Editing 16 December (film)

{{Short description|2002 film by Mani Shankar}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}

{{Infobox film
| location = India
| name           = 16 December
| image = 
| director       = [[Mani Shankar]]
| producer       = Anjali Joshi<br /> Arunima Roy<br />iDream Production
| writer         = Mani Shankar
| cinematography   =[[Ajayan Vincent]]
| starring       = [[Danny Denzongpa]]<br />[[Gulshan Grover]]<br />[[Milind Soman]]<br />[[Dipannita Sharma]]<br />[[Sushant Singh]]<br />[[Aditi Govitrikar]]
| released       = {{Film date|2002|12|16|df=y}}
| runtime        = 158 minutes
| country        = India
| language       = [[Hindi language|Hindi]]
| music          = [[Karthik Raja]]
}}
'''''16 December''''' is a 2002 Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[action thriller film]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/16-december-v335795 |title=16 December (2002) – Mani Shankar |publisher=[[AllMovie]]}}</ref> directed by [[Mani Shankar]], based on a plot to destroy the capital city of India, [[New Delhi]] with a [[nuclear bomb]] on 16 December 2001 – 30 years after the surrender of Pakistan at the end of the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]. 
The film's title comes from the historical date of 16 December 1971 (which is also Bangladesh's [[Victory Day (Bangladesh)|Victory Day]]), commemorating the day Pakistan signed the document of [[Liberation of Bangladesh]].

== Plot ==
'''Major General Vir Vijay Singh''' ([[Danny Denzongpa]]), '''Vikram''' ([[Milind Soman]]), '''Sheeba''' ([[Dipannita Sharma]]), and '''Victor''' ([[Sushant Singh]]), who are [[Indian Revenue Service]] officers belonging to the [[Directorate of Revenue Intelligence|Department of Revenue Intelligence]], and have been wrongly implicated in the killing of their corrupt superior officer and removed from service, are hired by the Chief of the same agency to investigate a series of large [[Money Laundering]]s. Vikram and Sheeba share some romance between them. The team is equipped with hi-tech equipment such as mini spy cameras, computers, the internet and other communication devices. Through various encounters, they discover that the money is being transferred to a [[Swiss Bank]] account. By means of an Indian employee, '''Sonal Joshi''' ([[Aditi Govitrikar]]) working in the Auckland, [[New Zealand]] branch of the same bank, they investigate the account in New Zealand and, with her help, find that the money is being transferred to an international terrorist organization named '''''KAALA KHANJAR'''''. This organization, working in conjunction with terrorist '''Dost Khan''' ([[Gulshan Grover]]), manages to smuggle a Russian-made nuclear bomb into India. Dost Khan plans to explode the nuclear uvva on the same day, '16 December'.

Although the ruling dictator of Pakistan surrendered unconditionally to India during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]], some of the hard-lined Pakistani soldiers were bitter and angry at the surrender, as they wanted to continue fighting the Indians until their last breath. They retreated in silence and later came together to form their own groups of communal soldiers to carry out terrorists attacks against neighboring India.

Led by Dost Khan, a hardliner Pakistani army officer, who, against his wishes, had to surrender after the end of the 1971 war, the terrorists planned to take an act of revenge by having a nuclear explosion in the heart of [[New Delhi]]. They transport it into a music competition disguised as a musical instrument. When Vir Vijay Singh comes to know about the plan, he plans to find out the location of the nuclear bomb as soon as possible by taking the help of Remote Radiation Sensors in satellites and innumerable beggars in the city. This helps the team zero in on the location.

After they overpower most of the terrorists in a commando operation, Dost Khan comes to know about it and sets the nuclear bomb to explode in a few minutes. This creates a lot of problem for Vijay Vir Singh, as the bomb can be defused only by the exclusive voice command of Dost Khan saying: ''Dulhan Ki Vidaai Ka Waqt Badalna Hai''. They adopt a novel way to do it by speaking to Dost Khan and making him say fragments of this sentence without making him realize that it was being done to defuse the bomb. After the conversation is over, they synthesize the sentence to defuse the bomb just in time.

== Cast ==
* [[Shah Rukh Khan]] (Special Cameo)
* [[Danny Denzongpa]] as Major General Vir Vijay Singh IRS
* [[Milind Soman]] as Vikram IRS / Vijay Chauhan
* [[Dipannita Sharma]] as Sheeba
* [[Sushant Singh]] as Victor
* [[Aditi Gowitrikar]] as Sonal Joshi
* [[Gulshan Grover]] as Dost Khan
* [[Vinay Varma]] as Shiv Charan Shukla
* Reza as Irfan
* [[Sajeel]] Parakh
* Sohil Mathur as Pappu (Informer)

==Critical reception==
16 December received mostly positive reviews from critics in India and abroad. Ronjita Kulkarni of ''[[Rediff.com]]'' gave the movie 5/5 stars and wrote, "For a first-timer, director [[Mani Shankar]] does a valiant job with 16 December. It has four songs, three of which appear in the background, but it certainly does not follow the routine song-and-dance formula. 16 December entertains as well makes you think". 
[[Taran Adarsh]] of ''[[Bollywood Hungama]]'' gave the movie 4/5 stars and wrote, "The film does have a love angle though there is no undue focus on the romantic couple. Now for the film. In 16 December, Mani Shankar has tried to explore white-collar crime. The premise being, millions of rupees leave the Indian shores daily to Swiss bank accounts. The account holders always remain a secret. What the director tries to do is trace this movement of money from the grass-roots level".
Rachit Gupta of ''[[Filmfare]]'' rated the movie −4/5 stars, stating, "16 December moves at a brisk pace. Mani Shankar does not waste time on unnecessary details. The film requires a fair amount of concentration to understand the chain of events".
''[[Daily News and Analysis|DNA]]'' gave the movie 5/5 stars and said that, one of the best Hindi spy films that had ever come out, it is India's equivalent to [[Brian De Palma]]'s ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)|Mission: Impossible]]''.

===Overseas===
Rachel Saltz of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "16 December may not be a box office hit. But it is definitely different from the usual love stories that we are subjected to."
Sneha May Francis of ''[[Emirates 24/7]]'' wrote, "After his debut in [[Tarkieb]], [[Milind Soman]] gives a composed and good performance in this film. Debutante [[Dipannita Sharma]] lends some freshness to the film. There is no helplessness at any point of time."
Simon Foster of the ''[[Special Broadcasting Service]]'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and described it as "thrilling, fast-paced and loud a movie that catches Hollywood standard".
Robert Abele of Los Angeles Times "16 December has all merits to strike a chord with the youth", praising Danny's 'bravura' performance, the film's 'Hollywood style' look and action sequences, as well as the music.

==Soundtrack==
{| class="wikitable"
! # !! Title !! Singer(s)
|-
| 1
| "Dil Mera Ek Tara" 
| [[Sadhana Sargam]]
|-
| 2
| "Main Cheez Badi Hoon Chaalu"
| [[Shaan (singer)|Shaan]]
|-
| 3
| "I Am A Cool Cat"
| Shaan, Subhiksha
|-
| 4
| " Dil Ye Tera"
| [[KK (singer)|KK]]
|-
| 5
| "Dhuan Dhuan Sa"
| [[Milind Soman]], [[Chitra Iyer|Chitra Sivaraman]]
|-
| 6
| "Chim Chimiya"
| [[Sapna Awasthi]]
|}

== See also ==
* [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]
* [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]
*[[List of films about 1971 India-Pakistan war]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|id=0313844|title=16 December}}
* {{Amg movie|335795|16 December}}

[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:2002 action thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s spy thriller films]]
[[Category:Apocalyptic films]]
[[Category:Films about intelligence agencies]]
[[Category:Indian action thriller films]]
[[Category:Indian spy thriller films]]
[[Category:Films about criminals]]
[[Category:India–Pakistan relations in popular culture]]
[[Category:Films about nuclear war and weapons]]
[[Category:Films about organised crime in India]]
[[Category:2000s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Military of Pakistan in films]]