Hichki
| Hichki | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Siddharth P. Malhotra |
| Written by |
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| Dialogues by | Anckur Chaudhry |
| Based on | Front of the Class by Brad Cohen |
| Produced by | Maneesh Sharma |
| Starring | Rani Mukerji |
| Cinematography | Avinash Arun |
| Edited by | Shweta Venkat Matthew |
| Music by |
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Production company | |
| Distributed by | Yash Raj Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹20 crore |
| Box office | ₹209.72 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.