New York (2009 film)

New York
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Kabir Khan
Written by	Sandeep Srivastava (screenplay, dialogue, and lyrics) Aditya Chopra (story)
Produced by	Aditya Chopra Aashish Singh
Starring	John Abraham Katrina Kaif Neil Nitin Mukesh Irrfan Khan Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Cinematography	Aseem Mishra
Edited by	Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Music by	Pritam
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films
Release dates	June 26, 2009 (film) August 8, 2009 (DVD)
Running time	153 min.
Country	India
Language	Hindi / English
Box office	Rs 55 crore worldwide (first week). $997,437 (through July 23, 2009 in US)

New York (Template:Lang-hi) is a 2009 Bollywood Hindi film directed by Kabir Khan, produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films, and with a screenplay by Sandeep Srivastava. Visual effects are by Visual Computing Labs, Tata Elxsi Ltd. It stars John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Irrfan Khan. New York begins in 1999, ends in 2008, and tells the story of three students studying at the fictional New York State University whose lives are changed by 9/11.

Plot

New York begins in the United States in 2008 with the arrest by the FBI of Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a young Muslim man originally from Delhi, after guns were found in the trunk of a taxi cab he owned. He is then taken into custody and interrogated by FBI Agent Roshan (Irrfan Khan), also a Muslim man originally from South Asia who has been living in the United States for twenty years. After a period of time, Omar discovers that he is wanted by the FBI in order to spy on a former college friend, Sam or Samir Sheikh (John Abraham), whom he hasn't seen in seven years and who the FBI believes is a terrorist. In the process, he discovers that Sam has married Maya (Katrina Kaif), another college friend, and that they have a young son, Danyal (Aidan Wagner).

Roshan orders Omar to tell him everything he knows about Sam. The film then flashes back to September 1999 when Omar begins New York State University as an international student on scholarship. He is befriended by Maya who is his student counselor. In the process, he learns that Maya was born and raised in New York but is fluent in Hindi because of her mother's interest in Bollywood films. Omar also meets Sam, another Indian American who is also Muslim and fluent in Hindi due to the fact that his father is a professor of Indian studies. Over the next two years, all three are inseparable friends and gradually Omar falls in love with Maya. When he realizes that she loves Sam, he distances himself from her. Their carefree days finally end with the onset of 9/11.

Omar then agrees to help Roshan, if only to prove that both he and Sam are innocent of the charges of terrorism which have been leveled against them. He reunites with Maya and Sam and stays in their house, all the while spying for the FBI in order to find the proof the FBI is searching for. Omar learns that Maya is a civil rights activist who is helping one of Sam's employees, Zilgai (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Zilgai was deeply traumatized by his experience as a former 9/11 detainee who was released due to lack of evidence and has difficulty adjusting back to "normal" life.

As time progresses, Omar feels satisfied that he can find nothing to warrant the suspicions and is ready to leave when a series of events force him to reconsider the FBI's stance. In the process, he learns that ten days after 9/11, Sam was arrested and detained for a period of nine months as a suspected terrorist, a charge which everyone, including Roshan, later agreed was false. Sam was eventually released due to lack of evidence. However, the impact of being detained and tortured, permanently changed Sam in ways which are difficult for those surrounding him to understand. This left Sam feeling very resentful towards the FBI and he ultimately resorted to terrorism to "get revenge". In addition, Maya is unable to help Zilgai resolve the trauma of being a detainee. After a routine traffic stop escalates and an NYPD police officer gives Maya a very rough full-body search, Zilgai becomes agitated. He drops Maya at her home and eventually kills the police officer the same night. After being declared a fugitive, Zilgai ultimately commits suicide during the consequent police chase.

The climax of the film rests upon the attempts of Maya, Omar, and Roshan to prevent Sam from committing an act of violence. They succeed and Sam eventually surrenders and aborts his attempt to bomb the FBI building. However, the moment he drops his cell-phone, which was originally intended as a detonator for the bomb, he is shot and killed by FBI snipers (the bomb, however, does not go off). Maya, who was running toward Sam, also gets killed. Omar eventually adopts their son Danyal and reconciles with Roshan.

Cast

Actor/Actress	Role
John Abraham	Sameer Sheikh (Sam)
Katrina Kaif	Maya
Neil Nitin Mukesh	Omar Aijaz
Irrfan Khan	Agent Roshan
Aidan Wagner	Danyal Sheikh
Nawazuddin Siddiqui	Zilgai
Mirza Ali Quli	Zaheer

Themes

New York explores the aftermath of 9/11. In a June, 2009 interview with the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), director Kabir Khan argued that the film "is based on part of the political canvas of 9/11, but it speaks of prejudices after the great human tragedy. It is a definite and very relevant subject about post-9/11 prejudices that have increased after the attacks [...] We have in fact divided time in a pre- and post-9/11 world in the film to highlight its obvious repercussions in times to come. The repercussions of the attacks are still very strongly felt globally and will continue to do so." Khan continued to state that the film had the full support of the New York Film Commission, " as it is not an anti-something film. It is a very balanced story and not a jingoistic film." In a separate interview with IANS, actor John Abraham argued that, "in its own strange way, New York begins where Khuda Ke Liye ended. That’s the interesting part of the film [...] Each director has his own way of interpreting and researching the plight of legal detainees." Abraham continued by suggesting that this is why Khan and Shoaib Mansoor offer different interpretations of these events in their respective films.

Production

The film began shooting in September 2008 and was filmed over a period of 100 days. Most of the production took place in New York. However, some of the scenes which took place in New York were actually shot in Philadelphia and it is the first Hindi film to have a long shooting schedule there.The production crew also spent a short period filming in Philadelphia.In preparation for his role as an American Muslim of Indian origin, Abraham, studied the Quran (he had likewise studied Sanskrit and learned to play the flute for his role in Water). Khan had to submit his script for approval from U.S. authorities before making the film. He stated: "We had to submit the script to seek permission to shoot in Guantanamo as well as in the States and we got their green signal to go ahead very easily. The film may be about 9/11 and what happens post it, but they did not object to our theme and did not even raise any questions. The US officials were very cooperative and we shot for around three days at this high-profile prison."

Release

Box-office

According to NASDAQ, New York grossed a record Rs 350 million during its first three days in India, with theaters at their highest occupancy since January at 80-85%. During its first week, it ranked number one in the box office in India and grossed Rs 55 crore worldwide. During the second week, the movie had steady business and has been declared a superhit.

New York's opening weekend was highly successful in India and the Middle East. It also proved popular in Australia and did well in the UK and U.S. Of its opening in India, Khan commented: "I always believed that New York will be a word of mouth film which would open on a decent note and then show an increase in business with every passing day. When I was told by friends and people from industry that it had opened to a houseful response in the very first show at so many places across the country, even I was taken aback."

Critical reception

New York has been well received by a number of critics. Subhash K. Jha (film critic and author of The Essential Guide to Bollywood) gave New York a rave review. He argues that New York "is what cinema in contemporary times should be, must be, though it seldom is" and designates it "an important film" which "cares about the prejudices that have taken over the world." Jha also states that, "stereotypical portrayals of the cultural diaspora are fortunately rare in this piece of contemporary art which has plenty of heart, a heart that never overflows in an embarrassing torrent of emotions." Devansh Patel, film critic for London's Hounslow Chronicle, gave New York five out of five stars arguing that it is, "the most thought provoking movie Yash Raj Films has ever come up with." Joginder Tuteja of the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) called the film "a must watch," and gave it four out of four stars. He further stated that, "when a hardcore commercial flick gets a standing ovation and a huge round of applause at the end of the show, you know that there is something definitely right that the director has done. In this regard, Kabir Khan can take a bow because he has done exceedingly well in making a film that is not frivolous, has a message and still carries enough commercial ingredients to reach out to masses as well as classes." John Anderson of Variety stated that New York is "a courageous movie in many ways, and a surprising one." Mayank Shekhar of the Hindustan Times argues that New York is unique and that comparing it "to Mark Pellington’s Arlington Road would be grossly unfair. If anything, this is a much better movie than that 1999, part-spooky conspiracy theory. The central theme itself is closer to Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kay Liye (2007), and you can sense how the superior execution here makes all the filmmaking difference." Additionally, Shekhar described New York in NDTV as, "an A-list film that gets a straight A."

Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL India also states that, "New York has good performances from the central actors, sensible direction by Kabir Khan, superb cinematography by Aseem Mishra and good editing too. The scenes in the detention centre are heart rending and makes you cringe."Planet Bollywood gave New York a "Thums Up" and further commented: "An A effort, New York is that rare thought provoking, yet entertaining film wherein director, actors, and screenplay all deliver their best resulting in a movie that stays with you even after it is finished." Nikhat Kazmi of the Times of India gave it four out of four stars and described New York as, "an extremely taut and highly emotive piece of political drama [...] topical, meaningful, and entertaining, all at the same time." Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it four out of five stars and argued that New York is "one of the finest films produced by this premier production house, Yash Raj [...] The screenplay is its biggest star, without a doubt. Given the fact that New York isn't one of those routine masala fares, Kabir has injected songs only when required. Cinematography is striking."

Sandhya Iyer of the Sakaal Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars and noted, "New York manages to be gripping, thanks to an excellent screenplay. Most importantly, the story has the right mix of realism and drama — one that Kabir Khan unfolds with quiet confidence." Mathures Paul of The Statesman commented: "Finally, here’s a film that entertains and makes viewers think." Paul also praised the performance of the actors, in particular that of Katrina Kaif. Aijaz Zaka Syed of the Khaleej Times defended the accuracy of the film's portrayal of American security officials as overzealous. He asserted that the treatment of the characters in the film was consistent with the American treatment of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist, who was an MIT graduate that disappeared in 2003 and is believed to have been held for five years in the CIA's network of black sites. Syed stated: "The witch-hunt and victimisation of innocent Muslims as portrayed in the movie, New York, is not the figment of Bollywood’s imagination. It is a frightening reality that is not limited to some unfortunate individuals like Sameer, Omar and Maya who happened to be at the wrong place at a wrong time."

Other critics gave the film a mixed review. Rachel Saltz of The New York Times stated: "While Mr. Khan’s depictions of American life occasionally seem silly and the plot has some crater-size holes, New York is continually fascinating. It benefits from the performance of Irrfan Khan, who adds layers of complexity to his character." Lisa Tsering of the Hollywood Reporter argued that "although the film is a routine thriller with few surprises, it deserves attention because its topic, even eight years after Sept. 11, is one that many South Asian Americans still take very seriously." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film two out of five stars and stated: "New York has its heart in the right place and its intentions are entirely honorable [...] but because the film is constructed from such a sloppy script, that point is lost under all the creative liberties and convenient short-cuts that the screenplay takes."

Soundtrack

Untitled

Released on June 10, 2009, the soundtrack for New York has music by Pritam, Julius Packiam and Pankaj Awasthi. Lyrics are by Sandeep Srivastava and Junaid Wasi.

No.	Title	Singers	Length
1.	"Hai Junoon"	KK	05:31
2.	"Mere Sang"	Sunidhi Chauhan	06:28
3.	"Tune Jo Na Kaha"	Mohit Chauhan	05:09
4.	"Aye Saaye Mere"	Pankaj Awasthi	05:45
5.	"Hai Junoon - Remix"	KK	06:08
6.	"Mere Sang - Remix"	Sunidhi Chauhan	05:55
7.	"Sam's Theme"	Caralisa Monteiro	04:04
8.	"New York Theme"	Instrumental	03:09

DVD

The DVD for New York was released on August 8, 2009. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the DVD four out of five stars. The DVD includes (but is not limited to) 2.5 hours of special features such as: "Making of the Film," "Deleted Scenes," "New York Special - Zoom TV," "The New Yorkers - CNN-IBN," and a number of music videos.

See also

• List of artistic depictions of September 11 and its aftermath

Further reading

• Bansal, Robin. "I was myself in New York: Katrina," Times of India, June 21, 2009.
• Jamkhandikar, Shilpa. "Just A Minute With: John Abraham on 'New York'." Reuters, June 20, 2009.
• Jha, Subhash K. "How did Kabir Khan marry Mini Mathur?," Times of India, July 6, 2009.
• Parab, Kanika. "Bollywood Revisits 9-11." Huffington Post, June 29, 2009.
• Patel, Devansh. ""New York is about America's attitude before and after 9/11" - Irrfan Khan," Bollywood Hungama, June 18, 2009.
• Press Trust of India. "Neil's "reality check" in New York before film's shoot," Deccan Herald, June 20, 2009.
• Zaman, Rana Siddiqui. "True Tales: Kabir Khan says “New York” tells the 9/11 story the media missed." The Hindu, June 29, 2009.

External links

• Official website
• New York at Yash Raj Films
• New York at IMDb
• New York at Box Office Mojo