Special 26
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| Special 26 | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Neeraj Pandey |
| Produced by | Viacom 18 Motion Pictures Friday Filmworks Kumar Mangat |
| Written by | Neeraj Pandey |
| Starring | Akshay Kumar Kajal Aggarwal Jimmy Shergill Manoj Bajpai Anupam Kher Divya Dutta |
| Music by | M. M. Keeravani Himesh Reshammiya Chandan Sharma |
| Cinematography | Bobby Singh |
| Editing by | Shree Narayan Singh |
| Studio | Viacom 18 Motion Pictures |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 143 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget |  20 crore (US$3.64 million) |
Contents |
Plot
A fake CBI/income tax officer calls a local police officer to assist in the raid of a politician’s residence. The income tax team comb the house and uncover black money worth lakhs hidden in the ceiling, inside a vintage car, under God’s statue, etc. The embarrassed politician sits through the entire drama while the officers seal and take away his money. The police are left to hold the fort till the team returns. Except that the team will not return. And there were no CBI/income tax officers to begin with! This is all part of Ajay Singh (Akshay Kumar), P. K. Sharma aka Sharmaji (Anupam Kher) and their friends’ con job. They pretend to be CBI/income tax officers and raid the houses of politicians and wealthy businessmen. Not only do they steal insane amounts of money with the help of the local police (without having to shell out a part for the cops), none of their grand thefts get reported as the politicians and businessmen do not want to speak about their black money in order to keep face. But one cop, Ranveer Singh (Jimmy Shergill), has taken this insult to heart.After getting suspended with his colleague Shantiji (Divya Dutta), he asks the help of the real CBI officer Wasim Khan (Manoj Bajpai) to help nab these impostors. Now begins the game of cat-and-mouse. While Ajay wants to draw the curtains with a final huge heist, he decides to recruit 26 people in the guise of the CBI/income tax to create his Special Chabbis (26).Cast
- Akshay Kumar as Ajay Singh[4]
- Kajal Aggarwal as Priya Chavan
- Anupam Kher as P.K Sharma (Sharmaji)
- Manoj Bajpai as CBI Officer Wasim Khan
- Jimmy Shergill as Senior Inspector Ranvir Singh
- Divya Dutta as Shantiji
- Rajesh Sharma as Joginder
- Kishor Kadam as Iqbal
- Vipin Sharma in a special appearance
Development
The film takes its foundations from the infamous robbery of 19-March-1987, when 26 people posing as income tax officials raided a famous jewellery store in Opera House, Mumbai. They had walked away with jewels worth lakhs. This incident shocked jewellers across Zaveri Bazaar. According to the sources, Neeraj waited for almost three years after A Wednesday, as he wanted Akshay Kumar for the film. Akshay will play the leader of the 26-men army in the film. His character name will interestingly be "Mr. Ajay Singh" (meaning 'unconquered lion' in English) .[5]Manoj Bajpai has been roped in to play the real CBI officer,[6] and Anupam Kher will also be playing a vital role in the film.[7] Kajal Aggarwal plays a specially-written role of Mon Singh's love-interest (she is the only female character in the film).[8] Earlier actors Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan were roped in to play the lead. But the role went to Kumar as he was Pandey's first choice.[9] Kajal Aggarwal is playing role of a school teacher.[10][11] Akshay Kumar slashed his fee by half for Special Chabbis.[12][13]
Filming
The film began shooting from February 23, 2012 in Delhi. The first schedule of the film was shot in Chandni Chowk, following which the unit moved to Jama Masjid.[14]Marketing
The theatrical trailer of the film was released on the internet on 20th Dec, 2012.This picture is all indian distribute by A wave Ponty Chadha release.[15] The first promo of Nautanki Saala and Chasme Buddoor will be attached with Special 26.[16] The release date of the movie is February 8, 2013.Akshay Kumar, along with the rest of the cast of 'Special Chabbis', will visit the actual spot of crime, which has inspired the heist drama.[17][18] A special screening of film was done for CBI officials on February 6,2013.[19]Critical Reception
| Professional reviews | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Ratemovieshere.com |   |
| Bollywood Hungama |  |
| NDTV | |
| Zee News | |
| tikkview.com | |
| TOI | |
| Rediff.com | |
| Bollywood Life | |
| Wassupbollywood.com | |
 indicates that the given rating is an average rating of all reviews provided by the source |
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Gautam Batra & Roma Heer of Wassupbollywood rated Special 26 as 3 / 5 saying "Special 26 is a movie that surely deserves a watch for its performances, story & climax. A little more concentration towards the drama by writer would have taken it to far better level. Overall a good one time watchable movie." [21]
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 4/5 stars, stating that "Special Chabbis is an intelligently woven, slick and smart period thriller with its subject matter as its USP. It's sure to get listed as one of the most gripping heist dramas based on real life occurrences. A film that's sure to win accolades, acclaim and awards. Also, box-office rewards!"[22]
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the movie 4/5 stars saying, "Special 26 is an intelligently scripted, superbly acted, enthralling and believable heist film that is more than just that".[23]
Resham Sengar of Zee News as given 4/5 stars saying, "Very rarely would you come across a logically scripted and intelligently-directed drama thriller churned out from the good ol’ Hindi cine factory these days. And here’s a promising Neeraj Pandey for you who is back with a bang (and bang on target) with another awe inspiring film ‘Special 26’.[24]
Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, commenting that "Special 26 doesn't stun you with a social message like Pandey's 'A Wednesday!', but it grips, excites and ahh...climaxes too! And no ... you can't fake this one! Catch it for pure cinematic orgasm."[25]
Sukanya Verma for Rediff.com has given 3.5/5 stars and says Special Chabbis is one of the finest films of the year so far. [26]. Roshni Devi of Koimoi gave 2.5 out of 5 and stated that it is watchable for the con-jobs, the humour and Akshay-Manoj’s war of wits.[27]
Komal Nahta stated thatSpecial 26 may be a fairly entertaining thriller but it is not without some glaring flaws in its screenplay. At the box-office, it will not prove to be a paying proposition for the distributors, given its high cost to them (all-India: around Rs. 36-37 crore). Its producers, of course, will make a profit due to the high price at which they have sold the all-India rights and also due to revenues from sale of satellite and other rights.[28]
Bollywoodlife has given 3.5/5 and says Special 26 is a movie where stars don’t matter and where script is the king. Akshay Kumar and gang pull off a clean heist![29]
tikkview.com has given 4/5 for and says "If you are a good film lover,Don't miss a chance to watch this one.This is well made fun filled con job story.This is one of the best film released in 2013"[30]
Nestrackindia stated that Special 26 is a finally a no nonsense film from Akshay.[31]
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