2015: Veer Bakshi and Raj Bakshi are brothers working as car tuners in Panaji. Veer helps Ishita and damages the car of a customer in the process. To discipline him, Raj makes Veer fix the car at night. Veer falls asleep while fixing the car and wakes up to find that the car's sound system has been stolen. Veer soon gets into a tussle with "King", a drug baron, whose henchmen threatened Ishita. Veer is injured and gets admitted to the hospital. Raj learns about this and thrashes the gang members, with the help of his friends Shakti and Anwar. Raj burns their stash and reveals himself as "Kaali". King suspects Raj to be Kaali due to the tussle between King and Veer. However, Raj's humbleness convinces King that he is harmless and makes a deal to fix their car in exchange for their safety and protection.
2000: In Sofia, Kaali and Veer are sons of Randhir Bakshi, a crime boss. Kaali comes across Meera during one of their chases with Randhir's rival Dev Narayan Malik. Kaali falls in love with her and the two begin to spend time with each other. During a shipment delivery to Randhir, Kaali gets attacked by Dev's henchmen and Meera reveals herself as Malik's daughter. Meera spares Kaali's life as it was her birthday. Kaali confronts Meera, chases her car and saves her life when she almost falls off a cliff. Overcome by remorse, Meera declares her love for Kaali, who eventually forgives her. Kaali and Meera reveal their relationship to Randhir and Dev, who agree to meet each other. However, Dev tries to kill Kaali and his father in a shootout. Dev and Randhir end up shooting each other to death. Meera sees Kaali holding a gun next to Dev and assumes that Kaali has betrayed her, where she shoots him. Kaali survives and is convinced by Shakti and Anwar to forget about the past and start a new life with his brother Veer, while Meera also starts a new life.
2015: Veer discovers that his friend Siddhu was the thief who stole the car's parts, but spares him as Siddhu reveals that he did this for his girlfriend Jenny. Veer proposes to Ishita. Raj learns about their relationship and decides to meet Ishita's sister, who is actually Meera. Upon meeting Raj, Meera immediately forbids Ishita from meeting Veer again. Veer and Ishita try to figure out why their siblings dislike each other so much. Veer and Siddhu try to confront Raj's friends Shakti (Siddhu's brother) and Anwar. They cook up a ridiculous story that Raj was a washerman named "Ramlal" and Meera was named "Pogo", who left him for money. Veer and Ishita scheme together to rekindle Raj and Meera's relationship.
Raj's lieutenant Mani steals one of King's cars and brings it to the shop. Veer, Mani and Siddhu discover drugs in the car's decklid and burn them. Upon realising Ishita loves Veer deeply, Meera issues an ultimatum that Veer must move in with Meera in order to marry Ishita, leaving Raj in the process.
Enraged, Veer proceeds to storm out and Meera reveals to Veer that Raj is actually Randhir's adopted son and not Veer's biological brother. Raj confirms this and embraces Veer. Raj confronts Meera for trying to ruin his relationship with his brother, where he reveals that he never betrayed her. Malik's right hand man Raghav meets Meera and reveals Raj's innocence. Meera takes Ishita to Raj's house, declaring that Veer can live with Raj and Ishita after marriage and Meera apologises to Raj. At Siddhu and Jenny's wedding in a church, King finds his car, which is being used as a wedding car, and brings Mani, Oscar and Veer, demanding to know about his drugs. King loses his temper after learning what happened and a fight ensues in which Raj reveals himself as Kaali and thrashes King. King tries to kill Raj, but Meera takes the bullet and King is beaten by Raj's friends. Meera is admitted to the hospital, where she recovers and reunites with Raj.
Cast
Shah Rukh Khan as Raj "Kaali" Bakshi, Randhir's adopted son
In January 2015, Rohit Shetty announced a project with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead which would be their second collaboration after the 2013 film Chennai Express. Shetty stated that he would start filming in March 2015.[11][12] Shetty paired actress Kajol with Khan, making it the seventh time they were cast opposite each other. He also signed actor Varun Dhawan who was reportedly playing Khan's brother, while actress Kriti Sanon was signed opposite him and Kajol's sister.[13]
Filming
Principal photography began on 20 March 2015 with Dhawan in Goa.[14][15] Khan and Kajol first joined the crew for filming in Bulgaria from June 2015.[16] Later that month, the first song from the film was shot on Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, in Bulgaria.[17] The schedule there was wrapped up by late July.[18] In August 2015, a romantic song featuring the lead pair was shot in Iceland.[19] The entire team then left for Hyderabad in early September to shoot what was touted to be the final schedule of filming.[20] However, the work in Hyderabad was completed by late October, and filming officially came to an end with a brief schedule in Goa, the same location where it was started.[21] In December, after the promotions had commenced, another song was shot in haste. It featured all four lead actors and had to be played simultaneously with the end-credits.[22]
Release
Theatrical
Dilwale was released in the United Arab Emirates a day before its worldwide release on 18 December 2015. The film was released in around 3100 screens in India.[23]
On 14 December 2015, in the United Kingdom, the film received a 12A classification from the British Board of Film Classification for "moderate violence". The film's UK distributor chose to remove thirteen seconds to obtain this rating (the excised material being scenes involving stronger violence than possible for a 12A rating). An uncut 15-rated version is available.[2]
Home media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sony Pictures Networks as part of a deal worth ₹2.2 billion (US$34.29 million).[24]
Reception
Box office
Dilwale made around ₹130 crore (US$20.26 million) worldwide in its opening weekend, the third highest of the year.[25]
India
The film, releasing alongside Bajirao Mastani, opened number one at the box office, and collected ₹210 million (US$3.27 million) nett in India on its opening day, the third highest of the year after Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.[26] The film showed little drop on its second day, and earned nearly ₹200 million (US$3.12 million) nett.[27] On its first Sunday, Dilwale took in approximately ₹230 million (US$3.59 million) nett, bringing the three-day nett to an estimated ₹640 million (US$9.98 million).[28]Dilwale had a first week of ₹970 million (US$15.12 million) nett in the domestic market.[29]
The film earned around ₹210 million (US$3.27 million) nett in its second weekend.[30] It grossed little over ₹310 million (US$4.83 million) nett in week two, taking its business to ₹1.27 billion (US$19.8 million) nett.[31] The film made around ₹110 million (US$1.71 million) nett more in the third week.[32]
Khan expressed disappointment with the film's domestic performance in India.[8] Kajol was also reportedly disappointed, with reports claiming that she regretted turning down the lead role in a Sujoy Ghosh film in favour of Dilwale.[33][34]
Other territories
Dilwale had the highest opening of 2015 abroad and the second highest ever, with a weekend gross of around $8.5 million. The film also set an all-time record opening in the Persian Gulf region.[35] In Pakistan, the film earned ₹65 million (US$1.01 million) in its first three days.[36] The film collected ₹9.13 crore in Pakistan in the first week.[37] The film went on to earn over $13 million overseas in the first week, again the highest of the year.[38]
Dilwale grossed another $3.75 million in the second weekend, for an overall $16.75 million in ten days.[39] After two weeks, the film's earnings abroad were more than $20.5 million.[40] The film had grossed around $23.3 million outside India as of 12 January 2016 to become the highest-grossing film starring Shah Rukh Khan in overseas markets.[41]
Dilwale sales reached more than $25 million following openings in new markets such as Germany, Netherlands and Indonesia.[42][43][44] The film went on to earn approximately $26.6 million (INR 1756.5 million)[45] by February 2016.[46] The film's final overseas gross was US$30.2 million[10] (₹194crore),[47] the highest ever for a Shah Rukh Khan film, and making it the twelfth highest-grossing Indian film overseas.[10]
Critical response
Dilwale received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 20% approval rating based on 15 critical reviews.[48]
Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4/5 stars, saying, "On the whole, Dilwale is akin to a mouthwatering meal that satiates the craving of those who relish masalathons, besides being an absolute treat for SRK-Kajol fans. An unadulterated crowd-pleaser, Dilwale delivers what you expect from a Rohit Shetty film: King-sized entertainment. Go for it!".[49]Komal Nahta in his review of the film said, "Dilwale is a masala entertainer from the start till the end."[50] Rachit Gupta from Filmfare gave it 4/5 stars and added, "Dilwale is the quintessential popcorn flick. It's colorful, bright and entertaining. It smartly keeps its play on the SRK-Kajol chemistry (watch out for the brilliant ending). It has fantastic music. Decent laughs too. Definitely worth a dekho."[51] Sarita A Tanwar of DNA gave the film 3/5 stars, saying "Dilwale is flawed, but it's right for those who believe that love does conquer it all, actually."[52]
Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today also rated the film 3/5 and concluded, "Dilwale is immensely enjoyable despite an oh-my-god-this-is-so-predictable story. Keep your brains out of the picture, and you have an out-and-out entertainer which fits perfectly in the mould of a guilty pleasure. Go indulge!"[53] Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid-Day gave the film 3 stars as well and said, "Watch this for the chemistry between SRK and Kajol which refuses to simmer down even after all these years."[54] Meena Iyer from The Times of India gave the film 3/5 stars, criticizing the plot, and stated, "Dilwale leans heavily on Shah Rukh's mega-stardom, Varun's effervescence, breathtaking locales (Iceland and Bulgaria), orchestrated car chases and over-the-top situations, which have you chuckling."[55]
NDTV felt that the film's plot "went in circles" and that while Kajol was great, the film overall failed to appeal.[56]The Economic Times gave the film 2.5/5 stars and felt that it "lacked soul and freshness" and stated that it would only appeal to fans of Khan and Kajol.[57]Rajeev Masand of IBN Live gave the film 2 out of 5 and said, "The real problem with Dilwale is the sheer artificiality of the enterprise. From the rainbow-hued sets and the touched-up landscapes in the Gerua song, to many moments of comedic and emotional payoff, so much of it just feels fake."[58]Namrata Joshi of The Hindu commented, "With Dilwale, Rohit Shetty goes hopelessly wrong despite much that he had at his disposal, including a power-packed cast and producer". Joshi also felt that the attempt to repackage Khan and Kajol had backfired.[59] Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times gave the film a 1.5/5 rating and called the plot "highly predictable".[60]Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "Even in the context of Shetty's oeuvre, Dilwale is a low. It made me nostalgic for Chennai Express...Rohit and leading man Shah Rukh Khan have clearly positioned Dilwale as a masala entertainer. Which means that we must not expect logic, coherence, characters or depth."[61] Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and said, "Budget and access. These have long been Shetty's favoured Lego blocks, and they have never been more visible than in Dilwale, where the greatest on screen pair in modern Hindi cinema are reduced to insignificance."[62]
A track titled "Gerua" was released on 18 November 2015 as the first single prior to the soundtrack album's release. The second single to be released was "Manma Emotion Jaage" which was released on 26 November 2015.[67][68] The album features seven tracks and was released on 4 December 2015 by Sony Music India.[69]Sony Music India acquired the music rights of the film for a record ₹190 million (US$2.96 million).[24]
The song "Gerua" also had different versions. An Arabic version called "Telagena" was released on 11 December 2015[70] while a Malay version entitled "Warna Cinta" featuring vocals from Aliff Aziz and Kilafairy was released later on 18 December 2015.[71]
