''Qaidi Band'' () is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language

musical drama film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Habib Faisal Habib Faisal is an Indian filmmaker and lyricist. He is best known for directing '' Do Dooni Chaar'' (2010) and '' Ishaqzaade'' (2012). Career He made his directorial debut, '' Do Dooni Chaar'', for which he won Filmfare Award for Best Dialog ...

and produced by

Aditya Chopra Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and studio executive who works in Hindi cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF).

. Starring newcomers Aadar Jain and Anya Singh in the lead roles, the film revolves around a group of seven innocent under-trials, who give a band performance in prison to get into the good books of the authorities and secure their acquittal. The film was released on 25 August 2017.

Plot

The film opens in a jail in India where in the male ward, a bunch of under-trail prisoners are trying to catch a mouse, which ends up becoming a betting game for all the other prisoners. Sanju the under-trail prisoner who successfully catches the mouse takes his share and leaves. Meanwhile, in the girls' ward, Bindu an under-trail prisoner is illegally earning money by providing her fellow prisoners with eyebrow-cutting and manicure services. A senior prisoner refuses to pay her and Bindu angrily steals money from her and runs. The other girls chase her and thrash her brutally for her antics. All the prisoners are called by the jailer SP Dhulia who announces that for the first time on the occasion of Independence Day of India, a male-female joint musical band of under-trail prisoners will be created to participate in the Independence Day function. He also announced that the band will be rewarded with grace points, which will help them to get their jail sentences cleared at the earliest. Subsequently, auditions happen and Sanju and Bindu are selected for the band along with Maskeen Singh, Ogu, Rufi, Tatyana and Sange. The group bonds quickly and decides to give their best to get their jail charges cleared as soon as possible, as per the promise of Dhulia. They also reveal their reasons for being imprisoned. Sanju has been framed by the husband of a woman whom he had given a lift on a rainy night to reach home, for trying to molest her. Bindu was accused of trying to kidnap her niece by her brother-in-law who actually was indulging in violence with his wife and daughter. Rufi reveals that after his wedding, he purchased a car which got stolen. After a few days, he discovered that the bomb blast in his city was triggered by his car. Since he hadn't registered a missing complaint of his car, he is framed for being a part of a terrorist group. Ogu is imprisoned for trying to procure drugs in Goa.

Cast

Aadar Jain The Kapoor family is a prominent Indian show business family with at least four generations of the family over years being active in the Hindi film industry. Numerous members of the family, both (biological) and those who have married into th ...

as Sanju * Anya Singh as Bindu *

Sachin Pilgaonkar Sachin Pilgaonkar (born 17 August 1957), often known mononymously by his screen name Sachin, is an Indian actor, director, producer, writer and singer of Marathi and Hindi films. He has directed and acted in several Marathi films of the late 1 ...

as Dhulia * Mikhail Yawalkar as Rufi * Prince Parvinder Singh as Maskeen Singh * Peter Muxka Manuel as Ogu * Cyndy Khojol as Sangey *

Ram Kapoor Ram Kapoor (; born 1 September 1973) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi films and television. One of the highest paid television actor in India, he is known for portraying Jai Walia in ''Kasamh Se'' and Ram Kapoor in ''Bade Achhe L ...

as Naveen Vachani * Anna Ador as Tatyana * Lin Laishram * Chhavi Awasthi as prisoner *

Ashi Singh Ashi Singh is an Indian actress, best known for her portrayal of Yasmine in ''Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga'', for her dual portrayal of Meet Hooda and Sumeet Sangwan in '' Meet: Badlegi Duniya Ki Reet'' and Naina Agarwal in '' Yeh Un Dinon Ki ...

as Tulika: The jailer's daughter * Raman Khatri as Minister * Deepika Dhulkotiya as Shopkeeper * Sanvikaa as Reporter

Soundtrack

The lyrics for the songs have been written by

Kausar Munir Kausar Munir is an Indian lyricist and dialogue writer who works in Hindi cinema. Biography Munir was born and brought up in Bandra, Mumbai. She graduated in English Literature from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. Munir married actor Nirmal Pa ...

, Peter Muxka Manuel and Sidhant Mago. All the songs featured in the film are sung by

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (; born 25 April 1987) is an Indian playback singer. A leading figure in contemporary Hindi film music, he is the recipient of several accolades including two National Film Awards and seven Filmfare Awards. He was conferred the P ...

and Yashita Sharma. The soundtrack consists of 9 songs and was released on 26 July 2017 by

YRF Music Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films. History In 1970, ...

Critical reception

The film garnered mixed reviews from critics. In a review published by

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, 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 o ...

, it received a rating of 2 out of 5. However, the review also lauded the music composer,

Amit Trivedi Amit Trivedi (born 8 April 1979) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician who works primarily for Indian cinema. After working as a theatre and jingle composer and composing for non-film albums, he debuted as ...

, hailing him stating that "the genius of music composer

, who is the real star of this interesting yet ordinary film."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 5617172
Official website
2017 films 2010s musical drama films 2010s Hindi-language films 2010s prison films Indian prison films Indian musical drama films Films scored by Amit Trivedi Yash Raj Films films 2017 drama films 2017 musical films