Khosla Ka Ghosla

Khosla Ka Ghosla is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee, in his directorial debut. It was produced by Savita Raj Hiremath under the Taandav Films label and Ronnie Screwvala from UTV Motion Pictures. Written by Jaideep Sahni, the film stars Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Parvin Dabas, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey and Tara Sharma in the lead roles. The story follows Kamal Kishore Khosla (Kher), a middle-class Delhiite and his family's attempt to reclaim their land which has been seized by a builder, Khurana (Irani).

Banerjee, an advertising filmmaker, wanted to make a feature film which showcased Delhi the way it is. The initial idea conceived by Hiremath and Sahni was about a generation gap. After finishing the script, Sahni informed Banerjee that he had found a producer in Delhi and asked him if he wanted to direct the film; Banerjee agreed to do so. The film had no buyers for two years during which time editing continued. The team showed the film to several people who loved it but were unwilling to back it. In 2006, UTV Motion Pictures stepped in and distributed the film.

Khosla Ka Ghosla was screened at the 2006 Kara Film Festival and was released on 22 September 2006 to positive critical reception. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi at the 54th National Film Awards. Made on a production budget of ₹37.5 million, the film earned a total of ₹66.7 million at the box-office, making it a commercial success. It was later remade in 2008 in Tamil as Poi Solla Porom and in Kannada as Rame Gowda vs Krishna Reddy in 2010.

Plot
Kamal Kishore Khosla (Anupam Kher) is an ordinary middle-class man residing in New Delhi with his wife Sudha Khosla (Kiran Juneja), his elder son Chiraunjilal Khosla / Cherry (Parvin Dabas), his younger son Balwant Khosla / Bunty (Ranvir Shorey), and his tomboy daughter Nikki (Rupam Bajwa). Kamal has invested all his hard-earned savings from his provident fund into purchasing a plot of land in South Delhi to build a new house for his family. While Cherry, a software engineer planning to move to the US for a job, is not enthusiastic about his father's plans, Kamal hopes that the location will be convenient for Cherry's workplace. However, Cherry has not revealed his intentions to leave for the US to his family yet.

When Cherry applies for a visa to visit the US, the travel agent, Asif Iqbal (Vinay Pathak), mocks his name, "Chiraunjilal", causing Cherry to feel ashamed. As a result, Cherry decides to change his name and eventually informs his family about this decision. Although Kamal initially taunts Cherry for his decision to change his name, he gradually realises that times have changed and starts to understand Cherry's perspective.

A disagreement between Cherry and his father leads to a temporary strained relationship. To bring them closer, Cherry's friend and colleague, Mr. Amar Sahni (Vinod Nagpal), suggests that Kamal spends some quality time with Cherry over drinks. However, upon arrival from work, Cherry reveals that he does not drink, leading to an argument between him and his father. Kamal insists that Cherry must participate in family matters and fulfill his responsibilities, while Cherry reveals his plans to move to the US after a formal job interview.

Cherry's girlfriend, Meghna (Tara Sharma), an actress, is surprised by Cherry's decision and feels that he should stay and support his family. However, she becomes upset with him due to Cherry leaving for the US soon and not quite supporting his father in the interim.

During a visit to their new plot for a ritual called Bhumipujan, the Khoslas discover that their plot has been encroached upon by a group of squatters connected to an unscrupulous local businessman named Kishen Khurana (Boman Irani). Vijendar (Rajendra Sethi), the property dealer who facilitated the plot purchase, suggests they personally meet Khurana at his farmhouse to sort the matter. Khurana directs them back to Vijendar, who it turns out was in cahoots with Khurana and advises Kamal to bid for the plot to reclaim it. However, the cost demanded is around 50% of the plot's initial price, amounting to ₹15 lakh. Kamal is aghast at this proposition and seeks assistance from local government authorities and political agencies. Unfortunately, these entities only offer to mediate the deal in exchange for hefty commissions and a reduced amount demanded by Khurana, leaving Kamal dejected.

Spurred by his father's helplessness, Bunty decides to take action. He seeks help from a gang of local wrestlers who forcefully reclaim the plot by demolishing the boundary walls erected by Khurrana's men. However, this victory is short-lived as Kamal is arrested on false charges of trespassing, orchestrated by Khurana.

Kamal is bailed out at Khurrana's cunning behest, leaving him broken and disheartened. He urges his family to avoid further action, feeling incapable of fighting back, and encourages Cherry to focus on his prospective job abroad. Meanwhile, Meghna cheers up Cherry to support his family and then they visit Asif, who offers them help to deceive Khurrna and obtain money from him. With the aid of Meghna's friends and Asif's astute plan, they orchestrate a scheme to deceive Khurana and extract money from him. They create a ruse involving a large piece of vacant land owned by the Fisheries Department, with Bapu (Navin Nischol), Meghna's mentor and the manager of a drama theatre group, posing as M.L. Sethi, a Dubai-based businessman and the owner of the land. Bapu's theatre group helps create a convincing scenario for Khurana, making him believe in the authenticity of the land and its owner.

As the sham deal worth ₹1.4 crore nears completion, Vijendar asks for 3% share of the plot deal, he is quietly excluded. Khurana requests to visit the land again, unaware that the Khoslas themselves have taken on the roles of labourers as the Bapu's theatre group crew have gone to perform at film festivals. After the visit, Khurana takes Sethi (Bapu) and his assistant Mani (Nitesh Pandey) to his farmhouse for drinks. Khurana's assistant, Munjal (Rajesh Sharma), receives a tip that Sethi Associates (Bapu) is not a legitimate party and is about to tell Khurana about it, but quietly leaves in disappointment as Khurana calls his associates a bunch of "less-privileged people". Bapu and his assistant successfully deceive Khurana, taking ₹35 lakh in cash from his farmhouse, which they give to Cherry and Asif, leaving both of them ecstatic.

With the obtained cash, Kamal pays the ransom demanded by Khurrana and regains possession of his plot, while Khurana is forced to vacate their land. The remaining cash is divided equally between the Khoslas, Asif, and Bapu's theatre group. Cherry decides to change his name to Chirag and abandons his plans to move to the US. He marries Meghna and settles down with his family in their newly-constructed house (New Khosla Kunj) on the plot. Bunty starts his own real estate business, and the film concludes with Khurana realising he has been duped and deciding to cover up the sham deal with Sethi Associates to protect his reputation.

Cast

 * Anupam Kher as Kamal Kishore Khosla
 * Boman Irani as Kishen Khurana
 * Parvin Dabas as Chiraunji Lal "Cherry" Khosla
 * Vinay Pathak as Asif Iqbal
 * Ranvir Shorey as Balwant "Bunty" Khosla
 * Tara Sharma as Meghna Chopra
 * Kiran Juneja as Sudha Khosla
 * Rajendra Sethi as Vijendar
 * Rupam Bajwa as Nikki Khosla
 * Vinod Nagpal as Mr Amar Sawhney
 * Navin Nischol as Bapu / Mr. Rohit Sethi
 * Nitesh Pandey as Mani
 * Anusha Lall as Katori
 * V K Sharma as Insan Singh
 * Rajesh Sharma as Munjal
 * Danish Aslam as Inspector

Production
Dibakar Banerjee, who was making advertisement films in Delhi, wished to make a feature film "which portrayed Delhi as it is". The initial idea of the generation gap was conceived by Savita Raj Hiremath and her writer friend Jaideep Sahni, who had worked with Banerjee on advertising films. Sahni said the soul of Khosla Ka Ghosla was derived from their experience of growing up in a middle-class house in Delhi. The first half of the film was based on Sahni's personal experience of an incident in his family which left an impression on him. He thought about "how our entire system can so callously and efficiently come together in no time to exploit a common man in trouble." Later Sahni informed Banerjee that he had found a producer from Delhi and asked him if he wanted to direct the film; Banerjee agreed to do so. Banerjee said a real life experience when Sahni witnessed his father being insulted by someone powerful, helped them to develop the character of the antagonist Khurana. Sahni worked on the story for a year-and-a-half and finished in 2003. Both Banerjee and Sahni first approached Anupam Kher to play Kamal Kishore Khosla; he was "hooked" after their discussions.

Vinay Pathak had auditioned for Khurana's character for which Boman Irani was eventually selected, but the team liked Pathak's audition and offered him the role of Asif Iqbal. Ranvir Shorey was selected for the role of Balwant after two or three rounds of auditions. The role of Khurana was also offered to Rishi Kapoor who refused it. Hiremath felt this was because "commercially, it (the role) wasn't working for him." Irani had also initially refused the offer to play Khurana as he felt he was unsuitable for the role of a builder from Delhi since he was a Mumbai-born Parsi. He accepted the role after "a lot of people had raised their eyebrows" at his decision and he felt determined to make it work. Irani drove around and listened to interviews recorded with actual property dealers. He also watched real footage captured using hidden cameras to understand how they behaved. Kher said that he tried to boost the team's morale as the film was made while enduring a lot of stress. Tara Sharma was selected for the role of Meghna after an audition. Banerjee was initially reluctant to give Parvin Dabas the role of Chiraunjilal as he thought the latter would not be able to do justice to the "layered character." Dabas but later cast in the role after a recommendation and an audition. Navin Nischol was cast as Bapu.

During the course of filming, Banerjee kept Irani separate from the rest of the cast as he did not want them to meet. During filming, the investors demanded the addition of action sequences, an item song and changes in the cast. The team did not fancy these changes so Padmalaya Telefilms, their first investor, backed out of the project. Hiremath said that she had to "shell out cash" from her other company. The film's small budget meant there were limited reels to shoot. After the filming finished, the team had no money for post-production. The entire film was shot in 45 days in Delhi during the summer.

The entire opening dream sequence was filmed in one take using a hand-held camera to give it a "separate look from the rest of the film". Amitabha Singh served as the director of photography, while Sejal Painter was the editor. Banerjee had a different, sad ending for the film, but opted for Sahni's version of a more optimistic ending after realising his idea would make the film darker. The film did not have any buyers for two years. During this period editing continued. The team showed the film to several people who loved it but were unwilling to back it. Banerjee said that he gave up on releasing the film after several rejections. Later, in 2006, UTV Motion Pictures stepped in and distributed the film.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album of Khosla Ka Ghosla was composed by Dhruv Dhalla and Bapi–Tutul while the lyrics were written by Jaideep Sahni. It consists of five songs with vocals by Kailash Kher, Kunal Ganjawala, Sowmya Raoh, Adnan Sami and Qadar Niazi Qawwal. Savita, the film's producer, managed to raise some funds for the music and Sahni wrote the lyrics the same day as he was worried they might miss the opportunity. This was Dhalla's debut film. Banerjee called him after hearing his music samples and asked him to create "a Punjabi number based on the loud attitude of Delhi." Dhalla composed the tune for "Chak De Phattey" in three hours.

The album received moderate reviews. Joginder Tuteja of IndiaFM called it an "average soundtrack with two songs standing out." Further writing: "While 'Chak De Phattey' is a potential chartbuster, 'Intezar Aitbaar Tumse Pyaar' makes for an easy-on-ears listening."

Release and reception
Khosla Ka Ghosla was screened at the 2006 Kara Film Festival and the Hay Festival in 2012. It was released theatrically on 22 September 2006 on 125 screens throughout the country. The film was released on the DVD format on 6 November 2006 and is also available on the online streaming platform, Disney+ Hotstar.

Critical response
Khosla Ka Ghosla opened to widespread critical acclaim upon release. Rajeev Masand lauded the film for its "refreshingly original plot, bang-on casting, killer soundtrack and such crisp editing that there is never a dull moment". A review in The Times of India called it "a small, unpretentious venture with some real funny performances". Raja Sen described the film as the "best comedy Bollywood has seen in the last two decades", adding: "The everyday detailing is exquisite, as is the ensemble cast dealing with a frighteningly realistic first half escaping into a breezily unreal second half. It’s sheer magic."

Kaveree Bamzai of India Today declared the film as "a class apart.": "It brings back an innocence to movies missing in the sturm und drang of big budgets and bigger stars." Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com felt the film was charming for its "striking believability and everyday simplicity." However, she noted that it "felt longer than it was." Namrata Joshi described the film as "utterly discreet and unassuming", one that "tries to bring back the clean and simple story-telling of Sai Paranjpye and Hrishikesh Mukherjee." Taran Adarsh noted that the film "loses sparkle in the second hour". He also concluded that on the whole "Khosla Ka Ghosla is a well scripted and executed film that is sure to stand out in the crowd."

Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu included the film on his list of top 10 movies of the decade 2000–2009 saying: "Dibakar Banerjee and Sahni on a shoestring budget chose to bat for the common man’s struggle against the powerful and reunited the individual self back with the family." David Parkinson of Radio Times wrote: "Switching between bright comedy and social drama, this is Bollywood entertainment with a conscience." In September 2018, Bhaskar Chawla of Arre noted that the film had "set the template for what was to become a new direction in Hindi cinema" that went "beyond the conventional formula of Bollywood."

Box office
Khosla Ka Ghosla was made on a production budget of approximately inr 37500000. It earned inr 2600000 on its opening day and a total of inr 10100000 at the end of the opening weekend. At the end of its first week, the collection was inr 16500000. The film earned a total of inr 45900000 at the box office after the end of its theatrical run. The gross figure is inr 63800000 including worldwide collection of inr 3200000.

Awards
Khosla Ka Ghosla won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi at the 54th National Film Awards. In October 2015, Banerjee decided to return the award to the government along with 12 other filmmakers, to protest the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's refusal to roll back Film and Television Institute of India's appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as its chairman. The film's producer, Savita Raj Hiremath, claimed that Banerjee had no right to return the award since it was given to the film and not him.

Post-release
Khosla Ka Ghosla is considered by many critics as one of the best films by Banerjee. It was included in Filmfare's 100 Days series—"With no big stars, relatively unheard of a director and a subject that you wouldn't rate on paper as the most exciting, Khosla Ka Ghosla manages to impress one and all." It was also mentioned in critic and author Shubhra Gupta's book, 50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995–2015.

In 2013, The Delhi Police Crime Branch caught a gang of cheats who duped several people by selling them plots belonging to the Delhi Development Authority by using forged documents. The officials said that the method adopted by the gang appeared to have been inspired by the film. The film was remade in Tamil as Poi Solla Porom. Directed by A. L. Vijay, the film starred Karthik Kumar, Piaa Bajpai, and Nedumudi Venu in the lead roles. It was released on 12 September 2008. It was unofficially remade in Kannada by T. N. Nagesh as Rame Gowda Vs. Krishna Reddy in 2010.