Bajrangi Bhaijaan
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (transl. Brother Bajrangi) is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by Kabir Khan who co-wrote the film with K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and Parveez Sheikh. Co-produced by Salman Khan and Rockline Venkatesh, it stars himself, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and debutante Harshaali Malhotra, and tells the story of Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi, an ardent devotee of Hindu deity Hanuman, who embarks on a journey to take a mute six-year-old Pakistani Muslim girl Shahida, separated in India from her parents, back to her hometown in Pakistan.
Made on a budget of ₹90 crore (US$12 million), the principal photography commenced in November 2014. The cinematography was done by Aseem Mishra and was edited by Rameshwar S. Bhagat. Julius Packiam composed the film score while the songs featured in the film were composed by Pritam.
The film received wide acclaim from critics who praised the storyline, dialogues, music, cinematography, performances (particularly those of Khan, Siddiqui and Malhotra) and the direction. It became a huge commercial success. It grossed ₹969 crore ($150 million) worldwide, and is currently the third highest-grossing Indian film and second highest-grossing Bollywood film.[3][better source needed] It won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Film Awards, and was nominated for four awards at the 61st Filmfare Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Story. It was also nominated for Best Foreign Film in China’s 2015 Douban Film Awards.[4][5][6]
In December 2021, Salman Khan announced that a sequel is in development with K. V. Vijayendra Prasad set to write.[7]
Amidst the hills of Sultanpur, a picturesque village in Pakistan, lives Shahida Aziz, named after Pakistani Cricketer, Shahid Afridi, a mute six-year-old girl, with her parents. After an accident in which she is unable to call for help because she is mute, her mother, Razia Aziz (Meher Vij), with able support from her husband Rauf Aziz (Mir Sarwar), decides to take her to the shrine of Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi, India via the Samjhauta Express, hoping it will restore her speech.
On its way back to Pakistan, the train stops for repairs and Shahida gets off to save a lamb while Razia is asleep. The train leaves before Shahida can re-board. Panicked, she boards a freight train, assuming it to be headed in the same direction, but instead goes reverse-path and winds up in Kurukshetra. During a celebration there, she meets Pawan Kumar Chaturvedi (Salman Khan), who is affectionately called “Bajrangi” by the locals. He is a devout Hindu Brahmin and an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman. Pawan resides at the home of his father’s friend, Dayanand Pandey (Sharat Saxena), where he is engaged to Dayanand’s daughter, Rasika (Kareena Kapoor). He tries in vain to find out where Shahida lives. He starts calling her “Munni” and brings her home. Dayanand lets her stay, thinking she must be Brahmin. However, the family eventually learns that Munni is a Pakistani Muslim. An enraged Dayanand orders Pawan to have her sent to Pakistan through the Pakistani High Commission, but offices are closed due to protests. A local travel agent promises to take Munni to Pakistan without a passport but instead tries to sell her to a brothel, causing Pawan to become enraged. After rescuing her, he vows to take Munni home on his own despite not having a passport and visa.
