Fanaa (2006 film)

Fanaa (transl. Destroyed) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film, directed by Kunal Kohli and produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The film stars Aamir Khan and Kajol, with Rishi Kapoor, Kirron Kher, Tabu and Sharat Saxena in supporting roles.

Khan plays the role of a tourist guide in New Delhi named Rehan Qadri, while Kajol plays a blind Kashmiri woman, Zooni Ali Beg. Both fall in love, but are separated by a terrorist attack that reportedly kills Rehan. It is later revealed that he was not killed, but is in fact a Kashmiri insurgent, and is the mastermind behind the attacks. Seven years later, his organization, known as the “IKF”, sends him on a mission in Kashmir, where he once again, in a strange twist of fate, meets Zooni. It was Khan’s first film as an anti-hero.

Fanaa was one of the most expensive Bollywood films during its time of release. The film’s title is derived from the Islamic Sufi term “fanaa”, meaning “destroyed” in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Hindi. The film was promoted with the tagline “Destroyed In Love…”. Khan and Kajol were romantically pairing for the first time with this film, but it marked their second collaboration after Ishq (1997), in which they were paired respectively opposite Juhi Chawla and Ajay Devgn. It also marked the comeback of Kajol, who was last seen in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham… (2001).

Fanaa was released on 26 May 2006. The film was banned in the state of Gujarat due to protests against Khan for his comments criticising the Gujarat government. Nevertheless, Fanaa received positive reviews from critics, with particular praise directed towards Kajol’s performance, and became a commercial success at the box office.[5][6][7]