# Bandra (film)

Bandra is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language action crime film directed by Arun Gopy, written by Udaykrishna, and produced by Vinayaka Ajith. The film stars Dileep and Tamannaah Bhatia (in her Malayalam debut), alongside Dino Morea, Mamta Mohandas, Kalabhavan Shajohn, R. Sarathkumar, Lena, Easwari Rao, K. B. Ganesh Kumar, Siddique, and VTV Ganesh. The film's original score was composed by Sam C. S., while the cinematography and editing were handled by Shaji Kumar and Vivek Harshan, respectively.
Bandra was released in theatres on 10 November 2023 during the Diwali holiday. The film was critically panned and underperformed at the box office, earning.The film Negative response. approximately ₹ 6 crore against a budget of ₹35 crore. The film was one of biggest box-office bomb in mollywood film industry.

## Plot

A budding filmmaker named Sakshi, eager to find inspiration for her debut film, embarks on a journey through Mumbai. While navigating the city's bustling streets, her car is unexpectedly struck by an old man's scooter. Later, while sipping coffee at a quaint restaurant, her gaze drifts toward the building opposite, which was the infamous Tulsi Apartment, from where Tara Janaki, 90s top bollywood heroine allegedly plunged to her death in 1993 at the peak of her career. Sakshi decides to make a film chronicling Tara’s life and the enigma surrounding her tragic demise. As she delves into research, she stumbles upon a collection of photographs from Tara’s final film, Rani Padmavati. To her astonishment, one of the images captures the old man—Mirchi—standing in the background. Realizing that he may hold long-buried secrets about Tara’s private life, Sakshi becomes determined to track him down. As the story unfolds, the actress has sought refuge in the house of the very prosperous Aala or Alexander Dominic at the start of a shoot in Kerala. He was already besotted by her after a momentary glance of her beauty on the big screen, when he had gone to the theatre to catch a goon.
Thara tells Aala that she wants to escape her controlling adoptive mother Hema Janaki and R D company owner, Ragavendra Desai who is producing her films. While the Kerala police are looking for the actress missing from the sets, she is having a relaxed time surrounded by the love of Aala's entourage, which includes his mother. But soon, the game is up and the don producer and her mother take her back to Mumbai. Thara finishes the last film on her contract with Ragavendra Desai, but he nixes her chances on new projects, so Aala, who has now followed Thara to Mumbai, suggests that she produce her next film, the woman-centric story of Rani Padmini. If one wants to make a woman-driven historical, there are other illustrious queens in Indian history, but we'll let that slide.
Anyway, in order to finance the project, Aala, who has a vaguely-referred-to shady past, commits crimes in the contract of a former anti-terrorist squad officer Veera Raghavan IPS, who wanted to avenge the killing of his family. Aala's contract also includes resolving the matter of Ragavendra Desai. Sakshi finally learns from Mirchi (Aala's friend), Thara's death is not a suicide, she was actually killed by Ragavendra Desai. Aala gets enraged and brutally kills Ragavendra Desai for avenging Thara's death. Aala calls Sakshi who is now in Kazakhstan and tells Sakshi that the story doesn't end here, the story of 30 years remains untold.

## Cast

* Dileep as Alan "Aala" Alexander Dominic, Dreaded Gangster in Mumbai
* Tamannaah Bhatia as Tara Janaki, the bollywood actress and Alan's love interest
* Dino Morea as Raghavendra Desai, the film producer (The Main Antagonist)
* Mamta Mohandas as Sakshi, an aspiring filmmaker
* Kalabhavan Shajohn as Mirchi, Alan's best friend
* R. Sarathkumar as Veera Raghavan IPS
* Lenaa as Hemaji, Tara Janaki’s adopted mother
* Easwari Rao as Rosamma, Alan’s mother
* K. B. Ganesh Kumar as Babukka
* Siddique as SP Stanley IPS
* VTV Ganesh as Goswamy
* Rajveer Ankur Singh as Bala
* Darasing Khurana as Munna
* Amit Tiwari as Rashid Khan
* Rejoice as Rejoice
* G. Suresh Kumar as Sarath Kumar
* Suresh Chandra Menon as Rajeev Kumar
* Ubaidulla as Rarichan
* Sundar Raj as Santhanam
* Aryan Santhosh as ACP Sanjay Bhatt
* Anjana Appukuttan as Sudha
* Bindu Sanjeev as Kausalya
* Gautam Rode as Arjun Pandey
* Sarath Sabha as Paulo
* Diya Deepan as Veera Raghavan’s daughter
* Saniya Rafi as Veera Raghavan’s daughter

### Cameo appearance

* Amika Shail as Bar Dancer (Mujhe Paale)
* Chemban Vinod Jose as John, Alan's henchman
* Shine Tom Chacko as Akbar, Alan's henchman

## Production
### Development

Bandra serves as Dileep's 147th film; hence, the film had the working title D147. This film marks Tamannaah Bhatia's debut in the Malayalam film industry. According to Arun Gopy, although the film's story is fictional, it was inspired by a true incident.

### Filming

Principal photography began on 1 September 2022 with a pooja ceremony held at the Kottarakkara Ganapathy Temple. The first schedule was completed in December in Rajasthan. After completing a two-day shoot of Jailer in Hyderabad, Tamannaah joined the second schedule on 20 January 2023 in Kochi. The filming locations included Ahmedabad, Siddhapur, Rajkot, Gondal, Jaipur, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The post-credit scenes were shot in Russia in April. Filming wrapped up on 14 September 2023. The stunt choreographer was Anbariv. The film was reportedly made on a budget of over ₹30 crore.

## Music

The film's musical score is composed by Sam C. S. The audio rights were acquired by Saregama. The first single, titled "Rakka Rakka", was released on 31 October 2023. The second single, titled "Vaarmeghame", was released on 7 November 2023. The third single, titled "Otta Kolakombanaada", was released on 11 November 2023. The fourth single, titled "Mujhe Paale", was released on 16 November 2023. The entire album featuring 5 tracks was released on 29 November 2023.
All music is composed by Sam C. S.

## Reception
### Critical response

Bandra received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Bhawna Arya of Times Now gave 1 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Bandra delves deep into the criminal world of Bombay in the late 1980s. The showcases the challenges in the life of a gangster and how he works for the welfare of his people and the ones who rely on them." Swathi P. Ajith of Onmanorama wrote, "Bandra holds promise for a stylish and action-packed film, but an unfocused portrayal somewhat steers it away from its original intent."
Anna Mathews of The Times of India gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Arun Gopy tries to build up some massy moments, but it doesn't have the energy of big entertainers. The film had a promising premise of the menacing underworld involvement in Bollywood film production in the 90s, but it has been wasted." Arundhati Anil of The Week gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Overall, a dull script, decent performances from the cast and enticing action and dance sequences make Bandra a forgettable but somewhat entertaining action flick."
Vignesh Madhu of Cinema Express gave 1 out of 5 stars and called it "a sluggish and sloppy potboiler". Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Bandra starts off as an unpromising movie and ends pretty much the same way, after making the viewers experience too many déjà vus." Ryan Gomez of OTTplay gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Bandra promises far too much and delivers far too little. Despite featuring a star-studded ensemble, director Arun Gopy's Malayalam film is devoid of originality, a coherent story, and compelling characters."

### Box office

Bandra collected ₹0.8 crore by the end of its second day of release and grossed approximately ₹6 crore during its theatrical run. The film was a Box Office bomb.