''David'' is a 2013 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 de ...
-language
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Bejoy Nambiar
Bejoy Nambiar (born 12 April 1979) is an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work in Bollywood. He is mostly known for his critically acclaimed short films, ''Rahu'' and ''Reflections (2005 film), Reflections'', starring Mohanl ...
, starring
Vikram,
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) is an Indian actor, producer and writer who mainly works in Bollywood films . Born to singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of Mukesh (singer), Mukesh, he debuted as a child artist in ''Vijay (19 ...
and Vinay Virmani in the title role, alongside
Tabu
Tabu may refer to:
Cultural and legal concepts
*Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society
*Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
,
Monica Dogra
Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, ''The ...
,
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the r ...
and
Isha Sharvani
Isha Sharvani is an Indian-Australian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Early life
Isha was born in ...
. The film was partially reshot in
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
under the same title with
Jiiva
Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. He began his career as a ch ...
replacing Virmani. The plot revolves around the lives of three different men named David, who are about to take a step which is going to change their lives forever. Both the Hindi and Tamil versions were released on 1 February 2013.
Plot
''The London segment featuring
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) is an Indian actor, producer and writer who mainly works in Bollywood films . Born to singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of Mukesh (singer), Mukesh, he debuted as a child artist in ''Vijay (19 ...
was only present in the Hindi version.''
The story revolves around the lives of three Davids in three different parts of the world in three different eras.
London, 1975: 30-year-old David (
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) is an Indian actor, producer and writer who mainly works in Bollywood films . Born to singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of Mukesh (singer), Mukesh, he debuted as a child artist in ''Vijay (19 ...
) works for Iqbal Ghani, a dreaded Mafia don who controls London's Muslim community through his illegal activities. David is Ghani's protege who is poised to take over the empire one day as Ghani's son is a spoilt, playful brat. David is in love with Ghani's ward, Noor and promises to marry her. Things take a turn when two undercover RAW agents come to London to expose Ghani's ties to religious extremists in India. While trying to take David down, the agents reveal to him that his mother was Ghani's mistress and might have killed his father to be with him. David's loyalty towards his master is tested even more when Noor is forcefully married off to Ghani's son to hide the fact he is gay even though she is pregnant with David's son. When the RAW agents finally manage to get close to Ghani, they assassinate not only him but David as well to keep their mission a secret from the British authorities.
Mumbai, 1999: 19-year-old David (Vinay Virmani /
Jiiva
Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. He began his career as a ch ...
) is an amateur guitarist born into a family of lower-middle class Christians. He is a happy go lucky teenager who dreams of becoming a professional musician and sending his sisters off to Dubai to pursue their dreams. Their father, Noel, a Protestant priest rallies the locals to do charity work for those in need. A Hindu fanatic politician, Malati Tai, finds out about this and makes it appear as if David's father is converting poor people to Christianity in return for money. She attacks David's colony with the help of gangsters and humiliates Noel by blackening his face in front of the media. Traumatised by this, the priest starts to lose his mind. An angry David is then easily persuaded by a political activist to assassinate Malati at a rally to seek vengeance. However, the plan is foiled when an unknown gunman fails to assassinate Malati and instead kills the police officer standing next to her.
Goa, 2010: 30-year-old David (
Vikram) is an alcoholic fisherman living in the small fishing village of Betul in Goa. He falls in love with the deaf and mute Roma (
Isha Sharvani
Isha Sharvani is an Indian-Australian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Early life
Isha was born in ...
) – the only hitch is that she is engaged to be married to his best friend Peter in 10 days. When he finds out Peter does not really love her but is only marrying her for her wealthy father's boat which he will receive as dowry, David is coaxed by his friend, Frenny to stop the wedding. However, David comes to realise that his intentions might not be sincere as both his mother and the priest who tries to help him stop the wedding become involved in separate accidents and are hospitalised. On the day of the wedding, David plans to profess his love for Roma until Peter reveals that he actually sincerely loves her and was only lying that he was marrying her for the dowry out of fear he would be teased. David decides not to stop the wedding.
Gradually, it is revealed that all three Davids are connected somehow in the turn of events. In 1999, the London David's son with Noor, Iqbal, comes to Mumbai to seek revenge for his father's murder from the two RAW agents. He kills one RAW agent who is retiring as a General. The police officer killed at Malati Tai's rally is actually the other RAW agent who Iqbal shoots down with intent. Witnessing the shooting makes the Mumbai David realise what he almost became had he succeeded in assassinating Malati. He then moves to Goa and becomes a priest.
In 2010, he is the priest that marries off Peter to Roma. Realising that the Goan David would have spoken out against the wedding, he praises the Goan David for not doing so after the ceremony.
Cast
*
Vikram as David, the fisherman, Sakku Santa
*
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) is an Indian actor, producer and writer who mainly works in Bollywood films . Born to singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of Mukesh (singer), Mukesh, he debuted as a child artist in ''Vijay (19 ...
as David, the gangster and Iqbal
*Vinay Virmani as David, the guitarist
*
Jiiva
Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. He began his career as a ch ...
as David, the guitarist in Tamil version
*
Tabu
Tabu may refer to:
Cultural and legal concepts
*Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society
*Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
as Frenny
*
Monica Dogra
Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, ''The ...
as Noor
*
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the r ...
as Neelam (Gayathri in Tamil version)
*
Isha Sharvani
Isha Sharvani is an Indian-Australian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Early life
Isha was born in ...
as Roma
*
Sheetal Menon
Sheetal Menon is an Indian model and actress. Her origin is Kerala and Mangalore.https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/i-never-saw-myself-making-a-film-sheetal-menon/
Menon is trained in Bharatanatyam and Odissi classical dance, trained under Gu ...
as Susie
*
Nassar
Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...
as Father Noel
*
Nishan as Peter
*
Prahlad Kakkar
Prahlad Kakkar (born 24 March 1950 in Mumbai) is an Indian ad film director, best known for his work on the famous Pepsi TV commercial with Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar. He is the founder and main director for Genesis Film Productions ...
as Father Albert
*
Remo Fernandes
Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes (born 8 May 1953) is a singer and musician from India with naturalized Portuguese citizenship. Known as a pioneer of Indian pop music, he performs pop/rock/ Indian fusion and is also a film playback sin ...
(Special appearance in the song "Maria Pitache")
*Calvin Manish as Musician
*Rubi Chakravarti
*
Rohini Hattangadi
Rohini Hattangadi (''née'' Oak; born 11 April 1955) is an Indian actress, known for her work in Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, and Gujarati films, and Marathi soap operas and theatre. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film ...
as Malati Tai
*
Milind Soman
Milind Soman (born 4 November 1965) is an Indian actor, supermodel, film producer, and fitness enthusiast. He was a contestant on '' Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 3''.
Early and personal life
Soman was born on 4 November 1965 in Glasgow, ...
as Muslim
*
John Vijay
John Vijay (born 20 November 1976) is an Indian actor who plays supporting roles in Tamil films. He has also worked in a few Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films.
Career
John Vijay did his M.Sc. in Visual Communication from Loyola College ...
as Ranade Bhai
*
Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
as Fisherman David's father
*
Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit (born 7 July 1986) is an Indian singer and actress from Bollywood. She is the grand-niece of Indian classical vocalist and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Pandit Jasraj. She has also recorded popular songs for various Telugu and Tamil ...
as Alice
*
Satish Kaushik
Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.
Early life
Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...
as David's neighbour
*
Anupama Kumar
Anupama Prakash Kumar (born 4 December 1974) is an Indian actress and model. Having appeared in more than 300 commercials, she made her debut as an actress in the 2010 movie ''Ishqiya'' and went on to play supporting roles in Tamil language fil ...
as Zainab
*Akarsh Khurana as Ghani
*Vinod Sherawat as RAW agent
*
Manish Jha
Manish Jha is an Indian film writer and director. known for film like ''Matrubhoomi.''
Early life and education
Born in Dhamaura, in West Champaran district of Bihar, Jha grew up in Delhi where he had moved at an early age. He did his graduatio ...
as Priest
* Bharat Jha
*
Ajinkya Deo
Ajinkya Deo is an Indian actor in Marathi language, Marathi films and is the son of veteran Marathi actor Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo. He is elder brother of Hindi film director Abhinay Deo. ''Vasudev Balawant Phadke'' was the latest Marathi film ...
as RAW agent
*
Nikhil Chinapa
Nikhil Chinapa is an Indian DJ, host and festival curator, often credited with popularizing EDM among the youth in India. He is also known as the Father of Indian Dance Music for his various contributions towards revolutionising the outlook of ...
as Boxer
*
Sarika
Sarika Thakur is an Indian actress and costume designer. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Actress for the English-language film ''Parzania''. She was also awarded the National Film Award for Best Costume Design for her work i ...
(Special appearance in the song "
Dama Dam Mast Qalandar
''Dama Dam Mast Qalandar'' () is a spiritual Sufi qawwali written in the honour of the most revered Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poe ...
")
*
Neil Bhoopalam
Neil Bhoopalam is an Indian television, stage, and film actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''No One Killed Jessica'', ''Shaitan'', '' NH10'', ''Lust Stories'', ''Ungli'' and the Indian TV series '' 24''.
Career
Bhoopalam start ...
as Jahanzeb
Production
Development
Bejoy Nambiar announced in December 2011 that he would make a Hindi film titled ''David'', a gangster-comedy, and signed on
Vikram to play a protagonist in the film. The pair had previously worked together in
Mani Ratnam
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...
's ''
Raavan'' and ''
Raavanan
Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations.
In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and Rakshasa, rakshasi Kaik ...
'', in which Nambiar had been an assistant director. It was revealed that the film would simultaneously show tracks of three people named David: Vikram's story takes place in Goa, while the two other stories happen in Mumbai and London and that they occur at different periods. Three cinematographer,
R. Rathnavelu
R. Rathnavelu is an Indian cinematographer who works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. His work in films such as '' Sethu'', ''Nandha'', ''Vaaranam Aayiram'', ''Enthiran'', '' 1: Nenokkadine'', ''Rangasthalam'' and ''Sye Raa Narasimha Re ...
,
P. S. Vinod
P. S. Vinod is Indian cinematographer who works in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. He debuted as an independent cinematographer with the 2000 Tamil film ''Rhythm'' and then went to work for several Hindi and Telugu projects.
His notable works i ...
and Sanu Varghese were recruited to shoot the respective segments. Sanjeev Lamba of Reliance, the film's producer, noted that the film had undergone changes and would be made a bilingual in Hindi and Tamil.
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films.
Early life
Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
was also recruited to play a titular character in the film. However Oberoi opted out of the project after finding out that the film would be a bilingual, and the team considered
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influen ...
before replacing him with
Neil Nitin Mukesh
Neil Nitin Mukesh Chand Mathur (born 15 January 1982) is an Indian actor, producer and writer who mainly works in Bollywood films . Born to singer Nitin Mukesh and grandson of Mukesh (singer), Mukesh, he debuted as a child artist in ''Vijay (19 ...
. Neil Nitin Mukesh was asked to sport a complete retro-gangster look, and grow a hefty moustache for his role in the film. Mukesh's portions in the film were shot in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Canadian-Indian actor Vinay Virmani would play the third character called David in the film and
Jiiva
Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. He began his career as a ch ...
reprised his part in the Tamil version. The storyline involving Mukesh's character were scrapped from the Tamil version, which left it with only two people named David. In January 2012, the producers signed
Tabu
Tabu may refer to:
Cultural and legal concepts
*Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society
*Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...
and
Isha Sharvani
Isha Sharvani is an Indian-Australian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Early life
Isha was born in ...
to play lead female roles in the film, with reports that Isha would be paired opposite Vikram.
Filming
Scenes involving Vikram were filmed in Hindi only and were the first out of the three segments and were canned in locations which were meant to show a
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
n backdrop. The team thus shot scenes featuring Vikram and Isha Sharvani in
Alleppey
Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and internat ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
in late February 2012, before moving to
Kuttanad
Kuttanad ( ml, കുട്ടനാട്) is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala, India, well known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. The region has the lo ...
. Mangalore beach was designed to replicate the beaches of Goa and a song featuring
Remo Fernandes
Luís Remo de Maria Bernardo Fernandes (born 8 May 1953) is a singer and musician from India with naturalized Portuguese citizenship. Known as a pioneer of Indian pop music, he performs pop/rock/ Indian fusion and is also a film playback sin ...
was also shot in February. Ratnavelu revealed that scenes were also canned in
Kapu, Karnataka
Kapu was renamed ''Kaup'' by the British.
Kapu (''Kaup'') is a town situated in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. It lies between the twin cities of Udupi and Mangalore, next to the National Highway 66. The villages Manchakal and Shirva ...
disguising Goa and that Vikram finished his portions for the film by March 2012.
Nishan, a Mumbai-based actor who had appeared in Malayalam language films, was also selected to play a role in the segment, while actress Rubi Chakravarti was also recruited to play Vikram's mother in the film after Bejoy Nambiar approached for a role written with her in mind.
Prahlad Kakkar
Prahlad Kakkar (born 24 March 1950 in Mumbai) is an Indian ad film director, best known for his work on the famous Pepsi TV commercial with Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar. He is the founder and main director for Genesis Film Productions ...
, a noted ad-maker, was convinced by Nambiar to make his debut in film by appearing in the role of a priest and consequently shot his scenes in
Mangalore
Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...
.
The scenes of the character playing a musician Vinay Virmani / Jiiva, was the second segment to be shot with Sejal Shah recruited as cinematographer.
Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the r ...
plays an extended cameo role in both versions as a mother, whose child is tutored by Virmani / Jiiva character.
Sheetal Menon
Sheetal Menon is an Indian model and actress. Her origin is Kerala and Mangalore.https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/i-never-saw-myself-making-a-film-sheetal-menon/
Menon is trained in Bharatanatyam and Odissi classical dance, trained under Gu ...
, who appeared in ''
Shaitan
' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their qalb, hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that t ...
'' was also recruited to play a pivotal role in Vinay Virmani's and Jiiva's sequences. Singer
Shweta Pandit
Shweta Pandit (born 7 July 1986) is an Indian singer and actress from Bollywood. She is the grand-niece of Indian classical vocalist and Padma Vibhushan awardee, Pandit Jasraj. She has also recorded popular songs for various Telugu and Tamil ...
also shot for the film in both languages making her debut as a musician, while
Nassar
Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...
was recruited to appear in both versions of the film.
Manish Jha
Manish Jha is an Indian film writer and director. known for film like ''Matrubhoomi.''
Early life and education
Born in Dhamaura, in West Champaran district of Bihar, Jha grew up in Delhi where he had moved at an early age. He did his graduatio ...
, director of the 2003 film ''
Matrubhoomi
''Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women'' (Hindi: मातृभूमि, translation: ''Motherland'') is a 2003 Indian dystopian tragedy film written and directed by Manish Jha. The film examines the impact of female foeticide and female infa ...
'', was signed on to act in another pivotal role in the third segment with Nambiar noting "he was physically perfect for the part". Actor-director
Satish Kaushik
Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter.
Early life
Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is an ...
also shot for this portion of the film, portraying one of David's neighbours.
Nambiar noted that Neil Nitin Mukesh's scenes were the most problematic to shoot as a result of the actor's involvement in his other film ''3G'' being shot in
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
and thus dates were difficult to accommodate Shilpi Shukla did great in the movie to. Akarsh Khurana, a theatre actor, who also helped write portions in the film, was also selected to play a major role and shot for scenes in Neil's portion.
Monica Dogra
Monica Dogra is an American musician and actress. She has acted in six feature films, as well as released five studio albums with the band Shaa’ir and func. She is a member on the judging panel of India's first English music talent show, ''The ...
was chosen to portray the female lead in this segment, being paired opposite Neil Nitin Mukesh.
Anupama Kumar
Anupama Prakash Kumar (born 4 December 1974) is an Indian actress and model. Having appeared in more than 300 commercials, she made her debut as an actress in the 2010 movie ''Ishqiya'' and went on to play supporting roles in Tamil language fil ...
, who was previously seen in ''
Ishqiya
''Ishqiya'' () is a 2010 Indian black comedy film starring Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Arshad Warsi and Salman Shahid. It was directed by Abhishek Chaubey in his directorial debut, cinematography by Mohana Krishna, and was produced by Raman ...
'', was one of the few South actors to be recruited to act in the Hindi version; she would play a Pakistani woman of the 1970s which she termed as "very different and exciting". The scenes involving Neil's character would start in Canada and finish in Ooty and completed by the end of 2012. A five-day shooting was held at the
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
of
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, Northern Ireland, UK in September 2012. The film was enticed to Northern Ireland on the back of a trip to India earlier this year by Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster. In a collaborative effort between Invest Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen, Indian Production company Getaway Films has received £30,000 funding through the Northern Ireland Screen Fund supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The film was widely supported by the Northern Ireland Screen Initiative.
Marketing
Bejoy Nambiar
Bejoy Nambiar (born 12 April 1979) is an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work in Bollywood. He is mostly known for his critically acclaimed short films, ''Rahu'' and ''Reflections (2005 film), Reflections'', starring Mohanl ...
planned an innovative strategy to release the first look of the film on sites such as
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
Music
The soundtrack of ''David'' consists of 15 tracks composed by eight various artists, including
Prashant Pillai
Prashant Pillai (born 8 September 1981) is a music producer and composer from India.
Early career
After completing his Sound engineering in Chennai, he went on to work with A.R.Rahman. After a short stint with him, he moved on and settled i ...
and
Mikey McCleary
Michael McCleary is a New Zealand songwriter, composer, performer, producer and director based in Mumbai, India since 2007. He has worked on a large number of advertisements such as for brands like Levi's, Coca-Cola, Vodafone etc. and films su ...
, who had worked on Nambiar's ''
Shaitan
' (; ''devils'' or ''demons''), singular: (شَيْطَان) are evil spirits in Islam, inciting humans (and jinn) to sin by "whispering" (وَسْوَسَة, “waswasah”) to their qalb, hearts (قَلْب ''qalb''). Folklore suggests that t ...
'', too, and independent bands Bramfatura, Maatibaani and Modern Mafia. Tamil film composer
Anirudh Ravichander
Anirudh Ravichander (born 16 October 1990), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Anirudh, is an Indian film scorer music composer music producer singer and instrumentalist who primarily works in Tamil films. He is the son of actor Ra ...
of "
Why This Kolaveri Di
'Why This Kolaveri Di' () is a song from the soundtrack of the 2012 Tamil psychological thriller film '' 3'', starring Dhanush and Shruthi Hassan. The song is written and sung by Dhanush, and composed by Anirudh Ravichander. It became one of ...
" fame, also contributed one song, making his Bollywood debut.
The track "Kanave Kanave" which was released as the Tamil version of the film's first single on 7 December 2012, sung and composed by Anirudh Ravichander, became popular among its release, and listed on Top 10 Songs in major music charts. The full album of the Tamil version was released on 21 December 2012, at a launch event held at the renovated Rani Seethai Hall in Chennai, in attendance of the film cast and crew. The film's
audio CD
Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA or CD-DA), also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the ''Red Book'', one of a series of Rainbow Books (named fo ...
was launched at the event.
The song "Yun Hi Re", which is the Hindi version of "Kanave Kanave" which is composed by Anirudh Ravichander was released as a single on 10 December 2012. A new version of the famous traditional
Qawwali
Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...
number "
Dama Dam Mast Qalandar
''Dama Dam Mast Qalandar'' () is a spiritual Sufi qawwali written in the honour of the most revered Sufi saint of Sindh, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (1177–1274) of Sehwan Sharif. The original poem was initially written by the 13th-century Sufi poe ...
" was released on 17 December 2012.
;Hindi
;Tamil
;Hindi version
Koimoi
Koimoi is a Bollywood entertainment website providing Bollywood news, box-office reports and film reviews. In January 2021, its Alexa ranking in India was 2530.
Origin
On 23 November 2009, Contest2win.com and Komal Nahta's Faith Entertainment j ...
wrote that "Overall, album is like a roller coaster ride which does steer you in one direction and though there are bumps, it is still worth hopping on to".
Radio Mirchi
Radio Mirchi (also known as 98.3 Mirchi) is a nationwide network of private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the ENIL, EntertainmentNetwork India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of the subsidiaries of The Times Group. ''Mirchi'' is Hindi f ...
rated the album 4/5 and said that "David's soundtrack has got everything to keep the listener hooked for a long time. The film is set in three different time periods, so the music explores three different eras and is very refreshing. Hard to sum up the verdict on David, it is truly blockbuster material".
Firstpost
''Firstpost'' is an Indian online news and media website. The site is a part of the Network 18 media conglomerate owned by Reliance Industries, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC-TV18.
The ''Network 18'' group was originally owned by Raghav ...
wrote that "With a heady mix of rock, folk, qawwali and dubstep, David makes a great album, one that Bollywood has not seen in recent times. The soundtrack grows on the listener and is certainly a cut above the regular Bollywood song and dance routine".
;Tamil version
IBNLive
Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
said that "the soundtrack boasts of trendsetting music". ''Behindwoods'' rated 3.5 stars out of 5 by saying "David isn't just a great soundtrack, it's destined to be a trend-setter." NDTV Movies, rated the soundtrack 3 out of 5, with the song "Kanave Kanave" as their pick of the album.
Reception
Critical Reception
;Hindi version
Sukanya Verma for
Rediff.com
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 ...
has given 2.5 out of 5 stars for the movie and says "A shorter, snappier ''David'' with a little less rambling and randomness may have led to a better payoff. Still, there’s no denying Nambiar’s promise as an adventurous, aesthetically-sound filmmaker but his weak spot remains the same. His eye for dynamic visuals is yet to find its match in stories that speak."
Shivesh Kumar of ''
IndiaWeekly
''IndiaWeekly'' is a commercial website serving India and its diaspora, providing them with an online shopping platform for entertainment products like movies, music, and gifts.
IndiaWeekly has over one million fans on social networking site Fa ...
'' awarded the movie 2 out of 5 stars.
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
gave 3 out of 5 stars, stating "With a run time of 155 minutes, David tends to be a tad flabby at times. In other words, its pace is anything but consistent."
The Times of India, gave 3 out of 5 stars and described the movie as "Yes, the Devil's in the detail. But maybe David needed more 'D' of 'Depth' in the story to make this more 'Delightful'."
;Tamil version
Kirthi Jeyakumar of ''
Rediff.com
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 ...
'' gave 4 out of 5 stars, and stated "The characters themselves are realistic, and believable. Their emotional struggles and their reactions to the world around them are pictures painted with vibrant shades, rather than the disturbed and dark protagonist that one is wont to consider them to be. Thinking out of the box can sure get one ahead, and Nambiar has proved his prowess with elan." Subha J Rao of ''
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' stated "Watch if you love a film that is not packed with action. This one flows by languidly, chronicling inner journeys." A critic from ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' opined that "The movie might be about love, crucial decisions and situations that bring people together, but ‘David’ doesn’t conjure up enough magic!"
Box office
The film opened to very positive response of 50% only and collected 50–60 lakh net on its first day.
The second showed a little growth of around 50% bringing up the 2-day total to 1.6 crore. On day 3, it collected another 1.05 crore and the total collection for the 1st weekend would be 2.57 crore net at the domestic box office. David had an average fourth day and collected 2.1 crore.
Vishwaroop, David first weekend collection at Box Office . The film is declared as a disaster in box office.– Oneindia Entertainment
Entertainment.oneindia.in (6 February 2013). Retrieved on 10 February 2013.
References
External links
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{{Bejoy Nambiar
2010s Hindi-language films
2013 crime films
2013 films
Films directed by Bejoy Nambiar
Films scored by Mikey McCleary
Films set in 1975
Films set in 1999
Films set in 2010
Films set in Goa
Films set in London
Films set in Mumbai
Films shot in Alappuzha
Films shot in Karnataka
Films shot in London
Films shot in Mangalore
Films shot in Northern Ireland
Films shot in Ooty
Indian crime films
Reliance Entertainment films