The Tashkent Files

2022-01-07T19:36:34Z

2409:4063:4C18:3DA6:0:0:1C8A:CC0D:

{{short description|2019 Indian film directed by Vivek Agnihotri}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Tashkent Files
| image = The Tashkent Files poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Vivek Agnihotri]]
| writer = [[Vivek Agnihotri]]
| screenplay = [[Vivek Agnihotri]]
| producers = {{Unbulleted_list|Haresh Patel|Pranay Chokshi|Anuya Chauhan Kudecha|[[Vivek Agnihotri]]|Ritesh Kudecha|Sharad Patel}}
| starring = {{Unbulleted_list|[[Mithun Chakraborty]]|[[Naseeruddin Shah]]|[[Shweta Basu Prasad]]|[[Pankaj Tripathi]]|[[Mandira Bedi]]|[[Pallavi Joshi]]|[[Rajesh Sharma (actor)|Rajesh Sharma]]}}
| cinematography = Udaysingh Mohite
| editing = Sattyajit Gazmer
| music = {{Unbulleted_list|'''Songs:'''<br />[[Rohit Sharma (composer)|Rohit Sharma]]|'''Score:'''<br />Satya Manik Afsar}}
| studio = {{Unbulleted_list|SP CineCorp|Vivek Agnihotri Creates}}
| distributor = [[Zee Studios]]
| released = {{Film date|2019|04|12|df=yes|ref1=<ref name="taran">{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh| author=Taran Adarsh|date=19 March 2019|number = 1107870385301708800 |title=Mithun Chakraborty, Naseeruddin Shah, Shweta Basu, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Mandira Bedi, Pallavi Joshi, Ankur Rathee and Prakash Belawadi... #TheTashkentFiles to release on 12 April 2019... Directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri... Zee Studios release... First look poster: https://t.co/huxc6BQ10s}}</ref>}}
| runtime = 144 minutes<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gv.com.sg/GVMovieDetails#/movie/4881|title=The Tashkent Files|date=12 April 2019|publisher=Golden Village|access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref>
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[Hindi]]
| gross = {{INR|20.84  crore}}<ref name="tfgross">{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/the-tashkent-files/box-office/#bh-movie-box-office|title=The Tashkent Files Box Office|publisher=Bollywood Hungama|access-date=19 May 2019}}</ref>
}}

'''''The Tashkent Files''''' is a [[List of Bollywood films of 2019|2019]] Indian [[Hindi cinema|Hindi]]-language [[Thriller film|thriller]] film about the death of former Indian prime minister [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]. Written and directed by [[Vivek Agnihotri]], it stars [[Shweta Basu Prasad]], [[Naseeruddin Shah]] and [[Mithun Chakraborty]] in leading roles.

The film released on 12 April 2019 and received mostly positive reviews from critics and became a [[box-office]] [[sleeper hit]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/entertainment/the-tashkent-files-small-budget-films-dream-run-at-box-office-completes-100-days/1649878/|title=The Tashkent Files: Small-budget film's dream run at box office, completes 100 days|date=2019-07-19|website=The Financial Express|access-date=2019-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asianage.com/entertainment/bollywood/010719/bollywood-makes-bank.html|title=Bollywood makes bank|date=2019-07-01|website=The Asian Age|access-date=2019-08-25}}</ref>

== Cast ==
* [[Mithun Chakraborty]] as Shyam Sunder Tripathi<ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh|number = 1109313911017242625 |title= Naseeruddin Shah...|first=Taran|last=Adarsh|date=23 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="indianexp">{{cite news|url= http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/the-tashkent-files-naseeruddin-shah-and-mithun-chakraborty-to-star-in-film-on-lal-bahadur-shashtri-vivek-agnihotri-5020328/|title=The Tashkent Files: Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty to star in film on Lal Bahadur Shashtri|publisher=Indian Express|access-date=11 January 2018}}</ref>
* [[Naseeruddin Shah]] as PKR Natrajan <ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh|number=1108948249245736960|title= Mithun Chakraborty is #ShyamSundarTripathi...|first=Taran|last=Adarsh|date=22 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Shweta Basu Prasad]] as Raagini Phule<ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh|first=Taran|last=Adarsh|number = 1108973023665676288 |title= Shweta Basu Prasad is #RaaginiPhule... |date=22 March 2019|access-date 6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Mandira Bedi]] as Indira Joseph Roy<ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh| first=Taran|last=Adarsh|number=1109686977178198017|title=Mandira Bedi...|date=24 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Pallavi Joshi]] as Aiysha Ali Shah<ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh|number=1109018962740731904|first=Taran|last=Adash|title=Pallavi Joshi is #AiyshaAliShah... |date=22 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Rajesh Sharma (actor)|Rajesh Sharma]] as Omkar Kashyap<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TashkentMovie|author=The Tashkent Files|number=1109344121662013441|title= #OmkarKashyap, a man manipulating situations in order to survive.Trailer out on Monday.|date=23 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Vinay Pathak]] as Mukhtar<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TashkentMovie|author=The Tashkent Files|number=1109706921034936320|title= Vinay Pathak as #Mukhtar An ex-raw guy and a double agent, who knows everything, or does he really? Find out in #TheTashkentFiles trailer releasing this Monday.|date=25 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Pankaj Tripathi]] as Gangaram Jha<ref>{{cite tweet|user=taran_adarsh|number = 1108996081822523392 |first=Taran|last=Adarsh |title=Pankaj Tripathi is #GangaramJha... |date=22 March 2019|access-date= 6 December 2019}}</ref>
* Vishwa Mohan Badola as Justice Kurian Abraham<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TashkentMovie|number=1109721357292437504|title= #JusticeKurianAbraham, a retired supreme court judge still fighting to stay relevant in present time. Trailer out on Monday.|date=25 March 2019|author=The Tashkent Files}}</ref>
* [[Asif Basra]] as News Channel Editor
* [[Prakash Belawadi]] as GK Ananthasuresh<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TashkentMovie|number=1109375855053008896|title= How far this former secret agent will go for the truth or will he go against it? #GKSAnanthasuresh|author= The Tashkent Files|date=23 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* [[Achint Kaur]] as Mrs. Natarajan
* Yusuf Hussain as Mr. Bakshi
* Prashant Gupta as Vishvendra Pratap Singh Rana<ref>{{cite tweet|user=TashkentMovie|author=The Tashkent Files|number=1109745913210253312|title= #VishvendraPratapSinghRana, a young leader and eminently dangerous if you get in his way. Trailer out on Monday.|date=25 March 2019|access-date=6 December 2019}}</ref>
* Ankur Rathee as Imran Qureshi<ref name="taran"/>
* Francisco Raymond as [[Vasili Nikitich Mitrokhin]]
* Kaushik Chakraborty as R. N. Chug
* Alina Bejenaru as E. G. Yeremenko

==Production==
The film was announced in January 2018; Agnihotri stated of the film to be country's first ''crowd-sourced'' thriller. Principal photography began in January 2018.<ref name="indianexp"/>

In February 2018 he invited from the public any information, book, link or memory related to [[Lal Bahadur Shastri]]’s [[Death of Lal Bahadur Shastri|mysterious death]] in [[Tashkent]] to help him solve the 'decades old enigma' surrounding the death of former prime minister of India.<ref name="timesnow">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesnownews.com/entertainment/news/bollywood-news/article/the-tashkent-files-vivek-agnihotri-lal-bahadur-shastri-death-public-appeal/196878|title=The Tashkent Files: Vivek Agnihotri urges fans to help solve Lal Bahadur Shastri's mysterious death|access-date=8 February 2018|publisher=Times Now}}</ref>

Books referenced for and referred in the film include ''Political Mysteries'' by [[K. R. Malkani]], ''Conversations with the Crow'' by Gregory Douglas, and [[Mitrokhin Archive]] by [[Vasili Mitrokhin]].<ref name="dailyo">{{cite web |title=Who killed Lal Bahadur Shastri? |url=https://www.dailyo.in/politics/lal-bahadur-shastri-vivek-agnihotri-who-killed-shastri-tashkent-files/story/1/33519.html |website=Dailyo}}</ref>

===Marketing and release===
First look poster was released on 19 March 2019, and on the same occasion, the release date of the film was announced as 12 April 2019.<ref name="taran" />

==Critical response==

Rachit Gupta of ''[[The Times of India]]'' rated the film with three and a half stars out of five and praised its theme and talent in its characters of a star-studded cast. Praising its direction, story-telling and songs, he concluded that:- "It also helps that the final slide of the movie tells the audience that the authenticity of all the facts displayed in the film can be verified."<ref name="times">{{cite web |last1=Gupta |first1=Rachit |title=The Tashkent Files |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/the-tashkent-files/movie-review/68841252.cms |website=Times of India |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref> Devesh Sharma of [[Filmfare]] gives the film three and half stars out of five and noted the film to be a 'non melodramatic' episode with not so loud and bombastic dialogues. <ref name="filmfare">{{cite web |last1=Sharma |first1=Devesh |title=Movie Review: The Tashkent Files |url=https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/bollywood-movies/movie-review-the-tashkent-files-33275.html |website=Filmfare |access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref> Prashant Sisodia of [[NDTV India]] gave the film 3 out 5 stats<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://khabar.ndtv.com/video/show/news/the-tashkent-files-film-review-by-prashant-sisodia-512009|title=The Tashkent Files Film Review by Prashant Sisodia – फिल्म रिव्यू: द ताशकंत फाइल्ज वीडियो – हिन्दी न्यूज़ वीडियो एनडीटीवी ख़बर|website=khabar.ndtv.com|access-date=2019-04-22}}</ref> whilst Shashank Shekhar of Desimartini gave the film 4.5 out 5.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.desimartini.com/bollywood-reviews/amp/tashkent-files/a-valiant-well-researched-attempt-to-uncover-the-truth-with-thrilling-insights-by-shashank-shekhar-rd37106.htm|title=A Valiant & Well Researched Attempt to Uncover the Truth with Thrilling Insights..... - Desimartini.com|last=Shekhar|first=Shashank|website=Desimartini|access-date=2019-04-21}}</ref>

Rahul Desai writing for ''Film Companion'' rated the film with three star out of five. Noting it to be well informed enough to be a documentary, balanced enough to be a docudrama and smart enough to be an investigative thriller.
[[Saibal Chatterjee]], writing for [[NDTV]] rated the film with three star out of five and concludes "Well, the star cast may be brilliant , but its the direction by Agnihotri that makes it a must watch .

The film won the ''Surprise Hit of the Year'' award at the 2020 [[ETC Bollywood Business Awards]].{{cn|date=October 2021}}

==Soundtrack==
{{Infobox album
| name = The Tashkent Files
| type = soundtrack
| artist = [[Rohit Sharma (composer)|Rohit Sharma]]
| cover =
| alt =
| released = 30 April 2019<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/the-tashkent-files/zCXk3HBXSiQ_|title=The Tashkent Files – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack |publisher=Jio Saavn}}</ref>
| recorded = 2018
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = [[Feature film soundtrack]]
| length = 19:03
| label = [[Zee Music Company]]
| producer =
| prev_title = [[Anaarkali of Aarah]]
| prev_year = 2017
| year = 2019
| next_title =
| next_year =
| misc = {{External media
| audio1 = {{YouTube|LheaX-Lkh9s|Audio Jukebox}}}}
}}

The music of the film is composed by [[Rohit Sharma (composer)|Rohit Sharma]] while the lyrics are penned by Aazad, Rohit Sharma and [[Vivek Agnihotri]].

{{Tracklist
| headline=Track listing
| total_length= 19:03
| extra_column=Singer(s)
| title1= Saare Jahan Se Acchha
| extra1= Jayaraman Mohan, Arya Acharya, RJ Archana, RJ Anuraag Pandey, RJ Rohini, Ekdant Kalakshetra, Swara Sharma, Nyonishi Cousins
| lyrics1 = [[Rohit Sharma (composer)|Rohit Sharma]], [[Vivek Agnihotri]]
| length1= 3:42
| title2 = Radha Tori Batiyaan Thumri
| extra2 = Ritesh Rajnish Mishra
| lyrics2 = Aazad
| length2 = 3:42
| title3 = Thumri Jugalbandi Rock
| extra3 = Ritesh Rajnish Mishra, Geet Sagar
| lyrics3 = Aazad
| length3 = 3:14
| title4 = Sab Chalta Hai Rock
| extra4 = Geet Sagar
| lyrics4 = Rohit Sharma, Aazad
| length4 = 3:50
| title5 = Sab Chalta Hai Electronica
| extra5 = [[Rohit Sharma (composer)|Rohit Sharma]]
| lyrics5 = Aazad
| length5 = 2:18
| title6 = Sach Chalta Hai
| extra6 = Geet Sagar
| lyrics6 = Aazad, Rohit Sharma
| length6 = 2:17
}}

==Accolades==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
!scope="col"| Year
!scope="col"| Award
!scope="col"| Category
!scope="col"| Recipient(s)
!scope="col"| Result
!scope="col"| Ref.
|-
!rowspan="2"|[[67th National Film Awards|2021]]
|rowspan="2"|[[National Film Awards]]
|[[National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
|[[Pallavi Joshi]]
|{{Won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-22|title=Pallavi Joshi on National Film Award Win for Tashkent Files: This will Definitely Shut Critics Up|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/pallavi-joshi-on-national-film-award-win-for-tashkent-files-this-will-definitely-shut-critics-up-3562076.html|access-date=2021-03-22|website=News18|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[National Film Award for Best Screenplay|Best Dialogues]]
|[[Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri]]
|{{Won}}
|<ref>{{Cite web|title=Exclusive! Vivek Agnihotri on National Award win for ‘Tashkent Files’: I dedicate this award to Shastriji - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/exclusive-vivek-agnihotri-on-national-award-win-for-tashkent-files-i-dedicate-this-award-to-shastriji/articleshow/81634483.cms|access-date=2021-03-22|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref>
|}

== Home media ==
The film was released on [[Video on demand]] service [[ZEE5]] on 12 April 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zee5.com/movies/details/the-tashkent-files/0-0-73415|title=The Tashkent Files|last=|first=|date=|website=ZEE5|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=12 April 2019|access-date=2019-11-27}}</ref>

== ''Who Killed Shastri?'' ==
''Who Killed Shastri?: The Tashkent Files'' is a non-fiction book by director Vivek Agnihotri about his research for the film and outlines various theories about the [[death of Lal Bahadur Shastri]]. It was released in August 2020 by [[Bloomsbury India]].<ref name="dailyo"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|8108268}}
* {{Bollywood Hungama movie|the-tashkent-files}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|m/the_tashkent_files}}

{{Vivek Agnihotri}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tashkent Files, The}}
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian thriller films]]
[[Category:2010s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:2019 thriller films]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of prime ministers of India]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Indian men]]
[[Category:Films directed by Vivek Agnihotri]]
[[Category:Hindi-language thriller films]]
[[Category:Films about conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theories in India]]
[[Category:Memorials to Lal Bahadur Shastri]]

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The Tashkent Files