Aitraaz

About the film

Aitraaz (transl. Objection) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic psychological thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Subhash Ghai. It stars Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor.

Aitraaz tells the story of a man accused of sexual harassment by his female superior, and was released on 12 November 2004 to positive reviews. Chopra received widespread critical acclaim for her performance. Loosely based on the 1994 film Disclosure, the film was moderately successful at the box office, doing a business of ₹26 crores at the box office against a budget of ₹11 crores, and has been noted for its bold subject of male sexual harassment.

Plot

Raj Malhotra, an orphan, works as a product engineer for Voice Mobiles and lives in a rented house. Junior lawyer Priya Saxena mistakes him for his neighbor, Barrister Ram Chotrani for whom she applied for a job as an assistant due to their house numbers. Raj falls in love with Priya at first sight, and they eventually get married.

Two years later, Priya is pregnant, and they move into their own bungalow, expecting Raj’s promotion to CEO. However, at the company’s anniversary, Ranjit Roy, the chairman, arrives with his much younger wife, Sonia, who appoints his friend Rakesh as the new CEO, while Raj joins the board of directors.

A flashback shows Raj’s past in Cape Town, South Africa, where he worked for MTN Mobile Company. There he met Sonia, who worked as a model, and they began a relationship. However, Raj’s insecurity about her modeling career caused tensions. When Sonia became pregnant, she refused Raj’s offer to marry and decided to abort the child to focus on her ambitions for wealth and power. This led to their breakup.

Production

The director duo Abbas–Mustan took inspiration from National Basketball Association player Kobe Bryant, who was accused of rape by a fan; they began developing the film after reading about his sexual-assault case in the newspapers. Regarding the film's unusual title, they said the word aitraaz was colloquial and suited the subject. Shyam Goel and Shiraz Ahmed wrote the screenplay. Hussain A. Burmawala and R. Verman were responsible for film editing and art direction, respectively.

The film was announced in October 2003 by producer Subhash Ghai, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his production company Mukta Arts. The media reported that Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra were cast in lead roles, making it the third film collaboration between Kumar and Chopra after the highly successful Andaaz (2003) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004). Kumar was cast as Raj, a working man accused of rape at his workplace; Kapoor portrayed his supportive wife, who goes to extremes to defend him. According to the directors, Kumar was cast against type; he generally played action heroes, and they wanted him to underplay his character. Abbas–Mustan, known for stylish thrillers and intriguing antagonists, cast Chopra in her first negative role. She plays a woman, married to a business magnate more than twice her age, who seeks revenge by falsely accusing her former lover of raping her. Chopra was initially apprehensive about such a bold character, due to the controversial theme of sexual harassment, but Abbas–Mastan and Subhash Ghai convinced her to accept the role. The director duo had previously offered her the lead in their 2002 thriller Humraaz, which she could not accept.

Kumar described his character as "realistic" and a "new-age metrosexual" man. The actor revealed that he enjoyed the strengths and weaknesses of his character, adding "[he] is not afraid to show his feelings and does not feel emasculated by his situation." Kumar further stated: "There's a quiet dignity and heroism associated with my character. He doesn't fight for applause. He fights for his convictions." In an interview with The Tribune, Kapoor remarked that Indian women would identify with her character. She said her character "stand[s] by [Raj] in his moment of distress and helplessness, like every Indian woman would." Chopra described her character Sonia as "charming and focused", commenting that her "philosophy is that she has to achieve her goals at any cost. She knows one thing: that nothing can come in between her desires and herself." Owing to her conservative upbringing, Chopra found it difficult to identify with her "man-eater role". Playing an "extremely negative character" proved a challenge, and she had to mentally prepare herself for an hour before each scene.

Soundtrack

Aitraaz's soundtrack was composed by Himesh Reshammiya, with lyrics by Sameer. The album contains fifteen songs: seven original, and eight remixes. The vocals were performed by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Sunidhi Chauhan, Adnan Sami, K.K., and Alisha Chinai. It was released on 24 September 2004 by Sony Music India.

The soundtrack was generally well received by music critics, who praised its lyrics and vocals. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama rated the album 3 out of 5, praising "I Want To Make Love To You" (all three versions): "Sunidhi Chauhan is excellent in this wonderfully-composed track that shocks everyone with the intensity of the lyrics and the music". He concluded, "Except for two or three average songs here and there, the majority of songs in Aitraaz do keep you engaged".

Key details