War (2019 film)

War is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films.[3] The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles while Ashutosh Rana, Anupriya Goenka and Soni Razdan play supporting roles. It is the third installment in the YRF Spy Universe.

War
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySiddharth Anand
Screenplay byShridhar Raghavan
Siddharth Anand
Abbas Tyrewala (Dialogues)
Story byAditya Chopra
Siddharth Anand
Produced byAditya Chopra
StarringHrithik Roshan
Tiger Shroff
Vaani Kapoor
CinematographyBenjamin Jasper
Edited byAarif Sheikh
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byYash Raj Films
Release date
  • 2 October 2019 (2019-10-02) (India)
Running time
156 minutes[1][2]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹150 crore (US$20 million)
Box office₹475.5 crore (US$62 million)

The film was initially titled Fighters before the name was changed to War when the teaser trailer for the film was released on 15 July 2019. The film follows an Indian soldier assigned to eliminate his former mentor who has gone rogue.[4]

Made on a budget of ₹150 crore (US$20 million), War opened worldwide on 2 October 2019 on Gandhi Jayanti 5-day extended weekend.[5] Released simultaneously with its Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions, it received generally positive reviews from critics and audience with praise for Roshan and Shroff's performances, visual effects, action sequences and songs.[6] It had the record for highest-opening day collection made by a film in northern side of India until the record created by a Kannada film K.G.F: Chapter 2. It collected over ₹53.35 crore (US$7.0 million).[7] With a worldwide gross box office collection of over ₹475.5 crore (US$62 million), the film attained a blockbuster status, becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2019 and one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.[8]

Plot

A mysterious sniper is contacted by an aged secret agent, V. K. Naidu, based in New Delhi to kill a target, Farid Haqqani, from a distance. However, the sniper instead shoots Naidu and escapes. He is revealed to be former RAW agent Major Kabir Dhaliwal, considered one of the agency's best who has now gone rogue. Shortly after, Kabir's former boss and RAW joint secretary, Colonel Sunil Luthra, relays Kabir's betrayal to Defence Minister Sherna Patel, who calls for the agency to summon Captain Khalid Rahmani, another RAW agent who was previously mentored by Kabir and is in full awe of the former mentor.

Khalid is now assigned to eliminate Kabir and accepts the mission in order to protect the country's safety and to learn the actual reason why Kabir has gone rogue. A flashback shows Khalid's introduction to Kabir, who questions Sunil about Khalid's loyalty to the nation arguing that Khalid's father was a traitor to both the nation and to Kabir himself when he shot him. Khalid, who regards Kabir as his major inspiration, insists that he will serve his country, no matter what, and regain his family's honor. After a successful mission in Tikrit, Iraq, Kabir takes Khalid to account after noticing that he has a blind spot in his right peripheral vision while aiming a weapon and orders him to leave his team for others's safety.

Khalid explains that his father's reputation led to himself being injured in the right eye by school bullies when he was young and caused him the impairment. Kabir, however, accepts Khalid after seeing the love he expresses for his mother Nafeesa, his country, and seeing how he has proven his worth. Kabir inducts Khalid into his special forces team which consists of fellow field agents Saurabh, Prateek, Muthu and Aditi. Kabir plans his next mission which is targeted at criminal mastermind and terrorist businessman leader, Rizwan Illiyasi. The team capture Illiyasi, but he reveals to Kabir that there is a mole in his team who is fully loyal to his terrorist cause.

Killing Prateek and Muthu, Saurabh reveals himself as the mole; blinded by greed, he had accepted Illiyasi's offer of nearly $100 million to betray his country. An enraged Khalid chases after Saurabh, leaving Kabir to deal with Illiyasi alone. Kabir, who nearly succeeds in recapturing Illiyasi, is shot unconscious by Illiyasi's men. He wakes up in hospital a week later only to find a severely injured Khalid, also recovering, who tells Kabir that he has killed Saurabh. In the present, Khalid is nearly taken off the mission when an army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Shroff, is murdered by Kabir. Khalid manages to find Kabir and learns that his next target is Dr. Utpal Biswas.

Kabir is seen doting on a young girl named Ruhi. Kabir remembers about Ruhi's single mother, Naina Verma, with whom he had started his relationship in order to make her a civilian asset. A flashback shows how Kabir started his relationship with Naina. Later, on learning the truth, she becomes mistrustful and hesitant to help Kabir but agrees for her daughter's sake. She is sent to spy on Illiyasi's associate, Firoze Contractor. Kabir, who has been in touch with Aditi, learns from her that among Illiyasi's many contacts is a plastic surgeon, Dr. Mallika Singhal. Realizing that Firoze is actually Illiyasi, Kabir rushes to Naina's aid but is too late to save her life.

Illiyasi once again escapes after throwing Naina down from his flying helicopter, leaving Kabir shattered. In the present, Khalid is unable to prevent Biswas from being killed by Kabir. Infuriated, he gives chase to Kabir, who escapes again. After Khalid tries to convince Sunil to give him one final chance, he is fired on a doubt that he might have joined Kabir secretly. Khalid traces Kabir through Ruhi and finds out that Kabir is actually targeting associates of Illiyasi and is on an undercover mission to recover a drive with a secret code that Illiyasi needs. Meanwhile, at Kabir's hideout, both of them are attacked.

They fight off the attackers and make it to Aditi's wedding in Kerala, whereupon they recover the drive with the secret code that Illiyasi needs. However, after Kabir hands over the drive to him, Khalid poisons him with TTX while sharing a drink with Kabir on his boat. A flashback cuts to the chase between Khalid and Saurabh reveals Khalid being shot dead by Illiyasi, following which Saurabh undergoes plastic surgery to disguise himself as Khalid, just like how Illiyasi had transformed into Firoze Contractor. On the boat, Saurabh reveals himself as he throws a poisoned and helpless Kabir into the river.

Saurabh returns to Illiyasi, who bases himself on a heavily armed icebreaker ship. Kabir, who was assumed dead by Saurabh, parachutes aboard, single-handedly assaults the ship and eliminates Illiyasi's army. He then confronts Saurabh, revealing that he had known that the latter was not Khalid, having seen him aim and shoot perfectly with his right side in a way which Khalid couldn't due to his impaired vision, and also for his choice to drink alcohol, which was considered forbidden by Khalid due to his religious beliefs.

Hence, he had also acquired the antidote for the poison in his drink and put Aditi to spy on him. Deciding Illiyasi has become expendable, Saurabh shoots him dead in the confrontation and escapes. Kabir gives chase to Saurabh and overpowers him. After an intense and bloody fight in a derelict church, the church's dome collapses on Saurabh, crushing his face and killing him. The intelligence agency honours Khalid posthumously for his sacrifice as he laid down his life in order to save his nation and team with his mother Nafeesa receiving an award from the Prime Minister on behalf. Kabir, who is still believed by the agency to be a traitor, spends time with Ruhi and feels proud of seeing Khalid and his mother getting the respect they actually deserved and after a brief conversation with Sunil, continues with his next undercover mission.

Cast
  • Hrithik Roshan as Major Kabir Dhaliwal
  • Tiger Shroff as Captain Khalid Rahmani / Saurabh (after plastic surgery)
  • Redwanul Bari as Special Appearance
  • Vaani Kapoor as Naina Verma
  • Ashutosh Rana as Colonel Sunil Luthra, Kabir's boss
  • Anupriya Goenka as Aditi Nahta
  • Dipannita Sharma as Dr. Mallika Singhal
  • Soni Razdan as Nafeesa Rahmani, Khalid's mother
  • Arif Zakaria as Dr. Utpal Biswas
  • Mohit Chauhan as V.K. Naidu
  • Swaroopa Ghosh as Sherna Patel, Defence Minister
  • Yash Raaj Singh as Saurabh, Illiyasi's mole in Kabir's team (Before Plastic Surgery)
  • Sanjeev Vatsa as Rizwan Illiyasi
  • Dishita Sehgal as Ruhi Verma, Naina's little daughter
  • Imran Ahamed as Saini
  • Jessey Lever as Muthu
  • Mashhoor Amrohi as Firoze Contractor / Rizwan Illiyasi
  • Amit Gaur as Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Shroff (Para SF)
  • Ravi Awana as Basheer Hassib, Illiyasi's ally

Production

Development
Brahim Achabbakhe, one of the known stunt coordinators of American films, was hired as a stunt actor for the shooting of the film. He was seen in the opening scene of the film as a henchman, when Tiger Shroff's character Khalid was beating up Oslav's Henchman in the safehouse of Valetta, the capital of Malta

On Yash Chopra’s birth anniversary, Yash Raj Films announced a new action film starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff.[9] Vaani Kapoor was finalised to play the female lead.[10][11] Two international action choreographers from Hollywood and Korea were employed to design action sequences.[12]

The climax scene of the film was shot actually on the Arctic Circle, becoming the first-ever Indian film to do so. Siddharth Anand, the director of the film stated, "We want to push the benchmark of action movies that are made in our country. So, we are bringing two of the biggest action choreographers together to design some of the most outlandish and visually-spectacular sequences. On one hand, we have Andy R Armstrong from Hollywood and on the other, we have Mr SeaYoung Oh, who is an outstanding martial arts action choreographer from South Korea."[12]

Filming

Principal photography began in the second week of September 2018.[13] The film also has a dance off between the two stars in the song "Jai Jai Shivshankar".[14] The film schedule was wrapped up in the beginning of March 2019.[15] The film has been shot in multiple exotic locations at Delhi, Uttrakhand, Kerala, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Georgia. The bike chase sequence between the two stars was filmed in Portugal. The car chase sequence which is the climax of the film was shot at the Arctic Circle.

Music
War
Soundtrack album by
Vishal–Shekhar
Released30 September 2019[16]
Recorded2018–19
StudioVishal and Shekhar Studio
YRF Studios
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length14:24
LabelYRF Music
ProducerAditya Chopra
Vishal–Shekhar chronology
Bharat
(2019)		 War
(2019)		 Khaali Peeli
(2020)
External audio
Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The music of the film is composed by Vishal–Shekhar, with lyrics written by Kumaar. All themes are composed by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara.

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Ghungroo"Arijit Singh, Shilpa Rao5:02
2."Jai Jai Shivshankar"Vishal Dadlani, Benny Dayal3:50
3."War Theme"Instrumental2:00
4."Kabir's Theme"Instrumental1:39
5."Khalid's Theme" (Instrumental)Vishal Dadlani1:53
Total length:14:24

Release

The film was released on 2 October 2019, coinciding with the Gandhi Jayanti.[17]

Reception

Box office

War opened with collection of ₹53.35 crore on its first day. It is the highest opening day collection for Hindi film.[8] On the second day it collected ₹24.35 crore, On the third day it collected ₹22.45 crore, taking its total collection to ₹100.15 crore.[18] War has already created six new records as the film reaches to 100 crore mark at the box-office.[19] The film entered the 100 Crore Club in three days of its release.[20] The extended opening weekend collection of the film at ₹166.25 crore is the highest opening weekend collection for any 2019 Bollywood film.[21] The film by crossing ₹200 crore in its opening week has become the fastest Bollywood film of 2019 to achieve the feat.[22]

As of 28 November 2019, with gross of ₹378.46 crore from India and ₹97.04 crore from overseas, the film has grossed ₹475.5 crore worldwide,[23] and has become the highest-grossing Indian film of 2019.[20][24]

Critical response

War received generally positive reviews from critics; on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 72% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10.[25]

Among positive reviews, Anupama Chopra said "War is a popcorn entertainer and you can’t ask too many questions but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief, the twists and turns exert a solid grip."[26] A writer for Bollywood Hungama gave the film four stars out of five, and said "War is an action entertainer which has style as well as enough twists and turns to keep the viewers engrossed. At the box office, the extended weekend, dazzling action, stunning international locales and stylish execution will ensure mammoth footfalls for the film".[27] Taran Adarsh gave it four stars out of five and called the film "[e]scapist cinema at its best".[28] Komal Nahta of Film Information opined, "The film could prove to be the starting of a new franchise for the Yash Raj Films banner".[29] Writing for India TV, Sonal gave the film three and a half stars out of five, writing, "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff of Abbas Mustan kinda twists, turns, characters, situations, logic, gravity, physics, chemistry, and some Ekta Kapoor-esque tricks all tossed together to make a visually spectacular concoction".[30] Rajeev Masand of News18 gave the film two and a half out of five stars and said, "Both Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff fully commit to the action, bringing swag to the big stylish sequences and a visceral energy to the one-on-one punch-ups in the movie."[31]

Among the reviewers who granted the film mixed reviews, The Times of India rated it three stars out of five and felt the film had "lot of style, stunts and show, but lacking a solid storyline".[32] India Today rated it two and a half stars out of five and wrote, "War is a crowd-puller, but it isn't meant to further the cause of cinema".[33] Daily News and Analysis gave three stars out of five and wrote, "War seems more like a Hrithik Roshan and YRF come back than anything else".[34] Writing for The Indian Express, Shubhra Gupta granted the film two stars out of five, stating, "The chief trouble with War is that all the space is divvied up between Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, that the poor baddies don't really get a chance".[35] Writing for Firstpost, Anna M. M. Vetticad gave two stars out of five, opining that the film "could have been a suspenseful, eyecatching, entertaining ride. But for its politics... [it] is a painfully condescending ode to Muslim loyalty to our vatan, an ode that is particularly cynical and offensive".[36] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film one and a half stars out of five and stated, "Powered by two loose-limbed and resolutely stone-faced male leads, Hrithik and Tiger, War is all style and no substance".[37]

Accolades
Award[lower-alpha 1] Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 2] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Filmfare Awards 15 February 2020 Best Film War Nominated [38]
[39]
[40]
[41]
Best Director Siddharth Anand Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer Shilpa Rao ("Ghunghroo") Won
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar ("Jai Jai Shiv Shankar") Nominated
Bosco–Caesar & Tushar Kalia ("Ghunghroo") Nominated
Best Action Paul Jennings
Oh Sea Young
Parvez Shaikh
Franz Spilhaus		 Won
Best Special Effects Sherry Bharda
Vishal Anand For YFX		 Won
International Indian Film Academy Awards 27–29 November 2020 Best Music Director Vishal–Shekhar Pending [42]
[43]
Best Male Playback Singer Arijit Singh ("Ghunghroo") Pending
Best Female Playback Singer Shilpa Rao ("Ghunghroo") Pending
Sound Mixing Anuj Mathur – YRF Studios
Pritam Das		 Won
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar & Tushar Kalia ("Ghunghroo") Won
Best Special Effects YFX (YRF Studios) Won
Mirchi Music Awards 19 February 2020 Song of The Year "Ghungroo" Nominated [44]
Female Vocalist of The Year Shilpa Rao ("Ghunghroo") Nominated
Song Engineer – Recording & Mixing Abhay Rumde & Vijay Dayal ("Ghunghroo") Nominated
Screen Awards 8 December 2019 Best Film War Nominated [45]
Best Director Siddharth Anand Nominated
Best Actor Hrithik Roshan Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Vaani Kapoor Nominated
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar
Tushar Kalia ("Ghunghroo")		 Won
Best Action Paul Jennings
Oh Sea Young
Parvez Shaikh
Franz Spilhaus		 Won
Best Editing Aarif Sheikh Won
Zee Cine Awards 13 March 2020 Best Action Paul Jennings
Oh Sea Young
Parvez Shaikh
Franz Spilhaus		 Won [46]
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar ("Jai Jai Shiv Shankar") Won
Best Special Effects YFX (YRF Studios) Won

Future
Main article: YRF Spy Universe

At a launch party for War, Anand confirmed that he was working on the script of its sequel and had plans to convert the film into a franchise, depending on the audience response to the film; War sequel is expected to have a theatrical release in October 2025.[47]

Notes
  1. Awards, festivals and organizations are in Alphabetical order.
  2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References
  1. "WAR (2019)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. "Certificate detail". Central Board Of Film Certification.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "WAR (2019)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  4. "War Economics: Yash Raj Films makes a whopping 169.9 cr. as profits; approx. 100 cr. share for Hrithik Roshan". Bollywood Hungama. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  5. Hungama, Bollywood (21 October 2019). "War Economics: Yash Raj Films makes a whopping 170 cr. as profits; approx. 100 cr. share for Hrithik Roshan :Bollywood Box Office – Bollywood Hungama".
  6. "Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer War to be screened in 4DX: Latest Bollywood News". The Prime Time. 10 September 2019.
  7. "War Releasing in India in MX4D". Digital Cinema Report. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. "War Box Office Collection Day 1: Hrithik-Tiger Film Becomes Highest Opener Ever, Earns Rs 53.35 Crore". News18. 3 October 2019.
  9. "BREAKING: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff to star in Yash Raj Films' Next". Bollywood Hungama. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  10. "I Don't Think Anyone Will Look at Me: Vaani Kapoor on Doing a Film with Hrithik Rohan, Tiger Shroff". News 18. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  11. "Vaani Kapoor on dance-off with Tiger and Hrithik: I stand no chance". Indian Express. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  12. "Two international action choreographers roped in for Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff's action film". DNA. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  13. Pathak, Vedanshi (5 September 2018). "Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan begin shooting for their venture with YRF". Filmfare. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  14. "Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan dance-off in next film: Confirmed". India Today. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  15. "Hrithik Roshan And Tiger Shroff Wrap Schedule For Siddharth Anand's Film. See Pics". NDTV. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  16. "War – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn.
  17. "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's action film to release on October 2, 2019". Hindustan Times. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  18. "War Second Day Business – Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com.
  19. "'War' box office: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer creates 6 new records as it inches closer to 100-crore mark – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  20. "Bollywood Top Grossers Worldwide Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  21. "War box office collection Day 5: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff film earns Rs 166.25 crore". India Today. 7 October 2019.
  22. "'War' box office collection Day 7: The Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan starrer checks into the 200-crore club". Times of India. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  23. "War Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  24. Hungama, Bollywood (7 October 2019). "War Box Office Day 5 Collections: The Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer goes on rampage on Sunday, records huge collections :Bollywood Box Office – Bollywood Hungama". Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  25. "WAR". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  26. Chopra, Anupama (2 October 2019). "War Movie Review: A Battle Won By Hrithik Roshan's Beauty". Film Companion. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  27. "Movie Review: War". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  28. adarsh, taran (2 October 2019). "#OneWordReview... #War: BLOCKBUSTER. Escapist cinema at its best... Aces: Hrithik and Tiger's power-packed act and chemistry + dazzling action pieces + stunning visual appeal + ample thrills, twists, suspense... Dear BO, get ready for the typhoon. #WarReviewpic.twitter.com/iHGtaSk8cl". @taran_adarsh. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  29. Information, Film. "'WAR' | 2 October 2019 – Film Information". Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  30. "War movie review: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's film is a flawed spectacle". IndiaTV.
  31. Masand, Rajeev (3 October 2019). "War Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff Film Gives You Your Money's Worth". News18.
  32. "War Movie Review {3/5}: Lot of style, stunts and show, but lacks a solid storyline" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  33. Nairita Mukherjee (2 October 2019). "War Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff film is 154 minutes of only action". India Today.
  34. "'WAR' Review: Hrithik Roshan treats Tiger Shroff as collateral damage". DNAIndia. 2 October 2019.
  35. "War movie review: Hrithik Roshan starrer is flashy but familiar". TheIndianExpress. 4 October 2019.
  36. "War movie review: Hrithik-Tiger starrer runs a loyalty test for Muslims under cover of an exciting action drama". Firstpost. 2 October 2019.
  37. "War Movie Review: Strictly For Fans Of Hrithik Roshan And Tiger Shroff". NDTV.
  38. "NOMINATIONS FOR 65TH AMAZON FILMFARE AWARDS 2020". Filmfare. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  39. "WINNERS OF THE 65TH AMAZON FILMFARE AWARDS 2020". Filmfare. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  40. "Technical Nominations for the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020". Filmfare. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  41. "65th Amazon Filmfare Award 2020 Technical and Short Film award winners". Filmfare. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  42. "IIFA Awards 2020: Here are the nominations!". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  43. "IIFA Technical Awards 2020: All the Winners!". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  44. "Nominations for the 12th Smule Mirchi Music Awards 2020". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  45. "Screen Awards 2019 full winners list". India Today. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  46. "Zee Cine Awards 2020 Winners List". ABP News. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  47. "War is Not Over Yet, Director Siddharth Anand Reveals a Sequel is in Works". 6 October 2019.
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