Fiza (2000)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Khalid Mohamed

Writers:

Khalid Mohamed (screenplay)
Khalid Mohamed (story)

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (India)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In Search of her brother

Plot:

In 1993 Fiza's brother disappears during the riots in Mumbai. In 1999 Fiza is tired of waiting and goes looking for him.

Plot Keywords:

Mother | Politician | Mumbai Riots | Suicide | Manipulation

Awards:

4 wins & 18 nominations

Cast

Jaya Bhaduri	...	Mother Nishatbi (as Jaya Bachchan)
Karisma Kapoor	...	Fiza
Hrithik Roshan	...	Amaan Ikramullah
Neha	...	Shenaz
Asha Sachdev	...	Ulfat
Bikram Saluja	...	Anirudh
Isha Koppikar	...	Gitanjali
Dinesh Thakur	...	Sayed (Muslim leader)
Sanjay Narvekar
Ravi Jhankal
Anup Soni		(as Anoop Soni)
Shivaji Satham		(as Shivaji Satam)
Sabir Masani
Johnny Lever	...	Laughing Club Comic (as Jhonny Lever)
Manoj Bajpai	...	Murad Khan (Guest Appearance)

Runtime:

170 min | UK:167 min (cut version)

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi | Urdu

Color:

Black and White (some shots) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Malaysia:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Haji Ali Mosque, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Trivia:

The scene where Johnny Lever demonstrates different kinds of laughter and makes fun of Shahrukh Khan while Hrithik Roshan stands next to him, smiling, is an insider joke referring to the Coke wars the two stars had with each other. Hrithik supported Coke, Shahrukh Pepsi. A Pepsi commercial made fun of Hrithik, which created quite some outrage among his fans and was widely reported in the media.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The dead mother shows eye movement in her first shot as a body.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bollywood im Alpenrausch (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Mere Watan: Aaman's Fury

The most controversial Bollywood film of the year

Having recently seen FIZA in Bombay, I certainly understood what all the fuss about the movie is about. Addressing the highly controversial Indo-Pak issue in a fashion which may be viewed as anti-Indian, the controversy goes well beyond the Muslim-Hindu conflicts, the 1993 Bombay Riots, and India/Pakistan themes. The director has been generally panned by critics, yet the public has voted positively at the box office, making it one of the biggest Bollywood successes in recent memory. The film features Bollywood hottest young stars, and this has added fuel to the fire as well. Hrithik Roshan, the lead actor (though FIZA is his well-meaning sister's name) has been crowned as the undisputed heart throb of the Indian sub continent after this film. Following his now-classic ubiquitous Cola TV commercial, and AAGHAZ, this was expected. His fans have become so fanatical (even by Indian standards) that many have felt this role presents Hrithik in a negative light. This fact was highlighted at FIZA's first showing at the Aarti Cinema in Ludhiana. The audience felt so let down, they set a fire, destroyed theater property, and ransacked the premises. On the other side, the movie continues to be Number 1 at the Box Office, and its songs are constantly played on Indian MTV, and indeed in Pakistan, as well.......The film is high drama, Bollywood-style, with good action and great songs, with plenty of eye candy for males and females alike: the gorgeous Sushmita Sena and Karisma Kapur for males, and Hrithik Roshan leading the handsome men for the female audience. Perhaps not unexpectedly, but nevertheless bizarre, the lead stars are very fair, very non-Indian looking actors, with light eyes to boot (surely contact lenses in most cases, but nevertheless confirming a disturbing "Michael Jackson trend" in the Indian subcontinent to admire beauty as "Western beauty.") If you see only one Bollywood movie this year, or indeed, if you have never seen one, this is the one to see.