JUDAAI
S.K. Films Enterprises’ Judaai, remake of the Telugu super-hit Shubhlagnam, has an unusual story of a greedy lady who, despite being happily married, sells her husband to another girl for the lure of luxury. The other girl is filthy rich and madly in love with the greedy lady’s husband and initiates the deal (of buying the husband) when she learns of the lady’s greed. At first, the first wife revels in her new riches, but slowly, as the second wife starts taking her place in the day-to-day life of her ex-husband, she realises the blunder she has committed. All hell breaks loose in the lives of the three people when both the wives want the husband exclusively. The first wife repents; the second wife refuses to relent. Finally, the tension is resolved in a tear-jerking and moving climax.
The film’s first half is light and full of fun. The drawback is that except for the wife’s comedy track, all the other comedy tracks (yes, there are several comedy angles) are completely unrelated with the main story. Further, there is an overdose of comedy and hardly any seriousness. The film takes a serious turn a little before interval. The initial part of the second half is once again very comic but slowly, the drama becomes tense and, to an extent, even emotional. Overall, it is the second half of the film which is its mainstay due to the scenes of the two wives and the helpless husband together. The best part of the film is its Indian ending which justifies the unusual story too. Some scenes like the one in which the second wife applies teeka to her husband, the sarcastic comments directed towards the first wife by her mother, her friend, her children, her husband and even an outsider are a highlight.
Performances of the entire cast are first-rate. Anil Kapoor does an excellent job in a role that is very difficult. He plays with feeling the silently suffering husband, ruled by the emotions of his two wives, both of whom forget that he too is a human being. Sridevi is mind-blowing as the money-hungry wife and mother of two kids. She shines in light scenes and excels in emotional ones. So brilliant is her performance that it is impossible to imagine another actress who could have done such justice to the role. Urmila Matondkar proves that she too is a performer par excellence. As the moneyed girl, she looks gorgeous, her entry being very mass-appealing. Her changeover to an understanding wife in the post-interval portion is so remarkable and her performance, so sincere that one can’t help falling in love with Urmila’s character. This girl is bound to go places. Paresh Rawal’s comedy is simply hilarious; his poker-faced dialogue delivery is terrific. Johny Lever plays to the gallery and entertains a lot. Kader Khan is superb. Upasna Singh is very good and her ‘Abba dabba jabba’ dialogue should be liked by front-benchers. Farida Jalal shines in a brief role. Saeed Jaffrey, Junior Mehmood, master Omkar Kapoor, baby Alisha Baig, Dharmesh Tiwari, Shehzaad and Dinesh Hingoo lend admirable support. Poonam Dhillon, in a guest appearance, comes as a pleasant surprise and performs ably.
Raj Kanwar’s direction is superb. Not only has he extracted excellent work from his team of artistes, he has also handled the subject with maturity. Nadeem Shravan’s music is good but a couple of super-hit songs were very necessary. ‘Allah miya’ is the best number, followed by ‘Judaai judaai’ and ‘Pyar pyar karte karte’. Song picturisations are heavenly. Foreign locations are beautiful and they’ve been ably captured by cameraman Harmeet Singh. Dialogues (Jainendra Jain) are wonderful. Production values are rich.
On the whole, Judaai may meet with initial resistance due to its offbeat story but can be expected to pick up by word of mouth and ladies’ patronage to keep its investors of most circuits happy.
Released on 28-2-’97 at New Excelsior and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: excellent. Opening: below average. …….Also released all over except in Mysore. Opening was poor in C.P.C.I. and Punjab, and excellent in Bihar and Rajasthan.
AUZAAR
Tips Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Auzaar (UA) is the story of two friends, one a CBI officer and the other, son of an underworld don. The don’s son has murdered another don and the latter’s son now wants to wipe out his father’s murderer and his entire family. The CBI officer comes to the rescue of his friend and, together, the two of them succeed in killing the villain. There is nothing new by way of story. Even the screenplay, especially in the slow first half, is routine. But what makes the film somewhat interesting is the brilliant action, particularly in the lengthy and exciting climax, the racy music and eye-catching song picturisations, and the big canvas of the film. The pre-interval portion is not only routine, it also sometimes moves at a terribly slow pace unnecessarily.
Salman Khan does a splendid job as the college boy who later becomes a CBI officer. Sanjay Kapoor shows improvement and does quite well. Shilpa Shetty is alright and she dances very gracefully. Paresh Rawal is fair. Nirmal Pandey, as the eccentric son of the murdered don, is the film’s surprise packet and he leaves a mark in every scene he comes. Johny Lever provides the much-needed light moments but such moments are few and far between. Asif Sheikh is effective. Kiran Kumar is okay. Jeetu Verma impresses with his Rajasthani dialogues. Vishwajeet Pradhan, Tiku Talsania, Ila Arun and the rest lend adequate support.
Sohail Khan’s approach to the scripting seems to be a bit too casual. For a debut effort, his direction is fair, but more concentration on the writing is necessary if he is to really make a mark. Dialogues are good only at places. Anu Malik’s music is very catchy. ‘Masti ka aalam aaya hai’, ‘I love you’, ‘Chalte chalte mila ladka deewana’ and ‘Dhoondhte reh jaaoge’ (good lyrics) are extremely well-tuned numbers. Picturisation of ‘Masti ka aalam’ is the most mass-appealing. ‘I love you’ has tremendous visual appeal. Camerawork (Kaka Thakur) is very nice. Production values are rich. Action (Mahendra Verma) is excellent. Background music should have been better.
On the whole, despite being a routine film, Auzaar has good initial value, action and music to sail safe in majority of the circuits.
Released on 28-2-’97 at Maratha Mandir and 18 other cinemas of Bombay by Tips Films P. Ltd. thru R.G. International. Publicity: excellent. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was excellent in Delhi-U.P. and Rajasthan, and very good in other circuits except C.I. where it was below the mark.
LATEST POSITION
Hero No. 1 started declining from 5th/6th day onwards everywhere. Should prove to be, at best, a commission-earner/overflow film. 1st week Bombay 51,76,378 (95.21%) from 16 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Baroda 2,81,300 from 2 cinemas, Bharuch (gross) 2,33,868, Rajkot 1,63,376 (1 in mat. unrecd.), Jamnagar 1,19,341 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Kolhapur 1,86,400, Solapur 1,75,207 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Delhi 48,20,530 (90.65%) from 13 cinemas (1 unrecd. and 3 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,15,514 (2 unrecd.), Lucknow 2,45,951 (100%), Agra 2,21,000, Varanasi 1,82,209 (88.55%), Allahabad 1,46,100, Aligarh 1,84,288, Gorakhpur 1,53,000 (72.40%); Amritsar 52,350; Calcutta 20,96,561 (82%) from 17 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Nagpur 6,00,240 from 4 cinemas, Akola 1,19,754, Raipur 2,16,881, Risali 78,982, theatre record, Bhilai 2,24,217 from 2 cinemas, Wardha 77,587, Chandrapur 1,08,912, share 83,912; Indore 4,70,626 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,96,842 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Bikaner 1,71,123; Hyderabad 37,73,978 from 20 cinemas, share 18,95,295.
Judwaa proves overflow in some circuits and class A in other circuits. 3rd week Bombay 19,52,953 (80%) from 8 cinemas (5 on F.H.); 1st Padra 1,31,502, 3rd Rajkot 1,47,971 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.), Jamnagar (mat.) 7,080 (1 unrecd.); Solapur 85,824 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Delhi 15,67,094 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,57,542 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,96,136, Agra 1,35,217, 2nd Allahabad 1,00,000, 3rd Varanasi 96,225, Bareilly 53,153 (29.15%), Aligarh 64,299, Gorakhpur 57,000; Calcutta 6,82,941 from 8 cinemaas; Nagpur 2,49,163 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 66,700, Akola 48,516, total 2,32,784, Raipur (6 days) 81,237, Bhilai 50,960, Jalgaon 52,997, Bilaspur (6 days) 55,974; Bhopal 1,14,045; 2nd week Hyderabad 7,60,040 from 5 cinemas.
Yeshwant is also an overflow film. Class A in Maharashtra. 3rd week Bombay 16,78,317 from 11 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Baroda 1,35,672, Jamnagar 90,862, total 3,46,206; Solapur 1,42,571 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.), 1st week Miraj 70,400 (96%); 3rd Delhi 8,49,451 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 1,41,800 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,32,827, 2nd Agra 1,38,000 (1st 1,86,000), 3rd week Allahabad 84,600, Varanasi 1,13,880, Bareilly 52,183 (29.15%), Aligarh 78,655, Gorakhpur 99,000, theatre record; Calcutta 10,00,199 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 1,67,344 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 1,41,218, total 4,82,761, share 3,54,413, Akola 97,327, total 4,32,497, Raipur 1,24,809, theatre record, Bhilai 51,110, Durg 59,981, Jalgaon 1,00,016, theatre record; Indore 1,30,898, Bhopal 1,04,050, Ujjain 72,983; 1st Bikaner 60,856; 3rd Hyderabad 5,92,263 from 3 cinemas; 1st Vijayawada 2,97,718.
Raja Hindustani 11th week Bombay 21,23,741 (73.73%) from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Solapur 1,21,906, 10th Barsi 14,562; 15th Delhi 9,27,923 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,58,021, Agra 1,10,820, 16th Allahabad 63,000, Varanasi 77,686, Meerut 1,18,326, theatre record; 15th Bareilly 56,898 (30.57%), Aligarh 1,06,200, 16th Gorakhpur 56,000, city record; 15th week Calcutta 1,33,631; 12th Nagpur 1,77,978 from 2 cinemas, 13th week Jabalpur 1,48,593, total 24,29,238, 11th Akola 58,320, total 12,48,576, 15th Raipur 55,041, 16th Bhilai (6 days) 29,970, 11th week Wardha 31,548; 15th Indore 1,97,006, 14th Bhopal 1,19,297; 15th Jodhpur 91,000; Hyderabad 3,47,995 from 2 cinemas.
KAVIRAJ INDEEVAR BIDS GOODBYE
Veteran lyricist Indeevar passed away on 28th February in Bombay at Lilavati Hospital due to a cardiac arrest. He was 73 and is survived by his wife and a son. He had been admitted to hospital on 17th on account of a heart ailment.
Kaviraj Indeevar, as he was respectfully called, had written over 2,500 songs for almost 450 films. Among his evergreen and popular hits are such songs as Chandan sa badan (Saraswatichandra), Kasme vaade pyar wafaa sab (Upkar), O laal duppatte wali (Aankhen), Suraj kab door gagan se and Jaati hoon main (both from Karan Arjun). Almost 50 films for which he has penned lyrics are currently in various stages of production.
Shyamlal, which was the real name of Indeevar, came to Bombay in 1941 from a village in Uttar Pradesh. He got his break in 1946 in Shyambabu Pathak’s Doubleface. He had completed half a century in the film world just last year. During his 51 years as lyricist, he worked with almost all the music directors. Perhaps, the only notable music director for whom Indeevar never wrote lyrics was Naushad. Even for Naushad, he did write a song in Kishore Sharma’s Chanakya Aur Chandragupta, directed by B.R. Chopra. That song was rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, but the film got shelved mid-way. He also composed the music for the 1996 Miss World contest in Bangalore.
If Indeevar’s lyrics could move a listener to tears or bring a grin on one’s face, they could also irritate the Britishers so much that the lyricist was put behind bars for a year. His ‘crime’: he had written anti-British songs.
A typicality of Indeevar’s songs was that they were almost always written in chaste Hindi and were simple, yet meaningful. Like his lyrics, Indeevar too was simple in his thoughts and living. He had a smiling face and a down-to-earth nature.
Among the hundreds of films Indeevar penned lyrics for are Nirmoy, Madari, Bhool Na Jana, Badbaan, Himalay Ki Godmein, Safar, Purab Aur Pachhim, Mohra, Qurbani, Karan Arjun, Khudgarz, Koyla (unreleased).
It is difficult to imagine what the film music scene will be like without Indeevar. His sudden death has left the industry shocked. The genius lyricist, who had a song for every occasion and mood, didn’t even give a hint that he was going. Even if he had said, “Jaata hoon main….”, the industry could have pleaded to the Gods up there with a line from Indeevar’s own song. “Jaldi hai kya?”
‘JUDAAI’ RELEASE IN KARNATAKA POSTPONED
Boney Kapoor’s Judaai has not been released in the state of Karnataka this week. While Mysore circuit comprises many parts of Karnataka, Bombay circuit also consists of a part of the state. A couple of stations of Karnataka also fall in Nizam circuit. While Judaai has been released in other parts of Bombay and Nizam circuits, it has not been released in Mysore circuit at all.
The Kannada version of the Telugu super-hit, Shubhlagnam, of which Judaai is a remake, is due for release next week in Karnataka. It stars the son of matinee idol of Kannada films, Rajkumar, as hero. Because of the immense power Rajkumar wields there, he saw to it that the release of Judaai was stalled till after his son’s film hit the screens. At first, Mysore distributor Pal Chandani is reported to have refused to postpone the release of his Judaai, but he relented later.
Another reason for the stalling of the release of Judaai seems to be the controversy which Anil Kapoor landed himself in recently with Kannada film actress Malashri who is the heroine opposite Rajkumar’s son in the Kannada film due for release next week. It is learnt that Malashri had wanted Anil Kapoor to make a special appearance in Lady Commissioner, being produced by Ramu (who is now her husband) and starring herself. Anil had initially agreed to act in the film but later decided against it. This seems to have agitated Malashri who, it is likely, may have pulled the strings on the eve of release of Anil’s Judaai. Before that, she had also filed a case against Anil Kapoor in her Association.
DHANNALAL THAKURIA NO MORE
Dhannalal Thakuria, owner of Regal cinema, Indore, expired on 21st February in Indore. He was 95. Thakuria was also a distributor and, in fact, the oldest living distributor.
DILIP KUMAR TO ATTEND HIS RETROSPECTIVE IN JODHPUR
Dilip Kumar will attend the opening of a retrospective of his films in Jodhpur on 7th March at Girdhar Mandir cinema. The retrospective is being organised by the Film Society of Jodhpur with a week-long festival of Dilip Kumar starrers.
Dilip Kumar will be publicly honoured at a function on 7th. According to the secretary of the Film Society, Mohan Swaroop Maheshwari, two shows each of 14 Dilip Kumar starrers will be held in the week-long festival. Among the films to be screened are Amar, Andaz, Aan, Devdas, Babul, Mughal-E-Azam, Ram Aur Shyam, Udan Khatola, Madhumati and Mashaal.
U.A. THADANI HOSPITALISED
Veteran Bombay exhibitor and distributor U.A. Thadani took ill on 26th February while he was attending to his work in office and was rushed to the ICU of Hinduja Hospital. He is recuperating at the hospital and his condition is reported to be steady now.
MALASHRI WEDS RAMU
Kannada film heroine Malashri announced at a press conference in Bangalore this week her marriage with producer Ramu. The wedding took place at her Bangalore residence.
Malashri became close to Ramu during the making of his Muttinantha Hendthi some years ago. She is currently working in two forthcoming films of Ramu, CBI Durga and Lady Commissioner.
‘AUZAAR’ PROMOTION IN BOMBAY
Tips Films has worked out an innovative advertising and promotion plan for Auzaar in Bombay. The message of the film’s release is being reached out to people in a rally of uniformed motor-cyclists who are doing the rounds of the city. The rally was flagged off by Salman Khan.
A contest for viewers is also currently on in cinemas screening the film, where over 10,000 prizes can be won.
URMILA BHATT MURDERED
Urmila Bhatt was murdered at her residence in Bombay on the night of 22nd February. Although the identity of the murderer is not known, the motive behind the killing seems to be a dispute over money. According to the police, there was a transaction of about Rs. 8 crore between Urmila Bhatt and somebody for whom the police are on the lookout. Urmila Bhatt’s husband was not in Bombay when the murder took place.
The police suspect that the TV serial, Zee Horror Show, may have inspired Urmila’s murderer because she was murdered in the same way as she was killed in the said serial which was telecast just four days prior to the murder.
Urmila Bhatt had received a telephone call at around 7 p.m. the same day, and the caller threatened to kill her. The actress told this to an undisclosed friend who also was reportedly threatened over the phone on Sunday night. Urmila Bhatt was cremated on Sunday evening.
The murder came to light when a relative visited the veteran actress. When nobody answered the door-bell, he got scared and, alongwith Urmila’s daughter and son-in-law, opened the door, only to find her dead body. Her throat had been slit with the help of a sharp instrument. The rear door of the house was partly open.
Urmila Bhatt had acted in a number of Hindi, Gujarati and Rajasthani films. Among her Hindi films are Phir Bhi, Tapasya, Toofan, Preetam, Pratiggya, Koshish, Dhund, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Pyasi Nadi, Sankoch, Chattan Singh, Call Girl, Chhatis Ghante, Vardan, Dharam Karam, Geet Gata Chal, Jaan Haazir Hai, Pratikaar, Touheen, Dosti Ki Saugandh, Izzat Ki Roti, Zakhmi Rooh etc.
PRODUCTIONS NEWS
‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’
A week-long shooting stint of G.S. Entertainments’ Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya began on Feb. 26 at Madh Island and on Bombay locales. A song on Salman Khan, Kajol and a huge crowd is being picturised under the supervision of choreographer Ganesh Hegde. The film co-stars Arbaaz Khan, one more heroine, Asif Sheikh, Kunika, Tiku Talsania, Rajoo Kariya, Kiran Kumar, Shakti Kapoor and Ashish Balram Nagpal who has been recently signed. It is being directed by Sohail Khan from his own story and screenplay, and produced by him jointly with Bunty Walia. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer. Vashu Bhagnani presents its.
‘Barood’ Unit Back From Europe
Producer and director Pramod Chakravorty and the unit of Pramod Films’ Barood returned to India this week after completing a 20-day shooting schedule in Europe. Action and other scenes as well as songs were picturised featuring Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Mohnish Bahl and fighters. The film co-stars Raakhee, Gulshan Grover, Mohan Joshi, Aroona Irani and Amrish Puri. It is being co-produced by Bharat Shah, and has music by Anand Milind and lyrics by Sameer.
YOU ASKED IT
Big banners pay low prices to their artistes and technicians but charge double the price while selling their films to distributors. Are they justified in doing so?
– Who are you and I to talk about justification when the price is governed by the laws of demand and supply? The big banners charge a big chunk for their goodwill.
When music has always been an important part of Hindi films, why is it said that ‘today’, hit music is very necessary?
– Hit music generally ensures good opening, and since the prices of films these days are phenomenal, a good opening is very essential. Hence the importance of hit music these days.
What happened to Sudhakar Bokade’s Kalinga? Its director, Dilip Kumar, had over a year ago said in a press conference that differences between him and Bokade had been cleared.
– But the film is incomplete as yet. Maybe, another press conference would have to be called to clear matters again.
DO YOU KNOW?
* For Naaz cinema, Parbhani (Nizam circuit), it is double celebration time. While RAJA HINDUSTANI completed 100 days at the cinema in regular shows on 19th February, TERE MERE SAPNE completed 50 days in morning shows.
* Producer Surendra Bohra seems to be a lucky mascot for his artistes as far as awards are concerned. When his SAAJAN KA GHAR was being made, Juhi Chawla bagged her first Filmfare award (for HUM HAIN RAHI PYAR KE). This year, Chandrachur Singh and Arbaaz Khan have bagged the Filmfare awards and both of them are acting in Bohra’s films.
MIX MASALA
RECORD CUTS!
One has heard of censors banning a film completely but Mohan Sulibhavi’s Duniya Ki Rangeen Raatein may, perhaps, be the film which has been passed with the maximum number of cuts in the history of Hindi cinema. Believe it or not, it has been cleared for adults after the deletion of 4,046.14 feet (1,233.49 metres) which is almost of a running time of 45 to 50 minutes! And these cuts have been offered by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. The total length which has been passed is 2,286.43 metres. The producer, it may be mentioned here, has accepted the cuts, and the censor certificate has also been issued. Incidentally, the producer (Mohan Sulibhavi) is a censor script writer who does the liaison work of producers in regard to censorship of films.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
Unusual Twists Are The Real Challenge
It is not for nothing that Rajkumar Santoshi is considered a director of great standing. Some of his views are truly worth appreciating. Like, for instance, he says, while talking of film stories: “When we sit for story discussions, I never get put off by such remarks as ‘…..But how can this be possible? Who will do such a thing? Nobody can do such and such a thing.’ Rather, such reservations inspire me to take up the challenge because that is the unusual twist in the story. Yudhishtir in Mahabharat put his wife at stake while gambling, which no human being would dream of doing. But because Yudhishtir did it, Mahabharat was born. And if Mahabharat can appeal to mankind, a film story with some unusual twist, which is least expected, can surely be lapped up by cinegoers.”
And while on Santoshi, the best compliment anyone must have paid him was the one paid by financier Bharat Shah. This was when Santoshi was making Damini. He was planning a film with a top South actor, but everybody kept dissuading him, saying that the project wouldn’t be financially viable since the hero, despite being a great actor, doesn’t sell in the Hindi belt. When Rajkumar Santoshi asked Bharatbhai Shah whether he would finance the project, the latter told him, “Even if you make a film with my peon as hero, I’ll back the project!” Rajkumar Santoshi even today cherishes this compliment as the most valued one.
Sorry For The (Leg) Break
That Mamta Kulkarni fractured her leg in the recent shooting spell of Rajkumar Santoshi’s China Gate at Gangavati (near Bangalore) is common knowledge. But not many know that another actor also fractured his leg in the same shooting spell. The only difference is that while Mamta got hurt while getting off the horseback, this actor — Mukesh Tiwari — fractured his leg while doing stunts on horseback for the film. Action director Tinnu Verma must be feeling doubly sorry for the leg breaks! Mukesh Tiwari, it may be mentioned here, is a new villain who is being introduced in China Gate. He is from the National School of Drama. Incidentally, the Gangavati shooting schedule, which remained incomplete due to the leg breaks, will be continued once the two artistes recover — that is, after quite a long break!
Big Bengali Hits
If Raja Hindustani is doing roaring business in West Bengal (it is expected to do a business of 2.5 to 3 crore!), so are two Bengali films. Ravi Agarwal’s Lathi, inspired from Mohan Kumar’s Avtaar, is expected to touch the 2-crore mark. Dhanuka’s Swami Keno Asami, imported from Bangladesh, is also doing very good business. This hit stars Chunkey Panday, Rituparna and others. So even if Chunkey doesn’t have exciting Hindi films on hand, he has reason to celebrate all the same.
From Clerk To ‘King’: What A Success Story!
The life story of Nizam distributor and exhibitor B.G. Upadhyaya would read like a fairy tale. Son of a post-master, he started out as a booking clerk in Krishna cinema of Parli Vaijnath (Maharashtra). He rose to the post of a manager in the same cinema and then became its controller. He then purchased the cinema and another cinema too (Gopal Krishna) at Parli Vaijnath. His enterprising activities didn’t stop there. He also acquired the other two cinemas, Shree and Shreenath, of Parli Vaijnath, on lease. All of which makes him a monopolist at Parli Vaijnath. Not content with being only an exhibitor in Nizam, Balaprasad Gangadhar Upadhyaya then decided to dabble in distribution. And dabble he did. In a short span of some years only, he has released (distributed) as many as 40 films in Nizam circuit, including many of K.C. Bokadia and Anil Ganguly. In fact, he started his distribution office, Aruna Enterprises, with Anil Ganguly’s Dil Ki Baazi. Having become an exhibitor and distributor, Upadhyaya is now trying his hands at production. He has started out by dubbing a Tamil film (Sangotte which means ‘Red Fort’) which is now ready for release in Hindi as Kalyug Ka Arjun. A bold political film, Upadhyaya is confident that it will be exempted from entertainment tax, at least in Maharashtra. And not just because Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde was his classmate, but also because the film, he feels, deserves tax exemption. Upadhyaya will now be producing a Hindi film. He has acquired the remaking rights of the Malayalam hit, King.
CBFC Hits Back At Ratnam
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Madras has taken exception to Mani Ratnam’s critical comments on its functioning and on the procedure adopted by the censors in clearing his recently released Tamil film, Iruvar. The CBFC has described a recent interview of Mani Ratnam as “misleading”. In the said interview, Mani Ratnam is said to have cast aspersions on CBFC members and officials, according to regional officer of CBFC (Madras), G. Rajasekaran. The celebrated filmmaker, who is known as much for his controversial films as for his films getting stuck up at the censors, said in the interview that censors lacked guts to take decisions on their own and tended to pass the buck to curry favour with politicians. It may be recalled here that Ratnam’s Iruvar has two main characters bearing striking resemblances to Tamilnadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi and late M.G. Ramachandran. The film was referred to the state home department before it was cleared by the CBFC, with cuts. Mani Ratnam has wondered whether the censors had the legal right to refer the film to the home department. He has alleged that the censors seemed to have a prejudice against Iruvar even before seeing it. In a three-page statement issued by the regional officer (RO), the RO has noted that the CBFC had acted in accordance with the rules. He has explained that in certification of a film, the CBFC had to ensure that the public order was not endangered. The state home department, which was responsbile for law and order, had been asked to review the film in view of the possibility of it provoking a clash between rival political groups. That was in order, according to G. Rajasekaran, who has noted that the entire procedure adopted by the CBFC was recorded in writing, and nothing prevented Ratnam from going to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal or even the court of law if he considered that the CBFC had violated the law in referring his film to a committee of the home department.
Quite A Mouthful
When it comes to coinage of certain film trade phrases and terminology, you can’t beat West Bengal distributors. For them, drop in collections means ‘droppage’. Kitna droppage aaya?, is the common question among Calcutta distributors. Of course, it’s a different thing that there is no such English word as ‘droppage’.
And when it comes to seeking advice on which film to buy, a Calcutta buyer is sure to ask: Kya yeh picture main kha loon? So, next time, if a West Bengal distributor asks you “Kya kha loon?”, don’t give him a list of delicacies. Instead, give him a list of probable hits — films, that is.
