Aamir (film)

Aamir is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Raj Kumar Gupta and starring Rajeev Khandelwal. The story revolves around a young Muslim man, Dr. Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal), who has returned to Mumbai from the United Kingdom and finds himself at the mercy of Islamic extremists who want to carry out a bombing in the city. It was adapted from the Filipino film Cavite.[1][2][3]

Aamir
Promotional poster for Aamir
Directed byRaj Kumar Gupta
Produced byRonnie Screwvala
Written byRaj Kumar Gupta
StarringRajeev Khandelwal
Gajraj Rao
Music byAmit Trivedi
CinematographyAlphonse Roy
Edited byAarti Bajaj
Production
company
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 6 June 2008 (2008-06-06)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Plot

The film begins with Dr. Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) returning to Mumbai on vacation. Upon arrival at the airport, an unknown person hands him a cellphone. The caller asks him to follow instructions. Though initially reluctant, he sees a video in the phone and realises that his family has been kidnapped. Not sure what to do, he hesitantly agrees to follow the instructions when told that his family will be released if he does so.

The instructor asks Aamir Ali to think of Islam and wants him to do something for his religion rather than work and live in a foreign country. He is then made to go a hotel, where he is given an address. From there, he goes to a PCO and calls an anonymous number, which is in Pakistan. He is asked to stay in a lodge, where a lame man asks him to follow him. Aamir is then led to a house where he is given a red briefcase. Initially thinking the briefcase is a bomb, he opens it and finds that it is full of money. From the lodge, he is asked to catch a particular bus at a designated time.

He leaves to catch the bus, but on the way his briefcase gets stolen. Realizing that the only way to save his family is to get back the briefcase, he enlists the help of a prostitute whom he met at the lodge. After finding the place, he fights back and takes the briefcase. He then hurries to catch the bus. Once inside the bus, he is told to put the briefcase underneath his seat and leave. Aamir now realises that his briefcase has been switched. Instead of money, they have put a bomb inside it. He alights from the bus and begins to hallucinate. He boards the bus once again and takes the briefcase. He, then clears an area saying he has a bomb in his hands. He holds on to the briefcase tightly and begins to think of his family. The bomb explodes, killing Aamir.

The antagonist weeps upon hearing his plan of creating a terrorist has failed. The film ends with reporters reporting live from the spot, saying "A terrorist was killed in a bomb attack. But why he decided to kill only himself is unknown."

Production

The movie was released on 6 June alongside the Ram Gopal Varma-directed Sarkar Raj. Shot on a budget of ₹20 million (US$280,000), Aamir was a thriller set in the streets of Mumbai. Aamir is also the debut film of its lead actor, cinematographer, music director and the producer UTV Spotboy. The tagline of the film is "Kaun Kehta Hai Aadmi Apni Kismat Khud Likhta Hai?" ("Who says a man writes his own destiny?")

Reception

Raj Kumar Gupta was commended for his fine directorial work. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN praised the film's tight script and direction,[4] while Raja Sen of Rediff praised its realism, cinematography and music.[5] Other reviews were also mostly positive.[6][7] Reviewer at VjMOVIEws noted that, "Aamir is a part of such breed of Bollywood movies which never garners the limelight of cinema but still manages to carve a niche for them."[8]

The film had a weak opening due to the new names involved and its story-line but gained widespread word of mouth publicity. It ended up doing good business with good collection in subsequent weeks.[9]

Music
Aamir
Soundtrack album by
Amit Trivedi
Released2008
Recorded2008
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelSony BMG
ProducerAmit Trivedi

The album contains six tracks composed by Amit Trivedi, with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya, including one instrumental played by Marianne D’Cruz Aiman and Jeetendra Thakur, and four bonus tracks, two songs from Khuda Kay Liye and two songs from Kailash Kher. Joginder Tuteja from indiaFM gave the film's soundtrack 2.5 out of 5 stars.[10]

Track list[11]
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
1."Ha Raham"Amit TrivediMurtuza-Qadir, Amit Trivedi, Amitabh Bhattacharya5:10
2."Chakkar Ghumyo"Amit TrivediAmit Trivedi3:32
3."Haara"Amit TrivediAmit Trivedi4:17
4."Phas Gaya (Never Mind)"Amit TrivediNeuman Pinto4:03
5."Ek Lau"Amit TrivediShilpa Rao, Amitabh Bhattacharya4:28
6."Climax Theme (instrumental)"Amit TrivediMarianne D'Cruz6:03
Total length:27:33
Bonus tracks
No.TitleMusicArtist(s)Length
7."Allah Hoo"Rohail HyattSaeen Zahoor, Zara Madani4:10
8."Dilruba"Kailash KherKailash Kher3:33
9."Bandya"Rohail HyattKhawar Jawad, Faiza Mujahid3:15
10."Chhap Tilak"Kailash KherKailash Kher5:04
Total length:16:04

The background score for the opening credits is the Peggy Lee song "It's a Good Day". The rights to the song were obtained for ₹800,000 (US$11,000).[12]

Remake

Aamir was remade in Tamil as Aal.[13]

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References
  1. "Cavite". 12 March 2005 – via www.imdb.com.
  2. ""We have taken the adaptation rights of Cavite for Aamir" – Vikas Bahl". Bollywood Hungama.
  3. "Bollywood Inspired by World Cinema, But Opts for Legal Remakes Now". Bollywood Presents. 2 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017.
  4. Masand, Rajeev (7 June 2008). "Aamir, a tight thriller". buzz18.com. CNN IBN. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  5. Sen, Raja (5 June 2008). "Why we should applaud Aamir". rediff.com. Rediff. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  6. Adarsh, Taran (5 June 2008). "Aamir: Movie Review". indiafm.com. India FM. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  7. Mohamed, Khalid (7 June 2008). "Hatch-22 situation". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  8. "Redirecting". fridayviews.blogspot.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
  9. "BoxOffice India.com". 28 June 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  10. Hungama, Bollywood. "Latest Bollywood Songs – New Hindi Movie Songs – Indian Hindi Songs".
  11. "Aamir".
  12. "'Aamir' director struggled to get Peggy Lee song for movie". Tha Indian.
  13. "Aal Movie Review {2.5/5}: Critic Review of Aal by Times of India".

Karen Gabriel, 'The Country in the City: The Bye-lanes of Identity', in South Asian Journal, July–Sept 2010, pp 53–64.

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