Sehar

Sehar (English: The morning) is a 2005 Indian crime drama film directed by Kabeer Kaushik, starring Arshad Warsi and Mahima Chaudhry in the lead roles with Sushant Singh and Pankaj Kapur in supporting roles. Based on real-life incidents and individuals, the film depicts organized crime in the late 1990s in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, and how the State Police worked to tackle it. It shows the turbulent journey of Ajay Kumar, a newly appointed 31-year-old SSP of Lucknow, played by Arshad Warsi, instrumental in bringing together a group of committed police officers under the aegis of Special Task Force. The force, given with a single agenda, succeeds in challenging the might of organized crime in the Uttar Pradesh. In the process, what unfolds is the ever-changing dynamics of Uttar Pradesh's Siyaasat: railway contracts, Inter-Services Intelligence involvement, politician-Mafia-police-builder nexus, pro-activism of criminal gangs, sophisticated yet rigid red tape and criminalization of university students. The movie is loosely based on the encounter of the notorious criminal Shiv Prakash Shukla (alias Shri Prakash Shukla) who was eliminated by the newly formed Special Task Force of the Uttar Pradesh Police. He was not only a dreaded gangster but also a connection between the underworld and the politicians. The character of SSP Ajay Kumar is based on SSP and the then STF chief Arun Kumar, a 1985 batch IPS Officer. This movie was released along with director Shoojit Sircar's Yahaan on 25 July 2005. However, business for both movies were highly affected due to heavy flood in Mumbai on 26 July 2005. Therefore, both the movies flopped at box office. Although, both the movies have special mention of good performance and good story. Sehar was one of the films included in Avijit Ghosh's book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed.