War
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySiddharth Anand
Screenplay byShridhar Raghavan
Siddharth Anand
Dialogues byAbbas Tyrewala
Story byAditya Chopra
Siddharth Anand
Produced byAditya Chopra
StarringHrithik Roshan
Tiger Shroff
Vaani Kapoor
CinematographyBenjamin Jasper
Edited byAarif Sheikh
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byYash Raj Films
Release date
  • 2 October 2019 (2019-10-02) (India)
Running time
156 minutes[1][2]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹170 crore[3]
Box office₹475.62 crore[4]

War is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The third installment in the YRF Spy Universe, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Vaani Kapoor in lead roles.[5] The film follows Khalid Rahmani, an Indian RAW agent and soldier, who is assigned to eliminate his former mentor Kabir Dhaliwal, who has gone rogue.[6]

Principal photography commenced in September 2018. Tentatively titled Fighters, the title was announced as War through a teaser on 15 July 2019. The film was made on an estimated budget of ₹150 crore (US$19 million) with a further ₹20 crore (US$2.5 million) spent on print and advertising. The songs were composed by Vishal–Shekhar while Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara composed the background score.

War was theatrically released on 2 October 2019, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.[7] The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise for performances, particularly Shroff and Roshan, action sequences, music, score, direction, plot and technical aspects.[8]

It eventually emerged as a major success grossing ₹4.75 billion (US$67.45 million), becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 2019.[9] A sequel titled War 2 is in production and is expected to release in 14 August 2025.

Plot

In 2019, Major Kabir Dhaliwal kills V. K. Naidu, a veteran R&AW agent in New Delhi, instead of his assignment to kill an Iraqi terrorist named Farid Haqqani. Led by Defence Minister Sherna Patel and Colonel Sunil Luthra, the agency summons Kabir's student Captain Khalid Rahmani from Malta to capture him.

Past: It is revealed that Khalid's father Major Abdul Rahmani betrayed the army in a previous mission, leaving Kabir with two gunshot wounds and his partner dead. Kabir then sought and killed Abdul for his betrayal. Reluctant to work with Khalid, Kabir eventually allows him to join his squad, consisting of R&AW agents Saurabh, Prateek, Muthu and Aditi on a successful mission in Tikrit to kill a cell of Haqqani's associates. The group succeeds in arresting terrorist Basheer Hassib in turn causing their main target Rizwan Ilyasi, a terrorist-turned-businessman, to come out of hiding. The squad reunite to target Ilyasi in Marrakesh. As they capture him, Ilyasi tells Kabir that he planted a mole in his team. Saurabh reveals himself as the mole by killing Prateek and Muthu. This starts a rooftop chase with Khalid chasing Saurabh. On the ground, a shootout ensues between Kabir and Ilyasi's men, where Kabir gets shot and wakes up at the hospital a few days later. Kabir meets a severely injured Khalid, who tells him that he killed Saurabh.

Present: Khalid is nearly taken off the mission to capture Kabir when Lieutenant colonel Jimmy Shroff is murdered by Kabir. Kabir then organises a public meeting with Khalid on the metro, informing him that his next target is Dr. Utpal Biswas. In Lisbon, Khalid is unable to prevent Biswas from being killed by Kabir. After the incident, Khalid is suspended by R&AW. Khalid tracks Kabir down through a previous case, where he learns that Kabir was on a covert mission to find a government hard drive with secret codes 6 months ago and was targeting Ilyasi's known associates. Khalid also learns that Kabir faked a relationship with a dancer named Naina Sahni in Italy in order to get her to spy on Firoze Contractor, one of Iliyasi's previous associates. Naina was ultimately murdered by Firoze, where Kabir deduces that Firoze was actually Ilyasi, who took on Firoze's identity following a plastic surgery by Dr. Mallika Singhal. Kabir and Khalid agree to work together, but Kabir's hideout is attacked; they escape and reach Kerala to Aditi's wedding and recover a hard drive with the secret codes. Kabir hands the drive to Khalid for safekeeping.

While celebrating the mission's success on a houseboat, Saurabh poisons Kabir by lacing TTX in his drink. It is revealed that Khalid was shot dead by Ilyasi during their mission in Marrakesh. Saurabh then underwent a plastic surgery by Dr. Mallika Singhal to look like Khalid. Saurabh throws Kabir into the river and returns to Ilyasi, who is based on a heavily armed icebreaker ship in the Arctic Circle. Kabir then parachutes aboard, where he eliminates Ilyasi's militia and confronts Saurabh. Kabir reveals to Saurabh that he knew that he was not Khalid, having seen him shoot perfectly from his right side and drink alcohol. Khalid lacked peripheral vision in his right eye, owing to a bullying incident in his childhood and refused to drink alcohol due to religious beliefs. Kabir acquired an antidote to TTX from Aditi and inserted a tracker in the drive, which he handed over to Saurabh for safekeeping. Saurabh shoots Ilyasi dead and escapes the ship to a derelict church. A brutal fight between Kabir and Saurabh culminates with Kabir killing him by collapsing the church's dome onto him.

Khalid is posthumously honoured for his sacrifice, while his mother Nafeesa receives an award from the Prime Minister on his behalf. Kabir, who is still officially designated as a traitor, takes care of Naina's daughter Roohi as he has adopted her. After having a chat with Luthra, Kabir agrees to a covert mission to kill Haqqani. Later, Kabir and Roohi surf together at Bondi Beach in Sydney, fulfilling Naina's wish of surfing with her.

Cast

Production

Development

On Yash Chopra's birth anniversary and following the success of Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Yash Raj Films announced a new action film starring Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff.[10] Vaani Kapoor was finalised to play the female lead.[11][12] Two international action choreographers from Hollywood and Korea were employed to design action sequences.[13]

The climax scene of the film was shot on the Arctic Circle; the first Indian film to do so.[14] Siddharth Anand, the director of the film stated, "We want to push the benchmark of action movies that are made in our country. So, we are bringing two of the biggest action choreographers together to design some of the most outlandish and visually-spectacular sequences. On one hand, we have Andy R Armstrong from Hollywood and on the other, we have Mr SeaYoung Oh, who is an outstanding martial arts action choreographer from South Korea."[13]

Filming

Principal photography began in the second week of September 2018.[15] The film also has a dance off between the two stars in the song "Jai Jai Shivshankar".[16] The film schedule was wrapped up in the beginning of March 2019.[17] The film was shot in multiple exotic locations across Delhi, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Portugal, Italy (Amalfi, Capri, Positano, Matera),[18][19] Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Georgia and Australia.[20][21] The bike chase sequence between the two stars was filmed in Portugal.[22] The car chase sequence which was the climax of the film was shot at the Arctic Circle.[23]

Music

War
Soundtrack album by
Vishal–Shekhar
Released30 September 2019[24]
Recorded2018–19
StudioVishal and Shekhar Studio
YRF Studios
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length14:24
LabelYRF Music
ProducerAditya Chopra
Vishal–Shekhar chronology
Bharat
(2019)		 War
(2019)		 Khaali Peeli
(2020)
External audio
audio icon Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The music of the film is composed by Vishal–Shekhar, while lyrics are written by Kumaar. All themes are composed by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara.

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Ghungroo"Arijit Singh, Shilpa Rao5:02
2."Jai Jai Shivshankar"Vishal Dadlani, Benny Dayal3:50
3."War Theme"Instrumental2:00
4."Kabir's Theme"Instrumental1:39
5."Khalid's Theme" (Instrumental)Vishal Dadlani1:53
Total length:14:24

Release

The film was released on 2 October 2019, coinciding with Gandhi Jayanti.[25]

Reception

Box office

War opened with collection of ₹53.35 crore on its first day. It was the highest opening day collection for Hindi film.[9] On the second day it collected ₹24.35 crore, On the third day it collected ₹22.45 crore, taking its total collection to ₹100.15 crore.[26] War has already created six new records as the film reaches to 100 crore mark at the box-office.[27] The film entered the 100 Crore Club in three days of its release.[28] The extended opening weekend collection of the film at ₹166.25 crore is the highest opening weekend collection for any 2019 Bollywood film.[29] The film by crossing ₹200 crore in its opening week has become the fastest Bollywood film of 2019 to achieve the feat.[30]

With a gross of ₹378.58 crore from India and ₹97.04 crore from overseas, the film grossed ₹475.62 crore worldwide.[31] It is the highest-grossing Indian film of 2019.[28][32]

Critical response

War received mostly positive reviews from critics; on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 71% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2/10.[33]

Among positive reviews, Anupama Chopra said "War is a popcorn entertainer and you can't ask too many questions but if you're willing to suspend disbelief, the twists and turns exert a solid grip."[34] A writer for Bollywood Hungama gave the film four stars out of five, and said "War is an action entertainer which has style as well as enough twists and turns to keep the viewers engrossed. At the box office, the extended weekend, dazzling action, stunning international locales and stylish execution will ensure mammoth footfalls for the film".[35] Taran Adarsh gave it four stars out of five and called the film "[e]scapist cinema at its best".[36] Komal Nahta of Film Information opined, "The film could prove to be the starting of a new franchise for the Yash Raj Films banner".[37] Writing for India TV, Sonal gave the film three and a half stars out of five, writing, "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff of Abbas Mustan kinda twists, turns, characters, situations, logic, gravity, physics, chemistry, and some Ekta Kapoor-esque tricks all tossed together to make a visually spectacular concoction".[38] Rajeev Masand of News18 gave the film two and a half out of five stars and said, "Both Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff fully commit to the action, bringing swag to the big stylish sequences and a visceral energy to the one-on-one punch-ups in the movie."[39]

The Times of India rated it three stars out of five and felt the film had "lot of style, stunts and show, but lacking a solid storyline".[40] India Today rated it two and a half stars out of five and wrote, "War is a crowd-puller, but it isn't meant to further the cause of cinema".[41] Daily News and Analysis gave three stars out of five and wrote, "War seems more like a Hrithik Roshan and YRF come back than anything else".[42] Writing for The Indian Express, Shubhra Gupta granted the film two stars out of five, stating, "The chief trouble with War is that all the space is divvied up between Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff, that the poor baddies don't really get a chance".[43] Writing for Firstpost, Anna M. M. Vetticad gave two stars out of five, opining that the film "could have been a suspenseful, eyecatching, entertaining ride. But for its politics... [it] is a painfully condescending ode to Muslim loyalty to our vatan, an ode that is particularly cynical and offensive".[44] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film one and a half stars out of five and stated, "Powered by two loose-limbed and resolutely stone-faced male leads, Hrithik and Tiger, War is all style and no substance".[45]

Accolades

Award[lower-alpha 1] Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 2] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Filmfare Awards 15 February 2020 Best Film Aditya Chopra Nominated [46]
[47]
[48]
[49]
Best Director Siddharth Anand Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer Shilpa Rao ("Ghungroo") Won
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar ("Jai Jai Shiv Shankar") Nominated
Bosco–Caesar & Tushar Kalia ("Ghungroo") Nominated
Best Action Paul Jennings, Oh Sea Young, Parvez Shaikh & Franz Spilhaus Won
Best Special Effects Sherry Bharda, Vishal Anand for YFX Won
International Indian Film Academy Awards 27–29 November 2020 Best Music Director Vishal–Shekhar Nominated [50]
[51]
Best Male Playback Singer Arijit Singh ("Ghungroo") Nominated
Best Female Playback Singer Shilpa Rao ("Ghungroo") Nominated
Sound Mixing Anuj Mathur – YRF Studios
Pritam Das		 Won
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar & Tushar Kalia ("Ghungroo") Won
Best Special Effects YFX (YRF Studios) Won
Mirchi Music Awards 19 February 2020 Song of The Year "Ghungroo" Nominated [52]
Female Vocalist of The Year Shilpa Rao ("Ghungroo") Nominated
Song Engineer – Recording & Mixing Abhay Rumde & Vijay Dayal ("Ghungroo") Nominated
Screen Awards 8 December 2019 Best Film War Nominated [53]
Best Director Siddharth Anand Nominated
Best Actor Hrithik Roshan Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Vaani Kapoor Nominated
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar & Tushar Kalia ("Ghungroo") Won
Best Action Paul Jennings, Oh Sea Young, Parvez Shaikh & Franz Spilhaus Won
Best Editing Aarif Sheikh Won
Zee Cine Awards 13 March 2020 Best Action Paul Jennings, Oh Sea Young, Parvez Shaikh & Franz Spilhaus Won [54]
Best Choreography Bosco–Caesar ("Jai Jai Shiv Shankar") Won
Best Special Effects YFX (YRF Studios) Won

Sequel

At the launch of War, Anand confirmed that he was working on the script of its sequel and had plans to convert the film into a franchise, depending on the audience response to the film.[55]

In April 2023, a sequel titled War 2 announced. Roshan is set to reprise his role as Major Kabir Dhaliwal, while Telugu actor N. T. Rama Rao Jr. was cast as the antagonist, making his Hindi cinema debut. Kiara Advani was later announced to be a part of the film. Ayan Mukerji was announced as the director replacing Siddharth Anand who has been signed on to direct Tiger Vs Pathaan. Roshan had also reprised his role as Kabir in Tiger 3 in a cameo appearance. War 2 is all set to release in the theatres on 14 August 2025.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Awards, festivals and organisations are in Alphabetical order.
  2. ↑ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. ↑ "WAR (2019)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "Certificate detail". Central Board of Film Certification.
  3. ↑ "War Economics: Yash Raj Films makes a whopping 170 cr. as profits; approx. 100 cr. share for Hrithik Roshan". Bollywood Hungama. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2023. Made on a budget of Rs. 170 cr. [CoP Rs. 150 cr. + P&A Rs. 20 cr.]
  4. ↑ "War Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 2 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "WAR (2019)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  6. ↑ "War Movie Review: The Hrithik Roshan – Tiger Shroff starrer WAR is a paisavasool action entertainer which has style as well as enough twists and turns to keep viewers engrossed". Bollywood Hungama. 2 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (21 October 2019). "War Economics: Yash Raj Films makes a whopping 1.70 bn. as profits; approx. 1 bn. share for Hrithik Roshan :Bollywood Box Office – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama.
  8. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer War to be screened in 4DX: Latest Bollywood News". The Prime Time. 10 September 2019.
  9. 1 2 "War Box Office Collection Day 1: Hrithik-Tiger Film Becomes Highest Opener Ever, Earns Rs 53.35 Crore". News18. 3 October 2019.
  10. ↑ "BREAKING: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff to star in Yash Raj Films' Next". Bollywood Hungama. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  11. ↑ "I Don't Think Anyone Will Look at Me: Vaani Kapoor on Doing a Film with Hrithik Rohan, Tiger Shroff". News 18. 22 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "Vaani Kapoor on dance-off with Tiger and Hrithik: I stand no chance". Indian Express. 21 August 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  13. 1 2 "Two international action choreographers roped in for Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff's action film". DNA. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  14. ↑ "War: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff's actioner becomes first film to be shot in Arctic Circle". India Today. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  15. ↑ Pathak, Vedanshi (5 September 2018). "Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan begin shooting for their venture with YRF". Filmfare. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan dance-off in next film: Confirmed". India Today. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan And Tiger Shroff Wrap Schedule For Siddharth Anand's Film. See Pics". NDTV. 3 March 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  18. ↑ "War". italyformovies.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "'WAR': Tiger Shroff performs parkour stunt atop 100 houses in Italy!". dnaindia.com. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  20. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's 'War' filmed in seven countries". Zee News. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  21. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's Chase Scene in War Shot in 7 Countries". News18. 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  22. ↑ "WAR: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff shot for a bike chase scene 6500 feet above sea level on Serra Da Estrela!". Bollywood Hungama. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  23. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff Fight on Ice-breaker Ship in Arctic Circle for War". News18. 10 September 2019. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  24. ↑ "War – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jio Saavn. 30 September 2019.
  25. ↑ "Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's action film to release on October 2, 2019". Hindustan Times. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  26. ↑ "War Second Day Business – Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com.
  27. ↑ "'War' box office: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer creates 6 new records as it inches closer to 100-crore mark – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  28. 1 2 "Bollywood Top Grossers Worldwide Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  29. ↑ "War box office collection Day 5: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff film earns Rs 166.25 crore". India Today. 7 October 2019.
  30. ↑ "'War' box office collection Day 7: The Tiger Shroff and Hrithik Roshan starrer checks into the 200-crore club". Times of India. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  31. ↑ "War Box Office". Bollywood Hungama. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  32. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood (7 October 2019). "War Box Office Day 5 Collections: The Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff starrer goes on rampage on Sunday, records huge collections :Bollywood Box Office – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  33. ↑ "WAR". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  34. ↑ Chopra, Anupama (2 October 2019). "War Movie Review: A Battle Won By Hrithik Roshan's Beauty". Film Companion. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  35. ↑ "Movie Review: War". Bollywood Hungama. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  36. ↑ adarsh, taran (2 October 2019). "#OneWordReview... #War: BLOCKBUSTER. Escapist cinema at its best... Aces: Hrithik and Tiger's power-packed act and chemistry + dazzling action pieces + stunning visual appeal + ample thrills, twists, suspense... Dear BO, get ready for the typhoon. #WarReviewpic.twitter.com/iHGtaSk8cl". @taran_adarsh. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  37. ↑ Information, Film (2 October 2019). "'WAR' | 2 October 2019 – Film Information". Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  38. ↑ "War movie review: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff's film is a flawed spectacle". IndiaTV.
  39. ↑ Masand, Rajeev (3 October 2019). "War Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan-Tiger Shroff Film Gives You Your Money's Worth". News18.
  40. ↑ "War Movie Review {3/5}: Lot of style, stunts and show, but lacks a solid storyline". The Times of India.
  41. ↑ Nairita Mukherjee (2 October 2019). "War Movie Review: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff film is 154 minutes of only action". India Today.
  42. ↑ "'WAR' Review: Hrithik Roshan treats Tiger Shroff as collateral damage". DNAIndia. 2 October 2019.
  43. ↑ "War movie review: Hrithik Roshan starrer is flashy but familiar". TheIndianExpress. 4 October 2019.
  44. ↑ "War movie review: Hrithik-Tiger starrer runs a loyalty test for Muslims under cover of an exciting action drama". Firstpost. 2 October 2019.
  45. ↑ "War Movie Review: Strictly For Fans Of Hrithik Roshan And Tiger Shroff". NDTV.
  46. ↑ "NOMINATIONS FOR 65TH AMAZON FILMFARE AWARDS 2020". Filmfare. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  47. ↑ "WINNERS OF THE 65TH AMAZON FILMFARE AWARDS 2020". Filmfare. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  48. ↑ "Technical Nominations for the 65th Amazon Filmfare Awards 2020". Filmfare. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  49. ↑ "65th Amazon Filmfare Award 2020 Technical and Short Film award winners". Filmfare. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  50. ↑ "IIFA Awards 2020: Here are the nominations!". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  51. ↑ "IIFA Technical Awards 2020: All the Winners!". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  52. ↑ "Nominations for the 12th Smule Mirchi Music Awards 2020". Mirchi Music Awards. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  53. ↑ "Screen Awards 2019 full winners list". India Today. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  54. ↑ "Zee Cine Awards 2020 Winners List". ABP News. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  55. ↑ "War is Not Over Yet, Director Siddharth Anand Reveals a Sequel is in Works". 6 October 2019.
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