Armaan () is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language medical drama film that was co-written and directed by Honey Irani. Starring the ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Gracy Singh, and Randhir Kapoor, the film is set in a hospital and follows the travails of its principal, Dr.Akash (Anil Kapoor), to sustain the institution financially. Meanwhile, a mentally unstable woman named Sonia (Zinta) comes into his life and offers to help by donating to the hospital on the condition that Akash marries her.
Irani wrote the story of Armaan and also wrote the screenplay with Javed Akhtar. Principal photography (handled by Ravi Varman) took place in India and Africa, and Shirish Kunder edited the film. It was released on 16 May 2003 and declared a commercial failure, only earning against a budget. Although the film garnered mixed reviews, critics praised Irani's direction and the actors' performances, particularly those of Bachchan and Zinta. Zinta received nominations for her performance as the film's antagonist at the Filmfare Awards, the Producers Guild Film Awards, and the Screen Awards.
Plot
In a hospital founded by Dr. Siddharth Sinha, he and his adopted son, Akash, work as doctors. Siddharth wishes to run a state-of-the-art hospital, but his profession requires him to dedicate his time to his patients. Soon, a new doctor, Dr. Neha Mathur, joins the hospital and falls for Akash. However, the arrival of Sonia Kapoor later changes the relationship between Akash and Neha. Sonia is a jealous, spoilt woman who is used to having things her way, and it is not long before she wants Akash for herself. She decides that since Akash is the man for her, she can win his love with a financial agreement. The agreement states that once Akash marries Sonia, her father Gulshan Kapoor will help finance the hospital.
Siddharth dies in an attempt to bring an injured child to the hospital after suffering a heart attack. His last wish is for the hospital to be properly completed. Akash, now burdened with the increasing debts to purchase equipment for the hospital, cannot arrange for further funds. With a broken heart, he agrees to marry Sonia to set up the hospital, thus fulfilling his father's final wish. Neha understands his dilemma and agrees to break up with Akash, but because of her dedication and professionalism, she offers to continue working in the same hospital.
After the marriage, Sonia is revealed to be highly manipulative, consistently jealous and mistrustful, and obsessively controlling towards Akash. She begins to suspect that Akash is having an affair with Neha, and starts annoying both of them. She cannot stand Neha, who is still working at the hospital, and keeps coming up with all kinds of excuses to get her out. She is involved in a serious accident and has severe brain damage requiring Akash to operate on her. For a moment, he is in a dilemma—curing Sonia would mean again having to face the problems she causes. However, he decides to fulfill his duty as a doctor and Sonia later recovers. She learns that Akash operated on her, despite her behaviour. Sonia asks for Akash's forgiveness and divorces him, allowing him to marry and settle down with Neha.
Cast
Credits adapted from Box Office India: Amitabh Bachchan as Dr. Siddharth Sinha Anil Kapoor as Dr. Akash Sinha Preity Zinta as Sonia Sinha Gracy Singh as Dr. Neha Mathur Randhir Kapoor as Gulshan Kapoor Aamir Bashir as Dr. Sanjay
Production
In April 2002, the entertainment website Rediff.com reported that Honey Irani would make her debut as the director of a then-untitled film. Having written stories and screenplays for many films, she said she had long aspired for a project she could direct. She wanted to feel how directors executed their ideas by themselves with no intervention from others. She spoke of her experiment with her first self-directed film: "It is a great feeling to create a film from the story you have written. It is all about words taking shape in the form of visuals. I just love it ... it is wonderful. I am enjoying it immensely." According to Irani, she had planned to work on a medical drama—which was later titled Armaan ()—to explore peoples' innermost desires and relationships. Iran wrote the screenplay with her ex-husband and then-close friend Javed Akhtar, who also wrote the film's dialogues and lyrics, and completed it later that year in September.