Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa
Directed byBuddhadev Dasgupta
Written byBuddhadev Dasgupta
Produced byAjay Sharma
StarringAnanya Chatterjee
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Pankaj Tripathi
Niharika Singh
CinematographyDiego Romero
Edited byAmitava Dasgupta
Music byAlokananda Dasgupta
Distributed byEros International
Release dates
  • 17 October 2013 (2013-10-17) (London)
  • 20 November 2020 (2020-11-20)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa (English title: Sniffer[1]) is 2013 Hindi dark comedy[2] film directed by Buddhadev Dasgupta. The film about a detective in search of himself, stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the title role, followed by Ananya Chatterjee, Pankaj Tripathi and Niharika Singh in a guest appearance.[3] After its premiere on 17 October 2013 at the BFI London Film Festival,[4] the film was also screened at the 2013 International Film Festival of Kerala.[5] The film was released on Eros Now on 20 November 2020.

Plot

Anwar, a maverick detective works in a small detective agency, ‘Inner Eye’ in Kolkata. He gets himself into the personal lives of his cases, which gets him into troublesome and comic situations.

Cast

Production

National Film Award-winning director, Dasgupta returned to Hindi cinema after making Andhi Gali in 1984.[6] He had finalized the story in 2011, but was waiting the right actor to essay role of a common man turned detective. Eventually after watching Nawazuddin Siddiqui's work in Kahaani (2012) and Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), he decided to cast him for the lead role.[7]

Principal photography started at the hill village of Shimultala in Bihar, which depicted various places in West Bengal. In April 2013, parts of the film were being shot in the hill resort of Shimultala in Bihar, when due to a bandh call by Maoists, it was wrapped up in advance. Subsequently, the remaining shooting was completed in Kolkata.[3][6] The Animal Welfare Board of India asked filmmakers for a special screening of the film as it featured a dog sharing screen with lead Nawazuddin.[8]

Reception

Saibal Chatterjee (3.5/5 stars) wrote that the melancholic tone of the movie is "leavened with nostalgia for the receding light; the pessimistic air is tempered with lingering hope of regeneration; the hard, meditative edge is softened by sustained humanism," further praising Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who Chatterjee says, redoubles the treat as "a private investigator who is more lost than the prodigals he is tasked to find...and is absolutely brilliant in this parable of pain and pining. The actor's captivating, acutely angular interpretation of a man who darts seamlessly back and forth between earnestness and resignation and Dasgupta's mastery over the medium make Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa a must watch."[9] The Free Press Journal's Shubha Shetty (4/5 stars) felt that the script was "out of the ordinary as it offers a myriad of strange experiences even while narrating Anwar’s story...Most frames of the film (Diego Ramero) are rich with innumerable stories happening in the background and thus adding depth to the narration."[10] "Filled with Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s trademark travelling and tracking shots, evocative locations and philosophical characters, the movie is sometimes lyrical, sometimes stagey, and at all times anchored by its leading man," said Nandini Ramnath in her review of the movie for the Scroll.in.[11] Shubhra Gupta (2/5 stars), reviewing the movie for the Indian Express, wrote disappointedly, "The film looks like it has been yanked out of oblivion because Nawaz and Tripathi are now saleable names. There are only momentary patches in which you recognise Dasgupta’s distinctive signature, this medley of characters, and a mix of the real and the bizarre."[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Sniffer (Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa)". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Basu, Nupur (2 November 2013). "Stories from the edges". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 Sen, Zinia (10 April 2013). "Buddhadeb Dasgupta is back in the city". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Shaheen Parkar (16 October 2013). "Nawazuddin's next film, 'Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa', premieres in London". Mid Day. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Top Angle Indian Cinema". 20th International Film Festival of Kerala. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Nawazuddin Siddiqui's escape from Maoists". The Indian Express. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Nawazuddin was right for 'Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa': Director". IBNLive. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Nawazuddin's film featuring a dog comes under scrutiny". 30 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa Review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui is Brilliant in Parable of Pain".
  10. ↑ "Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa review: Grips you from the word go".
  11. ↑ "'Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa' review: Nawazuddin Siddiqui's detective investigates himself".
  12. ↑ "Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa review: An underwhelming film". 21 November 2020.
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