''Rajjo'' is a 2013

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n romantic musical produced by Four Pillars Entertainment and directed by Sahitya Akademi Award-winning writer

Vishwas Patil Vishwas Patil (born 28 November 1959, in Nerle, Kolhapur district) is an Indian author and an officer in Indian Administrative Services. He completed his masters M.A. in English Literature and a degree in Law. Works *''Lust for Lalbaug'', nov ...

. It stars

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 newcomer

Paras Arora Paras Arora is an Indian actor who works in Hindi-language television shows and Bollywood films. He is best known for portraying the character of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in ''Veer Shivaji'', Abhimanyu in ''Mahabharat The ''Mahābh ...

in the lead roles and its supporting cast includes

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam-language films, he is the recipient of several ...

Mahesh Manjrekar Mahesh Vaman Manjrekar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, əɦeːʃ maːɲd͡zɾekəɾ born 16 August 1958) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, alongside Marathi language, ...

and

Jaya Prada Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. She is hailed as one of the most iconic and influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada i ...

. The film released in theatres on 15 November 2013. The film that earned 2 crores at the domestic box office bore a loss of 10 crores on the venture.

Plot

A romantic musical, Rajjo is the journey of a

Nautch The nautch (; meaning "dance" or "dancing")Scott A. Kugle, 2016When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry p.230. was a popular court dance performed by girls (known as "nautch girls") in India. The culture of the performing ...

girl in the most extraordinary circumstances. It tells the love story of Rajjo (

) and Chandu (

) set against the backdrop of the dying Kothas of

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- ...

that nurtured the traditional art of singing and dancing for centuries. The story's central characters are Rajjo, a Muslim girl and Chandu, a young Brahmin boy. When Chandu helps his team win a cricket match, the team decides to celebrate the victory by visiting the Kothas of

Nagpada Nagpada is a neighbourhood in South Mumbai. The place derives its name from a local Shiva temple, and abode of Nāg, Naag or the snake wound around Shiva's neck. It has a community basketball court. In 2005, Nagpada was the location of the S ...

. This is where Chandu meets Rajjo who mesmerizes him with her elegant Mujra dance and it is love at first sight for him. Chandu belongs to a family of music lovers; he is a very good harmonium player, his mother is a Bhajan singer. Rajjo is trained under Kothewali Amma; she is naughty, sweet and quite attractive. Music is the common thread between them, as is the strong attraction that draws Rajjo and Chandu together and seals their love. Simultaneously the Nagpada area goes under the clutches of re-development and all the dancers and singers are under the shadow of this potential danger. Amidst these circumstances, Rajjo and Chandu have to deal with Begum (

) who runs the Kotha and Hande Bhau (

), a corporator with powerful political connections who has his eye on Rajjo.

Cast

as Rajjo *

as Chandu * Sadhana Sharma as Chanda Chandu's Sister *

as Begum *

as Hande Bhau *

as Jankidevi * Sharad Shelar *

Deepika Amin Deepika Amin (born Deepika Deshpande) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films. She is known for her roles in the films '' Fan, Raanjhanaa and'' ''Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania.'' She has also worked in the TV shows ''Farmaan'' and ''Tash ...

as Kamladevi * Alok as Chandu's Friend * Rakesh Barsewal as Hijra *

Shruti Bisht Shruti Bisht (born 22 January 2003) is an Indian film and television child actress. She played Ira in ''Ek Nayi Chhoti Si Zindagi''. In 2011, she appeared in the television serial ''Hitler Didi'' as Indu.Swati Chitnis Swati Chitnis (2 May 1959) is an Indian Bollywood actress who works in both the film and television industry. She is currently playing the Pivotal Role of Suhasini Goenka (Kartik's Grandmother and Akshara's Great-Grandmother) in Star Plus's Long ...

as Ammi *

Avtar Gill Avtar Gill is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi and Punjabi language films and television serials. He has done many plays with Indian People's Theatre Association Mumbai. Selected filmography Films * ''Noorie'' (1979) * '' ...

as Acharya Deshbhushan * Ravi Hande as Vikram Hande * Ateshan Hussein as Jaggu (Govind Hande's PA) *

Anand Ingle Anand may refer to: People * Anand (name), a surname and given name (including a list of people with the name) * Anand (actor), Indian actor * Anand (Maoist), Indian communist * Anand (writer) (born 1936), Indian Malayalam writer Places * Anand ...

as Meghraj Shetty *

Kinjal Jain Kinzhal may refer to: * Khanjali, double-edged dagger * Kh-47M2 Kinzhal The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (in Russian: Х-47М2 Кинжал, "Dagger", NATO reporting name Killjoy) is a Russian nuclear-capable hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface missil ...

as Chandu's Sister * Jaiveer as Chandu's Friend *

Kishore Kadam Kishore ( �raːm kɪʃoːr may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * ''Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * ''Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language j ...

as Daadi Patil * Mazhar Khan as Hirja * Suhas Khandke as Professor *

Shubhangi Latkar Shubhangi Latkar is an Indian actress who appears mainly in Hindi and Marathi films. She is known for her character roles in Delhi Belly (2011), Aashiqui 2 (2013), Singham Returns (2014) and Jolly LLB 2 ''The State vs. Jolly LL.B 2'', better ...

as Chandu's Mother *

Upendra Limaye Upendra Limaye (born 8 November 1969) is an Indian actor, who won the National Film Award for his role in the Marathi film ''Jogwa''. On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, ''Forbes'' included Limaye's performance in the film ''Jogwa' ...

as Inspector Salunkhe * Manmauji as Chacha (Garage) * Naren as NGO guy * Girish Pal as Hirja * Atul Patil as Chotelal * Piyusha Patil as Sana * Poonampreet Bhatia as Acharya Deshbhushan's PA *

Aarti Rana ''Arti'' (Sanskrit: Ārātrika, Hindi: Ārtī) is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, often part of '' puja'', in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. ''Arti(s)'' also refers to the songs sung in praise of the d ...

as Kotha Girl * Shivani Rawat as Sakina * Rutwik as Chandu's Friend * Sachi as Salunke's Daughter * Rajesh Sahu as Hirja *

Kuldeep Sarin Kuldeep Singh' is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Kuldeep Bishnoi (born 1968), Indian Member of Parliament *Kuldeep Kumar (born 1950), Indian politician *Kuldeep Manak (1951–2011), Indian Punjabi singer *Kuldeep Pawar (1949� ...

as C.M. * Sumit Senapati as Chandu's Friend * Nitesh Shah as Chandu's Friend *

Vipin Sharma Vipin Kumar Sharma is an Indian actor, editor and filmmaker. He is best known for his acting roles in ''Taare Zameen Par'' (2007), ''Gangs of Wasseypur'' (2012), ''Kick'' (2014), ''Paatal Lok'' (2020) and ''The Family Man'' (2021). Early life ...

as Chandu's Father * Rizwana Sheikh as Kotha Girl *

Shashank Shende Shashank Shende is an actor, director, producer and writer in India. Early life Shende grew up in Pune till 10th standard, in a middle-class family. He then moved to Ahmednagar for two years before moving back. After college, he started his o ...

as Gannewala *

Soham Shah Soham Shah is a Bollywood movie director who is popularly known for directing the films '' Kaal'' (2005) and the movie ''Luck'' (2009). Personal life Shah is from Mumbai. Career Shah previously worked for Dharma Productions Dharma Productio ...

as NGO guy *

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born as Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He studied at Sherwood College in Nainital, India. After attending Aligarh Muslim University for a year, he graduated from St. Xavier's Co ...

as Lala Pathan * C.P. Thakur as Bank Manager * Atul Tiwari as Builder Patel *

Sanjay Tripathi Sanjay, also spelled Sanjai, Sanjey, Sanje, Sanjaey and Sunjay, is a male given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "triumphant" (from Sañjaya) and may refer to: People * Sanjaya, an important character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' * San ...

as Hijra * Vedita as Kotha Girl

Development

Pre-Production and Production

The lead star of the film

did extensive research in order to prepare for her role in the film. She visited Kothas and met with women there to understand their body language and mindset. The makers of the film reportedly spent Rs. 5 crore to recreate the ambiance of Mumbai's red light area,

Kamathipura Kamathipura (also spelled Kamthipura) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, India known for prostitution. It was first settled after 1795 with the construction of causeways that connected the erstwhile seven islands of Mumbai. Initially known as Lal ...

, for their film. It took two months for around 700 workers to construct the set under the guidance of art director Muneesh Sappel. The music of the film was recorded in London's Abbey Road Studios by composer

Uttam Singh Uttam Singh (born 25 May 1948) is an Indian music director and a well-known violinist. He has also worked as a music arranger, programmer and recordist for many Bollywood films. He worked as a music assistant for Ilaiyaraaja in numerous Tamil la ...

Crew

*Banner - Four Pillars Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. *Distribution - WAVE CINEMA Ponty Chadha Release. *Director-

*Producer- M. H. Shah & U. A. Karande *Cinematographer - Binod Pradhan *Music & Background Score-

*Editor- Rajesh Rao *Production Designer- Muneesh Sappel *Executive Producer - Priyadarshini *Original Story- Jayant Pawar *Screenplay - Vishwas Patil *Lyrics - Sameer Anjaan, Dev Kohli *Action Director- Salam Ansari *Choreographer- Ganesh Acharya *Dialogue- Atul Tiwari & Vishwas Patil *Sound Design - Vikram Biswas *Costume Designer -

Reza Shariffi Reza Shariffi is a costume designer from India. He has designed for many leading actresses in Bollywood. He was nominated as ‘best costume designer’ for Kangana Ranaut’s costumes in the movie ''Tanu Weds Manu''. He has designed costumes fo ...

*Art Director

Soundtrack

Music of film is composed by

, lyrics penned by

Sameer Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

and Dev Kohli.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 2438764 2013 films Indian romantic musical films Films set in Mumbai Films about courtesans in India