Mickey Virus is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language Comedy thriller film, written and directed by Saurabh Varma.[2] It was produced by DAR Motion Pictures in association with Trilogic Digital Media Limited and Awesome Films Pvt. Ltd. The film stars Manish Paul, Elli AvrRam, Manish Choudhary, Puja Gupta, and Varun Badola in the lead roles.[3] The film, despite receiving positive reviews, was a flop at the box-office.[4][5]

Mickey Virus
Directed bySaurabh Varma
Screenplay bySaurabh Varma
Aaryaan Saxena
Story bySaurabh Varma
Elvin Raja
Produced byArun Rangachari
Vivek Rangachari
Shahnaab Alam
Murad Khetani
StarringManish Paul
Elli AvrRam
Manish Choudhary
Varun Badola
Puja Gupta
Nitesh Pandey
CinematographyAnshuman Mahaley
Edited byArchit D Rastogi, Finn George Modathara
Production
company
Release date
  • 25 October 2013 (2013-10-25)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget110 million (US$1.3 million)[1]

Plot

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When two hackers are murdered in Delhi, the Delhi Police suspect that the case revolves around hacking. They begin their search to find a computer hacker who can help them crack this case. The head of the police team, ACP Siddhanth, accompanied by Inspector Bhalla, stumbles across Mickey Arora, a lazy but smart hacker who runs a grocery store during the day and creates viruses for anti-virus companies at night, along with his friends, the tomboy Shalu "Chutney" Sharma, Manjot "Floppy" Gill, Palwinder "Pancho" Singh, and Professor, who assist him in all odd jobs.

ACP Siddhanth hires him to hack down the website of a group of cybercriminals known as the Bhram Gang. Meanwhile, Mickey falls in love with Kamayani, an employee of Excalibur Securities. One day in her office, Kamayani mistakenly gets transferred a large amount of money from a client's account, but, to avoid her being fired, Mickey hacks the company's website to reverse the transaction. The next morning, Micky realises that he has unknowingly stolen ₹1 billion from a Dubai-based don named Anwar Raja, and Kamayani has been murdered. Scared of being framed for both crimes, Mickey seeks help from his friends.

In his quest to search for the real culprit, Mickey traces down the ₹1 billion and finds out that ACP Siddhanth is the mastermind who forced Kamayani to bluff him. Mickey calls ACP and his friends to the parking lot of Nehru Place, where ACP tells him that his friends Floppy, Pancho, and Professor are the Bhram Gang admins and want to kill him for the money, as they did to the two hackers and Kamayani. Surrounded by the goons, Mickey records and telecasts their confession on YouTube. In the end, Inspector Bhalla, along with the police force, arrests ACP Siddhanth and the Bhram Gang. Mickey secretly takes one crore from the stolen ₹1 billion before handing it over to Inspector Bhalla. Credits roll to show a few deleted scenes and bloopers and plays a call recording of Anwar Raja, who orders to kill Mickey.

Cast

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Crew

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  • Written and Directed by: Saurabh Varma
  • Screenplay: Saurabh Varma
  • Script Consultant: Kuldeep Ruhil
  • Producers: Arun Rangachari and Vivek Rangachari
  • Co-Producers: Kamlesh Gori, Murad Khetani, Vishal Gurnani, Nailesh Mehta, Dharmesh Shah and Raj Deshpande
  • Associate Producers: Pradeep Nimani and Murli Chhatwani
  • Title Song: Faizan – Agnel
  • Director of Photography: Anshuman Mahalay
  • Executive Producer: Meraj Shaikh
  • Creative Producer: Nikhil Bhat
  • Editor: Archit D. Rastogi
  • Audiography: Subash Sahoo
  • Assistant Director: Raghav Gupta

Production

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The film was shot in New Delhi, including in office complex of Nehru Place.[7] Several Bollywood biggies like Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Karan Johar were featured in a promotional video of Mickey Virus.[8] The movie has come under the scanner of Governmental Agencies as it displays techniques of high-profile robbery which might spur reel to real life robbery incidents.[9] Elli Avram is also one of the contestants of Bigg Boss 7.[10] She would be inside the House of Bigg Boss, cut off from the outside world at the time of Movie Release, making it a first of its kind Bollywood Debut.[11][12][13] Mickey Virus is made on a budget of Rs. 110 million, which includes publicity and advertising, and it was released in 1,200 screens in India.[14] Chances are that the film will be remade in Tamil and Telugu.[15]

Soundtrack

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Mickey Virus
Soundtrack album by
Faizan Hussain – Agnel Roman
Released3 October 2013[16]
GenreSoundtrack
Length24:30
LabelT-Series
DAR Motion Pictures
Faizan Hussain – Agnel Roman chronology
Paathshaala
(2010)
Mickey Virus
(2013)
Faizan Hussain – Agnel Roman chronology
Ragini MMS
(2011)
Mickey Virus
(2013)

The Soundtrack was released on 3 October 2013 on the digital music platform iTunes. The album consists of six tracks and the only one of them by Faizan Hussain & Agnel Roman, Manoj Yadav and Arun Kumar writing the lyrics.[6][16]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Pyaar China Ka Maal Hai"  Manish Paul3:14
2."Tose Naina"  Arijit Singh4:24
3."Sajna Ve Sajna Ve"Manoj Yadav Altamash Faridi & Shadab Faridi3:59
4."Aankhon Hi Aankhon Ne (Duet Version)"  Mohit Chauhan & Palak Muchhal4:40
5."Mickey Virus"Arun KumarFaizan Hussain & Agnel RomanNikhil Paul George, Siddhant Sharma & Agnel Roman3:50
6."Aankhon Hi Aankhon Ne (Female Version)"  Palak Muchhal4:23
Total length:24:30

Marketing

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Mickey Virus was promoted by Manish Paul in Bigg Boss on Colors. A promotional clip of Mickey Virus featured Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Farah Khan, Karan Johar, Remo D'souza, Kapil Sharma, either dishing out funny one-liners or abusing Mickey.[17][18] Lauren Gottlieb, Drashti Dhami, Jeetendra and Manish's TV friends Vahbbiz Dorabjee, Vivian Dsena attended the special screening of Mickey Virus.[19][20]

Critical reception

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Mickey Virus received positive to mixed reviews.[4][21] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3 out of 5 stars, finding the thriller to be engaging for younger viewers.[22] Madhureeta Mukherjee of Times of India gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[23] Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars.[24] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing the length and engagement.[25] Faheem Ruhani of India Today gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[26] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars.[27] Tushar Joshi of DNA gave it 2.5 stars.[28] Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave it 2 stars.[29] Sanjukta sharma of Livemint did not give a rating, but found the film to have a weak plot and premise.[30] Anupama Chopra gave it 2 stars.[31] Zee News gave it 3.5 stars.[32] Nikhil Arora of DesiMartini gave it 2 stars.[33]

Box office

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Mickey Virus got a 15–20% opening and collected around 16.5 million (US$200,000) nett on first day.[34] It collected 71.5 million (US$860,000) nett in its first week and it was declared flop in box office India.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Box office offers potpourri of small films this Friday | NDTV Movies.com". Movies.ndtv.com. 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Manish Paul's movie debut 'Mickey Virus' begins shoot". Zee News.
  3. ^ "Manish Paul and Barun Sobti take the big leap from TV to films – Entertainment – DNA". Daily News and Analysis. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Movie review: Mickey Virus is for Manish Paul fans". Hindustan Times. 27 December 1965. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  5. ^ Surinder (15 March 1978). "Mickey Virus a dream come true for Manish Paul – |". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Mickey Virus". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  7. ^ "I shot my film near my father's office: Manish Paul". The Times of India. 23 July 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit together promote Mickey Virus". Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Mickey Virus Movie comes under Government Scanner". Biharprabha News. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Why Elli Avram chose reality show over film promotion". The Times of India. 17 October 2013. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Elli Avram to debut in Bollywood while staying in House of Bigg Boss". Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Bollywood movie Mickey Virus shoot in Delhi". The Times of India. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  13. ^ "Manish Paul turns computer hacker for Mickey Virus | NDTV Movies.com". Movies.ndtv.com. 30 December 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  14. ^ Mickey Virus Dull Start Boss Goes Down. boxofficeindia.com. 26 October 2013
  15. ^ "Box office offers potpourri of small films this weekend : Bollywood, News – India Today". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Mickey Virus (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor to promote Mickey Virus | NDTV Movies.com". Movies.ndtv.com. 17 September 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  18. ^ "Manish Paul, Elli Avram's film gets B-Town support". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  19. ^ "PHOTOS: Lauren, Drashti Dhami watch Manish Paul's 'Mickey Virus' Photo Gallery, Picture News Gallery". The Indian Express. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  20. ^ "'Mickey Virus' Special Screening: Lauren Gottlieb, Jeetendra, Dhristi and Others Attend Event [PHOTOS] – International Business Times". Ibtimes.co.in. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  21. ^ Hemmady, Jaidev. "Mickey Virus – Movie Review". MovieTalkies. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
  22. ^ "Mickey Virus (2013) | Hindi Movie Critic Review By Taran Adarsh". Bollywood Hungama. 28 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  23. ^ "Mickey Virus movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India". The Times of India. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  24. ^ Mohar Basu. "Mickey Virus Movie Review | Manish Paul, Elli Avram". Koimoi.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  25. ^ "'Mickey Virus' review: It's a concept in search of a plot". Ibnlive.in.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  26. ^ "Movie review: Mickey Virus : Reviews, News – India Today". India Today. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  27. ^ "Mickey Virus movie review | NDTV Movies.com". Movies.ndtv.com. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  28. ^ "Film review: Mickey Virus loses direction due to a weak script – Entertainment – DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 25 October 2013.
  29. ^ Shubhra Gupta (25 October 2013). "Movie Review: 'Mickey Virus'". The Indian Express.
  30. ^ "Film Review | Mickey Virus". Livemint. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  31. ^ "Movie review: Mickey Virus by Anupama Chopra" Archived 27 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Hindustan Times. 27 October 2013
  32. ^ "`Mickey Virus` review: Cool, crisp and quirky". Zee News.
  33. ^ Nikhil Arora (25 October 2013). "Mickey Virus Review – By Nikhil Arora | MJ Film Review – Desimartini.com". Desimartini.
  34. ^ "MICKEY VIRUS Collects 1.65 cr Nett On Friday". Box Office Capsule. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  35. ^ "MICKEY VIRUS Finished Below Average Week one". Box Office Capsule. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
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