Shikari (2016 film)

Shikari
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Joydeep Mukherjee
Produced by	Abdul Aziz Himanshu Dhanuka
Screenplay by	Pele Bhattacharya Abdullah Zahir Babu
Story by	Abdullah Zahir Babu
Starring	Shakib Khan Srabanti Chatterjee Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Rahul Dev Amit Hasan
Music by	Indradeep Dasgupta Lyrics: Prosen
Cinematography	Tuban
Edited by	Somnath Dey
Production company	Jaaz Multimedia Eskay Movies
Distributed by	Jaaz Multimedia Eskay Movies
Release dates	July 7, 2016 (2016-07-07) (Bangladesh) August 12, 2016 (2016-08-12) (Worldwide) [1]
Running time	160 Minutes
Country	Bangladesh India
Language	Bengali
Budget	৳4.5 crore (US$580,000)[2]

Shikari (English: Hunter)^[3][4] is a 2016 Bangladesh-India joint venture action thriller drama film directed by Joydeep Mukherjee and Zakir Hossain Simanto.^[5] Produced by Abdul Aziz and Himanshu Dhanuka under the Jaaz Multimedia and Eskay Movies banners, and stars Shakib Khan, Srabanti Chatterjee, Rahul Dev and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty in pivotal roles and centers around Khan, a disguised professional assassin with mysterious past, tasked with assassinating a top government official. The film also features Amit Hasan, Kharaj Mukherjee, Shupriyo Dutta and Rahul Dev in supporting roles.^[6] It is an official remake of the 2009 Tamil movie Aadhavan which was itself inspired from the 1990 Malayalam movie His Highness Abdullah. The soundtrack album and background score of the film was composed by Indradeep Dasgupta.^[7]

A collaborative Jaaz-Eskay project involving Khan was first reported during mid 2014. However, the project was later shelved due to unavailability of actor. Due to numerous media reports, the film was originally planned to be a multi-starter film. Jaaz Multimedia intended to begin production of the film again after revisions in the script of the film. The production was officially announced by Jaaz Multimedia in January 2016, and Zakir Hossain Simanto and Joydip Mukherjee was hired as directors. The film is produced by Abdul Aziz, his production Jaaz Multimedia funded approximately 70% of the film's budget while Eskay Movies funded the rest. A few percent of the film and songs were shot in London, UK. The film was released in Bangladesh on 7 July 2016.^[8]

Plot

Sultan (Shakib Khan) is a professional assassin who had run away from home in his childhood after being convicted of attempting to murder his father. Rahul Dev, an influential child trafficker hires Sultan to kill prominent Judge Rudro Chowdhury (Sabyasachi Chatterjee), since he is handling the inquiry and verdict on Rahul Dev's child trafficking case in Kolkata.^[9] Sultan arrives in Kolkata and attempts to murder Judge Chowdhury by sniping, but misfires due to large crowd and media around the Judge.^[10] The West Bengal police force chases after him, but ultimately fails to catch him. After Rahul Dev insults him for his inability, Sultan is angry with himself, and vows to kill Judge Chowdhury within ten days.^[11][12]

Sultan enters Judge Chowdhury's household disguising as a servant, and slowly begins to win over the members of the family.^[13]

Cast

• Shakib Khan as Sultan/Raghob ^[14]
• Srabanti Chatterjee as Chutki ^[15]
• Sabyasachi Chakrabarty as Rudro Chowdhury ^[16]
• Rahul Dev ^[17]
• Amit Hasan ^[18]
• Shupriyo Dutta ^[19]
• Kharaj Mukherjee
• Subroto Barua
• Shiba Shanu
• Rebeca Rouf

Production

Crew

Casting and development

The project was first announced in January 2016 with an official statement by Jaaz Multimedia.^[21] Khan will be seen portraying the role of an disguised assassin in the film. Khan underwent extensive training for the action sequences and has reportedly lost 15 kg weight for the new role. Khan also charged whopping 15 million fee for the film, thus becoming the highest paid actor in history of Bengali cinema. In March 2016, Srabanti Chatterjee was signed to play the female lead opposite Khan, along with Rahul Dev as the main antagonist in the film. The film was made official in a press conference held in Dhaka on 11 March 2016, where the cast members of the film introduced.^[22][23]

Filming

The shooting schedule of Shikari commenced on 16 March 2015.^[24] The first phase of the film was shot in 12-day schedule and entirely filmed in Kolkata.^[25] The second phase of the filming took place in London. The last phase of the film was filmed in Dhaka, and lasted 26-days. The entire film was shot on a 48-day schedule. During filming, the shooting was halted for 2-days in Kolkata due to strike from the production crew.^[26]

The music of the film was shot at various locations in London and Kolkata. A romantic track sequence was shot at Beachy Head in East Sussex, England while other sequences were shot at Piccadilly Circus.

Release

Shikari was released across 98 screens in Bangladesh on 7 July 2016. Despite release on three other films, Shikari opened on every multiplexes in Bangladesh. Screen count remained constant during the second week.^[27] Prior to the release of the film, Production company Jaaz Multimedia announced the film's release in India, North America and Europe. The film is scheduled to release across more than 130 screens in West Bengal, India, 3 in Canada and numerous theaters in United States and France.^[28][29]

Promotions

Promotion of Shikari began on 16 June 2016 with the release of "Harabo Toke Niye" on YouTube.^[30] The track featured Shakib Khan, Srabanti Chatterjee and the track was shot in London.^[31] The video received an overwhelming response of YouTube, and creating record of becoming the fastest Bengali language video track to reach 1 million views.^[32] The track received praises from audiences and critics. The official teaser of the film was revealed on 18 June 2016 and instantly became the top trend online for 24 hours. Khan's new look and highly packed action sequences were highly praised.^[33][34] The film officially began promotion with a press conference on 22 June 2016, where the films' cast and crews were present.^[35]

Soundtrack

Shikari (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by Indradeep Dasgupta
Released	16 June 2016
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Language	Bengali
Label	Jaaz Music
Singles from Shikari: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
"Harabo Toke" Released: 16 June 2016

Reception

Domestic

The pre-release revenue of Shikari was approximately 15 million Taka.^[36] Shikari was released in 108 screens across Bangladesh on July 7, 2016. The film opened with 100% occupancy across all theaters. Despite having tough competition from three other releases, The film grossed with 2.66 million nett on opening day, thus becoming the third biggest opening of all time for a Bangladeshi film.^[37] The film got an overwhelming response from the audiences. The film was consistent throughout the entire week, breaking into the record of highest opening week for any Bangladeshi film, grossing 15.75 million at the box office. The film crossed 23.9 million in 14 days, becoming the highest grosser of 2016.^[38][39]

The film received huge media and public attention due to involvement of Shakib Khan in the project, who is widely considered to be the biggest film star of Bangladesh. The film also received huge marketing hype in India, initially reserving 115 theaters for screening of the film in West Bengal, leaving behind two major Bombay film releases, Mohenjo Daro and Rustom.

International

The film also released in North America, and Europe on 12 August 2016, creating a record of widest overseas release for a Bangladeshi film.^[40][41]

The film opened in 4 international markets during its opening overseas week and grossed ৳15 million, becoming the highest-grossing Bangladeshi film at overseas market. In opening week, the film also set the record of widest release for a Bangladeshi film.

References

External links

• Shikari at the Internet Movie Database
• Shikari at the Bangla Movie Database
• Shikari Official Facebook