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Ek Paheli Leela

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Ek Paheli Leela
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBobby Khan
Written byBobby Khan
Bunty Rathore
(Dialogues)
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBashalal Syed
Edited byNitin FCP
Music bySongs:
Meet Bros Anjjan
Amaal Mallik
Dr. Zeus
Tony Kakkar
Uzair Jaswal
Background Score:
Mannan Munjal
Production
companies
Paper Doll Entertainment
T-Series
Distributed byAA Films
Release date
  • 10 April 2015 (2015-04-10)
Running time
144 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguagesHindi
Rajasthani
Budget₹150 million[2]
Box officeest. ₹274.7 million[3]

Ek Paheli Leela (transl. Leela, a riddle) is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller drama film, directed and co-written by Bobby Khan and produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar. It stars Sunny Leone in the titular lead role with Jay Bhanushali, Rajneesh Duggal, Jas Arora, Mohit Ahlawat and Rahul Dev in pivotal roles. Choreography is done by Ahmed Khan and Jojo Khan. The music for the film is composed by Meet Bros Anjjan and Amaal Mallik. Principal photography of the film began in Jodhpur, India.[4]

The film is a reincarnation story which is set 300 years back, and revolves around the story of a young woman named Leela (Sunny Leone) and her lover. Their love story remains incomplete as they are murdered. The film portrays how their story completes when they both are reincarnated in present time.[5]

The trailer of the film was released on 6 February 2015 and became YouTube's most viewed Bollywood movie trailer of the first quarter of 2015.[6] The film received mixed to negative reviews from the critics upon release, but was a commercial success.[7][8]

Plot

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Karan (Jay Bhanushali) is a singer/musician who moves into a new house in Mumbai along with his friends. He often helps his sister Radhika (Shivani Tanksale) and Andy (VJ Andy), her colleague (both are fashion photographers), with music for their fashion shows.

Radhika wants to get her friend Meera (Sunny Leone) for her fashion shows in India but Meera is reluctant. Hence, Radhika with the help of Andy tricks her to travel to India by making her drunk. After they arrive in India, Meera discovers the truth and gets angry. Meanwhile, her mood changes as she sees Rajasthani girls playing a traditional game and starts to play with them, forgetting her plight.

While in India, Meera meets royalty - Ranveer Singh (Mohit Ahlawat), a Rajput prince, in Rajasthan. The two eventually fall in love and get married. The prince is in the middle of a property dispute with his cousin, Bikram Singh (Jas Arora).

Meanwhile, Karan has persistent dreams of someone whipping him and many times he wakes up from his sleep loudly shouting "Leela! Leela!". In an attempt to figure out why, his friends take him to a Pandit (Naadi palm leaf reader) who tells him that his pain is rooted in his past life of 300 years ago.

With the help of the Pandit, Karan travels through his past and they find out that he must be Shravan (Rajneesh Duggal), who was in love with a girl called Leela (also played by Leone) but his master, an artist, Bhairao (Rahul Dev) adopts her as his muse. Bhairao makes a statue of Leela and discovers that Leela is in love with Shravan. In a fit of rage, Bhairao kills both Shravan and Leela by pushing them into a pit of fire.

With advice from Pandit, Karan gets some courage to visit a place called Bhairao Virajana (the place of dispute between Ranveer and Bikram, who know that a statue of "Leela" is hidden in the midst of its ruins, which is worth a billion dollars.

Bikram finds out that Karan is trespassing on his property and brings him to Prince Ranveer to inform him that their property is now being invaded by strangers.

Inside the palace, Karan meets Meera and tries to remind her about their past but Meera does not believe him. Karan plays a song "Tere Bin" that takes Meera back into their past and she recollects her past life as the beautiful Leela... Bikram overhears the entire conversation and knows that the location of Leela's statue can be learnt by kidnapping Karan and Meera and forcing them to spill the beans.

With the help of his some henchmen, Meera and Karan get kidnapped by Bikram who is looking for the statue that Bhairao had made. The current market value of the statue is $10 billion and Bikram wants to keep the money for himself. Bikram starts harassing Meera so that she would tell him where the statue is hidden. Therefore under duress and to save Meera, Karan reveals that the statue was hidden behind a wall, and then when Bikram gets to the statue, Prince Ranveer arrives and stabs Bikram's hand with a sword.

In the end, Karan realizes that he is actually the reincarnation of Bhairao and not of Shravan (who has reincarnated as Ranveer). Karan tries to redeem his ills by committing suicide but Meera and Ranveer stop him.

Karan's album "Tere Bin" gets him fame and the story happily for them.

Cast

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Production

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The film is produced by Bhushan Kumar's company T-Series and Ahmed Khan's own production company Paperdoll Entertainment.

Development

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Sunny Leone with director and producers of the film at the trailer launch.

Bobby Khan stated that Sunny Leone was the only actress suitable for the roles .[9] He also stated that big actors refused to do the film because of Leone.[10] Actor Mohit Ahlawat returned to films after four years.[11] Leone's husband Daniel Weber also had a cameo appearance in the film as flight attendant. As the film revisits two very different eras, the attire worn by Leone was also carefully designed. Leone's personal stylist Hitesh Kapopara who has also designed costumes for Leone for her previous films went for shopping in the local markets of London and Rajasthan for traditional accessories.[12]

Filming

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Leone at promotions of the film in Mumbai

The film was shot at various location including Mumbai, London and Rajasthan. In Rajasthan, it was filmed at remote interiors and villages. At Jodhpur, the sand dunes were also included in the shoot along with the villagers for a song sequence.[13] A village was also created on the desert to commence the filming. The Khimsar Fort in Nagaur, Laxmi Niwas Palace of Bikaner were also included into the shots and were used as royal palace in the film. Reportedly, Sunny got skin infection on the sets as she has to shoot in the scorching heat and had rashes over the body.[14] Leone also learnt Rajasthani dialect for the film. She attended workshops for the song "Dhol Baaje" and learnt classical dance steps from the veteran choreographer Saroj Khan.[15] As per reports, she also had to bath with 100 litres of milk for a scene in the film.[16]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Ek Paheli Leela
Soundtrack album by
Dr. Zeus, Meet Bros Anjjan, Amaal Mallik & Tony Kakkar
Released10 March 2015
RecordedMeet Bros Recording Studio
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length39:54
LabelT-Series
Singles from Ek Paheli Leela
  1. "Desi Look"
    Released: 20 February 2015
  2. "Tere Bin Nahi Laage (Male)"
    Released: 27 February 2015
  3. "Saiyaan Superstar"
    Released: 5 March 2015
  4. "Glamorous Ankhiyaan (MBA Swag)"
    Released: 20 March 2015

The music for the film was composed by Dr. Zeus, Amaal Mallik, Meet Bros Anjjan, Tony Kakkar and Uzair Jaswal with lyrics penned by Kumaar, Manoj Muntashir and Tony Kakkar. The background score was composed by Mannan Munjal. The soundtrack comprises 9 songs.[17] Ensemble singers like Tulsi Kumar, Arijit Singh, Kanika Kapoor, Monali Thakur, Meet Bros Anjjan, Mohit Chauhan, Neha Kakkar and Pakistani singer Uzair Jaswal have lent their voices for the film.[18] The first song titled "Desi Look" was released as single on 19 February 2015.[19][20] The full soundtrack album was released on 10 March 2015.[21]

No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Desi Look"KumaarDr. ZeusKanika Kapoor3:27
2."Tere Bin Nahi Laage" (Male Version
Recreation of Original Version)		KumaarUzair Jaswal
(Recreated by Amaal Mallik)		Uzair Jaswal3:41
3."Saiyaan Superstar"KumaarAmaal MallikTulsi Kumar4:10
4."Khuda Bhi"Manoj MuntashirTony KakkarMohit Chauhan5:03
5."Glamorous Ankhiyaan"KumaarMeet Bros AnjjanMeet Bros Anjjan, Krishna Beura4:54
6."Main Hoon Deewana Tera" (Recreation of Sonu Nigam's 1999 song)KumaarMeet Bros Anjjan
(Recreated)		Arijit Singh5:24
7."Dhol Baaje" (Recreation of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam's song)KumaarMeet Bros Anjjan
(Recreated)		Meet Bros Anjjan, Monali Thakur5:37
8."Tere Bin Nahi Laage" (Female Version)KumaarUzair Jaswal
(Recreated by Amaal Mallik)		Aishwarya Majmudar, Tulsi Kumar, Alamgir Khan4:31
9."Ek Do Teen Chaar"Tony KakkarTony KakkarNeha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar3:13
Total length:39:54

Critical response

[edit]

The soundtrack of Ek Paheli Leela received generally positive review from the music critics. Critic Rajiv Vijayakar from Bollywood Hungama gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5 and felt, "Some tracks will help the film, some will be helped by the film, but the rest are largely fillers. With four of the nine tracks being re-creations, the score gets a fillip in theory.[22] " Kasmin Fernandes of The Times of India gave a rating of 4 and commented, "The originals stand out more than adaptations here."[23] Joginder Tuteja of Rediff gave three stars, and commented, "The music of Ek Paheli Leela has a good mix of party and romantic numbers. It's the original numbers in the soundtrack that do better than the adapted versions. Play this one when you want some variety; it has a good mix of party and romantic numbers."[24] BizAsia gave a rating of 7.5 out of 10 to the album summarizing it as, "This album has the elements for an all-round entertainer designed and composed for the masses around the world using the best hit making formulas in the current industry... including recreating old hits."[25] Glamsham awarded the album 3.5 stars out of 5 and stated, "Summing up, the audio of T-Series' Ek Paheli Leela meets the expectations with some potential chart toppers like 'Desi Look', 'Tere Bin Nahi Laage' and 'Saiyyan Superstar'. The 'getting popular' audio should aid the cause of this musical love saga, when Ek Paheli Leela releases all over this April."[26] Radioandmusic.com called the album "a mixed one".[27] Surabhi Redkar from Koimoi gave 2 stars and felt, "The music album of Ek Paheli Leela is not exactly a hit one. It has only certain songs that are worth listening" while picking "Tere Bin (Male)", "Khuda Bhi" and "Ek Do Teen as the best ones.[28]

Ek Paheli Leela Remix
Remix album to Ek Paheli Leela Remix by
DJ Chetas
Released26 March 2015
GenreRemix album
Length26:51
LabelT-Series

A remix album was made by DJ Chetas and was released on T-Series YouTube on 26 March 2015.[29]

No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Glamorous Ankhiyaan" (MBA Swag)KumaarDJ ChetasMeet Bros Anjjan, Krishna Beura4:56
2."Main Hoon Deewana Tera" (MBA Swag)KumaarDJ ChetasArijit Singh3:39
3."Desi Look" (Remix)KumaarDJ ChetasKanika Kapoor4:02
4."Saiyaan Superstar" (Remix)KumaarDJ ChetasTulsi Kumar3:22
5."Tere Bin Nahi Laage" (Remix, Male Version)KumaarDJ ChetasUzair Jaswal3:21
6."Khuda Bhi" (Remix)Manoj MuntashirDJ ChetasMohit Chauhan4:38
7."Ek Do Teen Chaar" (Remix)Tony KakkarDJ ChetasNeha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar2:53
Total length:26:51

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

The film was released on 10 April 2015 with estimated occupancy of 20%[30] with greater occupancy in single screens than multiplexes.[31] On its opening day it collected ₹53.0 million (US$640,000) beating the opening day collections of films like NH10, Shamitabh and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy.[32] On its second day, it collected around ₹52.0 million (US$620,000) taking its total to ₹105 million (US$1.3 million).[33] The film showed further growth on its third day as it collected ₹53.5 million (US$640,000) nett to take its first weekend total to around ₹160 million (US$1.9 million) nett.[34]
Till its second weekend, it managed to collect ₹243 million (US$2.9 million) nett.[35] At the end of its theatrical run, Ek Paheli Leela grossed around ₹275 million (US$3.3 million) nett.

Critical reception

[edit]

The Times of India gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and described the film as "colourful, crisp and convivial".[36] Bollywood Hungama gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and praised the film's cinematography, direction, screenplay and stated, "On the whole, Ek Paheli Leela is worth watching, purely because of Sunny Leone and the way she has been presented... like never before!!!"[37] DNA India gave the film 2 stars and applauded Sunny's transformation of two characters and film's music while stating that, "Sunny Leone fans will be in for a royal treat. If Sunny Leone gets your temperature rising then Leela won't disappoint.[38] The New Indian Express gave the film three and a half stars praising film's narration and stated, "Stunningly mounted and sumptuously narrated, "Ek Paheli Leela" is a feast for the senses. Basha Lal's camera caresses Ms Leone's assets and the sand dunes of Jaisalmer with equal affection. It may not be revolutionary in concept or path-breaking in execution. But make no mistake. "Ek Paheli Leela" is the surprise of the year.[39]
Mid-Day called it "semi-porn rubbish",[40] while IBNLive gave it 1.5 stars stating that the dialog was full of crude sexual jokes and that it was "soft porn" emphasising the short skirts of the women and the physique of the men.[41] The Hindustan Times said the film had a " ludicrous script" and "wooden" acting.[42] India Today praised the cinematography and Leone's dancing.[43] Mumbai Mirror called it " an insincere, lavish and titillating compilation of every item song ever made."[44] Rediff stated although the film was poorly written and had many flaws in its execution, it succeeded at its purpose of being a one-woman show to highlight Leone.[45] Indian Express gave the film zero stars stating "all this film wants to do is to exploit its leading lady's awe-inspiring stack... From as many angles as possible, the closer the better".[46] NDTV called it a "vapid yarn about love, desire and obsession unfolds against good-looking backgrounds".[47]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "EK PAHELI LEELA (A)". Central Board of Film Certification. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  2. ^ Box Office Predictions: Ek Paheli Leela, Dharam Sankat Mein Archived 10 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Koimoi.com (9 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Lifetime Business & Economics of EK PAHELI LEELA". Box Office Capsule. 29 April 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  4. ^ Sunny Leone to play princess in Leela. BollywoodHungama.com (13 June 2014). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ Geety Sahgal (20 February 2016). "Sunny Leone's Ek Paheli Leela is a reincarnation story". The Indian Express.
  6. ^ "Sunny's 'Ek Paheli Leela' trailer most viewed on YouTube". The Times of India. 10 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Sunny Leone's Ek Paheli Leela: 5 things so absurd you can't miss them"
  8. ^ "Viewers Bowled over by Sunny Leone's Glamour"
  9. ^ "Sunny Leone was only choice for Leela: Bobby Khan". The Times of India. 22 March 2015.
  10. ^ When A-List Actors Refused to Work with Sunny Leone in 'Ek Paheli Leela' for Being Former Adult Star. M.ibtimes.co.in (29 March 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  11. ^ Hiren Kotwani (6 April 2015). "Ek Paheli Leela actor Mohit Ahlawat gets a new lease". The Times of India.
  12. ^ "Sunny Leone sports various avatars in 'Ek Paheli Leela'". The Times of India. 8 April 2015.
  13. ^ "'Ek Paheli Leela' is shot at iconic locations of Rajasthan". The Indian Express. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  14. ^ "Sunny Leone gets skin infection on the sets of 'Ek Paheli Leela'". The Indian Express. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Saroj Khan takes a special workshop for Sunny Leone in Leela". Bollywood Hungama. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015.
  16. ^ Kaushal, Ruchi (9 April 2015). "Sunny Leone'€™s Ek Paheli Leela: Interesting facts". The Times of India.
  17. ^ Coutinho, Natasha (4 February 2015) Fifty shades of Sunny Leone. asianage.com
  18. ^ Ek Paheli Leela 2015 Movie News, Wallpapers, Songs & Videos. Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  19. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela song Desi Look: Sunny Leone scorching hot number is addictive!". Bollywood Life. 19 February 2015.
  20. ^ "Desi Look (From "Ek Paheli Leela") – Single by Dr. Zeus & Kanika Kapoor on iTunes". iTunes Store. 20 February 2015.
  21. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Dr. Zeus, Uzair Jaswal, Amaal Mallik, Tony Kakkar & Meet Bros Anjjan on iTunes". iTunes Store. 10 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela Music Review - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 23 March 2015.
  23. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela - Times of India". The Times of India.
  24. ^ "Review: Ek Paheli Leela's music is worth a listen".
  25. ^ "BizAsia Music Review: 'Ek Paheli Leela' | BizAsia Showbiz". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  26. ^ Rafat (26 March 2015). "Ek Paheli Leela music review". Glamsham.com.
  27. ^ "'Ek Paheli Leela' a mixed album".
  28. ^ Redkar, Surabhi. "Ek Paheli Leela Music Review". Koimoi. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  29. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela Remix by Various Artists on iTunes". iTunes Store. 26 March 2015.
  30. ^ Sunny Leone starrer ‘Ek Paheli Leela’ box office collections get off to slow start. The Financial Express (11 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  31. ^ Ek Paheli Leela Opens To A Low Occupancy At The Box Office Archived 12 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Koimoi.com (10 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  32. ^ Sunny Leone’s 'Ek Paheli Leela' earns around Rs 19 crore nett in 10 days – The Times of India. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (20 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  33. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela trounces NH10, Shamitabh in opening-day collection". India Today. 12 April 2015.
  34. ^ "Sunny Leone's Ek Paheli Leela earns Rs 16 cr in first three days". India Today. 13 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Sunny Leone's Ek Paheli Leela box office collections better than expected at Rs 24.28 cr". The Financial Express. 19 April 2015. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  36. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela Movie Review". The Times of India. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  37. ^ "Ek Paheli Leela Review". Bollywood Hungama. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  38. ^ Tushar Joshi (11 April 2015). "'Ek Paheli Leela' review: Sunny Leone fans in for a royal treat!". DNA India. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  39. ^ IANS (10 April 2015). "'Ek Paheli Leela': A Voluptuous Fairy Tale". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015.
  40. ^ Shetty-Saha, Shubha (10 April 2015) 'Ek Paheli Leela' – Movie Review. Mid-Day
  41. ^ 'Ek Paheli Leela' review: It's a dumb film that wears you out – IBNLive. Ibnlive.in.com (11 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  42. ^ Ek Paheli Leela review by Anupama Chopra: It's skimpy all around. Hindustantimes.com (11 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  43. ^ Ek Paheli Leela review: The real paheli is not Leela's story; it's something else : Reviews, News – India Today. Indiatoday.intoday.in (10 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  44. ^ Film review: Ek Paheli Leela. Mumbai Mirror (11 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  45. ^ Review: Ek Paheli Leela is Sunny Leone's show. Rediff.com (10 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
  46. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (11 April 2015) ‘Ek Paheli Leela’ review: All the movie wants to do is exploit Sunny Leone. Indian Express
  47. ^ Ek Paheli Leela Movie Review – NDTV Movies Archived 11 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Movies.ndtv.com (10 April 2015). Retrieved on 14 July 2015.
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