Kaminey (English: Scoundrels) is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and featuring Shahid Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and Amol Gupte in the lead roles. Set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld, Kaminey follows a rivalry between a pair of twins, one with a lisp and the other with a stutter, over the course of a single day.
Bhardwaj co-wrote the screenplay with Sabrina Dhawan, Abhishek Chaubey, and Supratik Sen. Bhardwaj bought the original script for US$4,000 from Kenyan writer Cajetan Boy—whom he had mentored at a scriptwriting workshop in Uganda. Kaminey was released on 14 August 2009 and became a box-office success worldwide, grossing over ₹710 million (US$10 million) against a production and marketing budget of ₹350 million (US$4.9 million). The film’s soundtrack album also became a commercial success, with the song “Dhan Te Nan” topping the charts on various platforms.
Kaminey received widespread critical acclaim, with several critics and media publications placing it at number one on their listings of “Best film of the year”. Since its release, the film has attained cult status. It received several awards and nominations at ceremonies across India. At the 55th Filmfare Awards, it received ten nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor; it won the award for Best Special Effects. At the 57th National Film Awards, Kaminey won two awards — Best Audiography for Subash Sahoo and Special Jury Award for its editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.
Plot
Charlie and Guddu are twins who were raised in Mumbai. Charlie lisps while Guddu stutters. Charlie likes to take shortcuts to fulfill his dream of becoming a bookmaker at the racecourse where he works for three criminal brothers who fix races. He is closer to the youngest brother Mikhail than to Guddu, to whom he is hostile. A jockey deceives Charlie when he bets ₹100,000 (US$1,400) on a horse during a fixed race, losing all of his savings. Seeking revenge, Charlie locates the jockey in an upmarket city hotel.
At the same hotel, policemen Lobo and Lele kill three drug dealers and collect a guitar case containing cocaine, which they must deliver to drug lord Tashi. Charlie and his men invade the jockey’s hotel room and take all his possessions. The ensuing chase leads to the hotel car park where Lobo and Lele are placing the guitar case in their van. Charlie and his men seize the van to escape from the jockey’s men and realise they have stolen a police vehicle, whilst also discovering the cocaine, which Charlie steals to sell. The policemen, upon returning, discover that the cocaine is missing and set out to find Charlie.
Meanwhile, Guddu’s lover Sweety, sister of the politician Sunil Bhope, reveals that she is pregnant with Guddu’s child and expresses her wish to marry Guddu. They marry later that night. Bhope hears about his sister’s actions and sends his men to apprehend the lovers. Bhope’s men gatecrash Guddu’s wedding and beat him, then realise that he is a migrant from Uttar Pradesh. This enrages Bhope, who orders his men to kill Guddu and return Sweety to his house so he can arrange a marriage for her. Sweety fights off her brother’s henchmen and escapes with Guddu.
Charlie tells Mikhail about the cocaine, who is delighted. When Charlie returns to retrieve the case, Bhope and his men are waiting inside the van. One of Bhope’s men recognises Guddu as Charlie’s twin and Bhope demands that Charlie reveal Guddu’s whereabouts. An inebriated Mikhail interrupts their conversation and is killed by Bhope.
On the way to the airport, Guddu realises that Sweety has faked her stutter. At a petrol station, Lobo and Lele notice the pair. Mistaking Guddu for Charlie, they arrest him. They assault Guddu, refusing to believe that he is Charlie’s twin brother until Guddu’s mobile phone rings; the caller is revealed to be Bhope. Lobo and Lele agree to exchange Charlie for Guddu and Sweety on a train. The policemen take Guddu and Sweety to Bhope’s house, where Bhope reveals that a local builder will pay him ₹50 million (US$700,000) to marry Sweety to the builder’s son. Guddu bargains with Bhope—if he retrieves the cocaine-filled guitar case for Bhope, he will get Sweety. Bhope sends his henchmen with Guddu to retrieve the guitar case from Charlie’s house.
The policemen assault Charlie, who refuses to negotiate, realising that the policemen are in as much trouble as himself. Charlie outwits the policemen, takes them hostage and negotiates with Tashi to exchange the guitar case for ₹1 million (US$14,000). Charlie sends the policemen to deliver the details to Tashi and returns to his house to retrieve the cocaine. At Charlie’s house, Guddu arrives with Bhope’s men. Sweety hears about Bhope’s plans to kill Guddu and shoots at the members of her household. Guddu finds the case and fights Charlie, who lets Guddu go. Guddu takes the cocaine to the police, who bug him. Guddu arrives at Bhope’s house the same time as Tashi and his gang, with Charlie as their hostage. Bhope and Tashi negotiate to trade the drugs, but Charlie snatches the guitar case and threatens to destroy it if Guddu and Sweety are not released. The lovers escape as the police arrive, leading to a shooting spree in which the cocaine is destroyed. Charlie’s bosses arrive to avenge Mikhail’s death but are killed along with Bhope, Tashi and their henchmen. Charlie is shot and wounded.
Sweety gives birth to Guddu’s twins and Charlie opens a bookmaking counter at the racecourse. Charlie is engaged to Sophia, a woman earlier featured in his dream.
Cast
Shahid Kapoor as Charlie and Guddu Sharma
Priyanka Chopra as Sweety Shekhar Bhope
Amole Gupte as Sunil Shekhar Bhope (Bhope Bhau)
Deb Mukherjee as Mujeeb
Shiv Kumar Subramaniam as Lobo
Chandan Roy Sanyal as Mikhail
Shashank Shende
Tenzing Nima as Tashi
Hrishikesh Joshi as Lele
Rajatava Dutta as Shumon
Harish Khanna as Afghani
Carlos Paca as Cajetan
Eric Santos as Ragos
Vishal Bhonsle as Steve
Satyajit Sharma as Francis
Adil Hussain as Flight Purser
Aakash Dahiya
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