Jaan-E-Mann

About the film

Jaan-E-Mann (transl. Beloved) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Shirish Kunder and was produced by Sajid Nadiawala. The film stars Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta. This was Kunder's debut film as a director. He also edited and wrote the screenplay and dialogue.

Jaan-E-Mann was released on 20 October 2006 on the festive weekend of Diwali/Eid, clashing with Don – The Chase Begins Again starring Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra. The film proved to be a commercial failure at the box office. It received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with praise for its innovative filming techniques, visuals, production design, soundtrack and special effects; however its story, screenplay and dialogues received sharp criticism.

Plot

The film begins when Suhaan Kapoor (Salman Khan) receives a notice saying his ex-wife Piya Goyal (Preity Zinta), who has settled in New York, wants a divorce settlement of ₹5 million, because he failed to make his alimony payments due to his poor financial condition. Suhaan appeals to his uncle Bonney Kapoor (Anupam Kher), a mediation lawyer, for help. While they are trying to figure out a solution, Agastya Rao (Akshay Kumar) lands at their doorstep searching for Piya. He reveals to them that he fell in love with Piya during his college days but could not express his love to her because she was in love with someone else, unaware that the person he lost her to was Suhaan. Piya had ignored Agastya then, a nerd, a nobody, and even broke his heart by blowing him off to be with Suhaan at a concert that Agastya had taken her to. A heartbroken Agastya left the college as a result and eventually wound up in Houston working for NASA.

Suhaan and Piya fall in love in college and elope. However, he kept his marriage a secret to further his career as a movie star and when his career hits a low, he returns home to find out that she has left him. She does not answer his calls or letters, and he soon receives a divorce notice in the mail.

Suhaan and Bonney hatch a plan to get Agastya and Piya together so that Suhaan does not need to pay alimony to Piya and Agastya can end up with the woman of his dreams. Suhaan accompanies Agastya to New York to help Agastya win Piya over. They rent an apartment opposite Piya's and watch her every move using telescopes, binoculars, and surveillance techniques. Using a headset, Suhaan feeds Agastya lines to woo Piya with and eventually succeeds in getting Piya and Agastya together.

Production

Filming started in New York City on 1 September 2005 and then moved to Mumbai.

Soundtrack

The music for the film was released on 8 September 2006. The music is composed by Anu Malik and includes a few playback singers forming the former contestants of Indian Idol. Lyrics are penned by Gulzar. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 1,250,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's eighth highest-selling.

Reception

Jaan-E-Mann opened in nearly 1,200 screens worldwide. The film faced stiff competition from Don – The Chase Begins Again which also released on the same day. The film opened to a 40% response. The second day saw a huge drop in the collections, due to the Diwali celebrations. According to boxofficeindia.com, the collections jumped to 70%, but fell again to 50%. The film has done very well in the smaller centres in India.

Pranab Kapadia, the UK distributor of Jaan-E-Mann said "Jaan-E-Mann's figures have picked up dramatically in Britain. Although the film grossed a mere £18,000 on its opening day, the film has experienced a remarkable upswing, grossing £40,000 on Monday and £60,000 on Tuesday. The audience and critics reception has been overwhelming."

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 44% of 9 critics' reviews are positive.

Key details