Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Bajrangi Bhaijaan () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Kabir Khan and written by Khan, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad, and Parveez Sheikh. Produced by Salman Khan and Rockline Venkatesh, it stars Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Harshaali Malhotra. Salman Khan plays Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, an ardent devotee of Hindu deity Hanuman, who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old Pakistani Muslim girl (Malhotra), separated in India from her parents, back to her hometown in Pakistan.
Made on a budget of , the principal photography commenced in November 2014. The cinematography was done by Aseem Mishra and was edited by Rameshwar S. Bhagat. Julius Packiam composed the film score while the songs featured in the film were composed by Pritam.
The film received wide acclaim from critics, and was a commercial success. It grossed () worldwide, and is currently the third highest-grossing Indian film and second highest-grossing Bollywood film. It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Film Awards, and was nominated for four awards at the 61st Filmfare Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Story. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Film in China's 2015 Douban Film Awards.
Plot.
Amidst the hills of Sultanpur, a picturesque village in Pakistan, lives Shahida Rauf (Harshaali Malhotra), named after Pakistani Cricketer, Shahid Afridi, a mute six-year-old girl, with her parents. After an accident in which she is unable to call for help because she is mute, her mother, Rasia Rauf (Meher Vij), decides to take her to the shrine of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, India, hoping it will restore her speech.
On the way back home, the train stops for repairs and Shahida gets off to save a lamb while her mother is asleep. The train leaves before Shahida can re-board. Panicked, she boards a freight train and winds up in Kurukshetra. There, she meets Pawan Chaturvedi (Salman Khan), who is affectionately called Bajrangi. He is a devout Hindu Brahmin and an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman. Pawan resides at the home of his father's friend, Dayanand Pandey (Sharat Saxena), where he is engaged to Dayanand's daughter, Rasika Pandey (Kareena Kapoor). He tries in vain to find out where Shahida lives. He starts calling her "Munni" and brings her home. Dayanand lets her stay, thinking she must be Brahmin. However, the family eventually learns that Munni is a Pakistani Muslim. An enraged Dayanand orders Pawan to have her sent to Pakistan through the Pakistani High Commission, but offices are closed due to protests. A local travel agent promises to take Munni to Pakistan without a passport but instead tries to sell her to a brothel, causing Pawan to become enraged. After rescuing her, he vows to take Munni home on his own despite not having a passport and visa.
Pawan and Munni are able to enter Pakistan under the border's fences, but shortly later, they are arrested under suspicions of Pawan being an Indian spy. During interrogation, he escapes with Munni and meets Chand Nawab (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a journalist who works for a Pakistani television channel. Nawab has been following Pawan's situation, thinking he is indeed an Indian spy, but discovers that Pawan is a victim of circumstances who is on a noble mission to reunite the mute Munni with her parents. Moved by his story, Nawab joins him in his journey to find Munni's parents. They encounter an Islamic religious scholar, Asad, who helps them avoid capture by police and directs the group to Azad Kashmir, after Munni recognises an area similar to her hometown in a calendar photo. Meanwhile, Nawab's cameraman, Kamil Yusuf, is arrested by Inspector Aamir Qureshi and Senior Pakistani Police Officer Hamid Khan (Rajesh Sharma) when his efforts to escape fail miserably, and they bait him into tracing Nawab's location.
Nawab documents their journey on video, but his boss refuses to air it, thinking it's a useless story. Nawab uploads the video on YouTube, discovering in the process that Kamil is being scapegoated by the police to capture Pawan alive when he notices the team at a shrine. While reviewing the footage, Munni recognises her mother getting off a bus in the background. The trio go to the bus station and finally identify Sultanpur as Munni's hometown. They board a bus but are stopped by police who are looking for "the Indian spy". Devising a plan, Pawan gets off the bus and runs toward the jungle while Nawab and Munni escape on the other side. Pawan is captured and shot in the arm. Meanwhile, Nawab and Munni reach Sultanpur, where Munni is finally reunited with her parents.
The videos uploaded by Nawab go viral throughout India and Pakistan, emotionally moving many. A compassionate Hamid realises that Pawan is innocent after his story is verified, and has him released, defying his boss's order to keep him in jail. Nawab calls for support and thousands of Pakistanis and Indians congregate at Narowal Check Post, where Pawan is to return to India. As Pawan crosses the border, Nawab reveals that Munni's real name is Shahida. Shahida, also in the crowd, runs toward the fence and after some effort, cries out Pawan's name get his attention. Pawan hears her voice, and the two run toward each other as they have a reunion with Pawan tossing Shahida high in the air.
Production.
Development.
The film's co-writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad stated that the idea of the film was inspired by the 1987 Telugu film "Pasivadi Pranam", which itself is a remake of the Malayalam film "Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal" (1986). Prasad also took inspiration from a story he heard about a Pakistani couple coming to India for their daughter's heart surgery.
Kabir Khan noted that his script for "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" was influenced by some of his own experiences. He noted the influence of the Hindu epic "Ramayana", which he used to watch Ramlila plays of as a child, and particularly the Hindu deity Bajrangi (Hanuman), who left a strong impression on him as a child. He felt that Bajrangi was a character who was loved by people all religious communities in India, including Hindus and Muslims in India, due to how Bajrangi brought joy and fun to many Indian children. Khan began writing "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" partly in response to the rise of religious sectarianism in India since the 1980s and particularly in response to the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu fundamentalist organisation that appropriated Bajrangi for violent sectarian motives and played a central role in the deadly 2002 Gujarat riots, leading to the name Bajrangi having communal connotations. He began writing "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" in 2013 as a way of reclaiming Bajrangi for all communities, and as a way of bringing Hindus and Muslims together.
Principal Photography.
The principal photography began on 3 November 2014 in New Delhi, with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan participating. The second filming schedule took place at the ND Studios, Karjat. The third schedule of the film was held in Mandawa, Rajasthan. On 7 January 2015, Khan was seen on the top of the castle of Mandawa playing cricket with a young boy. On 10 January 2015, Khan shot with school students in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district. Shooting of the film was completed on 20 May. Some scenes of the film were shot at Khan's Panvel farm house. Shooting also took place in the Kashmir Valley in places like Sonamarg and Zoji La. The film's climax was shot at Sonmarg near the Thajiwas glacier (at 10,000 ft above sea level) with around 7,000 people. Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character Chand Nawab was inspired by a real character Chand Nawab, who was with Karachi-based Indus News in 2008.
Music.
The soundtrack of the album is composed by Pritam with lyrics written by Mayur Puri, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Neelesh Misra, Shabbir Ahmed, and Kausar Munir. The soundtrack of the movie become Super Hit. The Song "Bhar Do Jholi" one of the biggest hits of 2015 sang by Adnan Sami. The soundtrack album consists of eleven tracks, was released on 17 June 2015. "Tu Chahiye and Selfie Le Le Re become chartbusters.
The film includes the qawwali "Bhar Do Jholi Meri Ya Muhammad" originally written by Purnam Allahabadi and composed and sung by the Sabri Brothers. The qawwali was revamped with the voice of Adnan Sami Khan. EMI Pakistan and Amjad Sabri heir to the Sabri Brothers, have called for legal action against the producers of the film and the qawwali in separate instances.
Release.
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" was released on 17 July 2015, one day before Eid, on 4,500 screens in India and 1,000 screens in overseas respectively. The film was also released in 50 countries outside India, on more than 700 screens. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" premiered at the 20th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) on 6 October 2015.
In November 2017, it was announced that "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" was set to release in China, following the success of Aamir Khan's "Dangal" (2016) in the country. In December 2017, it was announced the film would release there in 2018. Prior to the announcement, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" had a cult following in China, where it has an average rating of 8.6 out of 10 on the popular film site Douban, with over 70,000 votes. It placed fourth on Douban's list of top foreign films of 2015. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" will be released in China under the title 小萝莉的猴神大叔 which roughly translates as "Little Lolita's Monkey God Uncle"; "monkey god" is a rough translation of "Bajrangi" while "little lolita" and "uncle" reference the characters. The Chinese version will also be cut down in length to 140 minutes. The film released in China on 2 March 2018. In January 2018, it was announced that the film will be getting a wide release, on 8,000 screens in China, building on the Chinese box office success of Aamir Khan's "Dangal" and "Secret Superstar" (2017), and "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"s positive word-of-mouth. On 6 February 2018, the film had advance screenings in 29 Chinese cities, receiving a positive reception from audiences. It also had a limited preview on 25 February 2018. The film's China premiere on 27 February 2018 was attended by Kabir Khan and Harshali Malhotra. Its release date of 2 March 2018 marks the Lantern Festival, which celebrates families coming together.
It was released in Turkey on 17 August 2018 on 190 screens. In the first weekend it grossed approx $89,796 with a spectator count of 8,389. The film released in Japan on 18 January 2019, with the title "バジュランギおじさんと、小さな迷子" ("Bajurangi ojisan to, chīsana maigo"), which translates as "Uncle Bajrangi and a small lost child".
Reception.
, the film holds a 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on fifteen reviews from English-language critics with an average rating of 6.4/10. The film received similarly positive reviews from Chinese critics. Several critics in China, where it was released as "Little Lolita's Monkey Uncle", noted narrative parallels to the 16th century Chinese epic "Journey to the West" and its monkey-king hero Sun Wukong (which in turn have similarities to the Hindu epic "Ramayana," which was composed between the 7th and 4th centuries BCE, and its monkey-god hero Hanuman), making the film relatable to Chinese audiences. In January 2019, upon release in Japan, it was the week's highest-rated film on the Filmarks audience satisfaction survey.
Comparisons were drawn between "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" and the 2006 Kannada film "Kallarali Hoovagi" in terms of the core plot and characters.
Box office.
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed worldwide in its first week, beating the previous record of worldwide by "PK". The film went on to net and gross in India and grossed overseas for a worldwide gross of in 31 days. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" became the quickest film to collect and net domestically beating "PK" and "Dhoom 3". The distributor share of the film had crossed crore which is a record in India being the second film to do so after "PK". In August 2015, Eros International said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange that "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" has become the fastest Bollywood film to gross worldwide, while it crossed at the domestic box office.
The film is the highest nett grosser ever in Delhi / UP, CP Berar, CI, Bihar, Assam and Orissa, East Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal beating the lifetime collections of "PK" and "Dhoom 3". The footfalls of the film crossed 35.2million after five weeks, making it the most watched film in India since "" (2001) and beating "PK", "3 Idiots", "Dhoom 3", and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...". "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed worldwide at the end of its 7th week. The domestic Indian gross for the film was as of August 2015, while its overseas gross was US$30.9million (211.05crore) as of 2017. It was one of the highest-grossing Indian film ever at the time, behind "PK". Prior to its China release, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan"s worldwide gross was 626crore (US$million) as of 27 February 2018. After 22 days at the Chinese box office, it became the fourth Indian film to gross 900crore (US$million) worldwide, after "Dangal", "Baahubali 2", and "Secret Superstar". As of today, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is the third highest-grossing Indian film ever worldwide. The film was marketed by a Mumbai-based company named Spice PR owned by Prabhat Choudhary.
India.
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" opened to an overwhelming response at the domestic box office and went on to break the first week record of "PK" and "Happy New Year". The film grossed around in India on the first day of release, and further showed incredible growth on its second and third day to gross , setting new records in several circuits, and on the first Sunday to take its first-weekend total to , which is an all-time first-weekend record, becoming the quickest film to gross domestically. The film grossed on its first Monday which is the highest-ever non-holiday Monday and Tuesday as well as on its first Wednesday and Thursday to take its first-week gross to , making it the highest first-week total for an Indian film in domestic markets beating previous record holder "PK".
The film grossed on its second Friday. The film showed further growth and grossed on its second Saturday and Sunday for a total of , which is the highest second weekend ever for an Indian film and took its domestic total to in ten days and also made it the second highest weekend ever for an Indian film. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed around on its second Monday. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed around on its second Tuesday, on its second Wednesday, and on its second Thursday. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed , which is the second-highest second-week collection of all time to take its two-week domestic gross to .
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed on its third Friday, on its third Saturday, and on its third Sunday to take its third weekend total to which is the second-highest third weekend of all time. The film grossed around in its third weekend, reaching in seventeen days in India to become the second-highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time in domestic markets, beating "Dhoom 3". The film went on to gross overseas for a worldwide gross of in just 17 days. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" set a new all-time lifetime record in India by becoming the highest grosser ever in Bihar as it went to the gross mark after its third weekend. The film grossed on its third Monday, on its second Tuesday, and on its second Wednesday to take its 19 days total to in India and become only the 2nd Indian film to do so. The film also recorded the third-highest third week ever as it grossed on its third Thursday for a combined total of in its third week.
The film grossed in its fourth weekend. The film grossed in its fourth week, in its fifth week, in its sixth week, in its seventh week, and in its eighth week. The film collected in its ninth week becoming the second film ever to gross more than 10 lakhs in the ninth week after "Vicky Donor".
The film had a tenth week and became the third Indian film of the 2010s to ever have one. The other films were "Vicky Donor" and "Band Baaja Baaraat". The film's final domestic gross was ().
Overseas.
"Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed around $8.1 million in the first weekend in overseas markets, which is the second-highest opening weekend for a Hindi film. The film has grossed around $2.45 million in its first weekend in US-Canada. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed in Pakistan in first 3 days of its release, and subsequently in the first week. The ten-day overseas gross of "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" is US$17 million plus. At the end of two weeks, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed US$20 million in overseas. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed around $23.5 million in overseas in 17 days. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" set an all-time record in the Persian Gulf region with collections of to become the highest-grossing film in the territory, beating films like "Happy New Year" and "Dhoom 3". The film is also the biggest Salman Khan film in the Persian Gulf, beating the previous best of "Kick" which grossed around $4.1 million. The film has done excellent across all overseas markets, according to Box Office India.
The film topped all four major markets by beating the lifetime collection of "PK". "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed £2,662,115 in the United Kingdom, US$9,450,000 in the Persian Gulf region, and A$1,701,000 in Australia. The film grossed $8,180,000 after its sixth weekend in the United States and Canada, with a final gross of US$8.187million in the US and Canada. In Hong Kong, the film grossed HK$1,364,088 (US$) in 2016. "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed US$30.9 million (211 crore) overseas as of 2017. After 26 days of its release in China, the film became the third Indian film (first featuring Salman Khan) to gross more than 500 crore from overseas markets.
China.
In China, on its opening day of 2 March 2018, the film grossed US$2.29million, debuting at number seven on the daily China box office. This is the fourth-highest opening for an Indian film in China, after "Secret Superstar" ($6.97million), "Hindi Medium" ($3.68million) and "Dangal" ($2.55million), while "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" also crossed the lifetime China gross of "3 Idiots" (2009). On its second day, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" grossed $3.11million, entering the top five, with a two-day gross of $5.36million. It grossed another $3.13million in its third day, giving it an opening weekend gross of $9million It is the third-highest opening weekend for an Indian film, behind only "Secret Superstar" and "Dangal", and it has become the highest-grossing Indian film not starring Aamir Khan. The successful opening weekend of "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" has been attributed to strong word of mouth, generated by high audience ratings such as 8.6 on Douban and 9.7 on Maoyan.
On the 14th day of its release, the film grossed $1.13 million and became the first Indian film not featuring Aamir Khan to gross more than 200crore in the Chinese market, grossing $31.12million up until then. In 31 days, the film had a cumulative gross of $48million (313crore). The film's audiences were about 60% female and 40% male, and the majority were in the 20–34 age group. It surpassed ' to become the seventh highest-grossing film in China during the first quarter of 2018, behind only Hindi film "Secret Superstar" and several Hollywood films including "Black Panther" and '.
Accolades.
Winner
Nominated
Home Media.
The film is made available on Disney+Hotstar, Eros Now and on Prime Video (In Selected Regions)
Trivia.
1. Munni, the name given to Shahida by Pawan, is derived from the song ‘Munni Badnaam Hui' from the film Dabangg, which also featured Salman Khan
2. Nawazuddin Siddiqui's character, Chand Nawab, is based on a real-life Pakistani reporter with the same name.