Half Girlfriend

About the film

Half Girlfriend is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film based on the novel of the same name written by Chetan Bhagat. The film is directed by Mohit Suri and stars Shraddha Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor in lead roles. The film also places Vikrant Massey and Rhea Chakraborty in pivotal roles.

Principal photography commenced in June 2016 and filming locations include Delhi, Mumbai, Patna, Dumraon, Varanasi, New York City and Cape Town. The film was released worldwide on 19 May 2017. Upon release, the movie received mixed-to-negative reviews upon release, with praise for its soundtrack, visuals, and a few supporting performances; but criticism towards its implausible story, weak screenplay, clichéd plot twists, dialogues, and unconvincing lead acting. Despite the criticism, it performed moderately well at the box office.

Plot

Madhav Jha is a good basketball player who cannot speak English well. He gets accepted into St Stephen's College, Delhi, based on a sports quota, where he meets Riya Somani, an upper-class young girl who is allowed temporary admission based on a sports quota. They become good friends and play basketball every evening. When Madhav tells his roommate, Shailesh, and friends about Riya, they push him to ask Riya out for a date, but she refuses and asks him just to be a friend. Madhav's friends still encourage him to pursue Riya in the hopes that she will eventually date him.

One night, Madhav and Riya hang out together. Madhav picks her up from her house, and after spending the evening together, when she returns home, she kisses Madhav before entering her house.

When Madhav attends Riya's birthday, he questions her about the nature of their relationship. Uncomfortable, Riya says that she is not his girlfriend, but they can maybe reach a compromise since they have reached halfway, and she offers to be his "half girlfriend." One afternoon after a game, Madhav asks Riya if she would like to rest in his room in a boys-only dorm, where (goaded by his peers and feeling humiliated by Riya's uncertainty), Madhav tries to force himself upon Riya. Upset and hurt, a few days later, Riya tells Madhav that she is leaving college and getting married. Madhav tries to stop her, but she leaves.

Production

The film went into production in March 2016. Prominent shooting locations included St. Stephen's College in New Delhi and Times Square and the UN Headquarters in New York City. It is the first Bollywood movie to be shot at the UN headquarters. The basketball action in the film is by Rob Miller, NBA and the ReelSports team. Around 200 students from different colleges were roped in to play extras as some of the scenes demand Delhi University students in the film. The trailer was released on 10 April.

Box office

The film was released on 20 May 2017 worldwide alongside Hindi Medium. it collected ₹120 million on its opening day and ₹104 million on the second day. On its first weekend, the total collection was noted as ₹320 million. On its second weekend, the total collection of the film stood at ₹540 million. Its lifetime worldwide gross is estimated to be ₹86–90 crore, with ₹72–77 crore earned domestically and ₹13–14 crore outside India.

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