# Ek Villain

Ek Villain (transl. A Villain) is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic action thriller film directed by Mohit Suri and jointly produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures. Based on a script written by Tushar Hiranandani and Milap Milan Zaveri, it stars Sidharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh and Shraddha Kapoor in lead roles.
Ek Villain was released worldwide on 27 June 2014 and received positive reviews from critics, garnering praise for its theme, direction, screenwriting and action sequences with Deshmukh receiving particular praise in his first ever negative role. Made on a budget of ₹39 crore, the film was a major box-office success with earnings of over ₹100 crore domestically and a worldwide gross of ₹170 crore. The songs "Galliyan", "Zaroorat" and "Hamdard" became huge hits.
Malhotra and Deshmukh later reunited for the 2019 masala actioner Marjaavaan, in which Deshmukh's entry as the antagonist was accompanied by him singing the award-winning song "Galliyan" from the Ek Villain soundtrack. A sequel titled Ek Villain Returns, starring John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor, along with Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria, was released in July 2022; Deshmukh reprises his role in the sequel both as part of archive footage and for a mid-credits appearance.

## Plot

A young woman, Aisha Verma, tries to leave a message for her husband, Guru Divekar, when a masked man who has entered her house kills her by defenestration. At her funeral, CBI officer Aditya Rathore points out that it is vital to track down the murderer or else Guru will go on a killing spree.
Past: Guru was a ruthless hitman working for mob boss Caesar, who raised and trained him to murder the goons who killed his parents. When Guru is arrested for killing Debu, Debu's mother refuses to testify against him and warns him that one day God will make him pay for his crimes by making him lose his loved one. Guru soon falls in love with Aisha, an optimistic girl dying from a terminal illness, and they get married. Guru gives up his old life and gets a job while Aisha receives treatment in Mumbai and recovers. She discovers she is pregnant and decides to tell Guru in person when he returns from his interview, but is murdered before she can.
Present: Rakesh Mahadkar is an unsuccessful man who is constantly insulted and ridiculed by his wife, Sulochana "Sulu" Mahadkar, for his shortcomings. While he dearly loves his wife, he vents his frustration by murdering other women who speak rudely to him, and Aisha turns out to be one of them. Guru hunts down Rakesh and brutally beats him up, then admits him to a hospital and pays for the expenses, intending to punish him by repeatedly bringing him to the brink of death, saving him, and doing it all over again. At the hospital, when Guru learns that Aisha was pregnant, he is devastated. While assaulting a nurse, Rakesh is again interrupted by Guru. Rakesh realizes that Guru is Aisha's husband and is seeking vengeance. Upon the suggestion of his friend Brijesh, he taunts Guru over the phone and then kills Aisha's father.
Rakesh expects Guru to kill him so that he can die as a hero in the eyes of Sulochana and everyone else, while Guru will be tarnished. However, Caesar calls Guru and says that he has killed Sulochana to avenge Aisha for Guru and left Rakesh's little son Manish for Guru to kill. An enraged Rakesh stabs Guru with a screwdriver and takes up a boulder to kill him, but is hit by a car and dies from his injuries. Guru adopts Manish and completes the wishes on Aisha's bucket list.

## Cast

* Sidharth Malhotra as Guru Divekar ; a hitman; Aisha's husband
* Riteish Deshmukh as Rakesh Mahadkar
* Shraddha Kapoor as Aisha Verma/Aisha Guru Divekar ; Guru's wife; (dead)
* Kamaal Rashid Khan as Brijesh Yadav
* Aamna Sharif as Sulochana Mahadkar; Rakesh's wife
* Remo Fernandes as Caesar
* Shaad Randhawa as ACP Aditya Rathore
* Asif Basra as Aadesh Verma
* Rishina Kandhari as Jia Shinde
* Prachi Desai as herself in the song "Awari" (special appearance)
* Vidyadhar Karmakar as Chotu
* Rumana Molla as Nidhi Sharma

## Production
### Development

Ekta Kapoor signed Mohit Suri to direct a romantic thriller. Ek Villain has been reported to be a remake of the Korean film I Saw the Devil, though Suri, the director, refuted the claim. Suri stated that every character in the film would have grey shades.

### Marketing and promotions

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) cleared the film with a U/A certificate after a total of eight cuts designed to tone down the action sequences and mute a particular word. Tanuj Garg, representative of Balaji Motion Pictures stated the cuts were less than a minute of screen time.
The movie's official teaser which was released on 4 April 2014 with the film Main Tera Hero, got 1 million views on YouTube within three days of release. The official trailer of 2 minutes 18 secs was launched later and was well received by critics, as well as garnered praise from around the industry, including Karan Johar, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif among others.
Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Mohit Suri and the film's music directors attended a musical event in Mumbai to promote the soundtrack of the film. Further, Malhotra and Kapoor promoted the movie at the IPL semi-finals as well as on reality shows like Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Promotion campaigns were also organized across the country in cities like Jaipur, Kolkata and Delhi. As a part of the promotional strategy, a television show based on Bollywood villains was hosted by Malhotra.

## Soundtrack

The songs are composed by Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari and the band Soch. The lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir, Mithoon and members of Soch. The album consists of six songs with Tiwari composing "Galliyan", Mithoon composing "Zaroorat", "Humdard," and "Banjaara" while the remaining track "Awari" is composed by Soch.
The film score was composed by Raju Singh.

## Release

Ek Villain was released theatrically on 27 June 2014, in 2539 screens in the domestic market.

### Critical reception

Ek Villain received positive reviews from critics with praise for the performances of Deshmukh in particular.
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama awarded the movie 4/5 stars and wrote that, "On the whole, Ek Villain is a stylish, spellbinding and terrifying edge-of-the-seat thriller. It's a step forward in this genre, without a doubt. A sure-shot winner!" Raedita Tandon from Filmfare gave the film 4/5 stars and stated that, "Though indulgent in parts, Ek Villain packs in a punch. Copy of a Korean film or not, it's 'good' paisa vasool entertainment." Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3 stars in a scale of 5, stating that "You cannot fault the scale of Ek Villain or berate its lead star cast. But you wish you could celebrate this thriller like you did Suri's last movie outing Aashiqui 2. This one lacks soul."
Aparna Mudi of Zee News gave the film a rating of 2.5/5 stars, concluding her review that "The unveiling of the visceral saga has a lot of strong characters and Mohit has done a good job in adapting a foreign film and complementing it with the drama that the Indian audience is used to. But he has gone a tad over in making a thriller. Maybe, filmmakers should step out of this trap more often and we wouldn`t be too far from making beacons of world cinema." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN stated that "I'm going with two-and-a-half out of five for 'Ek Villain'. If you're still wondering, the real villain here is the lousy script".
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 2 stars, commenting that "Suri is an innate storyteller, and can keep things moving. All he needs is a strong, all-the-way credible, original plot." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 2/5 and wrote that "As a whole, this film, besides its surface flair, does not have too much to fall back upon. Watch it only if that is good enough for you." Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5, stating that "Given free tickets, sure, you could escape Humshakals in theatres this weekend with this mediocre effort, but I say do yourself a favour and seek out the Korean DVD. (Uncover it, even.) Now that's bloody special."

### Box office

Ek Villain had what Box Office India called "very good" opening, with occupancies at around 55–60%. The film earned around ₹167 million (US$1.9 million) in its first day and around ₹507 million (US$5.8 million) in its first weekend, collecting around ₹165 million (US$1.9 million) and ₹174 million (US$2.0 million) in its second and third days respectively. The film collected around ₹81 million (US$930,000) in its fourth day and around ₹68 million (US$780,000) in its fifth day. The film collected ₹1.013 billion (US$12 million) in two weeks and around ₹1.056 billion (US$12 million) in three weeks. Box Office India reported that it will earn around ₹1.08 billion (US$12 million) in India alone. The film earned a distributor share of around ₹510 million (US$5.8 million) (Share).
Ek Villain collected ₹132 million (US$1.5 million) outside India in its first weekend.

## Sequel

A standalone sequel, Ek Villain 2, which was later renamed as Ek Villain Returns, was officially announced on 30 January 2020. The film shows a face-off between two villains played by Arjun Kapoor & John Abraham while Disha Patani & Tara Sutaria play female leads, and was released on 29 July 2022. The song "Galliyan" was recreated for the film titled "Galliyan Returns" sung and composed by Tiwari and written by Muntashir.
Shaad Randhawa and Riteish Deshmukh reprise their roles as ACP Aditya Rathore and Rakesh Mahadkar from the first film, respectively; with Deshmukh appearing in archived footage and later physically as a cameo in the mid-credits scene, revealing that he survived his fate from the first film.

## In popular culture

* Ritesh Deshmukh appeared as a cameo in the 2016 film Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 where he disguised as Rakesh reciting his punch dialogue "Shikayat Ka Mauka Nahi Dunga". The film also mentioned the song "Galliyan". The film is also produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor.
* Ritesh appeared as a cameo in the 2016 film Mastizaade in the title track reprising his role Rakesh. The film was directed by Milap Zaveri who wrote dialogue for Ek Villain.
* Ritesh was seen humming the song "Galliyan" in the 2019 film Marjaavaan also directed by Milap Zaveri. The film also features Siddharth Malhotra in lead role and Ritesh played the role of main antagonist. This marked their second collaboration after Ek Villain.
* Characters in The Half of It watch, and then imitate, the scene of Guru chasing Aisha's train.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Actor in a Thriller Film | Riteish Deshmukh | Won |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Thriller Film | Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor | Won |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Singer (Male) | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Won |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Actress in a Thriller Film | Shraddha Kapoor | Nominated |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Actress in a Lead Role | Shraddha Kapoor | Nominated |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Director | Mohit Suri | Nominated |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Film of the Year | Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor | Nominated |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Song | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Most Entertaining Music | Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon, Rabbi Ahmed, Adnan Dhool, DJ Shadow | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Song of The Year | "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Album of The Year | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Rabbi Ahmad, Adnaan Dhool, Manoj Muntashir | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Male Vocalist of The Year | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Music Composer of The Year | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Lyricist of The Year | Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Upcoming Female Vocalist of The Year | Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" (Unplugged) | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Upcoming Music Composer of The Year | Rabbi Ahmad & Adnan Dhool (Soch) – "Awari" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Upcoming Lyricist of The Year | Rabbi Ahmad & Adnan Dhool (Soch) – "Awari" | Nominated |
| 7th Mirchi Music Awards | Listeners' Choice Album of the Year | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Rabbi Ahmad, Adnaan Dhool, Manoj Muntashir | Won |
| 60th Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Riteish Deshmukh | Nominated |
| 60th Filmfare Awards | Best Music Director | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Soch | Nominated |
| 60th Filmfare Awards | Best Playback Singer (Male) | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Engineer – Film Album | Eric Pillai | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Most Popular Singer of the Year | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Celebrity Singer of the Year | Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Most Popular Song of the Year | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Won |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Music Arranger and Programmer | Dhrubajyoti Phukan – "Awari" | Nominated |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Music Debut | Shraddha Kapoor – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Playback Singer (Male) | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Lyricist | Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan" | Nominated |
| Global Indian Music Academy Awards | Best Music Director | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Soch | Nominated |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Riteish Deshmukh | Won |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Lyricist | Manoj Muntashir – "Galliyan" | Won |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Playback Singer (Male) | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Won |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Sound Recording | Eric Pillai | Won |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Riteish Deshmukh | Nominated |
| 16th IIFA Awards | Best Music Director | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Soch | Nominated |
| 21st Screen Awards | Best Music Director | Mithoon, Ankit Tiwari, Soch | Won |
| 21st Screen Awards | Best Lyricist | Mithoon – "Banjaara" | Nominated |
| 21st Screen Awards | Best Playback Singer (Male) | Ankit Tiwari – "Galliyan" | Nominated |