Crew

About the film

Crew is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language heist comedy film directed by Rajesh A Krishnan and written by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri. Produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, and Digvijay Purohit under Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network, it stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon, and Tabu with Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma in supporting roles. In the film, three air hostesses become involved in a gold smuggling operation.

Crew was announced in November 2022. Principal photography took place from March 2023 to February 2024. Crew was theatrically released on 29 March 2024 to mostly positive reviews from critics. It became a commercial success, grossing over ₹157.08 crore (US$16 million) globally, making it the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024.

Plot

Geeta Sethi, Jasmine Kohli, and Divya Rana are flight attendants with Kohinoor Airlines in Mumbai, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. The staff have not been paid their salaries in months, and are still hoping that things will change. Geeta is a former beauty queen married to Arun, both of whom are wealthy until a spat in his family resulted in her having to work as a flight attendant to make ends meet. Arun now runs a struggling food business from home and aspires to own a restaurant in Goa. Geeta has to financially support her unemployed troublemaking brother, Punnu, and his wife, Sapna, as well. Jasmine was raised by her maternal grandfather, Nanu, after her parents divorced and has been hustling to earn money since her school years. She does not believe in relationships, is fond of expensive things, and flaunts a fake and flashy lifestyle on social media while trying to start up her own cosmetics business. Divya is trained to be a pilot but was forced to take up the job of a flight attendant due to a lack of openings and keeps this hidden from her family, while struggling to repay her school loan.

The death of senior flight attendant Rajvanshi, while on duty, leads Geeta, Jasmine, and Divya to a clandestine operation to smuggle gold out of India to the Middle Eastern country, Al Burj. Manoj Mittal, the HR Head of Kohinoor Airlines, is the kingpin of the operation. At Jasmine's insistence after Geeta learns the flight attendants have lost their Provident Fund, the three of them eventually take over for Rajvanshi in the gold smuggling operation by disguising the loot as chocolates, and their financial situations improve: Geeta funds Arun's food business, along with Punnu and Sapna (eventually helping her sister-in-law get a job as a chef and leave her brother); Jasmine buys back Nanu's gold ring from the pawn shop and splurges on herself; Divya pays off her school loan and buys her parents a new car. Meanwhile, the other employees are still struggling.

Someone tips off the customs officials that the three flight attendants are smuggling gold; and even though they hide the stash, the detention that follows makes them feel humiliated and rethink their choice. After Nanu passes away, the friends reconcile as Geeta and Divya comfort Jasmine. The enraged customs official, SI Mala, mentions that her tip is accurate because she received it from an air hostess within Kohinoor, and cannot come to terms with the fact that she could not recover any gold.

Production

In November 2022, producers Ekta Kapoor and Rhea Kapoor announced The Crew, a heist comedy starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon in the lead roles. The screenplay was penned by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri. Rajesh A. Krishnan directed the film, which was produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor, and Digvijay Purohit under the banners of Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network.

Principal photography commenced on 25 March 2023 and wrapped in February 2024. Shooting took place primarily in Mumbai and Goa with additional sequences filmed in Abu Dhabi. The production team used Deloitte's Hyderabad office to depict the Kohinoor Airlines Mumbai headquarters, while aircraft visuals were digitally altered to feature the fictional airline's branding.

Music

The music of the film was composed by Diljit Dosanjh, Badshah, Raj Ranjodh, Vishal Mishra, Akshay–IP, Bharg–Rohit while the background score is composed by John Stewart Eduri.

The first single titled "Naina" was released on 5 March 2024. The second single, a remake version of Rajasthani track "Delhi Shahar Mein Maro Ghagro Jo Ghumyo" by Ila Arun, titled "Ghagra" was released on 12 March 2024. A remake of the song "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai" from the 1993 film Khal Nayak is sung by Alka Yagnik and Arun, composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal and written by Anand Bakshi. The third single titled "Choli Ke Peeche" was released on 20 March 2024. The fourth song "Sona Kitna Sona Hai" is a remake of the same name song from the 1997 film Hero No. 1 sung by Udit Narayan and Poornima, composed by Anand–Milind and written by Sameer Anjaan.

Release

Initially planned for a 22 March 2024 release, the film was theatrically released on 29 March 2024 coinciding with Good Friday.

The film began streaming on Netflix from 24 May 2024.

Reception

As of 22 May 2024, Crew has grossed ₹107.05 crore (US$11 million) in India, with a further ₹50.03 crore (US$5.2 million) overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹157.08 crore (US$16 million).

Key details