# Zinda (film)
**Zinda** (ज़िंदा; "Alive") is a 2006 Hindi-language action thriller directed and produced by [Sanjay Gupta](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjay-gupta), in which a man imprisoned without explanation for 14 years is suddenly released and given days to find out who confined him and why[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda) • [2](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/zinda-2006/). It stars [Sanjay Dutt](https://www.edgepedia.org/sanjay-dutt) as Balajeet Roy (Bala), with [John Abraham](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-abraham), Lara Dutta, Celina Jaitly, and Mahesh Manjrekar, and was produced by White Feather Films[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda/cast-and-crew). The film is an unofficial remake of South Korean director Park Chan-wook's *Oldboy* (2003), itself adapted from a Japanese manga[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20060130-movie-review-zinda-starring-sanjay-dutt-john-abraham-786021-2006-01-29) • [5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/zinda).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / producer | Sanjay Gupta, for White Feather Films[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda/cast-and-crew) |
| Release | 12 January 2006 (India)[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office) |
| Lead cast | Sanjay Dutt (Balajeet Roy), John Abraham (Rohit Chopra), Lara Dutta, Celina Jaitly, Mahesh Manjrekar[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda/cast-and-crew) |
| Source | Unofficial remake of *Oldboy* (2003), directed by Park Chan-wook[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20060130-movie-review-zinda-starring-sanjay-dutt-john-abraham-786021-2006-01-29) |
| India box office | ₹101.7 million (₹10.17 crore) net; ₹141.3 million (₹14.13 crore) gross; worldwide gross ₹173.4 million (₹17.34 crore)[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office) |
| Verdict | Flop (Box Office India and Bollywood Hungama)[7](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=379) • [6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office) |
| Certification | "A" (adult) in India, chosen by Gupta over the offered U/A[8](https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/i-wouldn-t-want-my-children-to-watch-zinda/cid/1278390) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Balajeet Roy, a software engineer, is drugged while visiting Bangkok and wakes in a sealed cell with no explanation of who holds him or why. He is fed fried wontons twice a day and has a television for company, through which he follows world events including the September 11, 2001 attacks, the 2004 tsunami, and the fall of [Saddam Hussein](https://www.edgepedia.org/saddam-hussein); he also sees news that his wife Nisha has been murdered with him as the prime suspect. After 14 years he is released, and with the help of a street-smart taxi driver, Jenny, and his friend Joy Fernandes, he searches for the people responsible for his confinement and Nisha's death[5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/zinda). Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the setup as a prisoner released after 14 years and given four days to figure out why he was put there[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda). John Abraham plays Rohit Chopra, a billionaire seeking vengeance who had Bala locked away[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda).
## Relationship to Oldboy
The film follows *Oldboy* closely enough that Indian and Korean commentators treated it as a copy rather than a licensed remake. A Korean news report in November 2005, before release, described allegations that *Zinda* had plagiarized [Park Chan-wook](https://www.edgepedia.org/park-chan-wook)'s film without permission, pointing to a poster featuring a claw hammer and to dumplings as a plot element, and noted that the rights holder for *Oldboy* had sold official remake rights only to Universal and planned to investigate[9](https://v.daum.net/v/20051116191808887?s=print_news). Moviebuff records that the film faced legal issues for copying the original without permission[5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/zinda).
Reviewers compared the two films directly. [Anupama Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/anupama-chopra), film critic and author, writing in *India Today*, called the film Gupta's best plagiarized work, noting that Gupta "doesn't hold back the blood": teeth are extracted with a hammer, body parts are gift-wrapped, and a power drill is used in one scene. She judged the storytelling tight and the acting strong, especially Dutt, but noted that Gupta "cops out" on *Oldboy*'s incest plot, substituting a reunion ending; "In Park's version, hell was forever"[4](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20060130-movie-review-zinda-starring-sanjay-dutt-john-abraham-786021-2006-01-29). The critic Raam Tarat of Future Movies UK advised readers who had seen the original not to watch this one, and those who had seen neither to watch *Oldboy* instead[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda).
## Production
Gupta and Dutt had been reported to have split after *Musafir*; in April 2005 Gupta confirmed that Dutt had suggested the script and that White Feather Films would produce, with filming planned as a single schedule from May to July in Bangkok and Hong Kong[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/gupta-dutts-dosti-is-zinda/). Gupta imposed unusual secrecy, taking written undertakings from the principal cast not to reveal information about the film before he allowed it[11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/the-new-contracts/), and premiered the trailer on the IndiaFM website in October 2005, repeating the online-first strategy he had used for *Kaante*[12](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/world-premiere-of-zinda-promo-on-indiafm/).
The film's look was deliberately desaturated. Gupta later said the film was personally satisfying, though a Kolkata distributor accused him of having made a black-and-white film[13](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2006/sanjay-gupta-161006.html). The music was credited to [Vishal Dadlani](https://www.edgepedia.org/vishal-dadlani), Shekhar Ravjiani, and Nikhil Chinapa, with Sanjay F. Gupta as cinematographer[5](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/zinda).
When Indian censors offered a U/A certificate, Gupta chose "A" instead, saying the violence was graphic and that he did not want his own children to watch the film[8](https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/i-wouldn-t-want-my-children-to-watch-zinda/cid/1278390).
## Box office
In India the film opened to ₹13 million (₹1.30 crore) on day one, reached ₹36.3 million (₹3.63 crore) in its opening weekend and ₹59.2 million (₹5.92 crore) in week one, and finished with ₹101.7 million (₹10.17 crore) net (₹141.3 million (₹14.13 crore) gross)[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office). Box Office India lists a budget of ₹130 million (₹13 crore), India gross of ₹144.5 million (₹14.45 crore), overseas gross of $730,000, and about 2.96 million footfalls, with a Flop verdict[7](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=379). Worldwide gross is given as ₹173.4 million (₹17.34 crore) by Bollywood Hungama[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office) and ₹176.8 million (₹17.68 crore) by Box Office India[7](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=379).
In the United States it received a limited release on January 20, 2006 in 38 theaters, earning $332,491 in total, with an opening weekend of $76,320[14](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zinda). A contemporary Rediff report said the film received good reviews but a dismal box-office response, attributing the poor opening partly to gore overload[15](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/17box.htm). It opened the same week as *Family – Ties of Blood*, which fared worse; both films underperformed in the UK and Australia[16](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/box-office-overseas/low-phase-continues/).
## Reception
Rotten Tomatoes records a Tomatometer of 60% from four critics and an audience score of 60% from more than 2,500 ratings[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda). Cinafilm aggregates 31 reviews at 49%, below its 58% average for 2006 films, with general audiences (70%) rating it higher than critics (50%)[2](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/zinda-2006/). Namrata Joshi of *Outlook* gave it 2/4, calling its brutality an example of "gratuitous gore"[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda). Derek Elley of *Variety* described it as "a pedal-to-the-metal Bollywood crimer"[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda).
## References
1. [Zinda, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda)
2. [Zinda (2006) Reviews, Cinafilm](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/zinda-2006/)
3. [Zinda: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/zinda/cast-and-crew)
4. [Movie review: 'Zinda' starring Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham, Anupama Chopra, India Today (January 30, 2006)](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/20060130-movie-review-zinda-starring-sanjay-dutt-john-abraham-786021-2006-01-29)
5. [Zinda, Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/zinda)
6. [Zinda Box Office Collection, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/zinda/box-office/)
7. [Zinda, Box Office India](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=379)
8. ['I wouldn't want my children to watch Zinda', The Telegraph India (January 11, 2006)](https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/i-wouldn-t-want-my-children-to-watch-zinda/cid/1278390)
9. [Indian film 'Zinda' faces Oldboy plagiarism allegations, Hankyoreh (November 16, 2005, Korean)](https://v.daum.net/v/20051116191808887?s=print_news)
10. [Gupta & Dutt's dosti is 'Zinda', Bollywood Hungama (April 19, 2005)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/gupta-dutts-dosti-is-zinda/)
11. [The new 'Contracts', Bollywood Hungama (June 7, 2005)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/the-new-contracts/)
12. [World premiere of Zinda promo on IndiaFM, Bollywood Hungama (October 28, 2005)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/world-premiere-of-zinda-promo-on-indiafm/)
13. [Bollywood Feature: Sanjay Gupta on White Feathers, Filmibeat (October 16, 2006)](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2006/sanjay-gupta-161006.html)
14. [Zinda (2006), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zinda)
15. [Bachchan, Dutt fail at the box office, Rediff (January 17, 2006)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/2006/jan/17box.htm)
16. [Low Phase Continues!, Bollywood Hungama (January 18, 2006)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/box-office-overseas/low-phase-continues/)
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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 › Action and thriller 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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