The Xposé Explained

The Xpose
Director:Anant Mahadevan
Producer:Vipin Reshammiya
Rakesh Upadhyay
Story:Himesh Reshammiya
Screenplay:Himesh Reshammiya
Jainesh Ejradar
Narrator:Irrfan Khan
Starring:Himesh Reshammiya
Sonali Raut
Yo Yo Honey Singh
Zoya Afroz
Cinematography:Maneesh Chandra Bhatt
Music:Himesh Reshammiya
Editing:Ashish Gaikar
Language:Hindi
Country:India
Runtime:113 minutes
Budget:15 crore[1]
Gross:12.9 crore[2]

The Xposé (stylized as The XPOSÉ) is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language period thriller film directed by Anant Mahadevan and produced by Vipin Reshammiya under the banner of HR Musik. The film stars Himesh Reshammiya alongside newcomers Sonali Raut and Zoya Afroz, while Irrfan Khan makes a special appearance. Musician Yo Yo Honey Singh also appears in the film, making his Bollywood acting debut.

An action sequel, Badass Ravi Kumar by Reshammiya, featuring the main character from the film is set to release in 2024.[3]

Plot

In 1960s Bombay, two actresses, Zara Fernandes and Chandni Roy, are both set to make their film debut on the same date. Chandni's film Reena Mera Naam becomes a box office success, whereas Zara's film Ujjwal Nirmal Sheetal is a flop. This angers Zara who believes she is higher and better than every other new actress. Zara starts an argument with Chandni after an awards party, and the two end up fighting. Later that night, Zara is murdered. The blame obviously goes towards Chandni, and she has no way to prove her innocence.

Chandni's lover, Ravi Kumar, decides to step in and find the real murderer to save his love. Ravi happens to be an ex-cop, who was sacked from his job as a police officer after shooting a parliamentarian . Ravi is now an actor, who happens to have debuted in the same film as Zara. The suspect list in the murder is extremely large, there is Virmaan, who is Chandni's ex-boyfriend, Subba Prasad who is Zara's film director and KD, a music director who had an affair with Zara, as well as many other suspects.

After Ravi's investigation, it turns out that after Zara and Chandni fought, Zara went up to the terrace where she met KD (hinting that their affair was still going on at the time of her death) and as the two got together, KD's wife Shabnam started looking for KD. KD heard Shabnam coming up to the terrace, so he tried to run away, and accidentally pushed Zara away from him, which led to her falling from the terrace. It also turns out that after falling down, she landed outside Subba Prasad's window. Subba decided to let her fall so her death could gain attention and maybe help their flop film be successful.

KD and Subba are convicted. KD is sentenced to 7 years, and Subba is given a life sentence in prison. After all the supposed suspects leave the court, Chandni confesses her love for Ravi. The two get together, and Ravi tells Chandni that, actually, he knew that she was the one who murdered Zara. In a flashback, it is revealed that after Subba let Zara fall down, she was still alive and was found by Chandni. Chandni was so frustrated and annoyed by her that she hit Zara on the head with a glass bottle, finally killing her.

Cast

Special appearances

Music

The Xposé
Type:Soundtrack
Longtype:to The Xposé
Artist:Himesh Reshammiya
Caption:Soundtrack album cover
Released:[4]
Genre:Film soundtrack
Length:1:19:55
Language:Hindi
Label:T-Series
Prev Title:A New Love Ishtory
Prev Year:2013
Next Title:Humshakals
Next Year:2014

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Himesh Reshammiya, with lyrics penned by Sameer, Kumaar and Shabbir Ahmed. Vocalists include Yo Yo Honey Singh, Reshammiya, Ankit Tiwari, Palak Muchhal. The soundtrack released on 14 April 2014 with The Times Of India stating "An album that has something for everyone, The Xpose is masala magic at its most potent."[5]

Track# Song Singer(s) Lyrics Duration (min)
1 "Ice Cream Khaungi" Palak Muchhal, Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh05:52
2 "Dard Dilo Ke" 05:04
3 "Hai Apna Dil Toh Awaara" Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh Sameer 04:24
4 "Catch Me If You Can" Shabbir Ahmed 05:06
5 "Surroor" Sameer 05:32
6 "Sheeshe Ka Samundar" Sameer 04:42
7 "Dard Dilo Ke" (reprise) Mohammad Irfan Ali, Neeti Mohan Sameer 04:44
8 "Sheeshe Ka Samundar" (reprise) Sameer 04:23
9 "Ice Cream Khaungi" (remix by Kiran Kamath) Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Palak Muchhal Shabbir Ahmed 05:13
10 "Dard Dilo Ke" (remix by Kiran Kamath) Mohammad Irfan Ali, Neeti Mohan Sameer 04:04
11 "Hai Apna Dil Toh Awaara" (Blue'S Mix) Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh Sameer 03:19
12 "Surroor" (Arabic Mix) Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Shalmali Kholgade Sameer 04:02
13 "Catch Me If You Can" (remix by Kiran Kamath) Himesh Reshammiya, Mika Singh, Mohit Chauhan, Neeti Mohan, Shubhangi Tiwari, Shalmali Kholgade Shabbir Ahmed 04:13
14 "Hai Apna Dil" (Desi Remix) Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh Sameer 04:18
15 "Sheeshe Ka Samundar" (remix by Kiran Kamath) Ankit Tiwari Sameer 04:33
16 "Surroor" (remix by Kiran Kamath) Himesh Reshammiya, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Shalmali Kholgade Sameer 03:49
17 "Theme of Xposé" Sameer 02:34
18 "The Xposé" (Mashup) DJ Kiran Kamath Ft Various Artists 04:04

Critical reception

Reception

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3/5 and concluded "an entertaining outing for fans of atypical Bollywood-style murder mysteries."[6]

Mehul S Thakkar of Deccan Chronicle gave it 3.5 stars stating "What also adds to the whole packaging of the film is the attention to minute detail of that era be it as minute as a ceiling lamp or a pen. R.K studios, a treasure house of antique items, have been credited to supply film cameras of those times for the shoot, shown as props in the film."[7]

Subhash K Jha reviewed the film for NDTV and gave it 3.5 stars stating "The suspense drama is bright, bouncy, believable and entertaining."[8]

Vishal Verma for IndiaGlitz has rated 3 Stars stating "The Xpose is a Dazzling Tour De Sixties"[9] Rahul Desai for Mumbai Mirror has given 3 stars for its entertainment.[10] Shrey Saxena have rated this movie 1/10.[11]

Awards and nominations

BIG Star Entertainment Awards
Year Category Nominee Status
2014Best Music DirectorHimesh Reshammiya
Best Playback Singer-Male Mohammad Irfan Ali (for Dard Dilo Ke)
Life Ok Now Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Xpose – Movie – Box Office India . 19 November 2016 . 19 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161119094426/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2248 . live .
  2. Web site: The Xpose – Movie – Box Office India . . 3 July 2023 . 1 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230901093639/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/box-office/ . live .
  3. Web site: 'PS 2', 'Tiger 3', 'Jawan' and 'John Wick 4': Your 2023 Movie Calendar Is Here! - What's Your 2023 Plan? . 2023-09-12 . The Economic Times . 20 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230920193928/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/ps-2-tiger-3-jawan-amp-john-wick-4-plan-2023-movie-calendar-in-advance/badass-ravi-kumar/slideshow/95681986.cms . live .
  4. Web site: The Xpose (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) . 21 April 2014 . . 26 June 2018 . 27 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180627010729/https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/the-xpose-original-motion-picture-soundtrack/1111673204 . live .
  5. News: The Xposé – The Times of India . The Times of India . 2 May 2014 . timesofindia.indiatimes.com . 28 July 2014 . 13 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140513062445/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/music-reviews/The-Xpos/articleshow/34475051.cms? . live .
  6. Web site: The Xpose . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209132507/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/moviemicro/criticreview/id/728242 . dead . 9 February 2014 . Bollywood Hungama.
  7. Web site: 'The Xpose': Is all about style, glamour and dirty secrets . Deccan Chronicle . 17 May 2014 . 17 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140517161423/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140515/entertainment-movie-review/article/movie-review-%E2%80%98xpose%E2%80%99-all-about-style-glamour-and-dirty . live .
  8. Web site: The Xpose Movie Review – NDTV . movies.ndtv.com . 28 July 2014 . 19 July 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140719072248/http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/the-xpose-movie-review-967 . live .
  9. Web site: The Xpose Bollywood Movie Review - cinema preview stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes - IndiaGlitz.com . IndiaGlitz.com . 28 July 2014 . 4 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140604012848/http://www.indiaglitz.com/the-xpose-hindi-movie-review-18583 . live .
  10. Web site: Film review: The Xpose – Mumbai Mirror . mumbaimirror.com . 28 July 2014 . 22 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140522105426/http://www.mumbaimirror.com/entertainment/bollywood/Film-review-The-Xpose/articleshow/35175396.cms . live .
  11. News: Film Review – The Xposé . . 17 May 2014 . 16 June 2019 . 16 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190616172230/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/PYLxdYzWTV8R6VqL2m1cEJ/Film-Review--The-Xpos.html . live .
  12. Web site: Big life ok Now Awards . 5 June 2020 . 30 June 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150630235712/http://beautypageants.indiatimes.com/miss-india/photos/zoya-afroz-wins-big-life-ok-now-award-for-best-actress/Zoya-Afroz-wins-Big-Life-Ok-Now-Best-actress-Award/eventshow/37189891.cms . live .