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''Judgementall Hai Kya'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
film directed by
Prakash Kovelamudi Prakash Rao Kovelamudi is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor known for his works in alternative cinema, across various languages. He is known for works such as Morning Raga (2004), with which he made his Bollywood acting debut. He ...
, with screenplay by
Kanika Dhillon Kanika Dhillon is an Indian author and screenwriter. As an author, she has released three novels, ''Bombay Duck is a Fish'' (2011), a satire on the Indian film industry, the young adult superhero novel ''Shiva and the Rise of the Shadows'' (201 ...
starring
Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...
and
Rajkummar Rao Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...
, produced by
Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...
, the film was theatrically released in India on 26 July 2019.


Plot

Bobby is a strange wealthy young woman living alone in
Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and working as a dubbing artist. In childhood, she had interfered in a fight between her parents, causing them to fall off the terrace to their deaths. When a producer touches her at work, she reacts by slicing his nose with a knife. She is then sent to an asylum. Her uncle manages her property and offers her house as a rental to a young married couple. Keshav is the husband to Reema. Bobby is obsessed with the couple and spies and stalks them constantly. Reema dies in a fire in the kitchen when a bottle of pesticide explodes. Bobby suspects Keshav and tries to get the police to investigate him but they find no evidence. She hallucinates Keshav threatening her and hits him with a chair in front of the police. She is put back in the asylum. It is revealed that she is imagining things; during electric shock treatment, she remembers that she threw the pesticide on the wife because she hallucinated a cockroach on her. Two years later, Bobby is taking her meds but not leaving her house. Her cousin in London arranges for Bobby to be an understudy in a re-imagining of the
Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
that she is helping design. When Bobby meets her cousin's new husband, it turns out to be Keshav. Keshav warns his wife that Bobby is not stable but his wife does not believe him. Bobby starts to lose herself in the character of Sita that she is understudying. She believes Keshav is Raavan and it is up to her to defeat him. Keshav panics and reaches out to her old boyfriend, Varun, who confirms that she obsesses over things and had imagined him to be a criminal. He breaks into her house and finds boxes of photos with Bobby photoshopped in instead of Keshav's wife. A photo of Keshav's wedding to her cousin proves that Bobby knew beforehand that they were married. Keshav confronts Bobby. The next morning, he tells his wife that Bobby tried to kiss him, and she in turn tells his wife that he tried to rape her. When she later sees Keshav backstage, she grabs an ax and chases him, cutting a rope that sends a light falling. Afraid she has hurt someone, she goes on the run and gains three hallucinatory friends. They take her to a library, where she researches Keshav and thinks she has found evidence that he is a serial killer who takes on new identities and kills his wives. She returns to the house to confront him, dressed as Sita, ties up her pregnant cousin and when Keshav arrives, threatens him. Keshav tries to reason with her before revealing that he IS indeed a serial killer. He even killed his first wife, throwing the match on her after Bobby covered her in pesticide. Bobby fights him and she and her cousin are both saved when Keshav is burnt alive in the same manner in which his victims burned to death. At the end, she strides down the street in London surrounded by her hallucinations proudly declaring that she is what she is and will not change.


Cast

*
Rajkummar Rao Rajkummar Rao (born Raj Kumar Yadav; 31 August 1984) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in more than 30 films since 2010, and is the recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, three ...
as Keshav Kumar *
Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...
as Bobby Batliwala Garewal *
Jimmy Shergill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ''Maachis''. His bre ...
as Shridhar Awasthi *
Amyra Dastur Amyra Dastur (born 7 May 1992) is an Indian actress who has starred in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu Films. Early life and career Dastur is Parsi and she speaks English and Gujarati at home. She holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from Mumbai's HR ...
as Reema Kumar (nee Agnihotri) *
Amrita Puri Amrita Puri (born 20 August 1983) is an Indian actress. She made her film debut with the ensemble romantic comedy-drama ''Aisha'' (2010), which earned her Filmfare nominations for Best Female Debut and Best Supporting Actress. Puri had her ...
as Megha Kumar *
Kanika Dhillon Kanika Dhillon is an Indian author and screenwriter. As an author, she has released three novels, ''Bombay Duck is a Fish'' (2011), a satire on the Indian film industry, the young adult superhero novel ''Shiva and the Rise of the Shadows'' (201 ...
as Sita *
Brijendra Kala Brijendra Kala is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He is known for his subtle portrayals of characters rooted in reality. He gained attention for his small roles in mainstream cinema. Early life Kala spent his childhood in Mathu ...
as Officer Ram Pandey *
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 Officer Durjan Deshmukh * Lalit Behl as Uncle *
Hussain Dalal Hussain Dalal is an Indian actor and writer who is known for Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (2022), ''Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani'' (2013), 2 States (2014), Kalank (2019), Dhindora (2021), Toofaan (2021), Bring On the Night (2012) and Margarita ...
as Varun Bahl


Production


Filming

Principal photography of the film began on 16 May 2018, in Mumbai. After completing the shooting in Mumbai, the production team went to London for next schedule. The film wrapped on 9 July 2018 in London.


Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by
Arjuna Harjai Arjuna Harjai is an Indian composer, singer and musician working in Bollywood who is also known for composing advertising music. His association with director Nikkhil Advani, composing music and songs for film '' Guddu Engineer'' and television ...
,
Rachita Arora Rachita Arora is a singer and music composer in Indian movies. She is best known for her work in the Anurag Kashyap movie Mukkabaaz. Rachita hails from Delhi and is trained in Hindustani classical music. Career Arora started her career by compo ...
,
Tanishk Bagchi Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", "Aankh Maarey"(recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recreated) and "L ...
and Daniel B. George while lyrics are written by Prakhar Varunendra,
Kumaar Rakesh Kumar Pal, known mononymously as Kumaar, is an Indian lyricist active in Bollywood cinema. Some of his more successful songs include '' Rula ke gaya ishq, '' Tu bhi royega'', '' Dil ki aadat'', ''Baby Doll'','' Chittiyaan Kalaiyaan'', ...
, Tanishk Bagchi, Raja Kumari and Prakahar Vihaan. Background music scored by Daniel B George.


Marketing and release

On 4 March 2018, producer Ekta Kapoor revealed the first two posters of the film on Twitter, each depicting the two leads - a cross-eyed Ranaut and Rao holding up his middle fingers to his eyes; Kapoor hinted at the theme of mental instability by captioning, "It's time to bring out the crazy in you... Because Sanity is overrated!" In an interview, writer Kanika Dhillon called the film a "quirky thriller" On 5 March, Balaji Motion Pictures released two more first look posters, depicting both lead characters at crime scenes. The following day, 6 March, another two posters for the film were released, with leads Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao posing in "quirky" and dangerous positions- a knife-wielding Ranaut in a water-filled bathtub surrounded by electronic gadgets at its edge, and Rao holding a butcher knife and cutting an apple, with blood seeping from his hand. On 11 October 2018, the producers released a new poster, a composite of the original two posters of a cross-eyed Ranaut and Rao holding up his middle fingers, to reveal the film's release date. Release date of the film is changed to 21 June 2019. Rao announced the new date on his Twitter account along with new poster of the film. The release date was further extended to 26 July 2019 on 7 May 2019 by
Balaji Motion Pictures Balaji Motion Pictures is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Balaji Telefilms Limited which is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Shobha Kapoor and her daughter Ekta Kapoor. Based in Mumbai, it produces and d ...
. The film promotions were also wrapped in controversy as the lead actress, Kangana Ranaut, apparently questioned a journalist for his personal remarks about her and also Rani of Jhansi. The incident took an uglier turn as the Entertainment Journalists' Guild of India decided to boycott Kangana Ranaut until she issued an unconditional apology. The producer of the film Ekta Kapoor issued an unconditional apology on behalf of her. In June 2019, the film's title was changed to ''Judgementall Hai Kya'' due to objections from
Indian Psychiatric Society The Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists in India. It was founded in 1929 under the banner of the Royal Medico Psychological Association. Its current president is Dr. N.N. Raju. Founding The or ...
(IPS) which filed a complaint to the
Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
(CBFC) claiming that the original title, ''Mental Hai Kya'', trivialises mental health issues. The film has been certified with a runtime of 116 minutes by
British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...
and was released on 26 July 2019.


Reception


Critical response

Upon release, ''Judgementall Hai Kya'' received highly positive reviews from film critics, who praised the performances of Ranaut and Rao. On the Indian film review aggregator website The Review Monk, the film received an average score of 6.5/10 based on 28 reviews and 86% critics being in the favor. On
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film holds a rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . Stutee Ghosh of ''
The Quint ''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Aw ...
'' gave 4/5 stars states "The movie is a deliciously addictive ride, showing the world through the eyes of someone who feels like a misfit", praising lead performances by saying “Kangana and Rajkummar Rao are right up there giving us a rare understanding of their characters emotional and physical state. They ensure you don’t take your eyes off the screen for even a moment “. Raja Sen of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' gave 4/5 stars and felt that the slick, snappy looking comedy has more to offer, as a 'smart, significant satire'. Praising the performances he said, "This is a finely acted film, with superb performances from Amrita Puri, Satish Kaushik and Jimmy Sheirgill, not to mention Rao, but it rests entirely on Ranaut’s shoulders and she delivers both vitality and credibility." Concluding he recommended to watch the film as 'carrying homilies on placards' and opined, "It is a film about malicious misdirection, and the validity of our narratives — especially those labelled incorrect. It’s okay to jump at a cockroach even if you’re the only one who sees it. A bug can be a feature." Vickey Lalwani of '' SpotboyE'' gave the film 4/5 stars stating "How can two actors complement each other so well! They almost take alternate turns to look crazy, vulnerable, innocent and menacing in their respective scenes, which in turns keeps you at the edge of your seat", lauding kangana's performance by saying "This is clearly Kangana Ranaut's best performance till date. Her body language is insanely amazing- the way she walks in several scenes constantly looking behind her shoulder. Her dialogue delivery is flawless- she out-pours just what her character requires. You can make out there's so much of improvisation which she has done beyond what the director demanded". Sreeparna Sengupta of ''
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 ...
'' gave the film 3.5/5 stars, found Kovelamudi's narrative style as 'quirky and edgy'. Praising performance of Ranaut, she termed it as "brilliant", as for Rao she felt that he fitted into 'his slightly macho, edgy persona like a glove'. Concluding she opines, "''Judgementall Hai Kya'' keeps the element of suspense alive all the way till the end, as it pushes the envelope as a dark, psychological whodunit, with a social message weaved in that can’t be ignored." Charu Thakur of ''
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 onl ...
'' gave 3.5/5 stars, praises director kovelamudi by stating "Prakash Kovelamudi deserves applause for pushing the envelope with a quirky thriller that goes beyond the basic realms of a whodunnit, and makes people think and absorb. It treads into a zone Bollywood rarely ventures into", praising the lead actors saying "Kangana is a firecracker in Judgementall Hai Kya. She plays the character to perfection, getting the nuances and quirks right. She brings in a certain childlike vulnerability to Bobby and that's what makes her stand out. Rajkummar holds his ground as an edgy and macho Keshav, and delivers one of his best performances". ''
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 ...
'' gave 3.5/5 stars stated "All said and done, this isn’t a normal movie. From its treatment to the narrative, everything screams madness. On a brighter side, the story is strong enough to back the wacky side of it. Kangana Ranaut is definitely the queen, but this deck of cards have multiple aces to offer". Gaurang Chauhan of ''
Times Now Times Now is an English news channel in India owned and operated by The Times Group. The channel launched on 23 January 2006 in partnership with Reuters. It is a pay television throughout India. Until 2016, it was India's most popular and the m ...
'' rating the film with 3/5 stars terms it as 'one of its kind film', praising the performances of lead actors Ranaut and Rao and the supporting cast he wrote, "This movie belongs to Ranaut and she simply nails it." In conclusion, he opines, "Do give this one a try for its uniqueness, eccentricity, jaw-dropping moments, technical brilliance and Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao's phenomenal performances. Watch it." Shubhra Gupta of ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' gave 3/5 stars and stated "This is the kind of movie which will sharply divide audiences. And that’s as it should be. Once I began seeing it as the murmurings of a different mind, I bought it as a caper, as burlesque, where nothing is as it is. I had problems with some of it, but I really liked the rest of it",praising lead performances saying "Rao plays his part with brio, and Ranaut hits all the notes perfectly".
Saibal Chatterjee Saibal Chatterjee is an Indian film critic, an author of a book on Gulzar, co-editor of a book on films; and a documentary scriptwriter. He was a columnist at BBC News, Business Standard, Hindustan Times and Financial Express. And a staff writer of ...
of ''
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 3/5 stars stated “Kangana is a livewire. There are moments in the film where she appears to be striving too hard to make an impression. But when she is more reined-in, she is in total control. Rajkummar Rao is the exact opposite: baring himself little by little with exceptional control. He is the ideal foil for the out-on-a-limb Kangana. Together, they command total absorption. And that helps the film tide over its less convincing bits and add up in the end to a strong, meaningful statement on the mental distress engendered by abusive relationships”.
Rajeev Masand Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
of ''
CNN-IBN CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...
'' stated, "While you admire the attempt at originality, you can’t help feeling frustrated at just how it all comes apart in the end." He praised the performances, and termed Ranaut as solid. But, he felt that the film fell short of greatness because of a muddled script and gave 2.5/5 stars.
Anna M. M. Vetticad Anna Mercy Mathews Vetticad, commonly known as Anna M. M. Vetticad, is an Indian film critic and journalist. She has been in the field of journalism since 1994. Vetticad has also hosted her own interview show, ''Star Trek'', on Headlines Today ...
of ''
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 ...
'' gave the film 2.5/5 stars, found the plot to be confusing and stated that the makers have done very poor research on mental health. The movie, at certain points, makes fun of issues that require serious attention. Psychological disorders are a concern and such toxic take can only push people back. The performances are great, especially that of Rajkumar Rao, who unfortunately is caught in between a poor script. Kangana's performance is also decent but she could have done better. Publications like
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
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 ...
named kangana ranaut's performance in judgementall hai kya as one of the best performances by female actresses in 2019. Rahul Desai of
Film Companion Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
named kangana's performance as one of his favourite Hindi film performances of 2019


Box office

According to the ''
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 provides ...
'' opening day collection of the film is 4.20 crore and the second day collection is 7 crore, whereas third day collection is 7.70 crore. The opening weekend gross is 26.97 crore worldwide. , with a gross of 39.42 crore in India and 5.50 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 44.92 crore.


Awards and nominations


References


External links

*
Judgementall Hai Kya
on
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 provides ...
* {{Balaji Telefilms 2019 films Balaji Motion Pictures films 2019 masala films Indian black comedy films Films scored by Tanishk Bagchi Films scored by Arjuna Harjai Films scored by Daniel B. George 2010s Hindi-language films Films scored by Rachita Arora Films about psychiatry Films directed by Prakash Kovelamudi