Chori Chori Chupke Chupke

About the film

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (transl. Secretly and Stealthily) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Abbas–Mustan, with screenplay and story from Shyam Goel and Neeraj Vora respectively. Starring Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta in lead roles, the film's music is composed by Anu Malik and lyrics are penned by Sameer. Telling the story of a married couple hiring a young prostitute as a surrogate mother, the film generated controversy during its release for dealing with the taboo issue of surrogate childbirth in India.

Initially set to release on 22 December 2000, Chori Chori Chupke Chupke's release was delayed for several months when producer Nazim Rizvi and financier Bharat Shah were arrested and the Central Bureau of Investigation seized the film's prints on the suspicion that the production had been funded by Chhota Shakeel of the Mumbai underworld. The film was released in March 2001 to a wide audience and emerged as a commercial success, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2001 in India.

Plot

Raj and Priya, who come from well-to-do Indian families, meet at a wedding and fall in love. Soon after they marry, Priya becomes pregnant. Early in the pregnancy, Priya miscarries and becomes permanently infertile. On Dr. Balraj Chopra's advice, they decide to look for a surrogate mother to bear Raj's child and hide Priya's infertility from his conservative family. Since the process of artificial insemination could be revealed in the Indian media due to the family's renown and position in society, the couple agree that pregnancy should be achieved by means of sexual relations between Raj and the surrogate mother. Raj meets Madhubala "Madhu", a prostitute, who agrees to carry Raj's baby in exchange for money. After some much-needed behavioral grooming and a makeover, Madhu meets Priya—who is unaware of Madhu's background—and the three depart for Switzerland in order to carry out their plan secretly.

Soon Madhu is pregnant with Raj's child, and he happily tells his family that Priya is expecting. Meanwhile, Raj's business partner Ajay Sharma begins to sexually harass Madhu and she decides to leave Switzerland, mistakenly believing that Raj told his friend that she is a prostitute. Eventually, Priya finds out about Madhu's past, but still believes that Madhu should carry their child and begs her to stay. When Madhu is at home by herself, Raj's friend assaults her but Raj arrives in time to save her. Overwhelmed by Raj's kindness, Madhu falls in love with him.

Raj's family suddenly arrives in Switzerland. While Priya reaches for pregnancy-simulating pillows, the family meets the heavily pregnant Madhu who is introduced to them as a friend staying with them while her husband is travelling for business. Raj's grandfather Kailashnath and father Ranjit arrange a Godbharaai, a religious baby shower ceremony. They ask Raj, Priya, and Madhu to return with them to India, where the ritual must be held as formally required by tradition.

Production

Director duo Abbas–Mustan had almost completed Ajnabee by October 1999 when they declared Chori Chori Chupke Chupke as their next project. The three leads, Salman Khan, Rani Mukerji, and Preity Zinta, previously starred together in the romantic comedy Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (2000). Producer Nazim Rizvi clarified that the casting of the three actors happened before they signed for the latter film. Khan, Mukerji and Zinta were paid ₹1.5 crore (US$160,000), ₹0.24 crore (US$25,000), and ₹0.25 crore (US$26,000) for their roles, respectively (all sums unadjusted for inflation). Zinta was initially reluctant to play her role, as she was unsure she was suited to play a prostitute, but she eventually accepted it at the directors' persuasion. To prepare for it, she visited several bars and nightclubs in Mumbai's red-light areas to study the lingo and mannerisms of sex-workers.

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke was made on a budget of ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹52 crore or US$5.4 million in 2023). Principal photography started in early 2000 and lasted two months. Location filming, performed by Thomas A. Xavier, took place in both Mahabaleshwar and Switzerland. The film was edited by Hussain A. Burmawala, and Surendra Sodhi composed the background score.

Initially, Shah Rukh Khan was offered the lead role as Raj Malhotra, who had previously worked in the directors' two films Baazigar, and Baadshah. However, he declined due to lack of dates, and then Salman Khan was approached and has accepted the offer.

Themes and influence

The film generated some controversy before and during its release for being one of the only Hindi-language films dealing with the taboo issue of surrogate childbirth in India, in addition to prostitution in India. Surrogacy in the film is not achieved through artificial insemination but sexual intercourse, and author Aditya Bharadwaj argued that the film draws an analogy between surrogacy and prostitution. Anindita Majumdar, author of the book Surrogacy (2018), wrote, "In popular Indian culture, surrogacy has come to be associated with the 2001 Hindi language film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke". According to author Daniel Grey, that Madhubala was a prostitute before becoming a surrogate "reinforces a stereotyped and erroneous popular association between the two roles that has contributed to considerable prejudice on the Subcontinent against women who act as surrogates".

Key details