Gangaajal (2003)
- Directed by
- Prakash Jha
- Genre
- drama film
- Country
- India
- Runtime
- 2h 37m
- Rating
- 6.7 of 10 from 80 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A police superintendent arrives in a crime-ridden district where the police are corrupt and criminals run free. Frustrated by the lack of justice, the townspeople start violently punishing criminals themselves.
tensegrittydarkprovocativedeliberatebleakangryurgent
What happens
Gangaajal: The Holy Weapon (transl. Holy Water of the Ganges) is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film written, directed, co-produced and edited by Prakash Jha. It revolves around the Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar (Ajay Devgn) who takes charge of the fictitious district of Tejpur, Bihar, known for its high crime rate and organised crime carried out by dons Sadhu Yadav (Mohan Joshi) and Sunder Yadav (Yashpal Sharma). Due to the local police's slow response to crimes, residents of the district resort to pouring acid in the eyes of the criminals as an instrument for extrajudicial justice. Following the release of his directorial debut Damul (1984), Jha conceived an idea for his next venture that would be titled Gangaajal, which would be about corruption and political violence. Jha was unfamiliar with the subject matter and had no desire to start production and took twenty years to write the story. The film, announced in January 2001, was photographed by Arvind K; filming took 60 days and took place in Wai and Satara, both in Maharashtra, and sets were designed by Sukhwant Panigrahi. The film's soundtrack was composed by Sandesh Shandilya with lyrics by Akhilesh Sharma and a background score by the American composer Wayne Sharpe. Gangaajal was released on 29 August 2003. Its production costs were ₹4.5 crore (equivalent to ₹17 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023) or ₹10 crore (equivalent to ₹37 crore or US$3.8 million in 2023); the film became one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year, and grossed ₹16.67 crore (equivalent to ₹61 crore or US$6.4 million in 2023) worldwide. It received widespread acclaim from critics, some of whom praised the cast's performances—generally that of Devgn—but questioned the plot's originality. Gangaajal received several accolades, including the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues. A sequel titled Jai Gangaajal was released in 2016 and was a critical and commercial failure. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Haasil (2003)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.