for release in 2003, Main Hoon Na was released worldwide on 30 April 2004.

The film set numerous box-office records during its theatrical run, and with over 84 crore (US$12 million) in revenue worldwide, it was the second highest-grossing Indian film of 2004, behind Veer-Zaara. Main Hoon Na received 12 nominations at the 50th Filmfare Awards, including those for Best Film, Best Director for Farah Khan, Best Actor for Shah Rukh Khan, Best Supporting Actor for Zayed Khan, and Best Supporting Actress for Rao. It won for Best Music.

Plot[]

Over an attempt to de-escalate tensions between the two nations, India and Pakistan launch Project Milaap, a prisoner exchange program. Raghavan Dutta (Sunil Shetty), a former Indian special forces soldier discharged for murdering Pakistani citizens in revenge for the murder of his son, shoots his former superior, Brigadier General Shekhar Sharma (Naseeruddin Shah) at a press conference. Raghavan runs a militant group with a former comrade Captain Khan (Murali Sharma), set against peace between the countries.

On his deathbed, Shekhar informs his son, fellow soldier Major Ram (Shah Rukh Khan), of his other son Lakshman (Zayed Khan), and asks Ram to reconcile with his family as they had separated very long ago because Shekhar had cheated on his wife with Ram's mother. Meanwhile, Ram's boss, Gen. Amarjeet Bakshi, sends him undercover to protect his daughter Sanjana (Amrita Rao), who studies at the same university as Lakshman. During a race, Lakshman is saved by Ram from falling from the university's roof. The trio becomes friends, and Ram moves in with Lakshman and his mother Madhu (Kirron Kher). Outside a cinema, Ram saves his classmate, Percy, from an assassination attempt by Khan; Ram captures him, but his true identity is found out by Raghavan, who arrives at the university masquerading as a teacher.

Ram falls in love with his teacher, Chandni (Sushmita Sen), while Lakshman falls in love with Sanjana. At prom, Raghavan orders a kidnapping on Chandni, but she is saved by Ram. After meeting with Sanjana, Ram requests Raghavan to drop the pair to her father. Raghavan reveals to Lakshman and his mother of Ram's true identity; Ram informs them his father's last wish implored him to reconcile with his family, but leaves their home and the university when they refuse to accept him.

Raghavan then holds the university hostage, demanding the cancelation of Project Milaap. Upon being informed, Ram immediately returns to the university. Before fully entering the hostage situation, he encounters Madhu and apologizes. Knowing what he's about to do, she decides to accept him as a son. Accompanying Khan, Ram enters the building, and is subsequently shot by Khan. A plan by the pair to feign Ram's death, who successfully frees the hostages, results in Khan being killed by Raghavan. A fight between Ram and Raghavan then kills Raghavan by removing the pin from Raghavan's hand grenade.

Lakshman helps Ram escape from the ensuing explosion from aboard a helicopter and the two happily embrace as brothers, meanwhile Project Milaap is a success and all the prisoners are exchanged triumphantly. Ram and Lakshman go and immerse their father's ashes together, as Madhu tearfully looks on. Lakshman is finally allowed to graduate alongside Ram and the entire university cheers.

Cast[]

  • Shah Rukh Khan as Major Ram Prasad Sharma: A Para Commando whose objective is to protect Sanjana and reconcile with his half-brother and stepmother.
  • Sushmita Sen as Chandni Chopra: Ram, Sanjana and Laxman's chemistry teacher and Ram's love-interest.
  • Zayed Khan as Lakshman "Lucky" Prasad Sharma: Ram's half-brother and Sanju's love-interest
  • Suniel Shetty as Ex-Major Raghavan Singh Dutta: A rogue ex-Para Commando who was court-martialed when he started killing innocent Pakistani citizens and claiming that they were spies without evidence.
  • Amrita Rao as Sanjana "Sanju" Bakshi: General Bakshi's daughter and Lucky's love interest (Few lines dubbed by Mona Ghosh Shetty)
  • Kirron Kher as Madhu Sharma: Ram's stepmother and Lucky's mother
  • Kabir Bedi as General Amarjeet Bakshi: Sanju's father and Ram's superior officer
  • Naseeruddin Shah as Brigadier General Shekhar Prasad Sharma: Ram and Lucky's father (Cameo)
  • Murli Sharma as Ex-Captain Khan: Raghavan's second-in-command
  • Bindu as Mrs. Sonali Kakkar, the Hindi teacher, who is very bad at speaking English
  • Boman Irani as Yogant Kumar: College Principal, who is very forgetful
  • Satish Shah as Professor Rasai, the Physics teacher, who spits while speaking, and is very short-tempered
  • Kunal Kumar as Baman: A student who helps Ram hack into university's students' list to search for Lucky
  • Rakhi Sawant as Mini, a flirtatious student
  • Nassar Abdullah as Project Milaap's TV host
  • Tabu as Aparna: A girl watching Ram's dance rehearsal (Uncredited cameo)
  • Geeta Kapoor as girl dancing; in song "Gori Gori" (Cameo)
  • Sajid Khan as band member; in song "Gori Gori" (Cameo)
  • Praveen Sirohi as Vivek, a jock student
  • Rajeev Punjabi as Percy, a nerdy student

Production[]

Development[]

The film was planned by Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan in 2001. The shooting of the film had to begin in October 2001 but later that year, Shahrukh Khan got badly injured while shooting an action sequence for his 2002 film Shakti: The Power due to which he suffered pain in filming for his other projects. He was later sent to England for treatment and the film was subsequently shelved. The film was later revived in 2003 after Shahrukh Khan came back from England; Farah Khan wanted to name it The Outsider. After some of her friends suggested that the title she wants matches that of a 1983 Hollywood film, she finalized the title Main Hoon Na for the film though Shahrukh Khan was unhappy at that time with the title, thinking the title was incomplete, but later changed his mind after listening to the recording of the film's title song.

Casting[]

At a time when the film was revived in 2003, Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar, and Sohail Khan were considered for Lucky's role. Due to unknown reasons, none of the three accepted the film; Zayed Khan was later signed. Ameesha Patel was offered Sanju's role but rejected the character due to date issues, as did then-newcomer Ayesha Takia when she was also approached who also declined, after which Amrita Rao was finalized for the role.[4]

Shah Rukh Khan asked Farah Khan to approach Kamal Haasan to play the antagonist, suggesting that Haasan owed him a favour for his role in Hey Ram (2000).[5] Kamal Haasan heard the script but turned down the role citing that it would portray him as an anti-national.[6]

Critical reception[]

Film analyst Taran Adarsh praised the film for being funny, emotional and full of action, describing it as "a wholesome entertainer that has something for everyone."[7]

Jamie Russell wrote in his review in the BBC, "A bonkers 'masala' movie, Main Hoon Na could be the mutant offspring of Grease (1978) and The Matrix (1999). Part-thriller, part high-school comedy and all Bollywood musical, it's the directorial debut of Farah Khan."[8]

Box office[]

Main Hoon Na was the second-highest grossing Indian movie of 2004 behind Veer-Zaara (also a Shahrukh Khan-starrer set against India-Pakistan backdrop).[9] It made 480 million (US$6.7 million) in India and an additional 19 million (US$270,000) in the overseas market.

Soundtrack[]

Main Hoon Na
Soundtrack album by
Released27 February 2004
RecordedYRF Studios (Mumbai)
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series
ProducerAnu Malik

The music was composed by Anu Malik.[10] The lyrics were provided by Javed Akhtar. Anu Malik won his second Best Music award at Filmfare. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 2.1 million units sold, the film's soundtrack album was the fifth-highest selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year. Sonu Nigam received several award nominations and an MTV Immies Best Male Singer Award.[11]

A snippet from the song ''Lament'' by artist Light of Aidan from the compilation album Café del Mar, Vol. 12 is used throughout the film.[citation needed]

Track listing[]

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Chale Jaise Hawayein"Vasundhara Das, K.K.05:25
2."Tumse Milke"Sonu Nigam, Altaf Sabri, Hashim Sabri06:00
3."Tumhe Jo Maine Dekha"Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Shreya Ghoshal05:42
4."Gori Gori"Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, K.K., Anu Malik04:30
5."Main Hoon Na"Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal06:02
6."Main Hoon Na (Sad Version)"Abhijeet Bhattacharya04:18
7."Yeh Fizayein"K.K., Alka Yagnik05:19
8."Main Hoon Na (Remix)"Ranjit Barot02:31
9."Chale Jaise Hawayein (Remix)"Vasundhara Das, K.K.04:08
Total length:43:55

Awards and nominations[]

Main Hoon Na received many awards and nominations:[12]

50th Filmfare Awards
Category Recipients and Nominees Results
Best Music Director Anu Malik Won
Best Film Red Chillies Entertainment Nominated
Best Director Farah Khan
Best Actor Shahrukh Khan
Best Supporting Actor Zayed Khan
Best Supporting Actress Amrita Rao
Best Villain Suniel Shetty
Best Comedian Boman Irani
Best Male Playback Singer Sonu Nigam for "Main Hoon Na"
Best Male Playback Singer Sonu Nigam for "Tumse Milke"
Best Lyricist Javed Akhtar
Best Action Allan Amin
Global Indian Film Awards
Category Recipients and Nominees Results
Best Actor Shahrukh Khan Won
Best Director Farah Khan
Best Male Playback Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya
Best Art Director Sabu Cyril
Best Action Allan Amin
Best Villain Suniel Shetty
International Indian Film Academy Awards
Category Recipients and Nominees Results
Best Special Effects Rajtaru Video Sonic, Eagle Video Films Won
Best Debut Director Farah Khan
Best Director Farah Khan Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Zayed Khan
Best Performance in a Negative Role Suniel Shetty
Best Music Direction Anu Malik
Best Male Playback Singer Sonu Nigam for "Main Hoon Na"
Star Screen Awards
Category Recipients and Nominees Results
Best Music Director Anu Malik Won
Best Male Playback Sonu Nigam
Best Supporting Actor Zayed Khan Nominated
Best Action Allan Amin
Best Background Music Ranjit Barot
Best Choreography Farah Khan
Best Lyricist Javed Akhtar
Publicity Design Rahul Nanda and Himanshu Nanda
Best Sound Recording Shirish Kunder and Rakesh Ranjan
Zee Cine Awards
Category Recipients and Nominees Results
Best Female Debut Farah Khan Won
Best Music Director Anu Malik
Most Promising Director Farah Khan
Best Director Farah Khan Nominated
Best Actor – Male Shahrukh Khan
Best Supporting Actress Sushmita Sen
Best Film Red Chillies Entertainment
Best Track of the Year "Tumse Milke"
Best Playback Singer – Male Sonu Nigam for "Main Hoon Na"
Best Art Direction Sabu Cyril
Best Costume Design Karan Johar and Manish Malhotra
Beset Background Score Ranjit Barot

Remake[]

In 2008, the film was remade in Tamil and released as Aegan.[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "Main Hoon Na". IBOS Network. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  2. ^ "Top Lifetime Grossers Worldwide". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  3. ^ Rajinder Dudrah, Rajinder Kumar Dudrah Bollywood Travels: Culture, Diaspora and Border Crossings in Popular Hindi Cinema Routledge (2012) p. 18
  4. ^ https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/16-years-main-hoon-na-farah-khan-reveals-srks-friends-played-peons-ayesha-takia-ditched-film-hrithik-walked-kamal-haasan-declined-lot/
  5. ^ https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/16-years-main-hoon-na-farah-khan-reveals-srks-friends-played-peons-ayesha-takia-ditched-film-hrithik-walked-kamal-haasan-declined-lot/
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20050228123806/http://web.mid-day.com/entertainment/movies/2004/april/82036.htm
  7. ^ "Taran Adarsh — Bollywood Hungama".
  8. ^ Jamie Russell Main Hoon Na (2004) 28 April 2004 BBC Movies
  9. ^ "Box Office 2004". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  10. ^ https://music.apple.com/us/album/main-hoon-na-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1120934166
  11. ^ "Music Hits 2000–2009 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  12. ^ "Awards for MHN 2004". BollywoodHungama.com. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  13. ^ "Aegan". Sify. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

External links[]

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