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{{EngvarB|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Titli
| image = Cannes_Titli_Film_Poster.jpg
| caption = Poster of Title at Cannes Film Festival
| director = [[Kanu Behl]]
| producer = [[Aditya Chopra]] [[Dibakar Banerjee]]
| writer = [[Sharat Katariya]] Kanu Behl
| starring = [[Shashank Arora]] [[Shivani Raghuvanshi]] [[Ranvir Shorey]] [[Amit Sial]] [[Lalit Behl]]
| music = Karan Gour
| cinematography = Siddharth Diwan
| editing = [[Namrata Rao]]
| studio = [[Yash Raj Films]] Dibakar Banerjee Productions Pvt. Ltd.
| distributor = Yash Raj Films
| released = {{film date|df=yes|2014|5|20|[[2014 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|2015|10|30|India}}
| country = India
| runtime = 124 minutes
| language = Hindi
}}

'''''Titli''''' ({{translation|Butterfly}}) is a 2014 Indian [[neo-noir]] [[crime drama]] film written and directed by [[Kanu Behl]], and co-produced by Dibakar Banerjee Productions and [[Aditya Chopra]] under the banner of [[Yash Raj Films]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Yash Raj Films| url = http://www.yashrajfilms.com/Movies/MovieIndividual.aspx?MovieID=56d381fe-ab8e-4a63-bb3f-28042ba9a891 |website=Yashrajfilms.com| access-date = 25 April 2014 }}</ref> It features actors [[Shashank Arora]] as the title character, [[Shivani Raghuvanshi]], [[Ranvir Shorey]], [[Amit Sial]] and [[Lalit Behl]] in the lead roles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scroll.in/article/761992/difficult-fathers-brutal-sons-conniving-wives-meet-titli-and-his-family|title=Difficult fathers, brutal sons, conniving wives: meet Titli and his family|first=Nandini|last=Ramnath|website=Scroll.in}}</ref>

In ''Titli'', Behl captures the volatility of a society where violence lies uneasily just below the surface. The directorial debut film premiered in the [[Un Certain Regard]] section of the [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]],<ref>{{cite web| title = After 'Titli', 'True Love Story' at Cannes film fest |publisher=Livemint| url = http://www.livemint.com/Leisure/PS4hLdTiq4cMnOwZBvRB3O/After-Titli-True-Love-Story-at-Cannes-film-fest.html |date=22 April 2014| access-date = 25 April 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 2014 Official Selection |publisher=Festival de Cannes 2014 (International Film Festival) | url = http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/60533.html| access-date = 13 May 2014 }}</ref> The trailer was released on 29 September 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title='Titli' - Movie Review|url=http://post.jagran.com/titli-movie-review-1446113898|access-date=29 October 2015|issue=Post.Jagran.com}}</ref><ref>[http://betanews.in/5373/titli-trailer-released-film-releasing-on-30th-october.html Titli Trailer, Beta News India], 29 September 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Movie Review of Titli|url=http://inextlive.jagran.com/movie-review-of-titli-201510290015|access-date=29 October 2015|issue=Inextlive.jagran.com|publisher=[[Inext]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.glamsham.com/movies/reviews/titli-movie-review.asp |title= TITLI Movie Review: For those who love their cinema 'real' it cannot get better than TITLI |publisher=Glamsham |access-date=29 October 2015}}</ref> The film was released in India on 30 October 2015.<ref>{{cite news|title='Titli' - Movie Review|url=http://www.mid-day.com/articles/titli---movie-review/16640159|access-date=29 October 2015|issue=Mid-Day.Com|publisher=[[Mid-Day]]}}</ref>

The international sales partner of the film is Westend Films.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barraclough|first=Leo|date=2014-04-17|title=CANNES: WestEnd Films Boards Un Certain Regard Entry 'Titli'|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/cannes-westend-films-boards-un-certain-regard-entry-titli-1201158954/|access-date=2020-06-12|website=Variety|language=en}}</ref>

==Plot==
Titli is the youngest member of a violent car-jacking gang in Delhi with his brothers, oldest brother Vikram and middle brother Pradeep a.k.a. Bawla. The film opens with Titli inspecting a parking lot of an under-construction mall in East Delhi. His friend Pintu tells him that his fortunes will change once he buys the parking lot at a price of Rs. 3,000,000. Titli plans to escape from his family and their line of work. While attempting to escape the clutches of his brothers with the moneyafter a car-jacking operation, Titli accidentally crashes a stolen car before a police checkpoint. This results in Pradeep and Titli getting nabbed by police. When they are released the next day, Titli finds out that the police have taken the money from his bag and he admits to his brothers that he was planning to run away and invest the money in a parking lot business.

Vikram forces Titli to marry Neelu to help control him and also to introduce a woman into the gang to be used as a decoy and cover. Neelu, though married to Titli, pines for her lover Prince, a wealthy married man she is having an affair with. One night, after witnessing a bloody jacking operation of her brothers-in-law, Neelu tries to escape from her family and gets caught by Titli. Titli supports Neelu's plans to leave him for Prince if she gives Titli Rs 2,50,000 from her personal bank account. Neelu takes Titli to meet Prince, and shows him that she is in a serious relationship with him, in spite of him being married. Prince is planning to divorce his wife for Neelu. Meanwhile Vikram's estranged wife Sangeeta comes and demands divorce from Vikram. Vikram is forced to sign the document by her lawyer who admits that she has the evidence of Vikram indulging in domestic violence with Sangeeta. Sangeeta also demands an alimony of Rs. 5,00,000 from Vikram. Titli's father initially proposes the idea of wiring the money of Neelu's FD, which Vikram refuses. Neelu asks Titli to deliver a birthday gift for Prince. But at Prince's house, he finds out that he is actually cheating on Neelu, in spite of being happy with his wife. Titli confronts Prince about it, who ends up blackmailing him for his money. Titli and Neelu request Sangeeta for an extension of the alimony deadline, but she refuses. Finally, they are given an opportunity of earning Rs. 20,00,000 by killing a big industrialist by a politically connected cop. Titli drops Neelu to her parents' residence and takes off with all the cash she gave him. Simultaneously, Titli anonymously reports his brothers to the police. After approving the parking lot deal with Pintu, he changes his mind and demands his money back by threatening to shoot Pintu's boss with a gun he stole from Vikram. In the end, Titli returns home and severs ties with his father and leaves with his belongings. Neelu finds out that Prince was never planning to leave his wife for her, and Neelu and Titli get back together.

==Cast==
[[File:Shashank Arora as Titli.tif|thumb|Arora played the character ''Titli'']]
* [[Shashank Arora]] as Titli
* [[Shivani Raghuvanshi]] as Neelu
* [[Ranvir Shorey]] as Vikram
* [[Amit Sial]] as Pradeep
* [[Lalit Behl]] as Daddy
* Prashant Singh as Prince
* Eknoor Chawla as Daughter

==Production==
===Development===
Behl, who co-wrote and also assisted director [[Dibakar Banerjee]] in ''[[Love Sex aur Dhokha]] (LSD)'' (2010), started writing ''Titli'' as ''LSD'' neared completion. In 2011, the news report of a car-jacker gang in Delhi led by a local goon, Joginder Joga, inspired him to start working on the story of a thriller. However, as he developed the script, other themes started joining in, from his personal experiences growing up in the city.<ref name=exp>{{cite web | title = Ties That Bind |work= The Indian Express| url = http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/ties-that-bind-5/ |author= Dipti Nagpaul |date= 4 May 2014| access-date = 13 May 2014 |pages=1–3}}</ref> Though he denied it being autobiographical, he mentioned in an interview that the idea of intra-family conflict was derived from his own clashes with his father as a rebellious teenager. He eventually co-wrote the script with Sharat Katariya, and it covered themes of patriarchy, family dysfunction, gender-based violence and oppression, and "a desire for freedom". Through the protagonist, the film also explores the circular nature of life – "how we often end up becoming exactly the person we are trying to run away from."<ref name=toi14>{{cite web | title = 'Titli' stems from personal experiences: Kanu Behl | url = http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news-interviews/Titli-stems-from-personal-experiences-Kanu-Behl/articleshow/35068550.cms |date=13 May 2014| access-date = 13 May 2014 | work = The Times of India }}</ref><ref name=business>{{cite web | title = Feeling of 'Titli' going to Cannes yet to sink in: Kanu Behl |work= Business Standard | url = http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/feeling-of-titli-going-to-cannes-yet-to-sink-in-kanu-behl-114051301480_1.html |date=13 May 2014| access-date = 13 May 2014 }}</ref>

In 2012, the script of the film was selected for [[National Film Development Corporation of India|NFDC]] Film Bazaar's Screenwriter's Lab and won the ''Post-Production Award'' at Film Bazaar's Work-In-Progress Lab in 2013.<ref>{{cite web | title = YRF's Titli to compete at Cannes Film Festival|work=India Today | url = http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/titli-cannes-film-festival-ranveer-shorey-yash-raj-films-guneet-monga/1/356371.html|date=13 May 2014|access-date = 25 April 2014 }}</ref> It also won an award for ''Best Work-In-Progress Lab Project'' and was selected for ''Film Bazaar Recommends'', where the [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]] selection committee first saw the film.<ref name=exp/>

===Filming===
For the lead roles, relative newcomers [[Shashank Arora]] and Shivani Raghuvanshi were selected. Actors Amit Sial and [[Ranvir Shorey]] were chosen to play the role of two elder brothers to Titli's character. Next, he decided to cast his own father Lalit Behl, who is a Delhi-based director and actor, for the role of the patriarch of the family, considering the film itself was based on his early life experiences.<ref name=exp/>

The film was shot across various locations in Delhi.<ref name=toi14/> During filming, he allowed the actors to explore the scenes and improvise as no scripts were brought to the set. The production team redesigned a house to give a claustrophobic feel to the family home, where much of the filming was done, to provide a contrast from the expansive real world outside, which the protagonist is trying to escape into. For this purpose, rooms were made smaller, the entrance was made labyrinthine, and even the natural light was reduced in the rooms, so that the tube light haze could add to the effect.<ref name=exp/>

By early May 2014, the movie's post-production was completed, ahead of its Cannes premiere due in the same month.<ref name=business/>

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film collected {{INRConvert|1.75|c}} nett in its first week.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/newreleasesweaklastweekreleasesfirstweeknumbers#.VkBG5F2t-o8 |title=Boxoffice |access-date=9 November 2015 |archive-date=12 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112143546/http://boxofficeindia.com/Details/art_detail/newreleasesweaklastweekreleasesfirstweeknumbers#.VkBG5F2t-o8 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Critical reception===
The film has a [[Rotten Tomatoes]] rating of 92% with an average score of 7.7/10 based on 12 reviews, 11 of which are positive ("fresh").<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/titli|title=Titli (2014)|website=Rottentomatoes.com}}</ref> [[Jay Weisberg]] wrote that "the film plunges into [a] pitiless milieu with headstrong assurance, presenting a paternalistic world where corruption seeps into people's pores and women need backbones of steel to survive", calling it "a grittily impressive debut".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-titli-1201198314/|title=Film Review: 'Titli'|first1=Jay|last1=Weissberg|website=Variety.com|date=12 September 2014}}</ref> ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'''s Deborah Young praised [[Namrata Rao]]'s editing and Behl for "directing a largely non-pro cast, situating them carefully in the squalor of their Delhi surroundings." She called the film "an enjoyable, character-driven Indian yarn about an emotional family of criminals [that] gets better as it goes on."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/titli-cannes-review-705883|title='Titli': Cannes Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> Brad Mariano of ''4:3'' "Recommended" the film, calling it "an impressive debut that is far from what one might expect from the Indian cinema", noting the influence of [[Pier Paolo Pasolini]]'s [[Italian neorealism|neo-realism]] and the "complex, impossible moral situations" of [[Asghar Farhadi]]'s films. He ended his review by calling it "a gripping debut film that could mark the arrival of a significant new voice in world cinema."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://fourthreefilm.com/2014/08/titli/|title=Titli|date=12 August 2014}}</ref> J Hurtado of ''[[Screen Anarchy]]'' wrote that while "scenes of people scraping the bottom of the barrel are nothing new in Hindi independent cinema, [...] Behl's treatment of the material is both heart-wrenching, and vividly relatable as everyone tries to make out the best way they can without leaving anything on the table." He called it "a film about hope, and it's overwhelming sadness only makes the hope shine brighter", despite its "dark"-ness and its "low opinion of some of those people who populate Delhi's backstreets."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenanarchy.com/2014/11/third-i-2014-review-titli.html|title=Third I 2014 Review: TITLI Watches The Ugly Caterpillar Emerge From Its Cocoon|date=19 November 2014|website=ScreenAnarchy}}</ref>

Rohit Vats of ''[[Hindustan Times]]'' called it "the best Hindi film of the year so far", giving it a perfect score of 5/5. He wrote that the film-makers "don't keep you at an objective distance. They challenge you to stop ignoring the so-called social blots, and once you're sucked in, they make you believe that the injustice behind the rough exterior is systematic."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/movie-reviews/titli-review-this-is-the-best-hindi-film-of-the-year-so-far/story-upwdbFVhPQ95hrOFRwQM2L.html|title=Titli review: This is the best Hindi film of the year so far|date=30 October 2015|website=Hindustan Times}}</ref> Uday Bhatia of ''[[LiveMint]]'' called the film "unrelentingly grim, morally unmoored". He wrote that the "emotional and physical violence in Titli is wince-inducing, but even more oppressive is the atmosphere of mistrust and desperation that Behl and his co-writer Sharat Katariya build up."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/1ZO3bR5dhNmYcqITJMbjlO/Film-review-Titli.html|title=Film review: Titli|first=Uday|last=Bhatia|date=29 October 2015|website=Mint}}</ref> A more mixed review came from ''[[Filmfare]]'''s Rachit Gupta who called the film "a little too blunt and all too intentionally" despite its "serious" themes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmfare.com/reviews/movie-review-titli-11017.html|title=Movie Review: Titli|website=Filmfare.com}}</ref>

===International Film Festivals attended===
* [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web | title = India's Indie Film 'Titli' Shines at Cannes | work = The Wall Street Journal | url = https://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/06/21/indias-indie-film-titli-shines-at-cannes/|date= 21 June 2014|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* 5th [[Beijing International Film Festival]]{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
* 13th [[Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/the-13th-annual-indian-film-festival-of-los-angeles-announces-line-up-20150324|title=The 13th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles Annou | SydneysBuzz|date=25 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325163241/http://blogs.indiewire.com/sydneylevine/the-13th-annual-indian-film-festival-of-los-angeles-announces-line-up-20150324|archive-date=25 March 2015}}</ref>
* [[Melbourne International Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web | title = 11 Indian films at Melbourne International Film Festival | publisher = DearCinema | url = http://dearcinema.com/news/11-indian-films-melbourne-international-film-festival/0059/|date= 4 August 2014|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* Rio de Janeiro International
* International Film Festival of Colombo
* [[Zurich Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Indian new-age cinema a hit at Zurich fest | work = The Indian Express | url = http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/indian-new-age-cinema-a-hit-at-zurich-fest/|date= 31 October 2014|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Filmfest Hamburg]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Titli | publisher = filmfesthamburg.de/ | url =http://www.filmfesthamburg.de/en/programm/Film/21789/titli|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* Festival international du film indépendant de Bordeaux (FIFIB)
* [[BFI London Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Picks from the upcoming 58th London Film Festival 2014 | publisher = easternkicks| url = http://www.easternkicks.com/news/films-coming-to-the-58th-london-film-festival-2014|date= 3 September 2014|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Chicago International Film Festival]]<ref>{{cite web | title = Kanu Behl's TITLI at 50th Chicago International Film Festival by Chicago International Film Festival in Chicago | publisher = Chicago Indian | url = http://www.chicagoindian.com/desi/eventDisplay.asp?id=69908|date= 15 October 2014|access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Philadelphia Film Festival]]
* Seattle South Asian Film Festival<ref name="Dear Cinema">{{cite web | title = Titli, Teenkahon winners at SSAFF 2014 |publisher=Dear Cinema | url = http://dearcinema.com/news/titli-killa-winners-saiff-2014/5304| access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Hawaii International Film Festival]]
* San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival (SFISAFF) by 3rd-i Films
* AFI Fest, Los Angeles
* South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), New York<ref name="Titli, Killa winners at SAIFF 2014">{{cite web | title = Titli, Killa winners at SAIFF 2014 |publisher=Dear Cinema | url = http://dearcinema.com/news/kanu-behls-titli-buddhayan-mukherjis-teenkahon-winners-ssaff-2014/4509| access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
* Black Movie Festival, Geneva
* [[International Film Festival Rotterdam]], Netherlands<ref>{{cite web | title = Titli to screen at International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2015 |website=Saddahaq.com | url = https://www.saddahaq.com/entertainment/internationalfilmfestivalofrotterdam/court-labour-of-love-and-titli-to-screen-at-rotterdam-international-film-festival-2015| access-date = 4 March 2015 }}</ref>
* [[Gothenburg Film Festival]], Sweden<ref>{{cite web | title = Interesting Indian films at 38th Gothenburg International Film Festival |website=Sasnet.lu.se/ | url = http://www.sasnet.lu.se/content/interesting-indian-films-38th-gothenburg-international-film-festival| access-date = 4 March 2015 }}</ref>
* Festival du film d'Asie du Sud Transgressif (FFAST), Paris
* [[Gijón International Film Festival]], Spain<ref name="Titli takes top prize at Gijón">{{cite web | title = Titli takes top prize at Gijón |website=Wn.com | url = http://article.wn.com/view/2014/12/01/titli_takes_top_prize_at_gij_xf3n_by_amber_wilkinson_2014120/| access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>

==Awards==
===Wins===
*''Critics Prize'' at FIFIB, Bordeaux {{when|date=October 2017}}
*''Best Film'' at Seattle South Asian Film Festival<ref name="Dear Cinema"/>
*''NETPAC Award'' at [[Hawaii International Film Festival]]
*''Best Film'' at SAIFF, New York,<ref name="Titli, Killa winners at SAIFF 2014"/>
*''Best International Film'' at Malatya International, Turkey,<ref name="wn.com">{{cite web | title = Turkish film festival awards Indian 'Titli' |website=Wn.com | url = http://article.wn.com/view/2014/11/29/Turkish_film_festival_awards_Indian_Titli/| access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>
*''Best Actress'' and ''Best Film'', [[Gijón International Film Festival]], Spain,<ref name="Titli takes top prize at Gijón"/>
*''Audience Award'' at Festival du Film d'Asie du Sud Transgressif (FFAST), Paris.<ref>{{cite web | title = Titli remporte le Prix du public au FFAST 2015 |website=Bollywoodstudio.fr/ | url = http://www.bollywoodstudio.fr/titli-remporte-le-prix-du-public-au-ffast-2015/| access-date = 4 March 2015 }}</ref>
*''Best Foreign First Film'' (Critics Award) at [[French Syndicate of Cinema Critics]] 2016

===Nominations===
* [[Caméra d'Or]], [[2014 Cannes Film Festival]]<ref name="The National">{{cite web | title = First-time director from India in the running for Camera d'Or at Cannes |work=The National |date=21 May 2014 | url = http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/first-time-director-from-india-in-the-running-for-camera-dor-at-cannes| access-date = 15 January 2015 }}</ref>

==See also==
* Variety: [https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-review-titli-1201198314/ Film Review: ‘Titli’]
* Screen Daily: [http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-latest/titli/5072243.article Titli]
* The Hollywood Reporter: [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/titli-cannes-review-705883 'Titli': Cannes Review | Hollywood Reporter]
* 4:3: [http://fourthreefilm.com/2014/08/titli/ Titli]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{BH movie|titli}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Titli}}
[[Category:2014 films]]
[[Category:Films set in Delhi]]
[[Category:2014 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:Yash Raj Films films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Delhi]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:2010s Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:2014 drama films]]
[[Category:Hindi-language drama films]]

Titli (2014 film) - Revision history

YvetteJasso5372: small changes

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article