Bollywood films have always managed to draw some serious inspiration from real life incidents and happenings. Be it biopics on popular personalities or real life cases as tragic as that of Aarushi-Hemraj's. However, there is one plot which Bollywood has managed to exploit in the best way possible. Unfortunately, in the process of adding 'filmy' tadka to the plot, they completely forgot the seriousness of that very plot. Yes, we are talking about kidnapping and abduction in films.
Kidnapping being one of the top most crimes in India has always manged to catch filmmakers' attention. While some gave their best to maintain the real ethos related to the issues, few films totally lost their plot while depicting such a sensitive plot. Here are 7 films where 'kidnapping' was a major plot.
1. Andaaz Apna Apna: A film where Bollywood managed to add perfect doze of humor in a 'kidnapping' plot!
While Hindi films were mostly about how how one can kidnap daughter or son of a wealthy man and ask for ransom, Aamir Khan and Salman managed to do opposite in the film. After kidnapping the father and asking his girls for a ransom, Andaaz Apna Apna managed to crack every funny bone that existed in our body.
2. Roja- Mani Ratnam's classic which managed to add the element of sympathy and empathy for a newly-wed wife who battles alone to find her abducted husband
Mani Ratnam's critically acclaimed Roja won many hearts. When south Indian classic Roja was dubbed in Hindi for Hindi audience, little did Mani Ratnam know that the response would turn out to be so over-whelming! The story about how a newly married couple's bliss comes to a sad halt after a terrorist in Kashmir kidnaps the husband who is also a RAW employee. His young wife tried her best to look for her abducted husband but his wife's emotional appeal went in vain. The film won three National Film Awards, including Best Film on National Integration.
3. Hera Pheri- Priyadarshan's classic which touched the issue of 'kidnapping' just to accelerate the overall story.
Priyadarshan's cult-classic Hera Pheri was a remake of Malayalam hit Ramji Rao. This film is about how a wrong number becomes one great opportunity for three stupid men to rake in money by pretending to be kidnappers of a wealthy man's grand-kid asking for a hefty ransom. However, in the whole process of duping themselves as kidnappers, Paresh Rawal, Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty actually become life savers for the child who is actually kidnapped. Taking 'kidnapping' as a side plot, Priyadharshan's film is still known as one of the finest comedy films of all time.
4. Kidnap- The flawed story of cliched kidnappings in Bollywood
Apart from a song as weird as 'Mausam yeh awesome bada hai' the film Kidnapwas one of the biggest disasters of 2008. Starring Imran Khan and Minissha Lamba, the film had a typical 'let me kill a rich father's daughter and lure her so that she can end up falling in love me' type plot. A chocolate-faced Imran kidnaps Sanjay Dutt's 'S for Sonia' (Yes, another weird song from the film). After the kidnapping fiasco, Imran puts Sonia's (Minissha) father on a trail of tasks as his ransom. In the end, the climax reveals how Khan wanted to settle scores with Dutt for his unfair imprisonment as a teenager.
5. Highway- Imtiaz Ali's version of Stockholm syndrome is a trip you can't miss, if you haven't taken it!
'Jab nazdeek jahan mein aani, jugni maili si ho jaani', based on this very line from the song Pataka Guddi, Imtiaz Ali's film Highway is an ode to freedom from shackles of society. A girl who is kidnapped finds freedom in her abduction. In a brief encounter with the person who kidnaps her, Veera falls for Mahabir. She share details of childhood abuse and even when she was given a chance to free herself, she refused to leave. While the film was also on the Stockholm syndrome (Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, is a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with the captors.) , Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda's Highway trip is one you can't afford to miss. Imtiaz managed to deal with the abduction and kidnapping part in a sensible way and it did manage to strike the right chord with the audience.
6. Raavan- Mani Ratnam's contemporary adaptation of classic Raavan-Sita chapter from Ramayana
In order to take revenge for his sister's murder, Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) kidnaps the cop's wife, Aishwarya. Mani Ratnam's oblique portrait of the mythological plot of Raavan and Sita, Ratnam over-tried on insisting on the point of view which indirectly looked like a defense of Beera's abduction.
7. Jazbaa- Sanjay Gupta's remake of Korean Classic 'Seven Days'
Based on an award winning thriller Seven Days, Jazbaa is about a lawyer's fight for her daughter who gets kidnapped. However, the twist is, there is no monetary ransom involved. The kidnappers wants Anuradha Verma (Aishwarya) to fight a case which she otherwise would not have! Even though Gupta managed to add correct amount of thrills and suspense in the film, over-dramatic dialogues like, "Main zindagi ko apni nangi ungliyo se choona chaahti hoon',made this film a weak film.