# Mumbai Xpress (2005 Hindi film)

Mumbai Xpress is a 2005 Hindi-language comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, starring Kamal Haasan, Manisha Koirala, Om Puri, Vijay Raaz, Ramesh Aravind and Sharat Saxena. The film is written by Kamal Haasan himself, while Saurabh Shukla handled the film's dialogues and Ilaiyaraaja composed the film's score and soundtrack. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil-language in the same title with a different star cast except the lead pair.

## Plot

Three amateur thieves plot to kidnap the son of wealthy Mehta (Saurabh Shukla) from school. They do a trial run. However, on the eve of the kidnap, the guy whose job is to operate a crane in this plan is hospitalized. The services of Avinash a.k.a. Mumbai Xpress (Kamal Haasan), a deaf stunt man performing daredevil bike acts is roped in. Twists and turns take place where the other two gang members are hurt and invariably Mumbai Xpress is left to perform all the tasks by himself. He kidnaps the wrong boy, Daddu (Hardhik), the illegitimate son of Ahalya (Manisha Koirala) and police officer Rao (Om Puri), but manages to get a huge ransom from Mehta by default. A brawl takes place between the original kidnap planners – Digambar (Vijay Raaz), Johnson (Dinesh Lamba) and Avinash – in handling Ahalya's child but Avinash delivers the child unhurt to his mother. He secretly listen to Ahalya's tele-con with Rao where Rao wants to settle both the ransom and sever his ties with her. Ahalya pleads and coaxes him to help her get the ransom which Rao is willing to pay. The child takes a fancy to Avinash and wants him to be the man in their life, and gets him to agree. Ahalaya wants either Rao's or Mehta's money which Avinash is holding, whereas Avinash is in love and wants to be that protective person. Rao appoints Mehta to handle the ransom and what follows is a series of mix-ups.

## Cast

* Kamal Haasan as Avinash/Mumbai Xpress
* Manisha Koirala as Ahalya
* Om Puri as ACP S.P. Rao
* Saurabh Shukla as Kishore Mehta
* Sharat Saxena as Inspector Saxena
* Pratima Kazmi as Durga
* Dinesh Lamba as Johnson
* Raza Murad
* Vijay Raaz as Digambar
* Ramesh Arvind as. Thambu, Insurance agent
* Hardhik Thakar as Daddu
* Dheena Chandra Dhas as Raju

## Production

In October 2004, it was reported that Kamal Haasan had agreed to act in Singeetham Srinivasa Rao's next film, a Tamil-Kannada bilingual comedy titled Mumbai Xpress. Kamal Haasan was set to fund the film and Crazy Mohan was approached to write the dialogue, though the writer later pulled out. Madhuri Dixit turned down the opportunity to star in the film, as did Tabu, citing date problems. The film was officially announced on 8 November 2004, when Haasan revealed that the film would be made in Tamil and Hindi, with the former version starring Nassar, Pasupathy and Vaiyapuri while the latter would include Mahesh Manjrekar, Om Puri and Saurabh Shukla in its cast. The team faced further problems in trying to find a heroine for the film with Bipasha Basu and then Kajol also turning down the opportunity to star. Finally, in mid-November 2004, the team agreed terms with Manisha Koirala and the actress flew to Chennai to take part. Tinnu Anand was initially chosen to play an insurance agent in the film, but he later pulled out and Ramesh Aravind, who played the role in the Tamil version replaced him. Vijay Raaz also subsequently replaced Manjrekar, while a ten-year-old boy, Hardhik Thakar, was added to the cast.
During the making of the film, Haasan suffered a minor injury which resulted in severe bruising, though his co-passenger on the motorbike in the stunt escaped injury. The film was briefly delayed when Raaz became caught up in a drug scandal in Dubai. Sahara One bought the film's distribution rights in Hindi, while a Telugu version was also planned to be dubbed from the Tamil version of the film.

## Release and reception

Even though the film won good reviews, the cinematography had been done experimentally with a digital movie camera and mainly due to the digital film implementation resulting in a slight dark output which left the viewer uneasy. The film, although widely considered a loss, was a great success technology-wise in the Indian cinema industry.
The National Award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan praised the movie in his review as "one of Kamal Haasan's most tight-knit, most convoluted screenplays, where every pratfall, every pun, every preposterous moment seems to have been spat on, polished, and precisely positioned into an overall jigsaw pattern". He added that "Mumbai Xpress isn't exactly an all-out comedy. Like Pushpak, it's the blues with belly laughs, a stack of serious issues coated with smiles."
Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, writing "Other than that occasional laugh, there isn't much to lift your spirits or tickle your ribs." Pankaj Shukla of SmasHits wrote, "Technically, 'Mumbai Xpress' is a brilliant film except for its music. [Ilaiyaraaja] is yet to know what the entertainer from Bollywood requires".
Sneha May Francis of Rediff.com gave a mixed review, writing "To sum it up, Mumbai Xpress is a poor man's superhero movie and an out-and-out children's flick. If you are the kind looking for intelligent humour, this one is not for you. After taking you through such a long ride, the movie ends abruptly, leaving you thinking that the joke was on you for watching the film!"
According to Ibosnetwork, India's leading box-office portal, Mumbai Xpress collected ₹4.00 crore (US$480,000) in the Hindi Belt alone, while Box Office India certified the film as a Flop as it netted only ₹3.50 crore (US$420,000) from the North Indian region.