Aaja Nachle
Aaja Nachle | |
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Sony Pictures Networks India | |
Release date |
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Running time | 146 min |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
Budget | ₹250 million |
Box office | ₹143 million[1] |
Aaja Nachle (transl. 'Come, let's dance') is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language dance film produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Anil Mehta. The film stars Madhuri Dixit in her first film in five years after Devdas (2002), alongside Konkona Sen Sharma, Jugal Hansraj, and Kunal Kapoor in pivotal roles.
Aaja Nachle was released in India and the United States on 30 November 2007.[2] The film opened to mixed-to-negative reviews and was declared a flop by Box Office India.[3]
At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, Aaja Nachle received 2 nominations – Best Actress (Dixit) and Best Female Playback Singer (Sunidhi Chauhan for "Aaja Nachle").
Plot
Dia Srivastav is a choreographer who lives in New York City with her daughter, Radha Srivastav. One day, she receives word that her old dance teacher, Makrand, is dying. She returns to her hometown Shamli with Radha, to find that he has already died and left her the responsibility of saving his deserted dance theatre, Ajanta, which is to be demolished to make way for a shopping centre.
Shamli has changed a great deal since Dia left. Her parents left the town in shame a decade ago, after she eloped with an American photographer, Steve, which they later divorced, and their house is now owned by the strict Mr. Chojar and his wife. Her childhood friend, Najma, is married to Farooque, a successful businessman. Both of them greet Dia coldly. The only ally she has left is her old friend, Doctor Saab. To save Ajanta, Dia goes to petition the local MP, Raja Uday Singh. Upon meeting her and exchanging a few insults between each other, he challenges her to see if she can put on a successful theatrical performance using only people from Shamli; if she does so, he will cancel the demolition.
That night, Dia dances in Ajanta to re-acclimate herself to her younger dancing days. The next day, she calls on the people in the town for auditions for the famous
With one month to put the show together, Dia struggles to get Imran and Anokhi to work together. With Dia's support, Anokhi changes her attitude and appearance to get Imran to take her seriously and soon their relationship deepens. A few days before the show, Farooque pays Chaudhary to abandon Ajanta and makes Najma spread hurtful stories about Dia. Chaudhary tries to get Imran to give up his part, but Imran is aware of Chaudhary's political intentions and refuses, leading him to be attacked by Chaudhary's men while Anokhi tries to protect him, making Imran fall in love with her. With the whole town against her, Dia loses hope until Najma arrives to apologise and asks to be in the show.
On the night of the show, Uday asks the inspector (who later gets roped in to play Laila's father) to make sure that whoever wants to attend the program should not face any obstacles in reaching the venue. Dia is amazed to find that the entire town has come to Ajanta. The troupe put on a performance that amazes and excites the audience, including Chaudhary who is moved to tears. Farooque is stunned to see his wife playing the part of Laila's mother and Mrs. Chojar is shocked and thrilled when her husband appears singing and dancing on stage. In the end, the audience cheers loudly as the cast return to the stage for an encore. The night is a success and Ajanta is saved. Imran and Anokhi become a couple.
Raja Uday tries to convince Dia to stay behind for another round of "fighting" as he has developed a crush on her, but she playfully says no. However, Radha hands over Dia's New York number to Uday, to which Dia does not seem to mind very much and he seems very happy to receive. Afterwards, Dia says her farewells to Shamli, and she and Radha leave to find her parents in another part of India. Imran and Anokhi go on to teach dance classes at Ajanta with Doctor Saab's help and dance becomes an inherent part of Shamli once again. Later it is shown that Raja Uday visits Dia in New York and is seen watching her dance. They smile at each other and he hands her a cup of coffee, implying that they will develop a romance.
Cast
- Madhuri Dixit as Dia Srivastav
- Irrfan Khan as Farooque, Najma's husband
- Akshaye Khanna as MP Raja Uday Singh
- Konkona Sen Sharma as Anokhi Anokhelal as Laila
- Kunal Kapoor as Imran Pathan as Majnu
- Jugal Hansraj as Sanjay Mehra as Laila's brother
- Divya Dutta as Najma, Dia's best friend as Laila's mother
- Felix D'Alviella as Steve
- Dalai as Radha, Dia's daughter[4]
- Raghubir Yadav as Doctor Saab
- Vinay Pathak as Mr. Chojar
- Akhilendra Mishra as Chaudhary Om Singh
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Dhan Kuber
- Darshan Jariwala as Makarand
- Sushmita Mukherjee as Mrs. Chojar
- Uttara Baokar as Mrs. Srivastav
- Yashpal Sharma as Inspector Sahib as Laila's father
- Ranvir Shorey as Mohan
- Vinod Nagpal as Dia's Father
- Divyenndu as MLA's son
Production
Shooting began on 15 January 2007 at Film City in Mumbai and ended in March 2007.[5]
Controversy
The movie was banned in
However, the ban was later lifted in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, after a written apology from the producers and the removal of the controversial lyrics (bole mocī bhi k͟hud ko sunār hai) in the title song. The lyrics were replaced by other words: mērē dar pē divanõ ki bahār hai (transl. 'there is a parade of lovers at my doorstep'). However, a ban was imposed in the city of
Soundtrack
Aaja Nachle | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 August 2007 (India) | |||
Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
Length | 38:45 | |||
Label | Yash Raj Music | |||
Producer | Aditya Chopra | |||
Salim–Sulaiman chronology | ||||
|
The film's soundtrack was released on 16 August 2007, composed by Salim–Sulaiman, with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni and Piyush Mishra. A few songs from the final sequence of the movie have not been included on the soundtrack including "Yeh Ishq". The title track of the film which got a lot of popularity was written by Piyush Mishra.
Vocals were performed by
The film's music was well received. This soundtrack debuted at #9 for the first week.[9] The song "O Re Piya" was later used in the 2009 Malaysian movie Talentime.
Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Lyricist | Duration | Picturised on |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Aaja Nachle" | Sunidhi Chauhan | Piyush Mishra | 5:04 | Madhuri Dixit |
2 | "Ishq Hua" | Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal | Jaideep Sahni | 4:24 | Madhuri Dixit, Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ranvir Shorey |
3 | "Show Me Your Jalwa" | Salim Merchant
|
Jaideep Sahni | 4:13 | Madhuri Dixit and other cast members |
4 | "O Re Piya" | Rahat Fateh Ali Khan | Jaideep Sahni | 6:20 | Madhuri Dixit, Divya Dutta and other dance classmates with Steve taking pictures |
5 | "Soniye Mil Ja" | Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Madhuri Dixit | Piyush Mishra | 3:37 | Madhuri Dixit, Vinay Pathak |
6 | "Is Pal" | Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal | Piyush Mishra | 3:59 | Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma |
7 | "Koi Patthar Se Na Maare" | Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Sunidhi Chauhan | Piyush Mishra | 4:04 | Madhuri Dixit, Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma |
8 | "Dance With Me" | Sonia Saigal | Jaideep Sahni | 3:39 | Madhuri Dixit |
9 | "Aaja Nachle" (Reprise) | Sunidhi Chauhan, Marianne D'Cruz | Piyush Mishra | 3:28 | All the cast members |
Reception
Box office
Aaja Nachle opened to a poor response due to controversy. The domestic performance of the film was below average mostly everywhere. Overseas, the response was lukewarm as well. It managed to collect ₹207.5 million (equivalent to ₹630 million or US$7.5 million in 2023) and was declared a flop by Box Office India.[10]
Reviews
The film was received mixed-to-negative reviews from both critics and audiences. The performances of the cast too received mixed reviews.
Awards and nominations
Nominated
- Best Actress – Madhuri Dixit
- Best Female Playback Singer – Sunidhi Chauhan for "Aaja Nachle"
- IIFA Awards
- Won – Best Choreography – Vaibhavi Merchant for "Aaja Nachle"
- Nominated – Best Female Playback Singer – Sunidhi Chauhanfor "Aaja Nachle"
- Stardust Awards
- Nominated – Star of the Year – Female– Madhuri Dixit
References
- ^ "Aaja Nachle - Film details".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Yash Raj Films announces Stellar Line-Up of Attractions for the year 2007". Yash Raj Films. Archived from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
- ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Aaja Nachle (2007)", IMDb, 30 August 2007
- ^ "apunkachoice.com". Madhuri begins shooting for Anil Mehta's next. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
- ^ "Uttar Pradesh, bans Aaja Nachle over 'casteist' remarks". The Times of India. 1 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2007.
- ^ The Times of India, Mumbai edition, 2 December 2007, pp. 1,8.
- ^ Hindustan Times, Mumbai edition, 2 December 2007, p.6
- ^ "Top Ten albums of the week". AN soundtrack stays at number 5 for first week. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^ "Box Office 2007". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Movie Review:AAJA NACHLE". Dixit cannot Fix it. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
- ^ "Movie Review:AAJA NACHLE". Madhuri spectacular in Aaja Nachle. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
External links
- Official website
- Aaja Nachle at IMDb