Main aur Charles(transl. Me and Charles) is a 2015Hindicrime filmwritten and directed byPrawaal Ramanand produced by Cynozure Networkz.[2][3]The film is a fictitious thriller inspired by true events; it is told from the perspective of the Indian cop,Amod Kanth,who handled the case of the Indian Origin Frenchserial killerCharles Sobhrajwho was known as the bikini killer. The film opened on 30 October 2015 to positive reviews across India.[4][5][6]However, it was abox office flop,grossing₹80 million(US$1.25 million) against a₹100 million(US$1.56 million) budget.[1]
| Main Aur Charles | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Prawaal Raman |
| Written by | Prawaal Raman |
| Screenplay by | Prawaal Raman |
| Story by | Prawaal Raman |
| Produced by | Raju Chadha Amit Kapoor Vikram Khakhar |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Anuj Rakesh Dhawan |
| Edited by | Nipun Ashok Gupta |
Production company | Wave Cinemas Cynozure Networkz |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹100 million[1] |
| Box office | ₹80 million[1] |
The film starsRandeep Hooda,[7]Richa Chadda,Adil Hussain,Tisca Chopra,andAlexx O'Nellin lead roles.[8]Through the narrative, we see a series of crimes committed by Charles and the story of each of his victims, who fell for his charisma but were betrayed by his serpentine nature. The man not just escaped several high security jails but also manipulated the legal system. In the title,Main aur Charles,the word 'Main' means 'me' and stands for the character of Amod Kanth.[5][9]The film was warmly accepted in the trade for its impeccable direction, casting and background score. Apart from these technicalities, the film has satisfied critics creatively with fine performances by Hooda, Chadha and Hussain.[10][11][12]
Cast
edit- Randeep Hooda-Hatchand Bhaonani Gurumukh Charles Sobhraj/ Zubin Pratap
- Richa Chaddha- Mira Sharma (Charles's girl friend)
- Adil Hussain-Amod Kanth
- Alexx O'Nell- Richard Thomas
- Lucky Morani- Dr. Ashima Mehra (criminal psychologist)
- Mandana Karimi- Liz (Charles's girl friend)
- Shaanti - Princess Malvika
- Dijana Dejanovic- Charles's Lawyer
- Vipin Sharma- Satender Kumar (Jailor)
- Tisca Chopra- Reena (Amod Kanths' wife)
- Kanika Kapoor- Special appearance as bar singer
- Anastasia Fullfina- Andrea (Charles's girl friend)
- Nandu Madhav- Inspector Sudhakar Zhende
- Saurabh Sarkar- Bajrangi Babu
- Sandeep Punia- Satpal Punia
- Satyakam Gupta- Rajan Ahuja
- Shanu Dev- Mr.Joshi (Investigating Officer)
- Abhiskek Diwan- Hemant
- Judge - M.L CHAUHAN(IAS)
Production
editThe film was shot inDelhi,Goa,Mumbai,Pattaya,andUdaipur.[13]
Soundtrack
edit| Main Aur Charles | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack albumby Vipin Patwa, Aditya Trivedi, Bally Grunge and Sanjeev-Darshan | |
| Released | October 15, 2015 |
| Length | 29:07 |
| Label | T-Series |
The music forMain Aur Charlesis composed by Vipin Patwa, Aditya Trivedi, Bally Grunge andSanjeev–Darshan.The full audio album was released on 15 October 2015. Themusic rightsare acquired byT-Series.
The song 'Jab Chaaye mera jaadoo' is originally from the movie Lootmaar (1980).
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neeli Bullet" | Kartik Chaudhry | Aditya Trivedi | 03:41 |
| 2. | "Woh Tho Yahin Hai Lekin" | Dr. Sagar | Jonita Gandhi | 02:51 |
| 3. | "Ya Rabba" | Rohan Moktali | Saugat Upadhaya | 04:07 |
| 4. | "Dekhe Meri Aankhon Mein Jo" | Kartik Chaudhry | Saba Azad | 03:36 |
| 5. | "Jee Lo Yaaron" | Bally Grunge | Saugat Upadhaya | 03:43 |
| 6. | "Main To Yahin Hoon Lekin" | Dr Sager | Ali Azmat | 02:39 |
| 7. | "Theme of Charles" | Aditya Trivedi | Aditya Trivedi | 03:36 |
| 8. | "Jab Chaye Mera Jadoo" | Ikram Basra | Kanika Kapoor | 04:54 |
| Total length: | 29:07 | |||
Reception
editShubhra GuptaforThe Indian Expressrated 1 star out of 5 and wrote "The film should have been riveting. But it comes off as a slapdash, confused collage of scenes involving the famous jail break in which the real life Sobhraj broke free with several prisoners: it was the kind of astoundingly brazen 'kaand' whose reverberations were felt in the system for a long time."[14]Sweta Kaushal forHindustan Timeswrote "The film does not just fail, it crashes miserably."[15]Nandini Ramnath forScroll.inwrote "The brazen fun that Charles and his cohorts are having is contrasted with the routine police work by Adil Hussain's overly loud and morally outraged cop. Hussain's outrage at Charles seems to be the result of envy."[16]Onreview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,the film holds an approval rating of 33% based on 6 reviews, and an average rating of 5/10.[17]Rachit Gupta forFilmfarewrote "Main Aur Charles is also a period film. But most of it takes place on beaches in Goa, courtrooms and jails. Locations that haven't really changed in the past 30 odd years. So the only place that you actually get to see a simulated sense of the ‘70s and ‘80s is the fashion."[18]
References
edit- ^abc"Main Aur Charles - Movie".Box Office India.Retrieved24 April2022.
- ^Varma, Arjun (30 October 2015)."Main Aur Charles review: Randeep Hooda kills it in film based on the notorious Bikini Killer".International Business TimesUK.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Gauri, Gayatri (2 November 2015)."Main Aur Charles review: Randeep Hooda is seductive as the deadly Charles Sobhraj".Showsha.Firstpost.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Iyer, Meena (17 December 2015)."Main Aur Charles Movie Review".The Times of India.The Times Group.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^abSen, Raja (30 October 2015)."Review: Main Aur Charles is a cool, compelling, winner".Rediff.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Shetty-Saha, Shubha (2 November 2015)."'Main Aur Charles' - Movie Review ".Mid-Day.Mid-Day Infomedia.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Singh, Preeti (23 January 2014)."First Look: Randeep Hooda plays Charles Sobhraj in 'Main Aur Charles'".News18.Network 18.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Chatterjee, Saibal (26 February 2016)."Main Aur CharlesMovie Review ".NDTV.NDTV Convergence.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Gupta, Rachit (30 October 2015)."Movie Review: Main Aur Charles".Filmfare.Worldwide Media.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^"Main Aur Charles Movie Review Rating Box Office Collections Ft. Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadda".Belvoir Eagle.Archived fromthe originalon 31 October 2015.
- ^Shah, Kunal M."Main Aur Charles movie review".Absolute India News.AVS News Connect. Archived fromthe originalon 17 November 2015.
- ^Kumar, Smita Vyas (31 October 2015)."Hum tum ek kamre main bandh ho aur story kho jaye".Desimartini.Top Movies Entertainment.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^"How `Main Aur Charles' tapped into the untapped locations".The Times of India.31 October 2015.ISSN0971-8257.Retrieved18 November2024.
- ^Gupta, Shubhra (30 October 2015)."Main Aur Charles movie review: Randeep Hooda needed a better film".The Indian Express.Retrieved24 December2022.
- ^Kaushal, Sweta (30 October 2015)."Main Aur Charles review: This film is too confused".Hindustan Times.Retrieved24 December2022.
- ^Ramnath, Nandini (30 October 2015)."Film review: Randeep Hooda nails it in 'Main Aur Charles', but the rest is off the mark".Scroll.in.Retrieved24 December2022.
- ^"Main Aur Charles (2015)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.Retrieved20 March2018.
- ^Gupta, Rachit (24 December 2015)."Movie Review: Main Aur Charles".Filmfare.Retrieved24 December2022.
