''Charas'' is a 2004 Indian
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
-language
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Tigmanshu Dhulia
Tigmanshu Dhulia (born 3 July 1967) is an Indian film dialogue writer, director, actor, screenwriter, producer and casting director known for his works in Hindi cinema and Television. He wrote the dialogue for the 1998 film '' Dil Se..'', the fi ...
. Set in
Kasol
Kasol is a hamlet in the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated in Parvati Valley, on the banks of the Parvati River, Between Bhuntar and Manikaran, it is located from Bhuntar and from Kullu town, the distric ...
, a village near Manikaran in
Kullu
Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport at Bh ...
,
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
, the film deals with
illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...
. It stars
Jimmy Sheirgill,
Uday Chopra
Uday Raj Chopra (born 5 January 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and assistant director in Bollywood. He is the son of the late filmmaker Yash Chopra and brother of Aditya Chopra. His sister-in-law is the actress Rani Muk ...
and
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...
with
Kabir Sadanand
Kabir Sadanand is an Indian actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and televisi ...
,
Namrata Shirodkar
Namrata Shirodkar (born 22 January 1972) is an Indian actress and former model primarily known for her work in Hindi films. She won the Femina Miss India title in 1993. She is best known for her works in films such as the '' Kachche Dhaage'' ( ...
, and
Hrishita Bhatt
Hrishitaa Bhatt (born 10 May 1981), also spelled as Hrishita Bhat, is an Indian actress and model. She debuted in the film ''Asoka'' (2001) opposite Shah Rukh Khan, but it was '' Haasil'' (2003) that brought her fame. Bhatt received critical accl ...
playing supporting roles.
Cast
*
Jimmy Sheirgill as Dev Anand
*
Uday Chopra
Uday Raj Chopra (born 5 January 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, screenwriter and assistant director in Bollywood. He is the son of the late filmmaker Yash Chopra and brother of Aditya Chopra. His sister-in-law is the actress Rani Muk ...
as ACP Ashraf A. Khan
*
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...
as Policeman/DCP Randhir Singh Rathore
*
Namrata Shirodkar
Namrata Shirodkar (born 22 January 1972) is an Indian actress and former model primarily known for her work in Hindi films. She won the Femina Miss India title in 1993. She is best known for her works in films such as the '' Kachche Dhaage'' ( ...
as Piya Goswami
*
Hrishita Bhatt
Hrishitaa Bhatt (born 10 May 1981), also spelled as Hrishita Bhat, is an Indian actress and model. She debuted in the film ''Asoka'' (2001) opposite Shah Rukh Khan, but it was '' Haasil'' (2003) that brought her fame. Bhatt received critical accl ...
as Naina Thakur
*
Anup Soni
Anup Soni (born 30 January 1975) is an Indian actor and anchor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Soni began his career with roles in television serials such as '' Sea Hawks'' and '' Saaya''. He then took a break from television ...
as ACP Yashpal Chaturvedi
*
Varun Badola
Varun Badola (born 7 January 1974) is an Indian actor, known largely for his roles in television.
Early life
Varun Badola was born on 7 January 1974. His father is a known artist, Vishwa Mohan Badola. He has two elder sisters – Alka, who is ...
as Amin Mohammed
*
Kabir Sadanand
Kabir Sadanand is an Indian actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and televisi ...
ACP Siddharth Negi
*
Sanjay Mishra as the blind man
*
Deepak Dobriyal
Deepak Dobriyal (born 1 September 1975) is an Indian film and theatre actor. He is recipient of a Filmfare award. He worked in many Bollywood films such as '' Omkara'' (2006), '' Shaurya'' (2008), ''Tanu Weds Manu'' (2011), '' Dabangg 2'' (2012) ...
as Afghan militant
* Adam Bedi as Sam Higgins
* Rajiv Gupta
Music
The soundtrack of Charas was composed by
Raju Singh
Raju Singh (Full name: Rajinder Singh Panesar) is an Indian film score composer, session musician, singer and a guitarist. His first collaboration was with Malkit Singh of Hai Jamalo fame. Together with Adesh Srivastav they released an album c ...
with the lyrics being written by
Javed Akhtar and Tigmanshu Dhulia.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews.
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
from
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provide ...
rated 1 out of 5, terming it as "a half-baked product that disappoints". Vivek Fernandes from
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
stated the film as "compelling watch. So catch it, even if it is just for kicks." Kaveree Bamzai from
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new o ...
criticised the film as a "completely flat entertainer".
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=0410952, title=Charas: A Joint Effort
*
Charas' at
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
portal
2004 films
Films about organised crime in India
2004 action thriller films
Indian action thriller films
Indian crime action films
Indian crime thriller films
Films about the illegal drug trade
Indian films about cannabis
Films set in Himachal Pradesh
Yash Raj Films films
2000s Hindi-language films
2000s buddy cop films
Films distributed by Yash Raj Films
Films directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia
2004 crime thriller films
Films about the Narcotics Control Bureau