Mohalla Assi

Mohalla Assi (transl. The neighbourhood of Assi Ghat; Hindi pronunciation: [moːɦəllaː əssiː]) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language satirical drama film starring Sunny Deol and Sakshi Tanwar,[1] and directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi.[2]

Mohalla Assi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byChandraprakash Dwivedi
Screenplay byChandraprakash Dwivedi
Story byKashi Nath Singh
Based onKashi Ka Assi
by Dr. Kashinath Singh
Produced byVinay Tiwari
StarringSunny Deol
Sakshi Tanwar
Ravi Kishan
Saurabh Shukla
Mukesh Tiwari
Mithilesh Chaturvedi
Rajendra Gupta
Seema Azmi
CinematographyVijay Kumar Arora
Edited byAseem Sinha
Music byAmod Bhatt
Production
company
Crossword Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Distributed byWhite Lion Entertainment Pvt. Ltd
Release date
  • 16 November 2018 (2018-11-16)
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

The film is loosely based on Dr. Kashi Nath Singh's popular Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi, a satire on the commercialisation of the pilgrimage city, and fake gurus who lure the foreign tourists. Assi Ghat is a ghat in Varanasi (Banaras) on the banks of Ganges River, and the film is based in a famous and historical 'Mohalla' (locality) by the ghat, on the southern end of Banaras. Also starring Ravi Kishen and Sakshi Tanwar, the film is set in the post-independence period.[3]

Sunny Deol plays the lead role of Sanskrit teacher and an orthodox religious priest (Pandit) while Sakshi Tanwar plays his wife.[4] The story of the film goes through the events in 1990 and 1989 including Ram Janmabhoomi movement and Mandal Commission implementation.

On 30 June 2015, the release of Mohalla Assi was stayed by a Delhi court for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.[5] After several delays, Mohalla Assi finally released on 16 November 2018.[6][7]

Cast

Production

Dwivedi had previously directed Pinjar (2003), starring Urmila Matondkar and Manoj Bajpayee, and most known for television epic Chanakya.[2] Ameesha Patel was offered the female lead role but turned it down because of financial differences with the film's producer.[8] Sakshi Tanwar was cast as her replacement.

The principal photography of the film started on 28 January 2011 on the sets erected at the Film City, Mumbai, later scenes were also shot in Varanasi where film is set.[9][10][3][11]

Release

Mohalla Assi was initially delayed for three years as the film director had stopped the work claiming that he had not been paid his dues,[12] The release date of Mohalla Assi has been repeatedly pushed back and allegations of non-payment have continued to surface through 2012. [13] [14] However, the film is now ready for release in October–November 2015.[15][16]

After extended delays, on 12 June 2015 film's trailer was released, ahead on its late 2015 release.[17] Shortly after, an FIR was filed in Varanasi against Deol and Dwivedi for the alleged use of abusive language in the film.[18]

The film has been banned by the CBFC on 8 April 2016.[19]

On 11 December 2017, Delhi High Court allowed the release of the film with one cut and adult certification, setting aside the order of CBFC. .[20] After so many delays, Sunny Deol announced the release date on 21 September 2018. It was released on 16 November 2018.

Online piracy issue

Prior to its release Mohalla Assi leaked online on 11 August 2015.[21][22][23]

Critical reception

It received negative reviews from critics. Jyoti Sharma Bawa of Hindustan Times stated that Mohalla Assi is a delight to watch film and gave it 2 out of 5 stars.[24] Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror stated the film is a beautiful and realistic depiction of Varanasi's issues and gave it 1.5 out of 5 star.[25] Troy Ribeiro of News18 stated that the film is verbose yet important and gave it 2 stars.[26] Reza Noorani of Times of India stated "At two hours of runtime, 'Mohalla Assi' feels more like an anti-tourism commercial rather than a feature film" and gave it 2 stars.[27]

Box office

Mohalla Assi collected around 1.30 crore on first day.[6] The fim grossed ₹ 14.49 crore in its first weekend in India. and lifetime 18.57cr.[28]

Soundtrack
Mohalla Assi
Soundtrack album by
Amod Bhatt
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelZee Music Company

The songs of the film are composed by Amod Bhatt while lyrics are written by Gulzar.

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Soch Mein Antar"Udit Narayan, Madhushree3:12
2."Ganga Re Kabhi"Sukhwinder Singh, Manoj Mishra, Ajay Jairam6:51

References
  1. "Mohalla Assi trailer: This film about modern day Varanasi will crack you up". 17 June 2015.
  2. "Sunny is all set to play priest". Times of India. 8 February 2011.
  3. "Sunny dons a priest's look for his new film 'Mohalla Assi'". Deccan Herald. 9 February 2011.
  4. "Sakshi Tanwar in Mohalla Assi". Indian Express. 11 February 2011.
  5. "Sunny Deol's Mohalla Assi release stayed by Delhi court".
  6. "First Day: Pihu - Mohalla Assi - Fantastic Beasts".
  7. "'Mohalla Assi' trailer: Curses flow freely along the Ganga in Sunny Deol-starrer about Varanasi". 25 October 2018.
  8. "Ameesha says no to Sunny Deol". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012.
  9. "Sunny Deol is learning Sanskrit". Mid-Day. 9 February 2011.
  10. "In the new world". Indian Express. 11 February 2011.
  11. "Sunny Deol to play a pandit in Mohalla Assi". NDTV Movies. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  12. "Mohalla Assi delayed alleged non-payment of dues". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  13. "Sunny Deol's Mohalla Assi stuck". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013.
  14. "Sunny Deol's 'Mohalla Assi' in dues row". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013.
  15. "Sunny Deol's 'Mohalla Assi' to release late 2015". 12 June 2015.
  16. "Watch 'Mohalla Assi' trailer: Sunny Deol, Sakshi Tanwar's movie might just run into the Censors". The Indian Express. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  17. "Mohalla Assi Trailer 2015 Sunny Deol, Ravi kishan". Happy BollywoodFilms. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  18. "FIR Against Sunny Deol For Allegedly Abusive Language In Mohalla Assi - NDTV Movies". Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  19. "CBFC bans member's film, Mohalla Assi | The Asian Age". The Asian Age. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  20. "Delhi HC allows release of film Mohalla Assi with Adult Certificate | Bar & Bench". Bar & Bench. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  21. "'Manjhi: The Mountain Man' is second movie to be leaked in 10 days after 'Mohalla Assi'". The Times of India. 3 March 2017.
  22. "रिलीज होने से पहले पूरी फिल्म 'मोहल्ला अस्सी' लीक".
  23. "Mohalla Assi Director Says 'Pirated' Footage Leaked to 'Sabotage' Film".
  24. "Mohalla Assi movie review: Sunny Deol film talks more, thinks less". 16 November 2018.
  25. "Mohalla Assi movie review: Sunny Deol, Ravi Kishan and Sakshi Tanwar's film is a dreary depiction of Varanasi's issues".
  26. "Mohalla Assi Movie Review: Astutely Mounted but Verbose and Clunky". 16 November 2018.
  27. "'Mohalla Assi' feels more like an anti-tourism commercial rather than a feature film". The Times of India.
  28. "First Weekend: Pihu - Mohalla Assi - 1st week 9.5cr, Fantastic Beasts".
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