Shikari (transl. Hunter)[3][4] is a 2016 Indian-Bangladeshi joint venture action thriller film directed by Joydip Mukherjee and Zakir Hossain Simanto. It was produced by Abdul Aziz and Himanshu Dhanuka under the Jaaz Multimedia and Eskay Movies banners. It stars Shakib Khan, Srabanti Chatterjee, Rahul Dev and Sabyasachi Chakrabarty in pivotal roles and centers around Khan, a disguised professional assassin with a mysterious past, tasked with assassinating a top government official. The film also features Amit Hasan, Kharaj Mukherjee, and Shupriyo Dutta in supporting roles.[5] The soundtrack album and background score of the filmFilm have been composed by Indraadip Dasgupta.[6]

Shikari
Theatrical Poster
Directed by
Written by
  • Pele Bhattacharya
  • Abdullah Zahir Babu
Screenplay by
  • Pele Bhattacharya
  • Abdullah Zahir Babu
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTuban
Edited bySomnath Dey
Music byIndraadip Dasgupta
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 7 July 2016 (2016-07-07) (Bangladesh)[1]
  • 12 August 2016 (2016-08-12) (Worldwide)
Running time
160 minutes
Countries
LanguageBengali
Box office9.55 crore (equivalent to 15 crore or US$1.2 million in 2023)[2]

A collaborative Jaaz-Eskay project involving Khan was first reported during mid 2014. However, the project was later shelved due to unavailability of the actor. The film was originally planned to be a multi-starrer film in numerous media reports. Eskay Movies and Jaaz Multimedia intended to begin production of the film again after revisions in the script. The production was officially announced by Eskay and Jaaz in January 2016, and Zakir Hossain Simanto and Joydip Mukherjee were hired as directors.Some of the film and songs were shot in London.

The film was released in Bangladesh on 7 July 2016 and became the 2nd highest-grossing Bangladeshi film of 2016.[7][8][9] For the film Khan won his eighth Meril-Prothom Alo Awards for Best Actor and was nominated in critics choice Best Actor category.[10]

It is an official remake of the 2009 Tamil film Aadhavan which was itself inspired from the 1990 Malayalam film His Highness Abdullah.[11][12]

Plot

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Sultan is a professional assassin who had run away from home in his childhood After being convicted of attempting to murder his father. Dev Roy, an influential child trafficker hires Sultan to kill prominent Judge Rudro Chowdhury, since he is handling the inquiry and verdict on Dev Roy's child trafficking case in Kolkata.[6] Sultan arrives in Kolkata and attempts to murder Judge Chowdhury by sniping, but misfires due to a large crowd and media around the Judge.[13] The West Bengal Police force chases after him, but ultimately fails to catch him. After Dev Roy insults him for his inability, Sultan is angry with himself, and vows to kill Judge Chowdhury within ten days.[14][15]

Sultan enters Judge Chowdhury's household disguising as a servant, and slowly begins to win over the members of the family.[16]

Cast

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Production

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Casting and development

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The project was first announced in January 2016 with an official statement by Jaaz Multimedia.[22][failed verification] Srabanti Chatterjee was signed to play the female lead opposite Khan in the film. The film was made official in a press conference held in Dhaka on 7 March 2016, where the cast members of the film were introduced.[23]

Filming

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The shooting schedule of Shikari commenced on 14 March 2016.[24] The first phase of the film was shot in 12-day schedule and entirely filmed in Kolkata.[25] The second phase of the filming took place in London. The last phase of the film was filmed in Dhaka, and lasted 26-days. The entire film was shot on a 48-day schedule. During filming, the shooting was halted for 2-days in Kolkata due to strike from the production crew.[26]

The music of the film was shot at various locations in London and Kolkata. A romantic track sequence was shot at Beachy Head in East Sussex, England while other sequences were shot at Piccadilly Circus.[citation needed]

Release

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The film also released in North America and Europe on 12 August 2016.[27]

Promotions

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Promotion of Shikari began on 16 June 2016 with the release of "Harabo Toke Niye" on YouTube.[28] The track featured Shakib Khan, Srabanti Chatterjee and the track was shot in London.[29] The video received an overwhelming response on YouTube, and became the fastest Bengali-language video track to reach 1 million views.[30] The track received praise from the audience and critics. The official teaser of the film was revealed on 18 June 2016 and instantly became the top trend online for 24 hours. Khan's new look and the action sequences were praised.[31][32] Promotions officially began with a press conference on 22 June 2016, where the film's cast and crew were present.[33]

Soundtrack

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The soundtrack of Shikari was released worldwide on 12 August 2016.[34]

Shikari
Soundtrack album by
Released12 August 2016
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageBengali
LabelJaaz Music
Eskay Music
ProducerAbdul Aziz
Himanshu Dhanuka
Indraadip Dasgupta chronology
Kelor Kirti
(2016)
Shikari
(2016)
Haripada Bandwala
(2016)
Singles from Shikari: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
  1. "Harabo Toke"
    Released: 16 June 2016

All music is composed by Indraadip Dasgupta

Track Listing:
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Harabo Toke"Prasen (Prasenjit Mukherjee) and Arijit ChowdhuryIndraadip DasguptaShaan4:45
2."Mamo Chittey (Duet Version)" (Original Tune: Rabindranath Tagore)Rabindranath TagoreIndraadip DasguptaArijit Singh and Madhuraa Bhattacharya3:55
3."Uth Chhuri Tor Biye Hobe"PrasenIndraadip DasguptaNakash Aziz and Madhubanti Bagchi4:29
4."Ar Kono Kotha Na Bole"PrasenIndraadip DasguptaArijit Singh and Madhubanti Bagchi4:30
5."Mamo Chittey (Solo Version)" (Original Tune: Rabindranath Tagore)Rabindranath TagoreIndraadip DasguptaArijit Singh3:55
Total length:21:56

Accolades

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Award Ceremony Category Section Nominee Result Ref
Meril Prothom Alo Awards Best Actor People's Choice Shakib Khan Won [10]
Critics choice Nominated [35]
Kalakar Awards Best Film Shikari Won [36]
Best Actress Srabanti Chatterjee Won
Tele Cine Awards Best Actor (Bangladesh) Shakib Khan Won [37]
Filmfare Awards East Best Choreography "Uth Chhuri Tor Biye Hobe" Nominated [38]

References

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  1. ^ "Shikari (Grand Release On Eid)". allevents.in. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  2. ^ বাংলাদেশে সেরা ব্যবসা সফল যে ১০ চলচ্চিত্র. www.sunnews24x7.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Shakib looks like Salman: Adnan". Dhaka Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Check out Shakib's menacing "Shikari" look". The Daily Star. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  5. ^ "Shakib Khan to produce 'Piya Re'". The Daily Star. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Shikari: Shakib's first Indo-Bangla venture". Dhaka Tribune. 16 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  7. ^ "Official poster of 'Shikari' is out". cinekolkata.com.
  8. ^ "2016's Most Successful Bengali Films". The Daily Star.
  9. ^ "A year on the silver screen". The Daily Star.
  10. ^ a b "Shakib Khan Dedicate his eight award to his son". Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 21 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Bangladeshi film Shikari to be screened in Malaysia | Daily Sun". daily-sun. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Shakib Khan's 'Shikari' awarded Best Film". The Asian Age. Bangladesh.
  13. ^ "I'm excited to work with Shakib". New Age. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  14. ^ "New Indo-Bangladeshi starts". The Daily Star. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  15. ^ "Shakib-Srabanti pair in Shikari". Daily Sun. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  16. ^ "Arijit Singh To Sing Rabindrasangeet In Shakib Khan's 'Shikari'". cinekolkata.com. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  17. ^ a b "New-look Shakib stirs up a storm". The Daily Star. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Dhallywood Eid 2016 preview". The New Nation. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Four films for Eid". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Eid release 'Shikari' rules box office". Prothom Alo. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  21. ^ "Eid rush in Dhallywood". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  22. ^ এবার ঢাকায় শাকিবের ‘শিকারী’ [Shikari filming begins in Dhaka]. Bangla Tribune (in Bengali). Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Shubho Mahurat of Shikari held". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  24. ^ ১৪ মার্চ থেকে 'শিকারি'. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  25. ^ সবচেয়ে ব্যবসাসফল সিনেমা হবে ‘শিকারী’ : শাকিব খান [Shikari will be a box office hit: Shakib Khan]. bdnews24.com (in Bengali). 15 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  26. ^ "Mzamin" ‘শিকারী’র শুটিংয়ে ভারতে শাকিব [Shikari filming begins in India]. Manab Zamin (in Bengali). Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  27. ^ "'Shikari' to be released in 4 more countries". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  28. ^ "Mzamin" শাকিবের ঠোঁটে অরিজিতের রবীন্দ্রসংগীত [Arijit Singh in for Shikari]. Manab Zamin (in Bengali). Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  29. ^ "Eid films drawing huge crowd". New Age. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  30. ^ নতুন লুক, নতুন রসায়ন [Shakib impresses with new look]. Bangladesh Pratidin (in Bengali). Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  31. ^ "Shikari's teaser storms the internet". Bangla Mail 24. Archived from the original on 19 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  32. ^ "Bangladeshi Superstar impress the audience in 'Shikari's first teaser". cinekolkata.com. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  33. ^ "Dev all praises for Shakib". The Daily Ittefaq. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  34. ^ Shikari by Indradeep Dasgupta, 12 August 2016, retrieved 25 June 2017
  35. ^ সমালোচকদের রায়ে সেরা চলচ্চিত্র অভিনেতা চঞ্চল চৌধুরী. Prothom Alo. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  36. ^ কলকাতায় পুরস্কৃত শাকিবের ‘শিকারি’. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  37. ^ "Razzak conferred with a lifetime achievement award in Kolkata". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  38. ^ "Nominations for the Jio Filmfare Awards (East)". filmfare.com. Retrieved 25 June 2017.

Further reading

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