Waqt: The Race Against Time

Ishwarchand Thakur and Sumitra Thakur are a married couple who run a toy factory together. They have a son named Aditya Thakur, who is spoiled and has no interest in responsibility or his direction in life except wanting to become an actor. The situation deteriorates when Aditya elopes with his girlfriend Pooja, the daughter of Ishwar’s rival Nattu.

When Pooja becomes pregnant, Ishwar and Sumitra decide to force Aditya to understand his responsibilities in caring for his wife and child. They throw Aditya and Pooja out of their house, and the couple move into in a room in the garden at the back of the house. Ishwar makes it very difficult for Aditya to live on his own by removing the fuse for the fan, and not allowing him to take food from home. Ishwar loathes that Aditya is a selfish person and fears his soon-to-be born child would be an orphan with someone like him as his father. Aditya then starts to change and works hard to become a responsive father and husband by taking a job as a risky stuntman for films. However, Aditya also begins to hate his father; they do not speak to each other for a long time, during which Aditya becomes aware of his role as a father.

Ishwar, who wants to ensure his son is secure and responsible, is suffering from lung cancer. Ishwar and Sumitra entrust Nattu and his wife Ashalata to keep an eye on Aditya but Ishwar intends to separate him from Pooja due to her pregnancy, which Nattu accidentally blurts out to the young couple. Aditya becomes a responsible man and finds out about his father's illness when he attends Aditya's performance on stage. Aditya steps onto the stage and asks the audience to pray for his father to stay alive until his son's birth. Ishwar survives until the birth; the child is a boy, whom Ishwar names after himself, and he dies. Aditya welcomes children into his father's toy factory and in the presence of his family, including his toddler Ishwar, plays with a lonely, disabled boy. The spirit of Ishwar touches the flowers in Sumitra's hair, reminding her of earlier times.

The cast is listed below:[3]

The soundtrack of Waqt: The Race Against Time was composed by Anu Malik and the lyrics were written by Sameer, with an exception of one song, which was written by Aatish Kapadia.[3][28] The album consists of six original songs and an original instrumental. The song's vocals were sung by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Adnan Sami, Sonu Nigam, Sudesh Bhosle, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Sunidhi Chauhan, Malik and Kailash Kher.[3][28] The soundtrack was released in February 2005 on the record label T-Series.[3][29]

Shah said the production team had decided to include an unusual Holi song titled "Do Me A Favour, Let's Play Holi" with a contemporary sound, starting as a traditional folk song and ending with hip-hop. Shah said, "So in a way it shows the journey from where holi has started and where it has reached today. And to bring in a different feel we decided to start it with an English line.[26] Post the release of the album, the song became widely popular[5][26] and it remains one of the most popular Bollywood Holi songs.[30][31]

Bollywood Hungama said the album is "satisfying", writing "The opening tracks of Waqt are good, but subsequent songs, starting from "Chhup Ja" get you all excited about the music. The Holi number and the club track are the pick of the lot, while "Miraksam" would also stay on for a few weeks at least."[28] The review praised "Chhup Ja", calling it a "beautifully composed subtle love song", with great orchestra throughout and excellent singing by Nigam and Chauhan, and praising its "sweetly paced" lyrics by Sameer, which he thought stood out.[28] The reviewer also noted "Do Me A Favour, Let's Play Holi" to be different from "a routine Holi number", calling it an "enjoyable affair" but said the "rap'n'reggae" parts in "Miraksam" made it sound familiar.[28] S. Sahaya Ranjit writing for India Today noted the album "showcases a new, improved Anu Malik" with "good melodies" that were "very carefully crafted". Ranjit also wrote, "'Miraksam 'is already a hit - a typical shaadi ka gana with lots of verve and wit. In "Toot Gaya", another facet of Kailash Kher's voice comes to the fore-very soulful."[32] Planet Bollywood rated the album 7.5 out of 10, noting the soundtrack has "a handful of chartbusters" and that it is "one of the better albums released" that year.[29] The reviewer called the song "Subah Hogi" "infectious", noting "the perfect blend" of flutes and tabla beats in the background, and Narayan and Yagnik's melodious singing on the track.[29] The reviewer also praised Sameer's lyrics on "Toot Gaya", which he called an "impressive use of words to talk about heartbreak".[29] The reviewer, however, was critical of the song "Apne Jahanke", calling it "boring".[29]

Marketing of Waqt: The Race Against Time started in November 2003 with the film's launch at Mumbai's Juhu Beach, which was held to attract public attention to the film.[5][9] Shah said, "I strongly believe that Waqt ... has a universal appeal and a father-son bonding that is highly identifiable. So I wanted the common man to be aware of it."[5][9] In late December 2004, the film's producers launched a line of greeting cards titled the "Waqt Collection" in collaboration with Archies.[34] This strategy was intended to showcase the "quiet bond of fathers and sons"; the cards had sections titled "Dear Father" and "Dear Son", and the sections included Bachchan's autograph and Kumar's personalised message, respectively.[34] The two teasers of the film—one trailer and one song promo—were released on 30 January 2005. This was the first time that two teasers for a single Bollywood film had been released on the same day.[35] Taran Adarsh noted the trailers created a "stir" and that it was "creating a lot of buzz in the industry circles".[36] In March 2005, the producers released a brochure that was written by Bachchan, who wrote a story describing the relationship between his character with his son.[37]

Vipul Amrutlal Shah (pictured with his wife Shefali) wanted the film to reach a wider audience and hence the marketing was planned accordingly

To promote the film, a contest titled "Waqt: Dad & I with Akshay" was held with collaboration with the Fame Cinemas chain, offering a bicycle ride with Kumar, movie tickets, merchandise, clothing, autographed music CDs and brochures of the film as prizes.[38] In a collaboration with greeting-card retailer Archies, the film's producers launched a toy called Geri Giraffe, greeting cards, soft toys, stationery and posters that were sold through Archies outlets.[39] Bachchan promoted the film internationally by participating in press interviews in New York.[40] Kumar had bought the rights of the film to pay tribute to his father, and included a photograph of his father before the opening credits of the film, saying the film felt "autobiographical" to him because he shared a similar relationship with his own father.[41] Kumar said:

I'm dedicating this film to my father. I've bought the distribution rights, so that I can see my father's photograph there. It's personally a very close film to me. I've worked very honestly in this film. I haven't bought the rights to the film in order to make money, but to pay a respectful tribute to my father.[15]

Waqt: The Race Against Time was premiered at the Mumbai IMAX theatre on 21 April 2005; the event was attended by the whole cast and crew.[42] The film was distributed by Eros International and was made on a production and marketing budget of ₹160 million, and was released on 22 April 2005 on 400 screens.[43][3] The film had a good opening at the box office.[44] It collected over ₹19 million on its opening day and ₹57.8 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office, and collected over ₹133.5 million on its international opening weekend.[43] The film also had a "solid" opening in the overseas markets such as the United Kingdom and North America.[45] In its first week, the film collected ₹93.7 million at the domestic box office and over ₹200 million worldwide.[43] During its box-office run, the film grossed ₹292 million in India and over ₹132.5 million overseas for a total worldwide gross of over ₹424.8 million.[46] The film was a box-office success,[43][47] becoming the seventh highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.[46] Waqt: The Race Against Time was an even-bigger success in the overseas market, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2005.[48][10]

Waqt: The Race Against Time was released on DVD on 6 June 2005 across all regions on an NTSC-format disc that was issued by Eros Entertainment.[49] The DVD includes bonus features such as the making of the film, press meet and interviews, and the film's premiere.[50] The video CD version was released at the same time.[51] The film had its television premiere on the Indian subscriber channel Sony Max on 8 January 2006.[52]

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave Waqt: The Race Against Time 3.5 out of 5, calling it a "must-see for every parent and every child" and writing, "Waqt: The Race Against Time is a well-made family entertainer that makes you laugh and cry, thanks to the strong emotional quotient in the film. Here's a film that should strike a chord with every family."[53] Adarsh also praised the "first-rate" cinematography that makes the film look "visually rich" and the "opulent" production design.[53] Praising the performances, he wrote:

Bachchan proves yet again that he's invincible when it comes to dramatics. The energy and vigor with which he performs every scene and dance make you look at him in complete awe. Kumar ... handles his part with complete understanding of the character and scores in the emotional moments, mainly in the post-interval portions. Shefali Shah ... conveys the pathos convincingly. Also, she matches the Big B at every step. Chopra doesn't get meaty scenes in the enterprise, but she does leave an impact nonetheless. Boman Irani excels and together with Rajpal Yadav brings the house down. Yadav specially is outstanding.[53]

Planet Bollywood gave the film 8 out of 10, calling it a "perfect family film" with "drama, comedy, good performances and a good social theme", and praised Shah's direction, writing "Vipul Shah's direction gets his message across about parents giving more responsibility to their children. The story moves much faster once the real drama begins in the second half."[54] Writing for India Today, film critic Anupama Chopra called the film "unashamedly cheesy and surprisingly moving" and "a good time pass", concluding "Vipul Amrutlal Shah and his writer Aatish Kapadia are not afraid of bringing out the violins and yanking at heart-strings. So the film has genuinely touching scenes and some easy laughs provided by Boman Irani and Rajpal Yadav."[55] Variety called the film a "belt-and-braces Bollywood family drama" and wrote "pitched squarely at Indian [audiences], both at home and overseas, who like their entertainment traditional. For Western viewers, [this film] just gets by on its unabashed charm and minor wrinkles to the formula."[56]

Indo-Asian News Service critic Subhash K. Jha praised Kapadia's writing and said his "one-liners and quips flow out with constant and instant comic consequences". Jha also wrote the film's "inherent transparency of purpose and sincerity of expression guide the lengthy family saga through a series of carefully nurtured slopes and dips that culminate in a rabble-rousing emotionally cataclysmic climax".[57] Jha said the film did not require so many songs and praised the performances, noting Bachchan's "leonine strides" across the film that create an "atmosphere conducive to pleasurable acting for the entire cast"; Kumar's performance "beyond anything he has done so far"; Shah's expressive eyes that convey "spousal and matriarchal pain that you come home with"; Chopra for creating and leaving "a sinewy impression" despite not being pivotal to the plot; the outstanding characterisation of Yadav and his "deadpan depiction of the exasperatingly daft" domestic servant; and Irani's "ever-bubbling brilliancy" and sarcasm that "brings miles of smiles and acres of chuckles".[57] Rediff.com praised the film's humour but said the film has an excessive number of songs, calling some of them an "unnecessary burden" and wrote, "Waqt might manage to warm the cockles, it simply doesn't turn up the heat. It leaves you wanting more. Watch Waqt if you are a serious AB-Akki fan or have the time to kill."[58]

• Waqt: The Race Against Time at Bollywood Hungama
• Waqt: The Race Against Time at IMDb