''Udaan'' () is a 2010 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
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Vikramaditya Motwane
Vikramaditya Motwane (born 6 December 1976) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for films like '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Lootera'' (2013) and ''AK vs AK'' (2020).
His directorial debut '' Ud ...
in his directorial debut. It was produced by Sanjay Singh,
Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
and
Ronnie Screwvala
Rohinton Soli "Ronnie" Screwvala (born 8 September 1956) is an Indian entrepreneur.
He has been named on Esquire's List of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and ranked 78 among the 100 most influential people in the world on t ...
under their production companies
Anurag Kashyap Films
Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd. (AKFPL) is a film production company based in Mumbai, it was founded by director Anurag Kashyap in 2009. It is known for making art house or new wave cinema in Bollywood, like ''Dev D'' (2009), '' Udaan'' (2010), ...
and
UTV Spotboy respectively. Written by Motwane and Kashyap, the film stars debutante
Rajat Barmecha
Rajat Barmecha (born 24 April 1989) is an Indian actor who is best known for his lead role in the 2010 Bollywood film '' Udaan''.
Childhood
Barmecha was born in Ladnun, Rajasthan, and grew up in Delhi. He attended Bal Bharati Public School, Bri ...
,
Ronit Roy
Ronit Bose Roy (born 11 October 1965) is an Indian actor, known for his works primarily in Hindi television and films alongside Tamil and Telugu cinema. Roy has earned numerous accolades in his career including a Filmfare Award, two Screen Awa ...
, Aayan Boradia,
Ram Kapoor
Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in '' Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. H ...
,
Manjot Singh
Manjot Singh (born 7 July 1992) is an Indian Bollywood actor, best known for his role in films like ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'', ''Student Of The Year'' and ''Fukrey''. He won Filmfare Critics Award for the Best Debut Actor category for his per ...
and
Anand Tiwari
Anand Tiwari (born 29 May 1983) is an Indian actor, producer, writer and director known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in films like ''Kites'' (2010), '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Aisha'' (2010), and ''Go Goa Gone'' (2013). As a stage act ...
, and follows the story of a teen who is forced to live with his oppressive father back home after he is expelled from boarding school.
Motwane wrote the script in 2003, but could not find a producer. He co-wrote Kashyap's ''
Dev.D
''Dev.D'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic black comedy film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel ''Devdas'', previously ada ...
'' (2009), and Kashyap produced and co-wrote ''Udaan''. The film was set and shot in the industrial town of Jamshedpur. Mahendra J. Shetty was its director of photography, and Dipika Kalra was the editor; Aditya Kanwar was the production designer.
''Udaan'' premiered in the
Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section of the
2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films scr ...
, and received a
standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
; it was the first Indian film represented at Cannes in seven years. The film was also screened at the
Giffoni Film Festival
The Giffoni International Film Festival is an Italian children's film festival which takes place annually in Giffoni Valle Piana, Campania. It began in 1971. The Giffoni International Film Festival typically has around 100,000 guests and has had ...
and the 2011
Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema . Although it was released on 16 July 2010 to critical acclaim, it underperformed at the box-office (grossing 33.5 million from a production budget of 50 million). At the
56th Filmfare Awards
The 56th Filmfare Awards were held on 29 January 2011 at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, honouring the best in film for the year 2010. The nominations were announced on 13 January. The date of the function was unusual because generally the awar ...
, the film received seven awards:
Best Screenplay
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
and
Best Story (Motwane and Kashyap),
Best Cinematography
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
(Mahendra Shetty),
Best Background Music (Trivedi),
Best Supporting Actor (Male) (Roy),
Best Sound Design Award (Kunam Sharma) and the
Best Film (Critics) Award. In 2019,
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 ...
ranked Roy's performance in their list of 100 greatest performances of the decade.
Plot
Seventeen-year-old Rohan is expelled from the
Bishop Cotton
George Edward Lynch Cotton, Bishop of Calcutta (29 October 1813 – 6 October 1866) was an English educator and clergyman, known for his connections with British India and the public school system.
Life in England
He was born at Chester, a gra ...
boarding school in
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
with three of his friends (Vikram, Benoy and Maninder) after they are caught watching a pornographic film outside campus in the middle of the night. Rohan returns home to
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...
, where his stern, abusive, alcoholic father, Bhairav Singh, and his six-year-old half-brother Arjun (whom Rohan hadn't known before) live. Bhairav forces him to run every morning (racing him the last leg) and work at his
metalworking
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...
factory and attend engineering classes at the local university. Bhairav expresses his disappointment in him by humiliating and abusing him, both verbally and physically. Rohan aspires to be a writer and his uncle, Jimmy, supports his ambition.
Rohan deliberately fails his examinations so that Bhairav will give up on him, freeing him to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. Bhairav, summoned to school to pick Arjun up, loses an important contract. Rohan comes home to find Arjun being rushed to the hospital for an unknown reason; according to Bhairav, Arjun fell down the stairs. Fearful of making things worse, Rohan lies to Bhairav that he passed his exams. Bhairav goes to Kolkata on an urgent business trip, leaving Rohan to look after Arjun in the hospital. Rohan impresses the hospital employees including doctors and nurses with his stories and poems, and discovers that Arjun was actually beaten by the angered Bhairav after he lost the contract.
Returning from Kolkata, Bhairav learns that Rohan failed his exams. Enraged, he beats Rohan during the night and apologizes the following day. Announcing that he's going to remarry again, Bhairav decides to send Arjun to boarding school and have Rohan quit college to work full-time at the factory. When Jimmy offers to take Arjun in, Bhairav belittles him and throws him out of the house as Rohan begs Jimmy to take him away. Bhairav burns the diary in which Rohan has written all his poems, and later introduces his new wife and stepdaughter to him.
Rohan spends a night in jail after damaging Bhairav's car when Bhairav refuses to help him. He comes home to find his future stepmother and her relatives in the house, and learns that Arjun is leaving for boarding school the following day. Wishing Arjun luck, Rohan prepares to leave home. He has a bitter confrontation with Bhairav in front of his guests before punching him and running away. Bhairav chases Rohan through the streets on foot, but loses him. Rohan spends the night at Jimmy's house, and Jimmy speaks to him about Arjun. The next morning, Rohan returns home and finds Arjun waiting outside while Bhairav is gone to get an
auto rickshaw
An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
to send him to the boarding school. Rohan convinces Arjun to go with him to
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- ...
, leaves a watch (which Bhairav gave him on his 18th birthday) and a note warning that if he searches for them, he'll inform the police about his physically abusive nature and how he had abused both of them. Both brothers walk away from their home towards a new life.
Cast
*
Rajat Barmecha
Rajat Barmecha (born 24 April 1989) is an Indian actor who is best known for his lead role in the 2010 Bollywood film '' Udaan''.
Childhood
Barmecha was born in Ladnun, Rajasthan, and grew up in Delhi. He attended Bal Bharati Public School, Bri ...
as Rohan Singh
*
Ronit Roy
Ronit Bose Roy (born 11 October 1965) is an Indian actor, known for his works primarily in Hindi television and films alongside Tamil and Telugu cinema. Roy has earned numerous accolades in his career including a Filmfare Award, two Screen Awa ...
as Bhairav Singh
* Aayan Boradia as Arjun Singh
*
Ram Kapoor
Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in '' Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. H ...
as Jimmy Singh (Chhotu)
*
Manjot Singh
Manjot Singh (born 7 July 1992) is an Indian Bollywood actor, best known for his role in films like ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'', ''Student Of The Year'' and ''Fukrey''. He won Filmfare Critics Award for the Best Debut Actor category for his per ...
as Maninder Singh
*
Anand Tiwari
Anand Tiwari (born 29 May 1983) is an Indian actor, producer, writer and director known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in films like ''Kites'' (2010), '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Aisha'' (2010), and ''Go Goa Gone'' (2013). As a stage act ...
as Appu
* Arvind Kumar as Plant Manager
Production
While working on ''
Devdas
''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden ...
'' as an assistant director in 2002,
Vikramaditya Motwane
Vikramaditya Motwane (born 6 December 1976) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. He is known for films like '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Lootera'' (2013) and ''AK vs AK'' (2020).
His directorial debut '' Ud ...
saw ''
Sixteen'' (directed by
Ken Loach
Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
, about a troubled teenager who sets out to raise money for a new home). Motwane said that the film left "a deep imprint on my mind" and thought, "Why couldn’t a similar film about a youngster be made in India?" Drawing on his own life and surroundings, he wrote a screenplay revolving around a problematic father-son relationship.
Motwane decided to set the film in the industrial city of
Jamshedpur
Jamshedpur (, ) or Tatanagar is the largest and most populous city in Jharkhand and the first planned industrial city in India. It is a Notified Area Council and Municipal Corporation and also the headquarter of the East Singhbhum district. It ...
when he was struck by the contrast between the area surrounding the
Tata Steel
Tata Steel Limited is an Indian multinational steel-making company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand and headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of the Tata Group.
Formerly known as Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO), Tata ...
plant and Jamshedpur's sister city,
Adityapur
Adityapur is a city and suburb in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India. It is a nagar parishad in the Seraikela Sadar subdivision in the Seraikela Kharsawan district. Adityapur is part of the Greater Jamshedpur, under the Indian government's ...
, saying that the former was an "amalgamation of diverse
cultural influences."
He wrote the script, described it to his friend
Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
, and realised that "some of the scenes have resemblance to his real life" (like taking a car out at night and having fun with friends).
Kashyap enjoyed the script and told Motwane,"If no one produces it, you come to me,
ndI will do so."
Motwane signed Kashyap as a dialogue writer in 2003, and paid him . He could not find a producer for his film, since it had no commercially-viable actor.
Kashyap had worked with Motwane on his unreleased film, ''
Paanch
''Paanch'' (English: ''Five'') is a 2003 Indian crime thriller film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap in his directing debut, starring Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Vijay Maurya, Joy Fernandes and Tejaswini Kolhapure. The film is "loos ...
'', in which Motwane was the song choreographer. Since he knew "how good
otwanewas", he decided to produce ''Udaan''.
Motwane had completed the script in 2003, so it took him seven years to find a producer for the film; it was produced by Kashyap and Sanjay Singh under the former's production company,
Anurag Kashyap Films
Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt. Ltd. (AKFPL) is a film production company based in Mumbai, it was founded by director Anurag Kashyap in 2009. It is known for making art house or new wave cinema in Bollywood, like ''Dev D'' (2009), '' Udaan'' (2010), ...
. Later,
Ronnie Screwvala
Rohinton Soli "Ronnie" Screwvala (born 8 September 1956) is an Indian entrepreneur.
He has been named on Esquire's List of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century and ranked 78 among the 100 most influential people in the world on t ...
of
UTV Spotboy represented the film for global sales and distribution at the International film markets. Motwane said that many people "wanted to add and subtract things to increase the selling value of the film", with which he did not agree.
Although Kashyap wanted to produce his film, his own films were unreleased.
''Udaan'' is not autobiographical, but Motwane said that the script has traces of his life: "As a first-time writer there was a lot that I took from my own life, in terms of certain themes and references, with observations of friends."
He initially made some changes to the script when he looked for financing, and called its final version "a combination of first and second drafts."
Kashyap told Motwane in 2003, after reading the script, that he would solely produce the film. Motwane was the co-writer for Kashyap's ''
Dev.D
''Dev.D'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language romantic black comedy film released on 6 February 2009. Written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, it is a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali novel ''Devdas'', previously ada ...
'' (2009) before Kashyap agreed to produce ''Udaan''.
He said that it is "one of the few films made on teenagers and their issues growing up", since teen films "usually tackle love stories".
For a scene in the film involving Rohan's mother, Motwane used his wife's photograph. Motwane called it a "simple straightforward film" about a boy "who wants to break free from his clutches."
Newcomer
Rajat Barmecha
Rajat Barmecha (born 24 April 1989) is an Indian actor who is best known for his lead role in the 2010 Bollywood film '' Udaan''.
Childhood
Barmecha was born in Ladnun, Rajasthan, and grew up in Delhi. He attended Bal Bharati Public School, Bri ...
was cast as Rohan after several screen tests by casting director Jogi. Motwane did not like his initial auditions, but Barmecha later improved and was chosen. The film was set and shot extensively in Jamshedpur, with a local production crew.
It was filmed for 39 days (out of a 42-day shooting schedule) in a
HUDCO bungalow and the Circuit House area and also in
Shimla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the States and union territories of India, northern Indian state of Himachal Prade ...
for three days.
The production crew included 13 students and ten actors from the city.
The film was shot on
super 16 mm film with
sync sound.
[ Mahendra J. Shetty was ''Udaan'' director of photography, and Dipika Kalra was the film's editor; Aditya Kanwar was its production designer.] The film featured Ronit Roy
Ronit Bose Roy (born 11 October 1965) is an Indian actor, known for his works primarily in Hindi television and films alongside Tamil and Telugu cinema. Roy has earned numerous accolades in his career including a Filmfare Award, two Screen Awa ...
, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor
Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who works in films and television serials. He gained popularity portraying Jai Walia in the television series ''Kasamh Se'' and the character of Ram Kapoor in '' Bade Achhe Lagte Hain''. H ...
, Manjot Singh
Manjot Singh (born 7 July 1992) is an Indian Bollywood actor, best known for his role in films like ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'', ''Student Of The Year'' and ''Fukrey''. He won Filmfare Critics Award for the Best Debut Actor category for his per ...
and Anand Tiwari
Anand Tiwari (born 29 May 1983) is an Indian actor, producer, writer and director known for his work in Hindi films. He has appeared in films like ''Kites'' (2010), '' Udaan'' (2010), ''Aisha'' (2010), and ''Go Goa Gone'' (2013). As a stage act ...
in supporting roles.
Soundtrack
The film's score was composed by Amit Trivedi
Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music director, singer and a lyricist who works primarily in Hindi films. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as a film composer in the 2008 ...
, with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya
Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...
and Kashyap. The soundtrack album had seven songs, including one instrumental; Joi Barua
Joi Barua ( as, জয় বৰুৱা) is an Indian singer and music composer. Born in Digboi, Assam, he started his career by singing advertising jingles and later did playback singing for Hindi, Assamese and Telugu films. He is also the l ...
, Neuman Pinto, Bhattacharya, Trivedi, Mohan Kannan, Raman Mahadevan
Raman Mahadevan is an Indian playback singer, known for his Bollywood songs. He released an indipop album, ''Ramanasia'', in 2007.
Career
Raman Mahadevan was born in Mumbai. After completing his studies at New Bombay High School and ICL college ...
, Bonnie Chakraborty
Bonnie Chakraborty is an Indian playback singer. he was the lead vocalist of Kolkata based band Krosswindz until 1998. He has sung many songs in several languages including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali for various films.
Career
Chakraborty teame ...
, Kashyap, Kshitij Wagh
Kshitij Wagh is an Indian playback singer and a composer.
He was contestant at the second season of ''Indian Idol'' in 2005 and 2006. His early education in music came from his father Ramesh Wagh. Later he also learnt music from Gandharva Maha ...
, Tochi Raina
Tochi Raina (born 2 September 1971) is an Indian singer, composer and philosopher, best known as a playback singer in Hindi films. His most notable works include the songs ''Kabira'' for the movie "Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani", "Iktara" from "Wake U ...
, Shriram Iyer
Shriram Iyer is an Indian singer who has provided the music for the Bollywood film, Iqbal and also sung the opening theme song for the Zee TV show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007. He is lead singer of the fusion band "OM The Fusion Band".
Life ...
and Nikhil D'Souza
Nikhil D'Souza (born 21 November 1981) is a singer, songwriter and guitarist from Mumbai, India, and is now signed to East West Records of Warner Music UK.
Early life
Nikhil D'Souza was born and brought up in Mumbai and majored in Geology from ...
provided vocals. It was released on 29 June 2010 on the T-Series label.
The album received positive responses from critics. Nikhil Taneja 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 ...
'' wrote that "each song in ''Udaan'' literally takes flight from a soft, seminal intro, building up to a crescendo of indie, alternative rock", calling the title song "one of the most soul-stirring tracks of this year". Kashmin Fernandes of ''Mid-Day
''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...
'' said that the music and lyrics "run through with the innocent optimism", and called the album an "uplifting gem". Joginder Tuteja 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 ...
wrote, "Udaan is one of those albums that don't necessarily take a huge start at the music stands."
Release
''Udaan'' premiered in the Un Certain Regard
(, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob.
The section presents 20 films w ...
section of the 2010 Cannes Film Festival
The 63rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 May 2010, in Cannes, France. The Cannes Film Festival, hailed as being one of the most recognized and prestigious film festivals worldwide, was founded in 1946. It consists of having films scr ...
as ''The Flight'', and received a standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...
. It was the first Indian film represented at Cannes in seven years, and it was also screened at the Giffoni Film Festival
The Giffoni International Film Festival is an Italian children's film festival which takes place annually in Giffoni Valle Piana, Campania. It began in 1971. The Giffoni International Film Festival typically has around 100,000 guests and has had ...
and the 2011 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema . Kashyap released a letter he wrote to his parents in 1993 (when he left home and went to Mumbai), and he and Motwane destroyed a car—imitating a scene in the film—for a promotion.
''Udaan'' was released on 16 July 2010 with 200 prints in India. In addition to the Indian release, it was released in Singapore, Australia, South Africa and the United States. The film underperformed at the box office, earning at the box office against a budget of . The film was released on DVD on 14 September 2010, and is available on Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
Reception
Critical reception
''Udaan'' was acclaimed by critics with particular praise on direction and the performances. Writing for ''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 ...
'', film critic Nikhat Kazmi
Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...
called ''Udaan'' "unconventional Bollywood at its biting best" and stated that it "has the edgy feel and the bittersweet emotional core characteristic of India's neo-wave cinema." Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with ''Hindustan Times''. He previously worked under ''Mumbai Mirror'' and ''MiD DAY''. He also used to write a blog, ''Fad Fo ...
also gave it a positive review: "The movie's certainly worth a trip back to somewhat figure why." 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 ...
mentioned it as one of the year's best films, and said that Motwane makes "a terrific directing debut, offering up a film whose images will linger in your head long after you've left your seat."
Kaveere Bamzai 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 ...
'' described the film as "an extraordinary story told without veering into the maudlin": "It's a tightly controlled drama without any melodrama." Pratim D. Gupta
Pratim D. Gupta is an Indian journalist, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He reviewed films for ''The Telegraph (Kolkata), The Telegraph'' newspaper and later for online platform Film Companion. His first film as writer-director is ' ...
said, "For every rupee you have wasted on big, bad Bolly noise, you must back this beautiful and brave voice." Sukanya Verma 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 ...
felt that the film "refreshingly distinct and unyielding" and an "enriching experience." According to an Indo-Asian News Service
Indo-Asian News Service or IANS is a private Indian news agency. It was founded in 1986 by Indian American publisher Gopal Raju as the "India Abroad News Service" and later renamed. Their main offices are located in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The se ...
review, "''Udaan'' is both a celebration and a triumph of that spirit rebellious." Blessy Chettiar of ''Daily News and Analysis
Publications established in 2005
Newspapers published in Mumbai
English-language newspapers published in India
Daily newspapers published in India
Essel Group
2005 establishments in Maharashtra ...
'' praised Barmecha's performance, calling him a "raw talent" who plays "a wide emotional range with panache."
Namrata Joshi
Namrata Joshi is an Indian film critic based in New Delhi. Originally working for ''Outlook'', she remained there from 1999 till 2015, when she joined ''The Hindu''. She won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2004
Career
Joshi is ...
of ''Outlook
Outlook or The Outlook may refer to:
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* Outlook.com, a web mail service from Microsoft
* Outlook on the web, a suite of web applications ...
'' praised Roy's performance as the father and wrote, "It's a sharp, concentrated look at a troubled father-son relationship, how each of them, and the people around them, cope with their mercurial ways." 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 ...
'' said that the film is both "terrific" and "moving". She also included it in her book ''50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995–2015''. Although Sonia Chopra of Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
called Roy a "real discovery", she opined that some scenes appeared "inconsistent and a bit too cute for a cutting-edge film of this nature." Baradwaj Rangan
Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...
observed that ''Udaan'' is "at heart, a feel-good fairy tale", and praised Roy's multidimensional character. Alissa Simon of ''Variety
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* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
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'' was more critical, however: "Earnest, predictable, conventionally-crafted ''Udaan'' brings nothing new to the coming-of-age genre in this tale of a fraught relationship between a sensitive teen and his abusive, controlling father, which adopts the style of popular Indian melodrama." Rachel Saltz of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' felt that the film "covers familiar first-film ground with emotional conviction and freshness."
The film was mentioned in critic and author Shubhra Gupta's book, ''50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995–2015''.
Awards
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Udaan
2010 films
2010 directorial debut films
Films shot in India
Films set in India
2010s Hindi-language films
2010s coming-of-age drama films
Indian coming-of-age drama films
UTV Motion Pictures films
Films scored by Amit Trivedi
Films with screenplays by Anurag Kashyap
2010 drama films
Films set in Jamshedpur
Films shot in Jharkhand