Khakee
File:Khakee.jpg DVD Cover
Directed by	Rajkumar Santoshi
Produced by	Keshu Ramsay
Screenplay by	Rajkumar Santoshi Shridhar Raghavan
Story by	Rajkumar Santoshi Shridhar Raghavan
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Akshay Kumar Ajay Devgn Aishwarya Rai Tusshar Kapoor
Music by	Ram Sampath
Cinematography	K. V. Anand
Editing by	Merzin Tavaria
Distributed by	DMS Films Pvt. Ltd.
Release date(s)	January 23, 2004
Running time	193 Min.
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	15,00,00,000<
Box office	36,25,00,000[1]

Khakee (translation: The Uniform) is a 2004 Bollywood action drama film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and written by Rajkumar Santoshi and Shridhar Raghavan about an accused Inter-Services Intelligence agent, the state of affairs, corruption and law and order in India.^[2] The film stars Amitabh Bachchan as Deputy Commissioner of Police Anant Kumar Shrivastav, Akshay Kumar as Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma, Ajay Devgan as a former police officer Yashwant Angre, Atul Kulkarni as Dr. Iqbal Ansari, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Tusshar Kapoor, Tanuja and Jayapradha. Lara Dutta appears in an item number during the song "Aisa Jadoo." The film released on January 23, 2004 to positive reviews and went on to became the fifth highest-grossing film of the year 2004.The film remade in southern India as Satyameva Jeyathe.^[1]

Plot[link]

Eight police officers who are supposed to bring accused Muslim Islamic terrorist Dr. Iqbal Ansari (Atul Kulkarni) back to from Chandangarh to Mumbai, are shot dead in cold blood by an unknown gang, assumed to be Islamic terrorists. The gang seems determined to free Dr. Iqbal Ansari from the government custody. The gang is led by Yashwant Angre (Ajay Devgan), a ruthless killer and a former police officer. The police chief decides to send a team of five able police officers to bring him so that he may appear in court for a hearing. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Anant Shrivastav (Amitabh Bachchan), a policeman on the verge of retiring from his failing career possibly because he never succumbed to corruption and other social interests.He accepts the mission, thinking tha he will finally be recognized and finish off his career by being promoted to Police Commissioner.) is assigned to escort Dr. Iqbal Ansari to Mumbai as the leader of the Police Chief's team. DCP Shrivastav's team consists of Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma (Akshay Kumar, a corrupt cop, without any morality), rookie Sub- Inspector Ashwin Gupte (Tusshar Kapoor) and two constables, Kamlesh Sawant and Mhatre. A woman named Mahalakshmi (Aishwarya Rai) joins them for her protection, as she is the only witness to have seen Angre.

The team is armed with traditional Indian police weapons and ready to go, but danger lurks everywhere as the gang is determined to make sure the police team with Dr. Iqbal Ansari does not make it to Mumbai. The mission turns into a battle for survival when the team is attacked at various points during the journey through arid landscapes and tiny villages. When the team reaches an abandoned cottage in a forest en route, there is another shoot-out with gang members and the team finds itself heavily outnumbered. Against DCP Anant Shrivastav and Inspector Ashwin Gupte's judgment, Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma tries to force an exchange of Dr. Iqbal Ansari in return for their lives. At this point, Ansari breaks down and reveals that the gang is not planning on freeing him, but instead on killing him after they use him. He goes on to reveal that he knows the whereabouts of the certain file which will reveal the true face of Minister Deodhar (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), a high-ranking politician in India. The file with Dr. Iqbal Ansari's testimony could destroy the politician who built his career on inciting Hindu-Muslim religious antagonisms. So, Minister Deodhar is using the gang under Yashwant Angre to obtain the file in any circumstances. He was framed as an "Islamic terrorist" when he threatened to expose the file. At this point, Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma's intentions change dramatically and he plans an escape from the cottage. The plan is successful and they manage to get out and get Ansari— who is injured in the encounter with the gang— to a nearby hospital in the fictitious city of Nairoli. And due to a slip-up by ACP Naidu (Prakash Raj), who is DCP Anant Shrivastav's senior, DCP Shrivastav figures out that he was the mole leaking out information about their whereabouts to the gang.

At this point, Minister Deodhar, the politician using the organization lead by Yashwant Angre, and ACP Naidu come up with a plan to turn citizens against the police team by declaring in a press conference that the police team has gone "rogue" and is now protecting Dr. Iqbal Ansari on the directions of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. Seeing the news on television, several locals gather at the hospital and threaten to barge inside. DCP Anant Shrivastav confronts them and urges them to have faith in his team, and not go by what they hear on television.

The police team then commissions a train to take them from Nairoli Railway Station to Mumbai. However, once again the gang arrives at the station and there is another shoot-out. The cops manage to get Ansari on board the train, but Constable Kamlesh Sawant (Kamlesh Sawant) dies trying to divert the attention of the gunmen. After reaching Mumbai, Dr. Iqbal Ansari is again taken to a hospital, where he is declared dead. This is a severe jolt to the efforts and reputation of DCP Shrivastav's team.

However, the team manage to unearth another piece of evidence against Minister Deodhar and ACP Naidu; the old file containing incriminating details against them, hidden away by a now-killed journalist in a locker in Mumbai's General Post Office. Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma and Mahalakshmi (who is now is girlfriend) manage to find the file, but Yashwant Angre confronts them as they attempt to leave. Shekhar Verma gives the file to Mahalakshmi and asks her to take it to DCP Anant Shrivastav, and engages Yashwant Angre and his men to allow her to escape. At this point, it is revealed that Mahalakshmi is actually an agent of Yashwant Angre, her mission being to leak the whereabouts of the file to the police team and collect information on their plans to retrieve it. Mahalakshmi kills Shekhar Verma, who believed she was in love with him— but not before exposing Mahalakshmi's reality to DCP Shrivastav, unbeknownst to her and Yashwant Angre. DCP Shrivastav and his team hunt down Angre by following Mahalakshmi, and capture him after a fight. Mahalakshmi is killed during the encounter, when Angre uses her as a protective shield against the gunfire. The police are also able to retrieve the file indicting Minister Deodhar.

Armed with compelling evidence in the form of the file, the court is able to convict Yashwant Angre, Minister Deodhar, and ACP Naidu. On the way to prison, Angre sees that the bolts holding his handcuffs are actually loose. Breaking free, he grabs a rifle and attacks the constables in the van. Sub-Inspector Ashwin jumps out of the van to find Angre holding a constable hostage. Angre goes to shoot Ashwin and the constable, but then sees that the gun has no bullets and throws down the gun and raises his hands behind his head in an act of surrender. Ashwin then takes out his pistol and pulls out two rounds, telling Angre that they were purposely removed to cause Angre to try to escape. He then shoots Angre, (the intention of this incident is not revealed in the film, suspecting Indian judicial system; it was perhaps to avenge his fallen comrades Shekhar and Kamlesh by himself). The film ends with Ashwin ringing the department and saying that Angre was killed in a fake encounter while trying to fire at the policemen and escape from custody.

Cast[link]

• Amitabh Bachchan as DCP Anant Kumar Shrivastav
• Akshay Kumar as Senior Inspector Shekhar Verma
• Ajay Devgn as Yashwant Angre, a former police officer
• Aishwarya Rai as Mahalakshmi
• Tusshar Kapoor as Sub-Inspector Ashwin Gupte
• Atul Kulkarni as Dr. Iqbal Ansari
• Tanuja as Dr. Iqbal Ansari's mother
• Jaya Prada as Jaya Srivastav
• Sabyasachi Chakravarthy as Minister Deodhar
• Prakash Raj as Additional Commissioner of Police Naidu
• Lara Dutta as herself (cameo appearance in the song 'Aisa Jadoo')
• D Santosh as Constable Gajanan Mahatre
• Kamlesh Sawant as Constable Kamlesh Sawant
• Vivek Vaswani as smuggler
• Yusuf Hussain as Police Commissioner

Production[link]

The film was shot in various parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Nashik. The city of Nairoli shown in the movie is actually the city of Apta near Panvel. The railway station of Apta was rechristened as Nairoli for the scene featuring the shoot-out at the station.^[3]

Ram Sampath has composed the music for the film.

Reception[link]

Khakee met with very positive reviews and outstanding performances from all the lead actors. The Hindu mentioned "It's the director's show all the way. 'Khakee' is great evidence of what smart writing can do to a film - the duo of Rajkumar Santoshi and Shridhar Raghavan, deserve all the credit for packing the punches the film delivers. A little pace is lost in the second half because of the dialogues, song and dance, but thanks to high production values and charismatic star appeal, you really don't feel the length - 2 hours and 54 minutes. An aging Amitabh Bachchan is first rate with his trademark delivery. Akshay Kumar provides the comic relief with his `I'm cool' flirtatious attempts to woo Aishwarya and Tusshar plays the foil to his seniors - a neat essay".^[4] Sukanya Verma from Rediff said "What I also like about Khakee is that every actor, big or small(in terms of footage), good or bad (in terms of character) has that one defining moment on screen. Khakee is a smart film. It makes you think. It keeps you at the edge of your seat. It gives you your money's worth. What more do you want.^[5]

Bollywood Hungama gave a four stars explains " One wouldn't call KHAKEE the best script Santoshi has tackled, but it certainly would rank amongst the best. Another aspect that enhances the film is the dialogues (Rajkumar Santoshi), which will be met with a thunderous applause at various junctures of the film. Santoshi has a knack for extracting wonderful performances from the cast. Amitabh Bachchan delivers one of the best performances of his career. He has some of the toughest scenes in the film. In fact, a lesser actor would've failed to do justice to the role. But Bachchan's expressions, voice and movement bring the character to life. Akshay Kumar is fantastic. Ajay Devgan adds yet another feather in his cap with a performance that could've been essayed only by a master performer. Aishwarya Rai gets a role to prove her talent and she more than lives up to the expectations. Tusshar may not have many lines to deliver, but his presence and expressions register a strong impact".^[6]

Derek Elley from Variety magazine stated "The testosterone's so high you can almost put a match to it in "Khakee," a twist-filled, often very violent drama centered on some cops escorting a terrorist cross-country to Mumbai. Powerhouse casting, and equally powerhouse direction by Rajkumar Santoshi, makes this an above-average example of mainstream Bollywood thrillers, sans any stylistic flourishes. Given its paucity of musical numbers and romance, this one could have a career on ancillary among general action buffs".^[7]

The film was nominated for four Filmfare Awards, including Best Director for Santoshi, Best Actor for Bachchan, Best Supporting Actor for Kumar, and Best Villain for Devgn.

Soundtrack[link]

The music is composed by Ram Sampath. Lyrics are penned by Sameer. Rajkumar Santoshi wanted A. R. Rahman to compose the music for the film; but the latter did not sign the project due to other commitments. Hence Sampath was selected after an audition.^[8]

Track listing[link]

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b} http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=210&catName=MjAwNA==
2. ^ The Hindu
3. ^ "Cop-out!". Mumbai Newsline, Indian Express. http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=64864. 
4. ^ "Khakee". The Hindu (Chennai, India). February 6, 2004. http://www.hindu.com/fr/2004/02/06/stories/2004020601230302.htm. 
5. ^ "Khakee is money's worth. What more do you want?". Rediff.com. http://www.rediff.com/movies/2004/jan/23khakee.htm. 
6. ^ http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/7097/index.html
7. ^ Elley, Derek (January 31, 2004). "Khakee". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117922971?refcatid=31. 
8. ^ http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/nov/04ram.htm

External links[link]

• Khakee at the Internet Movie Database

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