Hichki

Hichki
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySiddharth P. Malhotra
Written by
  • Ankur Chaudhry
  • Siddharth P. Malhotra
  • Ganesh Pandit
  • Raaj Mehta
  • Ambar Hadap
Dialogues byAnckur Chaudhry
Based onFront of the Class
by Brad Cohen
Produced byManeesh Sharma
StarringRani Mukerji
CinematographyAvinash Arun
Edited byShweta Venkat Matthew
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byYash Raj Films
Release date
  • 23 March 2018 (2018-03-23)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget20 crore
Box office209.72 crore

Hichki (pronounced [ɦɪtʃʰkɪ]; transl.Hiccup) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film co-written and directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra. It is produced by Aditya Chopra and Maneesh Sharma under the banner of Yash Raj Films. Based on American motivational speaker Brad Cohen's autobiography Front of the Class, it stars Rani Mukerji as Naina Mathur, an aspiring teacher who gets rejected by many schools due to her Tourette syndrome, until she is accepted at the St. Notker's School, her alma mater. She is assigned to teach students from a nearby slum in the class 9F, which was created by the Government of India to fill a quota for the underprivileged.

Malhotra began scripting Hichki in 2013 upon acquiring the rights to Front of the Class. Principal photography took place in Mumbai between April and June 2017. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Jasleen Royal and Hitesh Sonik, respectively.

Hichki was released on 23 March 2018 to mixed reviews from critics who praised Mukerji's performance but criticised the plot's predictability. Made on a budget of 20 crore (US$2.4 million), the film was a major commercial success, grossing 209.72 crore (US$25 million) worldwide, making it Mukerji’s highest-grossing film. Mukerji received nominations for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards, International Indian Film Academy Awards, Screen Awards, and Zee Cine Awards, and won an award of the same category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, where it was screened. The film was also shown at the International Film Festival of India, the Shanghai International Film Festival, and the Giffoni Film Festival.