Humraaz

''Humraaz'' (transl. ''Confidant'') is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by the duo Abbas–Mustan. The film stars Bobby Deol, Akshaye Khanna, and Ameesha Patel⁣⁣ and marks the third collaboration between Deol and the director duo.

The film is loosely inspired by the 1998 American film ''A Perfect Murder'', which itself was a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's film ''Dial M for Murder'' (1954), based on Frederick Knott's 1952 stage play of the same name. ''Humraaz'' was later remade in Tamil as '' Girivalam''. Its soundtrack, composed by Himesh Reshammiya, was among the highest-selling Bollywood albums of the year.

''Humraaz'' was released on 5 July 2002 and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its suspenseful plot, music, and performances, with particular praise directed towards Khanna's performance. The film emerged as a commercial success at the box office, grossing approximately ₹29.7 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹15 crore, ranking as the seventh-highest-grossing Hindi film of the year.

''Humraaz'' received 12 nominations at the 48th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Abbas–Mustan), Best Actor (Deol), Best Actress (Patel), and Best Performance in a Negative Role (Khanna), but did not win in any category. At the 4th IIFA Awards, Khanna won Best Performance in a Negative Role, while Patel was nominated for Best Actress.

Plot

Karan Malhotra and Priya are the lead performers of a dance troupe and are secretly in love. Karan and Priya Dreams of Marrying Each other and Living a Luxurious Life. After being cheated out of a cruise performance opportunity by rival Jojo Fernandes, Karan confronts Jojo and kills him. The troupe is later selected to perform aboard a luxury cruise ship owned by wealthy businessman Raj Singhania. There Raj meets Priya,Unaware That Karan Is Priya's Boyfriend . Raj falls in love with her, and proposes marriage, unaware that Priya and Karan are conspiring to acquire his wealth. Raj Befriends Karan.

As Priya and Raj marry, Priya Lies About her Fast and Refuses To Consumate For One month as Suggested By Karan Then, another dancer, Harry, discovers the couple's scheme and begins blackmailing Karan. It is revealed that Jojo's death was deliberate. Karan murders Harry to protect the plan, but before dying, Harry leaves a voicemail for Raj, exposing the truth. Meanwhile, Priya begins to develop genuine feelings for Raj, especially after he shows deep care following her accident. She decides not to proceed with the divorce, angering Karan.

Seeking revenge, Karan manipulates Raj into believing that Priya still loves him and is conspiring to steal his money. Raj, now aware of the truth, confronts Karan and forces him to attempt to murder Priya, planning to catch him in the act. Simultaneously, Priya records a confession and switches the tape with a cassette in Raj’s car, asking him to call her if he forgives her.

As Raj unknowingly delays hearing the tape, Karan attacks Priya when Raj calls their home. Upon hearing her screams, Raj rushes to save her. At the scene, it is revealed that Priya survived and Karan had killed another man to stage the attack. Karan then blackmails Raj with a recording of their prior meeting, demanding a divorce and a large alimony.

Raj agrees to meet Karan, and the two engage in a physical fight. Karan shoots Priya, but she survives and shoots him in return. Karan dies, and Raj and Priya are reunited.

Cast

*Bobby Deol as Raj Singhania (Priya's Husband)
*Akshaye Khanna as Karan Malhotra (Priya's ex-Boyfriend ,The Culprit)
*Ameesha Patel as Priya Raj Singhania (Karan's ex-Girlfriend, Raj's Wife)
*Johnny Lever as Darshan Bhatt
*Suhasini Mulay as Mrs. Singhania (Raj's grandmother)
*Jeetu Verma as Jojo Fernandes (Killed By Karan)
*Farhan as Harry (Killed By Karan)
*Dinesh Hingoo as Rustom Uncle
* Dilip Joshi as Gauri Shankar
* Sheela Sharma as Rosy
* Sudhir as Tommy
*Bhairavi Vaidya as Raj's aunt
*Firoz Irani as Raj's uncle
*Roshan Tirandaz as Shireen
*Shabanam Kapoor as Mrs. Braganza

Production

Before production began, Priyanka Chopra was initially signed to play the female lead and was expected to make her film debut with ''Humraaz''. She reportedly shot for two days but was unable to continue due to a dispute, after which the role went to Amisha Patel.

Arjun Rampal and Abhishek Bachchan were initially considered to portray the negative lead in the film. However, things could not materialize, and the role was eventually played by Akshaye Khanna.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Humraaz'' was composed by Himesh Reshammiya, with lyrics by Sudhakar Sharma. According to Box Office India, the album sold approximately 2.2 million units, making it the highest-selling Hindi film soundtrack of 2002.

The song "Bardaasht Nahi Kar Sakta" was reused as "Nee Yaaro Nee Yaaro" in the Tamil remake ''Girivalam'' (2005) and was the only track from the original soundtrack to be retained in the remake.

Reception

Box office

''Humraaz'' was produced on a budget of approximately ₹15 crore, including print and advertising costs. In India, the film earned a net collection of ₹16.59 crore, with a gross of ₹23.04 crore. It collected an additional ₹2.53 crore from international markets, bringing its worldwide gross to approximately ₹25.57 crore. According to Box Office India, the film achieved a total gross of ₹29.71 crore, with an estimated 9.1 million footfalls. The film was declared an "average" performer at the box office by trade analysts.

Critical response

Derek Elley of ''Variety'' described ''Humraaz'' as "a well-played Bollywood mystery-thriller that’s let down only by a lack of visual style," adding that it "gets good character mileage from its star trio and fine performances from two of them (Bobby Deol, Ameesha Patel)." Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, noting, "On the whole, ''Humraaz'' has a fresh cast, a riveting script, a grandiose look, and several thrilling moments to take you on a joyride for the next three hours. The film has all it takes to appeal to an avid cinegoer who's thirsting for wholesome entertainment. Recommended!"

Vivek Fernandes of ''Rediff.com'' remarked that ''"''The directors do take their time establishing the scheme of things, spoonfeeding the audience at times. Also, the experience would have been more riveting had the film been a little shorter. But such minor flaws, we shall let pass. ''Humraaz'', definitely, merits a ''dekho''." A reviewer for ''Sify'' commented, "Except that having watched a lot of Hitchcockian plots, one feels let down at the way our filmmakers end a good plot." Chitra Mahesh of ''The Hindu'' observed, "Though the end is filmy and long drawn out, the suspense is tangible."''''

Accolades

See also

* Remakes of films by Alfred Hitchcock

References

External links

*
{{Abbas–Mustan

2000s Hindi-language films
2000s romantic thriller films
2002 films
Films about adultery in India
Films about con artists
Films about contract killing in India
Films about home invasion
Films about telephony
Films about uxoricide
Films directed by Abbas–Mustan
Films scored by Himesh Reshammiya
Films set in Mumbai
Films shot in Mumbai
Hindi films remade in other languages
Indian crime thriller films
Indian detective films
Indian films based on plays
Indian mystery thriller films
Indian psychological thriller films
Indian remakes of American films
Indian romantic thriller films
Indian murder mystery films
Films based on adaptations
Hindi remakes of English films