Desi Boyz

Desi Boyz

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rohit Dhawan
Produced by Krishika Lulla
Vijay Ahuja
Jyoti Deshpandey
Screenplay by Rohit Dhawan
Story by Rohit Dhawan
Starring Akshay Kumar
John Abraham
Deepika Padukone
Chitrangada Singh
Music by Pritam Chakraborty
Cinematography Natarajan Subramaniam
Distributed by Eros International
Release dates
  • 25 November 2011
Running time
 121 min
Country India
Language Hindi
Budget INR65 crore (US$10 million)[1]
Box office INR125 crore (US$20 million)[2]

Desi Boyz (Hindi: देसी बोयज़) is a 2011 Indian comedy-drama film directed by debutant Rohit Dhawan, son of director David Dhawan. The film stars Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh in lead roles[3] while Sanjay Dutt features in a cameo.[4] The film was released on 25 November 2011, and received a mixed response from critics, however leading to good business at the box office.

Plot

The story follows two friends and roommates. The Gujarati rebel Jignesh "Jerry" Patel (Akshay Kumar) and clean simpleton Nick Mathur (John Abraham), who live in London. Jerry does odd jobs for a living as he is an undergraduate but Nick has a white-collar job. However, both find themselves jobless due to the economic downturn. Jerry has a school-going nephew Veer (Master Virej Desai) to look after as the child has lost his parents. Nick is to marry his girlfriend, Radhika Awasthi (Deepika Padukone), who dreams of a lovely wedding, a great honeymoon and a wonderful house to live in after marriage.

Out of job, Jerry finds it difficult to even pay the school fees of his nephew because of which the government is on the verge of giving the custody of his nephew to a foster family. Nick fears he won’t be able to fulfill the dreams of his to-be wife. It is to tide over the difficult times that Jerry and Nick turn to the oldest profession in the world. Jerry and Nick become male escorts for the company "Desi Boyz", fulfilling the fantasies of girls and ladies. Jerry is unable to prevent his nephew from being sent to a foster home; and Nick loses Radhika when she learns of what he has been up to while she is away in India. Frustrated, Nick blames Jerry for forcing him into the profession and asks him to move out of his house and life.

Nick now tries hard to win Radhika back and help comes from the most unlikely source – Radhika’s father Suresh (Anupam Kher) who has come to London with her. Meanwhile, Jerry registers in college again to complete his graduation so that he can earn enough money to get his nephew back home. In college, Jerry meets Tanya Sharma (Chitrangada Singh) who used to be his over-sized classmate and is now a hot and a sexy professor in the same college. Sparks fly between Jerry and Tanya. To make Nick jealous, Radhika dates a man named Ajay (Omi Vaidya). Nick starts to pick on Ajay, often calling him Vijay intentionally. After some reconsideration, Radhika forgives Nick, but Nick rejects her after she disapproves of Jerry. Meanwhile, Jerry graduates college and also wins Tanya's heart. Nick comes and apologizes to Jerry. All is forgiven when Nick and Jerry reconcile. Jerry then helps Radhika win back Nick.

Nick then helps Jerry get a decent high paying job, and Jerry decides to go to court and get back the custody of his nephew. Ajay turns out to be the lawyer against Jerry's case. He decides to get revenge on Nick by not letting Jerry win his case. Ajay tells the court about Jerry being a male escort and what a bad role model he would be to his nephew. He then brings in 3 witnesses to testify against Jerry. He asks each of them if they had paid Jerry for sex; but only one says yes. Ajay is on the verge of winning, but Mr Desi Boyz comes into the courtroom and influences the judge. Then, Jerry makes an inspiring speech to the judge. The case is in his favour and he ends up winning and gaining full custody of Veer. The recession ends and everyone is happy living their lives. In a short ending scene, a newspaper article is shown, that states the recession will strike back, then Mr. Desi Boyz gives a call and says that he has gotten the licence for a branch in Mumbai.

Cast

Inspiration

Desi Boyz was reported to be inspired by the aftermath of thousands of Indian students being duped by various universities in the West such as Tri Valley University, Herguan University, London Metropolitan University and University of Navarra.[6][7][8]

Production

Desi Boyz started filming on 7 November 2010,[9] and completed shooting in May 2011. The film was to feature Sonam Kapoor as the lead actress,[10] but she declined the film. There were also rumours of the film being offered to Anushka Sharma, but she denied this.[11][12] Eventually, Deepika Padukone and Chitrangada Singh were finalised as the female leads. This marks the collaboration of Kumar and Abraham after Garam Masala. Padukone will be seen opposite John Abraham for the first time and Singh will star opposite Akshay Kumar in her first commercial venture.[13][14][15]

After short on extras for a scene at Oxford University, the film used website StarNow.com to recruit extras for filming.[16] The first theatrical trailer was released on 23 September 2011, alongside Mausam,[17] whilst the second trailer was released alongside Ra.One on 26 October 2011.[18]

Release

Desi Boyz got an 'A' certificate from Central Board of Film Certification, although the makers were expecting a U/A certificate.[19] The movie released in the United States on 23 November 2011 for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend[20] and released in India two days later on 25 November 2011.

Reception

Taran Adarsh gave the film 2 stars, owing to the "tedious and least compelling second hour". However, he praised the chemistry of the lead actors, commenting that "the camaraderie between Akshay and John is piping hot"[21] Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave 1.5 stars calling it a disaster. Aniruddha Guha gave the film 2 stars, and called it "more than tolerable", despite recalling that "the film did make [him] laugh out loud about twice."[22] Subhash K. Jha gave the film 3.5 out of 5 Stars calling "highly entertaining sex comedy movie having Smart, sassy, sexy and sparkling with dark audacious humour".[23] film mainly received positive reviews from the Times of India gave a verdict of "Good".[24] Indiaglitz gave it 4 stars.[25] Glamsham gave it 3 stars.[26] Sify gave it 3 stars as well.[27] Komal Nahta also gave it 3 1⁄2 stars.[28]

Box office

Desi Boyz had an above average opening of Rs 275 million domestically in its opening weekend. It showed a 20% increase on Saturday, bringing the two-day total to Rs. 180 million nett. The film grossed approximately INR 280 million by the end of the weekend and INR 380 million nett by the end of its first week. It raked in Rs. 342.5 million in its second week taking the total to 460 million nett, this was an above average gross for an film with such star power. On the whole, Desi Boyz netted a worldwide total to INR1.25 billion (US$20 million).[29]

Soundtrack

Desi Boyz
Soundtrack album by Pritam Chakraborty
Released 18 October 2011[30]
Recorded 2010-11
Genre Film soundtrack
Length 42:48
Label T-Series
Eros Music
Producer Pritam Chakraborty
Pritam Chakraborty chronology

Tell Me O Kkhuda
(2011)		 Desi Boyz
(2011)		 Players
(2012)

The film's music is composed by Pritam Chakraborty and lyrics are penned by Irshad Kamil, Kumaar & Amitabh Bhattacharya.[31] Bohemia raps to set the scene for Sanjay Dutt's cameo as he walks in the courtroom.

No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Make Some Noise For The Desi Boyz"  KumaarKK, Bob 4:06
2. "Subha Hone Na De"  KumaarMika Singh, Bohemia, Shefali Alvares 4:48
3. "Jhak Maar Ke"  Irshad KamilNeeraj Shridhar, Harshdeep Kaur 3:53
4. "Allah Maaf Kare"  Irshad KamilSonu Nigam, Shilpa Rao 3:51
5. "Let It Be"  Amitabh BhattacharyaShaan 4:13
6. "Allah Maaf Kare (Remix)"  Irshad KamilSonu Nigam, Shilpa Rao 4:41
7. "Jhak Maar Ke (Remix)"  Irshad KamilNeeraj Shridhar, Harshdeep Kaur 3:03
8. "Subha Hone Na De (Remix)"  KumaarMika Singh, Bohemia, Shefali Alvares 4:59
9. "Make Some Noise For The Desi Boyz (Remix)"  KumaarKK, Bob 4:32
Total length:
 42:48

Reception

The music album of Desi Boyz received positive reviews. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the album 4 stars, saying "Music of Desi Boyz exceeds expectations" and described the album as "one of the better 'masala' albums of the year." Furthermore, he chose Subha Hone Na De, Allah Maaf Kare, Make Some Noise For The Desi Boyz and Jhak Maar Ke as favorite picks.[32]

Glamsham gave the music a rating of 4 out of 5 saying, "Pritam builds up a good tempo in Make Some Noise For The Desi Boyz and carries the fun promisingly with Jhak Maar Ke and Tu Mera Hero with an all-together new breed and genre of music."[33]

References

  1. ↑ "Desi Boyz collect Rs 9 crs at Box office on first day". Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  2. ↑ "http://boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?". Bollywood Hungama. p. shownews&articleid=3944&nCat=. Retrieved 2013-07-03.
  3. ↑ Sahgal, Geety. "Desi Boyz takes off in Mumbai". Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  4. ↑ "Sanjay Dutt to feature in a cameo as Mr. Desi Boyz in Desi Boyz and". Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Sanjay Dutt does a cameo in 'Desi Boyz'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Tuteja, Joginder. ""'Desi Boyz' is a 'Dramady' with a lot of 'Soul'" - Akshay". Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. ↑ Yount, Stacey. "More on Desi Boyz". Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Varma, Lipika. "I have got all that I wanted, says Akshay Kumar". Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Desi Boyz Starring Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar Begins Production". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  10. ↑ Lalwani, Vickey (24 October 2010). "Sonam, Deepika patch up". The Times Of India. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  11. ↑ "Anushka Sharma tempted by DESI BOYZ?". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "I'm not starring in 'Desi Boyz': Anushka". The Times Of India. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  13. ↑ "'Desi Boyz' to cast together Akshay Kumar and John Abraham". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  14. ↑ "Akshay, Deepika, John- Desi Boyz". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Chitrangada Singh Debuts Dancing in Desi Boyz". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  16. ↑ "Bollywood film to be shot in London soon". Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  17. ↑ "'Desi Boyz' to arrive with 'Mausam'". Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  18. ↑ "DESI BOYZ's second full theatrical trailer to release with RA.ONE". Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  19. ↑ "Dirty Picture passed with no cuts, Desi Boyz for adults only". The Times of India. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  20. ↑ "Desi Boyz - USA release".
  21. ↑ Adarsh, Taran. "Desi Boyz : Movie Review by Taran Adarsh". Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  22. ↑ Guha, Aniruddha. "Aniruddha Guha reviews Desi Boyz". Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  23. ↑ "‘Desi Boyz’ Movie Reviews : highly entertaining sex comedy". Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  24. ↑ "Desi Boyz: Movie Review". The Times Of India. 25 November 2011.
  25. ↑ Joginder Tuteja, "Desi Boyz - Yes, these boys deserve to make some noise", IndiaGlitz, 25 November 2011.
  26. ↑ Martin D'Souza, "Desi Boyz Review", Glamsham.com, 25 November 2011.
  27. ↑ Sonia Chopra, "Desi Boyz review: From getting laid off to getting laid", Sify Movies.
  28. ↑ Komal Nahta, "Desi Boyz Review", Koimoi.com, 25 November 2011.
  29. ↑ "2011 Worldwide Figures: Twenty Films Cross 50 Crore". boxofficeindia. 20 January 2012.
  30. ↑ Mitesh Saraf. "Desi Boyz Music Review". planetbollywood. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  31. ↑ "desi-boyz-music-review". itwofs.com. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  32. ↑ Tuteja, Joginder. "Desi Boyz: Music Review by Joginder Tuteja". Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  33. ↑ Satyajit. "Music Review : Desi Boyz". Glamsham. Retrieved 22 November 2011.

External links