''Mickey Virus'' is 2013 Indian
comedy
Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
thriller film, written & directed by Saurabh Varma. ''Mickey Virus'' is produced by
DAR Motion Pictures
DAR Motion Pictures (DAR), a wholly owned subsidiary of DAR Capital Group, is an Indian film production and distribution company headquartered out of Mumbai. Known for its focus on content driven cinema, DAR Motion Pictures has worked with a va ...
in association with Trilogic Digital Media Limited & Awesome Films Pvt. Ltd. The film features
Manish Paul
Maniesh Paul (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian television presenter, anchor, model, singer, actor and comedian in Bollywood. Starting his career as an RJ and VJ, he moved to acting before taking up stand-up comedy and hosting.
Early life and ...
,
Elli Avram
Elisabet Avramidou Granlund, ( el, Ελισάβετ Αβραμίδου Γκράνλουντ; born 29 July 1990) known professionally as Elli AvrRam, is a Swedish-Greek actress and is now based in Mumbai, India. She is known for her Bollywood mo ...
,
Manish Choudhary
Manish Choudhari is an Indian actor who is best known for his character of Sunil Puri in ''Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year''. He made his film debut in the 2003 Indian film ''Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula''. He was also seen in the 2021 w ...
,
Puja Gupta
Puja Gupta (born 30 January 1987) is an Indian model and actress. She is a former Miss India Universe, a title she won in 2007.
Life and career
Gupta was born in New Delhi, India. Her modeling breakthrough came in 2007 when she won the title ...
, and
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 main characters. The film, despite being a box-office failure, received positive reviews from critics.
Plot
When two Hackers were murdered in Delhi, Delhi Police suspects that the case revolves around hacking, they begin their search to find a computer hacker who can help them crack this case. The head of the police team ACP Siddhanth accompanied by Inspector Bhalla, stumbles across Mickey Arora, a lazy but smart hacker who runs a grocery store in day time and creates viruses for anti-virus companies in the night along with his friends tomboy Chutney, Floppy, Pancho and Professor who assist him in all odd jobs. ACP Siddhanth hires him to hack down the website of a group of cybercriminals known as Bhram Gang. Meanwhile, Mickey falls in love with Kamayani (Elli Avram) an employee of Excalibur Securities. One day in her office Kamayani wrongly transferred a big amount from a client's account but to avoid her from being fired Mickey hacks the company's website to reverse the transaction. Only the next morning does Micky realise that he has unknowingly stolen 1 billion rupees from a Dubai-based don named Anwar Raja and Kamayani has been murdered. Scared of being framed for both the crimes Mickey seeks help from his friends. In the quest to search for the real culprit Mickey traced down 1 billion rupees and finds out that ACP Siddhanth is the mastermind who forced Kamayani to bluff him. Mickey calls ACP and his friends to the parking lot of Nehru Place where ACP tells him that his friends Floppy, Pancho and Professor are the Bhram Gang admins and want to kill him for the money as they did to the two hackers and Kamayani. Surrounded by all the goons Mickey records and telecasts their confession on YouTube. In the end, Inspector Bhalla, along with police force, arrests ACP Siddhanth and the Bhram Gang. Mickey secretly takes one crore from the stolen 1 billion before handing it over to Inspector Bhalla. Credits roll to show few deleted scenes and bloopers and plays call recording of Anwar Raja who orders for killing Mickey
Cast
*
Manish Paul
Maniesh Paul (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian television presenter, anchor, model, singer, actor and comedian in Bollywood. Starting his career as an RJ and VJ, he moved to acting before taking up stand-up comedy and hosting.
Early life and ...
as Mickey Arora
*
Elli Avram
Elisabet Avramidou Granlund, ( el, Ελισάβετ Αβραμίδου Γκράνλουντ; born 29 July 1990) known professionally as Elli AvrRam, is a Swedish-Greek actress and is now based in Mumbai, India. She is known for her Bollywood mo ...
as Kamayani
*
Manish Choudhary
Manish Choudhari is an Indian actor who is best known for his character of Sunil Puri in ''Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year''. He made his film debut in the 2003 Indian film ''Rules: Pyaar Ka Superhit Formula''. He was also seen in the 2021 w ...
as ACP Siddhanth Chauhan
*
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 Inspector Devender Bhalla
*
Puja Gupta
Puja Gupta (born 30 January 1987) is an Indian model and actress. She is a former Miss India Universe, a title she won in 2007.
Life and career
Gupta was born in New Delhi, India. Her modeling breakthrough came in 2007 when she won the title ...
as Chutney
*
Nitesh Pandey
Nitesh Pandey (born 17 January 1973) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and TV serials. He is better known for his role of Shah Rukh Khan's assistant in ''Om Shanti Om'' (2007).
Career
Pandey began doing theatre in 1990. In 1995, he g ...
as Professor
* Raghav Kakkar as Floppy
* Vikesh Kumar as Pancho
Crew
* Written and Directed by: Saurabh Varma
* Screenplay:
Saurabh Varma
* Script Consultant: Kuldeep Ruhil
* Producers: Arun Rangachari and Vivek Rangachari
* Co-Producers: Kamlesh Gori, Murad Khetani, Vishal Gurnani, Nailesh Mehta, Dharmesh Shah and Raj Deshpande
* Associate Producers: Pradeep Nimani and Murli Chhatwani
* Title Song: Faizan – Agnel
* Director of Photography: Anshuman Mahalay
* Executive Producer: Meraj Shaikh
* Creative Producer: Nikhil Bhat
* Editor: Archit D. Rastogi
* Audiography: Subash Sahoo
* Assistant Director: Raghav Gupta
Production
The film was shot in
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, including in office complex of
Nehru Place
Nehru Place is a large commercial center in Delhi, India. Although its importance as a financial center has declined in recent years, Nehru Place is still a prominent commercial area in South Delhi and houses the headquarters of several India ...
. Several Bollywood biggies like
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
,
Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters, ...
,
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the rec ...
,
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...
and
Karan Johar
Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...
featured in a promotional video of ''Mickey Virus''. The movie has come under the scanner of Governmental Agencies as it displays techniques of high-profile robbery which might spur reel to real life robbery incidents.
Elli Avram
Elisabet Avramidou Granlund, ( el, Ελισάβετ Αβραμίδου Γκράνλουντ; born 29 July 1990) known professionally as Elli AvrRam, is a Swedish-Greek actress and is now based in Mumbai, India. She is known for her Bollywood mo ...
is also one of the contestants of
Bigg Boss 7
''Bigg Boss 7'' also known as ''Bigg Boss: Jannat Ka Wow Aur Jahannam Ka Aaw Dekhege Saath Saath'' or simply ''Bigg Boss: Saath Saat'' is the seventh season of the Indian reality TV series ''Bigg Boss'' which aired on TV channel Colors TV fro ...
. She would be inside the House of
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
, cut off from the outside world at the time of Movie Release, making it a first of its kind Bollywood Debut. ''Mickey Virus'' is made on a budget of Rs. 110 million, which includes publicity and advertising, and it was released in 1,200 screens in India. Chances are that the film will be remade in Tamil and Telugu.
Soundtrack
The Soundtrack was released on 3 October 2013 on the digital music platform
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. The album consists of six tracks and the only one of them by Faizan Hussain & Agnel Roman, Manoj Yadav and Arun Kumar writing the lyrics.
Marketing
''Mickey Virus'' was promoted by Manish Paul in ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...
'' on Colors. A promotional clip of ''Mickey Virus'' featured
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
, Ranbir Kapoor,
Anil Kapoor
Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...
, Madhuri Dixit Nene,
Farah Khan
Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...
,
Karan Johar
Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...
, Remo D'souza,
Kapil Sharma
Kapil Sharma (born Kapil Punj; 2 April 1981) is an Indian Stand up comedian, stand-up comedian, television host from Punjab, India, Punjab, India, Primarily known for hosting ''The Kapil Sharma Show''. He won the stand-up comedy reality show, ...
, either dishing out funny one-liners or abusing Mickey.
Lauren Gottlieb
Lauren Gottlieb (born June 8, 1988) is an American dancer and actress who works mainly in the Indian film industry. She was a contestant on the third season of the reality dance competition ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and played the lead role ...
,
Drashti Dhami
Drashti Khemka Dhami (born 10 January 1985) is an Indian actress, model and dancer. She is one of the most popular Hindi television actresses having worked in several successful shows like ''Dill Mill Gayye'', ''Geet'', ''Madhubala'', '' Ek T ...
,
Jeetendra
Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures.
Early life ...
and Manish's TV friends
Vahbbiz Dorabjee,
Vivian Dsena
Vivian Dsena (born 28 June 1988) is an Indian television actor known for his portrayal of Abhay Raichand in ''Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahani'', Rishabh Kundra in ''Madhubala - Ek Ishq Ek Junoon'' and Harman Singh in ''Shakti - Astitva Ke Ehsaas Ki''. ...
attended the special screening of ''Mickey Virus''.
Critical reception
''Mickey Virus'' received positive to 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 ...
of
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 ...
gave it 3 out of 5 stars, finding the thriller to be engaging for younger viewers. Madhureeta Mukherjee of Times of India gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Mohar Basu of
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 it 2.5 out of 5 stars.
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 ...
gave it 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing the length and engagement. Faheem Ruhani 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 it 3 out of 5 stars. Saibal Chatterjee 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 it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Tushar Joshi of DNA gave it 2.5 stars. Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave it 2 stars. Sanjukta sharma of Livemint did not give a rating, but found the film to have a weak plot and premise.
Anupama Chopra
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 ...
gave it 2 stars. Zee News gave it 3.5 stars. Nikhil Arora of DesiMartini gave it 2 stars.
[Nikhil Arora (25 October 2013)]
"Mickey Virus Review – By Nikhil Arora , MJ Film Review – Desimartini.com"
''Desimartini''.
Box office
''Mickey Virus'' got a 15–20% opening and collected around nett on first day.
It collected nett in its first week and it was declared flop in box office India.
References
External links
Official website*
*
* {{Twitter, name=''Mickey Virus''
2010s Hindi-language films
2010s comedy thriller films
2013 films
Indian comedy thriller films
2013 comedy films