Wanted (2009 film)


Wanted is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action-thriller film directed by Prabhu Deva. The film stars Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia, Prakash Raj, Vinod Khanna and Mahesh Manjrekar in the lead roles. The film was released on September 18, 2009 and is an official remake of the Telugu film Pokiri.

Plot

Radhe, a gangster with a mysterious past, kills others for money. He meets Jhanvi while she's doing fitness training and instantly falls in love with her. Even though their first meeting leads Jhanvi to think negatively about Radhe, she later begins to reciprocate his feelings. However, Talpade, a selfish and perverted Inspector, lusts after Jhanvi and tells her to marry him with the threat that he would rape Jhanvi's mother if she decides to go against his decision. Talpade is tipped off about Radhe's existence by Jhanvi's landlord. He tries to threaten Radhe but ends up getting frightened of him after getting outsmarted by him.
Gani Bhai, an international don, arrives in India for assassination and hires Radhe. Gani Bhai operates his gang from outside of India. Golden Bhai is the gang leader of Gani Bhai's gang. Two gangs, Datta Pawle's and Gani Bhai's, fight for the biggest part of Mumbai. Due to this, Commissioner Ashraf Taufiq Khan decides to make Mumbai free of crime. He arrests Gani Bhai, who makes various attempts to contact Radhe, however, in vain. Ashraf is blackmailed to release Gani Bhai after his men release an explicit video of his daughter online after kidnapping her. Under the influence of drugs, his daughter reveals a mission that involves an IPS officer, Rajveer Singh Shekhawat, murdering Gani Bhai. Since Rajveer Shekhawat's identity is difficult to decipher, Gani Bhai holds his father, Shrikant Shekhawat, captive. Shrikant proudly tells him about his son, without revealing his true identity. Gani Bhai mistakes Ajay, Rajveer's adopted brother, for Rajveer Shekhawat and kills him. Gani Bhai realises his mistake and pressures Shrikant to reveal Rajveer's identity. Shrikant is murdered by Gani Bhai after he refuses to tell him. His son, Rajveer Shekhawat, who is revealed to be Radhe, arrives at the place of his father's death. Radhe is infuriated and decides to avenge the deaths of his father and brother. Through threatening Talpade, he locates Gani Bhai. After intense combat, Radhe finally manages to kill Gani Bhai and his co-conspirator Talpade.

Cast

Director Prabhu Deva was also the director of the previous Tamil remake, Pokkiri.
Asin Thottumkal was first approached for the role of Jhanvi, but due to other commitments, she rejected the offer. Consequently, the role went to Ayesha Takia. Salman Khan became very excited after hearing the script and agreed to the role. Part of the film was shot in the Greek Islands of Rodos, Santorini, and Paros.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is given by Sajid Wajid. The music received mixed to negative reviews from critics, with a few songs seeing a positive response. Bollywood Hungama gave it an overall rating of 2.5/5. "Jalwa" and "Love Me Love Me" were declared the most successful tracks and topped the charts with its release.
#TitleSingerLyricistDuration
1"Ishq Vishq"Kamaal Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suzanne D'MelloSameer04:48
2"Dil Leke"Shaan, Shreya Ghoshal, Suzanne D'Mello Arun Bhairav04:35
3"Le Le Mazaa Le"Suzanne D'Mello, Sowmya Raoh, Hrishikesh Kamerkar, Nikita Nigam, Carlyta MouhiniWajid Ali, Shabbir Ahmed04:11
4"Jalwa"Wajid Ali, Earl D'SouzaJalees Sherwani04:31
5"Tose Pyaar Karte Hai"Wajid Ali, Sunidhi ChauhanShabbir Ahmed03:47
6"Most Wanted Track"Salman KhanSalman Khan04:26
7"Love Me Love Me"Wajid Ali, Amrita KakJalees Sherwani04:06
8"Dil Leke" Shaan, Shreya GhoshalArun Bhairav03:15
9"Ishq Vishq" Kamaal Khan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Suzanne D'MelloSameer04:04
10"Jalwa On The House" Wajid Ali, Earl D'SouzaJalees Sherwani04:15
11"Tose Pyar Karte Hai" Wajid Ali, Earl D'Souza, Sunidhi ChauhanShabbir Ahmed04:53
12"Love Me Love Me" Wajid Ali, Amrita KakJalees Sherwani04:43

Reception

Critical reception

Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India gave it 4 out of 5, so did Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama, who added "Wanted will run only on Salman's star power." Raja Sen from Rediff gave a negative rating of 2/5 and said "Khan might be having fun, but the fact a film like Wanted underscores is how badly Bollywood needs a breed of younger leading men. And how the existing lot need roles that fit." Indicine rated it 3/5, calling it "watchable for Salman Khan" and the "best out and out action flick of Bollywood" Rotten Tomatoes rated 3.7/5

Awards

2010 Filmfare Awards
2010 IIFA Awards
Stardust Awards
Star Screen Awards
The original Telugu film Pokiri, directed by Puri Jagannadh, was remade in several other languages and still found success in the respective regional cinemas. The Tamil version Pokkiri is the first remake. The second one was Wanted, the Hindi version in 2009. Pokkiri was directed by Puri Jagannadh and Wanted was directed by Prabhu Deva. Prakash Raj reprises his role as the villain in both the remakes. After that, a Kannada version, Porki, directed by M. D. Sridhar, was released on 14 January 2010. Below is an actor map of the lead actors in the story of Pokiri and its remakes.

Sequel

Film producer Boney Kapoor announced his ideas to make Wanted 2 during 2011. Salman Khan had also requested director Prabhu Deva to create a script. In 2012, Kapoor reported that he has thought of casting Khan opposite Asin for the lead role, and that the project is under the title of Most Wanted. However, Prabhu Deva announced that he is unsure about the sequel, and if it is being made, it would happen in the near future. On October 18th, Salman Khan Films released a motion picture of Dabangg 3 and surprisingly, he also released the first look of Radhe. It was confirmed Radhe is a standalone sequel of Wanted.