Humshakals

Humshakals (transl. Lookalikes) is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language comedy film directed by Sajid Khan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Tamannaah Bhatia and Esha Gupta, and Satish Shah, Nawab Shah, Chunky Pandey and Darshan Jariwala in supporting roles. In the film, Khan, Deshmukh and Kapoor each have triple roles, that sums up to a total of 9 characters. The film is shot extensively in foreign locations, starting September 2013.[3] It is co-produced by Fox Star Studios and Vashu Bhagnani's Pooja Entertainment.[4] It was released on 20 June 2014.[5]

Humshakals
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySajid Khan
Produced byVashu Bhagnani
Written bySajid Khan
Starring
Music bySongs
Himesh Reshammiya
Background Score
Sandeep Shirodkar
CinematographyRavi Yadav
Edited byBunty Nagi
Production
company
Distributed byFox Star Studios
Release date
  • 20 June 2014 (2014-06-20)
Running time
158 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
English
Budget₹640 million[1]
Box officeest. ₹866 million[2]


Plot

Ashok (Saif Ali Khan) and Kumar (Riteish Deshmukh) are best friends, whereas Shanaya (Tamannaah Bhatia) and Mishti (Bipasha Basu) are their love interests. Ashok's father is a billionaire but has been in a coma for the last six years, while his wicked maternal uncle, Kunwar Amarnath Singh a.k.a. Mamaji (Ram Kapoor) teams up with an evil doctor, Dr. Khan (Nawab Shah) to get rid of Ashok and take over all his property. During a board meeting Mamaji mixes a medicine in Ashok and Kumar's drink and they both start behaving like dogs.

They are taken to a mental asylum for treatment by Dr. Shivani (Esha Gupta), who soon realises the truth and promises to discharge them. But fate takes a twist as two lookalikes of Ashok and Kumar being treated in the same hospital's 'B' ward, who work for Bijlani (Chunkey Pandey), a cocaine smuggler, are accidentally released instead of the true ones. Shanaya and Mishti take them to Ashok's mansion where Singh understands the whole mix-up and plans to use the duplicate Ashok to become the owner of the whole business empire. Now the true Ashok and Kumar also come to know of Mamaji's evil plan but are stuck in the asylum. They are offered help by one of the ward boys, Cyrus (Darshan Jariwala), who takes them to a secret ward 'C' to meet 'Johnny' who is a look alike of Mamaji but has a dangerous habit of attacking people who sneeze in front of him. Ashok and Kumar plan revenge against Singh with the help of Johnny but get caught by the warden Y. M. Raj (Satish Shah) before they can escape from the asylum. Y. M. Raj prepares to punish them but accidentally sneezes in front of them. Angered by this, Johnny beats him black and blue, thus helping the three escape.

On the day of the board meeting, the true Ashok and Kumar get ready to expose Mamaji, when Dr. Khan triggers the fire alarm. All the three mental patients escape the building. Now desperate, Ashok and Kumar bump into a dance bar owner Balbir, the triplicate of Mamaji while Mamaji also arranges another set of Ashok and Kumar with the help of plastic surgery from Dr. Khan's two assistants who assume their identities. He takes the triplicate Ashok and Kumar to the House of Commons where the fake Ashok is to hand over all the business to him in the presence of Prince Charles but the real Ashok and Kumar arrive along with Balabir. To add to the confusion the three mental patients also storm in to help the real Ashok and Kumar creating panic among the eyewitnesses on seeing so many lookalikes together.

The film closes with Ashok's father coming out of his coma and recognizing the true Ashok and getting Mamaji arrested for his deeds.

Cast

Filming

Shooting of the film commenced on 24 September 2013 in London with Saif Ali Khan, Ram Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh all of whom have reportedly been cast in triple roles.[6] The team of Humshakals shot in Mauritius for the final part of the film starting on 22 February 2014. Two songs and several sequences were shot at the La Plantation Resort & Spa, Le Méridien, Intercontinental Resort, Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius and the Northern Beaches. Mauritian extras also participated in the shooting.[7][8]

After the release and the poor critical response, Saif Ali Khan told the press that "The film didn't have a script as such, it was all there in Sajid's mind."[9]

Soundtrack
Humshakals
Soundtrack album by
Himesh Reshammiya
Released26 May 2014 (2014-05-26)[10]
GenreFilm Soundtrack
Length24:39
LabelZee Music Company
Sony Music India
Himesh Reshammiya chronology
The Xposé
(2014)		 Humshakals
(2014)		 Kick
(2014)
External audio
Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The soundtrack of Humshakals is composed by Himesh Reshammiya and lyrics are written by Mayur Puri, Sameer and Shabbir Ahmed. The first single of the film was "Caller Tune", by Neeraj Shridhar and Neeti Mohan. The soundtrack was released on 26 May 2014.

Track listing
Track Listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Caller Tune"SameerNeeraj Shridhar, Neeti Mohan4:35
2."Piya Ke Bazaar Mein"Shabbir AhmedHimesh Reshammiya, Shalmali Kholgade, Palak Muchhal4:22
3."Barbaad Raat"Mayur PuriSanam Puri, Shalmali Kholgade3:24
4."Look into My Eyes"SameerAsh King, Neeti Mohan3:36
5."Hum Pagal Nahi Hai"Mayur PuriHimesh Reshammiya4:26
6."Khol De Dil Ki Khidki"Shabbir AhmedMika Singh, Palak Muchhal4:16
Total length:24:39

Reception

Despite poor critical reception, the film did well at the box office during first few days after release.[11] The film recovered its investment although it was still deemed a box office failure.[12]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0%, based on five reviews, with an average rating of 2/10.[13] Saurabh Dwivedi of India Today stated "for Sajid Khan, I can only say that Humshakals will be listed in one of the worst films of the century."[14] Mihir Fadnavis wrote in his Firstpost review, "... sexual tomfoolery, shrieking and hamming aside, there's much more to hate about this 'family movie'. It's disturbing to see such an atrocious, regressive, misogynistic, sexist, homophobic cinematic product force-fed to paying audiences. I can understand that a comedy need not be 'safe', but what goes on in Humshakals is simply too horrifying to bear."[15] Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times rated the film 0.5 out of 5 and stated "With no story or comedy on offer, even Riteish and Ram are unable to save the day for Sajid Khan."[16] Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave it 0/5 stars and said the film was "[l]oaded with indecipherable dim wit" and "an odd mishmash of pathos and drudgery."[17] Writing in Emirates 24/7, Sneha May Francis claimed that it succeeded Khan's previous endeavor, Himmatwala, in becoming the worst Bollywood film ever.[18] Critic Sonia Chopra of Sify.com wrote "there are bad movies, and then there's Humshakals. The worst film of 2014 so far, in my book".[19] Dainik Bhaskar rated the movie as one of the worst films of the decade.[20]

Several of the cast members also lamented their involvement in the film. Bipasha Basu didn't participate in the film's promotions calling Humshakals "the worst experience of [her] life,"[21][22] and Esha Gupta warned family members not to see the film.[23] After the release of the film, leading actor Saif Ali Khan lamented that "I've been introspecting a lot and will never repeat a mistake that was Humshakals."[24]

The film received five Golden Kela Award nominations,[25] and won for Worst Film.[26] It also won two Ghanta Awards; the film won Worst Picture and Ram Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukh shared the Worst Actor award.[27][28]

References
  1. https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2269
  2. Bollywood Hungama. "Humshakals". bollywoodhungama.com.
  3. "Saif Ali Khan plays triple role in Sajid Khan's Hamshakals". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  4. "Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh to play triple roles in Sajid Khan's Humshakals". The Indian Express. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  5. "Humshakals Box Office". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  6. "Aamir Khan vs Saif Ali Khan: 'Peekay', 'Humshakals' to release in June next year". Divya Goyal. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  7. "Tournage de "Humshakals": Bipasha Basu et Saif Ali Khan débarquent à Maurice" (in French). L'express. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  8. "TOURNAGE DE HUMSHAKALS : Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Ram Kapoor à Maurice demain" (in French). Le Mauricien. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  9. Ankur Pathak (18 July 2014). "Saif Ali Khan: Humshakals was a mistake". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  10. "Humshakals (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes.
  11. Geety Sahgal (7 July 2014). "Humshakals box office collections: Despite criticism, Sajid Khan has the last laugh". The Financial Express. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  12. "Box-Office Verdicts of Major Bollywood Releases of 2014". Koimoi. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  13. "Humshakals (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  14. "Movie review: Humshakals is three times trash". India Today.
  15. "Humshakals review: How Saif, Riteish teamed up to give your brain damage". Firstpost. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  16. "Movie review: Saif Ali Khan is the worst thing about Humshakals". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  17. "Humshakals Movie Review | Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Ram Kapoor". Koimoi.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  18. "Saif Ali Khan's 'Humshakals' act could make Kareena insecure". Emirates 24/7. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  19. "Humshakals review: The worst film of 2014!". Sify.com.
  20. "Humshakals, Deshdrohi, Himmatwala: 10 worst films of the decade". Dainik Bhaskar.
  21. "Bipasha: Humshakals was the worst experience of my life". Rediff.com. 26 August 2014.
  22. "Sajid Khan's Humshakals left me disturbed: Bipasha Basu". Mumbai: Hindustan Times. 8 August 2014. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014.
  23. "I asked my father not to watch the film, says Esha Gupta". The Times of India. 2 July 2014.
  24. "Saif Ali Khan: Humshakals was a mistake". Times of India. 18 July 2014.
  25. "Humshakals' leads nominations list at Golden Kela Awards". The Hindu. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  26. "Sonakshi and Arjun grab top Golden Kela awards". The National. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  27. "Ghanta Awards 2015: Sonakshi Sinha, Saif Ali Khan named worst actors". indiatoday. 10 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
  28. "Ghanta Awards 2015 Complete Winners List: Sonakshi Sinha, Ajay Devgn Win Worst Actor Awards; Farah Khan Worst Director". International Business Times. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
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