Woodstock Villa
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHansal Mehta
Written byRajiv Krishna
S. Farhan
Milap Zaveri
(dialogue)
Based onChaos
by Hideo Nakata
Produced bySanjay Gupta
Ekta Kapoor
Shobha Kapoor
StarringSikandar Kher
Neha Oberoi
Arbaaz Khan
Gulshan Grover
Sachin Khedekar
CinematographyVikas Nowlakha
Mahesh Aney
Edited byBunty Nagi
Music byAnu Malik
Bappi Lahiri
Distributed byWhite Feather Films
Release date
  • 30 May 2008 (2008-05-30)
Running time
94 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹380 million[2]
Box office₹200 million[3]

Woodstock Villa is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir mystery thriller film directed by Hansal Mehta and jointly produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. Based on the 2000 Japanese film Chaos,[4] it features Sikandar Kher and Neha Oberoi in their debut roles[5] alongside Arbaaz Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Sachin Khedekar. Sanjay Dutt makes a guest appearance in a song sequence.[6] The soundtrack was composed by Anu Malik. It was filmed in Mumbai and Mauritius. The film follows an unemployed man who helps a woman plot her own abduction in order to test her husband's love and dedication towards her.[7]

The film, released in India on 30 May 2008, underperformed at the box office.[8] Kher's performance found praise, while the song placement was criticized.[9]

Plot

Zara Kampani (Neha Oberoi) meets Sameer (Sikandar Kher) in a pub and lands in his flat asking him to kidnap her so that she can test her husband, Jatin's (Arbaaz Khan) love. Sameer can't refuse because he is in desperate need of money. He hasn't paid his rent for months and has to return a huge sum of money to a relative (Gulshan Grover).

Zara takes Sameer to Woodstock Villa, the location of the kidnapping. Sameer orders Jatin to hand over 5 million to him. After returning, Sameer discovers Zara is dead. An anonymous caller then threatens that he has only 30 minutes to bury the body and clear up all the evidence. He disposes of her body in a forest and returns.

To be on the safe side, he goes to Bangalore. Sameer sees Zara's video on television and heads back to find the truth. He finds Zara and convinces her to tell him the truth. Zara reveals that she and Jatin truly loved each other. Once in a fight, Jatin's real wife, Zara, accidentally died and as her and Zara's faces were quite similar, she played the role of Zara. The kidnapping plan was hatched by Jatin and his girlfriend to get out of this murder and trap somebody else. Sameer calls Jatin to Woodstock Villa with the money and he pays his rent and loan.

He goes to the airport while Jatin gets caught by the police. Jatin tells the police that he was not the only one to commit the crime. Sameer gives a bag to Zara but there is no money inside that bag; he had taken the real bag of money. The ball was in Zara's court. If she boarded the plane, Sameer would have trusted her. She decided to cheat Sameer and got cheated herself. Sameer's flight takes off while Jatin's partner gets arrested.

Cast

Production

Sikander Kher had several expectations from the media on his debut film.[11] Although his family name would provide recognition, he chose to have his only his first name listed on the credits.[11] Sanjay Gupta, the producer of Woodstock Villa, is the uncle of the other newcomer, Neha Oberoi. She said it was exciting and challenging to play the role of a kidnapped wife.[12]

Release and reception

The film had its world premiere in Mumbai on 30 May 2008.[13]

Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, calling it a stylish thriller and praising the Kher's screen presence, cinematography and songs.[14] On the other hand, Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 2 stars out of 5, feeling the film would have left a stronger impact without having any songs, which he stated were like obstances and "unwanted guests". However, he praised Kher along with the subject treatment, screenplay, dialogues, cinematography and background score.[15] Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times gave the film 1 star out of 5, terming it a purported noir thriller and a "killer waste" of one's time and physical tolerance.[16]

Soundtrack

  • "Dhoka" – Anchal Bhatia
  • "Saawan Mein Lag Gayee Aag" – Mika Singh
  • "Kyun" – The Aryans, Bappi Lahiri
  • "Yeh Pyaar Hai" – Anchal Bhatia, Shaan
  • "Koi Chala Ja Raha Hai" – Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
  • "Raakh Ho Ja Tu" – Shibani Kashyap
  • "Dhoka Dega" – Shibani Kashyap
  • "Saawan Mein Lag Gayee Aag" (Club Mix) – Mika Singh
  • "Dhoka" (Remix) – Anchal Bhatia

Reviewing the soundtrack, Joginder Tuteja from Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 stars out of 5, terming it a "welcome relief" since it stood up for itself in spite of a fresh star cast. He noted that while it did not bring with it what one may term as conventional Bollywood score, Woodstock Villa soundtrack came with the kind of variety which kept the listener engaged.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "Woodstock Villa". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "MNIK earns 100 crore before release". All India Today. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Top Worldwide Grossers ALL TIME: 37 Films Hit 100 Crore". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  4. ↑ "Woodstock Villa (2008) & Kaosu / Chaos (1999)". BObbytalkscinema.com.
  5. ↑ "'Woodstock Villa' to unveil". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
  6. ↑ "Sanjay Dutt shoots a music video for Woodstock Villa". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  7. ↑ "Woodstock Villa". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  8. ↑ "Woodstock Villa - Movie". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  9. ↑ "Woodstock Villa Review by Manish Gajjar". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
  10. ↑ Ramani, Nithya (30 May 2008). "Sikander does well in Woodstock Villa". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 Nair, Rajeev (2 June 2006). "Sikander Ka Muqaddar". MSN India. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  12. ↑ "Dad stays away from Uberoi's premiere". Sify.com. 2 June 2006. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  13. ↑ "'Woodstock Villa' premier held". Sahara Samay. 30 May 2008. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  14. ↑ Kazmi, Nikhat (30 May 2006). "Woodstock Villa – Hindi movie review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  15. ↑ Hungama, Bollywood. "Woodstock Villa Review 2/5 | Woodstock Villa Movie Review | Woodstock Villa 2008 Public Review | Film Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Out of stock villa". Hindustan Times. 30 May 2006. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  17. ↑ "Woodstock Villa Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
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