The Pickup Artist (2019 film)
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| name = The Pickup Artist
| image =The Pickup Artist Poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption =Promotional poster
| director = Rohit Arora
| producer = Rohit Arora
Pankaj Uniyal
| native_name =
| writer = Rohit Arora
| screenplay = Rohit Arora
Pankaj Uniyal
| based_on =
| starring = Dev Chauhan
Vijay Kumar Dogra
Pankaj Uniyal
Anahita Bhooshan
| narrator =
| music = Andrew Sloman
Bonnie Chakraborty
| cinematography = Rohit Arora
| editing =
| studio = Roar Picture Company
| distributor = PVR Cinemas
MX Player
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2019|03||WorldFest-Houston|2020|10|16|Theatrical release}}
| runtime = 111 minutes
| country = India
| language = Hindi
| budget =
| gross =
}}
The Pickup Artist is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language thriller film, directed by Rohit Arora. The film stars Dev Chauhan, Vijay Kumar Dogra, Pankaj Uniyal and Anahita Bhooshan as lead characters.{{cite news |title='The Pickup Artist' Releases As Theatres Open |url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/the-pickup-artist-releases-as-theatres-open-2986406.html |publisher=News18 |date=21 October 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Tiwari |first1=Renu |title=सिनेमाघर में रिलीज होने वाली पहली फिल्म 'द पिकअप आर्टिस्ट' का रिव्यू पढ़ें |url=https://www.prabhasakshi.com/filmreview/read-the-review-of-the-pickup-artist-the-first-movie-to-be-released-in-theaters |publisher=Prabhasakshi |date=21 October 2020 |language=Hindi}}{{cite news |title=लखनऊ के सिनेमाघर में दिखायी जाएगी 'द पिकअप आर्टिस्ट' |url=https://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/metro/lucknow/other-news/the-pickup-artist-will-be-shown-in-theaters-of-lucknow/articleshow/79020398.cms |publisher=Navbharat Times |date=3 November 2020 |language=Hindi}} The music of the film is done by Bonnie Chakraborty and co-produced by Rohit Arora and Pankaj Uniyal, under the Banner of Roar Picture Company.{{cite news |author1=Akanksha |title=I Don't Consider Myself An Outsider But I Roped In All Outsiders In My Movie, Claims The Remi Winner Debutant Director Rohit Arora |url=https://www.bollywoodcouch.com/i-dont-consider-myself-an-outsider-but-i-roped-in-all-outsiders-in-my-movie-claims-the-remi-winner-debutant-director-rohit-arora/ |publisher=BollywoodCouch |date=23 October 2020}}
The film premiered at the 2019 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and was released in theatres on 16 October, 2020.{{cn|date=November 2021}}
Plot
The film revolves around the perception of a Psycho Killer. It is based on the sequence of a crime that occurs in the metro city of Delhi. A girl goes missing and many incidents are inter-linked with each other. The case is then handed over to a maniac policeman, named Tiger Tiwari (Dev Chauhan). Its story revolves around a matter of missing girls in Delhi and a passionate policeman.
Cast
- Siddharth Bhardwaj as Siddharth Bharadwaj
- Anahita Bhooshan as Chahat
- Aanchal Chauhan as Mukti
- Dev Chauhan as Tiger Tiwari
- Gandharv Dewan as Shyam
- Vijay Kumar Dogra as Sharmaji
- Dhruv Khurana as Sid
- Jasneet Kooner as Elena
- Vaibhav Kumar as Kanhaiya
- Saurabh Madaan
- Lokesh Mittal as Lalaram
- Samapti Patra as Aastha
- Smriti Sahni as Sapna
- Vivek Sinha as Crazy Baba
- Akanksha Tyagi
- Saasha Aery
- Pankaj Uniyal as Pankaj
Marketing and release
The Pickup Artist was released in theatres on 16 October, 2020. It is one of the first films to release in Indian cinemas, as theatres reopened after seven months of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film was released on the OTT platform MX Player on 28 January, 2021.{{cite news |title=The Pickup Artist |url=https://www.mxplayer.in/movie/watch-the-pickup-artist-movie-online-731e6e0a98485fd881c63c180e224060 |publisher=MX Player |date=2020}}
Reception
The Times of India mentions a 4.4 out of 5 ratings.{{cite news |title=The Pickup Artist |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/the-pickup-artist/movieshow/78680188.cms |newspaper=The Times of India|date=16 October 2020|accessdate=28 June 2021}}
Mayur Lookhar from BeyondBollywood.com gave two-and-a-half out of five, saying, "This neo-noir was proving too hot for our taste buds."{{cite news |last1=Lookhar |first1=Mayur |title=The Pickup Artist review: A non-cheesy, unghastly noir that falls short of its promise |url=https://beyondbollywood.co.in/2020/11/21/the-pickup-artist-review-a-non-cheesy-unghastly-noir-that-falls-short-of-its-promise/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121133808/https://beyondbollywood.co.in/2020/11/21/the-pickup-artist-review-a-non-cheesy-unghastly-noir-that-falls-short-of-its-promise/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=21 November 2020 |publisher=Beyond Bollywood |date=21 November 2020}} The Newspost.live reports that the film received great reviews online, with the audience calling it, "Awesome new age cinema, breaking barriers," while others call it, "out of the box! Picture Perfect."{{cite news |last1=Bakshi |first1=Tania Saili |title='The Pickup Artist' wows audience nation-wide |url=https://www.newspost.live/en/pickup-artist-wows-audience-nation-wide/ |publisher=Newspost.Live |date=29 October 2020}}
Awards and recognition
The film was selected to be a part of WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, the world's oldest independent film festival, in March 2019.{{cite news |last1=Venkatesh |first1=Jyothi |title=Indian Filmmaker Rohit Arora Enters The League Of Steven Spielberg And George Lucas After This Debut Feature "The Pickup Artist" |url=https://bollyy.com/indian-filmmaker-rohit-arora-enters-the-league-of-steven-spielberg-and-george-lucas-after-this-debut-feature-the-pickup-artist/|publisher=Bollyy|date=15 March 2021}} The Pickup Artist won two Gold Remi Awards at the 2019 WorldFest-Houston.{{cite news |title=डायरेक्टर रोहित अरोड़ा की पहली फिल्म 'द पिकअप आर्टिस्ट' इंटरनेशनल फिल्म फेस्टिवल के लिए चुनी गई |url=https://www.bhaskar.com/bollywood/news/the-pickup-artist-selected-in-international-film-festival-6047534.html |publisher=Dainik Bhaskar |date=16 April 2019 |language=Hindi}}
In February 2019, the film was selected to be a part of the East x Northeast International Film Festival in New York. It was nominated for Best Feature Film at the East X Northeast.{{cite news |title=अभिनेता देव चौहान की फिल्म द पिकअप आर्टिस्ट को न्यूयॉर्क में अंतर्राष्ट्रीय फिल्म समारोह में चुना गया |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/hindi/features/actor-dev-chauhans-film-pickup-artist-selected-international-film-festival-new-york-112115/ |website=Bollywood Hungama |date=12 February 2019 |language=Hindi}} It was the first Indian film to be selected in the Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival in Brazil.{{cite web |title=Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzo7QTCnnce/ |publisher=Cinefantasy |date=July 2019}}
See also
References
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