"Rowdy Rathore" is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Prabhu Deva, produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala under the UTV Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions banners. This film is a remake of the 2006 Telugu film "Vikramarkudu," which was based on an original story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The movie features Akshay Kumar in dual roles: a brave police officer and a thief. Supporting roles are played by Sonakshi Sinha, Gurdeep Kohli, Yashpal Sharma, and Paresh Ganatra, with Nassar as the main antagonist. The plot revolves around Vikram Rathore, a courageous police officer who dies at the hands of corrupt politicians, leading his team to replace him with Shiva, a thief who looks exactly like him, to capture the culprits.

Filmed primarily in Mumbai and Hampi with a budget of ₹60 crore, "Rowdy Rathore" was released worldwide on June 1, 2012. The music for the film was composed by Sajid–Wajid. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, it became a blockbuster at both the domestic and international box office. Positive word-of-mouth helped it achieve a distributor share of ₹740 million (US$8.9 million) in India by the end of its run. It emerged as one of the highest-grossing films in the Mumbai circuit, earning ₹515.5 million (US$6.2 million) in seven weeks. Overall, the film grossed over ₹203.39 crore (US$24 million), making it one of the highest-grossing Indian films.

Plot Summary

Shiva (Akshay Kumar) is a small-time thief in Mumbai. At a wedding, he falls in love with Paro (Sonakshi Sinha) from Patna. He confesses his life of crime to her and decides to quit after one last big heist with his friend 2G. However, instead of riches, he finds a little girl, Chinki, in the trunk he steals. Chinki believes Shiva is her father, forcing him to keep her as Inspector Vishal Sharma watches him closely.

Shiva discovers that Chinki’s real father is Vikram Singh Rathore, a brave and respected police officer. Vikram had been severely injured by a goon named Baapji while trying to save his daughter and was presumed dead. Before dying, Vikram asks Shiva to take care of Chinki. Shiva, vowing to complete Vikram’s unfinished work, takes on Vikram's identity to bring justice to Devgarh, where Baapji and his son Munna terrorize the villagers.

Shiva, now posing as Vikram, sets Baapji’s alcohol factory on fire, distributes the loot to the villagers, and encourages the police to stand up against Baapji. In a dramatic climax, Shiva defeats Baapji and his brother Titla, saving Paro and Chinki. The story concludes with Shiva, Paro, 2G, and Chinki leaving for Mumbai.

Cast

• Akshay Kumar as Shivam "Shiva" Bharadwaj / ASP Vikram Singh Rathore IPS
• Sonakshi Sinha as Parvathi "Paro" Gupta
• Pooja Rawal as Mrs. Rathod
• Nassar as Baapji
• Ananya Nayak as Neha "Chinki" Singh Rathore
• Paresh Ganatra as 2G
• Supreeth Reddy as Titla
• Yashpal Sharma as Inspector Vishal Sharma
• Jaswinder Gardner as Nirmala Sharma
• Saniya Anklesaria as Inspector Vishal Sharma's daughter
• Meet Mukhi as Inspector Vishal Sharma's son
• Raj Arjun as Jagdish
• Gurdeep Kohli as Inspector Razia Khan
• Mushtaq Khan as Baapji's brother-in-law
• Amit Tiwari as Munna
• Anant Run as Domestic Minister of Bihar
• Darshan Jariwala as DGP Suraj Prakash Sharma IPS
• Shireesh Sharma as Mr. Bhardwaj
• Shruti Bapna as Paro's friend in the song "Chammak Challo"
• Ashok Samarth as Babu

Special Appearances

• Vijay in the song "Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita"
• Prabhu Deva in the song "Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita"
• Kareena Kapoor in the song "Chinta Ta Ta Chita Chita"
• Mumaith Khan, Maryam Zakaria, and Shakti Mohan in the song "Aa Re Pritam Pyare"