CHHUPA RUSTAM
Seven Arts Pictures’ Chhupa Rustam (UA) is a suspense thriller. A multi-millionaire boy sets out to solve the mystery behind his father’s death when he learns that the death was not an accident, as believed, but rather a murder. He, too, is killed by vested interests. In his place comes his look-alike who scares the wits out of those who plotted the murder of the multi-millionaire boy. The look-alike not only solves the mystery the boy had set out to, but also exposes a wily police officer who had, even before the rich boy’s murder, planned to plant him (look-alike) in his (rich boy’s) place. The revelation by the look-alike about his actual identity shocks the villains who end up caught in a no-win situation.
The film, made in a crude style, appeals only to the masses. There’s no freshness in concept or content but the pace is reasonably fast, which keeps the audience interest alive. Further, the inter-weaving of comedy with the tension-filled suspense goes down well with the masses. On the minus side, the suspense revelation is hardly exciting. The tracks of the two heroines are quite inconsequential. There’s nothing whatsoever in the film for the class audience. Dialogues are good at places.
Sanjay Kapoor does a good job in a double role. Manisha Koirala is average. Mamta Kulkarni impresses in acting as well as dances. Her dialogue delivery, which used to be superfast, is perfect now. Raj Babbar’s underplaying his character in a film that has crudity as its hallmark, seems out of place. Dalip Tahhil is quite effective. Tinnu Anand entertains a great deal; he is ably assisted by witty dialogues (Aadesh K. Arjun). Laxmikant Berde is also very natural. Navneet Nishan performs beautifully. Ram Sethi, Mushtaq Khan and baby Neha lend good support. Viju Khote, Vishwajit Pradhan, Subbiraj, Avtar Gill, Satyen Kappu and the rest are adequate.
Aziz Sejawal’s direction is fair. Some punches of writers Rajiv Kaul and Praful Parekh and a few directorial touches of Sejawal are quite enjoyable. Music (Anand Milind) may not appeal to the city audience but it will go down well with the public in the interiors, especially in U.P. and Bihar. The title song, ‘Dil mat dena meri souten ko’, ‘Tu hai mere dil mein’ and ‘Yeh chand’ are the hummable ones and their picturisations will appeal to front-benchers mainly. Locations are terribly ordinary. Camerawork is okay. Action scenes are dull. The film has taken a long time in the making and the staleness shows. Editing is jerky. Technically, very average.
On the whole, Chhupa Rustam, having been sold at throwaway prices, will keep most of its distributors smiling though the producer will not be able to come out of the red.
Released on 23-3-2001 at Metro and 13 other cinemas of Bombay thru Anugraha Entertainment. Publicity: good. Opening: fair. …….Also released in Delhi-U.P., East Punjab, Eastern circuit, C.P. Berar, Rajasthan and Nizam. Opening was impressive in U.P. and Bihar but very ordinary in C.P. Berar and Rajasthan.
LATEST POSITION
Examinations and cricket matches are adversely affecting collections.
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Chori Chori Chupke Chupke is strong in Bombay and Gujarat. It dropped badly in Bengal, Bihar, C.I. and Rajasthan. 2nd week Bombay 59,14,183 (75.46%) from 15 cinemas (6 on F.H.), total for 2 weeks 1,35,54,566; Ahmedabad 17,38,356 from 5 cinemas, Jamnagar 98,574; Pune 9,21,581 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,48,885 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 2,19,817; Delhi 52,88,550 from 14 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 5,62,013 from 2 cinemas, Agra 2,75,000, Allahabad 1,75,000, Bareilly (3 days) 53,955 (1st week 7 days 2,32,713), Jaunpur 35,000 (1st 75,000); Nagpur 4,52,309 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,74,575, Balaghat 55,252, total 1,57,610, Amravati 2,24,125, Raipur (6 days) 1,97,161, Bhilai (6 days) 47,787, Durg 61,504, Jalgaon 1,65,236, Wardha 83,743, Chandrapur 1,27,233, total 3,40,252; Indore 1,87,000 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Jaipur (24 shows) 4,69,590 (82.31%), Ajmer 1,05,704, Bikaner 1,74,284; Hyderabad (gross) 5,79,821 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.). Total 1,86,36,238 from 65 cinemas.
CHOWK TO BE NAMED AFTER SHREE RAM BOHRA
The junction of Altamount Road and Anasty Road in South Bombay will be named Shree Ram Bohra Chowk, after the late IMPPA president, at a function on 1st April. The naming ceremony will be performed by star-MP Sunil Dutt in the presence of Murli Deora, MP, and Kishan Jadhav, municipal councillor.
ADLABS’ IMAX CINEMA TO OPEN ON 25TH MARCH
India’s first IMAX cinema hall will open on 25th March with the screening of a specially-made film by BharatBala Productions. Called IMAX Adlabs Theatre, the cinema is equipped with the special IMAX screen which is ten times the size of a normal screen. It has 20,000 watts of digital 6-channel surround sound. It is located at Wadala, Bombay. Besides an IMAX screen, the theatre complex has four more screens which will open later.
The inauguration of the IMAX theatre will be done by Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal.
‘CHITRALEKHA’ CELEBRATES GOLDEN JUBILEE
The Chitralekha group, which brings out the leading Gujarati weekly, Chitralekha, and film glossy g, celebrated the completion of its 50 years yesterday (23rd March) with a party at The Club, Bombay. Falguni Pathak’s performance was the highlight of the party.
CINTAA COLLECTS RS. 2.7 LAKH FOR QUAKE RELIEF
The Cine & TV Artistes’ Association has collected Rs. 2,70,157 from its members for rehabilitation of the victims of the earthquake in Gujarat. Among the prominent donors are Amrish Puri and Om Puri, who donated Rs. 1 lakh each.
WEST BENGAL CINEMA EMPLOYEES STRIKE WORK
750 Cinemas In State Wear Deserted Look
Almost 750 cinemas in West Bengal downed shutters on 23rd March as employees owing allegiance to the Bengal Motion Pictures Employees Union (BMPEU) went on an indefinite strike. The Union is demanding a 70% hike in basic salaries of cinema employees.
All efforts to avert the strike failed. At a meeting held on 22nd at the Writers Building, the workers rejected the cinema owners’ offer of a 30% increase in basic salaries. Labour minister Shanti Ghatak attended the meeting, besides representatives of cinema owners (EIMPA) and the BMPEU. Ghatak was sympathetic towards the employees and said at the meeting that a revised pay scale for cinema employees was long overdue.
Pradip Dey, a spokesman of the EIMPA, passed the buck to the labour government of West Bengal and said that cinema owners were in no position to concede the demands of their staff until the government provided reliefs such as a hike in service charge on cinema tickets.
The EIMPA estimated a loss of Rs. 10 crore per month to the closed cinemas because of the strike.
In Calcutta city, a handful of cinemas like Metro, Priya and Basusree, the employees of which do not owe allegiance to the Union, remained open.
SURESH VORA CRITICAL
Bombay distributor Suresh Vora is critically ill. He is undergoing treatment at his residence at Bandra, Bombay.
CINEMA OWNER DEAD
Srinivas V. Rakle, owner of Mahatma Talkies, Akluj (dist. Solapur), expired on 22nd March in Pune following a fall in which he suffered brain injuries. He was 73. Mahatma Talkies and Shriram Chitramandir, Akluj (not owned by Rakle) remained closed yesterday (23rd).
YOU ASKED IT
Do you think, Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, a rural subject, will take a good initial in today’s times?
– It won’t take a good start but will rather take a great start! The curiosity for LAGAAN among the class audience is tremendous. By the time the film hits the screens on 1st June, the craze among the masses will also be terrific.
Which film had the maximum number of songs?
– Madan Theatres’ INDRASABHA which had 71 songs! It was released in 1932. The film’s music was scored by Nagardas Nayak. It starred Nissar, Kajjan and Mukhtar Begum.
Is it true that Aks will be released on May 4 or 11?
– Yes, AKS is slated for early May release but there’s no publicity as yet.
PRODUCTION NEWS
‘Na Tum Jaano Na Hum’ Progresses
PFH Entertainment Ltd.’s Na Tum Jaano Na Hum was shot at Ballard Pier and Water Kingdom on March 18 and 19. A scene and portion of a song were picturised on Saif Ali Khan, Rakhi Sawant and Shilpa Saklani who makes a guest appearance. Being directed by Arjun Sablok, the film stars Hrithik Roshan, Esha Deol, Moushumi Chatterjee, Rati Agnihotri, Smita Jayakar, Alok Nath, Anang Desai and Achla Sachdev. Music: Rajesh Roshan. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Editor: Shirish Kunder. Cinematographer: Nataraja Subramanian.
Akshay, Rambha Shoot For Rajkumar Kohli’s Film
A 5-day shooting spell of Shankar Movies’ Prod. No. 25 at Sumila bungalow, Studio F-21, a hospital and on Bombay locales was completed on March 23. Romantic, dramatic and emotional scenes were picturised on Akshay Kumar, Rambha, Aditya Pancholi, Sharad Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Rajat Bedi, Mahi, newfind Kiran Rathod and Munish Kohli. Being produced and directed by Rajkumar Kohli, the film co-stars Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty, Manisha Koirala, Aftab Shivdasani, Siddharth, Payal, Mohini Sharma, Nikita, Raju Mavani, Johny Lever, Raj Babbar and Sonu Nigam alongwith Atul Agnihotri in a guest appearance. Story: Aatish. Dialogues: K.K. Singh. Music: Anand Milind. Lyrics: Sameer. Editors: Kuku and Cuckoo. Cinematographers: Thomas A. Xavier and Damodar Naidu. Action: Tinnu Verma. Art: Sunil Singh. Sound: J.P. Saigal. Nishi presents the film.
‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ Nears Completion
The entire shooting of Indian Movies’ Maa Tijhe Salaam will be completed on March 28 with the conclusion of a month-long stint in Kulu Manali. The film is being produced by Mahendra Dhariwal and directed by Tinnu Verma. It stars Sunny Deol, Arbaaz Khan, Tabu, Rajat Bedi, Prithvi, Avtar Gill, Rana Jung Bahadur, Anang Desai, Deep Dhillon, Nawab, Anil Nagrath, Sheela Sharma, Jeetu Verma, Sharat Saxena, Ali Khan, Sudesh Berry and Malaika Arora Khan in a friendly appearance. Story writer and action director: Tinnu Verma. Screenplay: Shyam K. Goel. Dialogues: K.K. Singh. Lyrics: Sameer. Music: Sajid-Wajid. Cinematography: Raju Kaygee. Dances: Rekha Chinni Prakash and Ricky-James. Art: Sameer Chanda and Shyam Satyen. Sound: Rakesh Ranjan.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
A Bouquet Of Thorns
Sanjay Gupta’s Kaante is one helluva proposal. It stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty and Kumar Gaurav. Mahesh Manjrekar, director of such films as Astitva, Kurukshetra and Nidaan, makes his acting debut (on the big screen — he has been a stage actor) in Kaante. Singer Lucky Ali also plays a role in this story of six criminals. Actually, they are five criminals and one of them is a cop posing as a criminal.
Sanjay Gupta plans to shoot the entire film in a single schedule of 50 days in the US, beginning August this year. “It is for this reason that I’ve waited for more than a year,” explains Gupta who is currently finalising a complete Hollywood team of technicians, besides the supporting cast of Indian and Hollywood actors.
Partnering Gupta in the project is Sanjay Dutt who is as excited about it as his partner and buddy “Gups” is.
Sanjay Gupta’s booklet, which he has got specially made for the film, is terrific. What’s more, Gupta has made a promotional trailer even before actual shooting has begun.
While negotiations are on with a couple of corporates (including a Hollywood production company) to co-produce the film, Sanjay Gupta has already concluded deals for music, Overseas and all non-theatrical rights with Zee.
Sanjay Gupta reveals that Sanjay Dutt is involved not just as a producer but also creatively in the screenplay writing. As he informs, “Anurag Kashyap and I are writing the screenplay but Sanju’s inputs have been so much that we just might add his name in the credit title too.” Incidentally, Bobby Anand was to partner Sanjay Gupta in the project but the partnership has been dissolved and the baby now belongs to two Sanjay’s — Gupta and Dutt.
Confusion Galore
There has been a lot of confusion over the release dates of at least two forthcoming films — Tips’ Albela and Time’s Jodi No. 1. While Albela has always been announced as releasing on 20th April, the release of Jodi No. 1 is shuttling between two dates — April 13 and 20. G.D. Mehta, the Delhi-U.P. distributor of Jodi No. 1, has been insisting that the film will come on 20th April and only 20th April. Why, he has even booked his chain of cinemas from 20th. But the distributors of the other circuits are all finalising their cinema chains from 13th April because that is the date given by the producers. In the meantime, Tips has got posters of Albela, with screaming headlines of the release date (20th April), already printed. According to Ramesh Taurani of Tips, “Time, Venus and Tips have an understanding between themselves because of which the release of their films will never clash with one another. That is why, Time’s Jodi No. 1 was scheduled for 13th April release, our Albela for 20th, and Venus’ Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya… for 27th April.” Incidentally, there was talk earlier this week of postponement of the Venus film by a week but it is again April 27 now.
Pretty Effective
If there’s one film for which the craze is growing day by day, it is Aamir Khan’s Lagaan. The promotional trailer of the film makes it stand out from the other films being advertised. In other words, the trailer is very effective.
Talking of trailers, Venus’ Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya…, Tips’ Albela and Vashu Bhagnani’s Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai are being extensively publicised. Suneel Darshan, too, has big plans for the publicity of his Ek Rishtaa – The Bond Of Love which is due for release on 18th May.
Triple Treat From Three Superstars
The year 2001 may have begun on the wrong foot, but it might just turn out a smash year before it ends. Cinegoers everywhere are going to be treated to a triple Sundae by three of the most-doted stars of today viz. Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan. At least three films each of these three superstars are slated for the marquee in the current year. Amitabh Bachchan will first see his image in Aks, then follow it up with Ek Rishtaa – The Bond Of Love, and finally, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. If things go well, he might be able to squeeze in one more — All The Best. Well, all the best to that!
Shah Rukh Khan, of course, is expected to run up the numbers with his next week’s release, One 2 Ka 4. Then, he dons the additional mantle of a producer with his starrer Asoka which will hit the screens in May/June. Shah Rukh will end the year with — well, no guesses here — Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Two more Shah Rukh starrers, Devdas and Hum Aapke Hain Sanam, are also in the running for release this year. The former may actually not make it while the latter is ridden with so many problems that — well, hum kuchh nahin keh sakte, sanam!
Hrithik Roshan’s first release this year will be Yaadein. While his fans might still be savouring the memories of the film, Hrithik will strike again with Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage. His final release, as with the other two superstars, will be Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. His Na Tum Jaano Na Hum is also progressing well, but is it likely to come this year? Na woh jaanta hai, na hum!
The Numbers Game
Subhash Ghai was to have released his Rahul, a non-star cast film, on 30th March but has now postponed it by a week so that it may not face the opposition of the Shah Rukh starrer, One 2 Ka 4. Ghai explained the postponement thus: “What is the sense in coming in direct opposition of a big star-cast film when the following week has no big release?” He further joked, “Bhai, hamari film toh one 2 ka 4 nahin hai, hamari toh four 2 ka 1 hai!” Incidentally, the title of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer has its genesis in the hit song of Subhash Ghai’s Ram Lakhan — One two ka four/Four two ka one/My name is Lakhan….
While on Rahul, produced and directed by Prakash Jha and presented by Ghai’s Mukta Arts Ltd., the latter is pretty much concerned about the release strategy its distributors would be adopting. “It is in films like Rahul that a distributor’s marketing and exploiting skills are at test,” said Ghai. He added, “This film cannot be exploited by releasing it in too many cinemas. It needs handling with kid gloves and a lot of care.”
One Day Ka 5!
That the industry is on the ropes due to the dearth of big releases with sustaining power, is by now common knowledge. What is, perhaps, lesser known is the fact that more and more distributors have now begun to think in terms of sharing the cinema with other distributors so that they don’t have to pay deficit to the cinema owner because of poor collections. As a result, even a main cinema in Bombay is forced to screen five different films every day for an entire week! Novelty cinema has the dubious distinction for doing so. This week’s programme at the cinema literally reads one day ka 5! The five films being screened at Novelty, Bombay are Mission Kashmir (matinee), Officer (3 p.m. shows), Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi (6 p.m. shows), Vertical Limit (8.30 p.m. shows) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (10.45 p.m. shows).
Thankfully, this one-day-ka-5 programme at the cinema ends next Friday (30th) as things return to normalcy with the release of One 2 Ka 4.
Cards That Killed The Cat
An invitation from T-Series last week simply said: ‘You have this date with us — April 7 — for a special occasion.’ Since there was no mention of what the occasion was, one spent a good part of the week trying to figure out what it could be. Now, there is a follow-up to last week’s invitation — a smaller one — which serves as ‘a reminder for April 7’. Again, there is not a clue in it about the occasion. The mystery, as they say, deepens. One must also admit that T-Series has got one stumped. Given that the D-Day is still a couple of weeks away, there just might be one or two more cards to follow! Thank God, we aren’t cats. For, as they say, curiosity killed the cat!