Shakti: The Power

Nandini lives in Canada with her husband Shekhar and their young son. After learning of unrest in his native village in India, Shekhar returns there with his family. Nandini soon discovers that Shekhar's father, Narsimha, is the head of a powerful feuding family.

When Shekhar is killed in the violence, Nandini decides to return to Canada with her son. Narsimha refuses to allow the child to leave, intending to raise him as the family's heir. Nandini attempts to escape from the household and is helped by Jai, a drifter who becomes involved in her flight.

• Karisma Kapoor as Nandini, Shekhar's wife
• Nana Patekar as Narasimha, Shekhar's father
• Sanjay Kapoor as Shekhar, Nandini's late husband
• Shah Rukh Khan as Jai Singh
• Jai Gidwani as Raja, Nandini and Shekhar's son
• Deepti Naval as Shekhar's mother
• Divya Dutta as Shekhar's sister
• Ritu Shivpuri as Shekhar's sister
• Rajashree Solanki as Shekhar's sister
• Prakash Raj as a sharpshooter
• Vijay Raaz as Beeja
• Tiku Talsania as Nandini's uncle
• Jaspal Bhatti as Nandini's uncle
• Anupam Shyam as Maharaj, Narasimha's half-brother
• Chandrakant Gokhale as Narasimha's father
• Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as a herself dancer in the song "Ishq Kameena" (special appearance)
• Mumaith Khan as a dancer in the song "Ishq Kameena"
• Prabhu Deva as a dancer in the song "Dumroo Baje Re" (special appearance)
• Ganesh Acharya as a dancer in the song "Dumroo Baja Re" (special appearance)

Casting

The film was produced by then-retired actress Sridevi (Sanjay Kapoor's sister-in-law) under the banner Sridevi Productions and was supposed to be her comeback film, but she had to find a replacement when she found out she was pregnant. She initially offered her role to Kajol, but she rejected it so Karisma Kapoor was signed instead.^[6] Fardeen Khan was the original choice for Sanjay Kapoor's role and the film was originally titled Vaapsi.^[7]

Filming

The film was shot in Rajasthan, with rural sequences filmed in and around Jaipur, Pushkar, and Jaisalmer. The climax airport scene was filmed at Jodhpur Airport. Early scenes depicting the couple’s life abroad were shot in Vancouver and Calgary, with Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Alberta, featured in one of the songs.^[8][9]

Summarize Fact Check

The soundtrack was composed by Ismail Darbar, with lyrics were written by Mehboob. One song "Ishq Kameena" was composed by Anu Malik with lyrics written by Sameer.

Critical response

Derek Elley of Variety wrote that "Strikingly lensed in the wild semi-deserts of Rajasthan, and anchored by a finely shaded performance from Nana Patekar as the patriarchal father-in-law, film swings between believable realism and Bollywood formulae to rocky results".^[10] Majorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle wrote that "the film is a gripping drama that is full of memorable faces, emotions, and conflicts between the old ways and the new".^[11]

Box office

Shakti: The Power grossed ₹13.82 crore (US$1.4 million) in India and $1.35 million (₹6.54 crore) in other countries, for a worldwide total of ₹20.36 crore (US$2.1 million), against its ₹10 crore (US$1.0 million) budget. It had a worldwide opening weekend of ₹7.33 crore (US$760,000), and grossed ₹11.26 crore (US$1.2 million) in its first week.^[1] It is the 13th-highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2002 worldwide.^[12]

India

It opened on 20 September 2002, across 285 screens, and earned ₹98 lakh (US$100,000) nett on its opening day. It grossed ₹2.82 crore (US$290,000) nett in its opening weekend, and had a first week of ₹4.62 crore (US$480,000) nett. The film earned a total of ₹8.47 crore (US$880,000) nett, and was declared "Flop" by Box Office India.^[1] It is the 20th-highest-grossing film of 2002 in India.^[13]

Overseas

It had an opening weekend of $565,000 (₹2.74 crore) and went on to gross $770,000 (₹3.73 crore) in its first week. The film earned a total of $1.35 million (₹6.54 crore) at the end of its theatrical run.^[1] Overseas, It is the 5th-highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2002.^[14]