Aks (2001 film)

Aks (transl. Reflection) is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language supernatural action thriller film directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Raveena Tandon, and Manoj Bajpayee in leading roles. The music was composed by Anu Malik. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics and being a box office flop, it won three awards at the 47th Filmfare Awards: Best Actor — Critics (Bachchan), Special Award Performance (Tandon), and Best Sound Design (Ranjan). Bachchan and Bajpayee were nominated for the Best Actor and Best Villain at the same ceremony as well.

Aks
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Written by	Rensil D'Silva Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Kamlesh Pandey
Produced by	Amitabh Bachchan Jhamu Sughand
Starring	Amitabh Bachchan Raveena Tandon Manoj Bajpayee Nandita Das
Narrated by	Manoj Bajpayee
Cinematography	Kiran Deohans
Edited by	P. S. Bharathi
Music by	Songs: Anu Malik Score: Ranjit Barot
Production companies	Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Flicks Motion Pictures
Release date	13 July 2001 (2001-07-13)
Running time	184 mins
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹110 million
Box office	₹143 million

Synopsis

Aks is a supernatural thriller centering on two characters― a cop named Manu Verma (Amitabh Bachchan) and a shadowy killer named Raghavan (Manoj Bajpayee). During a conference in Budapest, the defence minister is found murdered. Manu Verma investigates the case and discovers that the culprit is Raghavan Ghatge, a sociopathic serial killer who works as a hitman.

Raghavan is caught. As he is about to be executed by hanging, his spirit goes into Manu's body and starts to manipulate the cop into performing acts that Raghavan wanted to perform. But he couldn't save himself. He goes to another town but is not able to find peace.

Eventually, Raghavan's spirit leaves Manu's body. Everything seems to be normal. Manu and his family go on vacation. Unfortunately, Raghavan's spirit is still alive and possesses Manu's friend.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Inspector Manu Verma
• Raveena Tandon as Neeta
• Manoj Bajpayee as Raghavan Ghatge
• Nandita Das as Supriya Verma
• K.K. Raina as Mahadevan Ghatge
• Tanvi Azmi as Madhu Pradhan
• Vineet Kumar as Narang
• Pramod Moutho as Justice Balwant Chaudhry
• Salim Ghouse as Blind Guru
• Veerendra Saxena as Hanif Kasai
• Vijay Raaz as Yeda Yakub
• Vrajesh Hirjee as RAW Officer 1 Ramesh
• Gajraj Rao as RAW Officer 2 Chakradhari
• Mithilesh Chaturvedi as PM's Aide Pathak
• Amol Palekar as Minister Alok Chaudhary

Production

Aks is the directorial debut of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Amitabh Bachchan sported a French beard to portray his character.^[1]

Music

Aks
Soundtrack album by Anu Malik
Released	2001 (2001)[2]
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	45:55
Language	Hindi
Label	Saregama

A. R. Rahman was initially approached to compose original score and songs for the film. Rahman initially agreed and then opted out for reasons unknown. Rahman would later compose for Mehra's Rang De Basanti and Delhi 6. After Rahman walked out of the project, the original score was composed by Rahman's associate Ranjit Barot while the songs were composed by Anu Malik with lyrics penned by Gulzar. Sukanya Verma of Rediff appreciated the album saying that Aks is a "captivating album with funky, experimental, new age music".^[3]

Tracklist

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Yeh Raat"	Anupama	6:06
2.	"Raat Aati Hain"	Shubha Mudgal	6:20
3.	"Aaja Gufaon Mein Aa"	KK & Vasundhara Das	5:23
4.	"Hum Bhool Gaye" (Male Vocals)	Hariharan	5:23
5.	"Hum Bhool Gaye" (Female Vocals)	Chitra	5:09
6.	"Banda Bindas"	KK, Clinton Cerejo & Kunal Ganjawala	3:36
7.	"Bhala Bura" (Composed by Indrajeet Sharma)	Amitabh Bachchan	3:47
8.	"Ramleela" (Arranged by Rajat Dholakia)	Amitabh Bachchan, Nandita Das & Kavita Mundra	5:20
9.	"Rabba Rabba"	Vasundhara Das & Sukhwinder Singh	4:51
Total length:			45:55

Reception

The Hindu praised the cinematography and music of the film along with the acting performances of all actors, specially Amitabh Bachchan.^[4] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised the visuals and music of the film but criticized the film for being too complicated and slow. Taran gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5.^[5]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Category	Recipient	Result
47th Filmfare Awards	Best Actor	Amitabh Bachchan	Nominated
	Best Actor (Critics)		Won
	Special Award	Raveena Tandon
	Best Sound Design	Ranjit Ranjan
	Best Background Score	Ranjit Barot
	Best Actor in a Negative Role	Manoj Bajpayee	Nominated