Main Hoon Na

<p>India and Pakistan launch , a , in an attempt to de-escalate . Raghavan Dutta, a former Indian soldier discharged for executing in revenge for his son’s death, runs a militant group with a former comrade, Khan, where he sets against peace between the two rival countries. During a , Raghavan attempts to shoot Amarjeet Bakshi, but Shekhar Sharma takes the bullet for him. On his deathbed, Shekhar informs his son, Ram Prasad, that his wife and Ram’s stepmother, Madhu, and their son and Ram’s stepbrother, Lakshman Prasad, who is also known as Lucky, had abandoned him 20 years ago since Shekhar had cheated on Madhu with Ram’s late biological mother. Shekhar requests Ram to reconcile with his estranged family and that his ashes will be immersed by both his sons, stating that he can finally be at peace only if his family forgives him. Meanwhile, General Bakshi sends Ram on a to protect his estranged daughter, Sanjana, who is studying at St. Paul’s College in . Ram reluctantly accepts when Bakshi informs him that Lucky is also studying in the same college. Bakshi convinces Ram to enter the college as a student than as a teacher, in order to better watch over Sanjana. Upon arriving, Ram struggles with adjusting to college life as he is much older than all the students, including some professors. Ram encounters Sanjana and her crush, but both do not want to be near him due to his age. A college student helps Ram hack the college computer to find out Lucky’s identity, only to learn that Lucky is actually Sanjana’s crush. During a race to capture the college flag from the roof, Lucky ends up hanging off the roof of the university, but Ram heroically saves his life. As a result, both Lucky and Sanjana agree to befriend Ram, who soon moves in with Lucky and Madhu as well. Outside a theatre, Ram saves one of his classmates, Percy, from an attempted murder by Khan, and captures Khan in the process. However, Ram’s own identity is discovered by Raghavan, who then arrives at the university masquerading as the new professor after his gang kidnaps Madhav Rasai, a physics professor, and threatens him to resign and recommend Raghavan as “Professor Raghav Dutta” in his place. Ram also brings Madhu and Lakshman closer by helping them bond during his stay there. Meanwhile, Ram falls in love with his professor, Chandni, while Lucky also falls in love with Sanjana after Ram and Chandni give her a . During a , Ram thwarts Raghavan’s gang from abducting Chandni. After meeting with Sanjana, Ram requests Raghavan to drop them both off with her father at her hostel, where Sanjana reconciles with her father. After that night, Sanjana and Chandni discover Ram’s true identity as an army officer. At the same time, Raghavan learns about Ram and Lucky’s relationship and reveals Ram’s true identity to Lucky and Madhu. On being confronted by Lucky and Madhu, Ram breaks the news of Shekhar’s death and informs them that Shekhar’s last wish was that they reconcile. As they are unwilling to accept him yet, Ram leaves their home and the university, but his revelation shocks them. Later, Raghavan holds the whole university hostage and demands the cancellation of Project Milaap along with the return of Captain Khan and Ram as hostages in exchange for all the students’ and teachers’ lives. On being informed about this situation, Ram immediately returns to the university; along the way he encounters Madhu and apologizes to her for having concealed his true identity. At the university, Ram informs Khan that Raghavan is doing nothing for the country and is only carrying out a misplaced on the Pakistanis for killing his son, and offers an opportunity to Khan to do something for the country. Accompanying Khan, Ram enters the building and gets subsequently shot by Khan. Ram survives, and Khan informs him that his heart has changed regarding his allegiances and proceeds to kill the guards, thus freeing the students. Raghavan shoots Khan dead at range for his betrayal. During a prolonged combat between Ram and Raghavan, Ram finally kills Raghavan by removing the from the latter’s hand grenade. Lucky helps Ram escape from the ensuing explosion from aboard a and the two happily embrace each other as brothers. Project Milaap is a success and all the prisoners are exchanged triumphantly. Ram and Lucky immerse Shekhar’s ashes together with Madhu tearfully looking on. In the end, Lucky and Ram finally graduate, and the entire university rejoices. Development for the film had begun in 2001. Filming was scheduled to begin in October 2001, but later that year, had injured himself while shooting for (2002), and had to be treated in the , leading to the film being shelved. revived the film in 2003 following Khan’s recovery. Farah initially titled the film as but changed it upon the suggestion of her friends. Khan was unhappy with the film’s title at that time, believing it was too short, but changed his mind upon listening to the film’s title song. Upon the film’s revival in 2003, , and were all offered to play the role of Lucky. None of the three accepted due to unknown reasons, leading to getting cast. was offered the role of Sanju, but declined due to date issues, as did newcomer , after which was cast. Shah Rukh Khan asked Farah Khan to approach , suggesting that Haasan owed him a favor for his role in . Haasan read the script, but turned down the role citing that it would portray him as an anti-national. The film’s music was composed by , with lyrics written by . The soundtrack earned Malik his second . According to the Indian trade website , with around 2.1 million units sold, the film’s soundtrack album was one of the highest selling Bollywood soundtracks of the year. received several award nominations and won an Best Male Playback Singer Award. received positive reviews from critics for masala genre, songs, acting, and directing. of wrote ” reinforces your faith in Bollywood commercial cinema. The film is a wholesome entertainer that has something for everyone.” Jamie Russell of wrote “A bonkers ‘masala’ movie, Main Hoon Na could be the mutant offspring of and . Part-thriller, part high-school comedy and all Bollywood musical, it’s the directorial debut of Farah Khan.” Siddharth Patankar of termed the movie as “an out and out entertainer. Masala, romance, family drama, and some good old fashioned dhishoom dhishoom,” and was positive of the performances. was the second-highest grossing Indian film of 2004 behind (also a -starrer set against India-Pakistan backdrop). It made (US$5.7 million) in India and an additional (US$220,000) in the overseas market. The film was remade in as and was released on 27 October 2008. A sequel titled is currently in development.</p>