PHOOL AUR AAG

P.K. Arts Creations’ Phool Aur Aag is about misunderstandings and how they are cleared at the drop of a hat! It is the story of two villages. A kind-hearted landlord (Mithun Chakraborty) is revered like God in his village. Once, he visits the other village and gets beaten up there by the villagers because of a misunderstanding. The hero of the second village is a young and tough guy (Jackie Shroff). After the incident, Jackie realises the mistake on the part of his villagers and he goes to Mithun’s village to apologise to him. Even while he is doing so, Mithun’s villagers run riot in Jackie’s village to avenge the wrong done to their ‘God’. This infuriates Jackie who assumes that the havoc in his village has been wreaked at Mithun’s behest. In the riotous revenge drama, Jackie’s parents and some others are killed. Then starts Jackie’s revenge. He creates circumstances which force Mithun to marry a girl from Jackie’s village. The marriage is an eyewash as the girl has been planted to kill Mithun. She, however, has a change of heart. Ultimately, Jackie too realises the innocence and goodness of Mithun. And all ends well.

The film tries to over-dramatise everything, with the result that the whole drama looks unbelievable. What is worse is that characters have a change of heart one after another just because of a dialogue or two. Screenplay is poor. Dialogues (Anirudh Tiwari) are good. Emotions touch the heart only at a couple of places, the rest falling flat.

Mithun Chakraborty does quite well. Jackie Shroff has also performed ably although he does suffer because of a weak characterisation. Archana is just about fair. Dalip Tahhil is appealing. Mohan Joshi is okay in a comic-villainous role. Shiva is average. Aroona Irani does a fine job. Ayesha Julka and Harish appear in a song dance only. Rakesh Bedi is alright. Avtar Gill, Kishore Bhanushali, Adi Irani, Pramod Moutho, Shyam Solanki and the rest pass muster.

T.L.V. Prasad’s direction is mechanical and no better than his script. Music is a letdown. Song picturisations are dull. A few action scenes (like the lathi fight and the climax fight) are exciting. Photography and other technical and production values are so-so.

On the whole, Phool Aur Aag is a sub-standard fare, with bleak chances at the box-office.

Released on 14-5-’99 at Shalimar and 11 other cinemas of Bombay thru K.K. Enterprises. Publicity: fair. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over.

LATEST POSITION

World Cup cricket is here. As cricket fans enjoy the bowling and batting, the box-office may take a beating.

Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet, as predicted last week, is good in U.P., C.P. and C.I. It is also fair in Bihar, Rajasthan and Nizam, but is below the mark in Gujarat, Delhi, East Punjab and West Bengal. 1st week Bombay 42,86,995 (66.32%) from 13 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,95,183 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,99,639 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 1,38,512; Pune 5,20,195 from 2 cinemas, Solapur 2,31,362 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 25,90,863 (55.92%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,97,563 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,98,206, Agra 2,06,710, Varanasi 2,18,288, Allahabad 1,93,000, Meerut 2,48,620, Bareilly 1,69,232 (55.84%), Dehradun 1,50,000; Calcutta 20,25,273 from 21 cinemas; Nagpur 4,66,014 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,78,033, Akola 1,37,619, Raipur 2,14,231, Jalgaon 1,63,907, Chandrapur 1,64,337, Yavatmal 80,589; Bhopal 1,12,752 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,32,192 from 3 cinemas, Bikaner (6 days) 1,89,651; Hyderabad (gross) 26,24,528 from 12 cinemas (2 in noon).

Kartoos dropped after the first day at places, and after 3 days at other places. It has, however, fetched reasonable shares from several places. Is not up to the mark in Gujarat, Delhi, West Bengal and Bihar. 1st week Bombay 47,34,743 (82.64%) from 14 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,17,262 from 6 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 2,14,487 from 2 cinemas, Jamnagar (matinee) 37,278, Bhuj 89,722; Pune 11,31,263 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 3,54,499 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 39,65,059 (60.65%) from 12 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,78,986 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 4,01,174, Varanasi 2,52,863, Allahabad 2,17,517, Meerut 2,27,052, Bareilly 1,61,576 (72.27%), Dehradun 2,18,000 (76.79%); Rohtak 37,312; Calcutta 16,34,883 from 13 cinemas; Nagpur 6,08,929 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,75,371, Akola 2,00,391, Raipur (6 days) 1,38,187, Durg 91,161, Jalgaon 1,28,385; Indore 1,78,000 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal (6 days) 3,02,381 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 8,00,861 from 4 cinemas, Jodhpur 4,08,000; Hyderabad (gross) 30,12,076 from 12 cinemas (1 unrecd., 1 in noon); Vijayawada 2,16,000.

Avaidh Sambandh (dubbed) 1 week Bombay 38,403 (25.88%); 1 week Jaipur 1,14,537.

Sarfarosh is extraordinary in Bombay and Maharashtra. It is steady in some ‘A’ class centres of other circuits, but drops quite a lot in other centres. 2nd week Bombay 44,32,299 (88.74%) from 12 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,66,309 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot 1,31,398, Jamnagar 76,000 (1 in matinee unrecd.); Pune 12,26,236 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,90,000, Solapur 1,98,541; Delhi 27,76,252 from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,17,506 from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 3,76,363, Agra 2,56,318, Varanasi 2,05,092, Allahabad 1,60,000, Bareilly 80,001 (28.20%), Dehradun 1,80,000; Rohtak 8,000; Calcutta 12,37,630 from 8 cinemas; Nagpur 3,90,992 from 2 cinemas, Akola 1,09,837, total 2,81,812, Dhule (6 days) 78,969, Raipur 88,134, total 2,71,629, Jalgaon 1,19,319, 1st week Wardha (6 days) 96,280, 2nd week Chandrapur 1,14,735, Yavatmal 33,185 (1st 1,43,771); Indore 2,15,272 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 7,57,592 from 2 cinemas, Bikaner (5 days) 1,20,056; Hyderabad (gross) 4,96,989, full.

ARCHANA JOGLEKAR WEDS

Actress Archana Joglekar got married to Dr. Nirmal Mulye on 30th April in Bombay. She will continue acting in films.

SC ASKS FOR PROGRESS REPORTS ON ‘FIRE’ CASE

The Supreme Court on 13th May asked the Union and Maharashtra state governments to file progress reports, within six weeks, on cases relating to violence which followed the screening of Deepa Mehta’s controversial film, Fire. Following the claim of the counsel for the victims that the state government was trying to cover up the case, the court ordered the governments to file copies of the FIR, chargesheets and other relevant documents. According to the counsel, out of the 400 people involved in arson in Bombay, only 25 had been arrested; and chargesheets were not filed in the court.

It may be recalled that the screening of Fire was followed by violence outside cinemas in Bombay and Delhi by a section of people, and several demonstrations were held by those objecting to the scenes of lesbianism depicted in the film. Among the people who suffered their wrath was thespian Dilip Kumar who, together with Mahesh Bhatt and others, petitioned the apex court for protection and the screening of the film without fear.

MULTIPLEX OPENS IN GANDHINAGAR

A three-screen multiplex, City Pulse, opened in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) on 7th May with the releases of KARTOOS and HOGI PYAR KI JEET. The third cinema will open shortly. Each of the three screens at the multiplex boasts of Sony Dynamic Digital Sound (SDDS), Dolby Digital DTS and Sony Stereo sound systems. Spread over 1,25,000 sq. ft. of land, the multiplex also houses a restaurant and an amphitheatre, apart from the cinema halls. Gaming halls, restaurants, an art gallery and a video games parlour will be added to the multiplex in its next phase.

YOU ASKED IT

What will be the next film from the R.K. banner?

– Rishi Kapoor is hearing a lot of stories but has not finalised any so far.

Why does our industry give so much importance to the luck factor?

– Because film business is speculative in nature. Speculation and luck, superstition etc. go hand-in-hand.

What gives the maximum joy and the maximum relief to a producer or director?

– Maximum joy comes when a producer’s/director’s film hits the bull’s eye. Relief comes when another’s film bombs. This is because the producer/director, whose film is due for release, starts comparing his film with the bombed film.

CENSOR NEWS

Puja Films’ Biwi No. 1 was given C.C. No. CIL/2/10/99 (UA) dt. 14-5-’99; length 4052.63 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 4.44 metres).

Padmalaya Combines’ Sooryavansham was given C.C. (in Hyderabad) No. CIL/28/34/99 (U) dt. 7-5-’99; length 5115.34 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 12.59 metres).

Shivam Chitrya’s (Bombay) Rajaji will be issued certificate on 17th.

IMPORTED FILMS

Warner Brothers’ The Matrix was given C.C. No. CFL/3/38/99 (A) dt. 10-5-’99; length 3735.07 metres in 7 reels (no cut).

20th Century Fox’s A Life Less Ordinary was given C.C. No. CFL/3/39/99 (A) dt. 14-5-’99; length 2842.25 metres in 12 reels (no cut).

Columbia Tristar Films’ Parent Trap was given C.C. No. CFL/1/8/99 (U) dt. 7-5-’99; length 3513.15 metres in 8 reels (cuts: 23.77 metres).

Aditya International’s Night Of The Scare Crow was seen on 14th.

Warner Brothers’ Analyze This, applied on 10th, was seen on 14th.

Indo Overseas Films’ Once Upon A Time In China & America was applied on 10th.

Paramount Films’ ED IV was applied on 13th.

20th Century Fox’s Bulworth was applied on 13th.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Brothers In Arms

Ever since brothers and C.P. Berar distributors Harikishan Laddha and Jaikishan Laddha parted ways about seven years ago, there hasn’t ever been a case when both have released new films on the same day. Until now, that is. For, the brothers are poised to release two big films simultaneously on 21st May. While elder brother Harikishan’s Laddha Bros. Films P. Ltd. is releasing Sooryavansham on that day, Jaikishan’s Jai Pictures will come out with Rajaji. Thus the two films will not only pit bade miyan against chhote miyan but also have the dubious distinction of pitting bade bhaiyya against chhote bhaiyya!

Gaana Aur ‘Sona’

As the Sona sona number of Biwi No. 1 is scaling up the popularity charts, our attention is drawn to the fact that almost every song, which has had the word sona in its mukhda, has been a hit in the past. Take for instance, O mere sona re (Teesri Manzil), Sona lai jaa re (Mera Gaon Mera Desh), Na maangoo sona chaandi (Bobby), Sona kitna sona hai (Hero No. 1), Sona sona, tera sundar roop salona (Hindustani), Sona sona (Major Saab) and scores of others. Each of these songs has been loved by the public and has, to some extent, added to the favourable fate these films have had at the box-office. Is this some sort of an indication for success? We hope not. Otherwise, our industry people, being the way they are, will soon start putting at least one Sona song in every film! That would be too bad, wouldn’t it?

Going Overboard

Even though the release of Biwi No. 1 (on 28th May) was still three weeks away, its publicity-savvy producer, Vashu Bhagnani, had already begun putting up the film’s posters and other publicity materials at Bombay’s cinemas (Metro, Chandan, Cinemax and others) since last week. This, in itself, may not be a wrong thing to do, but when a due-for-release film’s publicity overshadows that of a film currently showing at the cinema, then one is simply making tongues wag in the trade — even though unintentionally. The publicity of Biwi No. 1 at Metro has been so extensive that it appears as if the film has already released there! Apart from a stall selling Biwi No. 1 merchandise, the theatre sports a huge 60′ x 20′ hoarding and several other posters of the film. Luckily, at present, a repeat-run film is being shown there and so the publicity of Biwi No. 1 doesn’t really ‘harm’ anyone. However, the situation at Chandan cinema, Juhu (Bombay), which is currently showing Anari No. 1 and where Sooryavansham is due next week, is quite the opposite. Vashu’s extensive publicity for his film at this cinema has invited jocular remarks from the makers/distributors of the abovementioned two films who wonder whether it is their film/s which is/are running at the cinema or Biwi No.1.

Guest Director

Not many may be aware that a song was recently added in Sooryavansham. This song was picturised not by the film’s director, E.V.V. Satyanarayana, but by Gurudev Bhalla. Amitabh Bachchan was reportedly impressed by Gurudev’s work in a couple of music videos and it was Bachchan who asked Gurudev to picturise the last song of Sooryavansham. Gurudev did so three weeks back in Hyderabad. The song features Bachchan and Soundarya. Gurudev, incidentally, is the director of Xavier Marquis’ Samna.