Split Wide Open
Split Wide Open is a 1999 Indian film directed by Dev Benegal. It is his second feature film after English, August (1994). The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, and also looks at the subversive sexuality in modern India and how the notions of morality are challenged when sex and poverty collide. The film came under harsh criticism when released in India and has been one of the most controversial Indian films.
| Split Wide Open | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Split Wide Open | |
| Directed by | Dev Benegal |
| Written by | Farrukh Dhondy (screenplay) Dev Benegal (story) Upamanyu Chatterjee (story) Sudhir Mishra (Hindi dialogues) Shozo Ichiyama (Japanese dialogues) |
| Produced by | Anuradha Parikh |
| Starring | Rahul Bose Laila Rouass Ayesha Dharkar Shivaji Satham |
| Cinematography | Sukumar Jatania |
| Edited by | Renu Saluja |
| Music by | Nitin Sawhney |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
Cast and characters
- Rahul Bose as KP (Kut-Price)
- Laila Rouass as Nandita
- Abhimanyu Sharma as Shiv
- Farida Haider Mulla as Didi
- Kiran Nagarkar as Brother Bono
- Rajika Puri as Auntie
- Ayesha Dharkar as Leela
- Virendra Saxena as Altaf
- Aadya Bedi
Awards and recognition
- The official selection at the 1999 Venice Film Festival.
- Awarded a Special Jury Award to the film and the Best Actor award (Rahul Bose) at the 2000 Singapore International Film Festival.
- Won the Grand Prix at the 2000 Belgium International Film Festival.
- Nominated for the Grand Prix at the 2000 Bratislava International Film Festival.
Soundtrack
| Split Wide Open | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 21 August 1999 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 30:31 |
| Label | BMG Crescendo |
The original soundtrack of the film consists of 12 total songs with 8 soundtrack songs and 5 instrumental tracks composed by Nitin Sawhney.[2]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "You are the reason" | Air Supply, Mehnaz Hoosein | |
| 2. | "Jaane Na Koi" (Rahul Bose Laila Rouass Ayesha Dharkar Shivaji Satham) | Asha Bhosle | |
| 3. | "The trick is to keep breathing" (Rahul Bose Laila Rouass Ayesha Dharkar Shivaji Satham) | Garbage | |
| 4. | "Trapped" (Rahul Bose Laila Rouass) | Indus Creed | |
| 5. | "Dooba Dooba" (Rahul Bose Laila Rouass Ayesha Dharkar Shivaji Satham) | Silk Route | |
| 6. | "Mera Jee Nahin Lage" (Rahul Bose Laila Rouass Ayesha Dharkar Shivaji Satham) | Najam | |
| 7. | "Black is black" | Anaida | |
| 8. | "Would you like to" (Go to bed with me) | Touch and Go | |
| 9. | "Welcome to Bombay" | Nitin Sawhney | |
| 10. | "Yo KP!" | Nitin Sawhney | |
| 11. | "For Didi" | Nitin Sawhney | |
| 12. | "Television Sting" | Nitin Sawhney | |
| 13. | "A Golden Tap" (End Title) | Nitin Sawhney |
The film also credits Massive Attack, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler, Pink Floyd, Krome Assassins, Touch and Go, Purvi Parikh, the Dagar Brothers and Kishori Amonkar for their music used in the production of the film.
Notes
- "Split Wide Open (1999)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
- http://www.tropicfilm.com/ Archived 1 December 2005 at the Wayback Machine Split Wide Open audio-video goodies page
Poster Art & Design and Title Images by Artist Jaideep Mehrotra