Apaharan

Apaharan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Prakash Jha
Produced by	Prakash Jha
Screenplay by	Manoj Tyagi Shridhar Raghavan
Story by	Prakash Jha
Starring	Ajay Devgn Bipasha Basu Nana Patekar
Music by	Wayne Sharpe
Cinematography	Arvind K.
Edited by	Santosh Mandal
Distributed by	Entertainment One Holi Cow Pictures
Release date	2 December 2005
Running time	173 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	₹165.0 million (US$2.5 million)

Apaharan (English: "Abduction") is a 2005 Indian Hindi crime drama film directed by Prakash Jha and stars Ajay Devgan and Nana Patekar in the lead roles. It is the story of a complex relationship and clashing ideologies between a father and son set in the backdrop of the kidnapping industry in the eastern state of Bihar, India. Apaharan was declared Above Average at the Indian box-office.

Ajay Shastri (Ajay Devgan) is an unemployed, honest graduate who dreams of joining the police force. His father, Raghuvansh Shastri (Mohan Agashe) is a highly principled and moralistic man. An ex-schoolteacher and Gandhi follower, now a social activist, Prof. Shastri expects his son to follow in his steps and believe in his ideals and values. When his father's ideals start clashing with Ajay's ideologies, a rift between father and son emerges.

Ajay borrows a lot of money, with the help of his friend (Ayub Khan) and bribes higher officials to get his name on the police force merit list. When Ajay's father discloses the corruption scandal to the media, things go awry, and left with pressure from his creditors, Ajay and his friend decide to kidnap a government official to repay the amount.

The kidnapping goes wrong at the last minute. It turns out that the victim is under protection of Gaya Singh (Yashpal Sharma), one of Tabrez Alam's (Nana Patekar) henchmen. Tabrez Alam is a powerful MLA and influential Muslim party leader, who is also an underworld don and controller of a large kidnapping racket.

Ajay and his friends are brought to jail. Gaya Singh and his men assault and humiliate Ajay and his friends, for meddling in their racket. Ajay pleads with the DSP, Shukla, to save him, who has recently developed strained relations with Gaya Singh due to severe conflict of opinions. DSP Shukla helps Ajay and his friends escape jail.

Ajay then kidnaps Sooraj Mal, one of the leading businessman and a rising figure in local politics, who was for long, a target of Tabrez Alam and Gaya Singh, but neither could do the job because of the high security provided to him. Gaya Singh goes frantic upon learning about the kidnapping and is on the lookout of killer. DSP Shukla and Ajay join forces and lure Gaya Singh into a trap. Gaya Singh heads to a location where Ajay is told to be hiding. Gaya Singh soon learns that he has been trapped and Ajay kills him after a brief fight. He surrenders himself to Tabrez, and requests him to recruit him into his gang. Tabrez sees potential in Ajay and allows him to be a part of his gang. Ajay starts working hard and rapidly rises in the ranks of Tabrez's empire. He takes Ajay in and places him higher than his own brother Usmaan (Mukul Nag), with an ulterior motive. Swimming in power, Ajay becomes the state's most powerful gangster and, under Tabrez's authority, the head of Bihar's most successful kidnapping trade, which Ajay consolidates by killing smaller players and removing all competitors.