SIRF TUM

Narsimha Enterprises’ Sirf Tum is a unique love story in which the boy and girl in love meet only in the end. The entire love story progresses without the protagonists meeting each other. Since they have not even seen one another’s photograph, the two don’t recognise each other when fate brings them face-to-face on more occasions than one. The story is excellent but the same cannot be said of the screenplay. While the first half is slow and also boring, the post-interval portion is quite interesting.

Remake of the Tamil super-hit Kaadhal Kottai, the film deals with the romance between a middle-class girl and an orphan boy who is an engineer. The two get to know each other through letters they exchange, and they even decide to get married. Since their love does not start with the usual boy-meets-girl episode, they also decide that they should not even exchange photographs but rather meet in person whenever. Several obstacles come in the way of their meeting and, at times, it almost appears as if the two are not destined to ever meet.

The impact of an extremely novel and wonderful story has been diluted by average performances and poor handling by the director. A subject of this kind required the girl and the boy to be so innocent and lovable that the audience’s hearts would bleed for them. But neither the hero nor the heroine evoke that kind of sympathy or love. The viewer, therefore, doesn’t move with the drama. It is then that thoughts like the hero and heroine exchanging letters in today’s age of internet and e-mail disturb the mind and don’t let the viewer enjoy the way one should in such a film. Too much of Malayalam dialogues in the first half will not go down well with the non-Malayalee audience.

Sanjay Kapoor and Priya Gill are okay. Sushmita Sen does justice to her role and exudes glamour. Kader Khan’s comedy is loud and hardly makes anybody laugh. Johny Lever has also been wasted. Mohnish Bahl does quite well. Guest Jackie Shroff, as the autorickshaw driver, is good. Salman Khan is alright in a brief special appearance and serves to lend star value. Tej Sapru, Shagufta Ali, Shubha Khote and the rest provide fair support.

Ahathian’s direction is devoid of the sensitivity the subject deserved. A tale which could have been narrated in a heart-rending way has been told in quite a flat manner. Even the climax is not as exciting as it should have been. The feeling of helplessness of the heroine (when searching for her beloved) because of torrential rains doesn’t come across if only because there isn’t even knee-deep water on the streets. Perhaps, the only place where the film does strike a chord is in the very last scene when the two lovers meet on the railway platform. That scene is truly fantastic.

Nadeem Shravan’s music is wonderful. The title song, ‘Dilbar dilbar’, ‘Panchhi sur mein gaate hain’, ‘Pehli pehli baar’ and ‘Ek mulaqat zaroori hai sanam’ are all beautiful songs with melodious tunes. Picturisation of ‘Dilbar dilbar’ on heavenly Houston locales is breathtaking. Camerawork complements the beautiful locations. Production values are grand. Technically, of a high standard.

On the whole, Sirf Tum has a unique story and excellent music as its saving points. It lacks universal appeal and will be appreciated by the class audience in cities. Major releases in the coming weeks will also affect its prospects.

Released on 11-6-’99 at Eros and 4 other cinemas of Bombay by Vimal Agarwal thru R.M. Ahuja & Co. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was very good.

CENSOR NEWS

Bhansali Productions’ Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, seen on 8th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/2/17/99 (UA) dt. 11-6-’99; length 5160.01 metres in 23 reels (no cut).

Inega International’s Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya was given C.C. No. CIL/2/16/99 (UA) dt. 10-6-’99; length 3684.10 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 37.15 metres).

Tyger Productions’ Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi…, seen on 7th, has been passed with U certificate, with cuts.

Star International’s Shaitan Tantrik has been refused certificate.

Well Make Films’ Chudail No. 1 (revised), seen on 7th, has been passed for adults, with cuts.

S.A.S. Movies’ Shaitan No. 1 (dubbed), seen on 7th, has been passed for adults, with cuts.

Rahul Productions’ Haseena Maan Jaayegi was seen on 9th.

H.S. Films’ Shaitani Darinda (length 2666.24 metres in 13 reels), applied on 7th and seen on 8th, has been passed for adults, with cuts.

Cine Images’ Akeli (length 5258.41 metres in 18 reels), applied on 9th, was seen on 11th.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Tabu will act in a Marathi film, ASTITVA. It is actually a Marathi-Hindi bilingual being directed by Mahesh Manjrekar and produced by him jointly with Jhamu Sughand.

* Naghma, who is very keen to make it in Hindi films now, has shed a lot of weight. She looks prim, slim and pretty. Maybe, producers and directors would like to give the actress a second chance.

* Exhibitors of Aurangabad have evinced a keen interest in the multiplex policy of the Maharashtra government, which grants an entertainment tax holiday for up to five years to cinemas housed in a multiplex. At least two exhibitors are seriously weighing the possibilities of constructing cineplexes in Aurangabad.

Magic Of Marketing & Music

The unexpected happened this week again. Boney Kapoor’s Sirf Tum, despite having a negative face value, opened very well everywhere. The film’s hero, Sanjay Kapoor, has been going through a terrible professional low. Heroine Priya Gill’s position is worse still. The only ‘saleable’ actress in the film is, perhaps, Sushmita Sen — she too has become ‘hot’ only after the success of Biwi No. 1 in which she has won wide appreciation. But heroines are generally known to not contribute to the initial value of a film. Of course, in the case of Sirf Tum, Sushmita can take some credit for the opening because her performance in Biwi No. 1 is fresh in people’s minds. Moreover, her song in Sirf Tum — Dilbar dilbar — was already very popular before the film opened.

What, besides Sushmita, contributed to the noteworthy opening of the film? The answer lies in the two Ms — Music and Marketing. Not just the Dilbar dilbar song but the entire album of Sirf Tum is a listener’s delight. Nadeem Shravan’s music had begun to mesmerise the audience, and the film’s release insofar as the timing vis-à-vis the popularity of music is concerned was appropriate.

But, perhaps, the most important factor which contributed to the enviable opening is producer Boney Kapoor’s marketing of the film. The importance of marketing cannot be gainsaid. Not caring about the poor star-cast, Boney spent lavishly on the film’s publicity — as lavishly, or even more than he had spent on its making. Whether it was street publicity or television or publicity in the print media, Boney spent heavily to make the film desirable among the audience. The film has a novel story and, realising its worth, Boney informed the potential audience of its novelty though the extensive publicity campaigns. The idea of falling in love with someone you’ve never met must’ve appealed to the young generation which thronged to the cinemas on the opening day.

Just two weeks back, we had Vashu Bhagnani’s multi-starrer Biwi No. 1 opening to bumper houses due, again, to its wonderful marketing. The impressive initial which Sirf Tum has taken this week underlines the important role of appropriate marketing in today’s times. Boney Kapoor, too, needs to be patted on his back for a splendid display of his business acumen in the face of the worst of circumstances.

– KOMAL NAHTA

Happy Days Are Here Again

The success of Sarfarosh and Biwi No. 1 have boosted the morale of the film industry. Sarfarosh was perceived as a ‘city film’ and if it has managed to keep its distributors happy despite its ‘class’ appeal, it bodes well for the industry, especially because it proves again that films with novelty do have a market today even if they have a ‘class’ appeal. The success of Biwi No. 1 is exciting not just because distributors will earn handsomely in the film but also because it was released at a time that was considered suicidal. Yet, despite the World Cup cricket fever, the film not only opened to a bumper response but also held on well all through the first week and also in the second week.

Now that the industry’s good times have started, it looks like these are going to continue for some months at least. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is carrying good pre-release reports and all those who’ve seen it opine that it is a good tear-jerker.

The songs of Haseena Maan Jaayegi give a feeling that this will be yet another winner from David Dhawan. Especially because Biwi No. 1 has clicked, the belief that HMJ too will do well is further fortified. The music of Mann is also doing tremendously well and looking to the track record of Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria on the one hand and of Aamir Khan on the other, the odds are in favour of Mann winning the audience’s hearts. Veeru Devgan’s maiden directorial venture, Hindustan Ki Kasam, already has exhibitors swearing by its trailer alone (prepared, incidentally, by Rajtaru Videosonic). With a thinking actor like Ajay Devgan in command (it is Devgans’ home production), this Kasam definitely looks promising.

The month of August will start with Subhash Ghai’s Taal and it doesn’t need to be reiterated that Ghai still has a good feel of the public pulse and is in perfect sur and taal. The songs, composed by A.R. Rahman and written by Anand Bakshi, are excellent, as Ghai’s music always is. If Taal will start the month of August for the industry, the month will conclude with Venus’ prestigious Baadshah. Besides the deft direction of Abbas Mustan (who delivered a hit in Soldier with a hero who had almost been written off by the industry), Baadshah also has Shah Rukh Khan to boot. Between Taal and Baadshah, we will have Mehul Kumar’s Kohram, which despite the poor fates of Amitabh Bachchan’s recent releases as also Nana Patekar’s last few films, does give good vibes.

So it seems, happy times are here again. One never knows, the coming three months (beginning next week) may be the best period for the industry in a long time! This should get a smile on everyone’s lips and a shine on our faces, right?

– Komal Nahta