Dard (2024 film)

Dorod / in hindi Dard is an upcoming Indo-Bangladesh joint psychological thriller action film written, co-produced and directed by Anonno Mamun and with co-produced by Kamal Mohammad Kibria Lipu, Ashok Dhanuka and Himanshu Dhanuka under the banner of Action Cut Entertainment, Kibria Films, Eskay Movies and One World Movies. The film features Shakib Khan and Sonal Chauhan in the lead roles, making it is the first Bengali language Indo-Bangladesh joint production films to set Pan-Indian release.

Synopsis
A series of sudden murders unfolds in the city of Varanasi, targeting prominent individuals. The escalating violence shocks the local police as they grapple with the growing list of victims. As the investigation progresses, an auto driver named Dulu Mia emerges as a key suspect. The police must unravel the mystery behind the serial killings and uncover the motives driving these tragic events.

Cast

 * Shakib Khan as Dulu Miah, who is an auto driver by profession and serial killer
 * Sonal Chauhan as Shefali
 * Payel Sarkar as investigating officer
 * Rahul Dev as Vasu Rao Surve "V.R.S. Bhai"
 * Rajesh Sharma
 * Lutfur Rahman George
 * Shankar Chakraborty
 * Biswajit Chakraborty
 * Debchandrima Singha Roy
 * Alok Jain
 * Elina Shammi
 * Imtu Ratish
 * Safa Marua
 * Zakir Hussain
 * Jessia Islam (cameo) as Trina

Development
Around three hundred cast and crew are working on the film.

Pre-production
The film was initially slated to begin filming on October 20, 2023 in Varanasi and Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India, making it the first Pan-Indian film to be a Indo-Bangladesh joint production. Bangladeshi actor and film's protagonist Shakib Khan was supposed to participate in the shooting that day. He was scheduled to go to Mumbai, India on October 15, to participate in the pre-production work. His photoshoots, script reading sessions, look sets were scheduled to take place in Mumbai before the filming began in Varanasi, India. However, the entire unit of 14 including Shakib Khan did not being received work permit visa on time from Bangladesh so they could not go to India at the announced time. On October 21, one of the film's producers Kamal Mohammad Kibria Lipu, told Prothom Alo, "All the artists who will go to India for the shooting of this film, including Shakib Khan, have applied to the ministry for work permit visas. But the visas have not been approved yet." The next day on October 22, the entire unit of the film, including Shakib Khan, got visas. Which was confirmed by Kamal Mohammad Kibria Lipu, one of the film's producers and director Anonno Mamun to Prothom Alo. Then on October 24, Shakib Khan went to Mumbai, India to participate in the film work. On October 25, 2023, the film's meet the press was held at a hotel in Mumbai, India, which was attended by lead actors Shakib Khan, Sonal Chauhan, director Anonno Mamun and one of producers Kamal Mohammad Kibria Lipu. Anonno Mamun confirmed that the film was made on a budget more than ₹10 crore. Shakib Khan went to Varanasi from Mumbai, India on October 26 to participate in the shooting.

Casting
After the success of Shakib Khan's previous film Priyotoma (2023), director Anonno Mamun announced make a film with Khan. He said it will be an pan-Indian film and the heroine will be from Bollywood. The film was initially rumored to be titled Psychopath and Darad. In addition, the names of some Bollywood actresses including Prachi Desai, Neha Sharma, Zareen Khan and Shehnaaz Gill are also rumored that could be seen opposite Khan in the film. In the late-July 2023, it was reported that Aamir Khan's brother Faisal Khan will star in the film, which was confirmed by director with Prothom Alo. The director confirmed to the media that Faisal Khan has been signed for the film. However, Faisal Khan denied this and said that it is unprofessional to use his name in the media without any agreement.

After of many rumours, the lead actress was signed for the film in the late September or early October. Bollywood actress/Singer/Model Sonal Chauhan has been named as the lead actress, which was confirmed by Eskay Movies, one of the Indian production company of the film, on October 6 to Prothom Alo. On the same day, the director revealed the names of the other casts of the film, respectively they are Payel Sarkar, Misha Sawdagor, Lutfur Rahman George, Rajesh Sharma, Debachandrima Singh Roy, Elina Shammi Imtu Ratish, Farhan Khan Rio. The director confirmed to the media that Payal Sarkar will play as a brave police official and Devchandima Singh Roy will play as a model. Then on October 8, Shakib Khan was officially signed for the lead actor for the film, which making him the first Bangladeshi actor in a Pan-Indian film. After the singing, the final script of the film was handed over to him by director Anonno Mamun, two of Bangladeshi producers Sarder Saniat Hossain and Kamal Mohammad Kibria Lipu. The following day, on October 9, veteran Indian actor Rahul Dev, which is the second collaboration between Shakib Khan and Rahul Dev, who had previously collaborated with Khan in the 2016 film Shikari, joined the cast. Two days later, on October 11, Miss Bangladesh 2017 crown-holder Jessia Islam sign up for a guest appearance in the film, in her second film, which is scheduled to participate in filming for 10 days. A rising fashion-model from Bangladesh Safa Marua stars in the film, which was shot for a total of 16 days in Varanasi, India.

Filming
The film principal photography was begun on October 27, 2023 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. On the same day, the director revealed a shooting scene of the film on his Facebook account. On the second day of its filming on October 28, Shakib Khan shot for around 18 hours for the continuation of the sequence. On November 7, during filming, 70 percent crews of the unit including protagonists Shakib Khan, Sonal Chauhan and director Anonna Mamun, were infected with virus fever. However, the director continued filming. The Daily Star reported, director Anonna Mamun confirmed that, a romantic song featuring Khan and Chauhan was shot in Varanasi on November 9. On the same day, Channel i revealed some stills from the song, which director Anonno Mamun had sent to Channel i Online. The film's Indian portion was wrapped up on November 17, 2023. It was shot for 22 consecutive days in India, with a cast and crew of over three hundred every day.

Music
Dard soundtrack composed and lyrics for Hindi version is penned by Arafat Mehmood and Bengali version lyrics by Zahid Akbar, Shomeshwar Oli and SK Dip. A song from the film titled "Ei Dubao, Ei Vasao" was shot in mid-November in Varanasi, India including Bengali and other languages, which penned by Zahid Akbar and sung by Balam. It is Khan's third collaboration with Balam and fourth collaboration with Zahid Akbar, who previously worked with Khan in the highest grossing Bangladeshi film of all time Priyotoma (2023).

Marketing
The films trailer launching event will be held for the first time in Bangladesh In February 2024, with around ninety thousand audiences registered to attend. Anonno Mamun confirmed that a 20-second promo of the trailer will be unveiled at Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE.

The first look poster of the film was revealed on February 14, 2024 on the occasion of Valentine's day. The official merchandise of the film was launched by Qcoom on 13 March 2024.

Release
On October 25, 2023, at film's Meet the Press director Anonno Mamun confirmed that, it will be released in more than 30 countries in six languages including Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada in the first week of February 2024. Ultimately, it was not released on the scheduled date as the post-production work was not completed on time. Now it's become uncertainty when it will release due to, 4 months after postponing original released date, as of 30th June 2024 no new date announced yet. Lead actor Shakib Khan's other film already released which started shooting after announcing release date of this movie.