LATEST POSITION
While AJNABEE took a very good start last week, collections dropped at many places as days passed. KYO KII… was poor from day one.
Ajnabee 1st week Bombay 74,60,080 (92.82%) from 14 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 32,72,415 from 8 cinemas, Rajkot 3,10,652, Jamnagar 1,43,193 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Adipur (gross) 2,44,723, Bhuj (gross) 1,87,214; Pune 20,11,148 from 4 cinemas, Solapur 4,08,294 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 2,08,163 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Bijapur 1,40,700; Delhi 91,38,743 (71%) from 14 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 5,35,811 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 6,02,096, Agra 6,00,000, Varanasi 2,86,141, Allahabad 2,92,690, Bareilly (6 days) 2,05,864; Calcutta 29,42,570 from 19 cinemas (14 on F.H.); Nagpur 8,41,214 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,40,000, Amravati 2,54,623, Akola 2,15,370, Raipur (6 days) 1,97,128, Jalgaon 2,62,761; Indore 2,13,000 (3 on F.H.); Jaipur 8,16,343 (64.37%) from 2 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows, gross) 3,69,749, Bikaner 3,67,238, Kota 2,40,000; Hyderabad (gross) 43,60,306 from 15 cinemas. Total 3,73,68,229 from 107 cinemas.
Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta is a disaster. 1st week Bombay 39,97,407 (59.29%) from 11 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,25,310 (4 unrecd.); Pune 8,51,262 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 59,220; Belgaum 87,918, Bijapur 82,180; Delhi 36,68,712 (45.70%) from 11 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,48,836 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,98,158, Agra 3,25,000, Varanasi 1,34,079, Allahabad 1,50,000, Bareilly (6 days) 89,811, Jaunpur 50,000; Calcutta 7,07,958 from 5 cinemas; Nagpur 4,87,827 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 1,43,155, Akola 1,56,383, Raipur (6 days) 65,699, Jalgaon 1,16,257, Chandrapur 1,04,181 (32.35%); Indore 95,000 (3 on F.H.); Jaipur 3,52,019 (31.33%) from 2 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 60,802, Bikaner 1,40,367; Hyderabad (gross) 17,50,789 from 9 cinemas. Total 1,46,48,330 from 66 cinemas.
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Nayak 3rd week Bombay 11,09,359 (49.12%) from 5 cinemas (8 on F.H.), total for 3 weeks 96,71,425; Ahmedabad 2,52,607 from 2 cinemas (3 unrecd.), Rajkot 10,800, Jamnagar 37,971 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 4,10,222 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,41,329, Satara 61,390 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 3,03,193 from 4 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,95,430, Agra 2,53,000, Varanasi 78,645, Allahabad 82,178, Jaunpur 28,283, total 1,56,138; Calcutta 1,33,073; Nagpur 1,40,301 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 65,780, Amravati 1,37,098, Akola 77,810, total 4,67,831, Dhule 67,135, total 3,27,360, Raipur (6 days) 72,815, Jalgaon 96,938 (2nd 1,62,913), Chandrapur 1,16,184, total 5,85,085; Jaipur 1,96,090 (24.74%), Bikaner 21,655; Hyderabad (gross) 2,41,838 (1 on F.H.); 1st week Mangalore 1,76,987.
Lajja 4th week Bombay 4,74,383 (40.74%; 4 cinemas unrecd., 8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,83,311 from 6 cinemas (3 unrecd.); Pune 2,74,582 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 37,443, Satara 39,964; Delhi 2,47,318 (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,18,998 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,62,210, Agra 72,300, Varanasi 85,992, Allahabad 90,500, Bareilly (6 days) 26,249; Calcutta 1,22,755; Nagpur 1,46,934 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 88,308, Amravati 1,04,354, Akola 64,092, total 5,70,240, Raipur (6 days) 1,11,231, Jalgaon 52,749; Jaipur 6,13,393 (72.43%), Ajmer 31,561; Hyderabad (gross) 1,81,461.
Dil Chahta Hai 7th week Bombay 15,58,867 (45.14%) from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H.), total for 7 weeks 3,36,71,349; Ahmedabad (7 shows) 32,518 (1 unrecd.); Pune 5,74,675 from 3 cinemas, Solapur 16,250; Delhi 3,38,237 from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 1,79,311, Allahabad 27,000; Calcutta 1,11,481; Bhopal 30,797, total 7,99,286; Jaipur 46,605 (8.41%); Hyderabad (gross) 1,45,753 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.).
Gadar Ek Prem Katha 15th week Bombay 4,33,017 from 3 cinemas (5 on F.H.), total for 15 weeks 5,94,68,201; Pune 88,856, Solapur 40,884 from 2 cinemas (1 in mg. shows); Delhi (TF) 14,70,258 from 8 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 79,355 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 84,314, Agra 74,000, Varanasi 53,399, Allahabad 27,800, Bareilly (6 days) 38,000; Nagpur 52,643, Jabalpur (6 days) 47,568, 2nd week Karanja 77,657, total 1,75,125, 15th week Amravati 33,732, Akola 57,101, total 20,62,782, share 15,36,623, Raipur (6 days) 24,835, Jalgaon 56,988, total 24,32,839; Indore 57,100, Bhopal 51,967, total 28,84,726; Jaipur 56,660 (14.50%).
I & B MINISTER SETS UP GROUP TO REPORT ON CABLE PIRACY
Union I & B minister Sushma Swaraj had a long meeting on 28th September in Bombay at The Club with representatives of the film industry, cable operators and broadcasters. The issue of discussion was the problem of cable piracy.
A sub-group was formed in the meeting to report its findings on the menace and arrive at solutions. The sub-group consists of Yash Chopra, Yash Johar and Amit Khanna from the film industry; and Roop Sharma, A.K. Rastogi and Hingorani from the cable industry. Anjali Duggal, joint secretary, I & B ministry, is also a member of the sub-group which will submit its report soon.
PADMINI KOLHAPURE’S COMEBACK FILM
Deoyani Movies Pvt. Ltd.’s Chimni Pakhru (Marathi; tax-free), which was released at several stations of Maharashtra this week, marks the return of Padmini Kolhapure to the big screen. She is paired opposite Sachin Khedekar in the film, directed by Mahesh Kothare.
SMITA THACKERAY IS IMPPA CHIEF
Smita Thackeray was unanimously elected president of the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA) for 2001-02 at the first meeting of the newly constituted executive committee, held on 22nd September at IMPPA House. Sushama Shiromanee and Vinay Kumar Sinha were elected senior vice president and vice president respectively. Satish Khanna was elected hon. treasurer.
Earlier, on 21st September, the following 17 members, besides the four aforementioned, were elected to the executive committee: K.D. Shorey, Pawan Kumar, Jyotin Goel, A. Krishnamurthi, Dimppy Ramdayal, Saawan Kumar Tak, Shiv Kumar, Anil Ganguly, Madan Mohla, Babloo (N.R.) Pachisia, B.S. Shaad, Rono Mukerji, Kulwant Jaani, Thakur Tapassvi, Dara Singh, Anand Girdhar and Johny Bakshi.
VIJAY ANAND APPOINTED CBFC CHAIRMAN
Vijay Anand has been appointed chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification. He took over charge from the outgoing chairperson, Asha Parekh, on 26th September.
DILIP KUMAR RECOVERING
Thespian Dilip Kumar was admitted to Lilavati Hospital at Bandra, Bombay on 26th September after he complained of uneasiness. He was at Lonavala and was rushed to Bombay. He was diagnosed to be suffering from urine infection. His condition is now stable.
CINEMAS OWE AMC RS. 3 CRORES IN TAXES
According to a news report, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is considering taking strict action against nine city cinemas which owe a total of Rs. 3.28 crore in property taxes. Reportedly, Shree Cinema owes the highest amount (Rs. 76.36 lakh), followed by Natraj (Rs. 56.03 lakh), Shiv (Rs. 52.84 lakh), Roopalee (Rs. 38.86 lakh), Rupam (Rs. 26.97 lakh), Ashok (Rs. 23.35 lakh), Advance (Rs. 23.99 lakh), Relief (Rs. 22.54 lakh) and Kamal (Rs. 8.19 lakh). Apparently, the AMC had this year applied a new formula whereby the total due tax amount had been reduced to Rs. 1.4 crore. However, theatre owners had refused to pay even the reduced amount, says the report.
‘GADAR’ BONUS
In celebration of 100 days’ run of Gadar Ek Prem Katha at Vasant Cinema, Akola, the management gave the employees as well as representative Anil Gawande 15 days’ salary as bonus.
AMIT KHANNA ELECTED GUILD PRESIDENT
Amit Khanna was unanimously elected president of The Film Producers Guild of India Ltd. for the year 2001-02, as its 47th annual general meeting held on 27th September at The Club, Bombay. Yash Chopra and Tilak Raj Magan were elected vice presidents, and Kiran Shantaram and Kamal Kumar Barjatya were re-elected honorary treasurers. Other members elected to the council of management were Surnider Kapoor, J. Om Prakash, Ramesh Sippy, Harmesh Malhotra, Prakash Mehra, Sandeep Singh Bedi, Ravi Chopra, Rajkumar Kohli, Rakesh Roshan, Ram Dayal, A.G. Nadiadwala, Yash Johar, Dr. Ramanand Sagar and Pramod Chakravorty. Kiran Shantaram and Randhir Kapoor are permanent members while G.P. Sippy, Dr. B.R. Chopra and F.C. Mehra were made members emeritus.
At the meeting, a sub-group to interact with the Federation of Western India Cine Employees was set up. It comprises Yash Chopra, A.G. Nadiadwala and Yash Johar. Another sub-group to interact with distributors, comprising Yash Chopra, Kamal Kumar Barjatya and Rakesh Roshan, was also set up.
The Guild appreciated the work being done by the FICCI for the film industry.
FIRE ON ‘DEVDAS’ SET
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas set was once again in the news this week when a fire broken out on it on the night (9 p.m.) of 24th September and gutted a godown where all the props used in the film shooting were stored. Three fire engines and a jumbo tanker took more than two hours to control the fire, the cause of which is unknown. No one was injured.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S FILM FESTIVAL IN MARCH
The 24th International Women’s Film Festival will be held at Créteil in South-east Paris from 15th March to 24th March, 2002. The festival aims to promote films directed by women on subjects of their choice, and to allow for better understanding of the situation and evolution of women and their cinema in each country represented. The last date for sending the entry forms is 15th December, 2001. Application forms are available at Audiovisual Attaché, French Embassy, 2 Aurangzeb Road, New Delhi-110 011.
AKOLA DEOL FANS CLUB CELEBRATES ‘GADAR’ 100 DAYS
The Akola Deol Fans Club celebrated the completion of 100 days’ run of Gadar Ek Prem Katha in Akola by distributing free food to over 500 poor people.
LANDSLIDE VICTORY FOR SANTOSH SINGH JAIN
Re-Elected CCCA President
Santosh Singh Jain was unanimously re-elected president of the Central Circuit Cine Association (CCCA) for 2001-03 in Jaipur on 25th September at the first meeting of the newly elected executive committee. The panel of Santosh Singh Jain had a landslide victory with all 16 of its candidates being voted to power in the elections held the same day at Ravindra Manch. Vijay Rathi was re-elected vice president. S.K. Surana was elected hon. general secretary while Vinod Malhotra was elected hon. treasurer.
Polling began at 1.45 p.m. A total of 705 votes were cast, of which 46 were invalid. There were, therefore, 659 valid votes.
The victorious were as follows:-
C.P. Berar Distribution: Bharat R. Khajanchi (polled the highest number of votes – 619), Dilip G. Mudliar (575 votes), Ramkisan Kasat (509) and Bhagwandas (Laloo) Kabra (455).
C.P. Berar Exhibition: Vijay Rathi (578 votes), Mahendra Jain (552), Azad Laddha (500) and S.K. Surana (492).
C.I.V.P. Distribution: Santosh Singh Jain (515 votes), Vinod Malhotra (380).
C.I.V.P. Exhibition: Uttam Chand Nahar (408), and O.P. Goyal (389).
Rajasthan Distribution: Mohan Godha (386), and Nandkishore Jalani (382).
Rajasthan Exhibition: Trilok Singh (382 votes), and Kishanchand Jain (376).
The opposition, led by Ramesh Sureka, faced complete defeat with not a single of its candidates making it to the committee. The names of the vanquished are:
C.P. Berar Distribution: Vinod Bhandari (254 votes), and Premchand Sah (224).
C.P. Berar Exhibition: Vishnuprasad Agrawal (262), and Rajnish Purohit (252).
C.I.V.P. Distribution: Hemant Vyas (258 votes), and Mahesh Sharma (165).
C.I.V.P. Exhibition: Ramesh Sureka (344 votes), and Azizuddin Jameeluddin (177).
Rajasthan Distribution: Chandrashekhar Choudhary (271), Satyavan Pareek (204), and Rakesh Sabharwal (129).
Rajasthan Exhibition: Kishinchand Janiani (287), and Sandeep Bhandari (273).
Ramdhan Mamoria from Rajasthan, Pramod Munot (C.P. Berar) and Inder Chand Dhariwal (Chhattisgarh) were co-opted on the new committee.
Earlier, on 24th September, the open session, which followed the 48th annual general meeting of the CCCA, was a fairly heated affair. Opposition members questioned the working of the ruling group of Santosh Singh Jain. They also demanded annual elections as against the biennial elections being held.
Eighty-five members, who’ve completed more than 50 years in the CCCA, were felicitated in the annual meeting.
LUCKY MASCOT!
* Is O.P. Goyal the lucky mascot of the Santosh Singh Jain panel? Seems so! In 1984, Goyal contested the CCCA elections as part of the Jain Panel for the first time. Although the Jain Panel had a tough opposition in the R.R. Khajanchi panel, it won all the 16 seats.
Again this year, O.P. Goyal contested the elections from the Jain Panel. Once again, the panel bagged all the 16 seats. Interesting to note that in 1984 as also in 2001, the elections were held in Jaipur and on a Tuesday!
MADE FOR EACH OTHER
It is not for nothing that the CCCA and its president of 35 times, Santosh Singh Jain, have become synonymous with one another. Members of the biggest association of the film industry swear by Jain Sahab’s name, and the majority of them can’t imagine the CCCA without Santosh Singh Jain at the helm of affairs. Although way over 70 years of age, Jain is so active that he could give a 16-year-old a complex.
Santosh Singh Jain’s memory is razor-sharp and his eagerness to solve problems has won him admirers galore, not just among members of the CCCA but also among the production sector.
YOU ASKED IT
Will Shah Rukh and Kareena starrer Asoka take a good opening?
– Yes, if its music (which is very good) is promoted (by Sony) with a vengeance and if the producers succeed in the next 20 days in wiping out the impression from public minds that the film is just a historical. ASOKA has a love story, emotions and plenty of sex in it.
Is Sony closing down its Overseas distribution operations for Hindi films?
– May be, because Sony has gone back on its commitments for Overseas distribution to Yash Johar (KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM) and Shah Rukh Khan (ASOKA).
Does the flopping of Kyo Kii… Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta mean, it is the end of the road for the Govinda-David Dhawan team.
– One flop cannot take away from them the great work the two have done together. So, relax!
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
‘Asoka’: The Rate
Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla have decided to bring out a book on the making of their second production venture, Asoka. Harper Collins has actually contracted to publish the book which will be brought out in two editions — coffee table and paperback. Shah Rukh, for one, is as excited about the book as he is about his film. For, nobody in India has so far attempted to release a film and a book on it simultaneously. Of course, M.F. Hussain did it in Gaja Gamini but then, the film was so horrific that nobody heard about the book that came with it! Another thing Shah Rukh is really happy about these days is the rave reviews his Asoka got in the international press. “One critic gave the film four out of five stars. Another gave it two thumbs up,” smiled the actor.
Ask him if he is confident about the film’s performance in India and pat comes the reply, “The film is not just a historical. It has a love story, plenty of emotions including those involving a child, a lot of sex, though not vulgar, and action in the last few reels. So it is like a normal commercial film.” A very sensible thing the actor-producer has done is to sell the film to all his distributors at the ratio of Rs. 1 crore. “I paid my stars much less than their market price because I had told them, I’d be selling it cheap. I’m keeping my promise to them.” Actually, there was a time during the film’s making when Shah Rukh thought, he’d earn a table profit of some crores at the time of release. That was when Sony’s Kunal Dasgupta promised to buy its Overseas rights for a good amount. An excited Shah Rukh even told his artistes that since he would be making a profit in the film, he would pay them all more than their contracted prices. But with Sony backing out of the commitment at the eleventh hour, not only have the artistes not got anything more than the contracted monies, Shah Rukh’s production company has also suffered a table loss of a few crores in the film. But Shah Rukh isn’t complaining because he has immense faith in his film.
Juhi Chawla’s New Role
If you thought Juhi Chawla is on her way to retiring from films, stand corrected. Even though the actress does not have too many acting assignments, she has found ways to keep herself creatively involved in films. Currently, Juhi is neck-deep in the post-production work of Asoka, produced by Archlightz, a company owned jointly by Shah Rukh and herself. So what if Juhi doesn’t star in the film, she is going about her job as a co-producer of the Shah Rukh-Kareena starrer with admirable zeal. She was stationed in Madras for most part of this week, alongwith Aziz Mirza, supervising the background music recording of the film. Her unit people, in fact, are quite scared of Juhi’s temper because she is quite a perfectionist as a producer too. Whoever said, beauty and brains don’t come together?
Beginning With A Bang
The audience reaction to the second theatrical trailer of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is fantastic. This trailer shows excerpts from the title song of the film. Looking at the huge assemblage of stars in the trailer, the public is going ecstatic in cinemas which began screening the trailer this week.
Helpful Rajasthan Govt.
The Rajasthan government looks very keen on attracting producers and directors to the state for shooting their films. Not only is a Film City coming up in Jodhpur (and not near Jaipur, as originally planned) but visiting units are also accorded all assistance for carrying out their shootings smoothly. Boney Kapoor’s unit has been in Jaisalmer since two months, shooting an untitled film starring Nana Patekar, Karisma Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan in a special appearance. Their experience with the authorities has been great, says Trilok Malhotra, executive producer of the film. The collector of Jaisalmer, Kuldeep Rana, is scheduled to meet with the production people today (29th September) in Jaisalmer to know what more the state government can do so as to make shooting there a pleasurable experience. Tourism, art and culture minister Bina Kak’s secretary will also attend the meeting. Ms. Kak sure meant business when she said, her government was keen to make Rajasthan a hub of film activity. Now, if only films shot majorly in the state could also be granted entertainment tax exemption in Rajasthan, as is done by the Uttar Pradesh government, it would be the perfect icing on the cake.
Incidentally, Babloo Pachisia is planning to shoot his Tera Mera Saath Rahen early next month in Jaisalmer.