Race (2008 film)

Race is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir action crime film directed by Abbas–Mustan and written by Kiran Kotrial and Shiraz Ahmed. Produced by Kumar S. Taurani and Ramesh S. Taurani under Tips Industries, the film stars Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Katrina Kaif, and Sameera Reddy. Set primarily in Durban, South Africa, the story revolves around two stepbrothers entangled in a complex plot of betrayal, manipulation, and ambition within the horse racing industry. It spawned the Race franchise.

It was loosely inspired by the 1998 American thriller/comedy Goodbye Lover.^[2] Apart from the basic plot, notable similarities were observed in several supporting characters as well. Actors Saif Ali Khan and Bipasha Basu later acknowledged the resemblance to the Hollywood film. Basu subsequently worked with Goodbye Lover’s director Roland Joffé in The Lovers (2013), and he reportedly expressed frustration when she discussed Race with him.^[3]

Principal photography took place across locations in Durban, Dubai, and Goa, with cinematography handled by Ravi Yadav. The soundtrack, composed by Pritam with lyrics by Sameer, achieved significant commercial success and contributed to the film’s popularity.

Race was released theatrically in India on 21 March 2008 by UTV Motion Pictures. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, who praised its screenplay, direction, performances, and music. The film emerged as a major commercial success, grossing approximately ₹103 crore (US$12 million) worldwide, and was the fifth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008.^[1][4]

At the 54th Filmfare Awards, Race received 2 nominations – Best Music Director (Pritam) and Best Screenplay (Shiraz Ahmed). The film also received 9 nominations at the 10th IIFA Awards, including Best Film, Best Actress (Basu), and Best Performance in a Comic Role (Pritam), and won 2 awards including Best Performance in a Negative Role (Khanna). It later spawned two follow-ups: Race 2 (2013) and Race 3 (2018), the latter serving as a reboot.^[5]

Inspector Robert D’Costa "RD" narrates the story of four individuals. Ranvir "Ronny" Singh, a powerful businessman in Durban, operates a horse racing business named Stallions and is known for fixing races using thoroughbred horses. His younger brother, Rajiv Singh, is an alcoholic and uninvolved in the business. Ronny is in a relationship with Sonia Martin, a rising model, while his assistant Sophia Sharma is secretly in love with him. Ronny also has an ongoing rivalry with Kabir Ahuja, a fellow race fixer.

A car accident planned for 7 October is intended to kill Ronny, but he survives. He later kills a jockey bribed by Kabir and prevents a hostile takeover of his company. Rajiv admits his feelings for Sonia and pledges to quit drinking. Ronny ends his relationship with Sonia, allowing Rajiv to date her. Eventually, Rajiv discloses that he knows about Sonia’s past and plans to use her to kill Ronny. Their father had insured both brothers heavily, and Rajiv intends to collect $100 million by orchestrating Ronny’s death. Sonia agrees to assist in exchange for $20 million.

Rajiv and Sonia stage a marriage. As planned, Sonia seduces Ronny, who admits he still loves her. Rajiv stages a suicide attempt, intending Sonia to push Ronny off a building. However, Ronny is aware of their plan—Sonia has been updating him all along. Together, they conspire to eliminate Rajiv. In a sudden betrayal, Sonia pushes Ronny instead, claiming love but prioritizing money.

As RD investigates, Sophia reveals she was married to Ronny, making her the legal heir to the insurance claim. Sonia is shocked. It is then revealed that Sophia is Rajiv’s secret accomplice. Their plan is to eliminate Sonia after receiving the money. RD uncovers that Sophia faked the marriage and manipulated Ronny into signing the papers. He agrees to stay silent in exchange for $25 million.

Rajiv hires the same hitman who earlier attempted to kill Ronny, revealing he orchestrated the original accident. Ronny reappears, rescues Sonia, and kills the hitman. He confronts Rajiv and Sophia, explaining that he overheard their conversation with the assassin. He has been pretending to go along with their plan to collect both insurance claims—his own and Rajiv’s.

Ronny challenges Rajiv to a final car race. Sonia and Ronny arrive in a yellow Toyota Supra; Rajiv and Sophia in a blue Nissan Skyline. Rajiv switches cars, knowing he had tampered with the Skyline’s brakes. During the race, Ronny tells Rajiv that a bomb is planted in his car and will explode if he slows down. The race ends with the Supra crashing and killing Rajiv and Sophia.

Ronny later admits to Sonia that there was no bomb; Rajiv effectively caused his own death. Ronny collects the insurance claims for Rajiv and Sophia, as well as from his own presumed death. As he prepares to flee with Sonia, RD intercepts them. It is revealed that Ronny and RD were childhood friends, and RD had been working with him for a share of the money. Ronny hands RD a briefcase containing a bomb, which does not detonate—intended as a safeguard to prevent betrayal.

• Anil Kapoor as Inspector Robert “RD” D'Costa
• Saif Ali Khan as Ranvir “Ronny” Singh, Rajiv's elder brother; main protagonist
• Akshaye Khanna as Rajiv Singh, Ronny's younger brother; main antagonist
• Bipasha Basu as Sonia Martin, Ronny's love interest turned wife
• Katrina Kaif as Sophia, Ronny's secretary, Rajiv’s secret lover turned wife (voice dubbed by Smita Malhotra)
• Sameera Reddy as Mini D'Souza, RD's assistant
• Dalip Tahil as Kabir Ahuja
• Kiku Sharda as Sam, Ranvir's assistant
• Johnny Lever as Max, marriage bureau chief (cameo appearance)
• Gurpreet Ghuggi as police officer (cameo appearance)

The casting journey of Race was marked by several notable changes. Initially, Ajay Devgn was approached to portray Inspector Robert D'Costa (RD). Although he appreciated the script, Devgn declined the role as he wasn't inclined towards participating in an intense action film at that time.^[6]

Akshay Kumar was offered the role of Ranvir Singh, while Saif Ali Khan was considered for the role of Rajiv Singh. However, Kumar turned down the offer, reportedly due to unreported reasons. Subsequently, Khan expressed interest in playing Ranvir Singh, the elder brother, leading to his casting in that role.^[7]

For the character of Sonia, Priyanka Chopra was the initial choice. She declined the role, as she was not keen on portraying a character with negative shades at that point in her career. The role eventually went to Bipasha Basu.^[6]

Fardeen Khan was originally signed to play Rajiv Singh. However, due to scheduling conflicts with his commitments to the film Heyy Babyy (2007), he had to opt out.^[8] Following this, actors John Abraham, Vivek Oberoi, and Abhishek Bachchan were considered for the role, but none took it up. Ultimately, Akshaye Khanna was cast as Rajiv Singh.^[9]

The soundtrack of Race was released by Tips Music on 25 January 2008.^[10] Composed by Pritam with lyrics by Sameer, the album originally featured seven songs, nine remixes, and an instrumental theme. The song "Khwab Dekhe (Sexy Lady)", performed by Monali Thakur and Neeraj Shridhar, was recorded after the album's initial release. It replaced the track "Mujh Pe Toh Jadoo" in the final cut of the film. Following the film's release, Tips re-issued the soundtrack to include "Khwab Dekhe (Sexy Lady)". All remix versions were produced by DJ Suketu.

Race received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its stylized presentation, music, and plot twists, but criticism for its convoluted narrative and lack of realism.

Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM gave Race 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "a superb entertainer all the way" that "has not just style, but a lot of substance too."^[11] Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as a mix of "fast cars and fast babes" and noting it was "better than anything else its directors have made recently." He suggested that audiences "won’t be disappointed."^[12]

The Economic Times stated that Race is "reasonable enough to win a 'not bad' stamp" but "isn't imaginative enough to gain a 'good' tag." The review criticized the outdated action sequences and inconsistent camerawork, though it acknowledged that the film’s racy ending helped to camouflage its narrative flaws.^[13] Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times described the film as "an absolutely average Abbas–Mustan plot pourri."^[14]

Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave Race 1.5 out of 5 stars, calling it a "carnival of twists." He further criticized the film as "boringly shot" and "shabbily edited."^[15] Kathy Gibson of Access Hollywood rated the film 1.5 out of 4 stars. She found the plot twists "ridiculous" and their explanations even worse, adding that the stunts were "more laughable than exciting." She concluded that "not Anil Kapoor’s humorous portrayal of a quirky, fruit-eating detective can save Race."^[16]

Race was released worldwide on 21 March 2008, coinciding with the Holi festival weekend. It earned approximately ₹6.20 crore on its opening day, followed by ₹6.80 crore on the second day and ₹7.50 crore on the third, bringing its opening weekend total to ₹20.50 crore.^[17]

The film concluded its theatrical run with a domestic net gross of ₹60.83 crore and a worldwide gross of ₹103.45 crore, ranking as the fifth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2008. According to Box Office India, Race was declared a "Hit."^[18]

The original production team announced a sequel titled Race 2. Saif Ali Khan and Anil Kapoor reprised their roles from the first film, while John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Ameesha Patel joined the cast in new roles. Bipasha Basu also returned for a cameo appearance as Sonia.^[26][27][28] Principal photography began on 5 October 2011.^[29] The film was released theatrically on 25 January 2013 and was a commercial success, earning over ₹1 billion (US$12 million) at the domestic box office.^[30]

• Official website
• Race at IMDb
• Race at Box Office Mojo