Force Story, Preview & Synopsis

Force is a Bollywood action thriller film directed by Nishikanth Kamath, starring John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza. It is a remake of Gautham Menon's successful 2003 Tamil film, Kaakha Kaakha and is about a dutiful cop who chases the capture of a dreaded gangster. The film is released on September 30, 2011.

Story

Yashvardhan (John Abraham) is a hard-headed senior narcotics officer who doesn't play by the book but always ensures that justice is served. He believes that the only way to eradicate crime is to give criminals the bullet - not hand cuffs. In the midst of his most dangerous and significant operation to crack down on India's drug cartels, Yashvardhan encounters a ruthless enemy who will stop at nothing until he gets his revenge for the damage done to his business by the narcotics team. He also meets the free-spirited Maya (Genelia), whose love pushes him to make a choice between the life he already knows and the life he could have with her. Yashvardhan's decision to let happiness and normalcy into his life changes his life forever.

Production (Development)

In July 2004, Gautham Menon agreed terms to direct a version of Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi with Sunny Deol in the lead role and revealed that the script was written five years ago with Deol in mind, but the film eventually failed to take off. Producer Vipul Shah approached him to direct the Hindi version of the film in 2010 as Force with John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza, and Menon initially agreed before pulling out again. He cited that he felt the eight years gap between the releases of it with the original was too long; subsequently Nishikanth Kamath of Evano Oruvan and Mumbai Meri Jaan fame was roped in by the producers to direct the remake. Initially, Asin was signed up to reprise her role that she played in the Telugu remake of the film – Gharshana, but as the film became delayed, dates clashed with her other film, Ready, hence she was forced to withdraw from the film. She was consequently replaced by Genelia, who works with John Abraham after the postponement of their Hook Ya Crook. Other actresses such as Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu were also rumoured to be replacing Asin. The villain was chosen as Vidyut Jamwal, a model turned actor who had reportedly bagged the role from 500 other people who were originally considered. He had to undergo strenuous training to build a body that could be comparable to the hero of the film.

Filming

"I don't want to do action like that because it does not look real, but the masses like it and the film becomes a hit. Maybe sensible people don't like it, I don't know. I am comfortable doing realistic stunts."

--John Abraham in an interview with Rediff.

The shooting of the film ended in February 2011, after sixty five days of shoot. During the filming, John Abraham stated that "With Nishikant I have discovered the magic of raw action, but what is even more beautiful is the romance in 'Force'. This I believe will be my first pan India film after a long gap." The film involved tough stunts which Allan Amin, who worked with John Abraham earlier in Dhoom, had choreographed.

Controversy

Controversy broke out for the film, in a scene where John and Genelia had to tie knot. However, sources claim that the ceremony conducted was so authentic that had they completed the last round they would have actually been man and wife. The priest used for the scene was a real pandit and not a junior artist who read out the actual wedding mantra as he said he had forgot that the camera was rolling. Again, following the reports of Ritesh Deshmukh and Genelia's marriage plans, the priest insisted that the couple couldn't get married as Genelia is already married to John as everything was done from wearing a mangalsutra, to exchanging garlands and taking the saat pheras. He also said he wish to meet the onscreen couple and make them understand that he had pronounced the mantras one does at a real wedding.

SoundTrack

Force soundtrack is composed by Harris Jayaraj along with one song by Lalit Pandit and lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar. Harris Jayaraj was maintained as the music director of the film after his work in the original and with the film, he composed his second album in Hindi after the his successful 2001 album Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein. Soundtrack got released on 29 August, 2011.

Critical response

The album received positive reviews from music critics, with particular praise being given to "Khwabon Khwabon". Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave 3 out of 5 stars and said "Force delivers as promised and turns out to be an impressive soundtrack. While 'Khwabon Khwabon' was anyways expected to be the USP of the soundtrack, 'Main Chali' turns out to be another number that works quite well for the soundtrack. Overall, an album that has a potential to turn much bigger if the film too turns out to be a good success." Tanuj Manchanda of Planet Bollywood gave 7 out of 10 and quoted in his review that "After hearing all songs, one can say that this is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year both in terms of lyrics and compositions. Harris Jayaraj has proved his mettle time and again and this time also he succeeds with flying colours. Javed akhtar as usual is dedicated towards giving his best. And the best part of the album is that all songs except ‘Dum Hai To Aaja’ are soulful and a treat for all music lovers and does not have any remixes to rob off the impact. Force is definitely recommended!" Devesh Sharma of Filmfare awarded it 3 out of 5 stars and quoted "Overall, Jayraj has arrived on the Hindi music scene and one looks forward to hearing more of his original tunes (and not reprises) in future." Gurpreet Bhuller of Moviehattan gave it 3 out of 5 stars stating "Overall, Force has two forceful songs out of five which is not a bad offer. If you like Khwabon Khwabon like crazy and think you can hear it infinite times then go get this album."