DAMAN
Department of Family Welfare, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India and NFDC’s Daman (A) tackles the issue of domestic violence and marital rape. A simple and less-educated girl gets married to a rich tea plantation owner who is a womaniser and has a terrible temper. He hates his wife for no apparent reason. One day, he rapes her but the meek wife refuses to file a police complaint. Even though her parents-in-law know the truth, they don’t sympathise with her or help her. Her brother-in-law is her only well-wisher but, being younger than her husband, there is not much he can do.
The lady gives birth to a girl-child whom the husband refuses to accept as his own because he only wants a male child. Years pass by without any improvement in the wife’s position. Things rather go from bad to worse till, one day, the wife runs away from her home, alongwith her daughter, now 13 years old. The two of them are given shelter by a noble-hearted lady and her husband. But the evil guy reaches her new abode as well. Ultimately, the docile wife decides to put an end to all his plans by killing him in broad daylight and in full view of thousands of people.
The film is terribly dry and morose and moves at a snail’s pace. There’s no entertainment value whatsoever. The only purpose it serves is to depress the viewer. The changeover of the meek wife is quite sudden rather than gradual. The scene in which the police officer, investigating her case, proposes to her, looks very contrived and unintentionally funny. A guy proposing to the lady’s 13-year-old daughter also looks rather silly. Since when have 12- and 13-year-olds started taking decisions about marriage, one fails to understand!
Although the film raises an important point, it is not able to address the problem sincerely or sensibly. If eliminating the husband is the solution to his violence, it really doesn’t appeal to 99% of the womenfolk in the country. Even otherwise, the film has extremely elitist appeal. The Assamese flavour further restricts its appeal.
Raveena Tandon does a fairly good job as the meek wife. Sayaji Shinde is loud and even irritating. Sanjay Suri does alright but doesn’t get much scope. Raima Sen, as Raveena’s daughter, is natural. Shaan is okay. Ranjan Koshal performs reasonably well. The rest of the cast passes muster.
Kalpana Lajmi’s direction is no better than the uninteresting subject. Dialogues are ordinary. Music (Bhupen Hazarika) is melodious but, except for one song, the others further decelerate the already slow pace of the film. Camerawork is shoddy. Whoever thought of showing turmoil and tension in the household by shaking the camera as if it were rocking in a boat in the stormy sea must be having a weird sense of cinematography. For, scenes with such camerawork only make the viewer feel dizzy. Technically, average.
On the whole, Daman is too dry and depressing to register any impact. A poor show.
Released on 4-5-2001 at New Excelsior and 8 other cinemas of Bombay thru Ahuja Films. Publicity: fair. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over except in Bengal. Opening was disastrous everywhere.
KHATRON KE KHILADI
ABC Pictures’ Khatron Ke Khiladi (A) is a rehash of several action films including Sholay. Four notorious criminals fall in the hands of law and are put behind bars. Intelligent and resourceful, the foursome soon manages to escape from jail. They are forced to flee from place to place as the police is on their trail. Ultimately, they reach a border village where they catch the attention of a militaryman. The army guy is almost single-handedly fighting to rid the villagers of an evil landlord who is also his step-brother.
The do-gooder armyman sees in the four young and tough criminals a Godsent support for his cause. He lures them into the village under a false pretext. However, the foursome soon learns of his ruse and turns against him. A bit of a drama later, they agree to help in freeing the villagers from the landlord’s clutches because they are basically good at heart.
Ultimately, the four men destroy the landlord’s plans of blowing up the village, in connivance with a dreaded terrorist, on Independence Day. The villagers kill the landlord in an action-filled climax.
Too much time is taken at the beginning of the film in establishing the wily landlord’s character. As a result, the heroes’ entry is delayed. The film lacks excitement up to the interval point. Drama picks up a bit in the second half when the gang of four begins to play games with the landlord. However, the pace of the drama remains uneven. Romantic and comedy scenes are few and weak. Dialogues (Khalid Majeed) are good.
Mithun Chakraborty, Puru Raaj Kumar, Ronit Roy and Sudesh Berry play their characters well. Raj Babbar, in a double role, is more at ease when playing the evil landlord. Rutika Singh is good. Pooja Gandhi is poor. Shweta Menon is okay. Ishrat Ali, Tej Sapru, Amit Pachori, Rami Reddy and master Shantanu lend fair support. Asha Sachdev is good. Kiran Kumar impresses.
Direction ranges from dull to fair. The title song has some appeal; the devotional ‘Allah teri duhai’ will go down well with the Muslim audience. Action — which is the mainstay of the film — is ordinary. Cinematography and other technical values are adequate.
On the whole, Khatron Ke Khiladi, because of its stale subject and routine action, will prove an average fare on the strength of small centres.
Released on 4-5-2001 at Alankar and 10 other cinemas of Bombay thru A.B.C. Films. Publicity & opening: so-so. …….Also released all over expect in Bengal. Opening was fair in U.P. but dull elsewhere.
LATEST POSITION
All the releases of this week opened to dull houses.
Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya… is good in Bombay and Delhi but poor in C.P.C.I. Rajasthan. 1st week Bombay 40,63,665 (78.25%) from 10 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,84,286 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Jamnagar (matinee) 9,100 (1 in regular unrecd.); Solapur 1,60,090 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 90,428 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 95,687; Delhi 41,37,976 (52.68%) from 11 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,41,706 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,05,916, Agra 1,49,000, Allahabad 1,05,417; Calcutta 11,26,212 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 4,11,085 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (5 days) 87,518, Akola 95,338, Raipur (6 days) 62,890, Bhilai 71,542, Jalgaon (6 days) 1,20,147 from 2 cinemas; Indore 1,12,999 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 4,16,277 (52.57%); Hyderabad (gross) 17,46,888 from 7 cinemas (5 on F.H.).
……….
Albela drops further. 2nd week Bombay 44,15,366 (66.22%) from 14 cinemas (6 on F.H.), total for 2 weeks 1,05,68,196; Ahmedabad 3,70,740 from 3 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Jamnagar 80,597 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Solapur 1,44,971 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 91,446 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Bijapur 67,946; Delhi 20,96,982 from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,69,580 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,10,002, Agra 1,50,000 (1st 2,98,000), Allahabad 1,20,096, Bareilly 70,403; Calcutta 2,50,328; Nagpur 2,69,058 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,43,283, Amravati (6 days) 99,134, Akola 1,00,013, total 2,73,542, Raipur (6 days) 75,382, Bhilai 35,870, Jalgaon 84,474 (1st 1,84,410), Wardha 38,183, Yavatmal 32,702, total 1,51,346, Bilaspur 53,355; Indore 87,923 (2 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,38,328 (75.38%), Ajmer (gross) 1,73,719; Hyderabad (gross) 4,31,225 from 2 cinemas.
Jodi No. 1 3rd week Bombay 33,75,299 (86.22%) from 10 cinemas (9 on F.H.), total for 3 weeks 1,63,91,245; Ahmedabad 3,24,984 from 4 cinemas (4 unrecd.), Jamnagar 56,021; Solapur 2,87,287 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara (gross) 87,604; Delhi 21,94,959 from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,85,484 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,71,635, Agra 2,62,381, Bareilly (6 days) 66,735, Jaunpur 21,050, total 1,09,567; Calcutta (noon) 76,901; Nagpur 3,40,321 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 83,785, Balaghat 44,718, total 2,21,149, Amravati (5 days) 97,115, Akola 1,26,068 (2nd 1,61,905), total 5,98,057, Raipur (6 days, gross) 1,70,442, Bhilai 41,024, Jalgaon 1,16,630 (2nd 1,16,025), Wardha 51,269, Chandrapur 1,22,441, total 5,70,141, 1st week Yavatmal 1,72,592 (100%), 3rd week Bilaspur 71,851, Sagar 29,270 (2nd 42,032); Indore 1,11,800 (2 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,61,870 (33.02%), Ajmer (gross) 1,05,614; Hyderabad (gross) 8,51,362 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon); 2nd week Mangalore 1,45,217.
JAIPUR MANAGER OF RAJSHRI DEAD
Kailash Chand Jain (Shastri-ji), general manager of Rajshri Pictures P. Ltd., Jaipur, expired this week in Jaipur. He was also a member of the executive committee of the CCCA.
A condolence meeting of the Jaipur film trade was held in the CCCA office in Jaipur on 4th May.
‘BAWANDAR’ PICKS UP TWO MORE AWARDS
Jagmohan Mundhra is back in India, awaiting the decision of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal before which he appealed against the cuts suggested in his Bawandar (Sandstorm) by the CBFC.
Bawandar, in the meanwhile, has won two more international awards: the audience choice award for the best film at the Bermuda International Film Festival, and the special jury prize for the best foreign film at the Houston International Film Festival.
‘MOR CHHAINHA BHUINYA’ SILVER JUBILEE FUNCTION
The silver jubilee celebration of the Chhattisgarhi film, Mor Chhainha Bhuinya, was held in Raipur on 25th April. Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Kumar Jogi presented jubilee trophies to producer Shivdayal Jain, writer-director Satish Jain, music director Babla Bagchi, M.K. Gupta, D.K. Jain, lyricist Laxman Masturiya and the cast of the film. The mayor of Raipur, Tarun Chatterji, presided over the function. Earlier, Shivdayal Jain and Satish Jain garlanded Jogi while D.K. Jain and M.K. Gupta garlanded Tarun Chatterji.
Shivdayal Jain proposed the vote of thanks and also thanked all those who had helped him in making the film.
GIRDHARILAL SEKSARIA, PAWAN KUMAR SUMMONED
The metropolitan magistrate, 10th court, Andheri (Bombay), on 20th April issued summons to Girdharilal Seksaria of Ramnord Lab and Pawan Kumar of Ramayan Chitra to appear before the court in the matter of a suit filed against the two by S.M. Iqbal of Mheraj Films, Bombay and Iqbal Productions, Bombay. Iqbal has alleged that the duo illegally pocketed the money from business done by him for Gujarat-Saurashtra for the film, Sikandar Sadak Ka. The summons were served by the Oshiwara police. The court hearing is fixed for 30th August.
FOUR IFEA MEMBERS TO ATTEND CANNES FETE
The following four members of the Indian Film Exporters Association (IFEA) will attend the Cannes Film Festival beginning from 9th May: Chandrakant Mehta, Hirachand Dand, S. Narayanan and Vishal Chhabria. They will leave for France next week.
RATAN JAIN’S DAUGHTER WEDS
A reception to celebrate the wedding of Heena, daughter of Ratan Jain of Venus, with Chetan was held on 4th May in Bombay at SNDT College Ground, Santacruz. It was largely attended.
NEW CINEMA OPENS
A new cinema, Manoharma, opened yesterday (4th May) at Taranagar (district Churu) in Rajasthan. The cinema is owned by Doongarmal Swami who also owns Mahalaxmi Talkies, Shapura and Purva Cinema, Kotputli. The inauguration was attended by the Rajasthan revenue and irrigation minister, Dr. Kamla, former state minister, Chandanmal Baid and other local dignitaries.
JUGALKISHORE RATHI AWARDED
Jugalkishore Rathi of Vijayshree Pictures, Amravati has bagged the Srujan Sahitya award of the Marathi Vruttapatra Lekhak Sangh, Bombay. He has won several awards for his writings in the past. Rathi, a prolific writer, has six books and over 3,000 published articles to his credit.
B.K. PUROHIT’S NIECES TO WED
Marriages of Sulaxna, daugher of producer Madhu Purohit and niece of Bombay distributor B.K. Purohit, with Ajay, and of Neeta, daughter of Rajender Purohit and niece of B.K. Purohit, with Lalit will be solemnised on 19th May in Jodhpur at Mahatma Gandhi School.
20,000 DTS INSTALLATIONS WORLDWIDE
Digital Theater Systems has reached a milestone with DTS Digital Sound for theatres, with its playback systems installed at over 20,000 screens worldwide.
The growth of DTS in India has been as rapid. From no theatres n January 1996 to 580 theatres in April 2001, it is an average growth of over 115 theatres a year. The number of DTS films made in India also continues to grow rapidly. There were 6 DTS films made in 1996. Today, the number stands at 243. This includes the various language versions.
DTS is represented in India by Real Image Media Technologies Pvt. Ltd., the company that also distributes Avid’s digital media solutions, Digidesign’s digital audio workstations and Orad’s virtual sets.
PINKY BADLANI BEREAVED
Vimla Arora, mother of Pinky Badlani (manager of Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd., Bombay), passed away in Amritsar on 28th April. She was 75 and is survived by five sons and a daughter.
FILM CITY RENAMED AFTER DADASAHEB PHALKE
Film City at Goregaon (East) in Bombay was renamed Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari as part of the celebration of the 132nd birth anniversary of the pioneering Indian filmmaker. The renaming was done at the hands of Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh during a function at Film City, attended by film and political dignitaries. Among those present were deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, state minister for cultural affairs, Ramkrishna More, minister of state for cultural affairs, Dr. Vimala Mundada, Amitabh Bachchan, Shakti Samanta, Ramanand Sagar and others. The function was organised by the Maharashtra Film, Stage & Cultural Development Corporation in association with the trustees of the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy and various associations of the Bombay film industry.
In his address, Dadasaheb Phalke Academy chairman, Santosh Singh Jain, expressed pleasure at the government keeping its promise of renaming Film City. He criticised the manner in which popular film awards are decided and mooted the idea of the film industry awarding its own outstanding achievers every year. Phalke Academy, which consists of members from all sectors of the film community, was the ideal choice to announce such awards, he said. He also informed that proceeds from the awards function each year would go towards setting up the building for the Phalke Academy as well as various programmes of the film industry.
Later, outstanding personalities from almost all branches of cinema were honoured for their contributions to the film industry. Recipients of the honour included actor Dilip Kumar, director Mohan Segal, music director Ravi, cinematographer V. Babasaheb, art director Hirabhai Patel, writer Pt. Anand Kumar; film editor M.S. Shinde, sound recordist S.C. Bhambri, make-up artist Pandhari Juker, singer Anandkumar C., dance director Kiran Kumar (Willy), stuntman Ravi Khanna, production executive Bhushan Barma, dancer Govindrao Nikam, musician Jerry Fernandes, action dummy effects man Devi Singh Kaimo, artiste Sulochana Gadhok, cine agent Safi Gul, junior artiste Abdul Latif Fareedi, and set worker Bhagwati Prasad Shukla.
Special honours were bestowed upon Marathi film music director Sudhir Phadke, studio owner J.B. Roongta, producer Bhagwan Dada, distributor Kasam Ali Dossani and exhibitor N.F. Damania.
K.G. Dossani, former president of the Film Federation of India, was sheriff of Calcutta. At present, he is an executive committee member of the FFI and a member of the Export Promotion Forum set up by the government of India.
Amitabh Bachchan made a speech. Others who spoke on the occasion were Dilip Kumar, Vilasrao Deshkukh, Ramanand Sagar, Sultan Ahmed, Shakti Samanta. Deshmukh announced the allotment of a flat from the CM’s quota for the family of Phalke, which was present at the function. Ameen Sayani was the master of ceremonies.
If may be mentioned here that Film City, after a long gap, has made a huge profit of Rs. 4.5 crore in 2000-2001.
– GAUTAM MUTHA
SIGNED
Salman Khan Signed For Super’s Next
Salman Khan has been signed to play the lead in Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.’s yet untitled film, to be directed by Priyadarshan. It is being produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar in association with Vijay Galani’s Film Folk.
Super Cassettes has also signed Sanjay F. Gupta to direct another untitled film, starring Aftab Shivdasani and Jimmy Shergill. It is being produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar.
Both the films will mount the sets soon.
Anil Dhawan, Promod Moutho Added
Anil Dhawan and Promod Moutho have been added to the cast of Global Creations’ Kaampath – The Way Of Sex. Both of them participated alongwith Kunaal Singh, newfind Rekha Bakshi, Aditee, Rimmy and Sweety in a 6-day shooting stint of the film till May 2 at Esel Studios and Royal Palms, Goregaon. The film is being produced by Dev Bhatia and Mintoo and written and directed by Afsar-Dilip. Cinematographer: Raj Khilnani. Music: Swamy Amar Ajit.
Vinod Chopra Signs Vivek Oberoi For 5 Films
Vinod Chopra has signed Vivek Oberoi to act in five films to be made under the banner of Vinod Chopra Productions. However, Vinod Chopra has clarified that he is not in any way deciding on the professional matters (dates, choice of films etc.) of Vivek.
YOU ASKED IT
Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan and now, Tusshar. Is there still a shortage of heroes?
– Yes, there’s still an acute shortage of saleable heroes. As also heroines. There are just about 8 to 10 heroes and 8 to 10 heroines who sell today, and about 150 films being made every year.
What about the audio rights of Nayak – The Real Hero, Dil Chahta Hai and Aks, which Super Cassettes was in a mood to relinquish?
– The audio rights of the first two named films still vest with Super Cassettes, but at renegotiated terms. The music of AKS is with HMV.
Do you think, the industry needs to be alarmed at the fact that no films are doing well?
– More than being alarmed at the failure of films, the industry needs to be alarmed at the quality of films being churned out. Had good films not been faring well, it would definitely have been a cause for concern. But the current scene is that films are not doing well because they don’t deserve to.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
Humorous Abhishek
Abhishek Bachchan has a wonderful sense of humour. At the music release function of Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai… on 30th April at Hotel Sun-N-Sand, he narrated an incident which had the invitees laughing. He recalled how when he was about five years old and the film’s director, Goldie Behl, six years old, they had created quite a ruckus on the set of Pukar which starred his dad, Amitabh Bachchan, and which was produced and directed by Goldie’s dad, Ramesh Behl. The two brats were packed out of the set and told never to disturb anyone or anything on the sets. This had the two kids swear that when they’d grow up, they too would make a film and not let their dads enter their sets!….. When Universal’s Vijay Lazarus was on the mike, asking one star to present the film’s CD to another, one after the other, Abhishek pulled the mike from his hand and announced, “Now, Id like to present this CD to you,” pushing a CD into Lazarus’ hands. Once again, people had a hearty laugh.
Matter Of Pride For Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan recently revealed an interesting bit of information about the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari (previously Film City). Speaking during the celebration of the 132nd birth anniversary of the Father of Indian Cinema on 30th April at Film City, Amitabh said that he felt honoured that Kaalia Maidan had been chosen as the venue for such an important occasion. He revealed that the place owed its name to one of his own films — the maidan began to be called Kaalia Maidan after a good portion of Amitabh’s 1981 film, Kaalia, was shot there.
Naam Ka Khiladi
This week saw the releases of Khatron Ke Khiladi — directed by Imraan Khalid — and Ramgarh Ki Ramkali and Gumnaam Hai Koi — both directed by K.I. Shaikh. But guess what? Imraan Khalid and K.I. Shaikh are actually one and the same person!
With different names in different films, here is one director who surely doesn’t want to remain gumnaam!