Nishabd

Nishabd
Nishabd
	Movie poster for Nishabd
Directed by	Ram Gopal Verma
Produced by	Ram Gopal Verma
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan; Jiah Khan; Aftab Shivdasani; Revathi; Shraddha Arya; Rukhsar
Cinematography	Amit Roy
Edited by	Nipun Gupta,; Amit Parmar
Music by	Vishal Bhardwaj; Amar Mohile; Adnan Sami
Release date	2 March 2007;
Running time	110 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Nishabd (transl. Speechless) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, starring Amitabh Bachchan and debutant Jiah Khan.^[1] The story of the film took inspiration from the 1999 American film American Beauty, and the 1986 Indian film Anokha Rishta.^[2]

Plot

The film opens with young Ritu (Shradha Arya) bringing her friend Jia (Jiah Khan) to spend the holidays with her at her home in Kerala. Ritu's parents, Vijay Anand (Amitabh Bachchan) and Amrita (Revathi), have a beautiful home surrounded by picturesque surroundings. Vijay is a photographer, and Amrita is a homemaker.

Jia's mother lives alone in Australia (Jia's parents are divorced), and she studies in India. She is a free-spirited teenager with no attachments and no worries. She professes some affinity to Vijay, but it doesn't go much further than that. But Vijay's world is turned upside down when he takes pictures of Jia watering herself down with the garden hose. Something innocent grows into something bigger, and something bigger grows into something beyond control.

Jia's world collides with Vijay's, causing three casualties. Ritu witnesses Vijay and Jia kissing and tries to get Jia out of the house without revealing the truth to her mother but fails. Around this time, Amrita's brother Shridhar (Nassar) visits them. Through a sequence of events, he uncovers the disturbing truth about Jia and Vijay. Shridhar questions Vijay and realises that things are serious between Jia and him. Vijay confesses his love for Jia to Amrita, leaving her shattered.

Shridhar makes Vijay realise about Jia's vulnerable and naïve age, where even a small helping gesture can seem like love. Vijay understands and orders Jia to leave the house.

Both Ritu and Amrita lose their faith in Vijay. Ritu moves to America, and Vijay meets Shridhar again, the latter realising that Vijay is completely broken inside after his daughter and wife both lose trust in him. Vijay concludes that even though he often tries to commit suicide and is not scared of dying, he doesn't want to do so, as he wants to live a bit more in memories of Jia.

Cast

Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay Anand
Jiah Khan as Jia
Aftab Shivdasani as Rishi Khanna
Revathi as Amritha Anand, Vijay's wife
Nassar as Shridhar, Amritha's brother
Shraddha Arya as Ritu Anand, Vijay's daughter

Production

The film was shot in 20 days^[3] in Munnar, Kerala.^[4] The claim that it was inspired by Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita was denied by Amitabh Bachchan in the CNN IBN TV show Unspoken relationships - Nishabd special (3 March 2007).

Reception

The film has received mixed reviews from critics. Praise has been given to the performances of the lead actors, however the plot and script have been subject to criticism.

Awards and nominations

Khan was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2007 for her performance in Nishabd.

Soundtrack

Sl.No.	Song	Singer(s)	Lyricist	Composer	Length
1	"Rozaana"	Amitabh Bachchan	Munna Dhiman	Vishal Bhardwaj	06:16
2	"Take Lite"	Jiah Khan	Farhad-Sajid	Amar Mohile	04:30
3	"Kabhi Nahi - Remix (from Adnan Sami's Album - Tera Chehra)"	Adnan Sami,Feat: Amitabh Bachchan	Adnan Sami	Adnan Sami	03:39

References

^ "Jiah Khan: Once Bollywood's brightest young thing - NDTV Movies". 4 June 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
^ "Have never seen a debutant with more spunk than Jiah". The Indian Express. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
^ "A blog post by the film's A.D". PassionForCinema.com. 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2007.
^ "Star-struck in Munnar". The Hindu : Metro Plus Kochi. 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 20 May 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)