Aladin (2009)

Since he was a child, Aladin Chatterjee has been teased for his fairytale name. As a college student he follows his namesake's footsteps; unleashing genie Genius and wooing exchange student Jasmine. But the evil Ringmaster approaches.

Director:

Sujoy Ghosh

Writers:

Vishal Dadlani (lyrics), Sujoy Ghosh (screenplay)

Stars:

Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh

3 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Genius
Sanjay Dutt	...	Ringmaster
Riteish Deshmukh	...	Aladin Chatterjee
Jacqueline Fernandez	...	Jasmine (as Jaqueline Fernandes)
Sahil Khan	...	Kasim Kejriwal
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shubhankar Atre	...	Child Aladin 'Aloo' A. Chatterjee
Victor Banerjee	...	Aladin's grandfather
Dhaval Barbhaya	...	Egg Head
Michael Chen	...	Antique Shop Owner
Master Ahan Desai	...	Young Aladin 'Aloo' A. Chatterjee
Erina	...	Flame Thrower
Boman Irani	...	Narrator
Master Dev Kanatwala	...	Young Kasim Kejriwal
Vineet Kapoor	...	Truck Driver
Nawab Khan	...	Lion Tamer

Storyline

Based in the municipality of Khwaish, abused by his classmates, Aladin Chatterjee, who was orphaned when his parents, Arun and Riya, died in an accident in Siachen Valley, lived with his paternal grandfather until the later's passing. Now alone, grown up, studying in Khwaish University, and still being abused by fellow-college mates, he finds himself smitten by the lovely US Exchange Student, Jasmine. Unable to express his feelings for her, he rubs a lamp that was gifted to him on his birthday, which summons a genie named Genius. He gets 3 wishes, but wastes 2 of them, but on the 3rd one he insists that Genius assist him to win Jasmine's heart without any magical tricks. Hilarious chaos results when everything seems to fail; while an immortal and deadly entity, Ringmaster, and his hordes, prepares to confront Genius and Aladin so that he can acquire even more magical powers with the help of the lamp on the day of the sighting of a rare comet; and the truth behind the death of Aladin's...

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Plot Keywords:

genie | magical lamp | bully | truck | date | 

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Taglines:

and the Mystery of the lamp

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

30 October 2009 (India)

Also Known As:

Aladdin

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Budget:

INR 500,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,255,010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boundscript Motion Pictures, Eros International

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Genius's characterization is inspired by Robin Williams 's take on the Genie in Aladdin (1992).

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Quotes

Jasmine: Aladin, I have to go...
Aladin: Oh... it's been wonderful meeting you and I hope we can do it again really soon...
Jasmine: Aladin... I have to go to the bathroom.

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Connections

References Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

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Soundtracks

You May Be
Written by Vishal Dadlani
Composed by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani
Performed by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani
Courtesy of EROS Music

User Reviews

Sujoy's magnum opus turns into kaput!

Post "Jhankaar Beats" Sujoy Ghosh was the new whiz-kid on the block. One should give due credit to Mr. Ghosh for his product which was innovative ( a la "Dil Chahta Hain" in its own right). When he announced Aladin the expectations were riding sky-high on deliverables. Hailing from the land of "Harry Potter" one was expecting Alladin nothing short of Bollywood's answer to Harry Potter/ LOTR. And with due respect, Alladin does deserve brownie points for the look and feel of the fairy-tale neatly complimented with the CGI. And then... there ends the bag of goodies.

The plot/ storyline is lame and wafer-thin. Taking a classic and attempting to set it in the contemporary times, it takes a maverick to pull off the feat. Should have waited for Anurag's "Dev D" before kick-starting this project. Having said that, have you heard of Baz Lurhmann? Fiction/ non-fiction or fantasy/ reality, by either benchmarks the use-up of first two wishes was a plain day-light robbery. The ragging of Alladin is sooooo "Oh nooooo". The song in the climax was so very 1970/80's. Even the name of the town "Khwahish" gives away how ill-conceived the whole project was.

Mr. Ghosh, now I am pretty sure "Jhankaar Beats" was a fluke and goes to show the results of big decisions over a cuppa in a coffee shop!

Big B:: Brandish is perhaps the only word that comes to my mind. Well the stature Big B has reached, only he can afford to experiment with the roles. And in all honesty, at the cost of fulfilling the dream to work with their childhood matinée idol these newbies cannot justify/ utilise the opportunity of the goldmine.

Ritiesh:: Would not say perfect for role but unwise to say miscast too. So safe to comment that he was just OK. His blind-love for Jasmine was not fleshed out well.

Jacqualine Fernandes:: She was gorgeous and must improve on her acting skills to stay afloat in the industry.

Sanjay Dutt:: Well I was expecting a "Joker" performance and sad to say, he was a letdown. Kay Kay in Drona was much better. The background to his character was insufficient and there was no justification about the "Ring Master" miffing with the "Genie". And btw- his sidies were robbed from X-Men.

Ratna Pathak Shah:: Completely wasted.

Victor Banerjee: Again completely wasted.

Nonethleless, it is a golden opportunity gone amiss and why? Because my 5-year old dozed off to sleep mid-way and that speaks volumes, so least to speak.