# Dus Kahaniyaan (दस कहानियाँ)

**Dus Kahaniyaan** (दस कहानियाँ; "Ten Stories") is a 2007 Hindi-language anthology film comprising ten short films, each with its own cast and a twist ending, directed by a team of six directors led by [Sanjay Gupta](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjay-gupta) and released in India on 7 December 2007.<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup> It was produced by [Sanjay Dutt](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjay-dutt) and Sanjay Gupta through White Feather Films, in that company's first project with [Eros International](https://www.edgepedia.org/eros-international), which had announced a 23 November 2007 release date.<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 7 December 2007 (India), distributed by Eros International<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup> |
| Format | Ten unrelated short stories, each ending in a twist, directed by six directors<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup> |
| Directors | Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy, Hansal Mehta, Jasmeet Dhodhi<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup> |
| Principal cast | Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Nana Patekar, Mandira Bedi, Arbaaz Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Dia Mirza, Amrita Singh, Dino Morea<sup>[4](https://www.indiaforums.com/article/dus-kahaniyaan-riveting-but-only-in-fragmentsreview_3059)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup> |
| Runtime | Reported as 110 minutes (1h 50m) by Box Office India and Rotten Tomatoes; 1h 54m on Apple TV and Prime Video<sup>[5](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=243)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/umc.cmc.61l33yhrmp64bdejbvihl4gw9)</sup> |
| Box office | Budget ₹210,000,000; total nett gross ₹77,800,000; classified a disaster<sup>[5](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=243)</sup> |
| IMDb rating | 5.7/10 from about 1,800 votes<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823451/)</sup> |

## Spoilers

### The ten stories

The segments and their principal performers, as listed in reviews and cast databases, are:<sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>

- **Matrimony** (Sanjay Gupta): Mandira Bedi as a bored wife carrying on a weekly affair with an army officer ([Sudhanshu Pandey](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudhanshu-pandey)) behind her husband ([Arbaaz Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/arbaaz-khan)); reviews identify it as an adaptation of [Roald Dahl](https://www.edgepedia.org/roald-dahl)'s short story "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat".<sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>
- **High on the Highway** (Hansal Mehta): Jimmy Shergill and Masumeh Makhija as two undergraduates whose outlook on life changes after a serious incident.<sup>[13](https://bbc.com.im/shropshire/films/bollywood/2007/12/dus_kahaniyaan_review.shtml)</sup>
- **Pooranmasi** (Meghna Gulzar): written by Meghna Gulzar from a story by Kartar Singh Duggal, with Amrita Singh as an aging mother and Minissha Lamba as her daughter Mini.<sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>
- **Strangers in the Night** (Sanjay Gupta): Mahesh Manjrekar and Neha Dhupia, a story in which a husband questions his wife.<sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>
- **Zahir** (Sanjay Gupta): Manoj Bajpayee as a writer who falls for his neighbor Sia (Dia Mirza).<sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>
- **Lovedale** (Jasmeet Dhodhi): Aftab Shivdasani, Neha Oberoi, and Anupam Kher in a story about a woman reconsidering her engagement.<sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>
- **Sex on the Beach** (Apoorva Lakhia): Dino Morea lured by a woman (Tarina Patel) with a dark secret; Morea described the 12-minute segment as "more bizarre than brazen".<sup>[13](https://bbc.com.im/shropshire/films/bollywood/2007/12/dus_kahaniyaan_review.shtml)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[14](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/i-m-in-no-hurry-to-sign-on-new-movies-dino-morea/story-ArlRzz3qxJ1ohiStyMQCfK-amp.html)</sup>
- **Rice Plate** (Rohit Roy): Shabana Azmi as a devout Hindu woman and Naseeruddin Shah as a Dawoodi Bohra man she shares a meal with; it was Rohit Roy's directorial debut.<sup>[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[11](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/bollywood/dus-kahaniyan-has-many-firsts/13028/story.htm)</sup>
- **Gubbare** (Sanjay Gupta): Nana Patekar and Anita Hassanandani in a story written by Gulzar, about a man carrying eleven balloons to placate his angry wife.<sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup>
- **Rise and Fall** (Sanjay Gupta): Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty as Mumbai gangsters in a power struggle, said to be inspired by the film *Blood Brothers*.<sup>[3](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup>

Gupta directed three segments himself (Gubbare, Matrimony, and Zahir) and said Gubbare, his first collaboration with [Nana Patekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/nana-patekar), was the one closest to his heart.<sup>[9](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2007/dec/07sld2.htm)</sup>

## Concept and production

The project was announced in March 2006 as an expansion of the episodic format that [Ram Gopal Varma](https://www.edgepedia.org/ram-gopal-varma) had used in *Darna Mana Hai* and *Darna Zaroori Hai*, which each contained six stories. Sanjay Gupta planned ten stories by ten directors, each 10 to 12 minutes long for a total running time of about 100 minutes, with each story in a different genre and each filmed at a different location, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Goa, Ooty, London, and Bangkok.<sup>[8](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bollywood/now-10-stories-in-dus-kahaniyaan/)</sup> In the event, the finished film credits six directors: Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy, Hansal Mehta, and Jasmeet Dhodhi.<sup>[1](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)</sup>

Gupta described his motive as literary: "if there can be a compilation of short stories in a book, then why not in a movie?"<sup>[9](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2007/dec/07sld2.htm)</sup> A Rediff report on the shoot counted 32 actors and six filmmakers on the project, and noted the comparison with the French anthology *[Paris, je t'aime](https://www.edgepedia.org/paris-je-taime)*, which had 20 stories by 22 directors.<sup>[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/dus/20070816.htm)</sup>

One production feature was unusual. Gupta said that for the first time two directors, himself and [Hansal Mehta](https://www.edgepedia.org/hansal-mehta), directed two different segments of the same story: one segment starring [Suniel Shetty](https://www.edgepedia.org/suniel-shetty), the other about two children, shot separately and inter-cut so that the two plots merge toward the end of the 12-minute story.<sup>[11](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/bollywood/dus-kahaniyan-has-many-firsts/13028/story.htm)</sup>

## Reception

**Critical response was mixed.** The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5, calling it "a compendium of short stories that offer you a pleasure akin to reading Roald Dahl" and praising the twist-driven storytelling.<sup>[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)</sup> An IANS review rated it two and a half stars, finding the format refreshing but the whole inconclusive: the stories "create a hum under the breath that never quite grows into a collective melody," singling out "Rice Plate" and "Gubbare" as the strongest segments.<sup>[4](https://www.indiaforums.com/article/dus-kahaniyaan-riveting-but-only-in-fragmentsreview_3059)</sup> On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a Tomatometer of 42% from two critic reviews; Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote that it was "like an anthology of short stories, one or two very good, one or two just-about-all-right, one or two which leave you cold, and one or two, which are plain bad."<sup>[15](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dus_kahaniyaan)</sup> IMDb users have rated it 5.7/10 from about 1,800 votes.<sup>[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823451/)</sup>

**Box office.** Against a budget of ₹21,00,00,000, the film earned a first-week total of ₹59,800,000 and closed with a total nett gross of ₹77,800,000 in India (worldwide gross ₹13,28,65,000, including $580,000 overseas), on about 1,505,000 footfalls across 450 screens; Box Office India classified it a disaster.<sup>[5](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=243)</sup>

## Legacy

Dus Kahaniyaan is cited as an early large-scale Hindi anthology, in the line of Ram Gopal Varma's *Darna Zaroori Hai* (2006) and before the later four-director anthology *Bombay Talkies* (2013); director [Dibakar Banerjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/dibakar-banerjee) mentioned it in 2013 when asking why more filmmakers did not attempt anthologies.<sup>[16](https://www.indiaforums.com/article/dibakar-all-for-anthologies-a-la-bombay-talkies_43935)</sup> The film remains available for streaming in India on Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar, and Amazon MX Player.<sup>[17](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/dus-kahaniyaan)</sup>

## References

1. [Eros to release Dus Kahaniyaan on 23 November, Business Of Cinema (2007)](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/eros-to-release-dus-kahaniyaan-on-23-november/20568)
2. [Dus Kahaniyan Movie Review {3.5/5}, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/dus-kahaniyan/movie-review/2605436.cms)
3. [Dus Kahaniyaan, Sai and Shujath talk Cinema (2008)](https://saiandshujathtalkcinema.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/dus-kahaniyaan/)
4. ['Dus Kahaniyaan' - riveting but only in fragments (Review), IANS via India Forums (2007)](https://www.indiaforums.com/article/dus-kahaniyaan-riveting-but-only-in-fragmentsreview_3059)
5. [Dus Kahaniyaan, Box Office India](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=243)
6. [Dus Kahaniyaan, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/umc.cmc.61l33yhrmp64bdejbvihl4gw9)
7. [Dus Kahaniyaan (2007), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823451/)
8. [Now 10 stories in Dus Kahaniyaan, Bollywood Hungama (2006)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bollywood/now-10-stories-in-dus-kahaniyaan/)
9. [Know what the directors have to say about Dus Kahaniyaan, Rediff.com (2007)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2007/dec/07sld2.htm)
10. [Dus Kahaniyaan, 6 directors and 32 actors!, Rediff.com (2007)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/dus/20070816.htm)
11. ['Dus Kahaniyan' has many firsts, IANS via Nowrunning (2007)](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/bollywood/dus-kahaniyan-has-many-firsts/13028/story.htm)
12. [Dus Kahaniyaan Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dus-kahaniyaan/)
13. [Dus Kahaniyaan review, BBC Shropshire Bollywood (2007)](https://bbc.com.im/shropshire/films/bollywood/2007/12/dus_kahaniyaan_review.shtml)
14. [I'm in no hurry to sign on new movies: Dino Morea, Hindustan Times (2007)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/i-m-in-no-hurry-to-sign-on-new-movies-dino-morea/story-ArlRzz3qxJ1ohiStyMQCfK-amp.html)
15. [Dus Kahaniyaan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dus_kahaniyaan)
16. [Dibakar all for anthologies a la 'Bombay Talkies', India Forums (2013)](https://www.indiaforums.com/article/dibakar-all-for-anthologies-a-la-bombay-talkies_43935)
17. [Dus Kahaniyaan streaming, JustWatch India](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/dus-kahaniyaan)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Drama films*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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