Mission Istanbul
Encyclopedia
Mission Istaanbul is a 2008 action film starring Vivek Oberoi
, Zayed Khan
and Shriya Saran
. The film, directed by Apoorva Lakhia
, features Abhishek Bachchan
in a special appearance.
) would go anywhere for a scoop, risk his life and limb to get an exclusive story that nobody else can. It is for this precise reason Vikas is a familiar face watched by six million viewer's weeknights on Aaj Tak
news channel. Ambitious, popular and professional, Vikas is considered one of the most promising journalists in the business.
It is also the reason Uwais Hussain (Suniel Shetty
), a senior producer at the controversial Istanbul-based Al Johara, widely criticised as the mouthpiece of terrorists or as their network of choice, makes him an offer to head the channel's proposed Indian bureau for an outrageous salary and other perks. It is an offer he almost can't refuse because of the channel's controversial profile which ensures that it is seen by everyone globally, including the White House. It certainly would take Vikas's career to another level not only does he become the highest paid journalist in India but also puts him on an international platform. But there is one condition that the head hunters from Al Johara insist he must join ASAP and then fly to Istanbul for a three month orientation programme.
Their offer couldn't have come at a better time for Vikas, who's undergoing a painful divorce with wife Anjali (Shriya Saran
), an equally feisty journalist whose desire to have a baby leads to their separation because her husband wants her to wait a little longer and seems to be in no mood to start a family. While Al Johara dangles the temptation of kickstarting their India operations, Vikas accepts the offer largely to mend his broken heart.
But little does Vikas know that his life is about to change when he takes the flight to Istanbul on a three month orientation program at the channel's headquarters. While Al Johara is one of the most viewed channels in the world, its reputation has been largely built as the mouthpiece of a dreaded terrorist. Abu Nazir, who is on the most wanted lists of both the Interpol and FBI, is vociferous in his threat to wage war against several countries, including India. A threat he usually delivers via a videotape to Al Johara.
On the flight Vikas finds himself seated next to a stunningly beautiful copassenger who hates flying. Lisa Lobo (Shweta Bhardwaj
) is headed for Istanbul to attend a medical convention or so she claims. In her obvious discomfort, she turns to an amused Vikas for moral support and distraction from the reality of being airborne. It is a budding friendship that's grounded the moment the flight lands and Lisa disappears at the airport.
Once in Istanbul, Vikas's initial impression of Al Johara is in sharp contrast to its notorious reputation. Especially when he meets the charismatic Ghazni (Niketan Dheer), who has business interests all over the world but whose obsession these days is Al Johara as an instrument to shape world events. There is only one word of caution to Vikas and that's never ever to venture onto the 13th floor known as the Catacomb.
As part of his orientation, Vikas gets handson experience in the Al Johara newsroom where he watches ghastly and exclusive news reports of terrorism. He learns more about Abu Nazir, who is described as "a one man organisation whose existence revolves around a single person." Vikas is told that it is extremely difficult to find out any details about his private life and his habits because such information would help the secret services who are looking for him. "Abu Nazir is cautious to the point of paranoia."
Reeling under the impact of the reality bytes at work, Vikas's only relief is his flirtatious encounters with Lisa and the lively company of soldier-turned journalist Owais Hussain who is looking forward to quitting his job and settling down with his Irish girlfriend.
But on an assignment to cover kidnapped journalists in one of Abu Nazir's terrorist camps in Afghanistan, Vikas is shocked when Abu Nazir's brother, Khalil (Shabbir Ahluwalia
), brutally executes Owais Hussain just before a UN peacekeeping force mounts a rescue operation.
Reeling at this close encounter with terrorism and watching a brutal killing, Vikas returns to Istanbul in a daze and is approached by a former Turkish commando, Rizwan Khan (Vivek Oberoi
), who hints that no senior employee has ever quit Al Johara and rattles off a list of Al Johara employees who had been killed in terrorist attacks within days of there being of rumours of their plans to quit or their resumes circulating in the job market! Vikas is quickly reminded of Owais Husain expressing the same to him. The stranger poses a few more questions about Al Johara like why Abu Nazir speaks only to Al Johara and leaves quietly.
Vikas discreetly runs a check on the names rattled off by Rizwan and discovers he was indeed telling the truth. Five Al Johara staffers before Owais Husain had either died in a car bomb explosion, abducted and killed or simply found dead. It sends a chill through Vikas's spine. He slowly notices that not everything is as simple as they look in the offices of Al Johara, especially when he seems to bump into strangers whose faces he soon recognises as suicide bombers in a couple of terrorist attacks. The deeper Vikas digs into Al Johara's history and operations, the more questions crop up in his mind. And then he makes the cardinal mistake of straying onto the 13th floor.
Soon Vikas realises that all is not what it seems and that he can't trust anyone not even Lisa! As he is tortured for straying onto the 13th floor, double crossed by Lisa and watches wife Anjali narrowly surviving a suicide bomb attack in Srinagar, Vikas has no choice but to ally with Rizwan after he makes a shocking revelation that Abu Nazir is dead but being kept alive by Al Johara through videotapes by using digital images of the terrorist and doctoring old footage.
Thereafter Vikas Sagar finds himself creating news rather than reporting it as he steals the secrets locked away on Al Johara's 13th floor, incurs Ghazni's wrath and becomes a man on the run wanted by Turkish cops, terrorists, the CIA and Lisa Lobo!
From wielding a mike before a television camera, he is forced to wield a gun and join Rizwan in a bloody mission against international terrorism.
's role was initially meant to be played by Bobby Deol
.
Tusshar Kapoor
was offered a villain role but turned that role down and then gave it to Nikitin Dheer.
Popular film critic Rajeev Masand
gave the film 1 out of 5 possible stars and said "it's one of those films that's so bad that you might actually want to check it out. Because believe me there's nothing more amusing than a terrible film that takes itself so seriously."
of Fatlabs
and others.
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi and Yashodhara Oberoi.- Early life :Vivek attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by the director of New York University who took Vivek off to New York, where he completed his...
, Zayed Khan
Zayed Khan
-Early life:Khan's parents are former Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan. Khan is the youngest of four children. His older sisters are Simone Khan , Sussanne Roshan , and Farah Khan Ali...
and Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
. The film, directed by Apoorva Lakhia
Apoorva Lakhia
Apoorva Lakhia is an Indian film director.Before becoming a film director, Apoorva was an assistant director for Ashutosh Gowariker's period epic film Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India and as second assistant director for the film Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love...
, features Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
in a special appearance.
Plot
Vikas Sagar (Zayed KhanZayed Khan
-Early life:Khan's parents are former Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan. Khan is the youngest of four children. His older sisters are Simone Khan , Sussanne Roshan , and Farah Khan Ali...
) would go anywhere for a scoop, risk his life and limb to get an exclusive story that nobody else can. It is for this precise reason Vikas is a familiar face watched by six million viewer's weeknights on Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak
Aaj Tak is a 24-hour Hindi news television channel owned by TV Today Network Ltd. Aaj Tak loosely translates as "Till Today" or "Up to the Minute". Watched by some 45 million viewers in India’s cable and satellite universe, Aaj Tak is one of India’s largest privately owned news channels...
news channel. Ambitious, popular and professional, Vikas is considered one of the most promising journalists in the business.
It is also the reason Uwais Hussain (Suniel Shetty
Suniel Shetty
Sunil Shetty is an Indian film actor, producer, hotelier and liquor and fashion boutique owner. He is mainly active in Bollywood.-Career:Shetty made his acting debut in the 1992.His film Balwaan which was a moderate success. He gave 2 hit films in 1993 Pehchaan and Waqt Hamara Hai. His first...
), a senior producer at the controversial Istanbul-based Al Johara, widely criticised as the mouthpiece of terrorists or as their network of choice, makes him an offer to head the channel's proposed Indian bureau for an outrageous salary and other perks. It is an offer he almost can't refuse because of the channel's controversial profile which ensures that it is seen by everyone globally, including the White House. It certainly would take Vikas's career to another level not only does he become the highest paid journalist in India but also puts him on an international platform. But there is one condition that the head hunters from Al Johara insist he must join ASAP and then fly to Istanbul for a three month orientation programme.
Their offer couldn't have come at a better time for Vikas, who's undergoing a painful divorce with wife Anjali (Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran , also known by the mononym Shriya, is an Indian film actress and model. She has worked in several of the regional industries of Indian cinema, having acted in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language films, as well as a few films in English, Malayalam and Kannada...
), an equally feisty journalist whose desire to have a baby leads to their separation because her husband wants her to wait a little longer and seems to be in no mood to start a family. While Al Johara dangles the temptation of kickstarting their India operations, Vikas accepts the offer largely to mend his broken heart.
But little does Vikas know that his life is about to change when he takes the flight to Istanbul on a three month orientation program at the channel's headquarters. While Al Johara is one of the most viewed channels in the world, its reputation has been largely built as the mouthpiece of a dreaded terrorist. Abu Nazir, who is on the most wanted lists of both the Interpol and FBI, is vociferous in his threat to wage war against several countries, including India. A threat he usually delivers via a videotape to Al Johara.
On the flight Vikas finds himself seated next to a stunningly beautiful copassenger who hates flying. Lisa Lobo (Shweta Bhardwaj
Shweta Bhardwaj
Shweta Bhardwaj is an Indian actress and model who has acted in Hindi and South Indian films. She made her debut in the 2008 action flick Mission Istanbul, starring Vivek Oberoi. She has been a Gladrags Model.-Background:...
) is headed for Istanbul to attend a medical convention or so she claims. In her obvious discomfort, she turns to an amused Vikas for moral support and distraction from the reality of being airborne. It is a budding friendship that's grounded the moment the flight lands and Lisa disappears at the airport.
Once in Istanbul, Vikas's initial impression of Al Johara is in sharp contrast to its notorious reputation. Especially when he meets the charismatic Ghazni (Niketan Dheer), who has business interests all over the world but whose obsession these days is Al Johara as an instrument to shape world events. There is only one word of caution to Vikas and that's never ever to venture onto the 13th floor known as the Catacomb.
As part of his orientation, Vikas gets handson experience in the Al Johara newsroom where he watches ghastly and exclusive news reports of terrorism. He learns more about Abu Nazir, who is described as "a one man organisation whose existence revolves around a single person." Vikas is told that it is extremely difficult to find out any details about his private life and his habits because such information would help the secret services who are looking for him. "Abu Nazir is cautious to the point of paranoia."
Reeling under the impact of the reality bytes at work, Vikas's only relief is his flirtatious encounters with Lisa and the lively company of soldier-turned journalist Owais Hussain who is looking forward to quitting his job and settling down with his Irish girlfriend.
But on an assignment to cover kidnapped journalists in one of Abu Nazir's terrorist camps in Afghanistan, Vikas is shocked when Abu Nazir's brother, Khalil (Shabbir Ahluwalia
Shabbir Ahluwalia
Shabir Sebastian Ahluwalia is an Indian television actor, best known for his role as Rishi in the soap opera Kahiin to Hoga and as Milind Mishra in Kayamath. He made his debut in Bollywood with Shootout at Lokandwala...
), brutally executes Owais Hussain just before a UN peacekeeping force mounts a rescue operation.
Reeling at this close encounter with terrorism and watching a brutal killing, Vikas returns to Istanbul in a daze and is approached by a former Turkish commando, Rizwan Khan (Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Oberoi is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi and Yashodhara Oberoi.- Early life :Vivek attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by the director of New York University who took Vivek off to New York, where he completed his...
), who hints that no senior employee has ever quit Al Johara and rattles off a list of Al Johara employees who had been killed in terrorist attacks within days of there being of rumours of their plans to quit or their resumes circulating in the job market! Vikas is quickly reminded of Owais Husain expressing the same to him. The stranger poses a few more questions about Al Johara like why Abu Nazir speaks only to Al Johara and leaves quietly.
Vikas discreetly runs a check on the names rattled off by Rizwan and discovers he was indeed telling the truth. Five Al Johara staffers before Owais Husain had either died in a car bomb explosion, abducted and killed or simply found dead. It sends a chill through Vikas's spine. He slowly notices that not everything is as simple as they look in the offices of Al Johara, especially when he seems to bump into strangers whose faces he soon recognises as suicide bombers in a couple of terrorist attacks. The deeper Vikas digs into Al Johara's history and operations, the more questions crop up in his mind. And then he makes the cardinal mistake of straying onto the 13th floor.
Soon Vikas realises that all is not what it seems and that he can't trust anyone not even Lisa! As he is tortured for straying onto the 13th floor, double crossed by Lisa and watches wife Anjali narrowly surviving a suicide bomb attack in Srinagar, Vikas has no choice but to ally with Rizwan after he makes a shocking revelation that Abu Nazir is dead but being kept alive by Al Johara through videotapes by using digital images of the terrorist and doctoring old footage.
Thereafter Vikas Sagar finds himself creating news rather than reporting it as he steals the secrets locked away on Al Johara's 13th floor, incurs Ghazni's wrath and becomes a man on the run wanted by Turkish cops, terrorists, the CIA and Lisa Lobo!
From wielding a mike before a television camera, he is forced to wield a gun and join Rizwan in a bloody mission against international terrorism.
Cast
- Zayed KhanZayed Khan-Early life:Khan's parents are former Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan. Khan is the youngest of four children. His older sisters are Simone Khan , Sussanne Roshan , and Farah Khan Ali...
as Vikas Sagar - Vivek OberoiVivek OberoiVivek Oberoi is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Suresh Oberoi and Yashodhara Oberoi.- Early life :Vivek attended Mayo college in Ajmer. At an actors' workshop in London he was spotted by the director of New York University who took Vivek off to New York, where he completed his...
as Rizwan Khan - Shreya Saran as Anjali Sagar
- Nikitin Dheer as Al Gazini
- Shabbir AhluwaliaShabbir AhluwaliaShabir Sebastian Ahluwalia is an Indian television actor, best known for his role as Rishi in the soap opera Kahiin to Hoga and as Milind Mishra in Kayamath. He made his debut in Bollywood with Shootout at Lokandwala...
as Khalil Nazir - Suniel ShettySuniel ShettySunil Shetty is an Indian film actor, producer, hotelier and liquor and fashion boutique owner. He is mainly active in Bollywood.-Career:Shetty made his acting debut in the 1992.His film Balwaan which was a moderate success. He gave 2 hit films in 1993 Pehchaan and Waqt Hamara Hai. His first...
as Owais Hussain - Shweta BhardwajShweta BhardwajShweta Bhardwaj is an Indian actress and model who has acted in Hindi and South Indian films. She made her debut in the 2008 action flick Mission Istanbul, starring Vivek Oberoi. She has been a Gladrags Model.-Background:...
as Dr. Lisa Lobo - Abhishek BachchanAbhishek BachchanAbhishek Bachchan is an Indian actor and producer. He is the son of Indian actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and is married to actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai....
in a Special Appearance
Production
Zayed KhanZayed Khan
-Early life:Khan's parents are former Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan and interior designer Zarine Khan. Khan is the youngest of four children. His older sisters are Simone Khan , Sussanne Roshan , and Farah Khan Ali...
's role was initially meant to be played by Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol is a Bollywood actor. Deol is the son of the acclaimed Bollywood actor Dharmendra and the brother of Sunny Deol, also a successful actor in the Mumbai based Indian film industry....
.
Tusshar Kapoor
Tusshar Kapoor
Tusshar Kapoor is an Indian actor. He is the son of Bollywood actor Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor and brother of Ekta Kapoor. He studied at the University of Michigan and graduated with a BBA from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.Tushar made his debut with Mujhe kuch kehna hai alongside...
was offered a villain role but turned that role down and then gave it to Nikitin Dheer.
Trivia
- The name of the fictional network in the film, Al Johara, is Arabic for "The Jewel". Johara is not a Turkish word, and Turkish does not use the prefix Al. Similarly, the name Abu Nazir, used by the film's bin Laden-esque terrorist, is also Arabic, not Turkish. Unlike in many Arab cultures, Turkish men do not take the name Abu [son's name] or, indeed, have any similar honorific or nickname based on the name of their son(s). The names of many of the Turkish characters are also not Turkish names. The correct spelling in Turkish for "Rizwan" is Rızvan, whereas Owais is most definitely not a Turkish name, since the Turkish alphabet does not include the letter "W".
- For the climactic battle, the reed-thin Zayed Khan put on 11 kg and weighed 75 kg for the first time in his life. All because he had to take on the movie's bad man Niketan Dheer, who was 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 86 kg.
- Vivek Oberoi grew his hair for his role as a Turkish commando in the film.
- Jammu and KashmirJammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
politician Omar AbdullahOmar AbdullahOmar Abdullah , born 10 March 1970 in United Kingdom, is an Indian Kashmiri politician and the scion of Kashmir's 'first family', the Abdullah family who became the 11th and the youngest Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir after forming a government in coalition with the Congress party, on...
appears in the film as himself. - Brent Mendenhall, a look-alike of U.S President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, appears in the film as Bush. - Khalil Ahmed, a double for Osama Bin LadenOsama bin LadenOsama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, appears. - The organisation Al Johara in the movie and its alleged role as a mouthpiece for terrorists, i.e. having tapes delivered to the news organisation by terrorists, bears a resemblance to QatarQatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
-based news channel Al JazeeraAl JazeeraAl Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
and the fact that it too was criticised by some White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
officials as being an outlet for terrorists. In this respect the movie helps to re-inforce the Western world's take on the War on TerrorWar on TerrorThe War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
, which is a bit ironic since the country that is home to the film's fictional network, Turkey, is a NATO country with troops engaged in the War on Terror in Afghanistan. - The movie was released on the same day as Bollywood film Money Hai Toh Honey HaiMoney Hai Toh Honey HaiMoney Hai Toh Honey Hai is a Bollywood comedy film directed by Ganesh Acharya and produced by Kumar Mangat. It features a cast of stars including Govinda, Aftab Shivdasani, Upen Patel, Hansika Motwani, Celina Jaitley and Manoj Bajpai in the lead roles with Ravi Kissen and Prem Chopra in supporting...
on 25 July.
Reception
The film opened to overwhelmingly negative reviews.Popular film critic Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and entertainment reporter for CNN-IBN. Masand started his career as an entertainment correspondent at the young age of 16...
gave the film 1 out of 5 possible stars and said "it's one of those films that's so bad that you might actually want to check it out. Because believe me there's nothing more amusing than a terrible film that takes itself so seriously."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack for Mission Istaanbul was released prior to the film and is available for retail. The soundtrack closely follows the theme of the film spanning a wide variety of artists and producers such as Mika Singh, Shaan, Hamza Faruqui, Neeraj Shridar, Chirantan Bhatt, Shamir Tandon, Priya Nayar, Vikas KohliVikas Kohli
Vikas Kohli is an Indian musician and producer best known for founding Fatlabs.-Fatlabs:Fatlabs is home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, founded in 2003. Kohli is best known for his ability to work with multiple genres. Vikas has produced punk, jazz, hip-hop, soul, country, pop,...
of Fatlabs
Fatlabs
FatLabs, is a Canadian home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 2003 by Vikas Kohli. The studio is known for its ability to work with an assortment of genres.- Mission Istaanbul :...
and others.
Track listing
- "World Hold On World Hold On (Remix)" (Neeraj Shridar, Anoushka, Ishq Bector) – 5:12
- "Mission Mission" (Hamza Farooqui) – 3:57
- "Jo Gumshuda" (Shaan, Mahalaxmi, Ege) – 5:38
- "Nobody Like You" (Neeraj Shridar, Anoushka, Ishq Bector) – 3:26
- "Yaar Mera Dildarra" (Javed Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan) – 5:22
- "Apun Ke Saath" (Mika Singh, Priya Nayar, Vikas KohliVikas KohliVikas Kohli is an Indian musician and producer best known for founding Fatlabs.-Fatlabs:Fatlabs is home recording studio in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, founded in 2003. Kohli is best known for his ability to work with multiple genres. Vikas has produced punk, jazz, hip-hop, soul, country, pop,...
, – 4:06 - "Jo Gumshuda (Remix)" (Shaan, Mahalaxmi, Ege) – 3:52
- "Nodbody Like You (Remix)" (Neeraj Shridar, Anoushka, Ishq Bector) – 3:46
- "World Hold On World Hold On" (Neeraj Shridar, Anoushka, Ishq Bector) – 5:13