MUMBAI: Vipul Shah’s cult classic Aankhen clocks 22 years today. The film, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Sushmita Sen, Paresh Rawal, and Aditya Pancholi, was released on April 2, 2002. Based on Shah’s Gujarati play Andhalo Pato, the film garnered rave reviews and became an instant box office success.

Here are 5 things that make Aankhen memorable:

Upon release, the film received great reviews from critics. Many hailed it as sharp and engaging, while the audience agreed, leading to a huge opening at the ticket window.

Aankhen went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 2002. The film also set a record in South Africa, grossing $14,600 on the weekend, despite having a limited release.

Aankhen also pioneered the concept of heist films before they became a popular genre. The film is a revenge drama about Vijay Singh Rajput (Bachchan), a hardworking bank employee who gets fired for no reason and decides to rob the same bank with the help of three blind men.

In a conversation, Vipul Shah revealed that there were rumours of Hollywood actor Robert De Niro being interested in Aankhen’s script. Shah said, “There were rumours that [actor] Robert De Niro was interested in the script, but for some reason, a deal couldn’t be struck. For someone to hear that their debut film was being considered by Hollywood was a big compliment.”

Aankhen also holds the record for experimenting with not one, but two endings. Vipul Shah shot two different endings for the film—one with Bachchan's character locked up and another with him on the loose. This idea worked well for the film.

While Aankhen is one of the best creations by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, he has consistently delivered amazing films to the audience. Recently, he created a stir among the audience with The Kerala Story co-produced by Aashin A. Shah, which had a strong storyline and left an indelible impact, becoming the ninth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023. Moreover, as a producer, his recent release, Bastar: The Naxal Story co-produced by Aashin A. Shah, has also made an impact with its strong subject matter.