Befikre


Befikre is a 2016 Indian romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, and produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner of Yash Raj Films. It features Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles. The film was shot over a period of 50 days in Paris and Mumbai. It released worldwide on 9 December 2016 to mixed reviews.
The film's songs has been composed by Vishal-Shekhar and produced by Mikey McCleary with Vishal-Shekhar. McCleary also composed the background score of the movie. This is Chopra's only directorial venture without Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.

Plot

In Paris, Befikre starts with a nasty fight between Dharam and Shyra, which leads to a sudden break-up. Shyra leaves Dharam, and goes to her parents' house, asking them to let her in as long as they don't ask any questions about Dharam or their break-up. Dharam hails from Karol Bagh, New Delhi, and is a stand-up comedian working in his friend, Mehra's doomed restaurant. The night of his break-up, he mocks people in relationships and praises being single.
The film then flashes back to the time when Dharam first came to Paris in search of work and adventure. To his surprise, he shares his room with a girl who is a lesbian. Mehra takes him to a party where he meets and hooks up with the fun-loving Shyra, a tourist guide, whose parents are Indian, but who was born and raised in France. He later asks Shyra out on a date. She promises to go out on a date with him if he accepts her dare to slap a police officer. He does so, and they start dating. During their relationship, they keep giving crazy dares to each other. Eventually, the couple decides to enter a live-in relationship and Dharam meets Shyra's parents, who are chefs in their own Indian restaurant. After many misunderstandings and fights, Shyra moves out and moves back in with her family.
In the present, Dharam is still mocking his broken relationship at the same restaurant. During the months that follow, Dharam and Shyra keep meeting accidentally, showing that they still haven't gotten over each other and miss each other's company. They finally decide to become friends again and celebrate their breakup anniversary on the Pont des Arts Bridge. They swear never to fall in love with each other again and tie a breakup lock.
Shyra starts dating Aney, an investment banker whereas Dharam starts dating Christine, a French model. They go for the holiday outside Paris. After coming back to Paris, Aney proposes to Shyra. Shyra asks Aney to give her time to think about it and asks Dharam for his advice at Place des Vosges Park. While Dharam is afraid to lose Shyra, he still advises her to marry Aney and be happy. Shyra accepts the proposal, while Dharam secretly feels miserable.
Dharam and Shyra both remain good friends until one day, when they get into a heated discussion when he tells her that he and Christine have decided to marry to which Shyra does not approve and she and Dharam become rivals. Soon, Dharam and Christine both decide to marry each other.
Knowing that both Dharam and Shyra are going to marry different people they still are emotionally attached to each other. They do a face-off dance at the 'Sangeet' ceremony, which leads to their reconciliation as friends. Dharam secretly tells Shyra that he is not ready for marriage and also wants to stop it. During the conversation, both start to realise they still love each other.
On the wedding day, Dharam, however, manages to stop the wedding and tells Shyra that he truly loves and cannot be a friend of her anymore. Eventually after a lengthy fight at the wedding where both leave their respective partners, Dharam and Shyra run away from their wedding ceremony. Shyra dares Dharam to marry her, which he accepts.
The film ends with Dharam and Shyra's wedding.

Cast

Development

The film was announced by Yash Raj Films in September 2015 as Chopra's directorial comeback, scheduled for a December 2016 release. In October 2015, it was announced that Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor would be cast in the lead roles.
On December 2015, Yash Raj Films announced that the songs of the film will be composed by Vishal-Shekhar, and the lyrics will be written by Jaideep Sahni, both of whom would return to collaborate with the banner after roughly 9 years.
In March 2016, there were reports of Singh facing scheduling conflicts with Yash Raj Films after he was signed by Excel Entertainment for Zoya Akhtar's next directorial film scripted by Farhan Akhtar and Reema Kagti. Singh had earlier allotted both Q2 and Q3 of Fiscal 2016 to Befikre. Akhtar's coming-of-age, travel-diary Project requires Singh to film across all the 29 states of India, in the same period.

Filming

The film was shot extensively in Paris. It was filmed in a period of 50 days.
Befikre will see a release across 2900 screens that comprises 2100 screens in the Domestic market and another additional 800 screens in the International market.

Critical reception

Befikre generally received mixed to negative reviews from critics. The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and said,"Befikre has some honest, funny moments and the attempt to upgrade the genre is apparent, but you don’t come away with anything new." Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and commented,"Befikre ticks practically every single box which constitutes the Yashraj canon. It’s all there, and yet, Befikre never quite rises above its shiny surface. In its best moments, it has sparkle, but those few and far between; in the rest, it stays bland and familiar." Rajeev Masand also gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and stated," What the film lacks is genuine feeling. Yes, even the frothiest of rom-coms need something real to keep you invested in its characters. I’m going with one-and-a-half out of five for Befikre. Aditya Chopra may have made one of Hindi cinema’s most enduring love stories, but this is a soufflé that sinks like a stone." Raja Sen rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and opined," At a point when our mainstream cinema is beginning to grow up, Befikre is painfully childish drivel that proves to be a maddening waste of time. It starts out shrill, turns predictable, and ends up chaotic. To use the language of the youth Aditya Chopra is attempting to speak, let's call it Befi-cray-cray."

Box office

India

The film collected 10.36 crores on opening day becoming tenth highest opening Bollywood film of 2016. The film became Ranveer Singh's fifth highest opener, following Padmaavat, Ram Leela, Gunday and Bajirao Mastani. Befikre collected 11.60 crores and 12.47 crores on second and third day of release respectively taking its first domestic weekend net collection to 34.43 crores, and became eleventh highest domestic weekend collecting Bollywood film of 2016. In next four days, the film collected 14.32 crores taking its first domestic week's net collection to total of 48.75 crores. Befikre became Twelfth highest first domestic week collecting Bollywood film of the year. The film's net collection in India are 60.26 crores becoming Sixteenth highest net collecting Bollywood film in India of 2016, while it grossed 130.25 crores worldwide. With a total net collection of 60.26 crore in India, the film was declared as a "Below Average" by the Box Office India. The film was financially successful, earning 50 crore profit for Yash Raj Films

Overseas

The film released across 2900 screen in overseas on Opening day and collected 16.48 crores becoming fifteenth highest overseas grossing Bollywood film of the year.

Soundtrack

Complete soundtrack album was released on 1 December 2016 by YRF Music.
The songs were composed by Vishal–Shekhar and produced by Mikey McCleary. The film score was composed by Mikey McCleary.

Track listing

Awards and nominations