Aaja Nachle

Infobox_Film
name = Aaja Nachle


caption = Movie poster for "Aaja Nachle"
writer =
starring = Madhuri Dixit
Konkona Sen Sharma
Akshaye Khanna
Kunal Kapoor
Divya Dutta
Ranvir Shorey
director = Anil Mehta
producer = Aditya Chopra
distributor = Yash Raj Films
released = November 30, 2007
runtime = 145 mins
language = Hindi
music = Salim-Sulaiman
awards =
budget =
imdb_id = 0986213
website = http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/an/aaja_nachle.html

"Aaja Nachle" (Hindi:आजा नचले English: "Come Let's Dance") is a 2007 Bollywood film. It was released in India and in the United States on 30 November, 2007. The film stars Madhuri Dixit in her first film after six years, alongside Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma, and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles.

Production

Shooting began on 15 January, 2007 at Film City in Mumbai and continued till March 2007. [cite web|title=apunkachoice.com| work=Madhuri begins shooting for Anil Mehta's next|url=http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/bollywood/20070119-0.html|accessdate=16 August|accessyear=2007] The film was released November 30, 2007.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 first film trailer released with the movie "Chak De India", and the second with "Laaga Chunari Mein Daag".

Plot

Dia(Madhuri Dixit) is a divorced mom living in New York and must go back to India after she receives news that her guru is on his death bed. When she arrives she finds he is gone and has left her the responsibility of saving and reviving the Ajanta Theater where she used to dance. The problem is that the political officers (Akshaye Khanna) want it torn down and turned into a shopping mall. The storyline follows Dia and her challenge to stand up for what she believes in and fight the cause to the end, while trying to win back the love and support of the people of the town whom she walked out on ten years ago.

Cast

* Madhuri Dixit as Diya
* Akshaye Khanna as MP. Raja Uday Singh
* Konkona Sen Sharma as Anokhi
* Kunal Kapoor as Imran Pathan
* Divya Dutta as Najma
* Ranvir Shorey as Mohan Sharma
* Felix D'Alviella as Steve
* Dalai as Radha
* Raghubir Yadav as Doctor
* Vinay Pathak as Mr. Chojar
* Akhilendra Mishra as Chaudhary Om Singh
* Jugal Hansraj as Sanjeev Mehta
* Yashpal Sharma as S.H.O. Singh
* Nowaz as Dhan Kuber
* Darshan Zariwala as Makarand
* Sushmita Mukherjee as Mrs. Chojar
* Irrfan Khan as Farooque, Najma's husband

Crew

* Director: Anil Mehta
* Producer: Aditya Chopra
* Story: Aditya Chopra
* Dialogue: Jaideep Sahni
* Music Director: Salim-Sulaiman
* Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni & Piyush Mishra
* Editing: Ritesh Soni
* Cinematographer: Mohanan
* Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant
* Costumes: Mandira Shukla ,Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari & Manish Malhotra

Music

Infobox Album | Name = Aaja Nachle
Type = Album
Artist = Salim-Sulaiman


Released =

October 18, 2007 (India)
Recorded =
Genre = Feature film soundtrack
Length = 38:45
Label =

Yash Raj Music
Producer = Aditya Chopra | Reviews =
Last album = "Chak De India"
(2007)
This album = "Aaja Nachle"
(2007)
Next album = "Roadside Romeo"
(2008)

The film's soundtrack was released on October 18, 2007 composed by Salim-Sulaiman and lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Piyush Mishra.

The film's music was well received. This soundtrack debuted at number 9 for the first week. [cite web|title=Top Ten albums of the week|work=AN soundtrack stays at number 5 for first week|url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2007/10/22/3161/index.html|accessmonthday=22 October|accessyear=2007]

The song "Dance With Me" features a brass section provided by LiveHorns.com with Tommy Vaughan on trumpet, Rodney Mills on trombone, and Shane Philen on sax.Fact|date=December 2007

A few songs from the final sequence of the movie have not been included on the soundtrack including the song "Yeh Ishq".

[cite web|title=yashrajfilms| work=Aaja Nachle Music|url=http://www.yashrajfilms.com/OnlineStore/MusicIndividual.aspx?CatalogID=A4A74BBF-A235-4D9F-93E2-5EB6D48EA43C&CategoryID=1014d866-e3a6-420b-b61b-2318da294c61&MovieID=de08f4b1-44cf-43e0-8256-d23ff508959d|accessdate=6 October|accessyear=2007]

Response

Box office

"Aaja Nachle" opened to an average response, ranging from 50-60%. The domestic performance of the film was average mostly everywhere. Overseas the response was average as well, the film managed to do good business in the UK. The film opened and peaked at number 10 on the UK box office charts, eventually collecting £169,421 on its opening weekend. [cite web|publisher=Imdb.com|title=United Kingdom Box Office Returns for the weekend starting 30 November 2007|date=|url=http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/?date=2007-11-30&region=uk|accessdate=2007-12-15] On its second week the film registered a 50% drop in overseas collections. [cite web|publisher=Indiafm.com|title=Overseas: Business slumps badly!|date=December 12, 2007|url=http://www.indiafm.com/trade/overseas_boxoffice/index.html|accessdate=2007-12-15] Although the movie has been panned by the critics in India, despite an average opening, ticket sales have been increasing overseas due to the Christmas season. On the whole the film has been a successful come back for Madhuri and for the YRF - a fair ending to the year 2007. [cite web|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/ET_Cetera/New_flicks_lose_out_to_Aaja_Nachle/articleshow/2620961.cms|title=new flicks lose out to aaja nachle|date=December 14]

Reviews

The film was received poorly by critics, and was mostly panned by critics and audiences alike. The lead performances received mixed reviews. Khalid Mohammed from "Hindustan Times" wrote, "Madhuri Dixit has a cool time. Konkona is overacting while Kunal Kapoor is flustered",cite web|title=Movie Review:AAJA NACHLE|work=Dixit cannot Fix it|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=fc42d641-abeb-4bfe-a5f2-7875e359864f&MatchID1=4603&TeamID1=6&TeamID2=7&MatchType1=1&SeriesID1=1157&PrimaryID=4603&Headline=Review%3a+EMAaja%2fEM+EMNachle%2fEM|accessmonthday=30 November|accessyear=2007] while Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted, "Madhuri is the one and only star of the film. Konkona Sen Sharma is nothing short of fantastic. Her greatest strength is that she isn't afraid of making a fool of herself and she doesn't worry about being laughed at. As a result, her performance in Aaja Nachle is fearless and uninhibited."cite web|title=Movie Review:AAJA NACHLE|work=Madhuri spectacular in Aaja Nachle|url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/masands-verdict-madhuri-spectacular-in-aaja-nachle/53368-8.html|accessmonthday=30 November|accessyear=2007]

Controversy

The movie was banned in Uttar Pradesh on 30 November 2007, the day of release of the film, over alleged casteist remarks. [cite web|title= Uttar Pradesh, bans Aaja Nachle over 'casteist' remarks| work=Trivia|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Uttar_Pradesh_bans_Aaja_Nachle_over_casteist_remarks/articleshow/2586263.cms|accessdate=29 November|accessyear=2007] Dia, the character played by Madhuri Dixit, sings the lines "Mohalle mein kaisi maara-mar hai; bole mochi bhi khud ko sunar hai" ( translated "There is chaos in the neighborhood, even the "Mochi" (Cobbler) calls himself a "Sunar" (Goldsmith)") with the alleged implied meaning that "Mochis" (cobblers, the Jatav caste - a caste of cobblers) were inferior to "Sunars" (goldsmiths, name of a caste of goldsmiths), offending to ascending Dalit community. ["The Times of India", Mumbai edition, December 2, 2007, pp. 1,8. ]

Punjab and Haryana followed suit, banning the film the next day. However the ban was later lifted in Uttar Pradesh , Punjab and Haryana, after a written apology from the producers and the removal of the disputed lyrics ("bole mochi bhi khud ko sunar hai") in the title song of film. However, a ban was imposed on film in the city of Patna on 2 December, 2007. The issue was also raised in the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) by RPI member Ramdas Athawale seeking a ban by the government for hurting Dalit sentiments, but Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said that it was state government's decision to take any such action. ["Hindustan Times", Mumbai edition, December 2, 2007, p.6]

References

* http://www.sonker.com/sagar/madhuri/

External links

* [http://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/an/aaja_nachle.html Aaja Nachle official site]
*