It is the first collaboration between Khan and Chowdhury.[6] The film is marked Khan's 250th film.[7]Toofan is the highest grossing Bangladeshi film of all time, the most widely released Bangladeshi movie of all time globally, having been released in nearly twenty countries, as well as the first and only Bangladeshi movie to gross over 50 crore taka.[1][8]
Plot
In 1994, aspiring actor Shanto goes to FDC looking for a role in a movie but is dismissed. On the set, costume designer Julie mistakes Shanto for a background dancer and sends him to the dance floor. The movie's lead actor, Raj, becomes furious when he sees Shanto, who is taller and more handsome than him, and demands that the director remove Shanto from the set. Feeling guilty, Julie manages to get Shanto some minor roles as a background fighter.
Later, Raj gets into an altercation with some local goons. Julie tries to calm the situation, but the goons turn on her. Shanto steps in and fights them off, impressing the film’s director, Rocky. Rocky sees potential in Shanto as a hero but can only secure him a role as a secondary villain in an upcoming film. The leading actress in the movie, Suchona, also takes notice. However, during the premiere, Shanto is humiliated when his scenes are cut, embarrassing him in front of his neighborhood. Despondent, he contemplates suicide, only to be taken hostage by Toofan’s men.
It’s revealed that Suchona had removed Shanto's scenes because of his resemblance to Toofan, a top terrorist and mafia kingpin, who also happens to be her lover. Toofan wants Shanto to impersonate him for a "movie." Shanto pleads for two months to learn how to emulate Toofan. Toofan's advisor and mentor, Jalaluddin, briefs Shanto on Toofan's history:
In 1961, in Alokdiya village, Toofan, born Galib Bin Gani, loses his mother during childbirth. In 1974, his father, Gani Miah, stands up against a local land raider named Shehnawaz, threatening legal action. In retaliation, Shehnawaz kills Gani. A vengeful Galib decapitates Shehnawaz and is arrested. A local gangster, Bashir, sees potential in Galib and bribes the police to release him, taking Galib under his wing and giving him the nickname "Toofan," though he treats him like a servant.
Years later, Toofan kills Bashir during a “friendly” wrestling match and seizes control of his gang. He then sets his sights on expanding his criminal empire to the capital, Dhaka. At the same time, rival gangster Talan has similar ambitions. Toofan allies with Talan, pretending to be his right-hand man, only to poison him at their first meeting.
In 1990, Toofan’s right-hand man, Jamshed, arranges a meeting with the leaders of the opposition party at a social gathering before the upcoming elections. However, they insult him, dismissing him as a village thug. Enraged, Toofan kills them all with a minigun, gaining nationwide notoriety. He later meets with a minor political faction, the "Janata Party," funding them while his men eliminate top political figures to remove competition. The Janata Party wins the election, securing the most seats.
At a club party, Toofan becomes infatuated with lead dancer Suchona. When a man tries to dance with her, Toofan shoots him dead. The victim, Sohan Choudhary, was a rising star of the 1990s, sparking a media scandal. Toofan forces Home Minister Ariffin to release a statement denying his existence. Growing reckless, Toofan expands his influence into various sectors, making him uncontrollable.
In the present, Shanto successfully imitates Toofan. To test him, Toofan sends Shanto to his bedroom to see if Suchona can tell the difference, but she fails to notice. Meanwhile, the president authorizes Home Minister Ariffin to eliminate Toofan. Ariffin assigns Assistant Commissioner Akram and his team to track down Toofan. Akram, who has detailed information on Toofan, finds Jalaluddin and severely injures him. Upon hearing the news, Toofan rescues Jalaluddin but becomes furious when he learns that Jalal had provided Akram with critical evidence and was set to testify against him, prompting Toofan to kill him.
Akram arrests many of Toofan’s men, including Jamshed, and interrogates Suchona. The police issue a wanted poster of Toofan. Toofan, fearing capture, forces Suchona to call Akram and give him Shanto’s address as his own while he escapes to Dubai. However, wanting to escape Toofan’s control, Suchona gives Akram the true location of Toofan’s car, leading Akram to kill Toofan, making national headlines.
Three days later, Akram questions why Suchona betrayed Toofan. She reveals that during Shanto’s test, she accidentally informed him that Toofan only intended to use him as a body double, which led Shanto to beg for his life. Fearing Toofan's violent nature, she decided to act. Shanto eventually becomes a rising star.
In the pre-credit scene, it’s revealed that Akram did not actually kill Toofan, who is recovering in a hospital.
Adnan Adib Khan as "Hero" Raj, a film actor with a superiority complex
Manav Sachdev as Sohan Choudhary, a famous film actor of the 1990s.
Arijit Bhusan Bagchi as a member of the Janata Party
Production
Pre-production
In October 2022, after wrapped up the filming of Shakib Khan's Leader: Amie Bangladesh, director Raihan Rafi announced the making of a film titled Premik with Shakib Khan. The director then confirmed that the film's shooting would begin in December that year.[9][10] Almost a year later in September 2023, Channel i confirmed that the film will not be produced due to unspecified reason. The newspaper also confirms that Chorki, Alpha-I and Shree Venkatesh Films is planned co-produced a film jointly, slated for release on Eid al-Adha 2024.[11][12] Initially it was reported in the media that Khan will be acting in a film titled Avineta directed by Raihan Rafi, later Channel i confirmed that the films is not titled Avineta but Toofan.[13] Then on December 11, 2023, through a press conference in Dhaka, production companies Chorki, Alpha-i and SVF officially announced the name of the film as Toofan and Shakib Khan as the lead actor under the direction of Raihan Rafi, which is their first collaboration.[14][15]
The pre-production work of the film began in the first week of January 2024. The film's director Raihan Rafi went to Chennai, India to select the shooting location in the same month.[16] On April 13, 2024, Shakib Khan went to India to participate in the shooting of the film.[17][18]
Development
The construction of the set for the shooting of the film at Ramoji Film City began in the first week of January, where a total of 4 huge sets will be constructed with 100 people working daily. The director confirmed with Kaler Kantho that it would take around two months to make the 4 shooting sets.[19] Rafi confirmed that the sets of this film were built by the same technician who built the sets of the South Indian film franchise Baahubali. A big budget of the film was spent on the set construction.[20] It was reported that Bangladesh of the nineties will be highlighted in those sets. Cars, trains and even roads of the 90s can be seen in the film. Three major cities of the nineties of the country will be brought up in the film along with various events that happened there.[21][22]
Casting
Masuma Rahman Nabila (left) and Mimi Chakraborty (right) were signed for the female lead roles, pairing opposite Shakib Khan for the first time.
Misha Sawdagor (L) will play the local villain in the film, while Chanchal Chowdhury (R) will make a cameo appearance in the same role.
Initially, Nusraat Faria was rumored to be the lead actress of the film. Later on Meril Cafe Live of Prothom Alo, she confirmed that she is not in the film.[23] Later in February 2024, Samakal reported that alongside Indian actress Mimi Chakraborty, as well as Madhumita Sarcar's name was also rumored to be the female lead. However, the producer of the film denied it at the time.[24] The film's production company Alpha-i Studios Ltd., SVF and Chorki revealed in a press release that the two actresses of the film is Mimi Chakraborty and Masuma Rahman Nabila. It is reported that both of them will be playing as the lead female roles, both of them will perform opposite Khan for the first time.[25][26][27][28] There is another rumor that Indian actor Jisshu Sengupta will play the villainous character in the film,[29][30][31] later, The Daily Star confirmed that he will be played as lead villain in the film.[32] According to a report of Anandabazar Patrika, initially Bangladeshi actor Afran Nisho was reportedly offered the role of the villain in the film. But as he did not agree to do play the role, the makers later offered Sengupta.[33][34] In late April 2024 Samakal reported that, it was rumored that Chanchal Chowdhury would be playing a guest role as the villain in the film.[35] Later the same week, Chorki confirmed in a press release that Chanchal Chowdhury will play a special role in the film,[36][37][38] which will be the first collaboration between Khan and Chowdhury.[39] At the same time, prominent Bangladeshi actor Fazlur Rahman Babu was also signed for the film, which he confirmed to Jugantor.[40]United News of Bangladesh also reported that Shahiduzzaman Selim, Gazi Rakayet, AK Azad Setu and Hasnat Ripon will cast some important characters in the film.[41]
Characterization
Shakib Khan played the role of a Bangladeshi gangster of nineties in the film.[42][43]
Filming
Initially, the film was supposed to begin filming in India from March 20, 2024, which confirmed by The Daily Star.[44] Subsequently, the principal photography of the film was commenced on April 15, 2024, in India.[45][46][47][48] The films antagonist Chanchal Chowdhury went to India to participate in the filming on April 25. On the same day he participated in the filming. As of April 28, both Shakib Khan and Chowdhury have shot several scenes together.[49][50] After the release of the trailer teaser, the director told Samakal that the majority of the film's shooting has already been completed.[51] The film was wrapped up on May 26, 2024, with a 41-days[b] filming in India. The protagonist also returned to country after the complete of filming as well as his dubbing, on the same day.[54][55]
Themes and influences
The plot of Toofan revolves around an underworld mafia in the nineties.[56] According to director Raihan Rafi, the story is inspired by the life of a gangster in 1990s Bangladesh, promising a brutal action film.[57] He stated that such a film has never been made in Bangladesh, with Khan taking on the role of a gangster.[42]
Marketing
The announcement poster of the film was released through a press conference on December 11, 2023.[58] 5 pre-production miniature stills were revealed on January 9, 2024, with one of the stills used the poster of renowned Bangladeshi actor Salman Shah's Moha Milon.[59] The first glimpse of the film was revealed on March 27, 2024, coinciding with Shakib Khan's 45th birthday. The promotional image portrayed Shakib Khan seated in an armchair, smoking a cigarette, with a Kalashnikov rifle resting against the chair.[60][61] A 1 minutes 21-seconds teaser trailer, titled "Toofani Tease" was released on May 7, 2024,[62][63] which received mostly positive response from the audience and critics, with a wide criticism for plagiarism from Indian films KGF and Animal (2024).[64][65][66] It crossed over 10 million views in just 24 hours across social media, which is a milestone in the history of Bengali films, which also considered as one of the best teaser of Khan's career.[67][68][69] The first official poster of the film, titled "Toofani Poster", was unveiled four days after the release of the official teaser on April 11.[70] Four fan-made posters went viral across social media, which were praised by the film's director.[71]
The film's first track, "Laage Ura Dhura," was released on May 28, 2024, coinciding with the silver jubilee of Shakib Khan's career.[73][74] The chorus tune of the song is adapted from Matal Razzak Dewan's song "Morar Kokiley," written by Sharif Uddin. The rest of the lyrics were written by Russell Mahmud and Sharif Uddin, with the tune and music arrangement by Pritom Hasan.[75] The song is sung by Pritom Hasan and Debosree Antara, and was included in the film to fit the 1990s timeline. Pritom Hasan and director Raihan Rafi made cameo appearances in the song.[76]
The film was released on 17 June for the occasion of Eid al-Adha 2024.[77] On 17 June 2024, the movie was released in 129 theaters on Holiday Eid al-Adha, clashing with Rashid Palash's Moyurakkhi, Mostafizur Rahman Manik's Dark World, Sumon Dhar's Agontuk and Mohammad Iqbal's Revenge.[78]
Reception
Critical response
Box office
According to a report of Channel I and Independent Television it was revealed that in the first ten days of the film's release, the film grossed ৳25 crore (US$2.1 million).[8][79] The film's total collection is ৳56 crore (US$4.8 million).[80]
Sequel
Director Raihan Rafi has confirmed that "Toofan 2" is in development and is expected to be released on Eid-Ul-Fitr 2025.[81]
Controversies
After the announcement poster of the film was revealed, it was faced wide criticism for copying the American film John Wick: Chapter 2, which is very similar to John Wick: Chapter 2 film poster.[82][83][84] Just as Keanu Reeves is seen in the poster of John Wick: Chapter 2, Shakib Khan also seen in the poster of Toofan.[85][86][87]
Upon the release of its teaser, the film faced accusations of copying looks from Ranbir Kapoor's film Animal and Yash's look from KGF Additionally, there were rumors that the story of Toofan was also copied from KGF. These claims were debunked by both the director and producer.[88][89]
The Bangladesh Film Censor Board has accused the film's production company of showing the teaser "Toofani Tease" in theaters without any censor clearance.[90][91][92] The Bangladesh Film Censor Board alleges that the film Toofan is proceeding without adherence to regulations.[93]