Special 26 (2013)

A gang of con-men rob prominent rich businessmen and politicians by posing as C.B.I and income tax officers.

Director:

Neeraj Pandey

Writer:

Neeraj Pandey

Stars:

Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Manoj Bajpayee

Top Rated Indian Movies #130 | 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akshay Kumar	...	Ajay
Anupam Kher	...	Sharma Ji
Manoj Bajpayee	...	Waseem
Jimmy Sheirgill	...	Ranveer Singh
Kajal Aggarwal	...	Priya
Divya Dutta	...	Shanti Ji
Kishore Kadam	...	Iqbal
Rajesh Sharma	...	Joginder
Deepraj Rana	...	Rahul
Vipin Sharma	...	ACP (Fake)
Sukhwinder Chahal	...	Minister Gupta (as Sukhvinder Chahal)
Abha Parmar	...	Minister's Wife
Mukesh S. Bhatt	...	Minister's PA (as Mukesh Bhatt)
Ujjwal Chopra	...	Solanki
Tiku Talsania	...	Magandas (as Tiku C. Talsania)

Storyline

Based on real life incidents that occurred in India in 1987-88, the storyline revolves around a group of con artists who pulled off many clever robberies during 1980s, and robbed famous businessmen and politicians by pretending to be the CBI or Income tax officers and conducting raids. On the pretext of conducting raids they would take away all the black money hoarded by them.

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Plot Keywords:

raid | money | black money | heist | impersonation | 

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Taglines:

Asli power dil mein hoti hai (Real power resides within the heart)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jimmy Shergill and Deepraj Rana Also worked together in Bullet raja and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster Returns in the same year

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Goofs

Towards the climax of the movie, we see a red Maruti 1000. Although the movie is set in 1987, the 1000 was launched only in 1990.

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Connections

Referenced in Dhoom 3 (2013)

User Reviews

Special Chabbis (and not twenty six) … a special entertainer for all movie lovers

After having watched "A Wednesday" by Neeraj Pandey innumerable times, I stepped into the cinema hall with high expectations from his latest movie Special Chabbis. And Pandeyjee has managed to pull off another amazing entertainer with a fast-paced & exciting plot. This is one of those movies which keeps on lingering in your mind even after the climax and you keep going back to the brilliant sequence of events and how they were executed throughout the plot.

The movie is set in 1987 based on a true incident when a person posed as a fake CBI officer and robbed a famous jeweller at the Opera House in Mumbai. This incident forms the basis of the plot and how a group of conmen conduct false raids as CBI or IT officials to con politicians, businessmen and high profile people to rob them of their money. These heists are never reported as most of the money is black money and none of these high profile people want to be in the news for wrong reasons.

Neeraj Pandey after his directorial debut with A Wednesday completely redeems himself with Special Chabbis and reaffirms his position as a master director. He is definitely not a one film wonder and a director to watch out for in the future. The best and the most noticeable part of the film is the period that it has been set in. 1980's have been very effectively portrayed in the movie, whether it was the cars running on the roads or the streets of Delhi especially well known areas like the Connaught Place, whether it was the print style of the newspapers or the clothes and jewellery worn by the actors. The whole movie seems to be set in 1980 and all credit goes to the art director along with the director. I am still wondering how he shot in the heart of Delhi with all these props from the 80s.

The casting is perfect and each character in the ensemble of great actors delivers are powerful performance. Akshay Kumar has always been a great actor for me despite critics and so-called intelligent viewers writing him off. As the linchpin of the team he is subtle, intelligent and still manages to be funny in his own earthly way. This is definitely another feather in his cap with his long list of successful movies. Anupam Kher as a vulnerable supporter of the leader and a lustful old man (considering his long line of children) is superb and reminds of a perfect Punjabi uncle. Rajesh Sharma (Munjal from the movie Khosla ka Ghosla) as the third character fits perfectly into the well oiled team as the big guy from a Purani Dilli joint family. Kishore Kadam as the oppressed husband though a reserved role makes an impact. Jimmy Shergill's portrayal of a frustrated suspended police officer is very believable and you can't fail but empathize with the character of Sub- Inspector Ranveer Singh. But, Manoj Bajpayee is the actor which never ceases to amaze me. You put him any role and he shines, sometimes more than the protagonist. As a no nonsense CBI officer he again steals the show and gives another honest performance worth a standing ovation. Kajal Aggarwal (from Singham) is a pretty girl and looks pretty, however her character's contribution to the story is a little frivolous.

The climax hits you in typical Neeraj Pandey style which I am sure is fast becoming his signature style in his movies. Full marks to him for great direction, amazing portrayal of all characters, great plot, superb casting and above all perfect detailing.

Go and watch it, and I definitely can again. This one definitely lived up to my expectations and left me hungry for more (I waited till the end of casting hoping there would be another surprise scene at the end).

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

8 February 2013 (India)

Also Known As:

Special 26

Filming Locations:

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$647,074

Company Credits

Production Co:

Friday Filmworks, Panorama Studios, Viacom18 Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1