Kachche Dhaage is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Milan Luthria and starring Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, and Manisha Koirala. The film features Devgan as a smuggler, delivering goods across the Rajasthan-Pakistan border, was filmed in the deserts of Rajasthan and in Switzerland. It premiered on 19 February 1999 in Mumbai.

Plot

Dhananjay (Saif Ali Khan) and Aaftab (Ajay Devgn) are half-brother each with a selfish approach to life; Aaftab is a petty smuggler, specialising in smuggling goods across the Rajasthan border into Pakistan whilst Dhananjay is a corporate yuppy from the city, with a high-flying lifestyle. Aaftab is in love with Rukshana (Manisha Koirala) but is rejected by her family because he is illegitimate. Dhananjay is dating Ragini (Namrata Shirodkar) and has his father's death to contend with. When the brothers meet for the first time, they instantly loathe each other, having nothing in common. One night, Aaftab blows up a loaded truck while trying to steal from it and attracts a mass of unwanted enforcers. Soon, Aaftab is forced to send Dhananjay into a trap which ends up with them both being handcuffed and escaping from the Border Security Force, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the border mafia who are attempting to incriminate the brothers for anti-national activities and murder. Fate forces them to escape on foot, on motorbikes, cars, stolen trucks, and still handcuffed to each other on a moving goods train. They run into difficult circumstances on the way, not in the least made better by their hatred for each other. Despite their initial differences, the two gradually learn to like and understand each other, eventually proving their innocence. The climax of this film was shot around Jaisalmer, especially in Kuldhara, the desert village of Paliwal Brahmins.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

Suparn Verma of Rediff.com described Devgan as "effective" but disapproved of Koirala's performance, believing it was wasted. Verma noted a similarity with that of Soldier (1998) in that film too there was a troubled hero, a great many red herrings and a mysterious villain who pulls all the strings, but critics believed that Kachche Dhaage was a weaker film because it lacked the pace and focus.

Box office

The film was a box office success grossing ₹277 million at the domestic box office.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, which featured a number of Punjabi folk tunes, proved popular amongst non Hindi audiences of the film. The music was composed by Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, with lyrics by Anand Bakshi. According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 30,00,000 units sold the soundtrack became the fifth highest-selling album of the year.