Bang Bang! is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action comedy romantic musical film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Fox Star Studios. An official remake of American film Knight and Day (2010), the film also borrows inspiration from the 2012 Bengali film Jaaneman. It marks Anand's running foray into the action genre, and stars Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, alongside Javed Jaffrey, Danny Denzongpa, and Pavan Malhotra. The soundtrack and background score were handled by Vishal–Shekhar and Salim–Sulaiman respectively, marking the latter's final collaboration with Anand, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Sunil Patel and Akiv Ali respectively. In the film, a mysterious thief encounters an unassuming bank receptionist, which sets off a chain of events resulting in a series of escapades.
Bang Bang! was released on 2 October 2014, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti with dubbed versions releasing on the same day simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed globally to become one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2014.
Plot
After a treaty between India and UK to expedite extradition of Omar Zafar, a notorious terrorist, to India is passed, Col. Viren Nanda gets killed and is burnt alive by Omar in London during his escape from prison. Omar gets escorted by his trusted lieutenant Hamid Gul and declares 5 million reward for an Indian thief to steal the Koh-i-Noor.
Rajveer Nanda, a mysterious person, steals the Koh-i-Noor and demands 20 million when Zafar and Gul aim to retrieve it. After a subsequent brawl with Gul's men at a local restaurant in Shimla, Rajveer visits a restaurant and meets Harleen Sahni, a bank receptionist who dreams of finding true love and adventure in life. Harleen is waiting for her blind internet date Vickie Kapoor. Rajveer assumes the date and the pair fall for each other, but is forced to abandon her after being found by Gul's men. Harleen leaves upon learning the truth and seeing the real Vickie who admits to his car and phone failing him, but on her way back home, she bumps into Rajveer again, and he seeks her help to remove a bullet. Before leaving, Rajveer drugs her with sedative water and informs her of scare tactics that some law enforcement officials will try and coerce her into working against him.
Rajveer's prediction comes true as two government agents Zorawar Kalra and his informer, Inspector Bhola implore Harleen to travel with them to the police station, but instead head for a safe place. Taking note of Rajveer's instructions, Harleen finds a pistol and holds them at gunpoint. Rajveer arrives and the pair escapes, but they meet Harleen's manager Karan Saxena, who is shot in the leg by Rajveer. Harleen demands that she return home and tells that she made a huge mistake by trusting Rajveer, which leads to an argument over their loyalties, but Harleen eventually decides to stay upon realizing that he truly intends to protect her and proceeds to accompany him. During a visit to a Pizza Hut outlet, Rajveer reveals that he stole the Koh-i-Noor, much to Harleen's surprise, and the pair are immediately confronted by Zorawar and his team.
Rajveer tranquilizes Harleen and escapes with her. Harleen wakes up at a beach after an unknown period on the run. When Harleen takes Rajveer's phone to call her grandmother, the government officials and Gul's men, led by Gul's lieutenant Robert, tracks them down and a shootout ensues, which forces the duo to escape again after eliminating the officials and Robert's henchmen. Harleen wakes up the following morning in Prague, where she regains her faith in Rajveer after recognising his efforts in leading the escape. Later, they track Gul to a casino and after a plot involving Harleen, Rajveer ultimately kills Gul. Harleen is taken to the Indian Embassy, where she meets Zorawar and his boss, Internal Secret Services Chief Narayanan as he gives her a tracking device to pinpoint Rajveer's location and retrieve the Koh-i-Noor.
After another argument on a bridge as they try to escape, Rajveer activates the tracking device and gives the Koh-i-Noor to Harleen, where he gets shot while jumping off the bridge. Harleen returns home and reunites with her grandmother, but begins to miss Rajveer; in a moment of epiphany, Harleen locates his house and meets Rajveer's father Pankaj and his mother Shikha by posing as a delivery runner for Pankaj's book order. A tense moment results in Harleen trying to leave suddenly when she soon bumps into photographs of Rajveer, who is revealed by Shikha to be Jaiwant "Jai" Nanda, Viren's brother; while Viren's murder is confirmed, Pankaj refuses to accept the army's version of the story behind Jai's death as he pinpoints to a swimming championship trophy he had won in his young days, being the only person who was able to cross the lake in just one breath.
Immediately outside her home, Harleen is kidnapped and taken to the interior of a desert castle, where she meets Zafar, who reveals that the surrendered diamond is a fake, while Zorawar turns out to be Zafar's informer. Zorawar gives Harleen a truth serum in an attempt to find the location of the real diamond, but she deduces that Rajveer is alive and is arriving to kill Zafar and his men. At the same time, Rajveer, who was assumed dead, plants time bombs and silently eliminates Zafar's henchmen, who have been posted outside the castle. Inside the castle, Rajveer confronts Zafar, revealing that the Koh-i-Noor was not stolen at all and that it was a joint operation between the MI6 and the ISS to apprehend Zafar. Rajveer reveals that he intends to avenge Viren's death by killing Zafar.
As the time bombs destroying the castle start going off, Zafar escapes with his remaining men while Rajveer escapes with Harleen, saving her all along. However, Zafar later blocks the duo, where he takes Harleen hostage and leaves with her on a seaplane. Enraged, Rajveer eventually catches up, shooting down the seaplane to the ground and ultimately Zorawar in the process. Following an intense confrontation, Rajveer kills Zafar after pushing Harleen out of the burning aircraft and jumps out of the seaplane, which explodes seconds after Zafar's death. Rajveer loses consciousness and starts to drown, but is saved by Harleen as army officers airlift the duo.
Rajveer wakes up in a hospital and is informed by Narayanan, revealed to be his real boss, that he will not be allowed to see Harleen or his own family. Posing as a nurse, Harleen administers a sedative, knocking Rajveer out, and the pair escapes. After an unknown period on the run, Rajveer reunites with his parents and finally introduces Harleen to them.
Cast Hrithik Roshan as Jaiwant "Jai" Nanda a.k.a. Rajveer Nanda, an Internal Secret Services agent and Indian Army officer Katrina Kaif as Harleen Sahni, a receptionist at Bank of Shimla Kanwaljit Singh as Pankaj Nanda, Rajveer and Viren's father Deepti Naval as Shikha Nanda, Rajveer and Viren's mother Jimmy Sheirgill as Colonel Viren Nanda, Rajveer's brother (special appearance) Danny Denzongpa as Omar Zafar, a dreaded terrorist Jaaved Jaaferi as Hamid Gul Pavan Malhotra as Zorawar Kalra Kamlesh Gill as Harleen's grandmother Vikram Gokhale as R&AW Chief Narayanan Pradeep Kabra as Inspector Bhola Partha Akerkar as Robert Arsha Aghdasi as a Goon Frank M. Ahearn as Bok Choy Amir Badri as a Rogue Steven Clarke as a Henchman Jawed El Berni as the Chain fighter Tina Grimm as Raver Damian Mavis as a Gangster Bill O'Leary as a Boat goon driver Desmond O'Neill as a Henchman John Pasley as a Henchman / Cop Aditya Prakash as a Receptionist at Pizza Hut Anteo Quintavalle as a Henchman Ron Smoorenburg as a Henchman Ankur Vikal as Shoaib
Production
Casting
Earlier reports had suggested that Siddharth Anand, who had made Salaam Namaste, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Bachna Ae Haseeno and Anjaana Anjaani in the past, planned to make his next film with Shahid Kapoor, but Shahid Kapoor wanted to avoid comparisons with Tom Cruise and did not have availability of his dates for the film as he had signed onto Haider. Bipasha Basu rumouredly was also on board, but she eventually turned down the film. Soon news came that Siddharth Anand was planning a film with Hrithik Roshan. In September 2012, Hrithik Roshan was confirmed to play the lead role, with Katrina Kaif playing the female lead. Hrithik Roshan started working on the film immediately after wrapping up Krrish 3 and charged a fee for his performance in the film, which until then was the most any actor in Hindi cinema had charged up front. The film was soon revealed to be the official adaptation of Knight and Day.
Makeup In June 2014, the Bollywood group known as the Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association (CCMAA) authorized an official protest on the movie set of Bang Bang! in protest of foreign make-up artist Daniel Bauer working on the movie for its lead actress, Katrina Kaif. The CCMAA and 15 of its members protested on the movie set as Daniel Bauer was not registered with the Union, despite the Union banning foreign artists working in Bollywood. The issue was resolved with the CCMAA granting Daniel Bauer full membership.
Filming In December 2012, it was confirmed that the official remake of Knight and Day would be titled Bang Bang. In March 2013, the film's Kashmir schedule was cancelled. Shooting for the film began on 1 May 2013, with the film scheduled for release on 1 May 2014. Unique water action sequences were shot in Thailand and Greece. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Roshan spoke about the action sequences in the film stating, "I have pushed myself to the extreme for this stunt. This sequence called for mental and physical tenacity. The rush that I experienced while training and executing the sequence was out of the world. I was hooked to a sea plane while I did the stunt. I had trained non-stop to even attempt the sequence". Roshan refused to use any body double to perform the stunts.
Talking about another water action sequences, the film's director Siddharth Anand revealed, "We can control the action we shoot on land, but while shooting at sea, you're at the mercy of the tide. Three days before the shoot, Hrithik started practicing the stunts for five-six hours daily. It took us eight days to shoot the sequences in water. For another water action sequence, Hrithik trained for four days, before the shooting. He learnt to jetski with a speed boat pulling him along first. Then, an antiquated plane was brought in with an experienced pilot at the controls, so that it could be slowed down and speeded up at will."
In July 2013, one of the songs of the film, "Meherbaan" was shot in the city of Santorini in Greece and choreographed by Ahmed Khan.Bang Bang! (2014 Hindi Film), ELINEPA In Phuket, Roshan performed a stunt where he had to use a water jetpack called a Flyboard and go 45 feet high in the sky and then dive down in the water. Roshan thus became the first actor in Hollywood or Bollywood to do a flyboarding stunt in a film. He was injured during this schedule and subsequently had to undergo a brain surgery for removal of a blood clot from his brain. Also, the Kashmir schedule of the film was delayed because of unrest in the valley.