''Bell Bottom'' is a 2021 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by Ranjit M. Tewari. The film is written by Aseem Arrora and Parveez Sheikh, and produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh and

Nikkhil Advani Nikkhil Suresh Advani (born 28 April 1971) is an Indian director, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. He along with his sister, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani, co-founded the entertainment company Emmay Entertainment. Early ...

under their respective banners

Pooja Entertainment Pooja Entertainment (Formerly known as Puja Films) is an Indian production and distribution company established by Vashu Bhagnani in 1986. It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The company is known for producing the comedies: '' Coolie N ...

and

Emmay Entertainment Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures LLP is an Indian content production company based in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Nikkhil Advani, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani in 2011. After its inception, it began with full-length feature f ...

. It stars

Akshay Kumar Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...

as the lead character, with Vaani Kapoor,

Lara Dutta Lara Dutta Bhupathi ( Dutta; born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress. She won the Miss Universe 2000, and has since predominantly worked in Hindi films and series. Dutta is a recipient of a Filmfare Awards, Filmfare Award and established hers ...

and

Huma Qureshi Huma Saleem Qureshi (; born 28 July 1986) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Hindi-language films. Her accolades include a 2021 Filmfare OTT Awards, Filmfare OTT Award along with nominations for three Filmfare Awards. Qureshi s ...

in an extended cameo appearance. Bell Bottom is inspired from real life hijacking events in India by Khalistani terrorists during the 1980s, such as the

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a state-owned airline in India that later became a division of Air India Limited before ultimately ceasing operations. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international servic ...

Flight 423, 405 and

421 __NOTOC__ Year 421 ( CDXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Agricola and Eustathius (or, less frequently, year 1174 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

hijackings.

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 the ...

began on 20 August 2020. The film was wrapped up on 30 September in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The film released in theatres on 19 August 2021 in 3D. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Kumar’s and Dutta’s performances, art direction, screenplay, background score and cinematography but criticism for the poor visual effects and climax. Such mixed reviews, combined with the second wave of COVID-19 and the ensuing lockdown across various states, made it a major commercial failure.

Plot

In 1984, Indian Airlines Flight 691 (resembling Indian Airlines Flight 421) is hijacked, the seventh such hijacking in India in five years, with all the previous ones ending in acquiescence to the hijackers' demands that other terrorists be freed and money be delivered. During her briefing, Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, frustrated at the lack of action taken on the matter, decides to allow a RAW agent code-named "Bell Bottom" to handle the case. As a "mere" clerk, he is already viewed with consternation by the other officials, and his deduction that the alleged masterminds, a Khalistan separatist group named " Azaadi Dal" (), are merely a front for

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

's ISI is rebuffed by them due to improving Indo-Pakistani relations. After the plane lands in

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

when he predicted it would land in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, he is dismissed. However, his supervisor points out that he is an expert on hijacking analysis and is motivated by personal experience. In 1979, polymath Anshul Malhotra lives with his wife Radhika and his mother Raavi, an

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

tic who frequently visits his brother in London. Raavi's flight is hijacked by terrorists, but then-PM

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist, independence activist who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading th ...

and Pakistani President

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

negotiate and fulfill the hijackers demands in exchange for the hostages' release. However, Raavi dies, reportedly due to natural causes. Soon after, though, Anshul is abducted by RAW, who reveal that one of the hijackers, Daljeet "Doddy" Singh, had purposely withheld her inhaler, pushed her into the galley and thrown heavy blankets on her, increasing her suffering as she died. Anshul is given the offer to join RAW; he accepts and takes on the code-name Bell Bottom, with his cover to his wife being that he is an embassy officer. After his training, which showcases his extraordinary memory and improves his previously subpar physical skills, he is assigned to the hijacking desk. In 1983, he finds one of the hijackers while visiting his brother in London and tracks them; he raids their house with other RAW agents and captures three of them but the fourth, Doddy Singh, escapes in disguise. Back in the present, the plane takes off from Amritsar and lands in Lahore, prompting Gandhi to order Anshul back in. He convinces her to "break script" and disallow the Pakistani side to send their negotiating team, and orders them not to refuel the plane. In response, Zia sends his minister to keep track of the situation. In Lahore, the minister replaces the hijacker with Doddy and supplies weapons and explosives. Correctly figuring out that they will go to the Middle East to take advantage of their naivete in aerial terrorism, Anshul prepares for a covert operation in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

against the Indian ministers' wishes. Meanwhile, the Pakistani minister goes to Dubai to observe what is going on and guide Doddy. Upon arrival, Anshul and his team, disguised as diplomatic aides, meet up with Adeela Rehman, a contact in the Dubai airport, where they see Dubai's emphasis on humanitarianism and avoidance of bloodshed. Their first plan, covertly entering the aircraft and disarming the hijackers, is foiled when the Pakistani minister notices and closes the cargo door. Anshul's "plan B", sending in the Indian army, is also curtailed when the Dubai officials are notified and the ship they are on is denied entry. With all avenues closed, the ministers go to negotiate; although they agree to the terrorists' demands of money, more terrorist releases, and a chartered flight to London, they are surprised at the terrorists' extreme inhumanity as one hostage, a VIP target, is to be held until they get to London. Seemingly out of options, Anshul asks Adeela to take them to an under-construction terminal so they can view the proceedings; however, this is a ruse as Anshul reveals his knowledge of Adeela's betrayal and ties her up. Disguising themselves as airport workers, they take advantage of a sandstorm to get on the field, free the VIPs, and capture the terrorists, redirecting the chartered flight to India. The

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of Dubai denies them take off clearance at first, but after Anshul explains how their methods fit in with Dubai's humanism, he grants it. In India, the terrorists are booked, with Zia and the ISI leaders huffing in disgrace, and the flight is returned, with all on board safe and sound and reunited with their families. In the end, it is revealed that Radhika was actually working for RAW and had informed them of her husband's abilities and background in the first place. Dilraj Brar lastly offers his 64 acres of land as a charitable donation to the council. This leads to Teena's arrest and he vows revenge for all those who wronged him. This hints at a next movie which the director calls 'The Boy Off the Train'.

Cast

as Anshul Malhotra / RAW Agent Bell Bottom * Vaani Kapoor as Radhika Malhotra, Anshul's wife *

as PM

as ISI Informer Adeela Rehman * Ashok Chhabra as

* Siddhant Ghegadmal as Harish Salgaonkar *

Adil Hussain Khandkar Mohammad Adil Hussain (; born 5 October 1963) is an Indian actor who is known for his work in several Indian independent and mainstream film productions, as well as international cinema, in films such as '' The Reluctant Fundamentali ...

as N. F. Santook, Anshul's boss *

Denzil Smith Denzil Leonard Smith (born 6 November 1960) is an Indian film and stage actor and producer. Born to Anglo-Indian parents in Mumbai, he is known for his stage and screen roles as a character actor. Smith has acted in over 50 plays and 60 films. ...

as R. N. Kao * Aniruddh Dave as Sameer "Puchchi" Mehra *

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivaasal Vijay (born A. R. Vijayakumar) is an Indian actor and dubbing artiste. He has acted predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), which became part of his stage name in Tamil ...

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

* Zain Khan Durrani as Daljeet "Doddy" Singh aka Doddy, a terrorist and the main antagonist * Dolly Ahluwalia as Raavi Malhotra, Anshul's mother * Mamik Singh as Ashish "Aashu" Malhotra, Anshul's brother * Abhijit Lahiri as

Khurshed Alam Khan Khurshed Alam Khan (5 February 1919 – 20 July 2013) was an Indian politician and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party. He was Governor of Karnataka from 1991 to 1999 and governor of Goa from 1989 to 1991. Before t ...

* Sumit Kaul as Dollar * Sunit Tandon as ISI Chief * Sanat Sawant as Raj * Jatin Negi as Sundar * Akash as Agent * Amit Kumar Vashisth as Saand * Kavi Raj as Gen.

* Husam Chadat as Farhad Bin Sultan * Anjali Anand as Anshul’s sister-In-Law * Ashok Chhabra as

* Balram Gupta as

Home Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

* Girish Sharma as Anshul's friend * Nitin Khanna as Dubai Policeman * Karim Saidi as Abu Mukhtar * Deesh Mariwala as Tejeshwar * Ahmed Yahya Berrada as IB Official of Dubai * Dilraj Singh Brar (Dilraj Brar) as Boy coming off train with his mother

Production

The film was officially announced in November 2019. Based on true events, ''Bell Bottom'' is set during 1980s about some unforgettable heroes of the era. It became the first film to begin shooting post

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...

was completed in a single schedule from 20 August to 30 September 2020 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Release

The film was initially set for theatrical release on 22 January 2021 but was later moved to 2 April, then to 28 May and later to 27 July 2021 as it faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Post the second wave of the pandemic in India, it was the first film to release theatrically except in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

theatres that were closed at that time. The film released on 19 August 2021 in 3D. It premiered on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

on 16 September, and in Maharashtra cinemas on 22 October 2021.

Soundtrack

The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

is composed by Daniel B. George while Julius Packiam composed the trailer score. The songs featured in the film are composed by Amaal Mallik,

Tanishk Bagchi Tanishk Bagchi (born 23 November 1980) is an Indian music producer, composer, singer and lyricist in Hindi films. He is known for tracks like "Vaaste", "Bolna", "Ve Maahi", " Aankh Maarey" (recreated), " Dilbar" (recreated), "Jehda Nasha" (recr ...

, Shantanu Dutta, Gurnazar and

Maninder Buttar Maninderjeet Singh Buttar is an Indian singer and songwriter known for his work in Punjabi music. He is best known for songs "Yaari", "Sakhiyaan", "Ik Tera", "Pani Di Gal"and "Laare". Career His song ''Sakhiyaan'' has gathered a total of over ...

while lyrics are written by

Rashmi Virag Rashmi Virag is the screen name of Rashmi Singh and Virag Mishra, an Indian lyricist duo active in Bollywood. At first, Singh and Mishra wrote lyrics themselves; in 2015, they began working as a duo. Singh won the Best Lyricist award at the ...

Babbu Maan Tejinder Singh "Babbu" Maan (born 29 March 1975) is an Indian singer-songwriter, music director, actor and film producer. Most of his artistic work focuses on Punjabi music and films. He is recognised as being among the biggest artists in Punj ...

, Maninder Buttar, Seema Saini and Gurnazar. The song ''Sakhiyan2.0'' was a remake of the 2018 Punjabi song ''Sakhiyan'' by

Box office

''Bell Bottom'' earned 2.75

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

at the domestic box office on its opening day. On the second day, the film collected 8.60 crore. On the third day, the film collected 3 crore. On the fourth day, the film collected 36.40 crore, taking total opening weekend domestic collection to 52.75 crore. As of 1 October 2021, The film grossed 36.46 crore in India and 14.12 crore overseas, the film has a worldwide gross collection of 50.58 crore.

Reception

Suchin Mehrotra writing for ''

Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...

'' criticised the screenplay of the movie saying that, “in the end, somewhere buried within Bell Bottom are the building blocks of a great thriller. It's just shrouded in simplistic storytelling and ‘hijacked’ by the pressures of the big Hindi movie formula.” Monika Rawal Kukreja of ''

The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter of K. K. Birla. ...

'' praised the film for being an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Controversy

The film was banned in three Gulf countries, namely

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. The film certification authorities banned it on grounds of tampering with historical facts. It was pointed out that the 1984 incident actually had the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

Defence Minister

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...

and the UAE authorities getting the hijackers, while the film portrayed Kumar's character and his team as the real heroes of the mission.

References

External links

* * * {{Bollywood Hungama movie, bell-bottom Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic Films about aircraft hijackings Films set on airplanes Indian films based on actual events Hindi-language action films 2020s Hindi-language films Indian action thriller films Indian spy thriller films Indian spy action films Cultural depictions of Indira Gandhi Indian aviation films Films set in airports 2021 action thriller films 2021 films Indian 3D films 2021 3D films Films directed by Ranjit M Tewari Films about the Research and Analysis Wing Intelligence Bureau (India) in fiction Military of Pakistan in films Cultural depictions of prime ministers of India Censored films Film censorship in India Films shot in Glasgow Films shot in London Films set in London Films set in 1979 Films set in 1984 Fiction about the insurgency in Punjab Films set in Dubai Films set in Delhi Films shot in Delhi Films set in Lahore Films set in Islamabad Films set in Karachi Films set in Amritsar Films set in Jammu and Kashmir Films about terrorism in India Films about religious violence in India P. V. Narasimha Rao Morarji Desai Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq India–Pakistan relations in popular culture Films shot in Dubai Films shot in Mumbai