''Nabab'' is a 2017 Indo-Bangladeshi

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

Joydip Mukherjee Joydip Mukherjee is an Indian film director, actor and writer primarily associated with Bengali language, Bengali language films. Career In 2008, Joydip started his career with directed television drama serial. Then he directed two more drama ...

and produced by Abdul Aziz and Himanshu Dhanuka under the banner of

Jaaz Multimedia Jaaz Multimedia is a film production and distribution house in Bangladesh. History 2011–2014: Initial years Jaaz Multimedia released their first film, '' Bhalobasar Rong'' starring Bappy and Mahiya Mahi, in 2012. In 2013, Jaaz Multimedia ...

and

Eskay Movies Eskay Video Private Limited is an Indian Company promoted by Dhanuka family. The company was incorporated in 1988 and since then it has been a vital part in the media and entertainment industry in India. The company has produced more than 50 fi ...

. The film features

Shakib Khan Masud Rana Sheikh (born 28 March 1979), better known by the stage name Shakib Khan, is a Bangladeshi actor and filmmaker who works in Bengali language, Bengali films. He is widely regarded as one of the most popular figures of all time in Benga ...

in the title role, an intelligence agent tasked with a secret operation in

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, India and Subhashree as a crime news reporter and Nabab's

love interest (; ) were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th-century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the lovers in some regard. These dramatic and posh characters were present within pl ...

. It also features

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...

Amit Hasan Amit Hassan is a Bangladeshi film actor and his actual name is Khandar Saifur Rahman. He was elected secretary general of the Bangladesh Film Actors' Association in 2015. In its review of 2011 cinema, '' The Daily Star'' included Amit Hassan amon ...

, Aparajita Adhya,

Kharaj Mukherjee Kharaj Mukherjee or Kharaj Mukhopadhyay is an Indian actor, comedian and singer. He won the Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Male Playback Award in 2004 for the film '' Patalghar''. Over the years, he has established himself as on ...

and Arindam Saha in supporting roles. This Film is based on 1999 hindi action-comedy film '' ''Baadshah'''' starring

Shahrukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more th ...

Twinkle Khanna Twinkle Khanna (born 29 December 1973) is an Indian author and former actress. A daughter of actors Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna, she made her acting debut with a leading role in the film '' Barsaat'' (1995). After playing the leading lady ...

. The Baadshah film's plot is loosely based on the 1995 American film ''Nick of Time''. The soundtrack album and background score of the film was composed by Savvy Gupta and

Akassh Akassh Sen, known simply as Akassh, is a well known Indian Bengali music composer and singer. Career He is a music director of Bengali feature films and television. He is also a singer and composer. His career started with his first album, ' ...

. The film was released on 26 June 2017 on the occasion of Eid in Bangladesh and released in India on 28 July 2017. The film marks the second collaboration of

with

after success of '' Shikari'' (2016). The film had a production budget of and earned within the first five days of its release.

Plot

A group of people travelling by bus later stop for a tea break and hooligans arrive at the same time. Suddenly, a passing convoy is attacked and the assassins try to kill the man inside one of the cars. The man using his swiftness foils the attack and manages to nab and arrest one of the attackers while killing another. The rest manage to escape the scene. This man is Chief Investigating Officer Rajib Chowdhury (

) and the person in the car turns out to be

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Ananya Chatterjee ( Aparajita Adhya) who was impressed with Rajib and delegates to him the task of locating the people behind a recent terrorist conspiracy to Rajib. Rajib promises to fulfill the job to the best of his ability. Masud (Sagnik Chatterjee) a Muslim ACP is taken off from the Special Action Team when a notorious gangster Mustaq escapes his clutches. Despite being an honest and upright police officer with the best intelligence gathering network in the force, Masud is rueful that he is being given low class treatment because he is a Muslim and is being perceived as having let Mustaq escape because he was a Muslim as well. Rajib wants Masud on the team, but Masud refuses. It is revealed that Rajib's father Constable Shymal Chowdhury was killed by a terrorist in Bangladesh which motivated Rajib to join the police force. Rajib escaped prison then went to the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

's house to tell him the truth, but there he accused for the murder of the Commissioner. With the help of his love interest, Rajib reached to Mandal. But imprisoning his mother and a few colleagues Mandal trapped Rajib to kill CM in a high security zone.

Cast

as Rajib Chowdhury a.k.a. Nabab, an intelligence agent from

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

tasked with a secret operation in

, India * Subhashree as Diya Banerjee a.k.a. Salma, a crime news reporter *

Aparajita Auddy Aparajita Adhya (born ) is an Indian actress who works primarily in the Bengali film and television industry.She achieved popularity after starring in the film Praktan. She has been an actress for many years. In 1997 she met her husband, Atanu ...

as Ananya Chatterjee, a

Chief Minister of West Bengal The chief minister of West Bengal (IAST: Paścim Baṅgēr Mukhya Mantrī) is the '' de facto'' head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal, the subnational authority of the Indian state of West Bengal. The chief minister is ...

, India * Arindam Ganguly as Krishanu Chatterjee, Ananya's husband *

Rajatava Dutta Rajatava Dutta (b. 11 August 1967) is an Indian actor who appears in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Hindi cinema, Hindi and English-language Indian films, English films. He is often regarded as one of the most celebrated and respected Bengali ...

as Gautam Dasgupta, a

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

West Bengal Police The West Bengal Police () is the primary law enforcement agency for the Indian state of West Bengal, excluding the metropolitan area of Kolkata, which has its own separate police force. It is responsible for maintaining public order, preventing ...

as Abhay Sarker, a

Deputy Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

, the main antagonist *

as Kali Charan Hansda * Sagnik Chatterjee as ACP Masood Akhtar, an assistant commissioner (ACP) of West Bengal police *

Biswanath Basu Biswanath Basu (or sometimes Biswanath Bose) is an Indian actor and comedian, who predominantly works in the Bengali film industry. In a career spanning over two decades, he has acted in over 80 films and is known for his comic roles. Filmogra ...

as Bimal Debnath, a superintendent of West Bengal police *

Sabyasachi Chakraborty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty ( is an Indian actor known for his work in theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty ...

as the chief journalist of a news agency * Meghla Mukta as Meghla Dasgupta, daughter of commissioner Gautam Dasgupta * Razu Sarkar *

Pradip Dhar Pradip is a given name of Indian origin. Pradip means Light, Shine, Lamp, Brilliant, One who is like a light or a lantern. People with that name include: *Pradip Baijal, retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service *Pradip Bhattacharya (bor ...

as Subir Mondal *

Prasun Gain Prasun Gain (born 3 September 1977) is an Indian actor and dramatist who works in Bengali cinema and television. He is best known for his roles in '' Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!'' (2015), '' Alifa'' (2016), and '' Prem Amar'' (2009). He also play ...

as Dinu * Preetam *

Rebeka Rouf Marina Rebeka (born 10 September 1980) is a Latvian soprano, active on both opera and concert stages. Associated with Violetta in Verdi's '' La traviata'', she performs primarily in the 19th-century Italian and French repertoire, most notably w ...

as Aruna Chowdhury, Nabab's mother * Rajat Ganguly as Ali Amzad Khan Bahadur * Badhon as Nabab's friend * Mousumi Saha * Komol Patekar as Terrorist * Prashanta Samanta * Jayanta Hore * Saumita Das * Arindam Saha as Terrorist

Production

Filming

Before filming started Khan underwent extensive training for the action sequences and has reportedly lost 20 kg weight to fit as a counter-terrorism agent. The shooting schedule of Nabab commenced on 17 November 2016. The first phase of the film was shot in 10-day schedule and entirely filmed in

Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar (; ; ) is a city, fishing port, tourism centre, and Cox's Bazar District, district headquarters in south-eastern Bangladesh. Cox's Bazar Beach, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Bangladesh, is the longest uninterrupte ...

. The second phase of the filming took place in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The last phase of the film was filmed in Dhaka and Kolkata, and lasted 30-days. The entire film was shot on a 50-day schedule. The film had a production budget of The music of the film was shot at various locations in Kolkata. A romantic track sequence was shot at Kolkata film city.

Release

Nabab released across 128 screens in Bangladesh on 26 June 2017 which is the widest release for any Bangladeshi film. Despite the release of two other films, Nabab opened on every multiplex in Bangladesh.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for the film is composed by Savvy and

. The music video of the song "Sholoana" was released on YouTube on 1 June 2017. The music video of the song "Jabo Niye" was released on 10 June 2017. The music video of the song "O DJ O DJ" was released on 18 June 2017. The music video of the song "Saiyyan Beimaan" was released on 13 July 2017. The full soundtrack was released for digital streaming on

Saavn JioSaavn is an Indian music streaming service and a digital distributor of music in Hindi, Marathi, English, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Chhattisgarhi and other regional languages of India. Since it was f ...

on 1 June 2017.

Track listing

Reception

Box Office

The earned within the first five days of its release.

Critical response

Sherif Al Sayar, a film analyst from ''

Bangla Tribune Bangla Tribune is a Bengali language news website of Bangladesh. It started its journey on 13 May 2014. It's edited by Zulfiqer Russell and published by Kazi Anis Ahmed. As of July 2021, its Alexa ranking was #16 in Bangladesh and #3,064 globally ...

'', gave the film a rating of 1/5. He stated that the film deceives the audience, saying, "''Nabab'' is a mix of ''

Baazigar ''Baazigar'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Venus Movies. It stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role alongside Kajol, Siddharth, Shilpa Shetty (in her film debut ...

'' (1993), '' Sarfarosh'' (1999), and

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the "Padishah, Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has Shah Rukh K ...

's ''Baadshah'' (1999). It has deceived all the viewers who have seen these three films." However, he praised Shakib Khan's performance, the cinematography, locations, and fight scenes in the film. Fahmidul Haque, a professor in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism at

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

, as well as a film critic and researcher, on ''

Prothom Alo ''Prothom Alo'' () is a Bengali language, Bengali-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka. It is one of the largest circulated newspaper in Bangladesh. According to the National Media Survey of 2018, conducted by Kantar MRB ...

'' described the film as "an exciting movie with a mismatched story." While he praised the cinematography, fight scenes, and background music, he expressed dissatisfaction with the screenplay of the film. Film critic and lyricist Zahid Akbar from ''The Daily Star'' found weaknesses in the film's story, writing, "In the story of Nabab, pieces of other films' plots can be identified. The ending of ''Nabab'' bears a strong resemblance to the Hindi film ''Baadshah'' starring Shah Rukh Khan. The story also shares similarities with another Hindi film, ''Baazi''. Additionally, those who have watched the Bangladeshi film ''Khoboradar'', featuring

Riaz Riaz (; , or ) is a municipality in the district of Gruyère in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. History Riaz is first mentioned in 900 as ''Villa Roda''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Zum Rad'', however, tha ...

and

Purnima Pūrṇimā () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day ('' Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights (paksha), and the Moon is aligned exac ...

, will also be surprised by the story of ''Nabab''. Director

cannot convincingly claim that this is a film with an original story." Nevertheless, he praised Shakib Khan's attractive look and performance. In another review in ''The Daily Star'', Amira Amin praised Shakib Khan's look, costume, performance, while she advised improving his dialogue delivery and Subhasree's acting skill. She wrote, "Shakib Khan is presented in a fresh and captivating look, highlighting the value of strong costume design. While his performance is commendable, there are areas where his dialogue delivery could improve. Subhasree, though glamorous in appearance, still needs to refine her acting skills. The film shares notable similarities with Shah Rukh Khan's ''Baadshah''."

Home video

The film was released on Bangladeshi popular video streaming platform Baiscope on October 10, 2019 under the distribution of Bongo BD. It was also available globally on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

and

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 ...

. Additionally, the film had its world premiere on Bangladeshi TV channel ''NTV'' on August 2, 2020.

Controversy

After the release of trailers and songs from the film, different artists, producers, directors and 14 different film-related organizations in Bangladesh began to protest the release of ''Nabab''. After claims by the protesters that the films 'broke' some of the rules of making joint ventures, the Censor Board of Bangladesh did not give clearance to release the films. In response, Jaaz Multimedia threatened to close down their cinema halls for Eid if their film would not be allowed to release. The protesters also involved Shakib Khan, the star of ''Nabab'', who once went on the streets of Bangladesh to protest the release of Indian films. Khan, at a press conference by Jaaz Multimedia, defended his position and former protests with claims that he only protested against big-budget

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 ...

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, not

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

joint venture films. After a few weeks of protests, the Censor Board gave clearance to the film to release, in time to release on the holiday of Eid.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nabab Indian romantic comedy-drama films Bengali-language Indian films Bengali-language Bangladeshi films 2017 films Bangladeshi action comedy-drama films 2010s action comedy-drama films 2010s Bengali-language films Films shot in Dhaka Films set in London 2017 romantic comedy-drama films Bangladeshi romantic comedy-drama films Indian action comedy-drama films Indian films about revenge Bangladeshi films about revenge Films scored by Savvy Gupta Films scored by Akassh Films about Islamic terrorism in India Films directed by Joydip Mukherjee Jaaz Multimedia films Bangladeshi action films Fictional portrayals of the West Bengal Police Indian action thriller films Indian spy thriller films Films set in West Bengal Films about journalists Films shot in Cox's Bazar Films shot in Kolkata 2017 controversies Political controversies in film Indian political action films Films set in Delhi Indian spy action films Fictional portrayals of the Bangladesh Police 2010s vigilante films Bangladeshi vigilante films Indian vigilante films