Special 26

About the film

Special 26 (also known as Special Chabbis) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language period black comedy heist thriller film written and directed by Neeraj Pandey. Based on the 1987 Opera House heist, the plot follows a team of criminals (Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher), who pose as CBI officers and conduct raids, robbing politicians and businessmen of their black money. With the real CBI (Manoj Bajpayee) on their trail, they decide to pull off their biggest heist yet. The film also stars Jimmy Sheirgill, Kajal Aggarwal, Rajesh Sharma, Divya Dutta and Kishor Kadam.

Filming began on 23 February 2012 in Delhi. The film was shot in Chandni Chowk, near Jama Masjid, and Mumbai. A theatrical trailer was released online on 20 December 2012. The film was distributed all over India by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Wide Frame Pictures.

Plot

The film opens on 18 March 1987. The scene then transitions to flashback.

Ajay calls a local police station to obtain more manpower for a CBI raid. He speaks to SI Ranveer Singh who agrees to send the required number of support officers. Ajay, with accomplices P. K. Sharma, Joginder Khurana and Iqbal Ali, meet the supporting officers and conduct the raid.

After their successful raid at a minister's house, it's revealed that Ajay and P. K. are fake CBI officers, along with their two accomplices. They then move to different parts of the country and merge into their everyday lifestyles. Ajay's love interest, Priya Chauhan, an about-to-be-married teacher, is introduced. The crew meets again in Chandigarh at the behest of P. K. for his daughter's wedding.

Production

The film takes its foundations from the robbery of 19 March 1987, when 26 people posing as CBI officials raided a jewellery store in Opera House, Bombay.

Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan were reported to have been considered for the lead role. It went to Akshay Kumar as he was Pandey's first choice. Manoj Bajpai was signed to play the CBI officer. and Anupam Kher plays a vital role. Kajal Aggarwal plays a specially-written role of Ajay Singh's love interest as a school teacher. Akshay Kumar slashed his fee by half for Special Chabbis.

Shooting began on 23 February 2012 in Delhi. The first schedule of the film was shot in Chandni Chowk, following which the unit moved to Jama Masjid.

Music

The soundtrack album of Special 26 was composed by noted South Indian film composer M. M. Keeravani credited as M. M. Kreem. Himesh Reshammiya, was roped in as the guest composer for the song "Gore Mukhde Pe Zulfen" which was written by Shabbir Ahmed, and the rest of them were penned by Irshad Kamil. All the songs were recorded at Prasad Film Laboratories in Hyderabad, and Silver Harmony in Mumbai. The music rights were acquired by T-Series and the album was released on 9 January 2013, at a promotional event held in PVR, Mumbai. The background score of the film is composed by Surinder Sodhi.

Marketing and release

Special Chabbis released on for around ₹120 million (US$1.3 million). The producers have ₹500 million (US$5.2 million) investment on Special Chabbis, as the film has fetched around ₹350 million (US$3.7 million) from sale of the territory rights across India. Special 26 was made on a budget of around ₹300 million (US$3.1 million), with a publicity and advertising budget of around ₹120 million (US$1.3 million).

The theatrical trailer was released online on 20 December 2012. The first promos of Nautanki Saala and Chashme Baddoor were attached to Special 26. The movie was distributed all over India by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Wide Frame Pictures. Akshay Kumar, with the rest of the cast of Special Chabbis, were scheduled to visit the crime spot of the incident that inspired the film. A special screening was held for CBI officials on 5 February 2013.

Reception

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the score of 4 out of 5, and said "Special Chabbis is an intelligently woven, slick and smart period thriller with its subject matter as its USP. It's sure to get listed as one of the most gripping heist dramas based on real life occurrences."

Anupama Chopra, writing for Hindustan Times, gave 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it one of the best films of the year and praising its attention to detail, its character building, the plot's steady but sure sense of immediacy and urgency, and the elaborate cat-and-mouse chase between the conmen and the police. She criticises the unnecessary addition of the love angle in an otherwise gripping script, along with the unconvincing nature of its climax.

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "Special 26 is an intelligently scripted, superbly acted, enthralling and believable heist film that is more than just that."

Remake

Special 26 was remade in Tamil titled Thaanaa Serndha Koottam (2018) starring Suriya and Keerthy Suresh in lead roles, and was directed by Vignesh Shivan. The film was released on 12 January 2018.

Key details