Johnny Gaddaar
Encyclopedia
Johnny Gaddaar (meaning Johnny the Traitor in English) is a 2007 India
n crime
thriller noir
film
written and directed by Sriram Raghavan
; produced under the banner Adlabs. It stars Neil Mukesh
, in his film debut, alongside Dharmendra
, Zakir Hussain
, Rimi Sen
, Vinay Pathak
, Dayanand Shetty
and Ashwini Khalsekar.
The movie starts out on a rainy night with a conversation between 4 cops in a van, patrolling the streets. A car narrowly misses colliding into them on the road, brakes and then continues on towards a house with iron gates. A man in a jacket gets out from the car, opens the garage door and is shot from behind multiple times.
The entire movie is then shown as a flashback, building up to the present shooting, a tool used numerous times in the film when the story goes back and forth between the flashback and flashbacks within the flashback.
The story is about a gang of five that run a gambling club and conduct other underhand deals. The five members are Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Seshadri (Dharmendra
), Shardul (Zakir Hussain
), Prakash (Vinay Pathak
) and Shiva (Dayanand Shetty
). When one of Seshadri's police contacts from Bangalore, Kalyan (Govind Namdeo
) promises him "French furniture" (code word for drugs) worth Rs. 5 crores for Rs. 2.5 crores, Seshadri calls for all 5 members to contribute Rs. 50 Lakh each to set the deal in motion. Based on Shardul's promise of being able to sell the furniture for more than Rs. 5 crore, each member anticipates a profit of a further Rs. 50 lakh each, at least.
. The film is a tribute to Vijay Anand's influence on the Hindi noir/thriller genre. It pays tribute to him in a scene in which Anand's movie Johny Mera Naam
is being watched by a character. At the lobby of a hotel room, the receptionist is seen watching Vijay Anand's movie Johnny Mera Naam, starring Dev Anand
. It is from the scene of that movie that this one gets its title.
While the story is not based on any of James Hadley Chase's novels, it does follow a similar plot line. There are numerous references to James Hadley Chase
within the film, the lead character himself is seen holding a copy of one of Chase's books. Director Sriram Raghavan
has presented the same
genre in his previous venture Ek Hasina Thi
also.
The film also makes multiple references to Amitabh Bachchan
classic
Parwaana
and also shows scenes of a major plot sequence of the
movie.
There are multiple tributes to the actor Dharmendra
himself.
While dying, Dharmendra plays the song " Mera Gora Rang Le Le" - his
character's favourite song sung by the character's wife in the movie,
which is from his movie Bandini in which played in the movie. They are from Yakeen
, Aadmi Aur Insaan
and Naya Zamana
.
The color Red
is used predominantly in the movie, as a
homage to Sin City
. Raghavan himself had confessed wanting to shoot the whole film in
Black and White.
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...
n crime
Heist film
A heist film is a film that has an intricate plot woven around a group of people trying to steal something. Versions with dominant or prominent comic elements are often called caper movies. They could be described as the analogues of caper stories in film history...
thriller noir
Neo-noir
Neo-noir is a style often seen in modern motion pictures and other forms that prominently utilize elements of film noir, but with updated themes, content, style, visual elements or media that were absent in films noir of the 1940s and 1950s.-History:The term Film Noir was coined by...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
; produced under the banner Adlabs. It stars Neil Mukesh
Neil Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur , known professionally as Neil Nitin Mukesh or Neil Mukesh, is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films...
, in his film debut, alongside Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
, Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (actor)
Zakir Hussain is an Indian film and television character actor who is known for his negative and comic roles. His best known performances include those of Rashid in Ramgopal Varma's 2005 film Sarkar, and Shardul in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 film Johnny Gaddaar.-Life and career:Zakir Hussain was born...
, Rimi Sen
Rimi Sen
Rimi Sen is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films.-Biography:Sen was born as Shubhomitra Sen in Kolkata, West Bengal. She completed her schooling from Bidya Bharati Girls' High School in the year 1998. She completed her graduation in Commerce from Kolkata University.-Career:Since...
, Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
, Dayanand Shetty
Dayanand Shetty
Dayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty is an Indian film and television actor. He has played Senior Inspector Daya in the Indian television series C.I.D. since 1998.-Personal life:...
and Ashwini Khalsekar.
Plot summary
The entire movie is then shown as a flashback, building up to the present shooting, a tool used numerous times in the film when the story goes back and forth between the flashback and flashbacks within the flashback.
The story is about a gang of five that run a gambling club and conduct other underhand deals. The five members are Vikram (Neil Nitin Mukesh), Seshadri (Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
), Shardul (Zakir Hussain
Zakir Hussain (actor)
Zakir Hussain is an Indian film and television character actor who is known for his negative and comic roles. His best known performances include those of Rashid in Ramgopal Varma's 2005 film Sarkar, and Shardul in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 film Johnny Gaddaar.-Life and career:Zakir Hussain was born...
), Prakash (Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak
Vinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
) and Shiva (Dayanand Shetty
Dayanand Shetty
Dayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty is an Indian film and television actor. He has played Senior Inspector Daya in the Indian television series C.I.D. since 1998.-Personal life:...
). When one of Seshadri's police contacts from Bangalore, Kalyan (Govind Namdeo
Govind Namdeo
Govind Namdeo is an Indian film actor. Govind made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam . He has acted in numerous A grade movies...
) promises him "French furniture" (code word for drugs) worth Rs. 5 crores for Rs. 2.5 crores, Seshadri calls for all 5 members to contribute Rs. 50 Lakh each to set the deal in motion. Based on Shardul's promise of being able to sell the furniture for more than Rs. 5 crore, each member anticipates a profit of a further Rs. 50 lakh each, at least.
Tribute and Reference
In the opening credits the movie is dedicated to legendary Indian Cinema director Vijay Anand and writer James Hadley ChaseJames Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase is the best-known pseudonym of the British writer Rene Brabazon Raymond who also wrote under the names James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, and Raymond Marshall. Chase is one of the best known thriller writers of all time...
. The film is a tribute to Vijay Anand's influence on the Hindi noir/thriller genre. It pays tribute to him in a scene in which Anand's movie Johny Mera Naam
Johny Mera Naam
Johny Mera Naam is a 1970 Indian Hindi movie. Directed by Vijay Anand, it stars the director's brother, Dev Anand and Pran in the role of a pair of brothers separated in childhood. Hema Malini, Jeevan, Premnath, I. S. Johar and Iftekhar also star in this movie. It is considered a Dev Anand...
is being watched by a character. At the lobby of a hotel room, the receptionist is seen watching Vijay Anand's movie Johnny Mera Naam, starring Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
. It is from the scene of that movie that this one gets its title.
While the story is not based on any of James Hadley Chase's novels, it does follow a similar plot line. There are numerous references to James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase is the best-known pseudonym of the British writer Rene Brabazon Raymond who also wrote under the names James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, and Raymond Marshall. Chase is one of the best known thriller writers of all time...
within the film, the lead character himself is seen holding a copy of one of Chase's books. Director Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan
Sriram Raghavan is an Indian film director and screen writer. He is notable for producing a 45-minute documentary on Indian serial killer Raman Raghav and 2004 Hindi feature film Ek Hasina Thi produced by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan. His second feature film was...
has presented the same
genre in his previous venture Ek Hasina Thi
Ek Hasina Thi
Ek Hasina Thi is a 2004 Indian psychological thriller film noir by Sriram Raghavan, produced by Ram Gopal Varma, and starring Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. The screenplay was by Sriram Raghavan and Pooja Ladha Surti...
also.
The film also makes multiple references to Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
classic
Parwaana
Parwaana
Parwana is a 1971 Bollywood thriller film directed by Jyoti Swaroop. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Navin Nischol, Yogeeta Bali and Om Prakash. One of the best film Amitabh Bachchan did till date...
and also shows scenes of a major plot sequence of the
movie.
There are multiple tributes to the actor Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
himself.
While dying, Dharmendra plays the song " Mera Gora Rang Le Le" - his
character's favourite song sung by the character's wife in the movie,
which is from his movie Bandini in which played in the movie. They are from Yakeen
Yakeen
Yakeen is the name of two Indian films:*Yakeen *Yakeen ...
, Aadmi Aur Insaan
Aadmi Aur Insaan
Aadmi Aur Insaan is a 1969 Hindi film produced by B. R. Chopra and directed by Yash Chopra. The film stars Dharmendra, Saira Banu, Feroze Khan, Mumtaz, Johnny Walker, Ajit, Anwar, Iftekar, Kamini Kaushal and Nazima...
and Naya Zamana
Naya Zamana
has played a pioneering role in the field of Indian music and culture in Trinidad and Tobago. Formed in 1944, the orchestra has provided entertainment for hundreds of thousands of people across the Caribbean and North America and has assisted many charitable organizations and events...
.
The color Red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
is used predominantly in the movie, as a
homage to Sin City
Sin City (film)
Sin City, also known as Frank Miller's Sin City, is a 2005 crime thriller film written, produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez...
. Raghavan himself had confessed wanting to shoot the whole film in
Black and White.
Cast and crew
- Neil Nitin Mukesh as Vikram
- Rimi SenRimi SenRimi Sen is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films.-Biography:Sen was born as Shubhomitra Sen in Kolkata, West Bengal. She completed her schooling from Bidya Bharati Girls' High School in the year 1998. She completed her graduation in Commerce from Kolkata University.-Career:Since...
as Mini - DharmendraDharmendraDharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
as Sheshadri 'Seshu' - Zakir HussainZakir Hussain (actor)Zakir Hussain is an Indian film and television character actor who is known for his negative and comic roles. His best known performances include those of Rashid in Ramgopal Varma's 2005 film Sarkar, and Shardul in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 film Johnny Gaddaar.-Life and career:Zakir Hussain was born...
as Shardul - Vinay PathakVinay PathakVinay Pathak is an Indian actor and a theatre person born and raised in Bhojpur, Bihar. He is known for his great Comic timing and as a revolution in Indian Cinema along with Ranvir Shorey, Rajat Kapur, Abhay Deol, who are tagged as actors of a new genre...
as Prakash 'Pakiya' - Ashwini KalsekarAshwini KalsekarAshwini Kalsekar is an Indian soap opera actress. She is best known to television audiences for her role as the scheming aunt Jigyaasa in Ekta Kapoor's Kasamh Se.-Early life:...
as Varsha (Prakash's wife) - Dayanand ShettyDayanand ShettyDayanand Chandrashekhar Shetty is an Indian film and television actor. He has played Senior Inspector Daya in the Indian television series C.I.D. since 1998.-Personal life:...
as Shiva - Govind NamdeoGovind NamdeoGovind Namdeo is an Indian film actor. Govind made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam . He has acted in numerous A grade movies...
as Inspector Kalyan - Vyjayanthi as Nurse Vaijanti
- Rasika JoshiRasika JoshiRasika Joshi :रसिका जोशी) was a noted Marathi and Hindi film actress. A celebrated Marathi theatre and Indian television actress, she was known for Maharashtrian roleplays in Bollywood movies.-Personal life:...
as Shiva's mother - Shankar Sachdev as Naidu
- Soniya Rakkar as Seshadri's wife
- Hard KaurHard KaurHard Kaur , also known as Hardkaur, is an Indian rapper and hip hop singer, as well as playback singer in Hindi films; she is the first female Indian rapper -Early life:...
Special Appearance in song 'Move Your BodyMove Your Body (Johnny Gaddaar song)"Move Your Body" is a hindi song featured in the 2007 Hindi film Johnny Gaddaar. The song was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the rap lyrics are penned by Hard Kaur and hindi lyrics by the band Des-C...
'
- Director of Photography: Muraleedharan C K
- Editing: Pooja Ladha Surthi
Star Screen Awards
Nominated- 2008: Star Screen Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Male; Neil MukeshNeil MukeshNeil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur , known professionally as Neil Nitin Mukesh or Neil Mukesh, is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films...
Stardust Awards
Nominated- 2008: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - MaleStardust Superstar of Tomorrow - MaleThe Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Male is chosen by a distinguished jury as part of the annual Stardust magazine. The award honours a star that has made an impact with their acting and represents new talent....
; Neil MukeshNeil MukeshNeil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur , known professionally as Neil Nitin Mukesh or Neil Mukesh, is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films...
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards
Winner- 2008: Best Performance in a negative role; Neil MukeshNeil MukeshNeil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur , known professionally as Neil Nitin Mukesh or Neil Mukesh, is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood films...