Nishabd (; ''Speechless'') is a 2007 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

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

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...

, starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

and debutant Jiah Khan. The story of the film took inspiration from the 1999 American film '' American Beauty'', and the 1986 Indian film '' Anokha Rishta''.

Plot

The film opens with young Ritu ( Shradha Arya) bringing her friend Jia ( Jiah Khan) to spend the holidays with her at her home in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. Ritu's parents, Vijay Anand (

) and Amrita (

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi and ...

), have a beautiful home surrounded by picturesque surroundings. Vijay is a photographer, and Amrita is a homemaker. Jia's mother lives alone in Australia (Jia's parents are divorced), and she studies in India. She is a free-spirited teenager with no attachments and no worries. She professes some affinity to Vijay, but it doesn't go much further than that. But Vijay's world is turned upside down when he takes pictures of Jia watering herself down with the garden hose. Something innocent grows into something bigger, and something bigger grows into something beyond control. Jia's world collides with Vijay's, causing three casualties. Ritu witnesses Vijay and Jia kissing and tries to get Jia out of the house without revealing the truth to her mother but fails. Around this time, Amrita's brother Shridhar ( Nassar) visits them. Through a sequence of events, he uncovers the disturbing truth about Jia and Vijay. Shridhar questions Vijay and realises that things are serious between Jia and him. Vijay confesses his love for Jia to Amrita, leaving her shattered. Shridhar makes Vijay realise about Jia's vulnerable and naïve age, where even a small helping gesture can seem like love. Vijay understands and orders Jia to leave the house. Both Ritu and Amrita lose their faith in Vijay. Ritu moves to America, and Vijay meets Shridhar again, the latter realising that Vijay is completely broken inside after his daughter and wife both lose trust in him. Vijay concludes that even though he often tries to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

and is not scared of dying, he doesn't want to do so, as he wants to live a bit more in memories of Jia.

Cast

as Vijay Anand * Jiah Khan as Jia * Aftab Shivdasani as Rishi Khanna *

as Amritha Anand, Vijay's wife * Nassar as Shridhar, Amritha's brother * Shraddha Arya as Ritu Anand, Vijay's daughter

Production

The film was shot in 20 days in

Munnar Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...

. The claim that it was inspired by

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

's ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'' was denied by Amitabh Bachchan in the CNN IBN TV show ''Unspoken relationships - Nishabd special'' (3 March 2007).

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. Praise has been given to the performances of the lead actors, however the plot and script have been subject to criticism.

Awards and nominations

Khan was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2007 for her performance in Nishabd.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* {{Ram Gopal Varma 2007 films 2000s Hindi-language films Films directed by Ram Gopal Varma Films scored by Vishal Bhardwaj Films shot in Munnar