Naam Shabana
Naam Shabana (transl. The name is Shabana) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Shivam Nair and written by Neeraj Pandey. It was co-produced by Neeraj Pandey and Aruna Bhatia. The film is a prequel to the 2015 film Baby with Taapsee Pannu reprising her role as Shabana.[4] Akshay Kumar and Prithviraj Sukumaran play important supporting roles in the film.[lower-alpha 1][7] The film was dubbed into Telugu and Tamil languages and released on 31 March 2017. The Tamil title was Naanthan Shabana where as the Telugu title was Nene Shabana.[1] A day after its release in Pakistan, the film was banned in the country.[8]
Naam Shabana | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Shivam Nair |
Produced by |
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Written by | Neeraj Pandey |
Screenplay by | Neeraj Pandey |
Starring | |
Music by |
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Cinematography | Sudheer Palsane |
Edited by | Praveen Kathikuloth |
Production company | |
Distributed by | |
Release date | |
Running time | 147 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹50 crore[2] |
Box office | est.₹185 crore[3] |
Plot
The film shows the origin story of Shabana Khan, who ends up working as a proficient field agent with Ajay Singh. It begins with two Indian agents working under Ranvir Singh chasing an international arms dealer named Mikhail, but he kills them both and escapes.
A year later, Shabana, a college student who trains as a Kūdō fighter, falls under the agency's radar and starts being followed by them as a potential recruit. One of her friends, Jai, who is in love with her, asks her on a date and confesses his love for her. He asks her about her past, and she tells him that she had been kept in juvenile detention for killing her abusive father who used to physically assault her mother. This event is what brought her to the agency's attention. During their bike ride home, Shabana is a victim of eve teasing from a group of four drunk men in a jeep, resulting in Jai getting killed and the assailants fleeing. The main assailant escapes justice after being identified as the son of an influential man.
Frustrated with the police, Shabana receives a call from an unknown number asking if she wants to avenge Jai's death. The caller, agent Ranvir Singh, agrees to help her take out the killer in exchange for Shabana joining a secret agency. Shabana agrees to this and receives information on the killer's whereabouts and the promised help that will aid her in killing them. She travels to Goa, where the killers are currently laying low. Keeping watch at a club, she is protected by another agent, who Ranvir tells her is their best. When she asks why they are helping her, Ranvir tells her she is special to them and since this is important to her, they will help her as best they can. She decides to kill only the main assailant and leave the others living in fear of their lives. After she kills the guy in his hotel room, Ajay Singh, who protected her at the club, helps her escape.
Following this, Shabana is recruited into the secret agency on a trial basis, wherein she receives extensive training in physical fitness and fighting techniques. The story then focuses on global arms dealer and supplier Mikhail. Three Indian agents track down Tony, Mikhail's right hand. Tony tips them off to a German doctor who has surgically changed Mikhail's face. By the time the agency contacts the doctor to find out how Mikhail looks now, Tony kills all three agents and escapes, revealing that he himself is Mikhail. Ranvir discovers Mikhail is planning another plastic surgery to change his face.
This time, Shabana is sent to kill him with Ajay Singh and Om Prakash Shukla's help. Shabana enters the operation theater disguised as a patient and is about to kill Mikhail. To her surprise, he is awake as he had refused to take anesthesia during the operation. After a fight in which Mikhail almost strangles Shabana, she finally manages to kill him and escapes from the police with Ajay's help.
Cast
- Taapsee Pannu as Shabana Khan
- Akshay Kumar as Ajay Singh Rajput (Cameo Appearance)
- Prithviraj Sukumaran as Tony / Mikhail
- Manoj Bajpayee as Ranvir Singh
- Danny Denzongpa as Feroz Ali Khan
- Virendra Saxena as Cableman
- Anupam Kher as Om Prakash Shukla
- Arjun Singh Shekhawat as Prashant
- Madhurima Tuli as Anjali Singh Rajput, Cameo
- Murali Sharma as Mr. Gupta
- Bhaskar B V as Srini, RAW Agent
- Zakir Hussain as Aseem Gupta, a RAW agent
- Bhuvan Arora as Karan
- Taher Shabbir as Jai
- Natasha Rastogi as Farida Begum Khan, Shabana's mother
- Manav Vij as Ravi, a RAW agent
- Mohan Kapoor as a College professor
- Elli Avram as Sona, Tony's friend Malik's girlfriend. (Cameo)
- Jagannath Nivangune as Police Inspector
- Aparna Upadhyay as Jai's mother
- Rajesh bhati as Mikhail
- Divyangana Jain as Shabana's friend
- Shibani Dandekar as special appearance in song "Baby Besharam"
Production
Development
Taapsee Pannu was trained in mixed martial arts and Judo along with Krav Maga for her role in the film.[9] In October 2016, Prithviraj Sukumaran joined the cast of the film and had shot for a cameo role.[10] Akshay Kumar was signed to play a cameo in the film, reprising his role from the previous film.[11][12] Anupam Kher was signed to play the role of a technical agent.[13] French stuntman Cyril Raffaelli was signed to choreograph the stunts of the film.[14] For the preparation of the role of Pannu's character as a spy, producer Neeraj Pandey took guidance from full-time consultant, an ex-intelligence officer.[15] Varun Dhawan was also rumored to be a part of the film, however the actor claimed later that he is not the part of the film.[lower-alpha 2]
Filming
Principal photography of the film's first schedule began on September 2016 in Malaysia, where Kumar and Pannu shot for stunt sequences.[19][20] Filming of the first schedule was completed in late October 2016.[21] The film's second schedule was started on November 2016 in Mumbai.[22] The shooting of the film was wrapped up in February 2017.[23]
Box office
The film was produced on a budget of ₹50 crore.[2] Its first day gross was approximately ₹25 crore, and the film finished its first weekend with an estimated gross of ₹85 crore. film was commercial successful at the box office.
Soundtrack
The songs of the film are composed by Rochak Kohli and Meet Bros.[24] Lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir and Kumaar and released by T-Series. The film score is composed by Sanjoy Chowdhury.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Rozana" | Manoj Muntashir | Rochak Kohli | Shreya Ghoshal | 4:34 |
2. | "Zinda" | Manoj Muntashir | Rochak Kohli | Sunidhi Chauhan | 4:00 |
3. | "Zubi Zubi" | Manoj Muntashir | Rochak Kohli | Sukriti Kakar, Rochak Kohli | 4:10 |
4. | "Dil Hua Besharam" | Kumaar | Meet Bros | Aditi Singh Sharma | 3:46 |
Total length: | 16:30 |
No. | Title | Length |
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No. | Title | Length |
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Reception
Critical response
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote, "What does come as a surprise, however, is just how much of a drag the film is. Except for a few stray sequences in which the limber Taapsee Pannu goes after the bad guys, and the ones in which co-star Akshay Kumar moves in to demonstrate how the big boys do it, there is nothing either novel or interesting about the film."[25]
On April 9, 2017 the film was banned in Pakistan by its Central Board of Film Censors.[8][26][27][28] It had been shown in Pakistan starting on March 31, 2017 as long as certain scenes with a terrorism theme were cut.[26] One day after an Islamabad theatre showed an uncut version the film was banned from all theatres in the country.[28]
See also
Footnotes
- Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa and Madhurima Tuli remains the only cast who reprised their role from the previous film. The film was commercially successful at the box office.[5][6]
- Initially, it was rumoured that Dhawan was to be a part the film which is not actually sequel.[16][17] Dhawan later cleared about his involvement and being not a part of the film.[18]
References
- "Naam Shabana: Taapsee Pannu shares Tamil, Telugu trailers, leaving fans asking for more". The Indian Express. 26 February 2017.
- "Naam Shabana box office collection day 5: Taapsee Pannu film earns Rs 23. 80 crores". 4 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
- Hungama, Bollywood (1 April 2017). "Box Office: Worldwide collections and day wise break up of Naam Shabana - Bollywood Hungama". Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- "'Naam Shabana' is spin-off, not prequel to 'Baby' Taapsee Pannu". DNA India. 15 March 2017.
- Pandey, Prachita (10 February 2017). "'Naam Shabana' Trailer: Taapsee Pannu DARES to do what no other man does in this action packed film!". DNA India.
- Shiksha, Shruthi (29 March 2017). "Naam Shabana: Why Akshay Kumar Has Lesser Portions Than Taapsee Pannu In Baby Spin-Off". NDTV.
- "Meet 'Naam Shabana's' strong and interesting mix of characters".
- Jha, Subhash K (9 April 2017). "Now, Naam Shabana banned in Pakistan". Deccan Chronicle.
- "Naam Shabana: Guess who trained Taapsee Pannu in martial arts for the film?". Hindustan Times. 21 March 2017.
- Sidhardhan, Sanjith (10 October 2016). "Prithviraj heads to Malaysia for cameo in Naam Shabana". Times of India.
- "Cameos to look out for this year". The New Indian Express. 9 March 2017.
- Dedhia, Sonil (14 February 2017). "Taapsee Pannu talks about Akshay Kumar's extended cameo in 'Naam Shabana': I like this role reversal". Mid Day.
- Kameshwari, A (20 March 2017). "Anupam Kher: After Naam Shabana, I hope they make Naam Shukla". The Indian Express.
- Coutinho, Natasha (29 January 2017). "Hollywood stunt director for Taapsee Pannu". Times of India.
- "Naam Shabana based on a real-life spy and her operations in Malaysia?". Hindustan Times. 18 March 2017.
- Sharma, Sarika (10 February 2015). "Varun Dhawan to work with Akshay Kumar in 'Baby' sequel?". The Indian Express.
- Singh, Prashant (10 February 2015). "Varun Dhawan to work in sequel to Akshay Kumar's Baby?". Hindustan Times.
- "Varun Dhawan not a part of Akshay Kumar's 'Baby' sequel?". DNA India. 12 February 2015.
- "Taapsee Pannu-starrer 'Naam Shabana' shoot begins". Times of India. 28 January 2017.
- "Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu shoot for Naam Shabana in Malaysia". The Indian Express. 14 October 2016.
- "Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu wrap up first leg of shoot for 'Naam Shabana'". Deccan Chronicle. 28 October 2016.
- "Check out: Taapsee Pannu shoots for Naam Shabana on the streets of Mumbai". Bollywood Hungama. 9 November 2016.
- "Check out: Team Naam Shabana wraps its shoot". Bollywood Hungama. 22 February 2017.
- Ingle, Dhairya (2 December 2016). "Akshay Ropes In Rochak Kohli And Meet Bros For Naam Shabana". SpotBoyE.
- Gupta, Shubhra. "Naam Shabana movie review: Taapsee Pannu's action, Akshay Kumar are highlights of this film". Indian Express. The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- "Naam Shabana banned in Pakistan, Censor Board says scenes related to terrorism 'not fit'". Financial Express. 9 April 2017.
- "Pakistan bans 'Naam Shabana' a day after its release". The Times of India. 9 April 2017.
- Ghosh, Samrudhi (9 April 2017). "Naam Shabana withdrawn from Pakistani theatres because terrorism theme too sensitive?". India Today.