| Gangster: A Love Story | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Anurag Basu |
| Screenplay by | Mahesh Bhatt Anurag Basu |
| Dialogues by | Girish Dhamija |
| Story by | Mahesh Bhatt |
| Produced by | Mahesh Bhatt Mukesh Bhatt |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bobby Singh |
| Edited by | Akiv Ali |
| Music by |
|
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Nimbus Motion Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹6.5 crore[1] |
| Box office | ₹17.93 crore[1] |
Gangster: A Love Story is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt under Vishesh Films. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut (in her debut) and Shiney Ahuja. The music was composed by Pritam.
Gangster was released theatrically on 28 April 2006, and proved to be a commercial success at the box office. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its screenplay, soundtrack, cinematography and performances of the cast, with particular praise directed towards Ranaut's debut performance.
At the 52nd Filmfare Awards, Gangster received 10 nominations, including Best Villain (Hashmi) and Best Male Playback Singer (Zubeen Garg for "Ya Ali"), and won Best Female Debut (Ranaut).
Plot
Simran, a former bar dancer from Mumbai, is living in Seoul, where she struggles with alcoholism and the trauma of her past with Daya, a gangster who fled India with her after defying his crime boss Khan. Their relationship is further scarred by the death of a young boy, Bittu, during their escape from the Mumbai police, leaving Simran emotionally shattered.
In Seoul, Simran finds comfort in Aakash, a singer at an Indian restaurant, and their friendship gradually develops into love. However, Daya returns seeking redemption and a peaceful life with Simran, unaware that she has grown close to Aakash. Tensions rise when Daya learns of their relationship, while also attempting to leave his violent past behind.
Simran becomes pregnant with Aakash’s child but remains torn between both men. Aakash urges her to turn Daya in for their future, while Simran refuses out of loyalty and guilt. The situation escalates when Daya kills Khan and is ultimately arrested following Simran’s conflicted involvement in a police setup.
Devastated, Simran discovers Aakash was an undercover officer who manipulated her to reach Daya. In rage and betrayal, she kills Aakash, but both are left mortally wounded in the confrontation. Aakash dies, Simran later dies by suicide, and Daya is executed. The story concludes with a symbolic reunion of all three in the afterlife.
Cast
- Kangana Ranaut as Simran
- Emraan Hashmi as Akash Kapadia
- Shiney Ahuja as Daya Shankar
- Gulshan Grover as Khan
- Hitanshu Lodhia as Bittu
- Vicky Ahuja as Usman
- Jeetpal as Inspector Raghavan
- Zubeen Garg (special appearance in song "Ya Ali")
- Pritam as himself (special appearance in song "Bheegi Bheegi")
Production
Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar was initially offered the role of Daya, but he turned the role down claiming, "Cricket is not only my profession but my obsession as well".[2][3]
Koel Mallick was offered the role of Simran, but rejected it due to her discomfort towards the intimate and bold scenes in the script.[4] Chitrangada Singh had also been offered the role, before Kangana Ranaut was cast.[5]
Reception
Gangster received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its screenplay, soundtrack and performances of the cast, with particular praise directed towards Ranaut's performance. Raja Sen of Rediff awarded the film 3.5 stars (out of 5) and stated that ‘‘Ranaut is a remarkable find, the actress comes across with great conviction. Hers is the pivotal character and an extremely difficult role to essay, but she manages it well. Ranaut's nuances [of an alcoholic dancer] are disconcertingly realistic’’. Praising Hashmi's performance he further added, ‘‘His character is an understated one, and he manages to keep it that way. There is no unnecessary bluster or melodrama, and he does a pretty believable job. There is something lazy about his acting, by which I mean he makes the job look easy’’.[6] Vinayak Chakraborty of Hindustan Times praised Basu's direction, noting that he "laces enough twists in the plot to keep surprising you and "keeps the tension quotient high at all times, cunningly moving his script from one climax point to the other. The critic concluded the movie as "definitely the director’s best work yet - better than 2004’s Murder."[7] Film critic Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote that "The film works primarily because it’s an engaging story that’s neither predictable nor plagarised [sic]. Is it based on underworld don Abu Salem’s life? I don’t think so, and quite frankly I don’t even care. What I do care about, however, is the director’s conscious attempt to abandon clichés in exchange for originality. And for that reason, Gangster is worth a watch".[8]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is composed by Pritam Chakraborty. The complete album consisted of five original tracks and four remixes.[9] Saregama brought the music rights of the film. The song "Bheegi Bheegi" is an original composition with the adaptation of the song "Prithibi Ta Naki" by Moheener Ghoraguli, which was later covered by the Kolkata-based band Krosswindz.[10] Singer Zubeen Garg had first sung "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" but later in the released version was dubbed by KK.[11] "Ya Ali" is an Interpolation the Kuwaiti pop song "Ya Ghali" by the Kuwaiti band Guitara.[12]
| Gangster | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 1 December 2005 (2005-12-01) (Digital Release) 28 April 2006 (2006-04-28) (Film) | |||
| Genre | Feature Film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 45:46 | |||
| Label | Saregama Universal Music India | |||
| Producer | Pritam Chakraborty | |||
| Pritam Chakraborty chronology | ||||
| ||||
Track list
All music is composed by Pritam Chakraborty.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" | Sayeed Quadri | KK | 6:26 |
| 2. | "Bheegi Bheegi" | Mayur Puri | James | 5:43 |
| 3. | "Lamha Lamha" | Neelesh Misra | Abhijeet Bhattacharya | 5:23 |
| 4. | "Ya Ali" | Sayeed Quadri | Zubeen Garg | 4:51 |
| 5. | "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" (Euro Mix) | Sayeed Quadri | KK | 5:12 |
| 6. | "Mujhe Mat Roko" | Sayeed Quadri | Kavita Seth | 4:09 |
| 7. | "Lamha Lamha (not used in the film)" | Neelesh Misra | Abhijeet Bhattacharya & Sunidhi Chauhan | |
| 8. | "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" (Remix) | Sayeed Quadri | KK | 5:01 |
| Total length: | 45:46 | |||
Reception
The soundtrack was popular upon release with songs like "Ya Ali", "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" and "Bheegi Bheegi" topping the charts and being consequently declared chartbusters within a week of their release. Gangster became the fifth best-selling album of 2006 in India selling over 16,00,000 units.[13]
Awards and nominations
References
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- "Bollywood offer for Shoaib Akhtar". bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 26 April 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2005.
- "Shoaib turns down Indian film acting offer". paktribune. Archived from the original on 17 January 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2005.
- "Koel Mallick Rejected offer from Bollywood - Crazy unsettling facts about your favourite Bengali celebrities". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- "Chitrangda Singh, not Kangana Ranaut, was the first choice for Gangster, but her 'phone got switched off'". Hindustan Times. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
- "This Gangster packs a punch!". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "Movie Review: Gangster". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006.
- Masand, Rajeev (28 April 2006). "Gangster review". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via Rajeev Masand.
- "Gangster (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Pritam on iTunes". iTunes. Archived from the original on 21 September 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- "One last revolution in Bengali music: Ekti Biborton Er Kahini – Pentasect Online". pentasect.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- Zubeen Garg Interview | Xakhyat with Ajit Kumar Bhuyan on Prag News, archived from the original on 29 June 2022, retrieved 29 June 2022
- "'Ya Ali is a rip-off of our song'". The Times of India. 15 August 2006. Archived from the original on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
- "Music Hits 2000-2009". Boxofficeindia.com. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Complete list of winners of Filmfare Awards 2007". The Times of India. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- "All Filmfare Awards Winners From 1953 to 2020". Filmfare. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- "Welcome To International Indian Film Academy". Iifa.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- Mitchell, Wendy (4 April 2007). "Rang De Basanti leads Idea IIFA Awards nominations". Screen International. Archived from the original on 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- "Going global". The Telegraph. 30 October 2006. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
- "Kangana Ranaut new face of 2006". The Tribune. 25 December 2006. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- "Awards Category : GIFA 2006 Nominees". Global Indian Film Awards. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- "G.I.F.A. Awards 2006 - Winners". www.filmibeat.com. 11 December 2006. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- "Kangana Ranaut". Hindustan Times. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- bollywoodproduct (3 May 2022). "Screen Award for Best Male Playback Singer". Bollywood Product. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- "Winners of the Zee Cine Awards 2007". Sify. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- "The 10th Zee Cine Awards 2007 Jury's Choice Nominations". Sify. Archived from the original on 6 April 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2021.