Awarapan () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action drama film directed by Mohit Suri and written by Shagufta Rafique, from a story by Mahesh Bhatt and produced by Mukesh Bhatt. It stars Emraan Hashmi, Shriya Saran, Mrinalini Sharma, and Ashutosh Rana. In the film, gangster Shivam Pandit (Hashmi) is ordered by his boss Bharat Malik (Rana) to watch over Reema (Sharma), Malik's secret Pakistani mistress. It was flop at the time of its release but over the years the film has attained a cult status, primarily due to Hashmi's performance.
An uncredited remake of the South Korean film A Bittersweet Life, Awarapan draws from neo-noir and action thriller tropes.
Awarapan was theatrically released in India and worldwide on 29 June 2007. Despite receiving positive reviews from critics, it was a commercial failure, but eventually came to be regarded as one of Hashmi's best works. The film was praised for the cast performance (especially Hashmi's performance), musical scores, songs, action sequences, plot and dialogues. But the film got less runtime due to excessive and brutal violence in the film.
Plot
Shivam is a heartbroken and introvert atheist, gangster, and right-hand man of Bharat Malik, a criminal gangster who is also a businessman who runs a chain of hotels in Hong Kong. Shivam is given the responsibility of one of these hotels, which he bears capably and well, making it much more successful than Malik's other hotels. Malik holds Shivam in the highest esteem due to Shivam's loyalty, reliability, and business acumen, and treats him like an adored son whom he entrusts with almost everything - more so than his biological son Ronnie. This is the cause of much jealousy on Ronnie's part against Shivam, but due to Malik's outspoken support for Shivam, Ronnie does not dare to openly oppose him. Shivam has a very close childhood friend, Kabir, who assists him with everything. Meanwhile, Malik's brother Rajan and Rajan's spoilt son Munna nurture a grudge against Shivam because of Shivam's repeated conflicts with Munna.
One day, Malik asks Shivam to keep an eye on his young mistress Reema, whom he suspects of having an affair with someone else, while he is away on a brief business trip. Reema is a young Pakistani girl, devout Muslim, and victim of sex trafficking, whom Malik had "bought" in the Bangkok flesh market. If Reema is found cheating on Malik, then Shivam has to inform him immediately.
In Shivam's interactions with Reema, he recalls his lost love, Aliyah, in a series of flashbacks. Aliyah was a devout Muslim whom Shivam had met by chance in the marketplace one day. The duo eventually fell in love, but when her father saw them together, he wrathfully confronted them, reprimanding Aliyah physically. He also exposed Shivam's gangster background to a shocked Aliyah, leading to Shivam's instantly offering her father his gun, saying that he was willing to let go of everything, start anew, and legitimately provide for Aliyah if he is allowed to be with her. Aliyah's father recovers from his initial surprise quickly and shoots at Shivam with the gun, who ducks to avoid the bullet. The bullet hits Aliyah instead, killing her and temporarily driving Shivam over the edge. A feeling of guilt and sorrow at Aliyah having died because he tried to save his own life remains with Shivam hereafter. Aliyah's father instantly commits suicide when he realizes what he has done.
Shivam discovers one night that Reema has a secret boyfriend named Bilal, who convinces her to run away with him back to Pakistan. Shivam informs Malik, who orders Reema's elimination. However, when he confronts the couple to eliminate them, she dares him to shoot her, claiming that freedom is her right, requesting mercy "for God's sake". Shivam is reminded of Aliyah's religious mannerisms, which bear a strong resemblance to Reema's, and is unable to shoot her, leaving her alive. Malik tries to reach Shivam, who severs contact with the former, leading to Malik finding out about his disobedience.