Aazaan
Encyclopedia
Aazaan is the 2011 action film directed by Prashant Chadha starring Sachiin J Joshi
and South African model Candice Boucher
. Aazaan marks the debut of entrepreneur turned actor Sachiin J Joshi of Energy Drinks and Candice Boucher who will be seen in title role. , It is one of the most expensive films in Bollywood
.
fame will also be starring alongside. Amitabh Shukla and Humphrey Dixon were signed as the editor.
The international action company Action Concept is been given the work to direct the action stunts since the film involves shooting on multiple foreign locations.
, Hong Kong
, Algeria
, Poland
, France
, Germany
and India
. The climax of the film was shot in Chechnya
, Russia
. Azaan is the first film to be shot in Chechnya after it became an ecological disaster zone, with oil and chemical leaking into the ground and radioactive material left lying about.
The shooting was schedule in these countries for seventy days which included many local cast to add the genuine international look to the film. During the shoot of for a torture scene in Marrakech,Morocco, Sachiin went bare bodied hours at a stretch at a temperature of 0 to -4 Celsius impressing the production crew. Alvernia Studios in Poland
handled the physical production work including camera, light and music score recording.
Some of the action scenes were shot in Bangkok
including stunts in which Sachiin Joshi jumped from a 55-storey tower. Some climax shots were also shot by director Prashant Chadha with the rest of the cast including Ravi Kissen and Arya Babbar.
The film was released on October 14, 2011.
of Times of India gave the film a 3 star rating out of five praising its shoot-outs, action sequences and cinematography. IBNLive called it a movie with no content but high on style pointing flaws in the film's script. Subhash K. Jha of NDTV
gave the film a 3 1/2 star rating out of five praising its screenplay and said, "Aazaan is not a film which wastes time in self-congratulation after staging one more terrorist explosion. It moves on relentlessly. The world has to be saved. Self-importance is miraculously averted."
Rediff movies gave the film 1 star out of five calling it a jerky ride and a wasted effort. Komal Nahta
, one of the well known critic, also gave the film single star criticizing its confusing screenplay, the performance of the new hero and the unconvincing climax. Movie Talkies gave the film 1.5 stars calling it 'Aazaan', A Recipe For Disaster'
and is under Xtreme Music label and was launched by Sanjay Dutt
. On IIFA Rocks the duo of Salim-Sulaiman showcased the first exclusive preview of Aazaan music performing live with host of dancers from the Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts. Three songs Afreen, Bismillah and Khuda Ke Liye were performed live for audience.
Sachiin J Joshi
Sachiin J Joshi , born on 7 August. Sachiin J Joshi is an Indian film actor, and producer.He made his film debut with Aazaan in 2011. Apart from being an actor he is prolific entrepreneur. He is the vice-chairman of JMJ Group. JMJ Group is the parent company for various self-proclaimed hotels,...
and South African model Candice Boucher
Candice Boucher
Candice Boucher is a South African model. Magazines she has modelled for include FHM, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated and Elle. She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Fila and Speed, and is currently one of the faces of Intimissimi and Guess Jeans...
. Aazaan marks the debut of entrepreneur turned actor Sachiin J Joshi of Energy Drinks and Candice Boucher who will be seen in title role. , It is one of the most expensive films in Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
.
Plot
Aazaan is about biological warfare where Aazaan (Sachiin J Joshi) plays an informant, who has to go undercover beyond enemy lines to save the country from the threat of biological warfare.Cast
- Sachiin J JoshiSachiin J JoshiSachiin J Joshi , born on 7 August. Sachiin J Joshi is an Indian film actor, and producer.He made his film debut with Aazaan in 2011. Apart from being an actor he is prolific entrepreneur. He is the vice-chairman of JMJ Group. JMJ Group is the parent company for various self-proclaimed hotels,...
as Aazaan Khan:
Aazaan Khan, half Afghan and half Indian gets drawn into an espionage to find his younger brother a suspected terrorist. He is a young army officer and working for RAW (India's Research and Analysis WingResearch and Analysis WingThe Research and Analysis Wing is India's external intelligence agency. It was formed in September 1968 after the poor performance of the Intelligence Bureau in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 and the India-Pakistani war of 1965 convinced the then government of India that a specialized, independent...
). Sachiin trained in Krav maga and Kalaripayatu for his role. - Dalip TahilDalip TahilDalip Tahil is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He did his schooling from the elite Sherwood College in Nainital, India and later graduated from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.-Films:...
as Mahfouz:
He is a savant on a mission and is trying to save world from being destroyed by Doctor. - Candice BoucherCandice BoucherCandice Boucher is a South African model. Magazines she has modelled for include FHM, GQ, Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated and Elle. She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Fila and Speed, and is currently one of the faces of Intimissimi and Guess Jeans...
as Afreen:
She is a sand-artist and she grounds Aazaan with human emotions of love. Prashant had known Candice for four years and found her perfect for role of a Moroccan girl. Acclaimed sand artist Alexandra Konofalskaya from BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
was hired to train her for her role in the film. - Arya BabbarArya BabbarArya Babbar is an Indian actor.-Life:Aarya Babbar was born at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai into a well-known family; his father is the renowned actor Raj Babbar and his mother the prominent theatre personality Nadira Zaheer Babbar...
as Imaad:
He is a misled but passionate man. - Alyy Khan as Sam Sharma
- Ravi Kissen as Pandey:
A controversial RAW officer. - Sachin KhedekarSachin KhedekarSachin Khedekar is an Indian actor and director, best known for his roles in Astitva, Imtihaan, and as Netaji in Shyam Benegal's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero...
as Home Minister - Sajid Hassan as Doctor:
He is ex-CIA and into biological warfare and is determined to carry out the absolute annihilation of India. - Samy Gharbi as Malak:
He is tough from the inside out and loyal to Doctor. - Vijayendra GhatgeVijayendra GhatgeVijayendra Ghatge is an actor from Indian TV and movie industry. He has acted in Buniyaad among other serials and several of movies such as Prem Rog and Devdas. He is descendant of Holkars family,the ex-royal family of Indore thru his mother Sita Raje Ghatge. He is the father of Chak De India...
as Home Minister - Sarita ChoudhurySarita ChoudhurySarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an English actress.-Biography:Choudhury was born in Blackheath, London, England, of half Bengali-Indian and half English descent. Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica...
as Menon - Amber Rose RevahAmber Rose RevahAmber Rose Revah is best known for her roles in From Paris With Love and Aazaan.-Career:She played Hala Hussein, Saddam Hussein's daughter in BBC/HBO BAFTA nominated series House of Saddam. Later she switched to main film roles and starred along side John Travolta in From Paris With Love...
as Sofiya:
Prashant saw her role in From Paris With Love and sent her script of Aazaan. Being part Polish, he found her perfect for the role although she had never worked in any Polish films. - Neet Mohan as Aman Khan
Pre-Production
Cinematographer Axel Fischer BVK was called for cinematography of the film due to his experience in the field for action-thrillers. Former Playboy cover-girl Candice Boucher was signed as the lead actress opposite Sachiin J Joshi who would be playing a sand-artist in the film. Amber Rose of From Paris With LoveFrom Paris with Love (film)
From Paris with Love is a 2010 action film starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and directed by Pierre Morel. The screenplay was co-written by Luc Besson. The film was released in the United States on February 5, 2010.-Plot:...
fame will also be starring alongside. Amitabh Shukla and Humphrey Dixon were signed as the editor.
The international action company Action Concept is been given the work to direct the action stunts since the film involves shooting on multiple foreign locations.
Filming
The filming took place at multiple international locations like MoroccoMorocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The climax of the film was shot in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Azaan is the first film to be shot in Chechnya after it became an ecological disaster zone, with oil and chemical leaking into the ground and radioactive material left lying about.
The shooting was schedule in these countries for seventy days which included many local cast to add the genuine international look to the film. During the shoot of for a torture scene in Marrakech,Morocco, Sachiin went bare bodied hours at a stretch at a temperature of 0 to -4 Celsius impressing the production crew. Alvernia Studios in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
handled the physical production work including camera, light and music score recording.
Some of the action scenes were shot in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
including stunts in which Sachiin Joshi jumped from a 55-storey tower. Some climax shots were also shot by director Prashant Chadha with the rest of the cast including Ravi Kissen and Arya Babbar.
Accidents
- It was reported that Sachiin got injured when filming a scene where he had to lay down with a sniper, and got hit next to his eye.
- Sachiin fell of a trailer crash scene. Stunt involved Sachiin jumping off a speeding trailer but fell of much before the marking point and hit the footpath. “We all saw him jump off the trailer and hit the road hard but it all happened so fast that we couldn’t do much. Though Sachiin didn’t call it a day, after some pain killers he was back on the sets,” said the director about the accident.
Release
The first look of Aazaan was unveiled at Festival De Cannes,2011 and received an overwhelming response.The film was released on October 14, 2011.
Reception
Aazaan received mixed response from critics praising it for its polishing and music but commenting on its lack of strong plot. Nikhat KazmiNikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi is a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from India, who has been writing for The Times of India, since 1987.-Books:* If Shakespeare was a gun: a play. Writers Workshop, 1984....
of Times of India gave the film a 3 star rating out of five praising its shoot-outs, action sequences and cinematography. IBNLive called it a movie with no content but high on style pointing flaws in the film's script. Subhash K. Jha of NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
gave the film a 3 1/2 star rating out of five praising its screenplay and said, "Aazaan is not a film which wastes time in self-congratulation after staging one more terrorist explosion. It moves on relentlessly. The world has to be saved. Self-importance is miraculously averted."
Rediff movies gave the film 1 star out of five calling it a jerky ride and a wasted effort. Komal Nahta
Komal Nahta
Komal Nahta is the editor and publisher of "Film Information", India's largest film trade journal. He is also an anchor of the Trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinema. Well known for his harsh criticism of Movies....
, one of the well known critic, also gave the film single star criticizing its confusing screenplay, the performance of the new hero and the unconvincing climax. Movie Talkies gave the film 1.5 stars calling it 'Aazaan', A Recipe For Disaster'
Music
The music for the film is given by the duo of Salim-SulaimanSalim-Sulaiman
Salim Merchant And Sulaiman Merchant are a musical duo of brothers, born and brought up in Bhuj, Kutch, India. They belong to Ismaili Muslim family and are inspired by their father Sadruddin Merchant, who used to lead Ismaili Scouts Orchestra in India..Steeped in a family tradition of music as the...
and is under Xtreme Music label and was launched by Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt
Sanjay Dutt is an Indian Hindi film actor and politician. Dutt, son of Hindi film actors Sunil and Nargis Dutt, made his acting debut in 1981.-Personal life:...
. On IIFA Rocks the duo of Salim-Sulaiman showcased the first exclusive preview of Aazaan music performing live with host of dancers from the Shiamak Davar Institute of Performing Arts. Three songs Afreen, Bismillah and Khuda Ke Liye were performed live for audience.
Audio Listing
Reception
Music of Aazaan was received warmly. Bolywoodhungama.com praised the vocals of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and listed Afreen and Khuda Ke Liye as their best pick from the listing awarding the album an over all of three stars our of five.Controversy
- A group of people have filed a case against the film that it has the potential of hurting the religious sentiments of a specific community and thus the film should be banned also demanding the change of films title.
- Another problem emerged with Censor Board of ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
for depicting the country as India's main enemy. As a result the word China was muted out in the film.