Bang Bang!

About the film

Bang Bang! is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Fox Star Studios. An official remake of American film Knight and Day (2010), the film also borrows inspiration from the 2012 Bengali film Jaaneman. it marks Anand's running foray into the action genre, and stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, alongside Javed Jaffrey, Danny Denzongpa, and Pavan Malhotra. The soundtrack and background score were handled by Vishal–Shekhar and Salim–Sulaiman respectively, marking the latter's final collaboration with Anand, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Sunil Patel and Akiv Ali respectively. In the film, a mysterious thief encounters an unassuming bank receptionist, which sets off a chain of events resulting in a series of escapades.

Bang Bang! was released on 2 October 2014, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti with dubbed versions releasing on the same day simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed ₹332 crore (US$54.4 million) globally to become one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2014.

Plot

After a treaty between India and UK to expedite extradition of Omar Zafar, a notorious terrorist, to India is passed, Col. Viren Nanda gets killed and is burnt alive by Omar in London during his escape from prison. Omar gets escorted by his trusted lieutenant Hamid Gul and declares US$5 million reward for an Indian thief to steal the Koh-i-Noor.

Rajveer Nanda, a mysterious person, steals the Koh-i-Noor and demands US$20 million when Zafar and Gul aim to retrieve it. After a subsequent brawl with Gul's men at a local restaurant in Shimla, Rajveer visits a restaurant and meets Harleen Sahni, a bank receptionist who dreams of finding true love and adventure in life. Harleen is waiting for her blind internet date Vickie Kapoor. Rajveer assumes the date and the pair fall for each other, but is forced to abandon her after being found by Gul's men. Harleen leaves upon learning the truth and seeing the real Vickie who admits to his car and phone failing him, but on her way back home, she bumps into Rajveer again, and he seeks her help to remove a bullet. Before leaving, Rajveer drugs her with sedative water and informs her of scare tactics that some law enforcement officials will try and coerce her into working against him.

Rajveer's prediction comes true as two government agents Zorawar Kalra and his informer, Inspector Bhola implore Harleen to travel with them to the police station, but instead head for a safe place. Taking note of Rajveer's instructions, Harleen finds a pistol and holds them at gunpoint. Rajveer arrives and the pair escapes, but they meet Harleen's manager Karan Saxena, who is shot in the leg by Rajveer. Harleen demands that she return home and tells that she made a huge mistake by trusting Rajveer, which leads to an argument over their loyalties, but Harleen eventually decides to stay upon realizing that he truly intends to protect her and proceeds to accompany him. During a visit to a Pizza Hut outlet, Rajveer reveals that he stole the Koh-i-Noor, much to Harleen's surprise, and the pair are immediately confronted by Zorawar and his team.

Production

Earlier reports had suggested that Siddharth Anand, who had made Salaam Namaste, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Anjaana Anjaani in the past, planned to make his next film with Shahid Kapoor, but Shahid Kapoor wanted to avoid comparisons with Tom Cruise and did not have availability of his dates for the film as he had signed onto Haider. Bipasha Basu rumouredly was also on board, but she eventually turned down the film. Soon news came that Siddharth Anand was planning a film with Hrithik Roshan. In September 2012, Hrithik Roshan was confirmed to play the lead role, with Katrina Kaif playing the female lead. Hrithik Roshan started working on the film immediately after wrapping up Krrish 3 and charged a ₹300 million fee for his performance in the film, which until then was the most any actor in Hindi cinema had charged up front. The film was soon revealed to be the official adaptation of Knight and Day.

In June 2014, the Bollywood group known as the Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association (CCMAA) authorized an official protest on the movie set of Bang Bang! in protest of foreign make-up artist Daniel Bauer working on the movie for its lead actress, Katrina Kaif. The CCMAA and 15 of its members protested on the movie set as Daniel Bauer was not registered with the Union, despite the Union banning foreign artists working in Bollywood. The issue was resolved with the CCMAA granting Daniel Bauer full membership.

In December 2012, it was confirmed that the official remake of Knight and Day would be titled Bang Bang. In March 2013, the film's Kashmir schedule was cancelled. Shooting for the film began on 1 May 2013, with the film scheduled for release on 1 May 2014. Unique water action sequences were shot in Thailand and Greece. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Roshan spoke about the action sequences in the film stating, "I have pushed myself to the extreme for this stunt. This sequence called for mental and physical tenacity. The rush that I experienced while training and executing the sequence was out of the world. I was hooked to a sea plane while I did the stunt. I had trained non-stop to even attempt the sequence". Roshan refused to use any body double to perform the stunts.

Key details