HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Listen... Amaya'' is a 2013
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 ...
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
directed by Avinash Kumar Singh, and starring
Farooq Shaikh Farooq Sheikh (25 March 1948 − 28 December 2013) was an Indian actor, philanthropist and television presenter. He was best known for his work in Hindi films from 1973 to 1993 and for his work in television between 1988 and 2002. He returned to ...
,
Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'close to ...
and
Swara Bhaskar Swara Bhasker (also spelled Bhaskar; born 9 April 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Best known for her supporting work in mainstream productions and starring roles in independent films, she has won two Screen Awards and has re ...
as leads. The film also marks the return of popular lead pair of the 1980s, Farooq Shaikh and Deepti Naval, in films like, '' Chashme Buddoor'' (1981), '' Saath Saath'' (1982), and '' Katha'' (1983), together again on screen after 25 years. This was also their last film together, as Farooq Shaikh died several months after the film's release.


Plot

The film is set in Delhi, where a widowed mother, Leela, runs the library cafe "Book a Coffee." Here she makes a new friend, a widowed photographer, Jayant "Jazz," and soon finds their friendship growing. However, Leela's daughter, Amaya, a budding writer, feels insecure about the relationship when she finds out about it. While she collaborates with Jazz on producing a coffee table book about the bazaars of
Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...
, when her mother takes her relationship with Jazz further, she is unable to accept it. The journeys of all the principal characters and a subtle twist at the end make up the narrative of the film.


Cast

*
Farooq Shaikh Farooq Sheikh (25 March 1948 − 28 December 2013) was an Indian actor, philanthropist and television presenter. He was best known for his work in Hindi films from 1973 to 1993 and for his work in television between 1988 and 2002. He returned to ...
as Jayant Sinha *
Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'close to ...
as Leela Krishnamoorthy *
Swara Bhaskar Swara Bhasker (also spelled Bhaskar; born 9 April 1988) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Best known for her supporting work in mainstream productions and starring roles in independent films, she has won two Screen Awards and has re ...
as Amaya Krishnamoorthy *
Amala Akkineni Amala Akkineni (''née'' Mukherjee) (born 12 September 1967) is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist. She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a ...
as Sujata *
Siddhant Karnick Siddhant Karnick (born 15 March 1983) is an Indian actor. He made his television debut playing Arjun Khanna in romantic teen drama show ''Remix'' (2004–2006) but gained popularity and became a household name with his portrayal of Rana Indrav ...
as Raghav * Shadab Khan as Tariq * Oroon Das as Abhay * Kriti Panth as Devika * Vidya Bhushan as Rizwaan bhai * Viren Basoya as Rahmat


Production

The film was shot mostly in Delhi, with a schedule of the filming of the lead pair shot in Delhi in September 2011. A song sequence, featuring Swara Bhaskar and Siddhant Karnick and based on a re-rendition of ''Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si,'' was filmed in Mumbai. ''Listen... Amaya'' was filmed on the Arri Alexa digital camera system and was shot in 29 days, including all the songs. Except for some grips, all the equipment and crew on the film were from Mumbai. External-location filming on the film ranged from shooting in Chandni Chowk over two days, outside Priya Cinema complex, in Hauz Khas village, in Khan Market in South Delhi, on streets of South Delhi, in an air-conditioned DTC bus service, on inside and main roads of Sundar Nagar, as well as in Pathways world school. The picturisation of the song in Mumbai was choreographed by Longiness Fernandez and was shot over two days on sets erected in a studio in Mumbai.


Release

The film released theatrically across India on 1 February 2013. It has also screened at the
New York Indian Film Festival The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in New York City, and screens films relating to India, the Indian Diaspora, and the work of Indian filmmakers. The festival began in November 2001 and was foun ...
(NYIFF),
London Asian Film Festival The UK Asian Film Festival, previously known as the London Asian Film Festival, is a British film festival organised by the not-for-profit organisation Tongues on Fire Ltd. and takes place annually in the spring in London. The festival is the long ...
(Tongues on Fire), Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF), New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest (NJISACF),
India International Film Festival The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excelle ...
(IIFF) of Tampa Bay, the Washington DC South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF), the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) in August 2013, as part of the Indian Panorama section of the
44th International Film Festival of India The 44th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 30 November 2013 in Goa.http://pib.nic.in/newsite/feacontent.aspx?relid=100683 Winners *IFFI Best Film Award, Golden Peacock (Best Film): ''Beatriz's War'' by Luigi Acquisto and B ...
in Goa during the month of November 2013. and the Honolulu Bollywood Film Festival in January 2014. Listen... Amaya was screened at the NCPA Mumbai to a full house on 21 June 2013 as part of the Fresh Pix series. Listen... Amaya was also screened for the Bimal Roy Foundation in Mumbai on 17 August 2013. The film was released to DVD on 10 June 2013 by MAGNA Home Video. Subsequent to the release, the agreement between Magna Home Video and the producers was terminated after the Bombay High Court ruled in favour of the producers, due to Magna Publishing having violated the terms of agreement between both parties. It is also available across a wide variety of Inflight entertainments on a number of Domestic and International airlines.


Music

The soundtrack of the film was released by the label Saregama. The music director of the film is Indraneel Hariharan and the lyrics were written by his wife Punam Hariharan. The soundtrack has a total of 5 songs on it, with a re-rendition of the popular yesteryear hit, ''Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si'', sung by Kunal Ganjawalla. Kunal Ganjawalla also sang another track on the film titled ''Kashmakash''. Vidhi Sharma lent her voice to the song ''Mann ki Patang'', which was also rendered in an acoustic version, sung by the composer himself under the end titles of the film. ''Hey Hey Hey Mrs K'' is the first song on the soundtrack sung by Ankur Sabharwal, Vidhi Sharma, Jeetendra Singh Jamwal and Indraneel Hariharan. The music reviews were good, with the consensus being that ''Mann ki Patang'' was the pick of the album. Mann Ki Patang (rendition) composed and sung by Indraneel Hariharan is nominated at the prestigious ''Global Indian Music Awards'', GiMA 2013, for Best Debut as a Music Composer.


Awards

*Best Film (NJISACF) *Best Director (NJISACF) *Best Director (DCSAFF) *Best Actress (NYIFF)


Reception

The film received good reviews, including
CNN-IBN CNN News18 is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides international coverage for the c ...
which called the film "enormously heartwarming", while giving the film a 3 out 5 rating. Oneindia also praised the film, stating, "Kudos to Avinash Kumar Singh for handling such a sensitive topic so brilliantly. The movie is neither too preachy nor too over dramatised." Madhureeta Mukherjee gives it 3 out of 5 stars for the Times of India, stating "Avinash Kumar Singh has sensitively handled a strong subject textured with social and psychological complexities. His characters peel layers of emotions, without over-dramatizing scenes, or amplifying the issue. It is subtle and sincere."


References


External links

* * {{BH movie, listen-amaya Indian drama films Films shot in Delhi 2013 directorial debut films 2013 films Films set in Delhi 2013 drama films 2010s Hindi-language films Hindi-language drama films