‘Paap’ is an Indian crime thriller film, which was released in 2003. The film was directed by Pooja Bhatt in her directorial debut. The star cast of the film was John Abraham, Udita Goswami, Gulshan Grover and Mohan Agashe. ‘Paap’ was an adaptation of Peter Weir’s 1985 English film ‘Witness’. ‘Paap’ was the debutant playback for the singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. The word ‘paap’ means sin.

Plot of Paap
The movie starts in the mountainous valley somewhere in Himachal Pradesh. The story mainly revolves around two central characters Kaya and Shiven. Kaya played by Udita Goswami is a 21 years old girl. She is about to join a Buddhist monastery. This idea is put into her by her father, played by Mohan Agashe. The story proceeds as one day Lama Norbu played by Denzil Smith who is a lama from the monastery saw a dream that the Buddhist teacher Rinpoche has been reborn. He takes the birth of a 6 years old boy Llahmo played by Madan Bhiku. He consequently sends Kaya to Delhi to bring Rinpoche back to the monastery. Kaya goes to Delhi. She also manages to get the child. When they are returning home, the child witnesses a murder. The victim was a Police Officer in a hotel.

Shiven played by John Abraham takes the charge of the investigation. He prohibits Kaya and the small boy from going anywhere. Shiven is a righteous police officer. He is a practical man who does not believe in superstitions and reincarnations. On the other hand Kaya is a disciplined woman who is also scared of her father. She learns to resist her desires to reach God. Her father teaches her to sacrifice in this life so that she can take up a better life through next birth.

Shiven does not believe that Llahmo is the reincarnation of Rimpoche i.e. Norbu's master. Kaya argues with him because she thinks they are right but somewhere in her heart she believes that Shiven is right. She feels attracted towards him but constantly keeps repressing her thoughts about him because of the fear of her father. In the mean time the small boy identifies the victim played by Gulshan Grover. He is the Commissioner of Police. Shiven finds himself caught in an unavoidable situation surrounded by the traitors. He along with Kaya and the boy escapes to Spiti where the monastery is situated. He gets injured while coming and so stays there for some time. This stay increases the closeness of Kaya and Shiven.

Kaya does nursing for him and this way they both start to feel attracted to each other. This feeling was new to Kaya. She tries to deny the whole thing but cannot do so. Shiven also tries to make her understand about life. Kaya's father gets the clue about their growing attraction and becomes furious. The story is about how that fight is resolved and Kaya learns that life is not about suppressing desires. In the mean time Gulshan Grover finds them and comes to Spiti to kill that boy and also Shiven. Shiven fights with him along with all the villagers. Kaya ultimately wins over her dilemma and comes to Shiven and they unite.

Cast of Paap
The cast of ‘Paap’ is provided below:

John Abraham - Inspector Shiven

Udita Goswami - Kaaya

Gulshan Grover - ACP Raj Mehra

Mohan Agashe - Kaaya's father

Bikramjeet Kanwarpal - Ratan Singh

Denzil Smith - Lama Norbu

Sandeep Mehta - Sushil Mathur, DCP

Anahita Uberoi - Anna

Madan Bhiku - Llahmo, the reincarnated boy

Ahsan Baksh - Zakir

Vikram Kapadia - Anna's husband

Aishwarya Mehta - Niloufer, Zakir's wife

Netaji - Lama Dorje

Ritika Luthria - DCP's wife

Megha Burman - DCP's daughter

Soundtracks of Paap
The soundtracks of ‘Paap’ are as follows:

Intezaar by Anuradha Paudwal

Mann Ki Lagan by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Garaj Baras by Ali Azmat

Laal (Alaap) by Farrukh Fateh Ali Khan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Sun E Mera Dil by Anuradha Paudwal, Udit Narayan

Recognitions to Paap
'Paap' has won many awards. The protagonist John Abraham was awarded with the Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow Male Award in 2005. The film was also nominated for Zee Cine Award Best Lyricist for The Song ‘Intezaar’. Pooja Bhatt was nominated for Zee Cine Award Best Debuting Director and Udita Goswami was nominated for Zee Cine Award Best Newcomer.