Acid Factory

Summary

Acid Factory is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Suparn Verma.[2] The film stars Fardeen Khan, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Dino Morea, Aftab Shivdasani, Dia Mirza, and Danny Denzongpa. The film is an unofficial adaptation of the 2006 American film Unknown.[3]

Acid Factory
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySuparn Verma
Screenplay bySanjay Gupta
Suparn Verma
Story byMilind Gadagkar
Based onUnknown
by Simon Brand
Produced bySanjay Gupta
StarringFardeen Khan
Irrfan Khan
Manoj Bajpayee
Dino Morea
Aftab Shivdasani
Dia Mirza
Danny Denzongpa
CinematographySahil Kapoor
Edited byHemal Kothari
Music bySongs:
Shamir Tandon
Manasi Scott
Gourov Dasgupta
Bappi Lahiri
Ranjit Barot
Score:
Amar Mohile
Distributed byWhite Feather Films
Mumbai Mantra
Release date
  • 9 October 2009 (2009-10-09)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget21 crore[1]
Box office5.20 crore[1]

Plot edit

5 men wake up inside of a factory to find themselves locked. It is revealed that 2 of the men trapped have been kidnapped and held hostage by the other three for a planned heist. However, they themselves do not know who the hostages and kidnappers are. They receive a phone call from Kaiser, the leader of the gang, who informs them that he is on the way with ransom money and plans to tip off the hostages once he arrives. They try to escape but fail, causing them to lunge at one another in despair.

Sarthak regains his memory and realizes that he is one of the hostages and that JD is the other hostage as they were both kidnapped. He informs JD that both of them are going to be killed. JD, however, is unaware as he has no memory of the incident.

Max regains her memory and is revealed to be Kaiser's girlfriend. In addition, the gang members are revealed to be Om, Sultan and Romeo. Once Kaiser arrives at the factory, Sultan regains his memories and discovers that JD and Sarthak were once business partners. Sarthak planned on selling the company, which was the reason for his kidnapping.

Kaiser gives Sarthak an opportunity to free himself by killing JD. Sarthak is tasked to kill Sultan by JD, however he tries to get Romeo to kill him instead. Romeo escorts Sarthak to the balcony of the factory and fires his gun, making the gang believe that Sarthak is dead. However, they realize that Romeo is an undercover police officer assigned to capture the gang. A shootout occurs in the factory where Sarthak finds 2 gas masks and hands one to Romeo. They fire at the tank, causing an explosion. Romeo and Sarthak escape the factory and find the police waiting outside to arrest the gang.

Cast edit

  • Fardeen Khan as Romeo, an undercover cop who infiltrates Kaiser's gang to bring it down
  • Irrfan Khan as Kaiser, The leader of the gang
  • Manoj Bajpayee as Sultan, one of Kaiser's accomplices
  • Neha Bajpai as Nandini S. Sanghvi, Sarthak's wife
  • Dino Morea as J.D., a rich businessman, Sarthak's friend, later revealed to be one of Kaiser's accomplice
  • Aftab Shivdasani as Sarthak, A rich business tycoon, JD's friend
  • Danny Denzongpa as Om, one of Kaiser's accomplices
  • Gulshan Grover as ACP Ranbir Singh, the assistant police commissioner who sends Romeo undercover
  • Dia Mirza as Max, Kaiser's girlfriend and accomplice

Music edit

The soundtrack is composed by Bappi Lahiri, Manasi Scott, Gourov Dasgupta, Ranjit Barot and Shamir Tandon.[4]

Acid Factory
Soundtrack album by
Released2009
GenreFilm soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelJunglee Music
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s):Length
1."Yeh Jism"Virag MishraShamir TandonAnchal Datta Bhatia, Raaj Gopal Iyer 
2."Khatti Meethi"Manasi Scott, Amitabh BhattacharyaManasi ScottManasi Scott 
3."Jab Andhera Hota Hai"ShelleeGourov DasguptaAnchal Datta Bhatia, Saptak Bhattacharjee, Shweta Vijay 
4."Kone Kone Mein"Virag MishraBappi LahiriVasundhara Das 
5."Raftaar"Virag MishraShamir TandonAnchal Datta Bhatia, Raaj Gopal Iyer 
6."Yeh Jism - Club Remix"Virag MishraBappi LahiriAnchal Datta Bhatia, Raaj Gopal Iyer 
7."Kone Kone Mein - Lounge Kilogram Mix"Virag MishraBappi LahiriVasundhara Das 
8."Jab Andhera Hota Hai - Remix"ShelleeGourov DasguptaAnchal Datta Bhatia 
9."Nothing Else Will Do"Virag MishraRanjit BarotRanjit Barot 

Plagiarism accusations edit

When questioned similarities with the 2006 American film Unknown, Verma claimed he did not know whether it was a rip off or not. According to him, the writer came up with the story three years before it appealed to him and he decided to direct it. He remained unfazed by its being a remake or not.[5]

Simon Brand, who directed the original film, was shocked when he learned about Acid Factory through an Indian journalist in Los Angeles. Brand spoke to members of the industry who knew the subject and they told him it was difficult to sue the makers for plagiarism since the film had already been released in the United States, which was a common practice in India. Brand claimed to feeling enormous helplessness and frustration at not being credited for an unauthorized remake shot with four or five times more budget than his film.[3]

Critical reception edit

The film received mixed reviews and failed at the box office. Deepu Lalwani of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it a well crafted, well-executed film with an ensemble cast pitching in competent performances.[6] The Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and called it a sufficiently engaging film that could have broke new ground.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Acid Factory – Movie". Box Office India.
  2. ^ "ACID FACTORY". British Board of Film Classification.
  3. ^ a b "Plagios 'made in Bollywood'". El Mundo. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  4. ^ "Not So Acidic – Rather Quite Happily Alkaline!". Archived from the original on 12 October 2009.
  5. ^ "'Acid Factory' is an edgy film,says Supran Verma". Indian Express. Retrieved 26 October 2009.
  6. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (9 October 2009). "Acid Factory Movie Review by deepu.lalwani - Bollywood Hungama". Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Acid Factory Movie Review". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 31 December 2023.

External links edit

  • Acid Factory at IMDb