''Kisna: The Warrior Poet'' is a 2005 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

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

written, edited, produced and directed by

Subhash Ghai Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...

and starring

Vivek Oberoi Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor and businessman. The son of actor Suresh Oberoi, he began acting in 2002 with starring roles in the Hindi crime film ''Company'' and romantic drama '' Saathiya''. His performances ...

(who plays the title role),

Antonia Bernath Antonia Geraldine Audrey Lee Bernath is an English actress, voiceover artist and singer. She began her career in the CBS series ''Elvis'' (2005) and the Bollywood film '' Kisna: The Warrior Poet'' (2005). She then starred in the films ''St Trini ...

, and

Isha Sharvani Isha Sharvani is an Indian contemporary dancer and actress. She is known for her stylistic Indian contemporary and aerial dance performances. She has also starred in a few Bollywood, Malayalam and Tamil movies. Early life Isha was born in Gujar ...

. The musical film is set in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

during the tumultuous 1940s when

Indian nationalists Indian nationalism is an instance of civic nationalism. It is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, but was f ...

fighting for the country's independence rose as one, urging the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

to leave. It is a love story about two people who are torn between love and duty. The film has two veteran composers,

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

and

Ismail Darbar Ismail Darbar is an Indian film score composer, instrumentalist, singer, violinist and music director. He won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for '' Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam'' (1999). Career Ismail Darbar is from Surat, Gu ...

; the lyrics were written by

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...

. The film marked

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...

's last appearance as he had not signed or acted in any film after it before dying on 12 January 2005. The film, however, did not perform well at the box office. The film was premiered in the

Marché du Film The ''Marché du Film'' (), also called Cannes Film Market, is an annual marketplace for films and one of the world's largest film markets. Established in 1959, it is held annually in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. In the 2020s, mor ...

section of the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica served as jury president for the main competition. Cécile de France hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. Belgian filmmakers D ...

Plot

Lady Catherine Williams (nee Beckett), a wealthy British woman, arrives in India to donate Rs 3500 Crores to charity as part of India's Republic Day celebrations. Before she can hand over the money, she requests a visit to

Devprayag Devprayag (Deva prayāga) is a town and a nagar panchayat, near New Tehri city in Tehri Garhwal District in the state of Uttarakhand, India, and is the final one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River where Alaknanda meets ...

, where India's 2 rivers,

Bhagirathi The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/) is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In the Hindu f ...

and

Alaknanda The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and a river considered holy in Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the headstr ...

, meet to form the

Ganges The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

River. At Devprayag, Lady Catherine remembers her childhood and narrates her story to a small crowd, which includes a journalist. Catherine was born in India in 1930, to British citizens living in the country. She had a privileged and peaceful upbringing. In 1935, a young Catherine befriends Kisna, a local village boy, and the two share a joyous friendship. Upon learning of this, Catherine's father forcefully sends her back to England. In 1947, during the Independence Struggle, Catherine comes back to India on holiday and again meets Kisna. Their childhood friendship is rekindled, and over time the feelings slowly develop into love. Their relationship is tested by the fact that they seemingly belong to opposite sides of India's struggle for freedom. Kisna also reveals that he is engaged to be married to Lakshmi. There is growing resentment against colonialism, and Catherine finds herself targeted by an enraged mob of Indian nationalists. She is protected by Kisna, who faces backlash from his family and community, who were part of the mob. Kisna is torn between his friendship and love for Catherine, his duty to his country, and the hatred of the British Raj. Kisna takes it upon himself to escort Catherine to the British High Commission, where safe passage back to England can be arranged for her. The trip reaffirms their love for each other, but Kisna is ultimately forced to choose between his feelings for Catherine and his duty to his country. He chooses the latter, and the pair bids an emotional farewell to each other. In the present, it is revealed that Kisna married Lakshmi and fulfilled his duties to his wife and country, but always loved Catherine till his death. His last wish was for his ashes to be spread at Devprayag, the place where first love blossomed between him and Catherine. Catherine's last wish is also for her ashes to be spread at Devprayag so that, even though they both married different people, she and Kisna can be together forever.

Cast

as Kisna Singh ** Karan Desai as young Kisna *

as Lakshmi (Hindi voice dubbed by

Mona Ghosh Shetty Mona Ghosh Shetty is an Indian dubbing (filmmaking), dubbing actor and dubbing director. She has dubbed in Hindi language, Hindi, Bengali language, Bengali, English, Marathi language, Marathi, and Urdu language, Urdu language projects. Persona ...

) ** Manjiri Bhate as young Lakshmi ** Chetana Das as old Lakshmi *

as Catherine Beckett ** Anna Llewellyn as young Catherine **

Polly Adams Pauline "Polly" Adams (born 27 August 1939) is an English actress best known for her work on the stage both in England and in the United States, and for her portrayal of Mrs. Brown on the television series ''Just William''. She made her Broadwa ...

as old Catherine Williams *

as Bhairo Singh *

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri, (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as ind ...

as Juman Masum Kishti * Yashpal Sharma as Shankar Singh ** Manav Tiwari as young Shankar *

Sushmita Sen Sushmita Sen (; born 19 November 1975) is an Indian actress and beauty pageant titleholder, who was crowned Miss Universe 1994, becoming the first Indian people, Indian woman to win the title. Sen has since predominantly worked in Hindi films, ...

as Naima Begum *

Zarina Wahab Zarina Wahab is an Indian actress who predominantly worked in Hindi and Malayalam films. Known for critically acclaimed roles in ''Chitchor'' and '' Gopal Krishna'' in Hindi and Malayalam cinema with films like '' Madanolsavam'', '' Chamaram' ...

as Shanta *

Shivaji Satam Shivaji Satam (born 21 April 1950/1953) is an Indian television and film actor. He is best known for his role as ACP Pradyuman in the detective television series '' CID''. Early life and education Shivaji Satam attended school at the Antonio ...

as Sriram *

Rajat Kapoor Rajat Kapoor is an Indian actor, filmmaker and playwright who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and early career Rajat Kapoor was born in Delhi, India and grew up in Old Delhi. In 1983 he joined the theatre group Chingari in Delhi. In 1985 he ...

as Prince Raghuraj Singh *

Jeetu Verma Jeetu Verma is an Indian actor known for his roles in Bollywood films. He was born in Jadaun Rajput family. His notable appearances include '' Humraaz'', ''Soldier'', '' Taarzan: The Wonder Car'' and Rohit Shetty's ''Bol Bachchan''. In 2020, he ...

as Phunkara *

Hrishitaa Bhatt Hrishitaa Bhatt (born 10 May 1981), also spelled as Hrishita Bhat, is an Indian actress and model. She debuted in the film ''Asoka (2001 film), Asoka'' (2001) opposite Shah Rukh Khan, but it was ''Haasil (film), Haasil'' (2003) that brought her f ...

as Rukmani *

Ronit Roy Ronit Bose Roy (born 11 October 1965) is an Indian actor who works primarily in Hindi television and films and Bengali films. One of the highest paid television actor in India, he has earned numerous accolades including a Filmfare Award, five ...

as Jimmy (Special Appearance) *

Ashwini Kalsekar Ashwini Kalsekar is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Marathi and Hindi television and film industry. She has primarily worked with Sriram Raghavan, Rohit Shetty, Ram Gopal Varma and Ekta Kapoor. After playing a cop in the popu ...

as Rita (Special Appearance) * Rahul Singh as Biru * Mehul Thakur as Vasu ** Yash Pawar as young Vasu *

Vivek Mushran Vivek Mushran (born 9 August 1969) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi film productions and television productions and from U.P He started his career in 1991 with '' Saudagar'' and has appeared in many other films. He is also k ...

as Nandu *

Vivek Shauq Vivek Shauq (21 June 1963 – 10 January 2011) was an Indian actor, comedian, writer and singer. He had acted in Hindi and Punjabi films, television serials, theatre and television commercials. He was also a popular writer and singer. Shauq w ...

as Salaam Bhai * Sudhir Mittu as Karan Singh, Kisna's younger son * Asha Sharma as Bhagwati *

Mithilesh Chaturvedi Mithilesh Chaturvedi (15 October 1954 – 3 August 2022) was an Indian film and theatre actor. Biography Chaturvedi worked in '' Koi... Mil Gaya'', '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'', ''Krrish'', ''Satya'', '' Mohalla Assi'', and web series like '' S ...

as Vishnu Prasad * P. D. Verma as Kisna's grandfather * Sunita Shirole as Kisna's grandmother * Nawab Khan as Roger

Production

The film was shot on sync sound under the direction of Dilip Subramaniam at

Ranikhet Ranikhet ( Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, near Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home of the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the Ind ...

on a budget of ($5.48 million). Award-winning cinematographer

Ashok Mehta Ashok Mehta (1946/47 – 15 August 2012) was an Indian film cinematographer, known for films such as '' Bandit Queen'' (1994), '' 36 Chowringhee Lane'' (1981) and '' Utsav'' (1984). He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography twice, ...

, action director

Tinu Verma Tinu Verma is an Indian actor, story writer and producer and action director known for his works in Hindi cinema. Filmography ;Stunt director *'' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992) *''Khuda Gawah'' (1992) *'' Aankhen'' (1993) *'' Himmat'' (1996) *'' ...

, choreographer

Saroj Khan Saroj Khan fondly known as Masterji (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was an Indian dance choreographer in Hindi cinema. She was born in Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. She was best known for the danc ...

, and production designer/art director

Samir Chanda Samir Chanda (1957 – 18 August 2011) was an Indian art director and production designer across Indian cinema, including Hindi cinema, Hindi, Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Malayalam Cinema, Malayalam and Tamil cinema, Tamil, most known for hi ...

round out the crew. ''Kisna: The Warrior Poet'' has two versions. A two-hour English version for the international market while the Hindi version will be a regular three-hour feature film with songs and dances.

Soundtrack

combined the musical talent of

and

to create the soundtrack. Ghai roped in his usual associate Rahman originally, but had to sign in Ismail Darbar to complete the project as Rahman was busy with the works of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''. Ghai says: "Rahman was my original choice because it is an international project and I wanted both the festive and soulful element of Indian music. Then I asked Ismail to do the rest because apart from Rahman he has the knowledge and ability to fuse Western and Indian classical music. The way he has used Ustad Rashid Khan's voice in "Kahe Ujare Mori Neend" is really captivating." Rahman returned to do the

background score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

of the movie, on Ghai's request. The soundtrack got excellent reviews and was immensely praised. The lyrics were penned by

. One English song "My Wish Comes True", was written by

Blaaze Lakshmi Narasimha Vijaya Rajagopala Sheshadri Sharma Rajesh Raman (born 15 October 1975), professionally known as Blaaze (), is an Indian Tamil language playback singer and rapper in Indian cinema who specializes in writing and performing rap m ...

. According to the Indian trade website

Box Office India Box Office India is an Indian film website dedicated to tracking, reporting, and analyzing the financial performance of films released in the Hindi entertainment industry. Established in 2003, Box Office India has become a prominent source of ...

, with around 12,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's twelfth highest-selling.

References

External links

* * {{Subhash Ghai 2000s Hindi-language films 2000s historical romance films 2005 films Films about interracial romance Films directed by Subhash Ghai Films set in the 1940s Films set in the Indian independence movement Films scored by A. R. Rahman Films scored by Ismail Darbar Indian musical drama films Indian historical musical films Indian historical romance films Hindi-language romance films