Anjaana Anjaani

Anjaana Anjaani
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySiddharth Anand
Written byScreenplay:
Siddharth Anand
Advaita Kala
Dialogues:
Siddharth Anand
Story byMamta Anand
Produced bySajid Nadiadwala
Starring
CinematographyRavi K. Chandran
Edited byRameshwar S. Bhagat
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 1 October 2010 (2010-10-01)
Running time
147 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget38 crore
Box office69.85 crore

Anjaana Anjaani (transl. "Strangers") is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language black comedy romantic musical film directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra as two suicidal strangers who meet and make a pact to commit suicide in 20 days on New Year's Eve. In the interim, the couple fulfils their personal wishes and eventually falls in love. The soundtrack of the film, composed by Vishal–Shekhar and lyrics by various artists including the duo themselves, received widespread critical acclaim and was a major commercial success. The film was promoted with the tag-line "All The Greatest Love Stories Are Between Strangers."

Wanting to make an unusual romance film, Anand struggled with several ideas to the initial effect of disappointment until his wife, Mamta, proposed an idea based on a scene which encouraged him to work on the idea with a different approach. Anand approached novelist Advaita Kala who developed the story into a feature-length script, and later co-wrote the screenplay with him. Principal photography, handled by Ravi K. Chandran, was conducted entirely in New York City, Las Vegas and San Francisco, with Rameshwar S. Bhagat serving as editor.

Made on a production and marketing budget of 380 million, Anjaana Anjaani was released on 1 October 2010, grossing over 698 million at the box office, thus emerging as a commercial success. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its novel concept, music, cinematography, humor, costumes and the leads' performances, but criticism for its screenplay and pacing. At the 56th Filmfare Awards, it received a nomination for Best Music Director for Vishal-Shekhar.

Anjaana Anjaani marks Anand's final romantic comedy drama film to date; he has since ventured into the action thriller genre, where he continues to be active. The film also marks his penultimate collaboration with Salim-Sulaiman, as well as his first with lyricist Kumaar, who would eventually become his and Vishal-Shekhar's regular collaborator on their future soundtracks together.