Lakshya (transl. Aim) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age war drama film directed by Farhan Akhtar, written by his father Javed Akhtar and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani under the banner of Excel Entertainment, with Ronnie Screwvala serving as co-producer under distributor UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, and Preity Zinta in lead roles. Based on a story written by Javed in response to discussions with several 1999 Kargil War veterans and army officers, the film follows Karan Shergill, a lazy young man and the son of a wealthy businessman from Delhi, who joins the Indian Army and matures into a battlefield hero just as war breaks out.
At the 50th Filmfare Awards, Lakshya received 4 nominations, including Best Director (Farhan) and Best Actor (Roshan), and won 2 awards – Best Choreography (Prabhu Deva for "Main Aisa Kyun Hoon...") and Best Cinematography. Though the film was a box office failure, it gained a cult following later. The film was also instrumental in motivating youths across India to join the Indian Army.
Contents
Plot
Karan Shergill is a thoroughly lazy, irresponsible young man living in Delhi with no ambitions or concrete plans for his future. His girlfriend, Romila "Romi" Dutta, a focused and aspiring journalist, constantly urges him to find a meaningful direction in life. Following a casual suggestion from a friend, Karan decides to apply for the military and takes the Combined Defence Services Examination. To his own surprise and the deep disapproval of his wealthy parents, he clears the exam and is selected to train at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.
Karan's initial phase at the IMA is a total disaster. Completely unaccustomed to strict discipline and rigorous physical labor, he struggles to adapt and eventually deserts the academy under the cover of night to return home. His father openly expresses his disappointment, telling him to simply give up and join the family business, while a furious Romi breaks off their relationship due to his absolute lack of conviction and spine. Deeply stung by their reactions and realizing his own shortcomings, a determined Karan chooses to face his reality. He returns to the IMA, willingly accepts his severe punishment for desertion, and undergoes a massive transformation. Becoming a focused, highly disciplined cadet, he excels in all facets of his training, successfully graduates, and is commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Indian Army.
Karan is posted to the 3rd Battalion of the Punjab Regiment in Kargil, Ladakh, under the command of the strict yet inspiring Colonel Sunil Damle. During a brief home leave, Karan discovers from his close friend Ashu that Romi is about to be engaged to someone else. However, his leave is abruptly cut short when full-scale hostilities break out in the region. Returning to the front line, Karan is promoted to the rank of acting Captain. Colonel Damle briefs the officers on the gravity of the situation: Pakistani infiltrators have crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and occupied strategic, high-altitude mountain peaks on the Indian side. The battalion is tasked with securing Point 5179, a critical vantage point that directly dominates the army's primary supply route, National Highway 1D.
Because the northern and western faces of the mountain present near-impossible terrain, the battalion launches an initial assault from the eastern side. The first phase succeeds in clearing the enemy's advanced screening units, with Karan earning praise for his battlefield bravery and safely rescuing a wounded officer. Meanwhile, Romi arrives in the war zone as a frontline television correspondent. Encountering Karan after months apart, she is deeply moved by his maturity and realizes she is still in love with him.
Production
The film's production took place across Mumbai and several locations in Uttarakhand. The scenes depicting Kargil were shot in Ladakh. Some parts of the film centered around Hrithik Roshan's military training were shot at the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. Actual Indian Army officers also participated in the shooting of the film. Seeing both the actors and officers in the same getup, at times Preity Zinta would get confused separating the actual officers from the actors. Pankaj Tripathi, then a struggling actor, shot for the film at Ladakh with Roshan and the news went viral in Tripathi's village. However, Tripathi's role was cut during the editing, which he expressed disappointment on seeing.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. Shaan's "Main Aisa Kyun Hoon", picturized on Hrithik Roshan, was described as a laid-back, funky-hip hop track. The song "Agar Main Kahoon" was a love duet, picturized on Roshan and Preity Zinta. The trio used the harmonica for the track. The title track "Lakshya" was a techno-flavored patriotic song sung by Shankar Mahadevan, which is followed by "Kandhon Se Milte", another patriotic song with the vocals of Kunal Ganjawala and Vijay Prakash. "Kitni Baatein" was sung by Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam. There are two instrumentals, "Victory" and "Separation". The trumpet portion from "Victory" has been used as the background music for their logo by Excel Entertainment.
Reception
The soundtrack received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama in his review, said "Lakshya does have good music that is very urban and will appeal to the class audience. Going by the theme of the movie, the album is pretty balanced and has been composed with style that speaks of class." PlanetBollywood.com found the album to be "as good as Dil Chahta Hai". Subhash K. Jha described the album as "daringly unusual sound with a show-offy kind of innovativeness". Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com, however, remarked that, though the album was good, it was below expectations and "lacked punch". According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 11,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's thirteenth highest-selling.
Reception
Box office
Lakshya netted around Rs. 23 crore at the domestic box office. Lakshya grossed $5,859,242 worldwide including $753,600 from North American markets and $5,105,642 from other markets. In the U.S., it performed better, grossing $380,000 on 59 screens [approx. Rs. 1.75 crore] in its opening weekend with the per screen average being around $6,440.
Critical response
Lakshya was director Farhan Akhtar's second film, following the success of his first film, the cult classic Dil Chahta Hai (2001). However, despite much anticipation, it did not fare as well at the box-office.
Nevertheless, after repeated re-runs on TV over the years, Lakshya has been regarded as a cult film among an audience that argues it is Hrithik Roshan's best performance to date. Lakshya was also instrumental in motivating youth across India to join the Indian Army.