Blue (2009 film)

Blue is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film co-written and directed by Anthony D'Souza, and produced by Dhilin Mehta under Shree Astavinayak Cine Vision Limited. The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Akshay Kumar, Zayed Khan and Lara Dutta in lead roles, whilst Katrina Kaif stars in a cameo appearance. Kylie Minogue appears in a musical number in the film. Blue was released during Diwali festival on 16 October 2009 and received mixed to positive response from critics. During the time of release, it was the most expensive Indian film, produced with a budget of more than $25 million.[3] Loosely based on the Hollywood film Into the Blue (2005), Blue failed to recover its high budget from the box office.[1]

Blue
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony D'Souza
Produced byDhillin Mehta
Written byStory & Screenplay:
Anthony D'Souza
Jasmine Moses D'Souza
Dialogues:
Mayur Puri
Starring
Music byA. R. Rahman
CinematographyLaxman Utekar
Edited byShyam Salgaonkar
Distributed byShree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd
Release date
  • 16 October 2009 (2009-10-16)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹1.1 billion[1]
Box office₹750 million[2] (domestic gross)

Plot

An opening scene shows a famous ship, Lady in Blue, sinking in a storm, and the ship's lone survivor, the captain emerging alone on the sea shore.

Somewhere in the Bahamas, Aarav Malhotra (Akshay Kumar) runs a successful fishing company called Blue Fisheries. He shares a good bond with Sagar Singh (Sanjay Dutt), who works as a diver for Aarav's fishing company. Sagar is in a relationship with Mahima "Mona" Dutta (Lara Dutta) and plans to marry her.

Meanwhile, Sagar's younger brother Sameer "Sam" Singh (Zayed Khan) is based in Bangkok. Sam is a bike rider, and meets Nikki (Katrina Kaif), a female biker who works for an underworld gangster, named Gulshan Samnani (Rahul Dev). Sam is challenged by Gulshan to a bike race, and after Sam wins, he asks Nikki out for dinner. Before leaving, Gulshan asks Sam to work for him, but Sam refuses unless there's a large sum of money involved.

During Sam's date with Nikki, Nikki explains to Sam that the job Gulshan proposed would pay $50,000. Gulshan hires Sam to work for him, but Sam is set up by Gulshan in failing to deliver a package costing Gulshan $50 million. Sam must either pay his money back or die. Sam does not have the money, so he explains to Nikki, whom he now loves, that he is going on holiday to the Bahamas to visit his brother Sagar and doesn't think Gulshan will find him there. Sam arrives at Aarav's company and Sagar welcomes him happily. In the Bahamas, one ill-fated day, when sitting in a restaurant, Sam receives a call from Gulshan on Nikki's phone, explaining that he has killed Nikki, and knows where Sam was. At the same time, as he gets out of the restaurant, Sam is confronted by Gulshan and his crew, who surround Sam, and chase him on bikes. Aarav enters and brings everyone to a halt by shooting the bike wheels, saving Sam's life.

Sam tells Aarav what he did wrong, and Aarav decides he needs to tell Sagar about the situation. When Sagar learns how much trouble Sam is in, Sam tries to convince Sagar to retrieve a famous treasure from Lady in Blue. Sagar refuses. The next day, Gulshan bombs Sagar's home, and kidnaps Mona, with a ransom of $50 million or Sam for her return. When Sagar tells Sam and Aarav, Sam decides that they need to go and rescue Mona as they already killed Nikki and will kill Mona too. But Aarav speaks up and says they don't know how far Gulshan is connected and they may all die, meaning the only option is to find the treasure, pay off Gulshan and use the rest of the money to live comfortably. Sagar is still hesitant and it is revealed that Sagar has a haunted and shocking past with Lady in Blue. Years ago, Sagar had to abandon his archaeologist father, Aadesh Singh, on the ship, to save his own life. However, after Aarav convinces Sagar that the treasure will save the lives of both Mona and Sam, Sagar finally agrees.

The three of them bring the treasure up and find Gulshan sitting on the top of his ship that he and his gang have steered up next to the ship belonging to Sam, Sagar, and Aarav. He tells Sam and Sagar that Aarav hired Gulshan to do all of this. Soon there is a fight between Sagar and Aarav, and Aarav jumps into the ocean after killing Gulshan. Mona, Sam, and Sagar are forced to leave him there, and Sagar agrees never to come back to the Lady in Blue, after losing two people who were close to him there - his father Aadesh and his friend Aarav.

Three months later, Sagar gets a call from Aarav. Talking to them, Aarav reveals that he survived his leap into the ocean, and reveals to them that his grandfather was Captain Jagat Malhotra (Kabir Bedi), the traitorous captain of the ship, Lady in Blue, who committed suicide after he was court-martialed. Aarav never admitted to Sagar who his grandfather was, because he didn't want to dishonor his family. He explains that only finding the treasure of the Lady in Blue could help bring honor back to his family name, and he befriended Sagar, knowing he was the only one who could take him to the treasure. Throughout the phone call, a woman's arm is seen around Aarav, and later, the woman asks to speak to Sam. It is revealed that the woman is Nikki, whose real name is Nikita Malhotra, and that she is Aarav's wife. She asks Sam to forgive her for deceiving him, but it isn't revealed if Sam said yes or no. However, while Sam answers, there is a smile on Nikki's face. The film ends with Aarav and Nikki cuddling on one of Aarav's boats as the end credits begin.

Cast

Music
Blue
Soundtrack album by
A. R. Rahman
Released8 September 2009
RecordedPanchathan Record Inn
A.M. Studios
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length34:22
LabelT-Series
ProducerA. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Delhi-6
(2009)		 Blue
(2009)		 Couples Retreat
(2009)

The music of the film was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics provided by Abbas Tyrewala, Mayur Puri, Rajat Arora, Raqeeb Alam and Sukhwinder Singh. The music was promoted and digitally distributed by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

The song "Chiggy Wiggy" was sung by pop singer Kylie Minogue and Sonu Nigam.[4] Backing female vocals is given by Suzanne D'Mello and Phij Adams did the sound mixing for the song.[5] Minogue also made a special appearance in the video of the song.[6]

The track "Aaj Dil Gustakh Hai", which begins with a sequence of Sukhwinder Singh's humming, followed by an acoustic guitar loop presents Shreya Ghoshal handling a westernised rendition. The backing vocalists for the song are Benny Dayal, Hentry Kuruvila, Shi Millhouse and Raven Millhouse. "Fiqrana" features vocals by Vijay Prakash and Shreya Ghoshal and was picturised as solo performances of Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta and Zayed Khan. Sanjay Dutt, the actor playing the film's protagonist boycotted the promotional events since he was not included in this song, which remained chart topper for many weeks.[6] "Bhoola Tujhe" is a romantic song sung by Rashid Ali. The Yeri voice for the song was by Kavita Belliga. The theme song for Blue was sung by Blaaze, with backing vocals by Raqeeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar, Jaspreet Jasz, Neha Kakkar and Dilshad Khan. "Rehnuma" was sung by Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam. "Yaar Mila Tha" was sung by Udit Narayan and Madhushree with backing vocals by Ujjayinee Roy, Shi Millhouse and Raven Millhouse. This track was not included in the film, but it is conceptualised as a song played out between the characters of Akshay and Katrina after the end of the film's plot when they talk about Zayed's character.

The official track listing:[7]

Original Hindi tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Chiggy Wiggy"Abbas TyrewalaKylie Minogue, Sonu Nigam, Suzanne D'Mello5:11
2."Aaj Dil Gustakh Hai"Mayur PuriSukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, Shi Millhouse, Henry Kuruvilla, Raven Millhouse5:29
3."Fiqrana"Rajat AroraVijay Prakash, Shreya Ghoshal5:17
4."Bhoola Tujhe"Abbas TyrewalaRashid Ali, Kavita Belliga5:23
5."Blue Theme"Raqeeb Alam (Hindi/Urdu), Sukhwinder Singh (Punjabi)Blaaze, Raqeeb Alam, Sonu Kakkar, Jaspreet Jasz, Neha Kakkar, Dilshaad Shaikh3:55
6."Rehnuma"Abbas TyrewalaSonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal3:26
7."Yaar Mila Tha"Abbas TyrewalaUdit Narayan, Madhushree, Raven Millhouse, Shi Millhouse4:29

All lyrics are written by Rajashri.

Telugu tracklist
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Chiggy Wiggy"Suzanne D'Mello, Karthik5:11
2."Gundey Lo Ne Pundiley"Sukhwinder Singh, Shreya Ghoshal, Benny Dayal, Shi Millhouse, Henry Kuruvilla, Raven Millhouse5:29
3."Chintela Makunedu Sardaga Chivinchemu"Shreya Ghoshal, Vijay Prakash5:17
4."Yemayyindo Mansukhi Teninnu Manchhiti"Rashid Ali, Kavita Belliga5:23
5."Blue Theme"Vijay Prakash, Sonu Kakkar, Naresh Iyer, Blaaze, A. R. Reihana, Raqeeb Alam3:55
6."Priyathama"Shreya Ghoshal, Naresh Iyer3:26
7."Priyudu Kalisinadaiya Nannu Kalisinadaiya"Madhushree, Udit Narayan, Raven Millhouse, Shi Millhouse4:29

Album reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Bollywood Hungama[8]

The soundtrack of the movie has received positive reviews. bollywoodhungama reviewed the music saying "Blue is a good album and has all in it to make a good impression at the music stands. In a way, the album comes at just the right time when there is quite some variety in store this Diwali. Blue practically mixes up genres..."[9]

Reception

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Anupama Chopra of NDTV called the movie an 'smartly crafted underwater thriller', criticizing and at the same time praising the performance and the cast and the script.[10] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie a positive review, praising the star cast and action scenes and gave the film 4 stars out of 5.[11]

Box office

Blue was the first movie to have a budget higher than ₹1 billion (equivalent to ₹2.0 billion or US$28 million in 2019). The film had a good opening minting around ₹400 million (equivalent to ₹810 million or US$11 million in 2019) on the opening weekend. The film however slowed down in the second week due to negative word of mouth. The film grossed around ₹750 million (equivalent to ₹1.5 billion or US$21 million in 2019) in its lifetime making it a below average venture in the box office.

Sequel

The directors announced their intentions to make a sequel to Blue, which is currently titled Aasman.[12] The cast is slated to include Sanjay Dutt, Lara Dutta, Zayed Khan, Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif reprising their roles from the original, with new additions including John Abraham, Neha Oberoi, and Sonal Chauhan.[13][14] A. R. Rahman has been approached to compose the music.

See also

References
  1. http://www.bollywoodmantra.com/news/top-5-big-budget-films-of-bollywood/7119
  2. "Box Office 2009". BoxOfficeIndia. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  3. "India's "Blue" offers dazzling visuals, dull story". Reuters. 21 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011.
  4. Rhys Blakely (16 October 2009). "Kylie Minogue makes her Bollywood debut in scuba-dive caper Blue". The Times. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. Suresh Nair (19 October 2009). "Chiggy wiggy Bollywood!". Daily News and Analysis. India. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  6. Jha, Subhash K. (2 October 2009). "Sanjay goes Blue over Akshay". The Times of India. Retrieved 24 October 2009.
  7. "Official track listing". A R Rahman. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  8. Bollywood Hungama review
  9. Music Review of Blue By bollywoodhungama.com (4/5)
  10. Chopra, Anupama. "Review : Blue". NDTV. Archived from the original on 19 October 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  11. Adarsh, Taran (19 October 2009). "Movie Reviews By Taran Adarsh". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  12. "Aasman is the second chapter of the movie "Blue" which is directed by Anthony D'Souza". Upnews.in. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  13. Super Admin (23 October 2009). "Akshay Kumar with Katrina Kaif again in Blue sequel". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  14. "Sujeet Paygude for Blue 2 sequel Aasman, Katrina Kaif will also return « RS Bollywood Online". Radiosargam.com. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
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