Jhoom Barabar Jhoom

Infobox_Film
name = Jhoom Barabar Jhoom


caption = Movie poster for "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom"
imdb_id = 0833476
writer = Habib Faisal (screenplay and dialogues)
starring = Abhishek Bachchan
Preity Zinta
Bobby Deol
Lara Dutta
Amitabh Bachchan

director = Shaad Ali
producer = Aditya Chopra
Yash Chopra
cinematography = Ayananka Bose
editing = Ritesh Soni
distributor = Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd
released = June 15, 2007
runtime = 132 mins
language = Hindi
country = flagicon|India India
music = Shankar Mahadevan
Ehsaan Noorani
Loy Mendonsa
Gulzar (lyrics)
awards =
budget = Rs. 25 crores

"Jhoom Barabar Jhoom" (English: "Dance Baby Dance") is a 2007 Bollywood film starring Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta, Bobby Deol and Lara Dutta. It is directed by Shaad Ali. The film is produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under Yash Raj Films.cite web|title="Yash Raj Films announces Stellar Line-Up of Attractions for the year 2007"| work= [http://www.yashrajfilms.com Yash Raj Films] | url=http://www.yashrajfilms.com/News/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=568cb754-15ca-43a8-9d7d-01da684d2896| accessdate=28 February | accessyear=2007] The film released on June 15, 2007.

Plot

The film begins with a mysterious gypsy-like musician (Amitabh Bachchan) leading the crowds at Waterloo station in London in a dance to the title song.

At the station, two strangers, Rikki Thukral (Abhishek Bachchan) and Alvira Khan (Preity Zinta), wait for their respective fiancés. Rikki is a fun-loving Punjabi boy from Bhatinda who lives in Southall, while Alvira is a middle class Pakistani girl from Lahore who is more assimilated into British culture. The two share a table in a cafe together and to kill the time they talk about how they met their partners-to-be.

Rikki says that he met his fiancé, Anaida Raza (Lara Dutta), at the Hôtel Ritz Paris, the same night that Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed left the hotel to take their last journey together. Rikki explains "When two lovers die, another two are born", as he fell in love with Anaida that night. Alvira says she met her fiancé, the dashing lawyer Steve Singh (Bobby Deol) at Madame Tussauds in London when he saved her from death by a falling Superman wax model. The encounter changed her life and she was smitten by the lawyer who also helped her sue Madame Tussauds for substantial damages.

As Rikki and Alvira talk they begin to enjoy each other's company and their different backgrounds cease to matter. They exchange numbers and go to meet their partners. However, it is then revealed that they had not gone to meet their respective partners. Rikki is in fact at the train station to meet his business partner, while Alvira is meeting her relatives. As they leave the station separately, they realize they are in love, but believe their love is unrequited, each of the other.

The two get in touch when Alvira calls Rikki, pretending it was a wrong number. They decide to meet up at a disco where there is a dance competition but both try to maintain the fiction that they are engaged. Out of desperation, Rikki hires Laila, a prostitute, to pose as Anaida, and Alvira asks Satvinder to pretend to be Steve. The four meet at a club and take part in the dance competition, while throwing insults at each other. Rikki and Laila emerge as the winners but Alvira is jealous and storms out in tears.

Satvinder goes to Rikki's flat and tells him that he has fallen in love with Laila. He also tells him that Alvira is not engaged to him. Rikki, realising what has happened, goes to see Alvira, who is at first moping in bed and later tries to convince her cousin not to marry her. Rikki calls her from a neighbor's window.

The film ends with the mysterious gypsy musician showing how Rikki and Alvira invented the stories about the non-existent lovers by taking inspiration from Alvira's newspaper and Rikki's comic book.

Cast

* Abhishek Bachchan ... Rikki Thukral
* Preity Zinta ... Alvira Khan
* Bobby Deol ... Steve Singh/Satvinder Singh
* Lara Dutta ... Anaida Raza/Laila
* Ameet Chana .... Shahriyar
* Amitabh Bachchan ... Special appearance
* Sanjeev Bhaskar ... Shop keeper
*Meera Syal .... Satvinder's mother

Characters

* Rikki Thukral - Originally from Bhatinda, Rikki comes to London and settles in Southall. He comes with a dream to make it big which he achieves by selling anything from pirate DVDs to faulty televisions. He considers himself a modern day entrepreneur rather than someone who is scamming people for their money. Coincidentally he met the love of his life, Anaida Raza, on the same night and the same hotel where Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Al-Fayed left from forever.

* Alvira Khan - Alvira has always prayed that she marries a handsome brit rather than someone from her home town of Lahore. Alvira is a princess who is attached to her British values and culture rather than her Lahori ones. Her job as a manager in the House of Fraser means she is always with the new style and is not afraid to show this. Her dream comes true when Steve Singh saves her from a falling Superman wax model. He steals her heart in the process.

* Anaida Raza - Beautiful and sensitive, Anaida Raza is the French-Pakistani brought up in Paris. She is the assistant manager at the Hôtel Ritz Paris and her kind hearted nature makes her a favourite to work with. She meets Rikki when she returns his handkerchief and falls in love with him. Anaida was devastated by the death of the princess and cried when she could not go for the funeral. Her sensitivity and passion makes her a girl any man would want.

* Steve Singh - Half Punjabi, half British, Steve is the joint partner of a top law firm in London. Cunning and determined he works his way up and becomes that guy that every girl would want. Rich and successful, Steve has always tended to save damsels in distress. He has a scar on his cheek from one of those incidents. He heroically saves Alvira from the Superman wax model falling on top of her and subsequently falls in love with her.

Crew

* Director: Shaad Ali
* Producer: Yash Chopra and Aditya Chopra
* Writer: Habib Faisal
* Dialogues: Habib Faisal
* Music Director: Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa
* Lyrics: Gulzar
* Editing: Ritesh Soni
* Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant
* Cinematography: Ayananka Bose
* Costume design: Aki Narula
* Sound design: Rishi Oberoi

Production

Pre-production of the film began in 2005, during the making of "Bunty Aur Babli". Abhishek Bachchan was the first actor to be cast in the film.cite web | title="The original title"| work= [http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/05/29/2712/index.html] | url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/05/29/2712/index.html| accessdate=10 June | accessyear=2007] The working title was "Sangam Mein".cite web | title="The original title"| work= [http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/05/29/2712/index.html] | url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/05/29/2712/index.html| accessdate=10 June | accessyear=2007] Vidya Balancite web | title="Vidya Balan refuses JBJ"| work= [http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/02/19/2270/index.html] | url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/02/19/2270/index.html| accessdate=10 June | accessyear=2007] and John Abraham were first approached for the roles of Anaida Raza and Steve Singh.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=John Abraham refuses Jhoom Barabar Jhoom | url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/05/15/9406/index.html| accessdate=15 May| accessyear=2007] When they refused Dutta and Deol were roped in. Amitabh Bachchan has been credited with a special appearance in the film.

Shooting began in the second half of 2006 in London and included a shooting schedule in Paris, France.cite web | title=hindustantimes.com| work=Filming in London and Paris | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1772522,001100030003.htm | accessdate=8 October | accessyear=2006] Many images from the set show shooting being conducted at Waterloo Station, London. Some shooting took place in Agra, near the Taj Mahal. The choreography has been done by Vaibhavi Merchant.cite web | title=indeaparis.com| work=Images from the set of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom |url= http://www.indeaparis.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=topn&cat=-15| accessdate=30 December | accessyear=2006] Filming has taken place in numerous locations along Green Lanes, Harringay in North London.

Abhishek Bachchan and Bobby Deol worked together for the first time in this film; their fathers (Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra) had worked together in the hit "Sholay" (1975). The film features a scene in which they travel in a scooter like their fathers had done in "Sholay", only this time Bobby Deol is driving and Abhishek Bachchan is on the passenger seat.cite web | title=hindustantimes.com| work=Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom | url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1722315,001100030003.htm| accessdate=27 June | accessyear=2006] The film re-unites Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta. The last time they worked together was in "Soldier" in 1998.cite web | title=thehimalayantimes.com| work=Bobby Deol and Preity Zinta together in Shaad Ali's next | url=http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/GuffShuff.asp?filename=6a5Za7pa.9amal&folder=aGDafTaSah4afaf&Name=GuffShuff&dtSiteDate=20060601| accessdate=27 June | accessyear=2006]

Some filming took place in Stamford Bridge stadium, home to Chelsea football club.cite web | title=thisislondon.co.uk| work=Shooting in London|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/film/article-23396197-details/Bollywood+comes+to+London/article.do| accessdate=15 May | accessyear=2007] It was announced in September 2006 that the Chelsea football team would be part of the film,cite web | title=chelseafc.com| work=Bollywood goes to Chelsea F.C. |url=http://www.chelseafc.com/article.asp?hlid=418179&m=9&y=2006&nav=news&sub=latest+news| ahoizozozuozoccessdate=27 September | accessyear=2006] but this scene did not appear in the completed film.

The first trailer for the film was shown on 27 April, 2007 with the release of the film "Ta Ra Rum Pum".cite web | title=indiaglitz.com| work=First trailer for JBJ is released |url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/30870.html| accessdate=2 May| accessyear=2007]

Music

Infobox Album | Name = Jhoom Barabar Jhoom
Type = Album
Artist = Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy


Released =

June 15, 2007 (India)
Recorded =
Genre = Feature film soundtrack
Length =
Label =

Yash Raj Music
Producer = Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy | Reviews =
Last album = ""
(2006)
This album = "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom"
(2007)
Next album = "Heyy Babyy"
(2007)

The soundtrack of the film was released on May 15, 2007 in various formats including music cassette, MP3 files, audio CD, and the DVD-Audio. [cite web|url=http://us.indiantelevision.com/release/y2k7/may/mayrel54.php|title=Jhoom Barabar Jhoom launches its music] The music is conducted by the award-winning trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The first review of the film has been positive with indiafm.com rating the music at 3.5 out of 5. Joginder Tuteja of indiafm.com said "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is an album that has chart-buster written on it on bold letters. There are some albums that take time to register with music lovers. There are some that require strong word of mouth to carry them forward. There are some which are destined to be popular in the very first listening. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom of course belongs to the last category".cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Music review of JBJ | url=http://www.indiafm.com/movies/musicreview/12947/index.html| accessdate=15 May| accessyear=2007]

Another leading business of entertainment website, Businessofcinema.com stated that the album is positively a must buy. The same was given a 3.5/5 rating.

The music for the film entered the charts at number 6cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Chart performance for JBJ| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/05/19/2658/index.html| accessdate=15 May| accessyear=2007] and in its second week climbed to number five.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Chart performance for JBJ - Week 2| url=http://www.indiafm.com/music/| accessdate=15 May| accessyear=2007] By the first week of July, the album topped the music charts and stayed there for two weeks.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Chart performance for JBJ - First week of July| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/07/09/2840/index.html| accessdate=23 July| accessyear=2007] Despite the poor response to the film, the music has received much acclaimcite web | title=indiafm.com| work=JBJ listed as one of the top in mid-year report| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/07/09/2841/index.html| accessdate=23 July| accessyear=2007] On the week beginning July 23, the album was placed at number threecite web | title=indiafm.com| work=JBJ still in top three| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/07/23/2875/index.html| accessdate=23 July| accessyear=2007] On the week beginning September 17, the soundtrack dropped to number 10.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=JBJ drops to ten| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/09/17/3045/index.html| accessdate=17 September| accessyear=2007]

The song listing is as follows:cite web | title=indiaglitz.com| work=Music of JBJ|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/30870.html| accessdate=2 May| accessyear=2007]

Response

Box Office

The film opened to a 65-70% response, which was below expectations for a Yash Raj film.cite web | title=boxofficeindia.com| work=Day One of JBJ at the B.O.| url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] As per IBOS, the film has opened to a good response and has taken the biggest opening of the year at the box office.cite web|title=ibosnetwork.com|work=Day One makes well|url=http://ibosnetwork.com/asp/curyearopenings.asp|accessdate=16 June|accessyear=2007]

The film did achieve the 90%+ response at some places, such as Punjab and Haryana.cite web | title=boxofficeindia.com| work=Some places are doing well| url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/jhoombj.htm| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film has opened well in big cities such as Mumbai with a 75% turnout and Delhi which had a 70% response. In the south it opened to a poor response due to the release of the Tamil film "Sivaji". However, all the big theatres reached to a 90%+ response with many being 100%.

Overseas, the film has performed averagely. In its first week, the film made £264,347 and debuted at number 6 in the UK charts. In the U.S., the film debuted at number 16 on the film chart making $455,257 in its first week. In Australia, the film made $91,485 debuting at number 10.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Overseas collection for JBJ| url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/index.html| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film has made Rs 19-20 crore in its first week and debuted at number 1cite web|title=ibosnetwork.com|work=JBJ debuts at number one|url=http://ibosnetwork.com/default.aspx|accessdate=16 June|accessyear=2007] but the collections have begun to fall.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Domestic collection for JBJ| url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film has done better in the UK than in the U.S. As of 27 June, the film was positioned at number 9 on the UK chartscite web | title=launchingfilms.com| work=Chart performance in the UK| url=http://www.launchingfilms.com/releaseschedule/topfifteenfilms.html| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] and at 21 on the U.S chart.cite web | title=movies.yahoo.com| work=Chart performance in the US| url=http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film saw a drop in collections, and has been declared a flop in India [cite web|url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/top5/index.html|title=ibosnetwork.com/default.aspx|accessdate=16 June|accessyear=2007] but the collections have begun to fall.cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Domestic collection for JBJ| url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film has done better in the UK then in the U.S. As of 27 June, 2007, the film was positioned at number 9 on the UK chartscite web | title=launchingfilms.com| work=Chart performance in the UK| url=http://www.launchingfilms.com/releaseschedule/topfifteenfilms.html| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] and at 21 on the U.S. chart.cite web | title=movies.yahoo.com| work=Chart performance in the US| url=http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] The film saw a drop in collections, and has been declared a flop in India. [cite web|url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/top5/index.html|title=indiaFM] In the UK the film has performed moderately well. [cite web|url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/jhoom-barabar-jhoom-190607.html|title=entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/news/jhoom-barabar-jhoom-190607.html ]

Reviews

The film opened to mixed reviews, the majority of them being poor mostly due to a shallow screenplay. Indicine.com rated the film at 4 out 5, saying "the movie is a fun ride and is well worth the ticket money. It is the kind of movie that can wash away your blues".cite web | title=indicine.com| work=Review of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom|url=http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/jhoom-barabar-jhoom-movie-review/| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] Taran Adarsh of indiafm.com gave the film a 1.5 out of 5 rating, saying "the film is all gloss, no substance".cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Abhishek and Preity rule JBJ|url=http://www.indiafm.com/movies/review/12947/index.html| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] The lead actors have received mixed reviews with Taran Adarsh saying that the film "belongs to Abhishek first and Preity next".cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Abhishek and Preity rule JBJ|url=http://www.indiafm.com/movies/review/12947/index.html| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] Hindustantimes.com gave the film 2 stars,cite web | title=hindustantimes.com| work=More reviews of film|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=22780110-7de4-4db5-9e3a-8471ab0cce2d&&Headline=REVIEW%3a+EMJhoom+Barabar+Jhoom%2fEM| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] as did glamsham.com,cite web | title=glamsham.com| work=More reviews of film|url=http://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/jhoom_barabar_jhoom.asp| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] with the latter saying the performances were good. Sanjay Ram of buisnessofcinema.com said "though Jhoom Barabar Jhoom offers the color it is all but a short story stretched". The film received 2 out of 5 stars from the websitecite web | title=businessofcinema.com| work=More reviews of film|url=http://www.businessofcinema.com/?file=story&id=3920| accessdate=15 June| accessyear=2007] The film has been criticised for its screenplay but the lead actors have received mixed reviews.cite web | title=ndtvmovies.com| work=More reviews of film|url= http://www.ndtvmovies.com/reviews.asp?lang=hindi&id=236&moviename=Jhoom+Barabar+Jhoom| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] Moviewalah.com gave the film 2 out of 5 stars but praised the performances to a certain extentcite web | title=moviewalah.com| work=More reviews of film|url=http://www.moviewalah.com/review/2007/06/16/movie-review-jhoom-barabar-jhoom| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007] BollywoodArchive.com gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars says its a good light hearted entertainer with good music from Shankar Ehsaan Loycite web | title=bollywoodarchive.com| work=More reviews of film|url=http://www.bollywoodarchive.com/reviews/movie/jhoom-barabar-jhoom.html| accessdate=16 June| accessyear=2007]

ee also

*List of films set in London

References

External links

* [http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/jbj/microflash.html Official movie site]
*