Chandni Bar
Encyclopedia
Chandni Bar is a 2001 Hindi film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar
. It depicts the gritty life of the Mumbai underworld
, including prostitution, dance bar
s and gun crime. The film stars Tabu
and Atul Kulkarni
in lead roles. It also stars Ananya Khare
, Rajpal Yadav
, Minakshi Sahani and Vishal Thakkar. The film was a critically acclaimed hit and it won four National Film Awards
.
) is a young village woman whose family is killed in communal riots. She moves to Mumbai with her uncle, the only family member she has left. They are desperately poor and her uncle persuades her to become a bar girl at Chandni Bar. This is merely temporary, he promises, until he gets a job. Mumtaz is shy and loathes the work, but she forces herself to dance and flirt. However, the uncle doesn't keep his promise; he lives on her earnings, drinking them away, and never gets a job. He adds one final, unforgivable crime to the list when he gets drunk and rapes her.
By this time she has caught the eye of a gangster called Potiya Sawant (Atul Kulkarni
). When she tells Potiya what her uncle did to her, Potiya decides to "defend her honor." Potiya kills the uncle and marries her. She lives with him for several years and gives birth to a son, Abhay, and daughter, Payal. She wants Abhay and Payal to be educated and stay far away from her world of dancing girls and Potiya's gangsters.
Potiya gets in the bad books of other gangsters, loses his connections, becomes a target for the police, and is killed in a planned "encounter," leaving Mumtaz to return back to dancing at the Chandni Bar.
Years pass and Abhay and Payal are in their teens and attending school. Mumtaz still works at Chandni Bar, not as a dancer, but as a waitress. Then the unexpected happens — Abhay is arrested by the police for extortion and held in a juvenile home for the crime he had not committed. At the home, Abhay gets raped by a couple of other inmates.
Mumtaz attempts to talk to the police, to no avail. She then meets with some influential people, who agree to help her out for a price, which she must bring to them in less than two days. Mumtaz hustles and sells her body to obtain the money but is still short. seeing her mother's plight Payal takes up dancing at Chandni Bar and brings the rest of the money to her troubled mother.
With the money turned over to release Abhay, the family heave a sigh of relief — until Mumtaz notices that it is not the same Abhay she had known two days earlier. This one is cold, ruthless, and has only purpose in life: vengeance. Abhay takes his revenge and shoots the inmates that raped him. It looks like Payal is going in her mother's footsteps, and Abhay is set to be another Potiya.
and Bollywood Awards. Atul Kulkarni also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Star Screen Awards
. Madhur Bhandarkar was nominated for Best Director in several venues, but did not win.
2002 National Film Awards
(India
)
2002 IIFA Awards (India
)
2002 Star Screen Awards
(India
)
2002 Zee Cine Awards
(India
)
The theme music is a classical aalap rendered by Shubha Mudgal
.
Madhur Bhandarkar
Madhur Bhandarkar is a National Award-winning Indian film director, script writer, and producer. He is best known for his films such as Chandni Bar , Page 3 , Traffic Signal , and Fashion...
. It depicts the gritty life of the Mumbai underworld
Indian mafia
The term Indian mafia refers to certain criminal organizations found in some of India's major cities. The "Indian Mafia" also refer to powerful families that have criminal aspects to it.- Mumbai underworld :...
, including prostitution, dance bar
Dance bar
The term dance bar is used in India to refer to bars in which adult entertainment in the form of dances by relatively well-covered women are performed for male patrons in exchange for cash. Though dance bars were banned in the Maharashtra state, in August 2005, with the passing of the Police Bill,...
s and gun crime. The film stars Tabu
Tabu (actress)
Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
and Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
in lead roles. It also stars Ananya Khare
Ananya Khare
Ananya Khare , born in Ratlam, India, is a Bollywood actress starring in supporting roles of several successful movies, including Devdas and Chandni Bar. She also starred in television serials for almost two decades before her big screen success...
, Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav
Rajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...
, Minakshi Sahani and Vishal Thakkar. The film was a critically acclaimed hit and it won four National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
.
Synopsis
Mumtaz (TabuTabu
Tabu may refer to:*Tapu , a Polynesian cultural concept, from which the word taboo derives*Tabu , a 1931 award winning film*Tabu , Indian actress*Tabu Ley, Congolese musician...
) is a young village woman whose family is killed in communal riots. She moves to Mumbai with her uncle, the only family member she has left. They are desperately poor and her uncle persuades her to become a bar girl at Chandni Bar. This is merely temporary, he promises, until he gets a job. Mumtaz is shy and loathes the work, but she forces herself to dance and flirt. However, the uncle doesn't keep his promise; he lives on her earnings, drinking them away, and never gets a job. He adds one final, unforgivable crime to the list when he gets drunk and rapes her.
By this time she has caught the eye of a gangster called Potiya Sawant (Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
). When she tells Potiya what her uncle did to her, Potiya decides to "defend her honor." Potiya kills the uncle and marries her. She lives with him for several years and gives birth to a son, Abhay, and daughter, Payal. She wants Abhay and Payal to be educated and stay far away from her world of dancing girls and Potiya's gangsters.
Potiya gets in the bad books of other gangsters, loses his connections, becomes a target for the police, and is killed in a planned "encounter," leaving Mumtaz to return back to dancing at the Chandni Bar.
Years pass and Abhay and Payal are in their teens and attending school. Mumtaz still works at Chandni Bar, not as a dancer, but as a waitress. Then the unexpected happens — Abhay is arrested by the police for extortion and held in a juvenile home for the crime he had not committed. At the home, Abhay gets raped by a couple of other inmates.
Mumtaz attempts to talk to the police, to no avail. She then meets with some influential people, who agree to help her out for a price, which she must bring to them in less than two days. Mumtaz hustles and sells her body to obtain the money but is still short. seeing her mother's plight Payal takes up dancing at Chandni Bar and brings the rest of the money to her troubled mother.
With the money turned over to release Abhay, the family heave a sigh of relief — until Mumtaz notices that it is not the same Abhay she had known two days earlier. This one is cold, ruthless, and has only purpose in life: vengeance. Abhay takes his revenge and shoots the inmates that raped him. It looks like Payal is going in her mother's footsteps, and Abhay is set to be another Potiya.
Cast
- TabuTabu (actress)Tabu is an Indian film actress. She has mainly acted in Hindi films, though she has also starred in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali language films, as well as one American film...
as Mumtaz - Atul KulkarniAtul KulkarniAtul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
as Pothya Sawant - Rajpal YadavRajpal YadavRajpal Yadav is an Indian film actor, known for his comedy oriented roles.-Early life and education:Rajpal Yadav was born and brought up in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he received his education.He did his college from Sardar Patel Hindu Inter College, Shahjahanpur.He played in Shahjahanpur...
as Iqbal Chamdi - Vallabh Vyas as Habib Bhai
- Vinay Apte as Inspector Gaikwad
- Ananya KhareAnanya KhareAnanya Khare , born in Ratlam, India, is a Bollywood actress starring in supporting roles of several successful movies, including Devdas and Chandni Bar. She also starred in television serials for almost two decades before her big screen success...
as Deepa Pandey (bar-girl) - RajannaRajannaRajanna is an upcoming Indian Telugu film starring Akkineni Nagarjuna and Sneha in the lead. It will be directed by noted story writer Vijayendra Prasad, father of S.S. Rajamouli...
as Uma Shankar Pande - Minakshi Sahani as Payal Sawant (Mumtaz's daughter)
- Vishal Thakkar as Abhay Sawant (Mumtaz's son)
- Abhay Bhargav as Hedge Anna
- Suhas Palshikar as Irfan Mamu (Mumtaz's uncle)
Awards
The film won four National Awards. Tabu also received Best Actress nominations at the Filmfare AwardsFilmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
and Bollywood Awards. Atul Kulkarni also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
. Madhur Bhandarkar was nominated for Best Director in several venues, but did not win.
2002 National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
(India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)
- Best ActressNational Film Award for Best ActressThe National Film Award for Best Actress is an honor presented annually at the National Film Awards of India to an actress who has delivered the best performance in a leading role within the Indian film industry...
- Tabu - Best Supporting ActorNational Film Award for Best Supporting ActorThe National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award that was first given in 1968. The actors to have won the most awards in this category include Nana Patekar, Atul Kulkarni, and Pankaj Kapoor, each have received two....
- Atul Kulkarni - Best Supporting ActressNational Film Award for Best Supporting ActressThe National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress winners:...
- Ananya Khare - National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social IssuesNational Film Award for Best Film on Other Social IssuesThe National Film Award - Best Film on Other Social Issues winners:...
2002 IIFA Awards (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)
- Best ActressIIFA Best Actress AwardThe IIFA Best Actress Award is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the actual ceremony. The most wins are by Rani Mukerji, leading with three consecutive wins.-2000s:* 2000 Aishwarya Rai – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam as Nandini...
- Tabu
2002 Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
(India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)
- Star Screen Award Best Story - Madhur Bhandarkar
2002 Zee Cine Awards
Zee Cine Awards
The Zee Cine Awards or "ZCA" for short is an awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. It was first held in 1998 in Mumbai. Since then, it has gained substantial popularity as a notable awards ceremony to the Indian population as well as to the viewers of Zee Network.In 2004, the ZCA went...
(India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
)
- Best ActressZee Cine Award Best Actor- FemaleThe Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female is chosen by the viewers and the winner is announced at the actual ceremony.The most frequent winners are Rani Mukerji, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai and Kajol with 2 wins each. The former two winning consecutively in a row....
- Tabu
Soundtrack
The film does not feature any of original tracks of its own. But many Bollywood Hindi songs feature many times in various scenes in the dancing bar.The theme music is a classical aalap rendered by Shubha Mudgal
Shubha Mudgal
Shubha Mudgal is a well-known Indian singer of Hindustani classical music, Khayal, Thumri, Dadra, and popular Indian Pop music.She has been awarded the 1996 National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction for 'Amrit Beej', the 1998 Gold Plaque Award for Special Achievement in Music,...
.