''Pink'' is a 2016 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
legal thriller
The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters.
The courtroom ...
film directed by
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury is an Indian film director. He is the director and producer of multiple Bengali and Hindi films. He directed the highly successful Hindi movie ''Pink'' which received accolades from film critics and movie lovers alike.
C ...
and written by
Shoojit Sircar
Shoojit Sircar (born ) is an Indian filmmaker, director and producer known for his work in Hindi films. He has received several awards, including two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award from five nominations.
Sircar made his directoria ...
,
Ritesh Shah
Ritesh Shah is an Indian screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He has written the screenplay and dialogues for films like ''Kahaani'' (2012), ''Pink'' (2016), ''Airlift'' (2017) and ''Raid'' (2018). He won the Filmfare award, Star Screen Awa ...
and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.
The film is produced by
Rising Sun Films on a total budget of , with screenplay by Shah and music composition by
Shantanu Moitra
Shantanu Moitra (born 22 January 1968) is an Indian score composer, musician and pianist who has composed songs for the Hindi film industry, and is most known for his scores in the films '' Parineeta'' (2005), ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (200 ...
and
Anupam Roy. ''Pink'' features an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to ...
, which includes
Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu (born 1 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards.
After a brief modelling career, Pannu ventured into acting with the Telugu film ' ...
,
Kirti Kulhari, Andrea Tariang,
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Angad Bedi
Angad Singh Bedi (born 6 February 1983) is an Indian actor and former model. He made his debut with '' Kaya Taran'' in 2004, an adaptation of a Malayalam short story by N. S. Madhavan, ''Vanmarangal Veezhumpol (When the Big Trees Fall)''. He ha ...
,
Tushar Pandey
Tushar Pandey (born 22 November 1991) is an Indian actor working predominantly in Bollywood. Graduate of National School of Drama and London International School of Performing Arts, he is best known for his role of ''Mummy'' in the 2019 film '' ...
,
Piyush Mishra
Piyush Mishra (born as Priyakant Sharma; 13 January 1963) is an Indian actor, lyricist, playwright, musician and screenwriter.
Mishra grew up in Gwalior, and graduated from National School of Drama, Delhi in 1986. Thereafter, he started his ca ...
, and
Dhritiman Chatterjee
Dhritiman Chatterjee is an Indian actor. He began his acting career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray's ''Pratidwandi'' (''The Adversary''). Most of his acting work has been in India's "parallel", or independent, cinema with filmmaker ...
.
''Pink'' was released in worldwide cinemas on 16 September 2016.
The film received widespread critical acclaim for the cast performances, execution, story, screenplay and direction.
''Pink'' emerged as a surprising commercial success earning over globally.
The film completed a 50-day run theatrically.
At the
64th National Film Awards
The 64th National Film Awards was an award ceremony during which the Directorate of Film Festivals presents its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2016 in the Indian cinema. The awards were announced on 7 April 2017, and th ...
, ''Pink'' won the category of
Best Film on Other Social Issues. ''Pink'' received 5 nominations at the
62nd Filmfare Awards, including
Best Film
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 ...
,
Best Actor (Bachchan) and
Best Supporting Actress (Kulhari), and won
Best Dialogue (
Ritesh Shah
Ritesh Shah is an Indian screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He has written the screenplay and dialogues for films like ''Kahaani'' (2012), ''Pink'' (2016), ''Airlift'' (2017) and ''Raid'' (2018). He won the Filmfare award, Star Screen Awa ...
).
The film is remade 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, nativ ...
as ''
Nerkonda Paarvai
''Nerkonda Paarvai'' () is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed by H. Vinoth. Produced by Boney Kapoor, it is a remake of the Hindi film ''Pink'' (2016). The film stars Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath, Abhirami Venkatachalam ...
'' (2019) and in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
as ''
Vakeel Saab
''Vakeel Saab'' () is a 2021 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language Action film, action legal drama film written and directed by Venu Sriram. The film was produced by Dil Raju, Sirish and Boney Kapoor under their banners Sri Venkateswara Creat ...
'' (2021).
Plot
Three young women — Minal, Falak and Andrea — meet three affluent men, Raunak, Vishwajyoti, and Rajveer Singh, and they have some drinks together. Suddenly, Raunak, Vishwajyoti, and Rajveer rush to the nearest hospital because Rajveer is bleeding from a heavy injury to his head. At the same time Minal, Falak and Andrea return to their apartment in a taxi. They look disoriented, and it is implied that they have something to do with the incident.
The three women are independent and live together 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 ...
. They try to move on from what happened that night. During Minal's morning runs, she is observed by an old man in her neighbourhood, Deepak, who senses there is something wrong. Threats arise from Rajveer's friend Ankit, who pushes for revenge for the injury Minal caused Rajveer. The threats result in Falak losing her job. They are discouraged from filing a complaint, stating it would make their daily lives more miserable. In reality, the local police are aware that the men are "well-connected" and backed by Rajveer's uncle Ranjit, an influential politician. Minal goes to a higher-standing police officer and files a complaint.
The next day, she is kidnapped by Rajveer's friends. Deepak witnesses the incident but is unable to help. Minal is threatened, blackmailed, and molested in the moving car and dropped back home, leaving her shaken. A few days later, she is arrested based on a complaint from Rajveer labeling the women as prostitutes and charging Minal with attempted murder. At this point, Deepak becomes frustrated with the events and, after receiving advice from him, Andrea and Falak discover that he is actually a reputable lawyer in retirement. He helps Falak and Andrea with the bail procedures and decides to represent Minal in court.
In the courtroom, Rajveer's lawyer, Prashant Mehra, presents the following version of events: Rajveer and his friends meet Minal and her friends at a rock concert. They invite the women for dinner at a resort, where they have drinks. The women provoke the men, become intimate, and thereafter demand money, all signs indicating that they are prostitutes. Rajveer refuses to pay and an enraged Minal hits him on the head with a bottle and flees. Prashant's argument focuses on the poor moral character of the women. He attacks the fact that Minal has family in Delhi but chooses to live alone.
Minal and her friends' statement is this: The men tried to sexually assault them. Rajveer tried to rape Minal, and she attacked him with the bottle in self-defense. Deepak's argument focuses on the issue of consent and a woman's right to say no. A series of chilling courtroom arguments ensues in the following days. Toward the end of the trial, Rajveer becomes enraged and, provoked by Deepak, reveals the truth, stating that the women “got what they deserved”.
Deepak criticizes the regressed views of the society where women are stereotyped as prostitutes if they come home late, move out, want to be independent, drink and so on, but none of these apply to men. He closes with the fact that his client said “NO”. No means no, and does not require further explanation. The women are acquitted while Rajveer, Ankit, and Raunak are charged, with their sentences pending. Vishwajyoti is let off with a warning. The end credits scene reveal what actually happened: the men systematically isolated the women and Rajveer tried to force himself on Minal, who then attacked him with a bottle to his head in self defense.
Cast
*
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
as Deepak sehgal
*
Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu (born 1 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards.
After a brief modelling career, Pannu ventured into acting with the Telugu film ' ...
as Minal Arora
*
Kirti Kulhari as Falak Ali
*
Andrea Tariang as Andrea Tariang
*
Angad Bedi
Angad Singh Bedi (born 6 February 1983) is an Indian actor and former model. He made his debut with '' Kaya Taran'' in 2004, an adaptation of a Malayalam short story by N. S. Madhavan, ''Vanmarangal Veezhumpol (When the Big Trees Fall)''. He ha ...
as Rajveer Singh
*
Dhritiman Chatterjee
Dhritiman Chatterjee is an Indian actor. He began his acting career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray's ''Pratidwandi'' (''The Adversary''). Most of his acting work has been in India's "parallel", or independent, cinema with filmmaker ...
as Judge Satyajit Dutt
*
Piyush Mishra
Piyush Mishra (born as Priyakant Sharma; 13 January 1963) is an Indian actor, lyricist, playwright, musician and screenwriter.
Mishra grew up in Gwalior, and graduated from National School of Drama, Delhi in 1986. Thereafter, he started his ca ...
as Prashant Mehra
*
Vijay Varma
Vijay Varma is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. Varma rose to prominence with his role in ''Pink'' (2016) and has since acted in critically-acclaimed roles in ''MCA'' (2017), ''Gully Boy'' (2019), ''Baaghi 3'' (20 ...
as Ankit Malhotra
*
Tushar Pandey
Tushar Pandey (born 22 November 1991) is an Indian actor working predominantly in Bollywood. Graduate of National School of Drama and London International School of Performing Arts, he is best known for his role of ''Mummy'' in the 2019 film '' ...
as Vishwa a.k.a. Vishwajyoti Ghosh
*
Dibang as JCP Amod
*
Mamta Shankar
Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. I ...
as Sara Sehgal (Deepak's wife)
*
Vinod Nagpal Vinod ( hi, विनोद , mr, विनोद , gu, વિનોદ) is a male given name used in India and Nepal, meaning "delight", "enjoyment", or "pleasure".
People
* Vinod Agarwal, Indian-American businessman and scientist
*Vinod Agg ...
as Kasturi Lal (Landlord)
*
Arjun Chakrabarty
Arjun Chakrabarty is an Indian television actor mainly working in the Bengali-language television industry based in Kolkata. He came to prominence playing the male protagonist "Gora" in the television serial '' Gaaner Oparey''. and is now known ...
as Ritwik
*
Raashul Tandon as Raunak Anand aka Dumpy
Production
In early March 2016 Amitabh Bachchan revealed that he was shooting a film in Delhi. It was rumoured that the film was titled "Eve". On 13 March Bachchan denied the rumours and announced through Twitter that the film is titled ''Pink''.
Director-producer Shoojit Sircar informed that Amitabh Bachchan accepted the role and Taapsee Pannu was their first choice. Andrea Tariang was also selected to play the role of one of the girls in the film. Tushar Pandey, Raashul Tandon and Arjun Chakraborty are making their debut with this film.
Filming
The
principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
of the film began in New Delhi on
International Women's Day
International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...
, 2016.
The looks of Amitabh Bachchan in the movie was created by Shoojit Sircar however the idea of wearing the mask was suggested by Amitabh Bachchan since Delhi is very polluted.
During the shoot, Amitabh Bachchan wandered the streets of New Delhi while wearing a costume in which the public could not recognise him. Amitabh Bachchan finished filming his scenes in April 2016.
Taapsee often broke down on the shooting sets as she felt her character was very strong and challenging. She suffered from viral infection during the court scenes and wanted to dub later, however Shoojit felt that her illness would add more authenticity to the scenes. Despite the hardships Taapsee enjoyed filming the scenes.
The original climax of Rajvir and his friends winning the case was modified so as not to hurt the sentiments of the audience.
A special screening of the film was held for Amitabh Bachchan's co stars and the leading ladies of Bollywood. However Amitabh Bachchan could not attend the screening due to health issues. Taapsee also arranged a special screening of the film for the Telugu film industry at Hyderabad.
Bishan Singh Bedi, father of
Angad Bedi
Angad Singh Bedi (born 6 February 1983) is an Indian actor and former model. He made his debut with '' Kaya Taran'' in 2004, an adaptation of a Malayalam short story by N. S. Madhavan, ''Vanmarangal Veezhumpol (When the Big Trees Fall)''. He ha ...
, arranged a special screening of the film in Delhi which was attended by cricketers like
Kapil Dev
Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj (Pronunciation: əpiːl deːʋ born 6 January 1959) is an Indian former cricketer. He was a fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting middle-order batsman, and was named by ''Wisden'' as the Indian Cricketer of the Centu ...
,
Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag (born 20 October 1978) is a former Indian cricketer who represented India from 1999 to 2013. Widely regarded as one of the most destructive opener, he played for Delhi Capitals in IPL and Delhi and Haryana in Indian domestic c ...
and
Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh (born 12 December 1981) is a former Indian international cricketer who played in all formats of the game. He is an all-rounder who batted left-handed in the middle order and bowled slow left-arm orthodox . He has won 7 Player of ...
.
Marketing
Shoojit Sircar and Amitabh Bachchan questioned their fans on Twitter as to what they think the film title "Pink" is all about.
Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...
had opened a contest in which 5 lucky winners got a chance to meet Amitabh Bachchan and other 10 winners got free movie tickets of the movie -Pink. The winners were announced on 15-September-2016.
The world television premier was held on 23 – October 2016 on
Star Gold
Disney Star Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Disney Star network runs more than 70 TV channels in eight languages, reac ...
and to commemorate the same, Amitabh Bachchan's house Jalsa,
Carter Road Promenade
The Carter Road Promenade is a 1.25 kilometre-long walkway along the sea on the western coast of Mumbai, India. This promenade was opened up to the public in January 2002. The promenade has been managed by the Bandra West Residents' Associatio ...
and
SNDT Women's University
SNDT Women's University, also called by its full name Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women's University, is a women's university in the city of Mumbai, India. The university headquarters are at Churchgate in South Mumbai, while the ma ...
were illuminated in pink colour.
The title of the film has no relationship as being the favourite colour of girls but rather conveys that women should have the freedom to speak and walk freely at night.
Soundtrack
Release
The film was specially screened for the
Rajasthan Police
The Rajasthan Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Rajasthan in India. The Rajasthan Police has its headquarters in Jaipur, the state capital. The motto of the force is "committed to serve".
History
History of Law enforceme ...
so as to train them to be sensitive and sensible about women's rights and dignity. The film was also specially screened at
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...
and invited for a screening at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Critical reception
Meena Iye 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 ...
'' and Shubha Shetty Saha of Indiatimes gave the film 4.5 stars. Mayank Shekhar from ''
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 ...
'' gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "The film, up until the closing credits, does not even visually describe the said incident. It grips you still with a gently piercing background score, moments of silence and dialogue, building up the tension, while the audience wonders what really could have happened one unfortunate night when three girls found themselves in a Surajkund resort with three guys."
Anna M.M. Vetticad of ''Firstpost'' called Pink a powerful film. ''Filmfare'', ''India Today'', ''Mumbai Mirror'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''The Statesman'', and ''DNA'' have given 4/5 stars, highly appreciating the superlative performances, especially of Amitabh Bachchan. Critics like Anusha Iyengar and Mayank Shekhar called it movie of the year.
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 ''
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 ...
'' also praised the film.
Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 3.5 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 his ...
from
News18
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 ...
rated the movie as 4.5/5 mentioning that "I left the cinema, my mouth dry at the end of Pink. This isn't just an important film, but also excellently made. It's a giant leap for Hindi cinema, and easily the best film this year".
Box office
Pink grossed approximately 4.32 crore on first day in India. The first weekend collection was 21.51 crore.
At the end of 7 days the domestic box office collection was 35.91 crore. Pink grossed 50 crore in first 10 days in India.
Accolades
Remakes
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
2016 films
2010s Hindi-language films
2010s female buddy films
2016 thriller drama films
Films scored by Anupam Roy
Indian courtroom films
Indian female buddy films
Indian feminist films
Films about rape in India
Films about social issues in India
Films about women in India
Films scored by Shantanu Moitra
Films set in Delhi
Films shot in Delhi
Indian thriller drama films
Indian legal films
Social realism in film
Films with screenplays by Ritesh Shah
Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award winners
Hindi films remade in other languages
2016 drama films
Films directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury