Karthik Calling Karthik
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVijay Lalwani
Written byVijay Lalwani
Produced byFarhan Akhtar
Ritesh Sidhwani
StarringFarhan Akhtar
Deepika Padukone
Vivan Bhatena
Ram Kapoor
Shefali Shah
Vipin Sharma
CinematographySanu Varghese
Edited byAarti Bajaj
Music byOriginal Songs:
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Background Score:
MIDIval Punditz
Karsh Kale
Production
company
Distributed byAA Films
Release date
  • 26 February 2010 (2010-02-26)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹20 crore (US$2.5 million)
Box office₹18.75 crore (US$2.3 million) (India)
₹28.22 crore (US$3.5 million) (Worldwide)

Karthik Calling Karthik is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language psychological thriller film, written and directed by Vijay Lalwani and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment. The film stars Akhtar and Deepika Padukone in lead roles. Ram Kapoor, Vivan Bhatena, Vipin Sharma and Shefali Shah play supporting roles in the film. The film's music was composed by the trio of Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while the background score was composed by MIDIval Punditz and Karsh Kale.

Plot

Karthik Narayan (Farhan Akhtar) is an introvert who lacks confidence and feels trapped in his average job at a construction company. He is continuously troubled by an incident from his childhood: His elder brother, Kumar, used to torture him, but whenever he complained to his parents, they did not believe him. One day, Kumar took Karthik to a well and tried to throw him in it, but Karthik escaped. Kumar accidentally fell inside the well and died. Karthik has thought himself responsible for his brother's death ever since.

Shonali Mukherjee (Deepika Padukone) is a co-worker at Karthik's company, whom Karthik secretly loved though she remains unaware of his existence, much less his feelings. After being derided by his boss Mr Kamath (Ram Kapoor) yet again; Karthik figures his life can't get any worse and decides to commit suicide. Just as he is about to, a stranger with the same, exact voice as his, calls and says that he is also Karthik, convincing him that he has the ability to change his life. These phone calls become Karthik's life guide. His chats take place every day at 5:00 a.m. and the caller provides advice on Karthik's problems, guiding him to become a successful man, win Shonali's heart, and bring color to his otherwise dreary life.

However, when Karthik tells Shonali and his psychiatrist about the phone calls, despite being warned not to, the mysterious caller gets angry and tells Karthik that if he could bring him up, he could also bring him down. As per his word, things start going downhill. Karthik's boss throws him out and Shonali leaves him. Karthik decides that if he goes somewhere he does not know, then the caller wouldn't know where he is either and stop calling him. Karthik travels to an unknown place, takes shelter in a small hotel, and asks the receptionist to remove the telephone and room number plate.

After a few months, Karthik is comfortably living in Cochin with a decent job. His life is back to normal except for the fact that he refuses to have a phone line. Upon his boss's request, he is forced to purchase a landline. He goes to great lengths to ensure that he himself is unaware of the phone number. However, one day at exactly 5 a.m, he receives a call from the mysterious caller, who threatens to kill him. Meanwhile, Shonali is contacted by Dr. Shweta Kapadia (Shefali Shah), who reveals the twist: Karthik actually suffers from schizophrenia, a mental disorder characterized by abnormal social behavior and failure to understand reality. He has an alter-ego that is more assertive and advises him on how to live life.It is revealed that the strange caller was Karthik himself. He has been dealing with this condition from a young age, when he made up an imaginary brother named Kumar (which is why his parents never believed him). Karthik's phone has the feature to record messages and play it back at a scheduled time. Karthik would wake up in the middle of the night, leave himself messages as his alter ego, and return to sleep, where he would awake once again at 5 AM to take his own calls.

Eventually, Karthik becomes so disturbed that he attempts to commit suicide again. Shonali, realizing the truth, arrives at the right time to save him. They reconcile and she stands by him, helping him with his condition. After a few months, Karthik is in the process of dealing with his disorder and lives a happy and rehabilitated life with Shonali by his side.

Cast

Production

In an effort to prepare for his role as the introvert loner Karthik, Farhan Akhtar isolated himself at home and turned off his phone.[1] He also learned to solve the Rubik's Cube, an activity which his character completes in only one try.[2]

Release

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India rated the movie 3.5/5 stars, calling it "immensely watchable, purely for the class act by Farhan Akhtar in the title role" and recommending it to those who are in the mood for serious cinema.[3] Shweta Parande of News18 gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5, applauding the cast and crew for their performances and their efforts on building up the story as a team.[4] Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "This one’s clearly not a formula film. It isn’t merely suspense for most parts either. It’s the kind of thriller that practically every Bollywood B, or big budget, genre flick aspires for."[5] Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "it isn't a bad film, but it isn't very good either".[6] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 2.5 out of 5 stars calling it "a decent product with an unconvincing conclusion".[7] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film a 2.5/5 rating, praising Farhan Akhtar for his versatility, while simultaneously criticizing Deepika Padukone for not being able to "hold a single scene on her own".[8]

Box office

Karthik Calling Karthik was declared a below average hit at box office. Collecting ₹18.75 crore (US$2.3 million) on a budget of ₹20 crore (US$2.5 million), it grossed ₹5.1 crore (US$640,000) overseas, for a total of ₹28.22 crore (US$3.5 million) worldwide.

Soundtrack

Karthik Calling Karthik
Soundtrack album by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Released26 February 2010
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelT-Series
ProducerFarhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy chronology
My Name Is Khan
(2010)		 Karthik Calling Karthik
(2010)		 Hum Tum Aur Ghost
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Planet Bollywood [9]
Glamsham [10]
Starboxoffice [11]
Yahoo! Movies [12]
Music Aloud [13]

The soundtrack of the film is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy with lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar. The album was released on 20 February 2010.[14]

Though the album did not get favorable critical reviews, the track "Uff Teri Adaa" created waves[15] and topped the charts numerous times in the following months.[16] At the box office, the music had an impact in the opening of the film, as it got a bigger opening than its competitor Teen Patti.[17]

Before the album got released, an online copy was leaked onto the Internet. Farhan Akhtar confirmed this and requested people to not download it illegally.[18]

Track listing

Track #SongSinger(s)Duration
1 "Hey Ya!" Clinton Cerejo, Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa 4:17
2 "Uff Teri Adaa" Shankar Mahadevan, Alyssa Mendonsa 5:06
3 "Jaane Ye Kya Hua" KK 4:10
4 "Kaisi Hai Yeh Udaasi" Kailash Kher, Sukanya Purayastha 6:07
5 "Karthik Calling Karthik" Suraj Jagan, Caralisa Monteiro, Malika Singh 3:11
6 "Karthik 2.0" MIDIval Punditz, Karsh Kale 4:15
7 "Karthik Calling Karthik" (Theme Remix) Suraj Jagan, Shankar Mahadevan, Caralisa Monteiro, Malika Singh (Remixed by MIDIval Punditz & Karsh Kale) 3:11
8 "Hey Ya!" (Remix) Clinton Cerejo, Shankar Mahadevan, Loy Mendonsa (Remixed by Digital Boyz) 5:17
9 "Uff Teri Adaa" (Remix) Alyssa Mendonsa, Shankar Mahadevan (Remixed by Udyan Sagar of Nucleya) 4:06

Awards and nominations

12th IIFA Awards

Nominated[19]

17th Screen Awards

Nominated[20]

14th Zee Cine Awards

Nominated[21]

3rd Mirchi Music Awards

Nominated[22]

References

  1. ↑ Jha, Subhash (12 June 2009). "Film makes loner out of Farhan Akhtar". Indian Star. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  2. ↑ Shah, Kunal M. (12 June 2009). "Farhan's obsessed about Rubik's cube". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (25 February 2010). "Karthik Calling Karthik". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  4. ↑ Parande, Shweta (28 May 2010). "First Cut: 'Karthik Calling Karthik' is touching". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  5. ↑ Shekhar, Mayank (27 February 2010). "Mayank Shekhar's Review: Karthik Calling Karthik". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Chopra, Anupama (7 March 2014). "Anupama's review: Karthik Calling Karthik". NDTV. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (26 February 2010). "Karthik Calling Karthik Review - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Verma, Sukanya (25 February 2010). "Lots of static!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "Karthik Calling Karthik - music review by Amanda Sodhi". Planet Bollywood. 16 January 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  10. ↑ "Karthik Calling Karthik music review". glamsham.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "MUSIC REVIEW: Karthik Calling Karthik -STAR Box Office – News". Starboxoffice.com. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Archived 2 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Naveen (23 January 2010). "Karthik Calling Karthik - Music Review". Music Aloud. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  14. ↑ Archived 24 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "Who is to shake My Name is Khan?". 26 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Radio Mirchi Top 20 - March 08-March 14 2010". Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  17. ↑ "KCK vs Teen Patti". Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  18. ↑ "Twitter / Farhan Akhtar: Heard that KCK music is al". Twitter.com. 17 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  19. ↑ "Nominations for IIFA Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  20. ↑ "Nominations for Star Screen Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  21. ↑ "Nominations for Zee Cine Awards 2011". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
  22. ↑ "Nominees - Mirchi Music Award Hindi 2010". 30 January 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
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