Laila Majnu (2018 film)

Summary

Laila Majnu (Hindi pronunciation: [lɛːlaː mədʒnuː]) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romance film starring Avinash Tiwary and Tripti Dimri. It is directed by Sajid Ali, presented by Imtiaz Ali and co-produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Preety Ali.[1][2][3][4]

Laila Majnu
Directed bySajid Ali
Screenplay byImtiaz Ali
Sajid Ali
Produced byEkta Kapoor
Shobha Kapoor
Preety Ali
StarringAvinash Tiwary
Tripti Dimri
CinematographySayak Bhattacharya
Music bySongs:
Niladri Kumar
Joi Barua
Alif
Background Score:
Hitesh Sonik
Production
companies
Release date
  • 7 September 2018 (2018-09-07)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Released theatrically on 7 September 2018, the film met with lukewarm response and failed commercially at the box office. But in later years, it received positive reviews for its story and cast performances and soundtrack garnering critical acclaim, following its digital release led to some outlets assigning the film cult status.[5]

Plot edit

Belonging to a reputed family in town, Laila is a flirt who likes to tease boys who are attracted to her. She meets Kaes, a boy belonging to a rich family. Despite ongoing legal disputes between their families, the two fall for each other instantly. But when Laila's family finds out about their relationship, they fix her marriage with Ibban, her father's political assistant. Even though Laila waits for Kaes to convince her father, she breaks up with him when he talks disrespectfully to her father. Kaes tells her that he would not follow her anymore and asks her to find him if she ever need him.

After four years, Kaes returns from London for his father's funeral. He avoids meeting Laila but Laila who is regularly abused by her drunkard husband, who is now the MLA, decides to meet Kaes. When she sees him, she realises that he was struggling all these years with her memories, making him a different person. Laila stands up to her husband and they decide to get divorced. Laila asks Kaes to wait till her divorce. However, before the divorce, her husband dies in a road accident. Laila decides to run away with Kaes on the day of the funeral but her father asks her not to and promises her that she could marry him after a few weeks. Laila again asks Kaes to wait for her.

Kaes who had been waiting for years for her, gets a feeling that he will never get united with her and this thought makes him eccentric. He begins to have hallucinations of Laila, he talks to her and eventually runs off to a mountain. His family, friends and Laila, searches for him for days but he is still missing. Kaes however thinks that Laila is with him and starts a life with her in the mountain. He is caught by some people and is brought back to his house. There he recognises Laila but also says that Laila is not one person but she is everywhere and points to different directions.

Laila realises that he has reached the ultimate level of love - everything is Laila for him. She realises that in order for them to be together their souls need to meet. Hence, she commits suicide while holding the note he gave her. The note which said that now if she wants him she has to reach him, indicating again that he is far ahead in love for her and she needs to search him, reach him. Majnu realises that Laila is no more and runs to their mountains where he stumbles and hits his head over Laila's grave. While dying he sees Laila calling to him from the mountain top. The film ends with a fun song where it is shown that their souls are together doing everything that they had decided. The film ends with the line - They lived happily ever after - which is both ironic and true.

Cast edit

  • Avinash Tiwary as Qays Bhatt / Majnu
    • Dawar as Young Qays
  • Tripti Dimri as Laila
    • Hibba Shafi as Young Laila
  • Farhana Bhat as Jasmeet
  • Duaa Bhat as Shama
  • Benjamin Gilani as Ghulam Sarwar Bhat
  • Parmeet Sethi as Masood Ahmed Shahmiri
  • Sumit Kaul as Ibban / Javed Parrey
  • Sahiba Bali as Ambreen
  • Abrar Qazi as Zaid
  • Mahid Aisha Ali as Zaid's sister
  • Shagufta Ali as Laila's Aunt (Pufu)
  • Mir Sarwar as Qays's Brother-in-law
  • Vasundhara Kaul as Qays's Sister
  • Sujata Sehgal as Parveen, Laila's Mother
  • RJ Rafiq as Touseef
  • Moomin Rafiq as Umer
  • Shahid Gulfam as Rasool
  • Zameer Ashai as Nisar Bukhari
  • Khawar Jamsheed as Mudi

Soundtrack edit

Laila Majnu
Soundtrack album by
Released17 August 2018[6]
Recorded2018
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length42:33
LanguageHindi
LabelZee Music Company
External audio
  Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

Hitesh Sonik composed the film's background score and Niladri Kumar, Joi Barua and Alif composed the songs. The lyrics were written by Irshad Kamil, Mehmood Gaami and Mohammad Muneem. The first song, "Aahista", was released on 9 August 2018.[7] This was followed by the title track, "O Meri Laila", on 13 August 2018.[8]

Track listing
No.TitleMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Aahista" (Backing vocals: Ranina Reddy, Harsha Vardhan Chavali)Niladri KumarArijit Singh, Jonita Gandhi5:20
2."O Meri Laila" (Backing vocals: Ranina Reddy, Arijit Singh, Nakul Abhyankar)Joi BaruaAtif Aslam, Jyotica Tangri4:41
3."Tum"Niladri KumarAtif Aslam4:39
4."Hafiz Hafiz"Niladri KumarMohit Chauhan5:39
5."Sarphiri"Niladri KumarShreya Ghoshal, Babul Supriyo4:05
6."Gayee Kaam Se"Joi BaruaDev Negi, Amit Sharma, Meenal Jain4:13
7."Lala Zula Zalio"Joi BaruaFrankie (Kashmiri), Joi Barua, Sunidhi Chauhan3:00
8."O'Meri Laila" (Radio Version)Joi BaruaJoi Barua3:11
9."Tum" (Version 2)Niladri KumarJaved Ali4:41
10."Katyu Chuko"AlifMohammad Muneem3:04
Total length:42:33

Awards and nominations edit

Date of Ceremony Awards Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
16 February 2019 Mirchi Music Awards Upcoming Music Composer of The Year Niladri Kumar – "Aahista" Won [9][10]
Lyricist of The Year Irshad Kamil – "Aahista" Nominated
23 March 2019 64th Filmfare Awards Rd Burman Award For Upcoming Talent in Film Music Niladri Kumar Won [11]
Best Playback Singer (Female) Jonita Gandhi – "Ahista" Nominated [12]

References edit

  1. ^ "Ekta Kapoor shifts gears with Imtiaz Ali's 'Laila Majnu'". 7 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Laila Majnu has less logic and more passion: Imtiaz Ali". 23 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Laila Majnu Trailer: Imtiaz Ali Brings Madness, Love and Bullets Together".
  4. ^ "Laila Majnu Trailer: Imtiaz Ali is back, this time, with the 'baap' of all tragic love stories". 7 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Imtiaz Ali: 'Laila Majnu' is an unsafe film to make – Times of India ►". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Laila Majnu – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Saavn.
  7. ^ "Laila Majnu song 'Aahista' captures lead pair's love story before launching into tragic climax". Firstpost. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Laila Majnu song 'O Meri Laila' shows Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary frolicking to traditional Kashmiri music". Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  9. ^ "MMA Mirchi Music Awards". MMAMirchiMusicAwards. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  10. ^ "11th Mirchi Music Awards: Complete list of winners – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  11. ^ "Filmfare Awards 2019: List Of Winners". NDTV. 23 March 2019.
  12. ^ "64th Vimal Filmfare Awards 2019: Official list of nominations". Times of India. 12 March 2019.

External links edit