My Dear Desperado (Korean내 깡패 같은 애인; RRNae Kkangpae Kateun Aein; lit. My Gangster Lover) is a 2010 South Korean romantic comedy film written and directed by Kim Kwang-sik, and starring Park Joong-hoon and Jung Yu-mi as two people who become semi-basement one-room neighbors: brave yet jobless Se-jin and Dong-chul, the neighborhood gangster who always gets beaten up.[2][3] The film received 688,832 admissions nationwide.[4]

My Dear Desperado
South Korean film poster
Korean name
Hangul
내 깡패 같은 애인
Hanja
내 깡 같은
Revised RomanizationNae Kkangpae Kateun Aein
McCune–ReischauerNae Kkangp'ae Kat'ŭn Aein
Directed byKim Kwang-sik
Written byKim Kwang-sik
Produced byYoon Je-kyoon
StarringPark Joong-hoon
Jung Yu-mi
CinematographyGo Nak-sun
Edited byLee Jin
Music byMok Young-jin
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • May 20, 2010 (2010-05-20)
Running time
100 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
BudgetUS$750,000
Box officeUS$4,214,668[1]

This film was remade in Hindi titled Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story in 2013. It was officially remade in Tamil by Nalan Kumarasamy titled Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum (2016) for which 40 lakh (US$48,000) or 71,587,640.57 was paid as copyrights.[5]

Plot

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University graduate Han Se-jin (Jung Yu-mi) leaves her hometown, where her conservative father (Min Kyeong-jin) is the local stationmaster, for Seoul, where she has been offered a job in an IT company. Some time later, however, the company goes bankrupt and she's forced to move into a cheap basement flat while job-hunting. Her new neighbor is middle-aged Oh Dong-chul (Park Joong-hoon), a small-time gangster who works for boss Kim (Jeong Woo-hyeok) collecting loans. Se-jin is initially uncomfortable living next door to a gangster but later forms a wary friendship with him after he helps her out a couple of times. Depressed by her inability to get a job because of the economic recession, Se-jin ends up drinking with Dong-chul one evening and having a one-night stand with him. She later asks him to pose as her wealthy boyfriend on a trip home to visit her anxious father — though that doesn't quite go as planned, and Se-jin ends up staying on with her father. Meanwhile, Dong-chul, who has almost started a gang war back in Seoul by beating up some hapkido athletes in revenge, is told by boss Kim to formally apologize to the athletes' boss, former police detective Park (Jeong In-gi). Dong-cheol reluctantly agrees, but that same day Se-jin is due in Seoul for an important job interview.[6][7][8]

Cast

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  • Park Joong-hoon ... Oh Dong-chul
  • Jung Yu-mi ... Han Se-jin
  • Park Won-sang ... Jong-seo, the gang deputy
  • Jeong Woo-hyeok ... Kim, the gang boss
  • Jung In-gi ... Park, the ex-detective
  • Kwon Se-in ... Jae-young, the young gangster
  • Min Kyeong-jin ... Se-jin's father
  • Noh Seung-beom ... Bong-soo
  • Lee Sang-hee ... real estate agent
  • Im Ki-hong ... Min Ki-ho, the harasser
  • Park Jong-hyeon ... interview president
  • Lee Jun-hyeok ... final interviewer
  • Son Jin-hwan ... final interviewer
  • Kim Dong-chan ... uninterested interviewer
  • Yu Ji-yeon ... interview leader
  • Oh Seong-su ... worker
  • Song Gyeong-ui ... section chief
  • Lee Chae-eun ... nurse
  • Cha Su-mi ... nurse
  • Yun Ga-hyeon ... woman inspecting apartment
  • Choi Weon-tae ... high school student
  • Ju Hyeon-myeong ... high school student
  • Shin Hye-jeong ... noodle bar owner
  • Min Ji-min ... hapkido athlete
  • Jo Weon-cheol ... hapkido athlete
  • Kim Yong-min ... hapkido athlete
  • Song Yeong-jae ... song-and-dance interviewer
  • Han Cheol-woo ... song-and-dance interviewer
  • Yang Eun-yong ... doctor
  • Kim Mi-ra ... madam

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Recipient Result
2010 47th Grand Bell Awards Best New Director Kim Kwang-sik Nominated
31st Blue Dragon Film Awards Best New Director Kim Kwang-sik Won
8th Korean Film Awards Best New Director Kim Kwang-sik Nominated
Best Screenplay Kim Kwang-sik Nominated
Best Actor Park Joong-hoon Nominated
Best Actress Jung Yu-mi Nominated
2011 47th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Director Kim Kwang-sik Nominated
33rd Golden Cinematography Awards Best Actress Jung Yu-mi Won

Remakes

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The film was made in two Indian languages as Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story (2013) in Hindi, Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum (2016) in Tamil[9] and the movie partially inspired the 2014 Bangladeshi film Kistimaat.

References

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  1. ^ "My Gangster Girlfriend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  2. ^ Lee, Ji-hye (29 April 2010). "My Dear Desperado is not a romantic comedy nor comedy". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  3. ^ "My Dear Desperado (2010)". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  4. ^ "Theatrical Releases in 2010: Box-Office Admission Results". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  5. ^ "Dark comedy to romance - Bangalore Mirror -". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 2016-03-12.
  6. ^ Elley, Derek (20 March 2011). "My Dear Desperado". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  7. ^ Paquet, Darcy. "My Dear Desperado". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  8. ^ Mudge, James (17 September 2010). "My Dear Desperado (2010) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
  9. ^ "Vijay Sethupathi, Nalan come together again". News Today. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
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