DHADKAN

Venus Records & Tapes Ltd.’s Dhadkan is a love triangle with misplaced emotions. A poor bastard child (Sunil Shetty) loves a rich girl (Shilpa Shetty) whose father forces her to marry a wealthy businessman (Akshay Kumar). Three years after her marriage, her ex-flame comes into her life once again, in a bid to win her over. The only difference is that this time, he is a multi-millionaire. Not able to get her, his frustration gets the better of him and he directs his ire at her husband who is rendered homeless in a day. Hell hath no fury like a man scorned — or, rather, spurned! Unable to come to terms with reality, he is ultimately pacified by the girl’s husband who makes him see reason and take life as it comes.

The film’s screenplay (Naseem Mukri and Raj Sinha) and dialogues (Naseem Mukri and Dharmesh Darshan) are weak and, sometimes, even erroneous. Characterisations of the two heroes are anything but convincing. The husband’s Gandhian nature will not go down well with the audience for two reasons — one, such human beings are a rare breed in today’s times (and if one wanted to make it a believable character, one should have done it with much, much more conviction); secondly, the hero who plays the husband — Akshay Kumar — has an action image among the public and his Gandhian character looks completely out of synch. The other hero’s characterisation is faulty, to say the least. For, although he is not shown as a villain in the film, he does things befitting a villain — following his beloved even three years after she has been married to another guy; playing dirty with her husband to avenge his rejection by the girl while sparing her father who is the actual ‘villain’. The madness in his love for the girl after her marriage reminds of Yash Chopra’s Darr but in that film, Shah Rukh Khan was rightly shown as a villain who is murdered in the end, whereas in this film, Sunil Shetty remains a hero till the very end. Sorry, his deeds are anything but heroic! For that matter, Akshay Kumar also does not show heroism of the kind desired by the audience. So, there are two heroes but no heroism in that sense of the term. One gets the impression that the writers, wanted to be different, but in their quest to be different, they’ve done things wrong.

The scenes of the husband’s step-mother, step-brother and step-sister remind heavily of the director’s Raja Hindustani. Dialogues are good at places only. Another weak point is that there’s more gloom and less joy in the film — the girl is unhappy for a long time because she has to marry against her wish; later, she is sad because her ex-flame comes back into her life; the husband is sad because his family hates him; the bastard boy is unhappy because he loses his girlfriend. Climax is too tame and convenient; the ending is also predictable much before it comes.

Akshay Kumar does well according to his characterisation. Sunil Shetty also acts very ably. Shilpa Shetty does a fine job but she should have gone easy on her make-up. In fact, if Shilpa Shetty looks heavily made-up, the other heroine, Mahima Chaudhry, looks tired and lacks glamour. Mahima’s performance is good, though. Sharmila Tagore is over-dramatic. Kiran Kumar is alright. Sushma Seth is quite natural. Parmeet Sethi gives a good account of himself. Manjeet Kullar is also good. Neeraj Vora, Nilofer, Anjana Mumtaz, Kader Khan and Naseem Mukri lend ordinary support.

Dharmesh Darshan, having selected a difficult plot, has not been able to rectify the flawed screenplay, and his direction, consequently, provides little by way of an enjoyable drama. Even otherwise, the serious film holds appeal mainly for the class audience.

Nadeem Shravan’s music is one of the best things in the film. ‘Tum dil ki dhadkan mein’ and ‘Dil ne yeh kaha hai dil se’ are hit songs and are very melodious. ‘Dulhe ka sehra’, ‘Na na karte’ and ‘Aksar is duniya mein’ are also good numbers. W.B. Rao’s cinematography is the other brilliant aspect of the film. The camerawork and the picturesque locations on which the film is shot are fantastic. Background music (Surender Sodhi) is effective.

On the whole, Dhadkan is an insipid fare which fails to touch the heart and will, therefore, not be able to evoke audience appreciation.

Released on 11-8-2000 at Eros and 18 other cinemas of Bombay by Venus Records & Tapes Ltd. thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: excellent. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull in several places but very good in Calcutta and Nizam.

DEEWANE

S.P. Creations’ Deewane (UA) is about a CID inspector whose only passion in life is work. He loves his childhood girlfriend and she, too, is in love with him. The girl resents his devotion to work when it comes in the way of their romantic outings. By a turn of events, the officer slips into a coma and, in his place, comes his look-alike who is a criminal by profession. Planted by the commissioner of police in the CID officer’s place, this look-alike is attracted towards the officer’s girlfriend who is unaware of the impersonator. This look-alike, too, is passionate, but his passion is for the girl. In her interaction with him, the girl for the first time discovers what true love is. But all along, she is under the impression that the guy she is romancing is her old childhood-friend. All hell breaks loose in her life when, after her boyfriend comes out of the coma, she learns that she had been fascinated by the impersonator. Even as she and her buddy prepare for marriage, the look-alike tries to win her as she tries to shun him. But the realisation dawns upon her that she actually loves the impersonator. Misunderstandings are cleared in the end and while one guy sacrifices, the other gets the girl he loves.

Anees Bazmee’s story is quite interesting, but it has been ruined by a shoddy screenplay which seems to have been hurriedly written by Karan Razdan. There’s simply no thrill of a double role because, very often, the switching of roles between the two is revealed after an exciting incident has taken place rather than before it. Resultantly, the audience is not able to share in the excitement associated with trading places. So insipid is the drama that the viewer is not bothered about who of the two heroes the girl would ultimately marry. Such indifference and absence of a yearning of the heart of the audience for the principal characters is a dangerous sign in a love triangle. The romance looks feeble, at least from the girl’s side. The first  half is too lengthy, repetitive and boring. Post-interval, the drama is better, but only very slightly. Dialogues are alright. While the climax is not incorrect, it does not gladden the viewers’ hearts as two important characters in the drama have to simultaneously sacrifice their loves.

Ajay Devgan gives a sincere performance in a double role. Although there is some action of Ajay, it is mainly gun fights rather than the enjoyable fist fights. Urmila Matondkar is reasonably good. Mahima Chaudhry impresses in emotional scenes. Johny Lever’s comedy is superb. Paresh Rawal entertains at a few places and so do Pramod Moutho and Tiku Talsania. Gulshan Grover has very little scope. Aasif Sheikh, Reema, Usha Bachani, Shivaji Satam, Padmini Kapila, Neha P., Mini Tabassum, Raju Mawani and the rest fill the bill.

Harry Baweja’s direction is ordinary and gets burdened by a poor script. Sanjeev Darshan’s music is very good. The title song, ‘Ae dil’, ‘Qayamat’, ‘Churao na dil’ and ‘Jab ishq da’ are excellently tuned. However, most of the song picturisatins do not match their hit music. Camerawork is fair. Action lacks thrill. Editing is loose. Special effects (CMM Studios, Peter Pereira and Nirmal Jani) are quite nice.

On the whole, Deewane is a boring and dull fare which will put its distributors to heavy losses.

Released on 11-8-2000 at Liberty and 21 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd. Publicity: good. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was very poor almost everywhere (good in Nizam).

LATEST POSITION

The dull openings of both the major releases of this week have shocked many.

Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega dropped after 4 days at many places but has managed very good shares in 1st week. Is excellent in Bombay, Maharashtra and Nizam. 1st week Bombay 82,06,409 (98.03%) from 14 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 32,49,245 from 10 cinemas, Padra 2,51,755, Vapi 6,28,571, Jamnagar 1,72,100, Adipur 1,66,690 (73.83%), Bhuj 1,56,699; Pune 19,77,262 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 4,33,966 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 79,69,730 (79.72%) from 14 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 6,30,559 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 8,25,892 from 2 cinemas, Agra 3,85,000, Allahabad 2,64,377, Bareilly 1,72,054; Calcutta 30,30,993 from 15 cinemas (17 on F.H.); Nagpur 9,41,855 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (gross, 6 days) 2,55,105, Amravati 2,98,968, Raipur (5 days) 1,75,311, Durg 1,14,171, Jalgaon 2,00,946, Gondia (gross, 29 shows) 1,42,641, Wardha 1,30,746, Yavatmal 1,86,441; Indore 2,62,254 (4 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,14,000 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 12,88,643 (52.11%) from 5 cinemas, Ajmer (24 shows, gross) 2,52,856; Hyderabad (gross) 59,38,533 from 18 cinemas, share 35 lakh; Aurangabad (gross) 9,54,306 from 4 cinemas; Vijayawada (gross) 3,10,425, Guntur (gross) 96,535.

Justice Chowdhary 1st week Bombay 6,83,603 (46.53%) from 5 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 94,950 from 2 cinemas; Pune 1,48,887 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 5,11,773 (19.65%) from 5 cinemas; Allahabad 33,990; Nagpur 98,743 from 2 cinemas, Raipur (5 days) 29,711; Jaipur (29 shows) 74,135 (25%); Hyderabad (gross) 1,80,702 from 3 cinemas.

…………

NEW CINEMA AT DAHISAR

Movie Gem, a new cinema, opened on 11th August at Dahisar, a distant suburb of Bombay, with Deewane.

‘REFUGEE’ TAX-FREE IN M.P.

J.P. Dutta’s Refugee has been granted exemption from payment of entertainment tax in the state of Madhya Pradesh for a period of six months with a maximum limit of 4 weeks in every centre, including shifting. The tax exemption came into effect from 9th August.

VIKAS VASWANI DEAD

Producer Vikas Vaswani died due to heart attack in the early morning hours of 11th August at his residence in Bombay. He was 58 and a bachelor. He will be cremated today (12th).

Vikas was a partner with producer Jagdish Sharma. The two had jointly produced Maa Kasam (Mithun Chakraborty and Amjad Khan). Their film, Kasam, starring Sunny Deol, is under-production.

DIRECTOR SATPAL NO MORE

Director Satpal (Sharma) passed away on 10th August at Cooper Hospital, Bombay, where he was being treated for jaundice. He was 62 and a bachelor. He was cremated on 11th August.

Satpal started his life as an office boy in a film production company. His struggle led him to Bhappi Sonie under whom he worked as an assistant director. He turned an independent director with Bhola Bhala (starring Rajesh Khanna, Rekha, Moushumi Chatterji) which was followed by Chunaoti (Feroz Khan, Neetu Singh) and Do Waqt Ki Roti. He was later associated with K.C. Bokadia. Satpal used to be very close to Dharmendra and Feroz Khan.

400 ILLEGAL VIDEO CDs SEIZED IN DELHI

At the instance of Feature Films Copyright and its staff, the Delhi police recently raided the shop of one Captain Video at Old Lajpat Rai Market and seized 400 pirated video CDs of various films including Jungle, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Hera Pheri and Kya Kehna!. One Ajay Gupta was arrested. The total value of the goods seized is estimated at Rs. 40,000.

NEW CINEMA OPENS AT BURHANPUR

A new cinema, Ankita, opened on 11th August at Burhanpur. Dhadkan is the opening attraction.

TWO BOMBAY DISTRIBUTORS ARRESTED

Naaz building in Bombay was rocked by two arrests in the last eight days. Vinod Kakkar of Veekay Enterprises, Bombay was arrested and sent to a jail at Panvel (near Bombay) on 5th August. On 9th, Devendra Shah was arrested alongwith his young son. The three were granted bail on 11th.

The arrests were made following criminal complaints by Thane sub-distributor Suresh Dave. In the case of Vinodbhai, the Thane sub-distributor alleged that he had double-sold the Thane sub-distribution rights of Shikari to him (Dave) is well as to another party (Ashok Ranglani). Devendra Shah is alleged to be owing huge monies to Dave in the account of Border which he (Shah) distributed in Gujarat and in the distribution of which Dave was a partner with Devendra Shah. Dave alleged that despite the elapse of three years, Devendra Shah was not paying him his share of profits.

KARNATAKA INDUSTRY IN A PREDICAMENT

The notorious Veerappan, while demanding a ransom of Rs. 50 crore for the release of Kannada matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar, has also held the Karnataka film and TV industry to ransom. Since the day the most venerated star was abducted, the Karnataka industry has rendered itself into a state of impasse due to which the financial loss for the film industry has amounted to crores.

ANNOUNCEMENT & LAUNCHING

Anil Kapoor, Satish Kaushik Launch Production Company

Anil Kapoor and Satish Kaushik launched Kapoor & Kaushik Entertainment P. Ltd. with their first production venture, Badhai Ho Badhai, on Aug. 9. A launching pooja was held at Audeus and it was followed by a song recording at Sahara. The song was penned by Javed Akhtar and composed by Anu Malik. The recording is being followed by a 3-day shooting spell in Bombay.

The film stars Anil Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor and Amisha Patel, and it is being directed by Satish Kaushik. Mukta Arts presents it. It will be completed in March 2001 and released in June 2001.

Satish Kaushik will also be directing a film to be produced by Mukta Arts. Its cast is being finalised and it will start shortly.

YOU ASKED IT

Is someone planning a film on Veerappan?

– Veerappan would give anything to a maker to make a film on him. 

Why do Indian filmmakers not break away from the mould and make a film that does not centre around the hero and heroine?

– Rajkumar Santoshi tried it in CHINA GATE which did not run. But that does not mean, such films will never succeed. A gutsy director must try again.

Do stage shows help in popularising stars’ images?

– Besides popularising the stars, they fill star-pockets too!

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Kaun Karega First Move?

There is not an iota of doubt that the Kaun Banega Crorepati game show has become a national craze among TV viewers. Host Amitabh Bachchan’s “positive?”, “sure?” and “confident?” have become catch-phrases even among mundane conversations between friends. These three questions have also spawned a number of jokes. The latest one doing the rounds among friends’ circles is the following:

Husband: Can we go out for a romantic dinner tonight?

Wife: Oh no, not tonight.

Husband: Are you sure? ….Positive? ….Confident?

Wife: Yes, sure, positive, confident.

Husband: In that case, can I phone a (girl)friend?

Now, a suggestion from our side:

How about incorporating KBC-oriented jokes in a film which is slated for an early release — say, within six months? That would have the germs of becoming a highlight comedy!

For example, a character in a film could be shown as a KBC fan who only speaks in the style of Amitabh Bachchan in the game show. A lot of jokes could be ‘invented’ around the KBC show. Somebody like Govinda or Johny Lever would be able to carry it off brilliantly. Come on, producers and directors, the first one could hit it off!

P.S.: A word of caution, here. David Dhawan seems to have liked our suggestion (we told him two days back) and is very likely going to use the KBC host take-off in Jeetendra’s film which he is directing.

INFORMATION MEETS

“We should first be convinced that whatever we have made is at least good enough. And this applies whether we work with Mr. Yash Chopra, Mr. Raj Kanwar or Mr. Karan Johar.”

– JATIN (Jatin Lalit)

GAJAA

They are soft-spoken and cool unlike their music which comprises hot hits dipped in melody. They are not known to be aggressive or pushy to market their creativity. And neither do they believe in blowing their own trumpets or beating their own drums. Or even raking up controversies to grab publicity for themselves. Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit have slowly but steadily created a prime place for their music in the Hall of Fame. Today, they are firing on all cylinders. Or, shall we say, recording on all tracks.

Starting with Yaara Dildaara, and followed by Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Khiladi, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Khamoshi, Yes Boss, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Ghulam, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, this Pandit duo has come a long way indeed!

Their forthcoming films include Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Dhai Akshar Prem Ke and Raju Chacha.

We now ‘record’ Jatin Lalit in Jatin’s words. Over to Jatin:

Music has become a big market today. It is more than a major territory. But the status of music directors hasn’t grown proportionately. What would you say to that?

– That’s a fact, a very sad fact. If the music directors are united, a lot of benefits can be got.

Will they ever be united?

– We really don’t know. Being in the rat race and indulging in cut-throat competition have become second nature to the music composers. Even those who have been in business for years, want to carry on, thus blocking the prospects of the younger crop coming up. The seniors want more and more and more….

Maybe, that’s because the seniors do not earn so much as to retire.

– That’s also true. The only way to face such competition is one’s work. That’s why we work hard, day in and day out. After all, quality of work counts. But how many producers care for good music? Sometimes, a producer approves our tunes, but if someone comes up with a ‘tempting’ offer, the producer goes there. So, unless and until we start the recording, nothing is confirmed. There’s many a slip between the producer’s approval and recording!

Has it happened with you?

– Yes, a number of times!

And don’t you indulge in under-cutting?

– Honestly, never! Today, we have enough work to keep ourselves creatively engaged. And we are quite content too. If we know that a certain music director has already had a meeting with a certain producer, we don’t approach that producer. Grabbing someone else’s film is unethical. I consider it a sin. As it is, we have proved our music’s worth. An international organisation has adjudged Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as the best Indian films. We are proud to be associated with two of the best ones.

It is believed that frustrations and humiliations bring the best out of creative people. What has been your experience?

– Frustrations and humiliations can lead one to a little bit of hard work. But is only hard work enough? One has got to have creativity within oneself. As for the frustration part of your question, we were never frustrated despite people playing games with us. We are a soft-spoken duo which never displayed any aggressiveness where bagging assignments was concerned.

But today, everyone is out to make a fast buck. Haven’t you heard, while in Rome, do as the Romans do?!

– But Rome was not built in a day! We have been around for the last 10 years and we have been working at our own pace. Even at the risk of sounding immodest, we can claim that we have consistently provided quality music. Our music has worked! And that’s why we get work without indulging in any kind of hard-sell. We come from a gharana that is devoted to music. My forefathers were into classical music. My grandfather, Motiram-ji, and his brother, Jyotiram-ji, were court singers and composers of classical music. Our father, Pandit Pratap Narayan, our uncle, Pandit Jasraj, our sisters, Sulakshana and Vijayeta, are singers. We are from the Mewathi gharana. Even Lalit and myself sang songs under R.D. Burman.

But your gharana was involved in classical music. What made you branch out into film music?

– See, we all study in the same schools, we learn the same lessons, yet we branch out in different directions. To start with, a music director has to know about classical music before he branches out in any field of music, whether singing or playing music or film music direction. Tomorrow, maybe, my son might become a music engineer.

What’s your style of working — vis-à-vis lyricists, vis-à-vis directors and producers, and between yourselves?

– We both go into detailing about the subject, the situation and the character of the actor on whom the song is to be picturised. This kind of detailing helps us to co-ordinate between ourselves, our producers and our directors. It’s as simple as that. We don’t just ‘print’ songs! Every tune we make is nurtured like our own baby, whoever the producer or director. After all, music is what has to please one’s ears. We should first be convinced that whatever we have made is at least good enough. And this applies whether we work with Mr. Yash Chopra, Mr. Raj Kanwar or Mr. Karan Johar. What is sweet music to one person’s ears is sweet music to others’ ears too. It is always ideal to work with producers who understand the worth of good music.

But do you think, people devote so much time for detailing, etc.

– Time is an important factor. It is not every time that you come up with good music. Even if a producer wants something fast, we do our best. It might work, it might not. A good melody takes a good time coming.

I will give you an example of a film called Yeh Hai Bambai Meri Jaan. Though the film flopped, its one song, Mera chand mujhe aaya hai nazar, proved a super-hit.

Just the other day, Mr. Ramesh Taurani wrote to us stating that he was proud to be associated with Sarfarosh. He also acknowledged that the music of Ghulam and Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai had sold like hotcakes and was selling even today.

Alright, the music is selling like hotcakes, but did you get a slice of the cake?

– Nobody shares the cake!

Why don’t you put a clause in your agreements for a share in the producers’ income from the music sales?

– One shouldn’t impose oneself since we all agree to work for a price. However, Shah Rukh and Yash Johar gave us a percentage from the music’s earnings for Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.

There have been music directors who’ve scored music for many films in a few years, and given really good music. Then suddenly, they go out of form. Why does this happen?

– If you just rush and run, the ultimate result is rust and ruin. I won’t like to sermonise here. You know what happens when a candle is burnt at both the ends!

Most of the times, your music sounds R.D. Burman-ish.

– Yes, we are influenced by Pancham-da. He is an inspiration to us. We have also rendered songs under his baton when we were kids. That’s why Pancham-da chhaap comes out in our songs, at times!

What do you do when you are stuck up for a good tune?

– That will be letting out a secret! Anyway, I will definitely tell you what I do. I sing aloud old film songs tuned by the greats of the good old days — Shanker Jaikishen, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Madan Mohan and O.P. Nayyar. And I sing them continuously for a couple of days and then come into my own. I consider this exercise as a kind of deep meditation.

Which of the old songs come to your mind at such times?

– Many.

Your five favourites?

– Madan Mohan’s Zara si aahat hoti hai to dil sochta hai (Haqeeqat), Laxmikant Pyarelal’s Suno sajana papihe ne (Aaye Din Bahar Ke), Shanker Jaikishen’s Zindagi ek safar hai suhana (Andaz), S.D. Burman’s Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye (Kala Pani), and Roshan’s Jo vaada kiya woh nibhana padega (Taj Mahal).

I remember a duo called Mandhir-Jatin. Are you the same Jatin?

– Yes, I am the same Jatin. Mandhir is our elder brother. He is also with us. At times, we seek his help. Mandhir is a top rhythmist and he is very busy as a musician. Mandhir and I did only one film together, Dil Hi Dil Mein. Thereafter, I and Lalit formed a team.

Finally, what keeps the Jatin-Lalit team in top form?

– Combination of hard work and talent. And destiny, of course!

HAR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega is a love triangle inspired from the Hollywood film, While You Were Sleeping. An aspiring singer (Salman Khan) is pushed into a situation where he is assumed to be an accident victim’s (Rani Mukerji’s) husband. Soon, he realises the benefits of posing as her husband. The accident victim, who has slipped into a coma, has a foster-sister (Preity Zinta) whom the guy soon falls in love with. The families of the two girls, including the sister, treat the guy as the coma victim’s husband and dote on him for saving the girl’s life. As days progress, the sister learns the truth and she, too, starts loving the guy. In the meantime, the other girl comes out of the coma and starts loving her saviour. The guy is caught between the two girls and finds his beloved withdrawing as a gesture of sacrifice for her sister who has just recovered from the accident and coma. The climax has misunderstandings being cleared and issues being resolved.

A good story-line has been embellished with excellent visuals, pretty costumes, eye-catching locales, hit music and extraordinary choreography. But the screenplay is not flawless. The first half has hardly any movement, and emphasis has been laid on comedy punches to further the drama. Some punches are entertaining while others are irritating. Showing one heroine in a coma for several reels tests the audience’s patience. Although Salman poses as Rani’s husband, the real person of that name has simply not been shown in the entire film! Suspenses are revealed rather amateurishly — for instance, Preity gets to know of Salman’s real identity by chance.

The first half is just about fair. It will be liked by youngsters. One major reason for this is that while Rani makes her first appearance (that too, in a coma, and she remains in the comatose state for a long time!) after almost half an hour of the film’s start, the other heroine — Preity — comes on the scene even later than that. The second half has more movement and even though it has its lows, it does keep audience interest alive throughout. The last few reels of sacrifices will appeal to the womenfolk. Although the director has tried to infuse emotions, they do not touch the heart. Even then, the magic of the climax works on the viewer, if only for the drama — the religious touch, two sisters dying to sacrifice for each other, resolution of the problem etc. The film’s treatment reminds of Kunwara, Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, Dil To Pagal Hai.

Salman Khan looks extremely handsome and sheds off more clothes than in his earlier films. He acts well too but his crazy comedy will be liked by only half the audience, the other half are bound to find it irritating. His dances are superb. Preity Zinta looks glamorous and shines in emotional scenes. Rani Mukerji gets lesser scope but is quite impressive in the last few reels. Shakti Kapoor’s comedy, especially the electric shock sequence and the juice stall-bus-stop episode, is very entertaining. He does a splendid job and may draw a round of applause for his surprising entry in the climax. Paresh Rawal is very natural. Neeraj Vora raises laughter at places and bores at others. Satish Shah is very good. Razzak Khan, too, entertains. Kamini Kaushal, Rajiv Verma, Ajit Vachchani, Shashi Kiran, Asrani (special appearance), K.D. Chandran, Vinay Pathak, baby Sana, master Smith Seth, Rekha Rao and Bhairav Aru lend good support. Shah Rukh Khan springs a pleasant surprise at interval point and keeps the audience guessing all through the interval. In fact, the interval point is superb simply for his presence. But his re-appearance in the end is unnecessary and worthless.

Raj Kanwar has lent his directorial touches at places but he has not been able to hold the film together at several points. Salman Khan’s squeaking and comedy look out of place at times. Music (Anu Malik) is excellent. ‘Piya piya’ and the title song are superb and their picturisations (Farah Khan) are heavenly. Picturisation of ‘Ek garam chai’, ‘Dil dil deewana’ and ‘Aisa pehli baar’ are also superb. In fact, it must be mentioned that Farah Khan has a brilliant visual sense and her choreography complements the music score splendidly. The ‘Aate jaate’ song needs to be deleted as it slackens the pace and is a walk-out item. W.B. Rao’s camerawork is marvellous. Sets (Sharmishtha Roy) are breathtaking. Editing is good. Titles are novel and will be an attraction.

On the whole, Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega has not just taken a flying start but it also has music, colour, visual appeal, a bit of ladies appeal and a different story to emerge a plus fare on the strength of patronage of youth and women. Business in Bombay and South will be much better. Drawbacks of a loose screenplay and lack of control over the hero’s performance in several scenes make the film look disjointed at places and will hinder its long run.

Released on 4-8-2000 at Metro and 22 other cinemas of Bombay thru Raj Enterprises. Publicity & opening: extraordinary. …….Also released all over. Opening was bumper everywhere. 1st day Jaipur 3,65,509/- from 5 cinemas! Some shows at some centres in various circuits were cancelled owing to bandh on Friday.

DR. RAJKUMAR STILL IN VEERAPPAN’S CUSTODY

Dr. Rajkumar, the most idolised veteran superstar of Kannada films, was kidnapped by the notorious sandalwood smuggler and forest brigand, Veerappan, from the star’s farmhouse in Gajanur village in Tamil Nadu on the night of July 31. Tension gripped Bangalore and other places in Karnataka as soon as the news of the kidnapping was aired the following day. Before kidnapping the veteran actor, the bandits handed over an audio cassette to his wife, Parvathamma, and asked her to deliver it to Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna. The Karnataka CM and Tamil Nadu CM, M. Karunanidhi, have sent an emissary, R.R. Gopal, editor of Tamil magazine Nakkeeran, as he is the only person to have access to the ever-evasive Veerappan.

In a departure from the norm and in view of high anxiety, the All India Radio, Bangalore and Madras, have granted free airtime to the veteran actor’s family to communicate their feelings to the family head and to make frequent appeals to Veerappan to release the actor who is 73 and not keeping good health. The actor’s family is also broadcasting the names of the medicines he is supposed to take regularly, as Veerappan did not take Rajkumar’s medicines with him.

According to last night’s news, Dr. Rajkumar has got sent an audio cassette to the Karnataka CM, conveying that he was in good health and that there was no danger to his life since “Veerappan is a good man”. He has appealed to the CM to concede to the brigand’s demand as they were “justified”.

AN EVENING OF MADAN MOHAN’S MUSIC

The Madan Mohan family organised an evening of their father’s music on 14th July in Bombay to commemorate his 25th death anniversary. The function was attended by members of the film and music industry and those who were close to Madan Mohan. Among those who were special guests of the evening were Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Khayyam, Jagjit Singh, Chitra Singh, Alka Yagnik, Mahendra Kapoor, Nitin Mukesh, Alisha Chinai, Jatin and Lalit, Bhupen Hazarika, Talat Aziz, Bhupinder and Mitalee Singh, Sudesh Bhosle, Anand Bakshi, Uttam Singh, Rajendra Mehta and Nina Mehta, Shivkumar Sharma, Yash Chopra, Yash Johar, Aditya Chopra, Mohan Kumar, Kalpana Lajmi and Ameen Sayani.

A half-hour film, featuring Madan Mohan’s compositions, was screened on the occasion. A 5-cassette pack, ‘Legends – Madan Mohan’, was formally released by Lata Mangeshkar and Yash Chopra at the function. The cassette has been brought out by HMV.

BOOK ON B.R. CHOPRA

To commemorate the illustrious life and work of Dr. B.R. Chopra, Arun H. Puranik and B.R. Vyas are bringing out a rare book on the living legend of Indian cinema. It contains little-known facts about the filmmaker with rare photographs and messages from his friends and fans. The book will be released formally at a function to be held shortly in Bombay.

VETERAN FILM EDITOR BIMAL ROY BIDS ADIEU

Veteran film editor Bimal Roy passed away on 29th July at Ahmednagar. He had not been well for some time and had been admitted to a local hospital. He was 75 and is survived by his wife and a daughter.

Bimal Roy started his career with Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal in 1944 and worked for 50 years as a well-known editor. He worked with directors like Gyan Mukherji, Nitin Bose and Dulal Guha, and edited films which include Jwar Bhata, Deedar, Kalpana, Ragini, Mere Jeevan Sathi, Pratiggya, Kala Sona, Do Anjaane, Dost, Dushman, Zalzala and Ab Insaaf Hoga. After retirement, he went to Ahmednagar where he breathed his last.

7 DAYS’ ADVANCE BOOKING BEGINS IN AURANGABAD

Advance booking for the entire week commenced at Goldie cinema in Aurangabad this week with Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega. This is the first time that a cinema in Aurangabad has done advance booking for 7 days. Goldie opened seven advance booking counters in the city and the audience response was fantastic. All shows were full on Friday.

Deepak Jawaharani of Goldie will soon also begin internet booking for his cinema. Pukar recently completed a silver jubilee run at the cinema.

*      *     *

KN…PH celebrated silver jubilee a few weeks back at Abhineet cinema, Aurangabad. The cinema has Dobly SR sound system.

ALI SARDAR JAFRI DEAD

The greatest Urdu poet of our times, Ali Sardar Jafri, died in Bombay on 1st August. He was 86 and has left behind his wife.

The poet had been bed-ridden since April this year, and was suffering from brain tumour. The burial ceremony of the ‘perfect literal-democrat’ was performed the same day, at which representatives of the Film Writers Association and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees were present.

Ali Sardar Jafri was one of the founder-members of the progressive movement in India in 1935-36. As a freedom fighter, he spent many years in jail. He was honoured with many awards including the Jnanpith award, the Iqbal Samman of the Madhya Pradesh government, and the Padma Shri. He was among the few who accompanied prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee a while ago in his bus journey to Pakistan.

Paying their respects of the great litterateur who produced K.A. Abbas’ Gyarah Hazar Ladkiyan, wrote the script of Sohni Mahiwal (1946) and the lyrics, Sham-e-gham ki kasam (Footpath), Javed Akhtar said, “His death is a loss not only for Urdu literature, but also for the nation. He was a member of the shrinking clan of firm believers in social justice, secularism, equality and the liberal doctrine — ideals he preached and fought for all through his life. He used his poetry as a weapon against reactionary forces.” Nida Fazli, who edited the magazine Guftgoo with Ali Sardar Jafri, said, “Ali Sardar Jafri was a multi-faceted personality, a poet, writer, intellectual, fiction writer and documentary filmmaker, all rolled into one. He was a major poet of our times.”

OWNER OF RADHA, BHOPAL PASSES AWAY

Komal Singh Rathor, proprietor of Radha Cinema, Bhopal, passed away on 1st August in Bhopal. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. The funeral was attended by all the exhibitors of Bhopal. Radha Cinema remained closed for three days.

DOLBY DIGITAL AT SANGAM, BHOPAL

Sangam Cinema, Bhopal has been equipped with Dolby digital sound system. It has been commissioned with the release of Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega on 4th August.

‘DEEWANE’ BASH LARGELY ATTENDED

A showcase of Harry Baweja’s Deewane was screened for the media at a largely-attended party held on 1st August at Hotel Sun-N-Sand, Bombay. Among those who attended the party were the film’s lead pair, Ajay Devgan and Urmila Matondkar (Mahima Chaudhry could not attend as she was in Mauritius for the shooting of Mastana), Prakash Mehra, Manmohan Shetty, the Tauranis of Tips and many distributors and exhibitors of Bombay.

BABY GIRL FOR LAXMIKANT, PRIYA

Actor Laxmikant Berde and his actress-wife Priya (Arun) were blessed with a daughter on July 27.

YOU ASKED IT

How many completed Hindi films are lying ready today?

– More than five hundred, of which half are in various stages of post-production. The rest are lying on the racks of various labs. Add to these, a large number of dubbed films!

– Has the kidnapping of Kannada superstar Rajkumar by Veerappan perked up the collections of Ram Gopal Varma’s Jungle?

– Not really! In JUNGLE, Urmila Matondkar does not play a film star, therefore, the parallel cannot be drawn so easily. Nor is it obvious that the sandalwood smuggler in the film is based on the character of Veerappan.

How far is it true that Hrithik Roshan has been signed for a Hollywood film?

– Hrithik had been approached to play Hamlet, but the makers wanted immediate dates which the actor couldn’t give. So he has not as yet consented to do any Hollywood film. 

DO YOU KNOW? 

* A record number of 33 prints of HAR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA have been taken out by the C.P. Berar distributors. On Thursday (3rd August), a mobile van was inaugurated in Nagpur with HDJPK. The film had evinced bumper response at the advance booking windows in Nagpur, Amravati and Akola.

* Though Dada Kondke, the uncrowned king of comedy of Marathi films, is no more, he has left behind a legacy of immortal comedy. This was once again proved by his MUKA GHYA MUKA in which he played a dumb character. The film ran to packed houses at Prabhat, Pune despite many repeat-run screenings in the city. In the previous two weeks at the same cinema, Dada Kondke’s ANDHALA MARTOY DOLA fared exceptionally well despite civic unrest in the city and power problems.

* KN…PH has created a city record by collecting a total of 2,16,131/- in 3 weeks at Goyal, Kamptee.

ANNOUNCEMENT & LAUNCHING

Tabu-Atul Starrer ‘Chandni Bar’

Shlok Films’ Chandni Bar, starring Tabu and Atul Kulkarni, will be launched with a muhurt on Aug. 7. Being produced by Mrs. R. Mohan and directed by Madhur Bhandarkar from his own story, the film co-stars Srivallabh Vyas, Rajpal Yadav, Vinay Apte, Abhay Bhargav, Preeti Khare, Vaarun Vaardaan, Ananya and Suhas Palshikar. It has screenplay by Mohan Azad, dialogues by Masood Mirza, cinematography by Rajeev Ravi, choreography by Kishore Oreshkar, and art by Prasanna and Yashwant Patil.

PRODUCTION NEWS

Subhash Ghai Films Song On Hrithik, Kareena For ‘Yaadein’

Director Subhash Ghai picturised a song on lead pair Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor for Mukta Arts Ltd.’s Yaadein during its first Bombay schedule held from July 20 to 25 at Filmistan Studios. The film’s next shooting schedule will be held in Bombay and Rajasthan from Aug. 6 to 21. Jackie Shroff will participate along with the lead pair. Being produced by Ashok Ghai, the film has music by Anu Malik, and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. Kabir Lal is the cinematographer, and Sharmishtha Roy, its art director.

‘Mastana’ In Mauritius

The unit of United Films Combines’ Mastana left for Mauritius on July 31 for the last 15-day shooting stint. Two songs and scenes are being picturised on Govinda, Mahima Chaudhry, Jackie Shroff, Arun Govil, Jaspal Bhatti, Anjan Srivastava, Tiku Talsania, Avtar Gill, Upasna Singh and one more heroine in a special appearance, who will join the unit (for a song picturisation) later during the stint. The film is being produced by Vasant Doshi and directed by Parto Ghosh. Writer: Ranbir Pushp. Music: Rajesh Roshan. Lyrics: Maya Govind, Ibrahim Ashq and Nitin Raikwar. Dances: Rekha Chinni Prakash and Ganesh Acharya. Cinematographer: Sameer Reddy. Executive producer: Kamlesh Doshi.

20-Day Shooting Spell Of ‘Raju Chacha’ In HP

Devgan’s Films’ Raju Chacha will be shot in a 20-day schedule from August 16 at Simla and various locations in Himachal Pradesh. Anil Degvan, who directs the film, will picturise three songs and scenes. The entire cast, comprising Rishi Kapoor, Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Govind Namdev, Shahbaaz Khan, Smita Jayakar, Pramod Moutho, Tiku Talsania, Usha Bachani, Anil Nagrath, Navin Bawa, Adi Irani and Johny Lever, with four child artistes, Harsh Lunia, Hanshuk Vaidya, Sakshi Sen and Kewal Chadda, will participate. The film is being produced by Veeru Devgan. Story: Anees Bazmee. Screenplay: Robin Bhatt. Dialogues: Javed Siddiqi. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Action: Jai Singh. Choreography: Raju Khan. Cinematography: Nirmal Jani. Executive producer: Kumar Mangat. Bharat Shah presents the film.

CENSOR NEWS

S.P. Creations’ Deewane (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/2/24/2000 (UA) dt. 31-7-2000; length 4704.68 metres in 17 reels (cuts: 5.11 metres).

Venus Records & Tapes’ Dhadkan (social), applied on 28th and seen on 31st, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/1/44/2000 (U) dt. 1-8-2000; length 4579.05 metres in 18 reels (no cut).

Titwala Filmwalas’ Justice Chowdhary (crime), applied on 28th and seen on 31st, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/3/76/2000 (A) dt. 1-8-2000; length 3037.91 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 174.13 metres).

Bhagat Films Production’s Bijlee (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/75/2000 (A) dt. 28-7-2000; length 3174.11 metres in 13 reels (cuts: 29.66 metres).

SPE Films’ Jaan Hatheli Pe (dubbed; adventure/thriller) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/112/2000 (A) dt. 2-8-2000; length 3179.84 metres in 7 reels (no cut).

REGIONAL FILMS

Maa Movies International’s Saajan Haiye Saambhrey (Gujarati; social) was given C.C. No. CIL/1/45/2000 (U) dt. 2-8-2000; length 4497.94 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 25.18 metres).

Pan Music & Magazines Ltd.’s Vuyrin Vuyirae (Tamil; dubbed; social) was given C.C. No. CIL/2/21/2000 (UA) dt. 28-7-2000; length 4359.72 metres in 17 reels (no cut); Neemanasu Naamanasu (Telugu; dubbed; social) was given C.C. No. CIL/2/22/2000 (UA) dt. 28-7-2000; length 4359.72 metres in 17 reels (no cut); Ithukathaiyalla (Malayalam; dubbed; social) was given C.C. No. CIL/2/23/2000 (UA) dt. 27-7-2000; length 4359.72 metres in 17 reels (no cut).

Rahul Rohan Production’s Tari Mehndi Mare Haath (Gujarati), seen on 31st, has been passed with U certificate, with cuts.

K. Movies’ Sajan Vina Suno Sansar (Gujarati) was seen on 28th.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Abhishek — Positive, Sure, Confident!

These days, when film companies and television software production houses are going public, producer Vashu Bhagnani, too, went public on 2nd August — but in his own musical way! He got screened the three songs and promotional trailers of his Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa for the public as well as the media through two big screens put up on the street outside Hotel Ramada Inn, Juhu, Bombay. The screenings were followed by a press meet with the film’s lead man, Abhishek Bachchan, and the unit members. The young actor fielded every query with a rare equanimity and sounded — to borrow from dad Amitabh Bachchan’s TV show, Kaun Banega Crorepati — “positive”, “confident” and “sure” of his performance in Vashu’s film.

Khooni On The Prowl

There are not one or two or four but eight completed films with titles bearing the word ‘Khooni’: Khooni Bistar, Khooni Chehra, Khooni Hostel, Khooni Ladki, Khooni Mahal, Khooni Sayaa, Khooni Shikunja and Khooni Tantrik. All these films are complete and are awaiting release. And there is one more, Khooni Aatma, which is under-production. There may be many more ‘bloody’ titles to come!

Flop 4 U

Ram Gopal Varma and four-letter words don’t go together. Now, that doesn’t mean that this producer-director doesn’t like to mouth gaalis (four-letter words). It just means that four-lettered titles of his films end up in a four-letter result: F-L-O-P. There are four instances to prove this unhappy fact: Raat, Daud, Kaun and Mast. So, four-letter titles are actually almost four-letter words for Ramu!

INFORMATION MEETS

“Our biggest care is our customer… Our focus will always remain customer choice and market viability.”

– SUBHASH GHAI

RAJ VAIDYA

For a man without a film background or a film family to support him, Subhash Ghai has come a long way. From being a small-time actor to a writer’s assistant to a big-time producer-director and, now, the chief of Hindi film industry’s first filmmaking company to go in for an IPO (initial public offering), Ghai has seen it all. His films, whether Ram Lakhan or Hero, Saudagar or Taal, have been spectacles. His music has mesmerised millions across the world. But that’s just the end result. Not many are aware of the hard work the man puts in to churn out such exciting fare for the audience. He works like a man possessed! His enthusiasm and passion for his films is never-ending. That’s, perhaps, the reason why the man is so charged, whether it is the launching for his film in London or a day of recording at Sound City, shooting at Filmistan Studios, a story sitting in his office or an editing stint at his Audeus. Endowed with a sharp memory (so next time, he says, “Oh! I forgot”, don’t believe him!) and an extremely keen sense of observation (be careful, he could do a lovely take-off on you!!), Ghai is now all set to take on the corporate world as head honcho of Mukta Arts Ltd. In this interview, taken over breakfast, he talks of going public, of his private likes and dislikes, of Yaadein, of plans of other things. Excerpts:

From scripts to scrips and from entertaining public to going public, how has the change been?

Scripts are primarily written to be sold. One produces, another directs, while still others engage in the business of films. From scripts to scrips is a journey to finally reach the market. It is the business of creativity created by creative people. Films are, after all, creative products. If you look at the works of Michael Jackson and Steven Spielberg, you will see that being commercial doesn’t affect their creativity in any way. They have successfully created a model business out of their creativity.

Still, there is the risk of one’s creativity getting bogged down by the burden to be answerable to the public?

Finally, business is a commercial art. You have to know both, business and art, equally. I have been in this business in both capacities — of a producer and a director. And never once did the producer affect the director in me…

…But surely, there must’ve been times when there were differences between the two…

…Never! You see, I was asked the same thing in ’78 when I turned a producer with Karz and Hero. A lot of people in the trade advised me against turning a producer. They said, “You have a successful track-record as a director. Why do you want to burden your creativity with the extra headache of becoming a producer?” But I was determined. As a producer, I created a model system to aid the director in me. Thus, when I launched Mukta Arts, I had the system in place, the people in place. I had decentralised from the very beginning, in an effort to create an ideal environment for my creativity to grow. When you have your own company, it is possible to mould it to suit your own creative needs.

The general perception is that you are now richer by 100 crore.

Yes, I know, but this is a totally wrong perception. The 100 crore Mukta Arts has got is not its income, it is finance given to the company by the public which expects Mukta Arts to perform, to grow and to give it returns on its Rs. 100 crore, in the form of dividends.

Star-sittings and music-sittings will now go alongside board meetings and general body meetings. For any creative person, while the sittings can be a pleasant experience, the meetings can be painful. Have you thought of how you will cope with them?

This is a general fear in the minds of the public and the film trade. However, I find that it is a misplaced fear. To give you an instance, I used to attend the Mukta Arts office only once during the week — except during the release period. In that one day, everything was checked, designed, executed and supervised. I believe, nothing is painful if you do it honestly and sincerely, and come out with good results. So, coming back to your question, all I would say is that sitting in board meetings and AGMs (annual general meetings) is as good as sitting on your business desk — something that I’ve been doing for the past 21 years.

Any parallels between directing a public entertainer and going public?

It is nearly the same. Except, whereas previously, our investors were film financiers, distributors and exhibitors, today, it is the public. Therefore, the volume of investment is larger. However, we still have to carry out the growth and expansion of our business with the same core competency. Which is why we haven’t adopted a vertical business model. We are going to be public entertainers, for the public.

What additional duties will going public entail upon you?

Performing regularly rather than lazing around and taking your own time. Achieving sustainability and credibility. Making the company of an international size and standard is our target. If the company continues to perform well, we shall achieve that target. Vision, wisdom and an excellent team are what you need in order to succeed in your goals.

In any public company, a second line is a must. But Mukta Arts has no second line after you. Are you thinking of building a second line?

Our proposed film and television institute will do just that. It will not only create a second line creative talent to Mukta Arts, but to the entire film industry. The top talent products of the institute will not remain merely students and employees, but will be given an opportunity to become the shareholders of Mukta Arts. Founder Sam Goldwyn may not be alive today, but MGM still exists as an institution. Likewise, we are aiming to create an environment for all talented people to showcase their best in the best possible manner. We will provide them with the opportunity to learn the best and earn the best.

What are the immediate plans of Mukta Arts Ltd.?

Well, we are going full steam ahead to complete Yaadein at the moment. Moreover, very soon, we will be starting two films — one each with Prakash Jha and Joy Augustine at the helm. Then, we are also entering into a co-production with Kapoor & Kaushik Entertainment (the name of the production concern of Anil Kapoor and Satish Kaushik) from 9th August. There are some other plans also, but I am not supposed to tell you about them till we perform.

How do you propose keeping pace with the age of internet?

I personally spend a large part of my leisure time being on the internet to keep myself abreast of the latest development in IT. Our production and direction teams are logged on 24 hours. We already have a website — www.muktaarts.com — and we are in the process of developing a portal concerning all the related activities of Mukta Arts.

You intend to start a film institute. Any progress?

The process of acquiring land for the institute, designing the complex, building affiliations with various international institutions, creating the faculty etc. has been on for the last 10 months. The institute, which will be located in Bombay itself, will conduct courses in all related areas in the art and science of filmmaking as well as television. Hopefully, it will have its own shape by next year and will begin bringing in results in three years’ time. The courses at the institute will include screenplay-writing, direction, acting, dance choreography, grooming and fashion technology, make-up, animation, special effects and all other technical courses. The institute itself is being designed along the lines of the international model of institutions.

How will Mukta Arts reach the projected turnover and profitability for the first year?

Through the sale of existing software, the deals for which have already been finalised with B4U and others; hiring of hardware services (both, existing and new hardware); release of one small-budget film before the year-end; music album, which is already in the making; television software, which may or may not generate revenue this year; and other existing revenue-generating sources.

So far, Mukta Arts and Subhash Ghai have been synonymous with one another. But now that your company will be hiring other directors, have you thought that the response of distributors may not be as overwhelming as earlier?

Distributors value the price of the whole project in terms of (a) banner, (b) director, and (c) star cast. Naturally, the name of the director and the star cast result in fluctuation of the price-line. Hence the distributors prefer to rather repose their trust in those banners which can produce movies in time, in budget and of quality. Our film with Prakash Jha is basically the story of a child and will be made within a small budget and with a lot of commercial potential. It could prove a bigger hit than a blockbuster, couldn’t it?

Have you studied the example of GV, the first film company to have gone public some years back? Any lessons learnt from it or from ABCL?

G. Venkateshwaran was our Madras distributor for Karz in 1980. He has been running a business house which mainly trades in movies which include a few Tamil movies, too. On the other hand, we are a major production house having some joint ventures in film distribution. Today, more and more corporate houses, having realised the future potential of the entertainment industry, are setting up their own divisions for films. Whereas we have been actively producing movies for the past 21 years. In truest terms, we are a performing unit with a proven track-record of over two decades.

With going public comes decentralisation. Will you be able to adapt yourself to dictation from outsiders?

Decentralisation as a system has long been prevailing at Mukta Arts. We have put together an efficient team of people to head various departments. Ashok Ghai heads our production division; Raju Farooqui, studios; Parvez Farooqui, law and finance; and Sudesh Gupta, who is our business executive, heading business and marketing. So, we already have a system of independent decision-making prevalent.

As far as taking suggestions from others is concerned, our biggest care is our customer. We will listen to everyone, but our focus will always remain customer choice and market viability.

How do you justify the high premium of Rs. 160  per share of your company?

The response from the investors has been overwhelming, be it the book-building or the fixed price public issue. They have not only reposed their faith in Subhash Ghai but have also validated the fundamentals of the company’s performance yesterday, today and tomorrow. On our part, we decided neither to overvalue nor to undervalue ourselves. I only told my merchant banker two things — to be very fair to our investors and to plan for tomorrow’s profitability rather than today’s earnings. We do not believe in short-term approach. That is why, even though it was a good time in February-March, we did not increase our price. Likewise, we did not lower our price in a comparatively worse market stretch of today. People have trusted us and we are committed to perform.

What will the USP of Mukta Arts Ltd. be?

Wealth of content and creative people, and generating fresh quality content on a regular basis.

Coming to YAADEIN, what is it about?

The title itself explains a lot. In one line, Yaadein is an entertainer full of sad and happy moments of a family. And before you ask, yes, it is a musical.

What did you think of Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor during the first shooting schedule?

Both of them are talented, energetic, hard-working and respectful to the unit and their seniors. I can see superstardom for both of them in the coming years, if they uphold the values that they have today.

Tell us something about its muhurt held last month in London.

It was not merely a muhurt, but a launch of our film. By Mukta Arts’ standards, it was both, the smallest and the biggest. Smallest, because only 70 people attended the muhurt and the launch party. The usual hype and fanfare that surrounds Mukta Arts’ film launches was intentionally done away with. Instead, the muhurt was just like the ones they used to have in the sixties — garlanding the camera, distributing pedas and such. It was also the biggest launch for me because my great friends and topmost British Indians like the Mittals, Hindujas, Binanis, Somaiyas, Keith Vaz (the first British MP of Indian origin) and Sameer Jain of Times Of India honoured the unit and me by gracing the occasion with their greetings. Shekhar Kapur, my favourite director, directed the first shot. It became a memorable moment of Yaadein.

It is rumoured that you did not repeat A.R. Rahman in YAADEIN despite his hit musical score in TAAL because of his starry tantrums. True?

No, it is not true. Rahman is my friend. He is extremely talented and God’s good man. The reason why I did not repeat him in Yaadein was because, very often, the style of the story and the script demands the right kind of star cast as well as technicians. Mukta Arts has never followed hits or market games, but has believed only in the true sense of film-making. If you look back, each of Khal-nayak, Pardes and Taal had different music directors. That was because each composer suited the style of that respective film. This is the only way we work. Today, we have Anu Malik in Yaadein and he has given marvellous music as per the script’s requirements. And I must say, Anu Malik is one of the most energetic and talented composers in Bombay. You will say so yourself when our music is released.

Like TAAL, has YAADEIN also been insured? For how much and against what risks?

We are planning to insure Yaadein for 14 crore for all risk factors except margin of profits. We, at Mukta Arts, felt honoured when some time back, United India Insurance announced the name of their film insurance policy as Cine Mukta Insurance Policy. This is not a compliment for Mukta Arts alone, but for the whole film industry.

Tell us how does one contact you whenever one learns of a sudden controversy or a rumour pertaining to you or Mukta Arts?

You can go to our website, muktaarts.com, where we have set up a newsroom to answer all your queries. Anyone having any doubts or questions over any controversy or rumour surrounding us, can find the true picture there. The problem is, at times, certain controversies and rumours come as news even to us!

Why has Mukta stopped introducing new talent? Has the experience with Mahima left such bitter memories?

Grooming talent, introducing and re-introducing talent and bringing the back-bencher to the forefront have been a constant exercise at Mukta Arts. Taal brought actress Supriya Karnik and singer Richa Sharma into the limelight. See, our main purpose behind setting up the film institute is to create a platform for all those young and talented children who do not have what I call a Film Family Support System (FFSS). Just wait and watch — Mukta Arts will bring 10 top stars and five top directors within seven years. We are going to share everything we have with them — our knowledge, our talent, our wealth, everything.

Finally, a few light questions.
If there were no commercial considerations, what kind of a film would you first make?

A small, black & white, 35mm film with all fresh faces, but with an excellent technical support.

What if you were asked to direct a film without a single song?

I’ll gain a sense of new achievement.

If you had the right to ban one thing in this industry, what would it be?

Piracy of all kinds.

What if you were invited to host the KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI show? 

Amitabh Bachchan is any day a better proposal than Subhash Ghai. He is excellent in the programme. The public has already given the responsibility of being a crorepati to me and, here at Mukta, we are committed to be patis to bringing up the Mukta Arts family.

What’s your biggest regret in life?

That I could never learn music formally.

Your all-time favourite song?

Na yeh chand hoga, na taare rahenge/magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge. This, I remember, is the first song I ever heard — I must have been about three years old then — and it continues to haunt me till this day. I recall singing the song at family gatherings when I was just five years old. It was also the first song I sang to my wife, Mukta, during courtship. Today, we are happily married. Aaj chand bhi hai, taare bhi hain, aur Mukta bhi hai!

Your most used word or phrase?

“Be honest in whatever you do.”

LATEST POSITION

Kunwara has not found much appreciation. 1st week Bombay 62,85,725 (77%) from 13 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 19,12,928 from 7 cinemas, Padra 1,75,905, Vapi 5,44,719, Rajkot 2,20,890, Jamnagar (matinee) 27,000 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 16,88,919 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,80,375 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 58,42,960 (66.70%) from 13 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,51,261 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 7,52,648 from 2 cinemas, Agra 3,55,000, Allahabad 2,51,162, Meerut 2,69,792; Calcutta 16,22,419 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 7,39,651 from 4 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 1,73,323, Raipur (4 days) 96,204, Wardha 1,00,090; Indore 4,47,601 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 4,38,175 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 8,70,229 (53.76%) from 3 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,53,507; Hyderabad (gross) 31,39,836 (71.72%) from 14 cinemas (1 in noon), good.

Kaala Mandir 1st week Bombay 44,175 (24.43%).

Jungle drops but it should fetch some commission in almost every territory. (Telugu version Adavi has done poor.) 2nd week Bombay 11,31,256 on 2 prints (7 unrecd.; 7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,65,667 from 5 cinemas, Rajkot 79,640, Jamnagar 30,446; Pune 7,84,555 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,45,861 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 93,267; Delhi 20,02,447 from 10 cinemas; Kanpur (6 days) 1,53,262 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,04,191, Agra 2,15,000 (1st 4,10,000), Allahabad 87,200; Calcutta 6,04,785 from 5 cinemas; Nagpur 3,03,768 from 3 cinemas, 1st week Jabalpur 82,011, Amravati (6 days) 1,31,391, 2nd week Raipur (6 days) 76,954, Jalgaon 49,370, Chandrapur 1,02,722, 1st week Yavatmal 1,21,809; 2nd week Indore about 1,00,000, Bhopal 92,698 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,54,710; Hyderabad (gross) 4,44,012 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

Bichhoo further drops badly. 3rd week Bombay 7,78,009 (33.28%) from 5 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,60,353 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot 86,719 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 1,71,817 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,32,257 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 6,25,700 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur (6 days) 1,67,616 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,08,021, Agra 1,02,700, Allahabad 1,11,877; Nagpur 91,723 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Jabalpur 1,09,798, total 3,63,795, 3rd week Amravati (6 days) 99,887, Raipur (6 days) 52,895, Jalgaon 64,201, Wardha 32,498; Jaipur 1,15,877; Hyderabad (gross) 3,33,286 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon); 1st week Mangalore 1,47,819.

Refugee 4th week Bombay 16,89,056 (41.38%) from 9 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,82,754 from 4 cinemas, Vapi 1,25,058, total 16,58,880; Pune 2,46,721 from 2 cinemas, Solapur 95,259; Delhi 5,37,229 from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,40,243 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,66,058, Agra 65,000 (3rd 1,02,000), Allahabad 1,03,600; Nagpur 1,23,212 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Jabalpur 1,52,526, total 4,17,392, 1st week Balaghat 77,583, 4th week Amravati (6 days) 82,243, Raipur (6 days, gross) 1,31,826, Jalgaon 76,400, 3rd week Yavatmal (gross) 50,353, Sagar (6 days) 27,836; 4th week Jaipur 5,18,605; Hyderabad (gross) 4,25,191 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

RAM YEDEKAR BIDS ADIEU

Veteran and eminent art director Ram Yedekar passed away on 24th July at his Lokhandwala Complex residence in Bombay. He was 72 and is survived by a son and a daughter.

Ram Yedekar started out as a helping hand under gifted art director G.D. Dixit during the making of Sohrab Modi’s Jhansi Ki Rani. G.D. Dixit then made Ram Yedekar his assistant. Yedekar later became an independent art director and did a number of films for Mehboob, Navketan Films, Nasir Husain, Raja Nawathe, G.P. Sippy (Sholay being one of the films) and Raj Khosla. The last film he worked as an art director for was Farishtay. Thereafter, he worked at an easy pace and did TV serials and advertisement shorts. He also worked on a large number of foreign films shot in India.

‘BADAL’ SILVER JUBILEE

Salim’s Badal entered combined silver jubilee week in Bombay and other places on 28th July. Directed by Raj Kanwar, the film stars Bobby Deol and Rani Mukerji. Music: Anu Malik.

‘HADH KAR DI AAPNE’ 100 DAYS

R.R. Productions’ Hadh Kar Di Aapne completed 100 days on 28th July in Bombay and other places. The film stars Govinda, Rani Mukerji, Johny Lever, Paresh Rawal, Satish Kaushik and Tinnu Anand. Produced by Rajeev Anand and Rakesh Malhotra, and directed by Manoj Agrawal, it has music by Anand Raaj Anand and lyrics by Anand Bakshi.

YOU ASKED IT

What is the difference between a presenter and a financier?

– A financier finances a film and gets interest on his finance. But a presenter, besides the interest, also shares in the profits and losses of the film. 

In which kind of films is less investment involved and high returns assured?

– Less investment is possible in a new star cast film but about high returns being assured, well, you must be joking! There’s no assurance of returns and you want high returns!!

Which was Aamir Khan’s first film?

– Ketan Mehta’s HOLI, released in 1984. But as a child artiste, he was seen in YAADON KI BAARAAT (1973).

DO YOU KNOW?

* To counter the formidable opposition of the Amitabh Bachchan-hosted KAUN BANEGA CROREPATI on Star Plus, Elbee and Rajmahal cinemas of Surat will conduct their last shows from 10.15 p.m. from Mondays through Thursdays. On the other days of the week, when the programme is not aired, the two cinemas will conduct their last shows from 9 p.m.

* Bombay distributors Shringar Films have been screening all their films at the same cinema — Shree — of Vapi. Their KUNWARA collected 5,44,719/- in 1st week at Shree. Their next, TERA JADOO CHAL GAYAA, is also due at Shree.

* Such was the rush at Sunderam cinema, Ujjain in the 6 p.m. show of KUNWARA on Sunday (23rd July) that the exhibitor performed a simultaneous show of the film at the adjoining Swarg cinema by having the English film running there, withdrawn for that show. …The film also did well in 1st week at Lily, Bhopal and Lokendra, Ratlam. 

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Hamari Film Aapke Paas Hai

At a time producers have become as secretive about their films as one would be of things ultra-personal, the gesture of producer Boney Kapoor to show his Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai to his distributors comes as a whiff of fresh air. And what was shown was not the final print — how could it be shown when it is not out as yet — but rather the rush print. Distributors have for long been complaining that although they pay huge under-production monies to producers, they are never shown even a frame of the film. But producers have all along behaved as if they couldn’t care less for their distributors’ points of view. And this kind of secrecy is a relatively new phenomenon which has gained ground in the last three to four years only. Boney, however, chose to invite his distributors for a screening of Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai more than a month in advance. Rishi Kapoor, too, had shown his Aa Ab Laut Chalen to his distributors some days before its release. Just goes to show how much these two Kapoors care for their distributors. Contrast them with someone like Mani Rathnam who didn’t think his distributors of Dil Se.. were worth even a trial show before release! As for Boney Kapoor, the guy seems to be going with the spirit of his film’s title. After all, as Boney would tell his distributors, “Hamari film aapke paas hai.”

Mehul Kumar Two-Tuned

Producer-director Mehul Kumar had to face ‘two much’ of music at Sunny Super Sounds on 24th July. For, he was recording two songs for two different films, to be launched next month. On the first floor of Sunny, music director Anand Raaj Anand was recording one song, and on the third floor recording theatre, Sanjeev Darshan were recording a song for Mehul Kumar’s other film. Both the songs were duets. That makes four singers, three music directors, two songs and one common maker.

Better Pardes Than Uttar Pradesh

The U.P. State Film Development Board is keen that Hindi film producers shoot their films in Uttar Pradesh. The Board has offered all facilities for Hindi film units shooting in the state. Recently, in a meeting with the Board officials, producer Pahlaj Nihalani lamented that producers have to run from pillar to post to get work done in U.P. As if to endorse Nihalani’s opinion, Kamleshwar, who is the chairman of the U.P. State Film Development Board, told a press gathering in Lucknow recently that when he had sent a letter of acceptance (of the Board’s chairmanship), the letter could not be delivered to the official concerned as the bearer of the letter was asked by a secretariat’s peon for a bribe to allow him into the secretariat.

By the way, the U.P. Film Development Board has offered to accommodate the film’s makers and stars in its circuit houses, provided no VIP turns up. Which means that if a VIP turned up at any time, even during the middle of the night, the film folk will have to move out! Arrey bhaiyya, better to shoot in pardes or anywhere in apna desh than Uttar Pradesh!!

Title Jung

Whose title is Jung Ka Elan? Does it belong to producer Surendra Shrivastava (Suchitra Films Enterprises) or producer-director Kishan Shah? Producer Shrivastava has claimed it to be his. And rightly so. According to a copy of the letters circulated to the press by Shrivastava, the title Jung Ka Elan was allotted by AMPTPP to Shrivastava whose film of the same name, starring Mithun Chakraborty, is in progress. But Kanti Shah publicised his film with the same title. Following a complaint by Surendra Shrivastava, the AMPTPP and FMC asked Kishan Shah to desist from using the title for his film. So, Kanti Shah has made an elan that his film is now Meri Jung Ka Elaan. So possessive!

INFORMATION MEETS

“Basically, there should be sixty days of undiluted publicity for any film… that is, thirty days prior to the film’s release and thirty days after the release.”

– RAMESH SIPPY

GAJAA

Happy — in fact, active — days are here again for Bombay distributor Ramesh Sippy and his son, Rakesh Sippy. Some years ago, enterprising Ramesh Sippy was enviously admired by the ilk of his own trade for his dynamic approach, good judgement and astute dealings. His hit list grew. But, as they say, even a sprinter needs a pause. Ramesh Sippy paused. After a brief sabbatical, he started acquiring films — but fewer films. May be, this was to make his equally enterprising son, Rakesh, learn the first lesson of this unpredictable trade of distribution: of exercising caution. Rakesh has grasped the other finer points of his father’s business qualities and, what’s more, the son is well on his way to bringing about a great revival of his famous father’s business enterprise. The father-son duo has fired the first salvo by acquiring Shankar’s maiden Hindi venture, the costly Nayak The Real Hero. Truly, the interim period was, as Ramesh Sippy himself generalises for others, “a recoil for a bigger leap”. There are plans for acquiring more significantly big films, too, in a couple of months. The deals are being finalised. So Ramesh Sippy, the man known for his dynamism, foresight and acumen, is once again emerging as a force to reckon with along with his generation next, his savvy son, Rakesh.

Congratulations on bagging a big film like NAYAK THE REAL HERO for Bombay. How did you decide on this project?

We have always been on the lookout for big films, like films of Yash Chopra and Karan Johar. Since we couldn’t acquire them, we found Nayak to be ideally suitable. It will be rich, both, content-wise and visually. I and my son, Rakesh, saw the Tamil original (Mudhalvan) two months back at a projection in Bombay for Boney Kapoor as his brother, Anil Kapoor, had committed to do the film. Secondly, director Shankar’s track-record has been very good. And what’s more, it has already proved a super-hit in Tamil.

What’s the film about?

It’s an anti-politician film. Although there have been a lot of anti-establishment films made in the past, what sets Nayak apart from the rest is its fresh subject and treatment and a good amount of gloss and glamour.

(Ramesh Sippy narrated the story in full and dwelt on the various highlights. Suffice it to say that it will keep the viewer’s attention totally engaged.)

It’s too good. Have you planned to acquire some more biggies?

Yes. And we are moving to a bigger office, too, on the same floor (N.B. Kamat’s office).

We hear that your son, Rakesh, is all set for the big revival like the way you came with a bang years back, when you acquired big films of South banners.

He is the main guiding force. He had to make distribution his full-time job. Those days, we were buying remakes of films which were proven hits. But today, things are different. There’s always this generation next!

But today, prices have hit the roof…

Not yet, not yet. They are yet to hit the roof!

In the light of such high prices, how do you view the distribution scene today? Very risky, risky or return-yielding?

See, those days, films were being acquired at an average of, say, 20-25 lakh. And if the distributor was unlucky, he would lose about 5 lakh or so. But today, though Refugee was not appreciated, its initial was enough to cover the risk. Today, I could afford to lose 25 lakh in a Rs. 3-crore film, but not 25 lakh in a 1-crore film.

But many have quit the distribution trade in the last some years…

This is nothing new. It has been happening over the years. Many have gone for good. Some of them are deciding to quit. Maybe, some of them are taking a pause, perhaps, for a little recoil for a bigger leap.

Some are even contemplating going into film production…

More lately, there are some who are thinking on those lines. See, those days, satellite channels did not exist, Overseas was not at its peak, and music did not fetch the kind of money it is fetching today. The big money from all these three avenues encourages newcomers to enter production business.

Which do you think is a more lucrative business — distribution or production?

Production is, any day, better.

So, would you be going into production soon?

Well, I have my eyes open.

How much does promotion on TV help a film?

Film promotions are mostly songs-oriented. Songs do not necessarily ensure an opening. TV promotion needs to be modified. Padmalaya’s Sooryavansham comes to the mind as a case in point. Its TV promotions had songs showing the younger Amitabh. The film has a good many scenes of confrontation between the young and the old Amitabh. Glimpses of those scenes in promotional trailers could have created a remarkable curiosity for the film. The film’s songs promotion was not only improper, it was also inadequate.

There are those who think that print media has become obsolete where film promotion is concerned.

No, it hasn’t. I don’t agree with this. Print medium will never go obsolete. Right from the launch of the film till its completion and release, it is the print medium which informs the reader and cinegoer about the film. Today, a small-town exhibitor evinces interest in a film because he has read about it somewhere. When I ask him why he wants the film for his cinema, he tells me that he liked the subject about which he had read in some magazine or newspaper. As a distributor, I might not be knowing the film’s story, but that exhibitor knows it. Many of the cinegoers decide to see a film after reading its reviews in newspapers. The reviews may not always be right, but readers form their own opinions after reading the critic’s comment. No amount of showcases on TV can assure a decent opening like comments and reports appearing in the print medium.

Basically, there should be 60 days of undiluted publicity for any film, whether it be on the channels or journals and newspapers, that is, 30 days prior to the release and 30 days after the release, so that you don’t miss out on any medium or any avenue of promotion. After all, a film’s promotion is done only once.

Not very long back, producers used to take their distributors into confidence by showing rushes of whatever they had shot and edited. But this is not happening today. Is it not regrettable?

It is indeed regrettable but then if you show a film which involves a big stake, the six distributors will see the film and come up with varying opinions. If the producer and the director start considering the various opinions, there is bound to be confusion. Secondly, producers have a fear psychosis, though they might not admit to this. Just one negative remark might land them in a soup. The ideal way is to go by the director’s track-record and by reposing confidence in active producers — producers who participate in the film’s day-to-day making.

Films which are made by producers who are directors themselves have generally been successful. Today, we have such pro-active producers, like Subhash Ghai, Indra Kumar, Boney Kapoor, Gordhan Tanwani, Vashu Bhagnani… They are totally involved. And their involvement pays.

As involved as Ramesh Sippy and sonny Rakesh Sippy are in finalising big buys…

KUNWARA

Tips Films and Geetha Arts’ Kunwara is a comedy film with an emotional undercurrent in the story. Remake of the Telugu hit, Bhavanagaru Bhagunnara, and inspired from the English film, Walk In The Clouds, it is about a boy who is in love with a girl but has to pretend to be her sister’s husband to save the sister and their family honour. Confusions and misunderstandings later, not only does he get his girl back but also gets the girl’s sister happily married to her beloved.

The film’s first half is light and enjoyable but only in parts. The lengthy scene of the boy’s friend enacting a dead body is quite funny. But the second half is less entertaining when the story takes precedence over the comedy punches. Unfortunately, the story, which had an inherent emotional strength, has not been treated with the sensitivity it deserved. Resultantly, emotions fall flat. A couple of comedy scenes of the friend in the second half are also enjoyable but they are not a match to the ones in the pre-interval portion. Dialogues (Rumi Jafri), like the screenplay (Ikram Akhtar and Yunus Sajawal), are not up to the mark. Climax becomes very routine and predictable. The angle of the girl’s father and grandfather looks too exaggerated.

Govinda does well as usual, but he doesn’t get too many hilarious scenes to match his talent. He looks terribly fat in the entire film and his make-up leaves something to be desired. His dances are extraordinary. Urmila Matondkar matches Govinda in dances excellently and looks glamorous. She too doesn’t get much scope to perform. Johny Lever, in the role of Govinda’s friend, is extraordinary as the dead body. In the second half also, his scenes bring smiles on the faces of the audience. Kader Khan is average. Om Puri does quite well. Naghma is so-so. Mohan Joshi and Aasif Sheikh lend fair support. Raza Murad, Smita Jayakar, Shammi, Jeetu Verma, Indra Kumar, Gavin and the rest fill the bill.

David Dhawan’s handling of comedy is just about fair and he is ill at ease in the treatment of the emotional side of the drama. Music (Aadesh Shrivastava) is good. ‘Kunwara chahoon re’, ‘Urmila he Urmila’ and ‘Jab ladka ho kunwara’ are the pick of the lot. But it must be mentioned that there’s no super-hit number. Song picturisations are eye-filling and the difficult steps are a pleasure to watch. But the foreign locations and ambience have started getting monotonous. Some of the songs have poor situations too. Camerawork is fair. Action scenes are so-so. Production values are alright.

On the whole, Kunwara is not at all the hilarious hungama it sets out to be. Nor is it a tearjerker which its story had the potential of making it. Not having taken a good start, it will prove to be an expensive proposition for its distributors who’ve paid a price for it. Below average.

Released on 21-7-2000 at Metro and 21 other cinemas of Bombay by Tips Films P. Ltd. thru Shringar Films. Publicity: very good. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was good at places but below the mark at others.

LATEST POSITION

No film is taking a long run! Like REFUGEE last week, it was the turn of BICHHOO this week to come sliding down. JUNGLE, too, dropped from 4th day onwards. However, its initial was so good and its price, reasonable (in almost all the circuits) that distributors of most of the territories are safe. …..Rains in different parts of the country continued to play havoc with the box-office for the second week in succession!

Jungle is quite good in Bombay and South and fair in other circuits. 1st week Bombay 55,64,160 (76.73%) from 13 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 10,64,175 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,09,672, Jamnagar 1,10,873; Pune 17,53,289 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,64,059 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 56,67,331 (70.73%) from 12 cinemas; Lucknow 4,39,367, Agra 4,10,000, Varanasi 2,08,142, Allahabad 1,78,066, Bareilly 1,13,836; Amritsar 50,360; Calcutta 13,32,009 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 6,33,308 from 3 cinemas, Raipur (6 days) 1,35,512, Jalgaon 1,10,586, Chandrapur 1,48,758, Bilaspur 1,18,815; Indore 1,76,000 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,59,597 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 7,13,052 (44.35%) from 3 cinemas, Ajmer (gross, 29 shows) 1,64,383; Hyderabad (gross) 39,90,889 from 17 cinemas (2 in noon).

………..

Bichhoo declines. 2nd week Bombay 19,90,498 (45.14%) from 11 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,00,413 from 5 cinemas, Baroda 1,06,796 (1st 1,80,956), Vapi 1,91,516, total 6,92,326, Rajkot 1,57,740 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 50,500; Pune 3,89,402 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,06,338 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 1,36,851 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 15,43,359 from 9 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Lucknow 3,45,333, Agra 2,34,000 (1st 4,32,600), Varanasi 1,94,442, Allahabad 1,89,309, Bareilly (6 days) 1,24,353; Nagpur 3,52,488 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,01,601, 1st week Akola 2,17,671, 2nd week Raipur (6 days) 91,833, Jalgaon 1,01,492, Wardha 56,165, Bilaspur 52,746; Indore 1,45,797 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 90,000 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 2,10,945 (41.03%); Hyderabad (gross) 8,61,595 from 5 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.).

Refugee 3rd week Bombay 28,20,135 (50.48%) from 11 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,74,580 from 2 cinemas, Padra 2,06,851 (2nd 2,95,126), Vapi 2,19,387, total 15,33,822, Jamnagar 1,07,291, total 5,55,215, Adipur 1,28,640 (56.97%), Bhuj 1,40,237; Pune 6,90,312 from 5 cinemas, Solapur 1,48,834, 1st week Barsi 59,202, 3rd week Satara 90,186 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 15,35,453 from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 4,85,797, Agra 1,02,000 (2nd 1,40,000), Varanasi 1,27,914, Allahabad 1,73,800, Bareilly (6 days) 38,962; Calcutta 1,68,093 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 2,15,254 from 2 cinemas, 1st week Jabalpur 2,64,866, 3rd week Akola 88,373, total 4,52,802, Raipur (6 days, gross) 1,68,990, Durg 45,951, Jalgaon 1,04,291, Wardha 30,973, Chandrapur 72,107, total 4,92,669, 2nd week Yavatmal (gross) 75,666, 3rd week Bilaspur 70,870, 2nd week Sagar (6 days) 41,068; Jaipur 5,72,927 (73.03%), Ajmer 59,892; Hyderabad (gross) 5,10,273 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

………..

‘PUKAR’ SILVER JUBILEE

Surinder Kapoor and Boney Kapoor’s Pukar entered combined silver jubilee (25th) week in Bombay and other places on 21st July. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film stars Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Namrata Shirodkar and Danny Denzongpa. Music: A.R. Rahman. Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri.

HEMA MALINI TAKES CHARGE OF NFDC

Hema Malini, who was recently appointed chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation, took charge on 19th July in Bombay. She attended the first meeting of the NFDC board. The government has not yet made any announcement regarding the new directors and the managing director.

MUKTA ARTS’ IPO PRICE RS. 165 PER SHARE

Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts Ltd. has fixed the price for its initial public offering (IPO) at Rs. 165 per share. The price fixed is 10% above the floor price of Rs. 150 per share.

Mukta Arts will issue 60,60,700 equity shares of the face value of Rs. 5 at a premium of Rs. 160 per share as the company proposes to raise Rs. 100 crore. The issue would comprise a book-built portion of 45,45,400 shares and fixed price portion of 15,15,300 shares.

Mukta Arts received bids ranging from Rs. 160 to Rs. 180 per share for the institutional portion of Rs. 37.50 crore. The maximum number of shares were bid at Rs. 170 per share, leading to the book being built 5.80 times in this category.

An excited Ghai, who was attending the birthday party of his favourite lyricist, Anand Bakshi, on 21st July, told Information, “By God’s grace, the book-building portion has done extremely well. The IPO opens on 28th July. We have kept the price per share at Rs. 165.”

‘TAAL’ GOLDEN JUBILEE

Subhash Ghai’s Taal entered 50th combined (golden jubilee) week in Bombay and other places on 21st July. Produced and directed by Ghai, it stars Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, Alok Nath and Amrish Puri. Music: A.R. Rahman. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Cinematographer: Kabir Lal.

SADBHAVNA AWARD FOR DILIP KUMAR

Veteran star and Rajya Sabha member Dilip Kumar has been bestowed with the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavna award for his role in promoting peace and communal harmony. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh and a citation. It will be presented to the thespian on 20th August in New Delhi. The previous recipients of this award have been Mother Teresa, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar and Sunil Dutt.

‘Nayak The Real Hero’: Shankar’s Maiden Hindi Film Takes  Off

It was after a very long time that an elaborate muhurt shot was taken to mark a film’s launching. Otherwise, it is generally cocktail-dinner parties these days which mark a launching but they are without muhurt shots.

The film in question was A.M. Rathnam’s Nayak The Real Hero, being directed by Shankar. This is the director’s first Hindi film. His previous films like Humse Hai Muqabla, Hindustani and Jeans were dubbed versions of Tamil films.

Remake of the Tamil blockbuster, Mudhalvan, the Hindi version (Nayak The Real Hero) stars Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Sushmita Sen (in a special appearance), Shivaji Satam, Saurabh Shukla, Paresh Rawal, Johny Lever and Amrish Puri.

It was a hot and sunny Saturday (15th July) afternoon after a week-long wet spell in Bombay when the muhurt of Shankar’s maiden Hindi venture was held at Filmistan Studios. Rakesh Roshan sounded the clapper-board for the muhurt shot directed by Yash Chopra and for which the camera was switched on by Aishwarya Rai. Anil Kapoor, facing the camera, delivered fiery dialogues with great enthusiasm.

Like the ambitious film, the invitation cards for the muhurt were rich and beautiful. A huge 20-page booklet of the film accompanied each invitation card and soon became the talk of the trade. The muhurt was attended by a number of trade people.

Shooting began in Ladakh soon after the muhurt. The film is planned for release on 6th June, 2001. Based on a story and screenplay by Shankar himself, it has music by A.R. Rahman, lyrics by Anand Bakshi, cinematography by K.V. Anand, dialogues by Anurag Kashyap, editing by B. Lenin and V.T. Vijayan, art by Thotta Tharani, action by Kanal Kannan, special visual effects by Venky, audiography by H. Sridhar and co-direction by Vijay Kumar Raichura. It is being made under the banner of Sri Surya Movies.

YOU ASKED IT

Is the market for re-issue rights finished?

– It is as good as finished!

Every filmmaker claims that the subject of his film is the star. Then why do they take stars?

– Every filmmaker claims that the subject of his film is the star, but most of them know that they are bluffing. As for taking stars, who told you that a fantastic subject does not need stars? You’ve heard of sone pe suhaaga, haven’t you?

Can you tell me how many viewers watch films in cinema halls in a year all over India?

– The number of viewers is equivalent to the country’s population, that is, over 100 crore! Yes, in a year!!

Since when are the black-and-white money transactions going on in the film industry?

– Since B & W days!

DO YOU KNOW?

* JOSH, which was released in Raipur at Raj Talkies in the first week, was shifted to Prabhat in 4th week, then to Samrat in 5th week and then to Krishna in 6th week (2 shows daily). This kind of joshila shifting has been done for the first time in Raipur!

* C.P. Berar distributor Laloo Kabra (Vishwajyoti Films, Bhusawal) must be having a soft corner for star-children. For, he has released four films which introduced star-kids in the last four years. He was the C.P. distributor of HIMALAY PUTRA (starring Akshaye Khanna), PREM AGGAN (Fardeen Khan), KN…PH (Hrithik Roshan) and REFUGEE (Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor).

CENSOR NEWS

Tips Films P. Ltd. and Geetha Arts’ Kunwara (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/1/42/2000 (U) dt. 14-7-2000; length 3857.70 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 25.43 metres).

N.S. Films International Inc.’s Tapish (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/74/2000 (A) dt. 18-7-2000; length 4188.27 metres in 15 reels (no cut).

Madan Enterprises’ Daku Rani Champabai (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/72/2000 (A) dt. 14-7-2000; length 3675.53 metres in 14 reels (cuts: 49.61 metres).

Paras Productions’ The Body – Tan Badan (revised; social) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/73/2000 (A) dt. 14-7-2000; length 3652.71 metres in 14 reels (cuts: 27.30 metres).

Kawaljit Enterprises’ Kaamatma (dubbed; horror) was given C.C. No. CFL/3/103/2000 (A) dt. 7-7-2000; length 2587.14 metres in 5 reels (no cut).

D.R.M. Combines’ Nasheelee Aankhe (dubbed; social) was given C.C. No. CFL/3/110/2000 (A) dt. 17-7-2000; length 2122.57 metres in 6 reels (no cut).

Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega (length 4619.26 metres in 18 reels), applied on 18th and seen on 19th, has been passed with U certificate, with cuts.

TRAILERS

Trailer of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment’s Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega was given C.C. No. CIS/1/198/2000 dt. 17-7-2000; length 91.44 metres.

Trailer of Venus Records & Tapes Ltd.’s Dhadkan was given C.C. No. CIS/1/201/2000 dt. 18-7-2000; length 95.40 metres.

Musical trailer of S.K. Films Enterprises’ Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai was given C.C. No. CIS/1/200/2000 dt. 18-7-2000; length 41.15 metres.

Trailer of Tips Films P. Ltd.’s Kunwara was given C.C. No. CIS/1/194/2000 dt. 7-7-2000; length 115.82 metres.

ANNOUNCEMENT & LAUNCHING

Subhash Ghai’s ‘Yaadein’ Launched In London

Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein was launched in London on July 15 with a muhurt at Tower Bridge. The muhurt shot was directed by Shekhar Kapur while top industrialist L.N. Mittal sounded the clapper-board, and another top industrialist, Srichand Hinduja, broke the auspicious coconut. Lord Raj Bagri switched on the camera which Jackie Shroff faced. Ketan Somaya garlanded the camera. Keith Vaz, minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, was the chief guest. The muhurt was followed by cocktails at Chor Bizarre. Media magnates like Sameer Jain, director, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd., attended the muhurt and party.

Following the 3-day London stint with Jackie Shroff, a 5-day shooting stint of the film commenced in Bombay on July 21 with the participation of Jackie Shroff, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. The film, being directed by Subhash Ghai and produced by Ashok Ghai, has music by Anu Malik, lyrics by Anand Bakshi, cinematography by Kabir Lal, and art by Sharmishtha Roy.

Dharmendra Signed

Dharmendra has been signed to head the cast of Ambica Films’ Prod. No. 3, to be directed by Kanti Shah and produced by Sanjesh Ahuja and Rajesh Ahuja. The film will be launched on Aug. 4 with a start-to-finish shooting schedule. It will be shot in Bombay, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It co-stars Rajani Chandra, Mohan Joshi, Kiran Kumar, Shakti Kapoor, Deepak Shirke, Shiva, Anil Nagrath, Durgesh Nandini, Kirti Shetty and Bindu Kamat. Sawan Kumar Sawan provides music.

Dharmendra In Title Role

Dharmendra has been signed to play the title role in Shri Balaji Films’ maiden venture, Daaku Bhairav Singh. The film is being directed and edited by Pappu Sharma. It co-stars Shakti Kapoor, Joginder, Anil Nagrath, Surendra Pal, newfinds Devaa, Prithvi Singh, Raman Nayyar, Prem Vallabh and Raajkumar Mishra. Story-screenplay: Naresh Namdev. Dialogues: Baldev Prasad. Music: Bablee. Lyrics: Manoj Darpan. Action: Darshan Singh. The film will be launched on July 24 with the recording of five songs at Techno Sounds.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Aaghaaz’ Complete

A 7-day shooting stint of Suresh Productions’ Aaghaaz (The Beginning) was completed on July 18 in Switzerland. Choreographer Chinni Prakash picturised the last two songs of the film on Sunil Shetty and Sushmita Sen. The film is now complete and post-production work is in progress. It co-stars Namrata Shirodkar, Anupam Kher, Johny Lever, Sharat Saxena, Gulshan Grover, Mukesh Tiwari, Govind Namdev, Asrani, Alok Nath, Shraddha Nigam, Asha Sachdev, Padmini Kapila, Nupoor, Rakesh Bedi, Akshay Anand, Viju Khote, Rajesh Puri, Anjan Srivastava, Shiva, Yunus Parwaiz, Rajendra Mehra, Dev Malhotra, Ishwar Patel, Swadesh Mahan and Achyut Potdar with Sharad Kapoor, Suman Ranganath, Parmeet Sethi and Sudhir Dalvi in special appearances. Music: Anu Malik. Lyrics: Sameer. Story: Posani Krishna Murali. Screenplay: Nikhil Saini. Dialogues: Kamlesh Pandey. Cinematographer: Shyam K. Naidu. Art: Sharmishtha Roy. Dances: Chinni Prakash and Ganesh.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

‘Nayak’: The Reality About The Title

A.M. Rathnam’s Nayak The Real Hero, launched last week, has created an unpleasant situation for two producers — insofar as its title goes. The title, Nayak, had been booked by N.R. (Babloo) Pachisia years back, and he was to originally make the film with Anil Kapoor in the lead, and Rajkumar Santoshi as the director. But the project with Santoshi did not materialise. Babloo then finalised a new project with Hrithik Roshan in the title role of Nayak. By a quirk of fate, Anil Kapoor became the nayak of Rathnam and Shankar’s Nayak The Real Hero. And what’s more, Rakesh Roshan, father of Hrithik — the nayak of Babloo’s Nayak — sounded the clapper-board for the muhurt shot of Shankar’s Nayak The Real Hero on 15th July. In the meantime, Babloo has complained to the title registration committee against the use of the title Nayak with the suffix, since he holds the title Nayak. If Babloo’s complaint is found to be valid, then Rathnam might have to drop the title. Let’s see, for whom the title registration committee plays khal-nayak!

Musically Showing

Making showcases on the making of a film has become the in-thing these days. But Vashu Bhagnani has decided to go musical with the showcase of Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa. He has prepared a showcase which will be exclusively a musical and nothing else. It will show songs and focus on the making of the film’s music. TJCG has music by Ismail Darbar who recently bagged the National Award for the music of his debut film, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Dubbing Studio Comes Up In Manali

There is an ancient saying that the thirsty will go to the well, the well will not come to him. Well, this does not hold water today. At least, not for producer Vashu Bhagnani. He needed Abhishek Bachchan to dub for his Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa. But Abhishek was shooting in Manali for Gurudev Bhalla’s Shararat. And Manali, a hill resort, does not have a dubbing studio. Then what? Did the dubbing studio ‘go’ to Manali? Yes, that’s what Vashu Bhagnani did — ‘take’ a studio to Manali! He got all the accessories for a dubbing studio shifted from Madras to Manali to set up a temporary dubbing studio at the hill station! And Abhishek dubbed for the film in Manali. Says Vashu, “Abhishek is a class apart from the other heroes. He is so hardworking! He used to shoot all day long in Manali and dub for my film in the morning before reporting for the shooting, and again in the night after the shooting.”

The Story Behind The ‘Deewane’ Story

Want to know the story of Harry Baweja’s Deewane? For that, you will have to wait for the film to be released. But there’s definitely an interesting story behind the story of Deewane and how it came to be made. Writer Anees Bazmee once narrated half the story of Deewane to Harry Baweja. Half (till interval point), because he (Anees) had not thought about the latter half as it was an unusual and difficult subject. He asked Harry if he was interested in making a film on the subject but Anees himself wasn’t half-sure if Harry would say “yes”. Harry also found the story to be very interesting but he thought that it was “a difficult subject to make into a film”. As an after-thought, he told Anees, “Give me 24 hours to think about it.” At the end of 24 hours, Harry called up Anees and said, he was ready to make a film on the subject. But since Harry had to start the film very, very soon (he had the dates of Ajay Devgan and others who were signed for his new film) and Anees was very, very busy, the director asked the writer if he had any objection to Harry’s writer (of earlier films), Karan Razdan, writing the screenplay. When Anees said, he had no objection, Harry asked him to narrate the subject to Karan Razdan. As desired by Harry, Anees narrated it to Karan. On hearing the story, Karan was also in the same predicament as Anees and Harry. After thinking for a while, Karan said, he wouldn’t want to write it because it was too tricky a subject. Harry persuaded him and told him to mull over the subject for 24 hours. At the end of those decisive 24 hours, Karan, too, had a change of mind. He was positive of complementing Anees Bazmee’s story with a suitable screenplay. Karan worked over it and came up with a script which was readily approved by Harry Baweja. So, that’s how Deewane was ‘born’ — and ‘brought up’!

Shabana Overwhelmed 

Shabana Azmi has reason to celebrate once again. After winning rave reviews for her stage performance in Tumhari Amrita, she has won encomiums and laurels for her performance in another stage-play, The Waiting Room. An English play, produced by Tanika Gupta and directed by Indhu Rubasingham, it was staged last month in London in 18 sold-out shows at the Royal National Theatre. The stage-play did win the audience over but what bowled them out completely was Shabana Azmi, her smile and her performance. Says an overwhelmed Shabana, “I was taking a huge chance, I could have failed. But it is important for actors to risk failure, to break out of the safety nets they create for themselves. That’s the only way an actor can grow.” Shabana and her co-stars had rehearsed for a month, putting in eight hours every day. The ghost of Dilip Kumar is an interesting character in the play. Shabana plays the role of Dilip Kumar’s fan in the drama.

‘Fiza’: Set For A Flying Initial

That Khalid Mohamed’s Fiza, which was being touted by trade people as a ‘class’ film, will take a flying start when released on 8th September was proved beyond doubt at the special screening of three songs and a music piece of the film at Hotel Sun N Sand on 18th July. The romantic song, ‘Mahiya’, picturised on Hrithik Roshan and Neha, is a musical hit. Its picturisation is also truly beautiful. Sushmita Sen’s dance on the ‘Mujhe mast mahaul mein’ number is sexy and stylish. The girl looks bewitching and it is difficult to say what is better — the song, its picturisation or Sushmita’s dance! Karisma Kapoor dances with effortless ease on the ‘Ghunghroo toot gaye’ song. The dance steps are breathtakingly difficult but Karisma’s agility is even more breathtaking. And the music piece? Hrithik Roshan’s acrobatics and dance on the 4-minute music piece are absolutely mind-blowing. Muscles of his arms and back will have his fans go in wild raptures. With this music (Anu Malik) and song picturisations (choreographers Farah Khan and Saroj Khan and cameraman Santosh Sivan), the directorial debut of Khalid Mohamed cannot but take a great start. One song has been composed by A.R. Rahman too.

Boney’s ‘National’ Choice

Producer Boney Kapoor has acquired the Hindi filming rights of the Tamil film Sethu, which won the National Award for the best film in the regional films category this year. The original (Tamil) version of Boney’s Sirf Tum, titled Kadhal Kottai, had also won the Natonal Award for the best screenplay in the year of its release.

Shocking End Of A Shah Rukh Fan!

Seventeen-year-old Varun Raghavan always had an illusion that he was as heroic as Shah Rukh Khan. He used to tell his mother that he was ‘Baadshah’ à la Shah Rukh. He wore whatever his idol used to wear in films. So crazy was he about the star that Varun used to always imitate him. But the train roof-dance act that Shah Rukh did in Dil Se.. in the Chhainya chhainya song proved to be the swan song of Varun’s life. Varun, son of a railway department employee in Delhi, got electrocuted while doing the Dil Se.. number on the roof of the train along with his friends. He was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he was lying badly burnt and unattended for seven hours before the doctors pronounced him dead. Tragic indeed!

INFORMATION MEETS

“I realised that ultimately, it is the copyright-holder who is king!”

– JAYANTILAL GADA

GAJAA

Jayantilal Gada made a humble beginning by renting out film video cassetes at the rate of Rs. 10 per cassette. Today, his company, Popular Entertainment Network (PEN), is one of the leading film software companies of the world, valued at Rs. 100 crore! The company is actively engaged in the entire gamut of entertainment enterprise including video, cable, audio, satellite, television and terrestrial rights and even finance. The unassuming and self-effacing chairman and managing director of PEN, Jayantilal Gada, has two objectives — to emerge as the best and the biggest independent content provider of Hindi film software and to become the top and the most popular entertainment company in the country — and thereby pen a new history in the world of entertainment. Over to Jayantilal Gada:

What was the idea behind establishing PEN (Popular Entertainment Network)?

– I started out by opening a video library, named Popular Video, at Kurla, Bombay. At that time, I was just renting out video cassettes. Later, in 1983, I started the wholesale business of video and became a wholesale distributor of video cassettes of companies like Bombino, Indus and Time. Around the same time, I also started acquiring video rights of films. PEN then acquired video copyrights of a big lot of films from Esquire. I also dealt with individual producers and bought video rights directly. But after four years, that is, in 1991, my business experienced a downswing. There had been miscalculations on our part. Our bad patch lasted two years, but even then, we cleared all our liabilities of that time. Even today, we are, perhaps, the only company with zero debt.

Things once again started looking up with the advent of Zee TV. We began buying satellite rights from various producers and selling them to Zee. Simultaneously, we used to buy terrestrial rights (Doordarshan rights). Then came channels like Sony, Star Plus and others to whom we provided content. Today, PEN is the largest content provider to Zee, Sony, Star Plus, Sahara TV and others.

Khoon Bhari Maang was the first film which we screened on Doordarshan for Rs. 25 lakh as the telecasting fee. Doordarshan then hiked its fee to Rs. 35 lakh. In 1995, I acquired the telecasting rights of Sholay. It was my dream to telecast Sholay on Doordarshan. My dream was realised when the great film was telecast on 26th January, 1995 for a fee of Rs. 35 lakh. Thereafter, in March ’95, Creative Eye telecast Tezaab for the same fee. Seeing the potential of the huge revenues that could be generated by the telecast of big films, Doordarshan hiked the fees to a whopping Rs. 1 crore in the following month, that is in April ’95, after the telecast of Tezaab. DD should open its eyes to the reality and realise that the fee of Rs. 1 crore is too exorbitant. Every film is not a Sholay. Coming back, we were also the first ones to bring two new films on DD — Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Saajan — within less than five years of their theatrical release.

With so many marketing agencies coming up for the telecast of films, why did you not open an agency yourself?

– We only played the role of software suppliers. We used to supply software to agencies like Nimbus, ABCL, Multi-Channel, Creative Eye and Hansa. But later, when the marketing agencies started defaulting in their payments, things became very difficult. We could also have started a marketing agency, but I did not venture into it for two reasons: firstly, we did not want to spoil relations with our producers; secondly, to telecast a film on Doordarshan meant staking a big investment. We, instead, utilised our resources in building up a library of films, rights of which would be with us for five to seven years since we were buying the telecast rights of films for five to seven years.

Telecasting rights of how many films does your company have?

– More than 550 films. Our only competitor is NFDC which has 800 films.

After PEN, who has the second biggest stock of films?

– Nobody.

What is the value of your library?

– Ernst & Young has valued it at Rs. 100 crore. Besides telecasting (DD) rights, we have satellite rights of a number of films, negative rights of about 50 films and world rights of six films. Our target is to have negative rights of 150 films!

Why did you think of building a library of films by acquiring their DD, satellite and/or other rights?

– The first time I sold the video rights of a film for the territory of Nagpur (to Ultra; the film was An Evening In Paris) for Rs. 9,000 only, I realised the value of a copyright owner. It is when this realisation dawned that I decided to build a library.

You also have a music company called Pen Audio. Why have you stopped acquiring audio rights of films?

– For two more years, we will not be buying audio rights. If we divert our attention to acquiring music rights, we will not be able to concentrate on the business of satellite rights, internet rights….

Will the buying of internet rights become a big business in the days to come?

– This will also become a separate territory but not as big as the territory of video rights was once upon a time. Until the time computers in India are available cheap, viewing films on the net will remain a distant dream for a great majority in our country. Even today, 14-inch TVs are sold more than 21-inch standard size TVs. Maybe, in three-four years’ time, internet may be in every house.

How did you come to present films?

– I realised that ultimately, it is the copyright-holder who is king! The first world rights we held were of Sudhakar Bokade’s Sauda. We were not involved in its production but we were joint negative rights holders of the film with Bokade. This film was to have had its premiere release on Doordarshan. Unfortunately, the film could not get a ‘U’ certificate and, therefore, it could not qualify for telecast on Doordarshan. It had, therefore, to be released theatrically.

Which films are you presenting now?

– We had presented Mehul Kumar’s Kohram. I succeeded in this venture. Now, we are presenting three films of Mehul Kumar, writer-producer-director Gopal Malhotra’s Dil Ke Peeche Peeche which has music by Nadeem Shravan, Ratan Irani’s Mere Apne, and producer-director Gurudev Bhalla’s Abhishek Bachchan starrer Shararat which will be completed in September.

What do you see in a project before becoming its presenter?

– The bottomline is, of course, safety of our money.

How do you gauge whether your money will be safe or not in a project?

– The primary thing is that I must be convinced that the film will be completed. The satellite, Doordarshan, cable and video rights alone fetch good money today.

You have taken over the television project, SAMRAT ASHOK, from Prakash Mehra. With Shah Rukh Khan producing a film on Ashok The Great, don’t you think that it will be big competition for your TV serial? Especially considering that Shah Rukh is the hero in his production venture.

– Not at all. I don’t think, the film will affect my serial at all. We have 104 episodes, whereas the film is only of three hours.

JUNGLE

Varma Corporation Ltd.’s Jungle (A) is, as the title suggests, a jungle adventure. Taking off from the life of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan, the film has a romantic tale knit around it. A young boy and girl are on a holiday trip, the latter with her family. The bus in which several tourists, including the girl and her family but excluding the boy, are travelling is hijacked by the jungle-inhabiting smuggler. He holds them hostage and demands the release of his man who has been arrested by the police. He also threatens to kill one hostage for every passing day and, in fact, begins the heinous act. Ultimately, when the police is forced to relent, the smuggler frees all the hostages except one. And that one is the same girl. The boyfriend, tense and dejected by what he thinks is police inaction, follows a local into the jungle and manages to flee with his girlfriend. But the two are unable to find their way out of the dense and vast jungle. The smuggler and his team is on a hot chase of the lovers. Similarly, the police is on trail of the smuggler and his men. The law-keepers are also on the hunt for the girl and boy so that they can be saved from the villains as well as the wild animals and rescued. Ultimately, the villains fall prey to the bullets of the police, and the lovers come out safe — but not before the chief of the police task force sacrifices his life to save the girl and the boy, and they (lovers) kill the smuggler.

The film has a thin story-line and the jungle becomes the centre-point of the entire drama. As such, the drama becomes boring and a little tedious at places, the tedium being heightened by the drab and dry jungle locations. On the other hand, there are four or five sequences which send shivers down the audience’s spines. Although the episodes showing the lovers’ encounters with wild animals in the jungle are of the kind seen several times in earlier films, they have been treated freshly. The light scenes in the resort are quite entertaining although some of the jokes are subtle and of the liking of classes more than masses. Yet, the best part of the film is the climax which is almost nail-biting. The weakest point is the character of the smuggler — he speaks sparingly and only looks menacing.

Urmila Matondkar does a splendid job. Her expressions of fear, sorrow, helplessness and despair, when in captivity and then, when trying to find her way out of the jungle with her boyfriend, are wonderful. Her performance in the climax is superb. Fardeen Khan looks very cute as the lover-boy and also puts up a good show. He is impressive in action scenes too. He needs to work a little harder on his voice, though. Sunil Shetty, as the chief of the police task force, acts effectively and he wins public sympathy when he sacrifices his life in the climax. Sushant Singh is good as the smuggler but he has very less dialogues to mouth, because of which the impact of such an important character in the film is substantially reduced. In fact, the dull characterisation of the villain, around whom the entire film revolves, is a major flaw in the film. Kashmira Shah is very good. Rajpal Yadav, playing Sushant’s henchman, is truly terrifying and acts very ably. Vijay Raaz, with his cold stare, leaves a good mark. Raju Kher, Swati Chitnis, Anil Yadav, Avtar Gill and the two child artistes (especially the boy) lend admirable support.

Ram Gopal Varma’s handling of the subject is efficient but he has not been able to rid the drama of the boredom which creeps in at intervals due to its thin story-line. Distinction marks are due to the director for extracting wonderful work from the cast. Sandeep Chowta’s music complements the subject. The two romantic numbers are hummable and the other two songs have a very earthy flavour. Chowta’s background score is brilliant. His use of the choir in some scenes has a superb effect. Action scenes (Amin Ghani) are natural. Sound effects (Dwarak Warrier) are par excellence. Production values are simple as per the demands of the subject. Vijay Arora’s cinematography is extraordinary. Technically, of a very high standard.

On the whole, Jungle may find the going tough in U.P. and East Punjab circuits but the thrills and the chills of the adventure as also its reasonable price will see it through in other circuits like Bombay, C.P.C.I. Rajasthan and South.

Released on 14-7-2000 at Eros and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: very good. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was excellent in Delhi, Nagpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Bhopal.

LATEST POSITION

Rains played havoc with the box-office in many parts of the country. Bombay, Maharashtra, M.P. and Ahmedabad had torrential rains during the week. Most of the cinemas of Ahmedabad remained closed on 13th due to the downpour.

Bichhoo has withstood the opposition of rains and has done fairly well all over despite drop everywhere mid-week. It is especially very good in U.P. and East Punjab. 1st week Bombay 43,17,624 (82.85%) from 10 cinemas (14 on F.H.); Baroda 1,80,956 (1 unrecd.), Vapi 2,95,811 (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 2,71,951 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar (28 shows) 1,58,075; Pune 13,69,647 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,80,781 (99%) from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 2,09,326 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Sangli 2,07,150 (94%); Delhi 36,78,271 (76.54%) from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 5,58,431 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 5,29,723, Agra 4,32,600, Bareilly (6 days) 2,47,039; Calcutta 21,69,662 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 8,73,501 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) over 2,30,000, Amravati 3,25,838 (100%), Raipur (6 days) 1,83,014, Jalgaon 2,60,017, Wardha 1,40,234, Chandrapur 2,00,279 from 2 cinemas; Indore 3,52,616 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,91,255 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 9,74,684 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 36,76,966 from 13 cinemas (1 in noon), share 23,25,000 (including Aurangabad).

…………..

Refugee drops. 2nd week Bombay 54,74,942 (79.69%) from 13 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Padra (28 shows) 2,95,126, Vapi 3,03,783, total 13,14,435, Jamnagar (28 shows) 1,76,745; Pune 12,60,428 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,31,411, Satara 1,20,290 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 37,02,463 from 12 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur (6 days) 3,74,291 from 2 cinemas, Agra 1,40,000, Bareilly (6 days) 80,876, Muzaffarnagar 60,000 (1st 1,74,000); Calcutta 17,14,833 from 9 cinemas; Nagpur 3,46,081 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 1,76,844, Akola 1,39,277, Raipur (6 days) 2,42,468, Durg 74,228 (1st 1,55,244), Gondia (gross, 6 days) 68,900, Wardha 60,080, Chandrapur 1,33,106, total 4,20,563, 1st week Yavatmal (gross) 1,66,407; 2nd week Bhopal 78,568; Jaipur (increased rates) 7,52,105, Bikaner 26,750; Hyderabad (gross) 7,78,706 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

East Phir Bhi Hai East (dubbed) 1 week Bombay 1,18,789 (58.25%) (1 on F.H., 1 unrecd.).

Josh 5th week Bombay 21,50,833 (49.74%) from 10 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Pune 4,01,812 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 70,078; Delhi 5,10,483 from 3 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 76,854 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,26,313, Agra 41,000, Bareilly (6 days) 25,600, Muzaffarnagar 22,002, total 3,01,616; Calcutta 1,68,833; Nagpur 1,47,339 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) over 41,000, Amravati 1,03,069, total 9,42,295, Akola 40,200, total 5,77,690, Raipur (6 days) 28,242; Jaipur 1,29,800; Hyderabad (gross) 6,43,654 from 5 cinemas (2 in noon).

PIONEER OF BHOJPURI FILMS B.P. SHAHABADI NO MORE

Producer B.P. Shahabadi passed away suddenly on the evening of 13th July at his native place, Giridih in Bihar, following a heart attack. He was 89 years old. He is survived by five sons, youngest of whom is producer Rajkumar Shahabadi, and three daughters.

Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi was the pioneer of Bhojpuri films. He produced the first Bhojpuri film, Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo, in 1962-63. It proved a runaway hit and started the trend of Bhojpuri films. Thereafter, B.P. Shahabadi made a couple of more Bhojpuri films and three to four Hindi films. He also had distribution offices in West Bengal and Bihar.

Akhtar Rizvi, who used to work in Nirmal Pictures — Shahabadi’s production office in Bombay — for many years, had only last month gone to Giridih just to pay a courtesy call on his boss. A very sad Akhtar told Information, “He was keeping fine and fit when I met him in June. The news of his demise has shocked me.”

GROWING PIRACY MENACE IN RAJASTHAN

The Rajasthan trade is being hit hard by the unchecked cable piracy and exhibition of unauthorised prints in the territory. Reportedly, local cable operators in Kota, Bundi, Ramganj Mandi, Jhalawar, Patan and Baran are unabashedly showing illegal cassettes of Kya Kehna!, Joru Ka Ghulam, Josh, Bichhoo and Refugee on their cable TV networks. Moreover, several unauthorised prints of recently released films are currently in circulation in Anta, Pachpadiya, Khetoon Talera, Bhawani Mandi and Baran in the territory. Some cinemas in the region have already had to down shutters owing to the competition posed by the illegal screenings.

HIGH-PROFILE COPYRIGHT COMMITTEE MEETS IN DELHI

The high-profile committee, set up by the government of India to suggest changes in the Copyright Act, met in New Delhi on 11th July under the chairmanship of the secretary, education ministry. K.D. Shorey, one of the members of the 27-member committee, is the representative of producers on it.

Two important issues dominated the discussions at the meeting. One was the issue of international pressure from the performers who have made a demand for additional economic rights, that is, sharing of profits if a film earns. But K.D. Shorey and others objected to this demand, saying that if profits were to be shared, the performers should also be made liable to share producers’ losses. A decision is yet to be arrived at on this issue.

Performers demanded scrapping of the sub-section (4) of section 38 of the Copyright Act, at the meeting in Delhi, but there were strong voices of dissent against this too. It would be pertinent to note here that the Rome Convention (1960) had conferred the basic rights on the performers. But later, by an amendment, sub-section 4 of section 38 was introduced in the Act. This sub-section stipulates that the basic rights be granted to performers in any of the performing shows except cinematograph films in which the rights belong to producers. Performers argued that this sub-section was against their interests.

INTERNATIONAL HONOUR FOR DEV ANAND

Dev Anand was among the 50 Punjabi personalities chosen from all over the world to be honoured at an international Punjabi meet on 11th July at Hotel Sheraton in New York. And Dev Anand had much cause to feel honoured. For, the honours were done by no less a personality than the first lady of the US of A, Hillary Clinton!

SHILPA SHIRODKAR WEDS

Shilpa Shirodkar tied the knot with Aparesh Ranjit on 9th July in Bombay. The marriage was followed by a reception on 10th July. Among those who blessed the newly-wedded couple were Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda and Madhuri Dixit-Nene.

The groom, Aparesh Ranjit, is a business management student in the Netherlands.

RAHUL ROY WEDS RAJLAXMI

Rahul Roy wedded noted model Rajlaxmi Khanvilkar on 9th July in Bombay. Among the guests at the wedding were top models Lisa Ray, Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Malaika Arora, Helen Brodie, Aditi Govitrikar, Rakshanda Khan, TV host Sajid Khan, Tejaswini Kolhapure and Riya Sen.

FIRST MEETING OF U.P. FILM DEVELOPMENT BOARD

The first meeting of the Film Development Board of Uttar Pradesh will be held on 19th July at Taj Hotel, Lucknow. Noted writer Kamleshwar will preside over the meeting. Issues related to the promotion of film industry and film policy in the state will be discussed.

YOU ASKED IT

Will Nadeem Shravan be able to recreate the old magic in their second innings?

– Why not? The four songs they’ve recorded for Kuku Kohli’s YEH DIL AASHIQANA are excellent. The two seem to be in great form!

Can Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega take a good start?

– Can?!? It will definitely take a flying start. The film’s publicities look fresh and beautiful.

Why is the Maharashtra government not coming out with its promised policy of tax holiday for new cinemas, like governments of other states?

– Maybe, it is scared of losing a lot of revenue. Or maybe, the anti-policy lobby in the film industry is strong. 

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Soch’ In Scotland, England

Zeekay Films P. Ltd.’s Soch is being shot for 15 days from July 15 in Scotland and England. Two songs and scenes are being picturised on Sanjay Kapoor and Raveena Tandon. Meanwhile, two songs for the film were recorded recently at Sahara by Jatin-Lalit. They were penned by Sameer and rendered by Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu. Being produced by Dr. Wijahat Kareem and written and directed by Sushen Bhatnagar, the film co-stars Aditi Govitrikar, Arbaaz Khan, Sunil Nagar, Yunus Parwaiz, Mac Mohan and Danny. Co-producer: Dr. Mrs. Surheeta Kareem. Cinematography: Rajen Kothari. Action: Shahid Ali. Dialogues: Atul Tiwari. Art: Smita Gupta. Sound: Anuj Mathur. Editor: Umesh Gupta.

Subhash Ghai’s ‘Yaadein’ Commences In London

Producer-director Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein will go before the camera tomorrow (July 16) in London. The 9-day schedule will continue in India (Bombay). Jackie Shroff, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor will participate. The film, being made under the banner of Mukta Arts Ltd., has lyrics by Anand Bakshi and music by Anu Malik who has already recorded five songs. The last song was recorded in the voices of Asha Bhosle and Udit Narayan. Kabir Lal is the film’s cinematographer, and Sharmishta Roy, the art director. Rakesh Ranjan is the audiographer. The film is scheduled for completion in April 2001 and is slated for release on July 30 next year.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Tips has acquired the domestic music rights of Subhash Ghai’s YAADEIN for a whopping Rs. 6.50 crore. Negotiations are on for the sale of international music rights. Many top music companies are in contention to bag them.

* Three films, directed by Sanjay Surkar, have bagged the National Awards for the best Marathi films in three consecutive years: RAOSAHEB (1997), TU TITHE MEE (1998), and GHARABAHER (1999).

* BICHHOO has created a record by collecting 2,07,150/- (94%) in 1st week at Pratap, Sangli, despite heavy rains throughout the week.

* BICHHOO has created a district record by collecting 2,91,562/- in 1st week at Akhilesh, Moradabad. The earlier record was held by MELA (2,86,315/-).

* BICHHOO has created a record by collecting 2,65,394/- (100%) in 1st week at Galaxy, Meerut.

* BICHHOO has created a record at Khanna (East Punjab) by collecting 3,53,550/- in 1st week.

MIX MASALA

HRITHIK’S TAANDAV IN ‘FIZA’

Hrithik Roshan has displayed his dancing talent of the ultimate kind in Khalid Mohammed’s Fiza. He has performed a nine-minute taandav dance under a waterfall, following strenuous rehearsals. Those who have seen this dance item have found it to be simply incredible, something out of this world! This is sure to be the high point of the film. And Hrithik is sure to once again dance his way into a million hearts.

‘CROREPATI’ CORRODES

The Amitabh Bachchan-hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati game show on Star Plus is recording growing appreciation with every passing episode. And the most affected by the game show’s rising popularity are the box-office takings in the last shows at cinemas across the country. People stay put in their houses at 9 p.m. from Mondays to Thursdays — that is when Kaun Banega Crorepati is beamed. This Crorepati show is, therefore, eating into the earnings of the film trade.

A HERO’S WELCOME

Have you ever been the chief guest at any function? If not, today is your chance. The grand invitation card of the muhurt of Shankar and A.M. Rathnam’s Nayak today (15th July) invites people to Filmistan Studios for the launch. It then mentions: Chief Guest ‘U’! Nice way to make each invitee feel important and wanted. Incidentally, right on its announcement, deals for half the territories of India have been clinched!

CENSOR NEWS

Varma Corporation Ltd.’s Jungle (action thriller) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/70/2000 (A) dt. 7-7-2000; length 4162.50 metres in 17 reels (cuts: 0.91 metres).

Aditya Films’ Andheri Raaton Mein (social) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/69/2000 (A) dt. 7-7-2000; length 2663.43 metres in 10 reels (cuts: 97.63 metres).

Vijayshree Films’ Prince No. 1 (dubbed) has been passed with U certificate, in Hyderabad.

5000 Films’ Kaali Pahadi (revised) has been passed for adults, with cuts.

Shreenath Film Production’s Chudail Ki Raat has been passed for adults, with cuts.

D.R.M. Combines’ Nasheele Aankhe (dubbed; length 2122.57 metres in 6 reels), applied on 7th, was seen on 10th.

Palki Films’ Meri Jung Ka Elaan (length 4013.10 metres in 16 reels), applied on 10th, was seen on 11th.

Sheetal Arts’ Meri Izzat Bachao (length 2740.02 metres in 11 reels) was applied on 11th.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Prophetic Words

Call this a coincidence or whatever. Not many days before Ismail Darbar bagged the National Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, he had been very sad for not having won any notable award for his music score. Vashu Bhagnani, whose Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa has music by Ismail Darbar, had tried to pep him up by saying that all had not been lost. Vashu then told Darbar that one day, he would bag an award which would make everyone look up to him. As if Vashu had prophesied, Ismail Darbar sure enough won the National Award a few days later. And the man to break the news of the award to Darbar was none other than Vashu Bhagnani. On hearing the news over the telephone, Ismail Darbar could not control his tears of joy and began to cry. This was revealed by Vashu Bhagnani who was quick to organise a party in honour of the National Awardee on 8th at Hotel Guestline. The audio cassettes of Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa, out in the market a day before, were also formally released at the felicitation function.

Too Late The Hero!

The dancing hero, well-known for coming late on the sets, repeated his notorious feat even for a shooting abroad. He was required on a foreign location for 10 days’ shooting which involved combination shots with the other lead man of the film. Our dancing hero reached five days late. After shooting for a day, he reported sick. The unit had to come back without much shooting with the dancing hero. The combination shots of the two heroes also couldn’t be taken!

Title Talk

Registering a film title is as interesting as naming one’s new-born. And nothing interests us as much as the list of titles registered by producers with the Title Registration Committee of the AIFPC. For, it gives an insight into the producers’ ‘creative’ bent of mind. So, here’s our pick of titles, some entertaining, some enlightening and some plain amusing:

First, the ‘No. 1’ titles, thanks to the inspiration provided by Coolie No. 1, Hero No. 1, Biwi No. 1 and the like. So, we have more titles registered, such as Dil No. 1, Majnu No. 1, Aashiq No. 1, Jeweller No. 1, Bhawji No. 1, Super Star No. 1, Dulha No. 1, Bazaar No. 1, Lady Inspector No. 1, Dosti No. 1 as well as Dost No. 1, Khalnayak No. 1, Ladki No. 1, Mastana No. 1, Bhai No. 1, Fraud No. 1, Bookie No. 1!

And among the appended titles registered are: Thug – The Con Man, Faasle – The Distance, Talaash – The Hunt, The Body – Tan Badan, Aas (I Still Love You), Harjana (Blood Money), Antim Yudh (The Last War), Dost – A God’s Gift….

While Rakesh Roshan’s Film Kraft has booked Karodpati, Pragati Chitra International has registered three karod-worthy titles, Kaun Banega Karodpati, 24 Ghante Mein Karodpati and Millionaire In 24 Hours (English).

Show World Television has cornered ‘Sabse Bada/Badi’ titles by registering as many as half-a-dozen such titles: Sabse Badi Ganga Ki Saugandh, Sabse Bada Bazigar, Sabse Bada Gunda, Sabse Bada Badshah, Sabse Bada Mawali and Sabse Bada Uastad.

And Subhash Ghai, who had made Ram Lakhan, now seems to be fascinated by Ravan. His Mukta Arts Ltd. has registered Ravan, Shiv Bhakt Ravan, Ravan Ki Aatmakatha, Shri Ravan Sanhita, Lanka Pati Ravan, Ravanwadh and Ram Aur Ravan. Are these titles for TV serials?

Interestingly, Gordhan Tanwani’s Baba Films is so possessive of Mohabbat Tumse Hai Sanam that it has registered three more similar titles: Mohabbat Hai Tumse Sanam, Tumse Mohabbat Hai Sanam and Tumse Hai Mohabbat Sanam. Tips Films Pvt. Ltd. has re-registered as many as 27 titles!

And how do you like this? Pati Naram Patni Garam, booked by Paras Productions, and Kalyanji And Anandji, registered by Puja Films.

INFORMATION MEETS

“Our audiences have invariably shown a fond keenness to welcome newcomers… As for myself, I am awaiting my turn.”

– FARDEEN KHAN

GAJAA

It is an unwritten rule in the industry that you are as good as your last film. This applies whether you are a film producer, director or actor. And so, it applied to debut-making Fardeen Khan, too. When the young hero’s dad, Feroz Khan’s Prem Aggan, could not find favour with the audience, the industry was quick to dismiss Fardeen off as a ‘no good’ hero. It required the guts and gumption of Ram Gopal Varma to re-launch Fardeen Khan in Jungle. And even while he was shooting for Ram Gopal Varma’s film, there came a metamorphosis in the industry’s attitude towards Fardeen Khan. Suddenly, he was being considered good by several producers and directors. The suddenly-considered-good guy has since been signed by some good makers. And Fardeen seems to be gaining lost ground with every film he is signing. The one thing that Fardeen Khan shares with his famous father, Feroz Khan, is his immensely positive attitude to life. Actually, the positive outlook seems to be in their blood.

In this interview, taken before the release of Jungle, the resilient young man candidly talks about his hopes, feelings and aspirations.

How do you feel on the threshold of the second lease of your career?

I am very excited, very anxious. I’ve worked very hard and am looking forward with great hope.

But JUNGLE is different from your debut-making film. How different was it working with Ram Gopal Varma from working with your dad?

Yes, both the films are entirely different. But I felt quite at home even while working for Jungle. Both, my dad and Ram Gopal Varma, are passionate about their work. Both are very much into technique and both of them know exactly what they want. I enjoyed working hard for Jungle as much as I enjoyed working for my dad’s film, Prem Aggan.

Did you despair after the debacle of your dad’s film?

I was disappointed at first, but then, I got the Filmfare Award for the best debutant. I bagged one more award in New York. I have a positive mental attitude to life. But that does not mean that one should turn one’s back to the past. One must analyse what went wrong and then try to avoid the earlier mistakes. I had, and still have, a lot of positive thoughts. I sincerely believe that hard work pays and can never let a man remain down forever. Tomorrow is another day. And I have a long way to go. If I were to feel low, I wouldn’t be able to pull it up tomorrow, no matter what opportunities came my way.

So what were you doing before JUNGLE came your way?

Well, I used to hear a lot of scripts. Most of them are very good. Other than that, I was concentrating on ways to improve myself as an actor and I was improving my Hindi diction and things like that.

As you said, you were hearing scripts. Every enthusiastic actor does that. But despite good scripts, things sometimes don’t work, as expected. What goes wrong and where? Have you analysed?

I understand that filmmaking is a result of coordinated efforts. Each one works to the best of his ability. So, one shouldn’t blame anybody if things don’t work the way one desires. An unsuccessful film does not necessarily mean a bad film. At the end of the day, we are all selling dreams.

Is it better to sign  few films before your first release or you still feel that it is alright to sign films only after the release of your first film?

I believe that it’s not right to sign films just for the sake of doing so. The most important things to consider while signing films are the script, the director and the maker.

Your dad, an actor, was a perfect foil to the top leading men of the day and he used to make his presence felt in a distinguished manner. Later, he diversified into filmmaking. Did you, at any point of time, think of switching roles?

No, I haven’t thought about it. Never! Not at this point of time, at least. Right now, I want to act. I want to prove my mettle. I am positive about showing my mettle before the camera. By the grace of God, I hope to achieve my ambition in the chosen field. It’s not going to be quits so early. Yes, some day, I would love to direct and produce movies. But right now, it’s going to be acting. Period.

Were you ever your dad’s assistant when he was directing films?

No, I was very young then. I was in school. Thereafter, I went away to the US for further studies. I was there for four-and-a-half years.

So, you must have been greatly influenced by Hollywood films…

Yes, I used to see a lot of films there. There is a lot to learn from Hollywood films in every department. They are the leaders today. We here won’t be able to make the kind of films they make. On one level, there is unwillingness on our part to try and do something new. We are still steeped into songs. But then, music is also a big market here. So, we’ve got to be wherever we are on this score. But they (the Hollywood people) are far more innovative where narration and presentation of scripts are concerned. At least, we can try doing something innovative in regard to our scripts. Hey, am I sounding too big?!?

People have accepted newcomers like Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan in a big way. Audiences seem to accept new guys these days. Maybe, it’s your turn now…

(Laughs) To be honest with you, this has always been a trend — new heroes and heroines have always been welcomed. Our audiences have invariably shown a fond keenness to welcome newcomers. Rishi Kapoor was accepted, Dimple was welcomed and so were Jackie Shroff, Kumar Gaurav, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol… There are many instances to prove this point. As for myself, I am awaiting my turn.

Even during your dad’s hero-days, there were Khans — Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Amjad Khan and, a little later, Mazhar Khan. Today, too, the Khans have made their grade. Where do you find yourself among the young Khans of today?

(Amused) Well, I don’t know. But I know one thing for sure — and that is, that our poor audience would be subjected to one more Khan! (Laughs) I’m just joking…

There is a general feeling that you look too good to play non-chocolate/rustic hero roles….

Is it? If that is the case, what can I do about it? I can just pray to God to make me look the way the role demands. But I am positive about my face being accepted in the coming days.

How come? Are you going to acquire a Clint Eastwood look?

First, let me conquer Bollywood before going to Hollywood! (Laughs) I was just joking, man. Who wants to leave Bollywood?!

What about your dad’s next, QURBAAN TUJH PE MERI JAAN, starring Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai and you?

It will take some time to start. We are working on the script and music.

There is also one more, Shubir Mukerji’s MAATI (THE SOIL), written and directed by Neeraj Pathak…

A lot of things have been finalised for Maati, but I’ll start shooting on July 15 for director Rajat Mukerji’s film. This one is being produced by Ram Gopal Varma and Venus. It is untitled as of now. Then, there is Jackpot which is being jointly produced by Ram Gopal Varma and Nitin Manmohan. I have also signed films with Mehul Kumar, Pahlaj Nihalani and Anees Bazmee.

So, we are going to see a lot of Fardeen Khan in the coming days?

You will see a lot of his varied performances rather than just Fardeen Khan’s face!

BICHHOO

Bhagwan Chitra Mandir’s Bichhoo (A) is the story of a young man whose mother and two sisters commit suicide after being subjected to humiliation of the meanest form. The man seeks revenge on the wrong-doers by taking law into his hands. Even after his revenge, he continues to indulge in killings and becomes a contract killer. A girl enters his life and changes the tough guy. She brings to fore the soft inside of the man even as she gets trained by him in using arms and ammunition. The girl, whose family is killed by a double-faced police officer, resolves to kill the officer and is aided in her endeavour by the young man. Ultimately, her mission is accomplished but in the action drama, her beloved is also killed.

The film has a fast pace in the first half and gives hardly any chance to the viewer to think. But after interval, its pace slackens and boredom creeps in at places. The tragic ending will not be liked by some. Besides this, two more drawbacks of the film are: (a) the hero takes his revenge before interval and, as such, there’s no mission in his life thereafter, and (b) there is scant consideration for law in the drama throughout the film. On the plus side are the abundant action and three good songs. Emotions are missing. Romance is limited. Climax, in which an army of police is called in to nab just one man housed in a building, looks exaggerated. Dialogues (Dilip Shukla) are okay.

Bobby Deol does a fair job. He however, needs to improve in dramatic scenes — especially his voice modulation when shouting his lungs out. Rani Mukerji is spontaneous and good in some scenes but average in others. Ashish Vidyarthi is a bit too stagey. Ishrat Ali has a fixed expression on his face. Avtar Gill does fairly well. Mohan Joshi is alright. Malaika Arora is okay in a guest appearance. Virendra Saxena acts ably. Sachin Khedekar leaves a mark. Siddharth, Farida Jalal, Mahavir Shah and Dolly Bindra lend good support. Shweta Shetty’s dance on the hit song, rendered by herself, is sexy. Hans Raj Hans and Ganesh Acharya are okay.

Director Guddu Dhanoa has made the film’s first half really racy, which is the best thing about the film. But his over-reliance on action and side-tracking of other ingredients of a masala fare is not desirable. Music (Anand Raaj Anand) is good. ‘Jeevan mein jaane jaana’, ‘Tote tote ho gaya’ and ‘Yehi hai arzoo’ are racy songs and their picturisations are good. But the placement of ‘Tote tote ho gaya’ is too early in the film. Background score is effective. Production and technical values are of standard.

On the whole, Bichhoo should do well in the North. In the other circuits, it will have to depend on its reasonable price on the one hand and its excellent start on the other, to come to its aid. Business in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres will be good.

Released on 7-7-2000 at Novelty and 23 other cinemas of Bombay thru Vimal Agarwal and R.M. Ahuja & Co. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was superb in U.P., East Punjab, Rajasthan and C.P.

LATEST POSITION

The first week’s business of REFUGEE is tremendous despite the drop in collections from the 4th day onwards everywhere. A definite commission earner. 

Refugee 1st week Bombay 83,75,163 (93.78%) from 15 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 38,54,196 from 8 cinemas, Padra 4,50,502, Vapi 10,10,652 from 2 cinemas, Jamnagar 2,71,179, Adipur 2,25,788 (100%); Pune 20,51,699 from 7 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,56,934 (100%); Delhi 67,94,132 (81.65%) from 12 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 7,50,836 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 6,00,754, Agra 4,03,000, Varanasi 4,95,558, Allahabad 3,27,868, Bareilly (6 days) 2,16,162, Hardwar 2,00,000 (69.44%); Calcutta 33,84,040 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 12,17,357 from 5 cinemas, Amravati 2,96,889, Akola 2,25,151 (95%), Bhilai 3,32,424, Jalgaon 3,00,062, Wardha (28 shows) 1,36,828, Chandrapur 2,87,456, Bilaspur 3,07,211 from 2 cinemas, Ballarpur 1,05,062, Itarsi almost 100%; Bhopal 4,32,024 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 17,65,962 (74.72%) from 4 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,80,611; Hyderabad (gross) 34,29,175 from 12 cinemas (1 in noon).

………….

Tarkieb drops further. 2nd week Bombay 5,86,442 (9 cinemas unrecd., 6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,37,358 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,04,881, 1st week Rajkot 1,00,450 (1 in matinee unrecd.); 2nd week Pune 5,46,376 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,91,784 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 12,94,371 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 1,50,883 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,95,339, Agra 1,25,000, Varanasi 92,816, Allahabad 95,162, Bareilly (6 days) 42,000; Calcutta 1,92,221; Nagpur 47,916, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,17,007, Amravati (6 days) 1,38,334, Akola 75,434, Jalgaon 1,00,573; Indore 72,000, Bhopal 60,650; Jaipur 93,022; Hyderabad (gross) 2,88,209 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Joru Ka Ghulam 3rd week Bombay 7,40,580 (50.08%) from 3 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,90,398 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Solapur (matinee) 46,342; Delhi 1,67,798 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,49,653 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,18,044, Agra 1,63,000, Varanasi 85,049, Allahabad 61,243, Bareilly 29,715; Calcutta 1,40,199; Nagpur 93,376, Amravati 89,650, Wardha 30,064, Sagar (5 days) 21,971; Indore 94,000 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,17,607 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 2,98,879 from 2 cinemas.

Josh 4th week Bombay 30,96,967 (59.69%) from 11 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,00,329 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 1,70,690, Jamnagar 26,792; Pune 5,44,307 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 96,590 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Barsi 65,927; Delhi 10,12,239 from 5 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,42,769 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,30,273, Agra 73,500, Varanasi 78,906, Allahabad 59,093, Bareilly (6 days) about 42,000, Muzaffarnagar 46,000, total 2,81,616; Calcutta 2,51,506; Nagpur 2,01,418 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 62,770, Amravati (6 days) 1,10,763, Akola 52,104, total 5,37,490, Jalgaon 95,526 (3rd 94,427); Jaipur 1,83,671, Ajmer (gross, 28 shows) 79,035; Hyderabad (gross) 4,75,139 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 25th week Bombay 4,04,297 (33.27%) from 3 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,09,392 from 6 cinemas, Baroda 81,511; Pune (matinee) 26,600, Solapur (6 days) 63,870; Delhi 3,35,856 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 52,563, Lucknow 1,26,009, Agra 44,700, Varanasi 66,277, Allahabad 30,113; Nagpur 76,290 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 41,690, total 26,59,016, Amravati 41,095, Akola 58,531, total 26,80,881, Raipur 44,789, total 26,58,614, share 19,33,242, Jalgaon 47,430, total 25,06,664; Bhopal 42,000, total 36,12,481; Hyderabad (gross) 2,17,423 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon, 2 on F.H.); 2nd week Guntur (r.r., gross) 65,446, 1st week Ongole (r.r., gross) 77,681.

VASHU BHAGNANI TO FETE ISMAIL DARBAR

Producer Vashu Bhagnani will host a party at Hotel Guestline, Juhu, Bombay, this evening (8th July) in honour of the music director of his Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa, Ismail Darbar, who has bagged the National Award for the best music of 1999. The award was for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

The audio cassettes of TJCG will also be released by Tips at the same function.

GUDDU DHANOA HOSPITALISED

Producer-director Guddu Dhanoa was admitted to the ICCU of Nanavati Hospital in Bombay on 6th July, a day before the release of his Bichhoo. He complained of chest pain on 5th, was admitted to a private nursing home for a few hours and took a discharge the same night. When his condition deteriorated on 6th, he was hospitalised. His condition is stable and he is likely to be discharged shortly.

‘BICHHOO’ VCDs IN MARKET BEFORE THEATRICAL RELEASE

On a complaint lodged by Prakash Laxman Utekar, field officer, Feature Films Copyright, PSIs Shirish Inamdar and S.D. Ingule conducted a raid at shop no. 39 at Musafirkhana, Bombay, and arrested the shop owner, Imran Aziz Khan, who was selling pirated VCDs of Josh and Bichhoo. While Bichhoo was released in the cinemas on 7th July, its VCDs were available one day earlier (6th July)!

‘REFUGEE’ CASSETTES SEIZED

The Balaghat police seized illegal video cassettes of Refugee in a raid conducted on 4th July. The police acted on a complaint lodged by local representative M.P. Mishra, and M.S. Rathore, manager, Shyam Talkies, Balaghat.

CMM TO START MUSIC CHANNEL

After the launch of its religious channel, ‘Aastha’, CMM will be launching a 24-hour music channel in premium digital mode. The channel will be positioned on the global beam of Thaicom-3. A complete music channel, it will have programmes dedicated to film, non-film and pop music. According to CMM’s managing director, Kirit C. Mehta, “During the trial phase, we will have truncated telecasts of Aastha and CMM music channel, both at different time zones on a single channel. In the coming weeks, both, Aastha and CMM music channel, will be telecast on different channels.” The test signals of the channel have already started.

The CMM music channel will beam programmes like ‘Coming Soon’, ‘On The Tracks’ (dedicated to old songs), ‘Deadly Medley’ (for film trailers), ‘Hum Tum’ (which will have soft romantic numbers), ‘Fresh Hai Bhai’ (new songs) and so on.

WALTER MATTHAU DEAD

One of America’s best-loved comic film stars, Walter Matthau, breathed his last on 1st July in Los Angeles following cardiac arrest. Matthau, who had a history of heart problems, was 79.

He spent five decades in show business and acted in more than 60 films. He won an Oscar in 1996 for the best supporting actor for his performance in Billy Wilder’s The Fortune Cookie. Matthau won a Tony award for his stage work in A Shot In The Dark. Some of his very popular films are The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men, Grumpier Old Men, Buddy Buddy, The Front Page, Kotch and The Sunshine Boys.

ANOTHER MYTHOLOGICAL FROM DHEERAJ KUMAR

Creative Eye Limited will launch a mega serial, Jai Jai Shree Ganesh, on July 10 at Film City. Director: Dheeraj Kumar. Script: Darshan Lad and Vikas Kapoor. Music: Sharang Dev. Lyrics: Abhilash.

SUDHAKAR BOKADE CLARIFIES

At a press conference called by him on 4th July, producer Sudhakar Bokade clarified that the news published in a Marathi daily that he had attempted suicide by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills was “totally false”. “I am hale and hearty,” he told Film Information in a telephonic conversation. Information had also published a report last week, based on the report of the Marathi daily. The error, though inadvertent, is regretted.

NATIONAL FILM AWARDS

‘SARFAROSH’ ADJUDGED BEST POPULAR FILM

Sarfarosh, produced and directed by John Mathew Matthan, was adjudged the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment, at the 47th National Film Awards. A triumph indeed for Matthan, a first-timer in the arena of feature filmmaking! Malayalam film Vanaprastham, directed by Shaji N. Karun, was adjudged the best film in the feature films category. The film also won the best actor award for Mohanlal. Kiron Kher bagged the best actress award for her unusual performance in the Bengali film, Bariwali, directed by Rituparno Ghosh. Incidentally, Bariwali happens to be Kiron Kher’s home production, and she has acted in a Bengali film for the first time.

The best supporting actor award went to Atul Kulkarni for Hey! Ram, while Sohini Haldar and Sudipta Chakraborty shared the best supporting actress award for their performances in Paromittar Ek Din and Bariwali (both Bengali) respectively.

The best director award was bagged by Buddhadev Dasgupta for Uttara (Bengali). The award for the best first film of a director was shared by Shekhar Kappula’s Dollar Dreams and Ashwini Chaudhury’s Laado (Haryanvi).

Music director Ismail Darbar, who made his debut with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, bagged the award for the best music director.

YOU ASKED IT

With CVDs (compact video discs) coming out in the illegal market even before the film is released in cinemas, would it not be wiser to delay the Overseas delivery by a week?

– It may be wise, but it is not practical at all. Overseas territory, which fetches several crores for a big film, may not fetch even 50% of the price after a week of release.

Amitabh Bachchan is striking public attention for his television game-show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, his son, Abhishek, is winning a lot of appreciation on his debut in Refugee. And what’s more, Amitabh has almost cleared his dues of ABCL. Does it mean that happy days are here again for AB?

– Maybe, baby!

What do you predict for Aftab Shivdasani?

– He is a very spontaneous actor. He should lose a little weight and improve his latecoming habit, that is to say, he should not make people on his sets wait!

DO YOU KNOW?

* REFUGEE has created a record at Krishna, Padra (Gujarat) by collecting 4,50,502/- in 1st week (28 shows).

* REFUGEE has created a city record by collecting 10,10,652/- in 1st week from 2 cinemas of Vapi: Shree (6,25,882/-) and Vaishali (3,84,770/-).

* REFUGEE has created a city record in Jaipur by collecting 8,31,170/- in 1st week at Raj Mandir. Admission rates were hiked for the film, because of which it did not record 100% collections at the cinema. Nevertheless, such a figure has never been recorded in the pink city.

* KN…PH has created history in Raipur by yielding the highest ever share of 19,33,242/- in 25 weeks from Anand. 25th week’s collection: 44,789/-, city record. Total 26,58,614/-.

* KYA KEHNA! has become a favourite with the ladies and the youngsters at Krishna, Raipur, thanks to the cinema’s manager, Gurmit Singh Gurudutta, and local representative Lucky Rangshahi (of Shree Rang Films, Amravati), who have been experimenting with new methods of promotion of the film. Currently, a quiz, woven around the film, is being conducted for the public. This is not only soliciting public participation but also getting in the audience!

* In view of Subhash Ghai’s TAAL being the first Indian film to have been insured, United India (the insurance company which provided the cover) has decided to name its film policy after Ghai’s banner (Mukta Arts) as ‘Mukta Cine Policy’. This announcement was made by the insurance company on 6th July at Mukta Arts’ press conference in Bombay.

* In keeping with the excitement and craze for the film among the people of Bhuj, REFUGEE was released last week at not one, but two cinemas of Bhuj — Modern and Ravi. For the first time in Bhuj, a new film was released at two cinemas. It may be mentioned here that REFUGEE was extensively shot at Bhuj.

* Urmila Matondkar will be the much-seen actress in the coming weeks. She stars in three films which are to be released in close proximity to each other: JUNGLE, KUNWARA and DEEWANE. Her co-stars are all different — Fardeen Khan, Govinda and Ajay Devgan. 

A Cut In Time…

J.P. Dutta bowed to public demand and re-edited his Refugee mid-week. The film was found by the audience to be too lengthy and boring in parts. Even before Dutta could effect cuts, his distributors had chopped off portions they felt were dull. Word had spread among his distributors on Friday (30th June) itself that cuts were being effected without J.P.’s consent and they exchanged notes on the various cuts to be carried out.

Not just J.P. Dutta, most directors become very sentimental when it comes to re-editing their films. But the harm the delay in cutting the dull portions does cannot be overlooked. For, the people, who see the full-length film, cannot be stopped from spreading the word that it is boring. 

There have been several cases of directors delaying re-editing. Subhash Ghai refused to cut his Pardes short but had to budge from his stand on the second day of release itself. Indra Kumar would hear nothing about picking up the scissors after the release of Mann, but he had to reconsider and re-edit it after five days of the release. Why, J.P. Dutta himself re-edited his previous film, Border, after it hit  the screens. What the makers don’t take into consideration is that after they’ve effected the cuts here in Bombay, it takes two to three days to carry out the corrections across the country. The loss ultimately is theirs. 

In the particular case of Refugee, the two necomers — Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor — had found such a universal acceptance that the audience was willing to overlook the fact that the film was boring in parts. Now that it’s been re-edited by about 12 minutes by J.P. — and another eight to ten minutes by distributors and exhibitors — the pace has become faster.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the film will not be a loser in any circuit despite very mixed reports. The bumper initial was a boon. In most of the territories, Refugee should fetch commission for its distributors. The Bombay distributor’s billing in the first week itself (including MGs and FHs) is about 75% to 80% of the investment. Ditto the Delhi-U.P. distributor. The East Punjab distributor has covered his entire investment in the first week. The C.I. distributor has earned a share equivalent to 65% of his MG royalty. The C.P. Berar distributor has recovered 60% of his MG royalty in 7 days. With such impressive figures, it shouldn’t be a surprise even if a couple of distributors share overflow with J.P. Dutta.

Dutta, on his part, should keep the publicity and promotion of the film in full gear. In fact, television promotion needs to be stepped up. Unlike in the case of re-editing, J.P. should not delay refuelling the promotional campaigns. Collections have dropped at most of the places, but the drop in 90% of the cases is not continuous. Sustained publicity can steady the collections even further.

*                    *                    *

If Boney Kapoor releases his Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai on 11th August, it will be a Himalayan blunder that he will be committing. The music cassettes of the film are due to be released around 20th July. That means, the gap between the audio release and the film’s release would be barely 21 days! Anil Kapoor starrers normally don’t take good initials, so what would it be without proper promotion of music? Distributors and exhibitors shudder to think! Wonder, why Boney Kapoor doesn’t see reason and postpone the release by two or three weeks. As it is, there are far too many releases in the coming weeks — till 18th August. Therefore, August 25 or September 1 should be a more ideal release date for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. Why kill the dil?

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Kaun Banega…?

Whether anyone will succeed or not in becoming a ‘crorepati’ in the Kaun Banega Crorepati television show is to be seen. But Amitabh Bachchan has already become one — by hosting the show. Yes, the actor is reportedly being paid several crores for anchoring the show. So, kaun banega crorepati? Of course, Jaya ka pati!

A Paanch-Star Gesture 

Producer Tutu Sharma sure knows how to reward talent. Vijay Maurya, one of the five heroes of his Paanch, will never forget the night when, in a split second, Tutu made the actor’s long-cherished dream a reality. It was late night when Tutu and his team had seen the rushes of about 80% of Paanch. Tutu was thrilled with the rushes and with the work of new director Anurag Kashyap, heroine Tejaswini Kolhapure, and all his five heroes. Vijay Maurya’s performance, in particular, had left Tutu stunned. Outside the preview theatre, Tutu asked Vijay, a resident of Moradabad, what his dream was. The newcomer was hesitant and Tutu had to prod him on to open up. The simpleton replied, a little apprehensively, “Sir, nobody in the three generations of my family I have known, has ever possessed a car. I want to earn enough money to some day own a car.” Tutu took Vijay outside where his Maruti Zen was parked and, handing over the car keys to Vijay, said, “Here, this car is yours. I had bought it three months back, but I think, you deserve it.” Vijay couldn’t believe his eyes and ears. He thought, it was all a dream. Actually, it was the realisation of his dream! The story did not end there. The next morning, Tutu, a little scared, broke the news to his wife, actress Padmini Kolhapure. He was scared because he had given away the family car without so much as informing his wife. Padmini Kolhapure heard Tutu’s story and had just this to ask her husband. “Are you happy about having made Vijay happy?” Tutu replied, “I’m very happy.” Padmini then said, “I’m happy if you are happy.”

‘Gadar’ — Violence In The Midst Of Shooting

Zee’s Gadar – A Love Story is a period film of love in the midst of violence. And the film’s unit has encountered violence wherever the film has been shot. Some time back, there were protests and threats against the shooting at Imambara in Lucknow. During the recent shooting at Amritsar railway station, a huge crowd of locals gathered on day one of the shooting and some of them indulged in stone-throwing. The local police, therefore, had to resort to lathi-charge. However, the situation was brought under control with the help of policemen and railway authorities in Amritsar and the shooting was completed over the next three days. A steam engine was brought all the way from Delhi railway museum and the Amritsar railway station was repainted to lend the ambience of 1947 when the migration took place from both the sides of the border following the announcement of Partition. The whole gadar-like situation (gadar means ‘mutiny’) was escalated due to the participation of stars like Sunny Deol, Amrish Puri and Amisha Patel. Secondly, it was after over a decade that a film was being shot in Punjab. It is being shot since the last one month at Ferozpur, Amritsar, Dunera, Dalhousie and Pathankot. According to Nittin Keni, who is producing the film for Zee, “The inspiration behind the shooting in Punjab was Vinod Khanna, the MP from Gurdaspur. Full co-operation was extended by all his associates and campaign managers, who helped the unit at every step.” The film is being directed by Anil Sharma.

Leela Chitnis: Lonely In America

Character actress Shashikala, who was on a holiday in the United States and Canada recently, returned to Bombay with a heavy heart and sad memories. While on her holiday, she met a grocer in Connecticut, who informed her of the pathetic condition in which yesteryear’s superstar was living. Shashikala immediately went to see her. There, at a nursing home for the aged, she found Leela Chitnis! The lady who, till not long ago, was playing the doting mother’s roles, was lying all alone, abandoned by her family and friends and without a cent to her name. Only a kindly nurse was looking after her daily needs. Leela did not recognise Shashikala when she went to meet her and, in fact, is not in a condition to recognise anyone. A distressed Shashikala related this sad story to her journalist-publicist-friend, Hilla Sethna. Where are the veteran actress’ loved ones, one is led to ask!

This Wasn’t Off The Mark!

A first-year B.Com. paper on Mercantile Law at the M.S. University in Baroda, asked the candidates to write a short note on “offer and acceptance”. For one student, the answer lay in the offer of love by Amisha Patel in KN…PH and its acceptance by Hrithik Roshan.

The student’s answer read: “Amisha Patel offered a hand to Hrithik Roshan. Amisha Patel was after Hrithik Roshan like anything. Amisha Patel was from a very rich family. Hrithik Roshan was from a poor family. There was a villain between the two, who was her father. Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel were in deep love. They used to sing songs, run around the trees, sit together for hours and look into each other’s eyes.”

Did the answer get a big zero? Surprisingly, not! The answer was ‘accepted’ by the examiner who ‘offered’ the student a good six marks! Kaho naa…aisa aur kahin hota hai?

SHOOTING COVERAGE

MATTERS OF THE HEART

Is 28th June the day of the festival of colours? Holi usually falls in the month of March, then what’s the unit of Boney Kapoor’s Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai doing with colours in Hyderabad? We’d been told, they were wrapping up the patch-work shooting of the film, but then, the white shirt of director Satish Kaushik is dotted with red, blue, yellow and green colours. So is the white shirt of the assistant cameraman. Ditto the colourful shirts of several other unit members. Boney had earlier mentioned that Johny Lever’s character in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai is of a person who, when happy, celebrates any festival — be it Diwali, Holi or any other — any day. We wonder whether real life is emulating reel life and the unit-wallahs are following in the footsteps of Johny’s character. But we don’t have to wonder for long. Standing near the director’s chair on the set at Padmalaya Studios, plonk comes a coloured water drop on our shoulders! It’s the huge multi-coloured umbrella under which is placed Satish’s chair and the television monitor that’s responsible for the colourful welcome to us. You see, it’s been raining in Hyderabad, and the colours of the umbrella, which happened to be new, are running. No celebrations, no festivities!

BONEY’S ‘QUICKIE’

Actually, there is celebration in the evening. The film’s completion is reason enough for Boney to throw an impromptu party. It’s not just the completion but rather the quick completion which is the underlying point here. As Anil Kapoor, the film’s hero and co-producer, says, “It’s been completed in less than even a year.”

SATISH KAUSHIK MISSES A HEART BEAT

Satish Kaushik looks a trifle nervous at the party. The reason for his nervousness, which comes to light with the rising sun the following day, is quite cute. The director, not able to cope up with his nervousness any longer, telephoned Anil Kapoor in his hotel suite and told his actor the cause of his worry. As it happened, Boney had seen the rushes of the film in Bombay on the morning of 28th before leaving for Hyderabad, but he had not given any comments to Satish Kaushik about the film. This had made Satish nervous enough to think of the worst. “Maybe, Boney has not liked the film and is, therefore, avoiding talking to me about it,” the crest-fallen comedian-cum-actor told Anil. When Anil conveyed the director’s fears to his producer-brother, Boney could only laugh. “I didn’t tell him anything because there’s not much to be changed,” he told Anil. Then, explaining the same thing to Satish who was on tenterhooks, Boney reached Satish’s suite to reassure him that the film had shaped up very well and to discuss the “minor changes” that were to be effected.

A relaxed Satish is back at Padmalaya after being let down by rains for more than two hours. The patch-work scenes, which were to be shot outdoors, could not be shot due to the rains. In the studio, scenes with Anil Kapoor and Sonail Bendre are canned. “Just passing shots,” Anil informs. Literally so because Sonali is seated in a car which is supposed to be passing by!

AISH CRIES, SATISH SMILES

After these shots, a whole scene is reshot. It is an emotional encounter between Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai when the latter is packing her bags to leave the former’s home forever. The scene had been shot earlier but, both, Anil and Aishwarya, as well as Satish Kaushik felt, it could be improved by performances with a little more of feeling. Glycerine in Aish’s eyes, sorrow in Anil’s eyes — one take, two takes, three takes… after a few more, it’s joy in the director’s eyes. This is how he had wanted the scene.

A DIFFERENT STORY

Boney Kapoor lets us in on the story. Remake of the Telugu hit, Pelli Cheskundam (“don’t ask me the spelling, you please contact Mr. D. Rama Naidu for that,” jokes Boney), the film is about two principled human beings, Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. The film opens with a scene showing Anil, Aish and two kids. The audience is led into believing that theirs is a happy and complete family, but a couple of reels later, the truth is revealed. Anil and Aish are no man and wife and the little girl and boy are not the kids of either of them. As the story unfolds, you are informed that Aish is a rape victim, spurned by her family and best friend, secluded by society. Her rape was the result of her stand against a goonda — in other words, a result of her stand on a matter of principle. Anil Kapoor, who has met Aish briefly before her rape and rejection, offers her his home to live in. With nowhere else to go, Aish starts living with Anil. The two kids are Anil’s step-brother and -sister. Anil had gotten to know of his dad’s extra-marital alliance, from the dying mother of the two innocent children and he had confronted his father to give the two kids their rightful place in society. Scared to own up his waywardness, Anil’s father had point-blank denied any alliance with any woman, which had led the principled Anil to leave his own home and stay separately with his half-brother and -sister. It is in this home that Aish lives with the trio.

OF VOWING AND WOOING

Anil slowly but surely begins to love Aishwarya but the latter holds him in too high an esteem to even think of marriage with him. Enters Sonali Bendre who vows to bring back Anil to his parental home and woos him to win his heart. Aish feels jealous of Sonali. Hey! wait, isn’t this love? Aish has to admit that she, too, loves Anil. Just when you think, all’s well and that will end well, comes the bolt from the blue. The pre-climax and climax, quite understandably, have drama and melodrama as their high-points.

5-STAR COMEDY

Boney is quite confident that the five comedy tracks in the film — Anupam Kher, Johny Lever, Jaspal Bhatti, Satish Kaushik and a newcomer being the comedians — would appeal a great deal to the masses. Anupam Kher, a much married man, is in love with his neighbour’s wife and he pretends to be a somnambulist (one who walks in his sleep) to escape to the neighbour’s house every night. Johny Lever’s is the other comedy track, and the third light track is that of Jaspal Bhatti. Satish plays Anil’s secretary. The comedy of the newcomer, who is a look-alike of a veteran actor, springs from his single suit which he wears every day.

RELEASE DATE

When asked how he would release the film on 11th August when its music had not yet been released, Boney admitted quite frankly, “See, it is not as if the music of my film is going to draw the audience to the cinemas. Mine is a story-based film and its music will grow after the film is released. Even otherwise, Anil-starrers don’t take such a great start that I should be unduly concerned about the popularity of my film’s music prior to its release. I’ve got special posters printed with the release date (11th August) prominently displayed on them… I am confident of both, the film and its music.” Anil Kapoor adds, “Even if the film’s music is out on 10th August, we will release the film on 11th August.” Although the confidence of the two brothers is appreciable, still, we don’t quite see reason for them to hurry with the release of the film, a decision which they may have to regret later!

Brother Anil is branching out into independent production with Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik as his partners. Called Voice, his company will produce feature films and is already into production of software for television. To a question about how Anil would cope with the production problems alongside his acting career, the actor replied, “Even now, I am a producer. So, nothing’s going to change. I will not get into the day-to-day business of production. Plus, Boney is always there to help us.”

ESHA, “A STAR IN THE MAKING”

About the heroine of his Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe, which Boney shot in early June in the US, the producer says, “Esha Deol will be a big star, mark my words. She is simply remarkable.”

– Komal Nahta

REFUGEE

J.P. Films’ Refugee (UA) is a love story that crosses not just barriers but borders. A boy and a girl, living on either side of the Indo-Pakistan border, fall in love with each other but find themselves helpless as none of them is permitted by the law of his/her land to cross the border. The boy is a refugee who helps people, wishing to illegally cross the border, in their endeavour, for a fee charged by his guardian. He meets the girl during one such exercise. He is reformed by an Indian police officer and joins the police force to catch the culprits and terrorists. In the end, he also gets his love back. The story idea is novel but a loose screenplay does not let the idea blossom totally. Yet, the dialogues (O.P. Dutta) are gems and strike a chord in the viewers’ hearts.

The story-screenplay-dialogues apart, what makes the film likeable to a fair extent is the new romantic lead — Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. They lend an unmistakable touch of freshness to the subject and even though the film gets very boring at some places, the two newcomers keep the audience interest alive.

The film deals with Hindu-Muslim enmity and tries to show that except for politicians and people with ulterior motives, nobody is interested in war or rivalry between India and Pakistan. But this part of the sentiments (of a lurking desire to be friends) does not really touch the heart. In a way, all talk of patriotism and Indo-Pak amity is lost on the viewer as it looks contrived at many places. However, the biggest drawback remains the pace of the film and its loose editing. Director J.P. Dutta will have to edit the film afresh and chop off at least 20 minutes of the total running time (an impractical 3 hours, 17 minutes). In the alternative, distributors and exhibitors of the film will become self-styled editors and do the needful, either rightly or wrongly. In particular, the meeting scene between Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty, the action scene of Sunil Shetty amidst camels, the hospital scene can all be heavily trimmed. Climax and pre-climax are effective after a loose preceding portion.

Abhishek Bachchan makes an absolutely extraordinary debut in a role that’s not just difficult but also not very safe for a newcomer. Despite not having been exploited to the fullest, he mesmerises the audience with his electrifying screen presence, superb physique with an innocent face, excellent style of walking and running, expressive eyes, lovely dialogue delivery and voice, brilliant acting and superb action. The boy is true star material and will be loved by the public. Kareena Kapoor has a very pretty face and unbelievably expressive eyes which she uses very, very intelligently in her maiden film. She lacks sex appeal in the film but her performance is first-rate. Whether it is light scenes or dramatic ones, she does a marvellous job with the rarest of confidence for a first-timer. Jackie Shroff is effective and natural to the core. Sunil Shetty underplays beautifully and gives a very good account of himself. His sacrifice in the climax is heartwarming. The dance of Jackie and Sunil in the climax song is exhilarating. Anupam Kher gets into the skin of the character and acts ably. But his characterisation is weak. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is the best among the character artistes. He delivers a performance that’s just too brilliant. Reena Roy is alright. Sudesh Berry does quite well. Shadab Khan leaves a mark as Anupam’s wayward son. Avtar Gill is good. Ashish Vidyarthi does a fine job. Mukesh Tiwari stands his own. Arif Zakaria is good. Padmini Kapila, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Rajeev Goswami and the rest lend very good support.

J.P. Dutta’s direction is good but his screenplay is loose. Yet, he gives a fare different from the routine and scores there. Anu Malik’s music is melodious but all the songs are slow because the mood of the film demanded that. ‘Panchhi’, ‘Taal’ and the climax songs are very tuneful. Basheer Ali’s camerawork is a job very neatly done. Action (Bhiku Verma) should have been better. Background music is good.

On the whole, Refugee has taken a historic start and that’s 75% of the battle won. Despite not having sustaining power and no novel highlight scenes, the film will prove an earner on the strength of initial business, notwithstanding mixed reports. Muslims and ladies’ patronage will be a bonus. The film deserves tax-exemption and that, needless to add, will give longevity to the film. But the most urgent requirement is heavy re-editing if the first week collections are to be kept in tandem with the bumper opening.

Released on 30-6-2000 at Liberty and 23 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: simply like that of an Amitabh blockbuster of the eighties — or maybe, even better! …….Also released all over. Opening was EXTRAORDINARY everywhere, from North to South and East to West.

LATEST POSITION

The fabulous opening of REFUGEE is the talk of the trade.

Tarkieb is alright in Bombay and parts of U.P. mainly. 1st week Bombay 28,11,053 (68.35%) from 7 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 16,81,958 from 7 cinemas, Jamnagar (matinee) 25,915 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 12,70,145 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,90,127 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 34,12,585 (51.19%) from 11 cinemas; Lucknow 5,47,336, Agra 1,90,000, Varanasi 67,917 (1 unrecd.); Calcutta 10,77,595 from 6 cinemas; Nagpur 4,77,898 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 2,70,500, Akola 2,00,681, Raipur 1,20,520, Bhilai (gross) 2,00,670, Jalgaon 1,94,667; Indore 1,40,000 (2 on F.H.); Jaipur 3,15,694 (34.58%) from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 22,43,438 from 8 cinemas.

…………

Joru Ka Ghulam drops. 2nd week Bombay 21,02,271 (60.09%) from 6 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,90,000 from 3 cinemas, Jamnagar 40,454 (1 in matinee unrecd.); Pune 4,87,373 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,88,433; Delhi 14,61,925 from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,86,001 (1st 2,85,203), Agra 2,64,356, Varanasi 1,32,394; Calcutta 2,13,529; Nagpur 1,21,070, Amravati 1,34,868 (1st 2,06,475), Raipur 1,04,169, Chandrapur 86,004 (1st 1,51,543), Yavatmal 1,03,654, Bilaspur 67,103 (1st 1,25,113), Sagar (5 days) 31,152; Indore 1,40,487 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 2,26,920 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 3,91,599 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Josh 3rd week Bombay 38,88,162 (73%) from 11 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,44,681, Jamnagar 45,972, total 3,36,895; Pune 6,69,231 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,16,705 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 22,48,554 from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 3,80,948 (2nd 4,56,801), Agra (21 shows) 58,400, Varanasi 1,12,238, Hardwar 25,000, total 2,88,036, Muzaffarnagar 50,317, total 2,35,616; Calcutta 6,53,979 from 4 cinemas; Hajipur (14 shows) 29,160; Nagpur 4,94,101 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 1,69,197 (2nd 2,32,791), Akola 3 weeks’ total 4,85,476, Raipur (gross) 2,44,097, total 9,95,972, Durg 48,627, Jalgaon 94,427 (2nd 1,71,529), Yavatmal (3 days) 11,562, Bilaspur 75,296; Jaipur 3,06,835, Ajmer (28 shows, gross) 1,26,444, Bikaner 82,328; Hyderabad (gross) 9,18,110 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 24th week Bombay 3,88,936 (43.63%) from 2 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,27,263 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Pune 2,75,437 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 64,929 (23rd 75,636), Barsi 7 weeks’ total 4,21,679; 24th Delhi 1,31,582; Lucknow 1,15,785 (23rd 1,20,982), Agra 55,390, Varanasi 66,921; Nagpur 85,258 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 47,605, Akola 50,621, total 26,22,349, Raipur 44,789, 23rd week Chandrapur 62,571, total 27,36,228; 24th week Jaipur 94,598; Hyderabad (gross) 2,50,413 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.).

IMPDA TO HOLD ELECTIONS EVERY 2 YEARS

At an extraordinary general meeting of the Indian Motion Picture Distributors’ Association (IMPDA), held on 29th June at the association’s office in Bombay, it was resolved to hold elections to its executive committee every two years instead of annually, as at present. Therefore, an elected committee will henceforth hold office for two years. However, the annual general meeting will be held every year. The resolution will become effective after the IMPDA annual general meet and elections in September this year.

‘DULHAN HUM LE JAYENGE’ 100 DAYS

Producer Gordhan Tanwani’s Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge completes 100 days of its run today (July 1) at Novelty (matinee), Bombay and other stations. The film, directed by David Dhawan, stars Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Om Puri, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Himani Shivpuri, Johny Lever and Rakesh Bedi. Music: Himesh Reshammiya.

DOLBY DIGITAL EX SOUND AT JAYA, BOMBAY

Jaya cinema (Borivli), Bombay, has been equipped with Dolby Digital EX sound system (8-track). It has become operational with Refugee, released this week. This sound system has also become operational from 30th June at Gaiety, Bandra, Bombay, with Refugee. Galaxy, Bandra, has the same sound system which will become operational from 7th July with Bichhoo.

COURT DISALLOWS STAY ON RELEASE OF ‘EAST IS EAST’

Star Entertainment Ltd., the Indian distributors of East Is East (English), got a court ruling on 29th June against plaintiffs Mahal Pictures Ltd., Bombay, which had sought to prevent the release of the film in India.

Mahal Pictures Ltd. had alleged that the inclusion of two songs from its film, Pakeezah, in East Is East was distasteful and made a mockery of the film, besides amounting to an illegal use of its property. HMV produced evidence that it (HMV) was the legal owner of the music of Pakeezah, and not Mahal Pictures.

Jiten Hemdev, managing director of Star Entertainment, submitted that the right for the usage of the two songs of Pakeezah had been duly licensed by HMV to the producers of East Is East for a valuable consideration. The court ruled that Mahal Pictures had no locus standi as the copyright of the songs belonged to HMV.

East Is East (English) and its Hindi dubbed version, East Phir Bhi Hai East, will therefore be released on 7th July, as scheduled, in Bombay and other cities. The Hindi version has been released this week in Calcutta. The English version was released yesterday (30th June) in Delhi, Calcutta and Bangalore.

NEW AC PLANT FOR REGAL, BOMBAY

Regal cinema, Bombay, which screens English films, is closed since 9th June. The cinema is replacing its 50-year-old air-conditioning plant with an ultra-modern one imported from Malaysia. The cinema will reopen on July 14/21.

ABCL SUED FOR BREACH OF TRUST

The Greater Kailash police of New Delhi recently lodged cases of criminal misappropriation against ABCL chairman Amitabh Bachchan and vice chairperson Jaya Bachchan on the basis of the order passed by metropolitan magistrate Manoj Jain.

The police registered three cases against ABCL for alleged criminal breach of trust in its dealings with New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV) by non-payment of dues of over Rs. 10 crore.

The metropolitan magistrate, after hearing NDTV’s complaint, had ordered the police to register the cases and complete the investigation before August 3, the next date of hearing.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), ABCL had worked as an agent for NDTV for its ‘Budget ’96’ programme telecast by Doordarshan on July 22, 1996. After deducting its 20% commission and paying the telecast fees to Doordarshan, ABCL was supposed to pay NDTV Rs. 85.94 lakh, which it did not.

The second FIR said that ABCL, as an agent for NDTV’s ‘Tonight’ programme, was to pay Rs. 3.55 lakh per episode to the television channel between May 13 and October 18, 1996, but did not pay its share amounting to Rs. 4.10 crore, as per the agreement.

According to the third FIR, ABCL had allegedly misappropriated Rs. 5.50 crore which should have been paid to NDTV for the ‘Good Morning India’ programme.

‘KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI’ SILVER JUBILEE

Producer-director Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai entered its silver jubilee week run in 80 cinema halls all over India on June 30. Starring Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel, the film has music by Rajesh Roshan and cinematography by Kabir Laal. Writer: Honey Irani.

SUDHAKAR BOKADE ATTEMPTS SUICIDE

Producer Sudhakar Bokade consumed an overdose of sleeping pills on 27th June, in an attempt to commit suicide, according to a report published in a Marathi daily of Bombay. The producer was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, Bandra, Bombay. This was reportedly Bokade’s third attempt at committing suicide by swallowing sleeping pills. Acute mental depression seems to have driven the producer to take this drastic step.

It has also been reported that Sudhakar Bokade’s wife has filed a petition for divorce from him.

It is also well-known that Bokade has been in a state of depression ever since the progress of Kalingaa was brought to a halt following his dispute with Dilip Kumar who was directing the film.

IMAX COMES TO INDIA

The Indian screen will assume an unprecedented dimension with the opening of IMAX Adlabs Theatre in November/December this year in Bombay. Setting up the state-of-the-art cinema in Bombay is the brainchild of Adlabs chief Manmohan Shetty. The IMAX Adlabs Theatre, an IMAX Dome theatre, coming up at Wadala, Bombay, will be part of a four-cinema multiplex. The IMAX Dome, which is 30 metres (100 feet) in diameter, will be the largest IMAX dome in the world and the first of its kind in the Indian subcontinent. The Dome theatre will have 520  seats, with 6 seats reserved for the disabled. The admission rates will be Rs. 150 for adults, and Rs. 75 for children under 12.

At a press conference held at the Rooftop Oberoi, Bombay, on June 29, Manmohan Shetty said, “Since 1972, I have been thinking of IMAX cinema in India but could not give shape to my thoughts due to various difficulties. The Nehru Planetarium was also trying to set up an IMAX cinema but it couldn’t succeed. Every time I went to an IMAX theatre abroad, I invariably thought that India should also have an IMAX theatre.”

10 SHOWS A DAY

The theatre, housed in an area of 942.83 square metres, will screen 10 shows a day with each film running for approximately 40 to 50 minutes. According to Shetty, “The IMAX cinema is expected to benefit the students’ community as it will provide education and entertainment.”

Besides the IMAX Dome theatre, the other 3 screens will show regular (35mm/70mm) films. “The cinema will have a lot of parking space and it is located mid-town, which would make it accessible from any part of Bombay. Arrangements will be made for online booking of tickets and we are also negotiating with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) to promote the theatre as a tourist attraction.”

Of a height equivalent to almost that of an 8-storey building, the IMAX screen (on which 15/70mm frame is projected) is ten times larger than the conventional 35mm screen and five times bigger than the 70mm screen. The IMAX screen, made up of a special diffused matte white vinyl perforated with thousands of tiny holes, is specially made for “accoustical transparency”. The IMAX 6-channel, high-fidelity motion picture sound system, with sub-bass, eliminates variation in volume and sound quality over the theatre’s seating area. The IMAX projectors are said to be the most advanced, the highest precision and the most powerful projectors. The projection is done through Rolling Loop film movement. The Rolling Loop advances the film horizontally in a smooth wave-like motion thus providing outstanding image clarity.

IMAX: A BRIEF HISTORY & INFORMATION

♦ The IMAX system has its roots in EXPO ’67 in Montreal, Canada, where multi-screen films were the hit of the fair. A small group of Canadian filmmakers/entrepreneurs (Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr) decided to design a new system using a single powerful projector rather than the cumbersome multiple projectors used at that time. The result was the IMAX projection system.

♦ The IMAX technology was premiered at Fuji Pavilion EXPO ’70 in Osaka (Japan). The first permanent IMAX projection system was installed at Ontario Place’s Cinesphere in Toronto in 1971. IMAX Dome (OMNIMAX) debuted at Reuben H. Fleet Space Theatre in San Diego in 1973.

♦ In 1997, Imax Corporation won an Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ highest honour, for scientific and technical achievement in films.

♦ There are more than 150 films in the IMAX medium film library.

♦ There are currently 210 permanent IMAX theatres in 26 countries. Of these, 80 theatres are equipped with IMAX 3-D technology. The 3-D films can be screened only on flat IMAX screen and not on IMAX Dome.

♦ IMAX Corporation, founded in 1967 and headquartered in Mississauga, Canada, is the pioneer and leader of giant-screen large format film and motion simulator entertainment.

♦ IMAX has forged alliances with prominent corporations of the world including The Walt Disney Company, whose Fantasia 2000 had created new records in the USA, Famous Players Inc., America Online and Loews Cineplex Corporation.

ADLABS ADDS ON

Founded by Manmohan Shetty and Vasant Mamania in 1978, Adlabs Films Ltd. initially catered to only the ad films market. Processing documentaries and short films then became a part of Adlabs’ growing business. Adlabs was the first film processing laboratory to introduce the blow-up printing facility — from 16mm to 35mm. The lab’s expansions plans saw the company re-equip itself with state-of-the-art film processing. The company, from processing 16mm, 35mm, 70mm and Cinemascope films, has now pioneered the giant-screen projection in India, the IMAX!

When asked whether he was planning anything bigger than IMAX, Manmohan Shetty quipped, “If anything bigger than this comes along, we will not lose an opportunity to go for it!” When asked about whether he would be granted tax-holiday by the Maharashtra government for his pioneering effort in the country, the Adlabs MD informed, “I don’t know the state government’s stand. I will ask Mr. Kiran Shantaram to help me out.”

FUTURE PLANS

The project has entailed an overall investment of Rs. 52 crore. When asked when he will break even, Shetty disclosed, “That will take about 5 years.” To another question about who had financed the project, he informed, “Adlabs and their banks… If IMAX works here, I swill be setting up one more, in Bangalore. Someone else is planning an IMAX theatre in Hyderabad. But I will not do anything of this sort in Delhi. I don’t like Delhi!”, he chuckled.

The IMAX Adlabs Theatre has been designed by well-known architect Raja Aederi, who has built the grand ICICI building at the Bandra-Kurla complex.

Peggy May of IMAX Corporation said, “IMAX has come about to educate and entertain future generations.”

Mukta Arts To Go Public

Monday, July 10 will be a red-letter day for one of the biggest filmmakers of Bombay. This is one Monday which will be as crucial as a Friday of an eagerly-awaited release. For, on that day will open the public issue of Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts Limited. The customary question — “How is the opening?” — which the film trade asks on a Friday when a new film hits the screens, will be the premium question on July, the 10th. It’s a different issue that all big films, like those made by Subhash Ghai and his Mukta Arts banner, have always become ‘public issues’, discussed with great excitement before and after the release!

The public issue of Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts Limited is all set to open on July 10. The IPO is for 50,00,000 equity shares of the face value of Rs. 5 each, at a premium. The issue price is expected to be between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200. Mukta Arts, the banner behind such money-spinners as Hero, Karma, Saudagar, Khal-Nayak, Pardes and Taal, is looking to finance future plans by going in for a public issue.

The banner has, in the last few years, diversified into allied businesses and is proving equally lucky in the new enterprises. Its studio — Audeus — providing production and post-production facilities, is doing brisk business, so much so that plans are afoot to expand the business. Towards this end, Mukta has finalised the deal for acquisition of the first floor of the building which houses Audeus. Just in March 2000, Mukta Arts alongwith Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs put a telecine unit at Film City in Bombay. Besides giving quality service to producers, the telecine unit is giving Mukta Arts quality returns on its huge investment.

So what are the expansion plans of Mukta Arts?

1) Film Training Institute: One of the objectives of the present resource raising exercise through the IPO is to fund a Film Training Institute. Mukta has plans to establish a training institute which will groom new talents in the film industry in various related areas like acting, direction, photography, cinematography, sound technology, etc. Commercial operations are expected to begin in October 2002.

2) Movie Production with other directors: Mukta has plans to hire other directors (apart from promoter Subhash Ghai) for making films (and adding to its software library). It proposes to produce three categories of films with budgets of Rs. 1 crore, Rs. 5 crore and Rs. 10 crore.

3) Production of teleserials and music albums: Mukta has chalked out plans to produce TV serials as well as music albums which, again, will be a part of its software library for the future.

4) Expansion and upgradation of its hardware facilities: The Company’s existing post-production studio — Audeus — is proposed to be upgraded to include music recording facilities, mixing facilities and graphic editing suites. This will not only consolidate the Company’s existing hardware back-up for its in-house production ventures, but will also contribute significantly to a steady flow of revenue through the hiring of facilities to other producers and processors. Commercial operations will begin in the expanded project from October 2000.

5) Film Distribution: Mukta has plans to set up distribution centres overseas (in the USA, the UK and the Middle East) in order to exercise direct control on the distribution of films belonging to its software library and expand the revenue stream from this activity. The Company also has plans to strengthen its domestic marketing network by setting up distribution centres across the country.

6) Webcasting: Mukta has plans to exploit the internet as a content-providing medium to expand its reach.

7) Software Library: The growing software library of Mukta (which the Company intends to enhance and enrich through acquisition of popular entertainment content) will remain a steady revenue earner in future.

The IPO of Mukta Arts may well change the face of film business in India. In that sense, it is the beginning of an entirely new chapter in showbiz. Like Mukta Arts was the first film production company to have its film (Taal) insured, its public offering is also the first of its kind in Bombay filmworld. As Subhash Ghai, the man behind Mukta Arts, says, “I would like people to share in my company’s success.” As in the case of insurance, where other producers have started insuring their films, likewise, the IPO of Mukta Arts may well trigger off a trail of public issues in the industry.

Especially, the IPO of Mukta Arts is an important event for the industry because it would seek to legitimise the transactions in the industry which, of late, have come under a cloud for various reasons. “Besides promoting new talent, Mukta Arts will bring back the glory of the film industry,” informed an ecstatic Ghai. “What’s more, Mukta Arts will also encourage talented producers and directors who have ideas and who are men of integrity. For such people, money will never be a constraint,” added Subhash Ghai. The public issue of Mukta may, in the days to come, prompt good production companies, who are down and out, to once again stand on their feet. As Ghai said,”I am striving to give something to the industry which has given me so much.” It would not be out of place to mention here that Ghai is a first-generation producer-director, who started out on his own in this ultra-competitive industry and has, in a span of 25 years, built a veritable empire called Mukta Arts. It may be this humble beginning of his that has prompted his company to introduce non-star sons and daughters to the world of films. Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala and Mahima Chaudhry have all had no film background, but Mukta spotted their talent, groomed them and made them into saleable stars.

The film industry, as a whole, has been booming in the last decade. Film business has multiplied manifold. Export earnings of the Bombay film industry, which used to be in double-figure crores, went up to Rs. 665 crore in 1999 and are expected to be Rs. 14,700 crore in five years. The total revenue generation of the film industry is also expected to take a five-fold jump — from Rs. 6,215 crore in 1999 to Rs. 33,984 crore in 2005. Specifically, Mukta Arts’ Taal alone generated Rs. 22.99 crore revenue for the company!

Mukta Arts’ public offering will consist of book-building portion and fixed price portion. The book-building portion will open on July 10 and close on July 15.

It does not need to be reiterated that the music of Ghai’s films have always cast a magical spell on the listener. Will his IPO cast a magical spell on the investor? The filmmaker must have definitely worked hard to ensure that the public investment makes enchanting music for him now, and for the investors in the years to come — in the shape of rich and rewarding dividends. Not a Taal — sorry, tall claim, this!

YOU ASKED IT

How will Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai be released on 11th August when its music has not yet been released?

– Why only music, the promotional trailers of the film also have not begun to be shown on satellite channels. But producer Boney Kapoor is hell-bent on getting the film on August 11.

Like Refugee and Bichhoo were to be released on the same day, two forthcoming big films — Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa and Dhadkan — are also scheduled to come in opposition of each other on 18th August. So also, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai and Deewane on 11th August. Will history repeat and will there be postponements?

– History may not repeat so fast, but still, you never know!

Various state chief ministers go abroad to seek investments from NRIs. Why don’t our producers, wanting to make mega-budget films, seek NRI funds? Will the NRIs be willing to invest in films in India?

– NRIs and even foreigners are willing to invest in films in India but they are put off by the lack of discipline, organisation and transparency.

DO YOU KNOW?

* REFUGEE has created a city record by collecting 27,682/- on the first day (5 shows) at Dilip, Ballarpur.

* Sandesh has the distinction of being the first cinema in Nasik district to have installed Dolby Digital Sound. REFUGEE opened at the cinema this week. 

* REFUGEE opened to 100% houses on its first day at Vinay, Adipur. The cinema has started online ticket booking (www.kandlaonline.com), making it the first cinema in Saurashtra-Kutch to do so. 

* REFUGEE has created a city record by collecting 2,64,281/- on the first day from 5 cinemas of Nagpur. Two cinemas drew all 4 shows full, while in each of the 3 other cinemas, 3 shows were full.

* REFUGEE has created a theatre record by collecting 40,982/- on the opening day at Vasant, Akola. All 5 shows were full. Heavy crowds were witnessed at the cinema and hundreds of people, without tickets, had to return home in every show!

* REFUGEE took a bumper opening at Raj, Raipur, by drawing all shows full in advance on the 1st day. It collected 94,560/- (gross).

* REFUGEE has created a city record by collecting 60,506/- on the opening day (5 shows) at Jayant, Chandrapur. 

* REFUGEE drew all 6 shows full in advance at Shree Venkateshwara, Bhilai, and collected 77,306/- (gross) on the opening day, thereby creating a city record.

* REFUGEE has created a city record by collecting a total of 85,477/- on the opening day at Bilaspur (2 cinemas): Jeet (6 shows) 65,422/-, city record; Balram (4 shows) 20,055/-.

* REFUGEE has created a city record on the first day at Mohan, Khamgaon (C.P. Berar).

HALF-YEARLY CLASSIFICATION: 2000

(Total Releases: 87 Films, including 30 dubbed films)

The two releases of this week — REFUGEE and EAST PHIR BHI HAI EAST (dubbed) — have not been classified, though they have been considered in arriving at the total number of releases.

AAA (Super-Duper Hit)

KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI
(lesser in a couple of circuits)

AA (Super-Hit)

–

A1 (Hit)

–

A (Semi–Hit)

–

BB (Overflow)

Kya Kehna!
(‘A1‘ in Bombay)

Commission To Overflow

Badal
(‘A‘ in Punjab; average in some circuits)

B1 (Commission Earner)

–

Coverage To Commission

Josh
(overflow in Bombay, Nizam & Mysore; losing in some circuits)
The World Is Not Enough (dubbed)

Coverage

Mela (commission-earner in some circuits; losing in some)
Pukar (tax-free in several states) (losing in some circuits; overflow in Bombay)
Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge (losing in some circuits; commission earner in a couple of circuits)
Khiladi Khatron Ka (dubbed)

The Rest

…………

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

A Sellout, Gee!

The trade had scoffed at J.P. Dutta when he announced Refugee. “Oh, what a bad title”, “Who will understand the English title?”, and “It’s so difficult to pronounce” were the kind of comments that did the industry rounds. But J.P. did not budge. Today, this very “bad title”, “English title” and “difficult to pronounce” title has broken records as far as the advance booking is concerned. The crowds for the advance booking outside Bombay cinemas, where the film opened on Friday, were to be seen to be believed on Monday (June 26) morning. Even in centres like Nagpur and Amravati, where there exists no system of advance booking, the distributor of Refugee experimented with an advance booking for the film and boy! the booking was indeed brilliant.

All the 28 shows of the first week at Smruti cinema of Nagpur were booked en bloc in advance by clubs and societies! At Palanpur in Gujarat, two screens in the same premises are showing Refugee in its first week — a record. City Pulse cineplex in Gandhinagar opened plans on Sunday (June 25) and the booking was outstanding!

Trimmed

J.P. Dutta is known to make lengthy films. As always, Refugee has also turned out to be lengthy. The censored film had a running time of 3 hours and 29 minutes. Now, distributors are known to detest anything that has a running time of over 3 hours because it means starting the first show of the day before 11 a.m. Since it becomes difficult for housewives to leave their homes early in the day, distributors prefer that films begin after 11.30 a.m. or, better still, at 12 noon. Yielding to distributors’ and exhibitors’ demands, J.P. once again sat over its editing and chopped off 12 minutes from the censored copy. Resultantly, the film now has a running time of 3 hours and 17 minutes. But even this is too lengthy and the film gets boring at several places. Rather than wait for Dutta to agree to effect cuts, some enterprising distributors of the film themselves effected cuts from the second and third show itself, on the first day! Reportedly, J.P. Dutta will also be effecting further cuts.

‘Dil’ Pleasing

The promotional trailers that will endear themselves to the telly-viewers are those of Boney Kapoor’s Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, which we saw earlier this week in Hyderabad where the film was being shot in its last spell. They are sure to win hearts when they appear on TV channels in a few days’ time from now. The promos give enough hint of a film with a very good subject value. The subject focusses on two principled characters played by Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. The girl becomes a rape victim and she is stigmatised by her own people and the society. How the principled hero gives her shelter forms the crux of the story, but then that’s not the whole story.

The film surely provides wholesome entertainment. Check it out for yourself when the film releases on August 11, this year! Boney is on the fast track with this film.

TARKIEB

Jay Movies’ Tarkieb (A) is a suspense thriller. A girl is murdered and her body, dismembered. The case lands in the lap of an expert CBI officer when the police fails to trace the killer. The CBI officer raises fingers of suspicion against a handful of people and even as the mystery thickens, he ultimately solves the murder case by catching the murderer. While there are some thrilling scenes, the biggest drawback of the film is that it is terribly slow. The post-interval portion, especially, gets so repetitive that it tests the viewers’ patience. Since there’s not much relief or diversion, the drama gets monotonous. The monotony gives way to a feeling of being cheated when the identity of the killer is revealed in the climax. That is because the killer turns out to be the man with the least face value and the revelation of whose identity does not have any shock value. His modus operandi of the murder is also not exciting. Further, the suspense does not engage or involve the audience into the guessing game, so essential for a hit suspense drama.

On the positive side, the film has some wonderful pieces of dialogues (Moin-ud-din). So, while Moin-ud-din’s story and screenplay leave a lot to be desired, his dialogues are praiseworthy.

Nana Patekar, as the CBI officer, does a brilliant job. He does not go overboard even once and gets into the skin of the character. In one word, he is first-rate. Tabu is restrained, according to the demand of the role. Shilpa Shetty exudes oomph with a wonderful figure. She acts ably and dances wonderfully. Ashutosh Rana is par excellence. He matches Nana’s performance in scenes showing them together. There’s a certain magic about this actor, that’s endearing too. Raghubir Yadav is a highlight. The entire episode of his with Nana Patekar is superb and actually provides the much-needed relief. Aditya Pancholi acts well. Milind Soman is fair but falters in dramatic scenes. Tiku Talsania does a fine job. Akhilendra Mishra is quite good. Vinod Nagpal, Deepak Qazir, Javed Khan, Shehzad Khan and the rest lend very good support.

Esmayeel Shroff’s direction is fair but his selection of the subject is not even that. Further, he has made the film too slow to be true, at several places. One song — ‘Duppatte ka pallu’ — is very well-tuned (Aadesh Shrivastava) but a couple of others are boring and slacken the pace of the drama. A couple of dance picturisations are heavenly, thanks to Shilpa’s sensuous dances. Background score (Sanjay Chowdhry) is fantastic. Camerawork (Mazhar Kamran) is okay. Editing is not sharp. Other technical and production values are of a fair standard.

On the whole, Tarkieb is a dull fare from the point of view of the masses. It has some appeal for the class audience and will do fair in good cinemas of cities, especially in Bombay and Maharashtra.

Released on 23-6-2000 at Metro and 17 other cinemas of Bombay thru Nobel Film Distributors. Publicity & opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was good in Gujarat and Delhi-U.P. but below the mark in several other circuits.

LATEST POSITION

All eyes are on the advance booking of REFUGEE, due for release next week.

Joru Ka Ghulam is good in Maharashtra and U.P. mainly. 1st week Bombay 33,41,475 (82.63%) from 8 cinemas (12 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 13,07,916 from 6 cinemas, Rajkot 2,36,635 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 1,25,151 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 14,43,629 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), share about 7,50,000, Solapur 3,23,392 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 1,76,484 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 32,22,248 (55.50%) from 10 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 2,85,203, Bareilly 1,15,240; Amritsar 54,750; Calcutta 7,11,846 from 4 cinemas (others undisclosed); Nagpur 5,00,064 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,83,732, Amravati 2,06,475, Wardha 87,427, Chandrapur 1,51,543, Yavatmal 1,56,515; Indore 2,29,000 (4 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,85,836 from 3 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 28,50,450 from 11 cinemas.

………….

Josh is good in Maharashtra and South. 2nd week Bombay 62,77,309 (88.82%) from 13 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 15,42,111 from 9 cinemas, Rajkot 1,73,845 (1 in matinee unrecd.), Jamnagar (28 shows) 87,820; Pune 12,27,033 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,85,235 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 2,18,829 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 40,85,728 from 8 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Lucknow 5,99,807 from 2 cinemas, Bareilly (6 days) 72,866; Calcutta 9,58,056 from 3 cinemas (others undisclosed); Hajipur 44,379 (1st 68,000); Nagpur 6,13,075 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,32,591, Amravati 2,32,791 (1st 3,15,110), Durg 66,006, Wardha (5 days) 53,824, 1st Chandrapur 2,46,572, Yavatmal (3 days) 25,446; 2nd week Jaipur 3,61,744; Hyderabad (gross) 13,25,636 from 4 cinemas; Vijayawada (gross) 2 weeks’ total 7,56,738 from 3 cinemas.

Kya Kehna! drops at several places but is steady in some others. 5th week Bombay 19,71,192 (47.55%) from 4 cinemas; Ahmedabad 4,98,723 from 4 cinemas; Pune 2,42,900 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), 4th Solapur (matinee) 52,808; 5th week Delhi 8,44,575 from 4 cinemas; Lucknow 2,75,986, Bareilly 57,762; Calcutta 6,70,286 from 8 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 2,73,626 from 3 cinemas, 4th week Jabalpur 95,650, total 4,81,757, 5th Amravati (6 days) 1,06,332, 4th Durg 40,194, 2nd week Jalgaon 1,62,078, 5th week Wardha (3 days) 18,519, Chandrapur 63,545, total 5,99,606; Indore 1,83,228 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal 1,12,000; Jaipur 2,21,445; Hyderabad (gross) 2,38,364.

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 23rd week Bombay 4,29,704 (48.21%) from 2 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,96,324 from 4 cinemas; Pune 1,92,005 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 75,636, 21st week Satara (matinee) 24,731; 23rd week Delhi 1,79,779 from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 1,20,982, 3rd week Bareilly (revived) 32,741; 23rd week Calcutta 82,004; Nagpur 81,877 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 55,344, total 25,73,407, Amravati 64,019, Akola 63,282, Raipur 54,781, 21st Bhilai 19,055, 1st week Dhamtari 1,31,111, 2nd week 4 days 57,482, 23rd week Jalgaon (27 shows) 50,971, 22nd week Chandrapur 54,919, total 26,73,657, 3rd week Burhanpur (2nd run) 22,200, 5th week Ambikapur 51,940, 2nd week (6 days) Paratwada 57,936, 2nd week (3 days) Bhandak 15,153, 1st week (4 days) Hinganghat 33,600; 23rd week Bhopal 61,636; Jaipur 50,235; Hyderabad (gross) 2,60,549 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon; 1 on F.H.).

CHETAN STUDIO INAUGURATED

J.P. Dutta and Bindiya Dutta inaugurated Chetan Studio on 18th June. Owned by K.L.J. group of companies, the studio is located at floor no. 2, Mehta Estate, opp. Mohan Studio, Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (E), Bombay-59. The inauguration was attended by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain, AMPTPP president Pahlaj Nihalani, Mehul Kumar, Keshu, Pravin Shah, Umed Jain, N.R. Pachisia, Raj Kumar Kohli, Jimmy Nirula, Madan Mohla, Neena Jalan, Hira, Himesh Reshammiya and others.

The studio has a permanent set of a huge bungalow, a suite room and an office.

The launching was followed by a luncheon party.

DOLBY DIGITAL EX SOUND AT GAIETY-GALAXY

Gaiety and Galaxy cinemas of Bombay have been equipped with Dolby Digital EX sound system (8-track). While the new sound system will become operational at Gaiety from 30th June with Refugee, it will be operational at Galaxy from 7th July with Bichhoo. Jungle, like the aforesaid two films, is also mixed in 8-track sound.

The 8 tracks will be audible under the EX sound system as follows: left, centre, right, two subwoofers, extreme left surround, extreme right surround and back surround. Manoj Desai of Gaiety-Galaxy cinemas, explaining the salient features of the EX sound system, informed that Gaiety and Galaxy would be the first two cinemas in Bombay suburbs to be equipped with the EX sound system.

UTV COMPLETES A DECADE

UTV (United Television) completed 10 years on 22nd June. UTV has made tremendous progress during the last ten years and has turned into a big group with a work force of 730 persons. It had started with 16 people in 1990.

UTV has done pioneering work in the field of entertainment and has developed into a pan-Asian media company, providing TV content in seven Asian languages with operations in India, Singapore and Malaysia, regional broadcasting, post-production facilities, animation and almost all forms of allied content from commercial advertisements to motion picture productions.

CINEMA OWNER PASSES AWAY

Aziz Bhimani, owner of Diamond Cinema, Borivli (Bombay), passed away on the night of 16th June at his residence in Bombay following a protracted illness. He was 70. The cinema remained closed for a day on 17th.

TAMIL FILMS’ JAMES BOND PASSES AWAY

Jai Shankar, one of the most popular action heroes of Tamil films, passed away in Madras recently following heart failure. Having acted in more than 250 films, mostly action-oriented ones, Jai Shankar was hailed by the cinegoers as the ‘James Bond of the South’ for his super-quick reflexes and stylish action scenes. Making his debut in the sixties with Iravum Pagalum, he dominated the Tamil screen for more than two decades before he switched over to character roles in the latter years of his career.

NEW DISTRIBUTION OFFICE IN INDORE

A new distribution office — Kareena Films — opened in Indore on 21st June. The office, situated at 7, Vinay Apartment, GSTI Road, Indore, was inaugurated by film critic and publisher Brij Bhushan Chaturvedi. The concern, owned by Kamal Sewani, has Maut Ki Aahat, Dragon, Bhoot Hi Bhoot and Dolly Darling for C.I.

NEW MULTIPLEX IN RAJKOT

Bhupendra Chunibhai Mandliya, owner of Drive In, Rajkot, has applied for permission to construct a cinema multiplex 4 kms. away from Rajkot city. The work on the 3-screen multiplex will begin once Mandliya receives the mandatory NOC from the concerned authorities.

RATHORE BROTHERS BUY KISHOR CINEMA, BHOPAL

Prem Narayan Rathore (Bhajan Seth) and Radheshyam Rathore (Munia Seth) have purchased Kishor Cinema, Bhopal. The cinema will be completely renovated and it will be given a lavish look. It will reopen on Diwali. The Rathore brothers already have nine cinemas of their own in C.I. — at Guna, Shivpuri, Ashok Nagar and Aron.

SALMAN, OTHERS CHARGESHEETED IN POACHING CASE

The forest department of Rajasthan on 17th June chargesheeted the five stars — Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam — accused in the infamous poaching case, in a Jodhpur court. The five, along with a couple of others, had in October 1998 been held for allegedly hunting protected animals like the black buck and the chinkara in Jodhpur where they had gone for the shooting of Rajshri’s Hum Saath-Saath Hain. Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan were presented in the court on 17th. The actresses were granted exemption from appearing in the court.

The court of the Jodhpur chief judicial magistrate, Raj Kamal Gaur, has impounded Salman’s passport in the case.

BASANTA CHOWDHURY PASSES AWAY

Veteran Bengali film actor Basanta Chowdhury passed away on 20th June in Calcutta. He was 72 and had been suffering from lung cancer. He is survived by two sons.

Basanta Chowdhury, who starred in about 100 Bengali films, including Bhagaban Sri Krishna Chaitanya, Jadu Bhatta, Deep Jale Jai, Abhaya O Srikanta, Raja Rammohan Roy and Andhare Alo, had also acted in some Hindi films such as Ek Doctor Ki Maut, Grahan, Mahayatra and Yatrik.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai’ On August 11

Boney Kapoor and S.K. Films Enterprises’ Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai is scheduled for release on August 11 all over. Its dubbing is in progress. It was shot till last week in the USA where two songs were picturised. Directed by Satish Kaushik, it stars Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Sonali Bendre, Anupam Kher, Smita Jayakar, Tanaaz Currim, Satish Kaushik, Upasna Singh and Johny Lever. Music: Sanjeev Darshan. Lyrics: Javed Akhtar. Writer: Jainendra Jain. Producer: Surinder Kapoor.

‘Mohabbatein’ On Diwali

Yash Chopra’s Mohabbatein is due for release on Diwali. The film’s shooting is complete and its post-production work is on in full swing. Directed by Aditya Chopra, it stars Amitabh Bachchah, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Uday Chopra, Jugal Hansraj, Jimmy Shergill, Preeti Jhangiani, Kim Sharma and Shamita Shetty. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi.

‘Dhai Akshar Prem Ke’ Unit Returns

The unit of Inderjit Film Combine’s Dhai Akshar Prem Ke returned to India on June 22 following a 21-day shooting spell on picturesque locations in and around Scotland and Switzerland. Four songs were picturised using dancers specially contracted from Paris. Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai participated. The dances were choreographed by Saroj Khan. Being produced and directed by Raj Kanwar, the film co-stars Anupam Kher, Tanvi Azmi, Neena Kulkarni, Sushma Seth, Himani Shivpuri, Harish Patel, Supriya Karnik, Dalip Tahhil, Inder Sudan, Shakti Kapoor and Amrish Puri. Music: Jatin-Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer. Story: Raj Kanwar. Scenario: Ratna Rajaiah. Dialogues: Jainendra Jain. Cinematography: Ishwar Bidri. Art: R. Varman. Action: Bhiku Verma. Editing: Kuldeep Mehan. Audiography: Jagmohan Anand. K. Pappu is the film’s co-producer.

YOU ASKED IT

High film prices and high star prices but low collections. Is there a way out?

– How can there be a way out when stars are few and takers are many, when makers are few and again, takers are many. As for low collections, the only way out is to make films, not proposals.

Why is there suddenly a lull in the public issue efforts of film people?

– A couple of film/television-software producers, who were to come out with public issues, have back-tracked for different reasons. Proposals of one or two have been rejected by the National Stock Exchange. The public issue of Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts is due around 10th July.

To what do you attribute the expected grand opening of Refugee?

– To its melodious music, to the new lead pair in the film, and to its extremely well-thought out promotion.

Besides Refugee and Bichhoo, can you say, which forthcoming film will take a good start?

– KUNWARA and HAR DIL JO PYAR KAREGA will take flying starts.

Guddu’s Goodness Gladdens Hearts

The industry heaved a sigh of relief on Monday (19th June) when producer-director Guddu Dhanoa finally announced that he would postpone the release of his Bichhoo by one week so as not to get it in opposition of J.P. Dutta’s Refugee. The announcement was met with cheers in trade circles.

The simultaneous scheduled release of Refugee and Bichhoo on 30th June was giving distributors and exhibitors of the two films sleepless nights because both are big films and are expected to command bumper initials. Since there was no major release the following week (on 7th July), the trade felt that rather than letting two films clash, it would be only too appropriate if one maker postponed his release by just one week. Further, since Refugee stars newcomers Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor, industry interest in the film is immense.

Going back a little, it may be mentioned here that Guddu Dhanoa had scheduled Bichhoo for release on 30th June several months back. On the other hand, Refugee, which was due for release much earlier, kept getting postponed by one week at a time till finally it was announced for a definite release on 30th June. In fact, Guddu Dhanoa had settled for June 30 also because his distributor for Delhi-U.P. and East Punjab, who is the Delhi-U.P. distributor of Refugee too, had convinced him that Refugee would be released before June 30. Embarrassed that Refugee was clashing with Bichhoo and also unhappy that his two films would be in opposition of each other, the Delhi-U.P./East Punjab distributor at one stage was even contemplating relinquishing the Delhi-U.P. rights of Refugee. Although Guddu Dhanoa was not obliged to take the imminent relinquishment into consideration, that was also a reason for his postponing Bichhoo. That way, his distributor would not have to relinquish any rights, he reasoned out.

It is very creditable that despite no fault of his, Guddu Dhanoa volunteered to postpone Bichhoo by a week, bowing down to the wishes of distributors of the two films and exhibitors who would be screening the two films. It is praiseworthy that Guddu announced the postponement of his own volition and did not wait for somebody associated with Refugee to make the first move to approach him (Guddu) and request for a postponement. By doing so, Guddu Dhanoa has given ample proof of his noble intentions and of having the industry’s good at heart.

Distributors and exhibitors of not only Dhanoa’s Bichhoo but also of Dutta’s Refugee are the ones who are the most touched by Guddu’s good deed. Three cheers to Guddu Dhanoa on that one!

– Komal Nahta

History Repeats!

Reproduced hereunder is an item published in the 3-E column of our issue dated 7th June, 1997. It would seem that J.P. Dutta’s films always stir up some controversy or the other. But similar controversies in 1997 and 2000?!? Take a look:

Raj Kanwar’s Second Gesture

It has been Raj Kanwar again, who has shown grace by postponing the release of Itihaas by a week so that Border has no opposition. Border last week was postponed by a week and will now come on 13th June, the day on which Itihaas was earlier scheduled for release. The funny part is that Itihaas release was planned for 13th June, only because Border was initially due to come on 31st May. Raj Kanwar had at that time personally met J.P. Dutta and asked him about the release plans of Border and, on his own, volunteered to come two weeks after Border. The latter film later got postponed by a week, to 6th June. Then, last week, it was decided to postpone Border by a further week. Raj Kanwar was initially reluctant to change his date and stuck to 13th June. After all, it wasn’t his fault if Border was postponed by a week. But Bharat Shah, who presents Border, requested Raj Kanwar to move ahead by one more week just one last time. There were meetings and telephonic conversations galore on 3rd June between Bharat Shah and Raj Kanwar. Finally, Raj relented and Bharatbhai beamed with joy. But Raj Kanwar, in agreeing to release  his Itihaas on 20th June, told Bharatbhai that should Border be further postponed, it would be Bharatbhai’s turn to not get it in opposition to Itihaas and, instead, schedule it for any day after 20th June. Bharatbhai, of course, agreed readily.

DO YOU KNOW?

* C.P. Berar distributor Laloo Kabra opened the advance booking of REFUGEE in Nagpur (5 cinemas), Amravati, Akola and Raipur on 22nd June — that is, eight days before the film’s release on 30th June. Normally, there is no system of advance booking in C.P. Berar. The case of REFUGEE is, however, different. So much is the craze for the film among the audience that the advance booking has been sensational in all the four cities. At Smruti cinema, Nagpur, a total of 20 shows had already been booked 100% by 23rd June! Incidentally, looking to the craze, Laloo has decided to open the film at non-simultaneous centres like Nandurbar on 30th June (premiere release) itself!

* Sindhra Movies International’s Punjabi Film, DARD PARDESAAN DEY, is doing well in cinemas of the United Kingdom. It has already had a 6-week run and is still going strong. The film, starring Avinash Wadhawan, Upasna Singh and Deepshikha, is directed by C.M. Nillay and produced by Tejinder Paul Singh and C.S. Sindra. It will be released in Punjab in July.

Producers Can Now Officially Sell Satellite Rights Of Films After One Year Of Theatrical Release
Video Rights Sale After 2 Weeks Disallowed Now
Associations Not To Interfere In Terms Of Agreement

In a major shift from the earlier joint policy of the Film Distributors Council (FDC) and the Film Makers Combine (FMC), which required producers to refrain from selling the telecasting and satellite rights of their films for five years from the date of their premiere theatrical release, producers can now sell the telecasting and satellite rights after one year of the theatrical release. Cable TV and video rights can now be sold not earlier than one year as against six months and two weeks respectively till now. This has been done because it was felt that telecast on cable TV and videos of new films were affecting business very badly. This and other decisions were taken at a meeting held on 19th June in Bombay at Hotel Sun-N-Sand between producers and the Central Circuit Cine Association, the body of distributors and exhibitors of C.P.C.I. Rajasthan. These decisions, arrived at at the said meeting chaired by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain, are likely to be adopted by other associations of distributors of different circuits in due course of time.

An exception has been made for films, the MG royalty agreements of which for a major territory do not exceed Rs. 25 lakh. Producers of such films are permitted to sell video and cable TV rights of their small-budget films after six months of their theatrical release. Satellite and television rights of the small-budget films, however, can be sold only after one year.

The above is effective from 19th June, 2000.

If any producer supplies his film for telecasting through any of the aforesaid means viz. satellite, television, cable TV or video before the stipulated time, he would be required to share 50% of the amount received from such sale among the all-India distributors and would be permitted to keep only the balance 50% for himself.

In case of agreements other than MG royalty or if the producer releases a film himself, there will be no restriction on time span for sale of the aforesaid rights.

It was also decided at the meeting that all theatrical rights for public exhibition in all formats without any exception would belong to distributors.

It was decided to set up a joint committee comprising five producers and five members of the CCCA to ensure implementation of the arrangements decided in the meeting.

It was agreed that the producer and the distributor shall be free to decide the terms of agreement and they (terms) will not be subject to any guidelines/directives of the respective associations. The producer and distributor would not be required to henceforth sign any declaration contrary to the terms and conditions of their agreement. The arrangement of 19th June was signed by the CCCA, the AIFPC, the Guild, the IMPPA and the WIFPA.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Simply Unprecedented

Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd., the Bombay distributors of Refugee, must be commended for the unprecedented publicity of the film. In Bombay city and suburbs alone, a record number of 45 vinyl (yes, vinyl!) hoardings have been put up at vantage points. There are big hoardings put up in Pune (15 totally), Kolhapur (10), Ahmedabad (20), Nasik (5), Surat (5) and Goa (2). In recent years, there has been no system of putting up hoardings outside Bombay city and suburbs. Devgan Entertainment has not put up so many hoardings even for Ajay Devgan starrers! This is not all. Even before the opening of advance booking (which opens on Monday), the Bombay distributors have already started accepting block-bookings for some cinemas. At Shreyas (Ghatkopar), so far, 10 shows have been booked; at Rahul, Pune, 12 shows have been booked. At Ahmedabad’s City Pulse, the film will be screened on two screens and extra shows will be held on Sunday at 8.30 a.m., for which 700 tickets have been group-booked. At Liberty and Chandan, Bombay, extra shows will be held at 9.a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There are also plans of releasing the film with a maximum number of prints. Incidentally, the film’s running time is 3 hours and 7 minutes.

Games Producers Play

Producers, applying for censorship of their films, are required to make a payment towards the Cine Workers Welfare Cess. This was made effective from 1994. But, soon after it came into effect, the IMPPA managed to get a stay order from the court against the cess. Till 1996, producers did not have to pay towards the welfare cess. But some time in 1996, the court’s verdict, in the appeal preferred by the Central government, went in favour of the government and thereby producers had to pay the cess along with the censor application. Just for your information, the cess payable for Hindi films is Rs. 10,000; for Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali films, it is Rs. 3,000; and for other language films, including English, the cess payable is Rs. 2,000. Those producers, who had not paid towards the Cine Workers Welfare Cess, when the stay order was in operation, are now liable to pay the cess. The CBFC has been contacting those producers who ‘escaped’ paying this cess at that time. When they send letters to the producers by registered post, the letters come back! When producers are attempted to be contacted telephonically, the CBFC gets replies such as, “The producer has shifted his office to an unknown destination” or “We have already sold the negatives, so we are not the producers now.” The CBFC is amused at such stock excuses. But it is keeping a close watch on these producers to corner them when they come to the CBFC office with the application for censoring their next film. Till then, it’s a game of hide and seek!

Roshan-Backed

It’s in their jeans. Their brand name, Pantaloon. And while they were making jeans, they were toying with the idea of making films, too. The first thing they thought of, besides the subject, was music director Rajesh Roshan. And when Vivek Singhania, CEO and director of PFH Entertainment as also the Pantaloon boss, met Rajesh Roshan, they narrated him the subject. This was much before the release of Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. Rajesh Roshan liked the subject. He opined that Hrithik Roshan suited the lead man’s role. As PFH were new entrants in the film domain, Rakesh Roshan volunteered to be the guiding force behind Na Tum Jaano Na Hum. Incidentally, the title is inspired from the popular song of KN…PH. The film’s director, Arjun Sablok, is a childhood friend of Hrithik and was an erstwhile assistant to Yash Chopra. He has directed a number of television serials including Missing for Sony.

Whither Title Value?

At the meeting of the IMPPA’s Title Registration Committee, held on 22nd June, producer-director Suneel Darshan and his father, Darshan Sabharwal, were prevailed upon to relinquish the title, Rishta – A Bond Of Love, which was registered in favour of Suneel Darshan (due to IMPPA’s “oversight”). Willy-nilly, Suneel gave up the title Rishta – A Bond Of Love. It is by now well-known that Rishta stood registered in favour of Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria even when Rishta – A Bond Of Love was registered in favour of Suneel. After giving up the title, Suneel Darshan asked for an alternative title, Ek Rishta, to which the IMPPA agreed. Goes to prove Suneel’s obsession for ‘Rishta’!

Similar is the case with the title Devdas, which was to be the title of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s new film. Sanjay has not been able to get the title as producer Kailash Chopra has been sitting on it since last some years. Sanjay has now titled his film Aaj Ka Devdas. Looks like, Sanjay will be making a modern film on the legendary Devdas — like a very aaj ka film!

SHOOTING COVERAGE

‘Aaghaaz’: A ‘Love’ly Experience!

Sunil Shetty loves Sushmita Sen. But he is married to Suman Ranganathan. Namrata Shirodkar loves Sunil Shetty. Sunil does not love Suman. He is fond of Namrata but isn’t in love with her. As Sunil Shetty says of the story of producer D. Rama Naidu’s Aaghaaz – The Beginning, “You’ve heard of a love story and a love triangle, but this one is a love square, what with four of us involved!” ‘Love’ly!!

We are in Hyderabad to cover the shooting of Naidu’s new venture which should be complete very soon. The lucky producer, who has struck gold countless number of times in Telugu, Tamil as well as Hindi films, plans to release Aaghaaz on Dassera this year.

Why such a difficult title for a mass-appealing film? Debut-making director Yogesh Ishwar answers that one. “It is an unusual title and one which suits the subject.” Yogesh, before getting his big break from Rama Naidu, used to direct videos for music companies. He had assisted Vinod Chopra in his earlier films. Although Yogesh is not happy remaking a film, he chose to remake a Telugu hit — Sivayya — because “it was a big break for me”. Moreover, he liked the original enough to inspire him to go ahead.

Rama Naidu, who seems to have perfected the art of remaking Telugu films, had five films lined up for remakes in Hindi. Yogesh was asked to see all of them and decide which he would like to remake. Naidu explains, “What to do? I had five daughters, all of marriageable age. No sense in keeping them at home, better to get them married.” He is, quite obviously, referring to his films as daughters. Even otherwise, girls are referrred to as Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth. And one does not need to be reminded of how wealthy Naidu is! His newest ‘daughter’ — the Telugu film, Kalisiundham Ra (meaning ‘Let’s Stay Together’) — has proved to be the biggest blockbuster ever of the Telugu film industry. It has crossed the business of the previous numero uno film, Samhar Simha Reddy.

The scene of activity is about 30 to 40 kilometres away from Hyderabad city. An old bungalow is turned into a police station of a village in Punjab. Sushmita Sen plays a police inspectress. Sunil Shetty and his brother-in-law, Sharad Kapoor, have come to the police station to meet her.

To meet us have come Naidu’s two illustrious sons — actor Venkatesh and producer Suresh. Older of the two, Suresh has very tiny hair on his head and explains, “I had been to Tirupathi where I offered my hair. It’s the first time I’ve done it because our Kalisiundham Ra has broken all previous Telugu film records.” Suresh informs, “Kalisiundham Ra completed 100 days in all the 76 centres it was released on the opening day. Even now, the film, which is nearing the silver jubilee mark, is doing extremely well.”

Has Venkatesh quit the Hindi film scene? The actor replies, “We will be starting a film very shortly, with Karisma and myself.”

For the present, however, the family is submerged into completing Aaghaaz — or, in other words, taking the Beginning to its logical Ending. Towards this end, the director is shooting till late hours — or rather, till the early morning hours of the following day. It’s strange how despite so much pressure, Sunil, Sushmita, Sharad Kapoor and Suman (Namrata isn’t around) manage to look fresh. Perhaps, it is the appreciation Sunil Shetty has got for Hera Pheri, and Sharad Kapoor for his performance in Josh, that’s giving them the extra energy to work harder and harder.

Also working hard is Naidu’s organisation. In the already huge studio premises has been added one more wing — that for physical special effects and making miniatures.

Sunil Shetty is yet another guy who has mega plans for the future. No place for mini-ideas here. The thinking actor is intelligent enough to know where to invest his money and he has got lined up several avenues of investment. And this time around, the guy won’t be up to plain Mischief (the name of his chain of readymade garments shop)!

– Komal Nahta

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

WELCOME POSTPONEMENT 

Dear Sir,

By postponing the release of his Bichhoo to 7th July and thereby averting a clash with Refugee on 30th June, Guddu Dhanoa has indeed displayed his greatness and genuine concern for the cause of the film trade. For the past some weeks, the trade had been apprehensive of the consequences of these two big films coming in opposition of each other. Now that Guddu Dhanoa has magnanimously postponed the film’s release, the confusion and chaos have evaporated into thin air.

Guddu Dhanoa deserves to be saluted for such a gesture. Film Information, too, deserves a pat on its back for its timely editorial last week, pertaining to the issue of the release of these two major films.

– O.P. Goyal
Laxmi Pictures, Indore.

JORU KA GHULAM

Noorani Film Corporation’s Joru Ka Ghulam is a comedy. A crook, alongwith his friend, tries to get into the good books of a wealthy industrialist with the intention of running away with a chunk of his wealth. But he finds himself in an awkward position when the industrialist’s spoilt daughter falls in love with him. However, the industrialist announces that either his four daughters, all of marriageable age, would get married together or none would enter wedlock. The crook, whose eye is on the wealth, sets out to find a match for each of the three sisters of his beloved and that isn’t an easy task because the choices and requirements of the three sisters are such as could make anybody tear his hair apart. Ultimately, after finding proper matches for the sisters, the crook has a change of heart and confesses his ignoble intention to the industrialist. But, by then, the industrialist has taken a strong liking for the otherwise genuine guy and is willing to forgive his crookedness.

The film has some hilarious sequences; however, a lot of incidents are not just implausible but also not exciting enough to engage the audience’s attention. The episodes relating to finding proper matches for the three sisters have been hurriedly gone through. Since the plot is thin, scenes are stretched, often to the detriment of the drama. Tanveer Khan’s dialogues are good at places with the crook (Govinda) improvising and making them more enjoyable. The romantic track moves ahead mainly with the help of songs only. Emotions do not touch the heart at all.

Govinda does an excellent job as the crook. He endears himself to the audience and plays the foreign-returned Gujarati to perfection. Twinkle Khanna gets limited scope and is average. She makes a tame attempt to match Govinda’s dancing prowess but fails. Kader Khan acts ably as the rich industrialist. Johny Lever entertains but only at places. Ashok Saraf does a fair job. Ashish Vidyarthi’s track looks contrived; he is, however, good. Razzak Khan’s comedy track of Urdu dialogues is funny, with Govinda and Johny Lever complementing him effectively. The three sisters — Rushika, Rajashree and Rakhi Sawant — are poor. Sonu Sagar is reasonably good. Ali Asgar, Bobby Vats and Ghanshyam lend fair support.

Shakeel Noorani’s direction is alright but he is let down by a script devoid of novelty and replete with unengaging situations. Music (Aadesh Shrivastava) is a mixed bag. A few songs are fairly well-tuned but a couple of them are ordinary too. Song picturisations are okay. Camerawork (Dinesh Telkar) is so-so. Editing is not sharp.

On the whole, Joru Ka Ghulam is an ordinary fare with chances in Maharashtra and U.P.

Released on 16-6-2000 at Minerva and 19 other cinemas of Bombay thru Govinda Yashwardhan No. 1 Distributors. Publicity: good. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over.

LATEST POSITION

JOSH has recorded brilliant collections following the flying start it took last week. It is extraordinary in Bombay, Nizam and Delhi mainly. In the rest, although it collected wonderfully on the first five days, a conspicuous drop started on the sixth day. After a good 7th day (Eid holiday), eighth day is quite dull at many places like Calcutta, Ratlam, Jaipur, stations of East Punjab, Bangalore etc.

Josh 1st week Bombay 69,73,725 (100%) from 13 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 40,86,952 from 9 cinemas, Vapi 7,98,472 from 2 cinemas, Padra (28 shows) 2,27,807, Valsad 3,43,465 (87.10%), Rajkot 3,58,620 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar (29 shows) 2,03,103, Bhuj 1,38,010 (58%); Pune 19,90,144 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 4,82,050 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 2,65,951 (100%) from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 75,59,174 (89.87%) from 12 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 6,10,496 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 8,81,459 from 2 cinemas, Agra 3,25,000, Varanasi 2,50,336, Allahabad 2,96,635, Bareilly 1,70,000, Hardwar 1,05,000 (36.45%), Muzaffarnagar 1,25,000 (82.78%); Calcutta 24,72,741 (94.30%) from 7 cinemas (other cinemas undisclosed); Nagpur 11,88,917 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,49,788, Amravati 3,15,110 (99.60%), Akola 3,03,157, Raipur (gross) 4,51,778, Jalgaon 2,80,510, Wardha (5 days) 1,36,115, Bilaspur 2,51,497; Jaipur 11,55,802 from 4 cinemas, Ajmer (gross) 3,06,966, Bikaner 2,69,572; Hyderabad (gross) 46,80,502 from 14 cinemas; Aurangabad 100% from 2 cinemas, excellent!

………….

Kya Kehna! 4th week Bombay 29,69,864 (67.13%) from 9 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 7,07,625 from 4 cinemas; Pune 5,87,775 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), 3rd week Solapur 60,200, 2nd week Satara 1,28,403 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 4th week Delhi 15,71,553 from 6 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,94,440, Lucknow 3,13,750, Agra 88,764, Varanasi 1,30,125, Allahabad 69,709, Bareilly (6 days) 45,000; Calcutta 10,19,220 from 9 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 3,55,541 from 2 cinemas, 3rd week Jabalpur 1,25,641, total 2,86,107, 4th week Akola 82,366, total 4,19,476, Raipur 78,675, 1st week Jalgaon 1,91,648, 4th week Wardha (3 days) 23,506, Chandrapur 1,05,518, total 5,36,061, Bilaspur 60,429; Indore 2,55,636 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal 1,58,214 (3rd 1,52,000); Jaipur 2,70,495, Ajmer (28 shows) 71,786, Bikaner 76,668; Hyderabad (gross) 3,27,619.

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 22nd week Bombay 4,54,686 (51.01%) from 2 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,79,650 from 3 cinemas, Baroda (28 shows) 1,41,230; Pune 2,61,775 from 2 cinemas, Solapur 1,06,764, 20th week Satara (matinee) 41,729; 9th week Bijapur (21 shows) 61,924; 22nd week Delhi 2,48,816 from 2 cinemas; Kanpur 70,410, Lucknow 1,63,284, Agra 56,000, Varanasi 91,165, Allahabad 56,000, 2nd week Bareilly (revived) 58,564; 22nd week Calcutta 1,08,932; Nagpur 1,29,800 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 57,458, Amravati 77,261, Akola 72,183, total 25,08,446, Raipur 78,293, Jalgaon 63,705, 21st week Chandrapur 88,025, 4th Ambikapur 55,010, 1st week Paratwada 90,276, 1st 4 days Dhamtari 84,632, 1st 3 days Bhandara 25,521, 1st day Bramhapuri 8,179; 22nd week Bhopal 95,637 (21st 84,415); Jaipur 1,18,242; Hyderabad (gross) 3,55,455 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.).

‘PU LA’ NO MORE

Renowned litterateur, humourist and media celebrity Purushottam Lakshman Deshpande passed away in Pune on 12th June. He was 80. Affectionately addressed as ‘Pu La’, he was a remarkably versatile personality who excelled in every creative medium, whether cinema, drama, television, music, literature or humour. No public figure in Maharashtra could match the kind of adulation he commanded during the last six decades. He has left behind a bountiful legacy of 40 books, memorable Marathi dramas like ‘Tuze Aahe Tujpaashi’, ‘Tee Phulraani’, ‘Sundar Mee Honar’ and ‘Ammaldaar’; the unforgettable cinematic creations like Goolacha Ganpati and Doodhbhaat and the indelible memories of his one-man shows on stage.

Pu La was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the Sahitya Akademi award and the Sangeet Naatak Akademi fellowship, besides an honorary D. Litt. from Ravindra Bharati University and Pune University.

The multi-faceted man, who was considered “the pride of Maharashtra”, was accorded a state funeral in Pune on 13th June.

YASH CHOPRA CLAIMS 35 LAKH FROM INSURANCE CO.

Producer-director Yash Chopra has claimed a compensation of approximately Rs. 35 lakh from his production company’s insurers, United India, for the delay caused in the completion of Mohabbatein.

Yash Chopra had insured the film for Rs. 15 crore in September 1999. The completion of Mohabbatein, which is scheduled for release this Diwali, was delayed for more than a month due to an injury Aishwarya sustained earlier. A set built for the shooting had to be dismantled after retaining it for some days, thus leading the filmmaker to bear heavy losses.

The insurance company’s chartered accountants are assessing the losses.

NEW CINTAA OFFICE

The inauguration of the new office premises of Cine & TV Artistes’ Association and Cine Artistes Welfare Trust at 220, 221, Kartik Complex, opp. Laxmi Industrial Estate, New Link Road, Bombay-400 053, was held on June 4.

Sunil Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan formally inaugurated the CINTAA and the Cine Artistes Welfare Trust offices respectively. The coconut-breaking ceremony was performed by veteran Chandrashekhar at the CINTAA office and by Raza Murad at the CAWT office. Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Parekh, Raveena Tandon, Amrish Puri and Arbaaz Khan lit the traditional lamp.

The function was attended by film and television artistes including Dara Singh, Prem Chopra, Shammi, Subbiraj, Arun Bali, Mac Mohan, Dharmesh Tiwari, Gajendra Chauhan, Deep Dhillon, Baldev Khosa, Yunus Parwaiz, S.S. Randhawa, Vikas Anand, Satyen Kappu, Manmoujee, Madan Prakash (gen. secretary, FWICE) and Madhusudan (president, FWICE).

KARNAL CINEMA OWNER FILES CASE AGAINST NIMPA OFFICE-BEARERS

Sanjay Bansal, partner of Inder Palace Cinema, Karnal, filed a suit in the local court against nine office-bearers of the Northern India Motion Pictures Association (NIMPA) including president Dharam Pal Arora and hon. secretary Yash Paul Mittal, alleging fraud, forgery, criminal conspiracy and threatening by them. The magistrate on duty asked the police to investigate the matter. As the defendants did not co-operate with the police, the chief judicial magistrate, Narendra Kumar Mittal, issued an arrest warrant against them. However, no arrests were made as the defendants had taken anticipatory bails.

According to the complainant, Dharam Pal Arora and Yash Paul Mittal conspired with Z.S.D. Enterprises and prepared a fraudulent agreement for the film Qatil Chandalini under his (Sanjay Bansal’s) signature. They then allegedly asked him to pay money for running the film in his cinema although, according to him, he never screened the film.

K.D. SHOREY CRITICAL OF FFI-FICCI ASSOCIATION

Producer K.D. Shorey, the former general secretary of the Film Federation of India (FFI), has asked the FFI president to discuss some matters of importance in the meeting of the FFI on 21st June in Madras, “for the vital and larger interests of the film industry and for keeping the dignity, honour and functioning of the Film Federation of India”.

In a letter dated 5th June, written to the FFI president, Shorey has said that he will raise the issue of FFI’s association with the FICCI. Shorey is of the view that there has been no relief for the FFI from the government since aligning with the FICCI. He further points out that at the FICCI conference, held on March 30 and 31, 2000 in Bombay, no representative of filmmakers was invited to make a representation “on such a matter like Copyright”, while those representing IPRS were invited. At the FICCI conference, says Shorey, highly exaggerated fictional statistics and projections were cited “to lure and misguide innocent public to part with their hard-earned money in IPOs”.

RAMNIKLAL SHAH NO MORE

Gujarati film producer Ramniklal B. Shah expired on the morning of 12th June at his residence at Mulund, Bombay. He was 64. He was cremated the same evening. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Popularly known as Mehta-ji, Ramnikbhai had produced several Gujarati films, some in partnership with Shree Ram Bohra and others independently. The films he had made with Bohra were Bhadar Tara Vaheta Pani, Patli Parmar, Son-Kansari, Chori Na Phera Char, Sheth Jagdusha, Vifreli Vaaghan, Chhel Chhabilo and Sonal. Independently, he had made Jamna Bani Jagdamba and Mangal Phera. He used to work as accountant with the Bohras before he had turned a producer.

MEGHRAJ, VASHI REOPENS

Meghraj, a cinema at Vashi, New Bombay, has been converted into a multiplex with three screens. The first screen, christened Meghraj Multiplex Hall No. 3, opened on 16th June with an all-new look. Joru Ka Ghulam is the opening attraction. The multiplex is controlled by Francis of Royston Enterprises. The two remaining cinemas of this multiplex will be inaugurated shortly.

NEW DISTRIBUTION OFFICE FOR C.P. BERAR

A new distribution office for C.P. Berar — Bajaj Films — has opened in Bhusawal at 50, Radhaswami Complex, near Petrol Pump. The concern has acquired Jwalamukhi and Ittefaq for C.P. Phones: 22528, 22720. R: 24248.

UDAY MITHBAOKAR NO MORE

Uday Mithbaokar, a well-known still photographer of Marathi films and stage-plays and owner of Prakash Photo Studio, Dadar, Bombay, passed away on 15th June following heart failure at a hospital in Airoli, New Bombay. He was 53 and is survived by his wife and two sons.

100 DAYS’ CELEBRATIONS OF ‘CHALA BAAGUNDI’: Bahut Achchha!

Producers A. Suryanarayana and Jagadish Prasad have acquired the Hindi remaking rights of the Telugu super-hit, Chala Baagundi. While Sanjay Kapoor has been finalised for one lead role, the hunt for another hero and one heroine is on.

It was for the 100 days’ celebration of Chala Baagundi that we were in Hyderabad on 10th June. E.V.V. Satyanarayana (who had directed the Hindi Sooryavansham) is the man behind Chala Baagundi which, in Hindi, means Bahut Achchha. The 100 days’ function at Ravindra Bharathi in Hyderabad coincided with the birthday of E.V.V. Satyanarayana. And who else as chief guest for the celebrations than Amitabh Bachchan, the hero of Sooryavansham.

Despite long speeches in Telugu by almost 15 invitees, including Andhra home minister T. Devender Goud and energy minister K. Subbarayudu, Amitabh had a smiling face all through the 2-hour function. When it was his chance to speak, he thanked (thankfully, for us, in English) E.V.V. for extracting good work out of him in Sooryavansham. He admitted that he had been apprehensive about working with E.V.V. because he hadn’t heard of the director. But once E.V.V. came into the project, Bachchan’s fears were put to rest, he added. For, “it had been a pleasure to work with E.V.V.”

A. Suryanarayana revealed, “Anil Kapoor was bowled over by E.V.V. when he saw Sooryavansham before its release. Anil is signed to do one film for me and, after seeing Sooryavansham, he asked me to sign E.V.V. forthwith for the film which he (Anil) was contracted to do. I told him, ‘let the film be released’, but Anil insisted, I sign him before that. I would have loved it had Anil Kapoor played one of the two lead men in the remake of Chala Baagundi but then, the need of the role is a younger hero. So while we are hunting for an appropriate subject for the Anil starrer, we will remake Chala Baagundi. And who better to direct the remake than E.V.V. himself?”

It speaks a lot for the film when non-Telugu understanding persons like us were moved to tears in the climax. Although the story was very engaging and seemed easy to be understood by the non-Telugu speaking invitees, S. Raamanathan interpreted the dialogues in the manner of a running commentary. Why, his voice used to choke with emotions every now and then. Ultimately, the emotions had us too in their grip and the tears rolled down our cheeks.

Chala Baagundi has the potential to hit big time when made in Hindi. It is the story of two foster-brothers who love each other immensely. Both are good guys but the younger one has one weakness — he consumes alcohol like a fish. In an inebriated state, he one day attempts to rape a girl. As fate would have it, this very girl is to come home as his foster-brother’s wife! After the attempt to rape, the boozard is so ashamed of himself that he quits drinking completely. But the foster-brother’s wife — and the victim of his lust — cannot forgive him. So we have the girl seeking revenge on the brother-in-law, and the latter trying hard to not let it be known to his foster-brother that he had tried to rape the girl. Simultaneously, the guy begs of the girl to forgive him and forget the past. Does she comply? Perish the thought! The girl is consumed by the feeling of revenge. As a mark of repentance, the brother-in-law marries a rape victim who has lost her mental balance after the rape. Even this does not move the sister-in-law. Ultimately, the brother-in-law and his wife leave home. But the separation is too much for the foster-brother to bear. All hell breaks loose when the foster-brother can’t locate his missing brother. A very tearful climax rounds off the moving drama which has been wonderfully and sensitively handled.

As one may have made out from the story, the film has tremendous appeal for ladies and families, on the patronage of which it went on to become a big hit. S. Raamanathan revealed, “I had predicted great success for the film when I saw it before release, because of its emotional appeal.” The medium-budget film is expected to do a business of Rs. 10 crore.

Shrikant and Vadde Naveen play the two heroes in the original, and Malavika is the heroine. After the stupendous success of the film, the two heroes have become much sought-after. Why, even E.V.V., who was passing through a low phase of his career, got a shot in the arm with Chala Baagundi. A Suryanarayana informed, “A lot of top stars refused to work with E.V.V. because his last few films had not done well, but after Chala Baagundi, every big star wants to work with the director.”

Dialogues have played an important role in taking the film to such heights. For the Hindi dialogues, Atul Tiwari has been roped in. Atul is also writing the dialogues of Mission Kashmir and had penned the dialogues for Raj Babbar’s Shaheed Uddham Singh.

Jagadish Prasad, who had made Mahaan in partnership with A. Suryanarayana, has once again joined hands with him for the remake. But that will not be Jagadish Prasad’s first connection with Chala Baagundi. The film has already brought in bountiful returns for Jagadish Prasad as he is distributing it in some parts. He asks us, “How did you like the film?”

“Chala Baagundi, very good, too good, bahut achchha,” we reply.

– Komal Nahta

YOU ASKED IT

Why does the trade get worried when two big films are released on the same day?

– Because both the films cut into one another’s revenues. Of course, there have been instances of two or even more films releasing on the same day and both (or all) getting excellent openings and also going on to become hits. The examples of DIL and GHAYAL, released the same day, is a case in point.

What is the report of J.P. Dutta’s Refugee?

– Excellent! Besides the film, also carrying exciting reports are Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor.

Will Bichhoo take a good start after the debacle of Bobby Deol’s recent starrer, Hum To Mohabbat Karega?

– The debacle of HUM TO MOHABBAT KAREGA notwithstanding, BICHHOO is bound to take a flying start, thanks to its hit music and impressive promotion.

When producers making films with animals in their cast are being hounded by Maneka Gandhi and her Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), is there any way out?

– The only way out seems to be the formation of a new body like Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Producers making films with Animals (SPCPA).

DO YOU KNOW? 

* A thing of beauty is a joy forever! Rajshri’s B & W film, DOSTI, released last week at Regent, Patna, drew 25 out of 28 shows full in 1st week. It collected 1,28,680/- against a capacity of 1,33,707/- (96.24%). This, in spite of rains and opposition of JOSH. The film had been screened before this at Regent, Patna, for a week — Jan. 17, 1997 to Jan. 23. It had then collected 1,06,798/-.

* Rajshri’s 1982 super-hit NADIYA KE PAAR has been doing excellent business whenever it has been released in Bihar. Even in its repeat-run, history seems to be repeating itself. The film has been revived at the following cinemas and centres of Bihar (with the number of weeks in brackets): Durbar, Siwan (4th week), Ajanta, Biharshariff (4th week), Janta, Gopalganj (2nd week). This week, it has also been revived at Shekhar, Muzaffarpur; Bhagwan, Deogarh; and New Cinema, Mokamah.

* DIL DIJE DIL WAARAN KHE, a Sindhi feature film made after a gap of two decades, has been already sold (even before release) for C.P. Berar, C.I. and Rajasthan. Even exhibitors are keen to book this film at their cinemas. Five shows in Bhopal, 8 shows each in Ajmer and Jodhpur, 10 shows in Ahmedabad, 2 shows each in Pali and Pimpri, and one show at Senoi have been booked for private screenings.

* KYA KEHNA! is going from strength to strength in U.P. At Rakesh, Saharanpur, it collected 69,456/- in 2nd week and 71,274/- in 3rd week. At Elite, Jhansi, the 2nd and 3rd week’s collections are 54,185/- and 56,162/- respectively. At Nishat, Meerut, it is very steady and collected 1,34,276/- in 2nd week, 1,27,573/- in 3rd week, and 1,25,627/- in 4th week. At Pratibha, Lucknow, the film’s collection in  3rd week increased to 3,56,549/- from 3,41,085/- in 2nd week. At Pawan, Ghaziabad, it collected 90,120/- in 2nd week, 1,01,440/- in 3rd week and 1,01,176/- in 4th week.

KAHO NAA… MANCHANDAS HAI… MUQADDAR KE SIKANDAR!

* Durgapur in West Bengal circuit is ecstatic. For, no film has celebrated silver jubilee in this town, but Rakesh Roshan’s KN…PH is well on its way to completing 25 weeks at Anuradha cinema there. The film entered 23rd week this Friday. The record for the longest run before KN…PH was held by Prakash Mehra’s MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR in 1978. That film had had a run of 17 weeks at Durgapur. Incidentally, while MKS was released in West Bengal by Harsh Manchanda, KN…PH has been released by his son, Niraj Manchanda. …..KN…PH will also celebrate silver jubilee in Calcutta at Hind cinema after two weeks.

Why Take Refuge In Stinging Egos?

If there’s one thing that’s increasing the palpitations of distributors of J.P. Dutta’s Refugee and Guddu Dhanoa’s Bichhoo as well as of exhibitors who’ve booked these films, it is the common release date of the two films — 30th June. It is not the first time that two big films will be hitting the screens on the same day. But there are some issues involved this time, which are not too general, besides the usual issue — of films cutting into one another’s initials first and businesses later. 

For one, Refugee marks the debut of two newcomers, Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor. The industry needs newcomers and a grand opening for Refugee will be the first step towards fulfilling this need. Obviously, the opening of any film will be better if there’s no opposition to it. Bobby Deol starrer Bichhoo will be no small opposition to Refugee, more so in North India because of the action flavour and Guddu Dhanoa being its director. 

On his part, Guddu Dhanoa had scheduled June 30 as the release date of Bichhoo, only after being assured by his distributor of Delhi-U.P. and East Punjab (who is also the distributor of Refugee for Delhi-U.P.) that Refugee would be released before 30th June. But the release of Refugee kept on getting postponed. Without going into the reasons for the postponement or into who is right and who is wrong, it now appears as if the release date has become an ego issue between the two makers. 

But who will suffer because of these two egos? If a miracle happens, none at all will suffer. But, in all likelihood, it is the distributors and exhibitors of the two films, who’ve paid huge MGs and FHs, who will suffer. Can’t this be avoided? It can!

It only requires one of J.P. Dutta and Guddu Dhanoa to have a big heart, keep aside his ego and postpone his release to 7th July. As it is, there’s no major release scheduled for July 7. Then why the rush for 30th June? Contrary to the feeling that the trade will scoff at the one who postpones his film (with words like “darr gayaa”), the trade-wallahs will actually salute the producer-director who gracefully takes his film to 7th July in the larger interest of the trade in general and that of their own distributors and exhibitors in particular. 

Come on, Dutta! Come on, Dhanoa! One week won’t make a difference to you. But to your distributors and exhibitors, it will make a world of a difference!

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Honestly, Gada’s Is The Best Policy

Jayantilal Gada, the chief of Popular Entertainment Network (PEN), may be just 36 years old but the name he has made for himself in the industry for his fair dealings is remarkable. The man, who has satellite and Doordarshan rights of an entire library of films, has over the years impressed many a producer with his honesty. An example which stands out is that of his dealing with Subhash Ghai when he had, in 1997, acquired the satellite rights of his (Ghai’s) lot of films. Gada was late by just four days in making the last instalment of payment to Ghai and, even though Subhash Ghai never objected to the delay, Gada sent him a cheque for Rs. 8,136 towards delay charges for four days. So impressed was Ghai with Gada’s honesty that, instead of encashing the cheque, he framed it and kept it as a souvenir of integrity. No compliment could be bigger than this for Jayantilal Gada. It doesn’t then come as a surprise that his company, PEN, which is now coming up with a public issue, is a zero-debt company. As Gada says matter of factly, “I don’t want public money to pay off any debts — I don’t have any — but rather to expand my business.”

Title Suffixes

Adding suffixes to film titles is a current practice gaining currency day by day. Some (or many?) instances: Kargil – The Border, Tabaahi – The Destroyer, Mrityu – The Truth, Sandeh – The Doubt, Taandav – The Dance Of Revenge, Tapish – The Burning Desire, Sazaa – The Punishment, Sparsh – The Touch, Jaal – The Trap, Jadh – The Root Cause and there is also Devi – The Bride In Red. The trend was pioneered by producer-director Raj Kanwar who, unable to obtain the title Daag, christened his Sanjay Dutt-Mahima starrer Daag – The Fire. The senseless ‘fire’ of such circumventing titles (titles to circumvent the regulation in the industry, which prevents a producer from titling his film with a name registered in another’s favour) is spreading fast.

Straight Out Of ‘Josh’!

From reel life to real life. That’s how one would describe what happened in the city of Calcutta at Menoka cinema earlier this week. Like in Josh, the film which was running at the cinema, two rival gangs got into fisticuffs and created a spectacle for everybody around until the local police had to come to cool the members of the rival gangs. As it happened, about 50 fans of Shah Rukh Khan got so excited with his performance in Josh that they decided to put up a life-sized portrait of their idol at the cinema. Another group of die-hard Hrithik fans objected to this and what followed was much like what happens in Josh between Shah Rukh Khan’s Eagle gang and Sharad Kapoor’s Bichhoo gang. Finally, the police had to intervene, again as in Josh.

INFORMATION MEETS

“My entire film is a highlight!”

– J.P. DUTTA

GAJAA

“What sets J.P. Dutta apart from the rest of his tribe? His individualistic style of making films. His attitude — of making films on his own terms. Both, his style and attitude, have been vindicated with the huge success of Border. And Border has raised great expectations from Refugee. The man is confident about his forthcoming film, but doesn’t believe in blowing his own trumpet. He is cool, and that says it all.

J.P. Dutta was busy with the re-recording of Refugee at Rajkamal Kalamandir when we met him this week. He was supervising the mixing of reel numbers 19 and 20, before he spoke to us. The excerpts:

The film trade is concerned that the release of your REFUGEE and Guddu Dhanoa’s BICHHOO should be on the same date: June 30. But, as producers, both of you don’t seem to be perturbed by the impending ‘clash’, if it can be termed so. Your comment.

What’s new about it? Hasn’t it happened before?

REFUGEE, as one gathers, is a love story between a Hindu boy from this side of the border and a Muslim girl from across the border. Is it the success of BORDER which has inspired the subject of REFUGEE?

Tell me, have I written the script or have you written it? You are telling me the story! In reply to your question, I would suggest, you saw the film.

What is the point of difference between these two films?

Border was a war cry while Refugee is a cry for peace.

BORDER showed animosity towards the Pakistani army and that was one of the contributing factors for the high success of the film. Does REFUGEE also have something against….

No, not at all. To put the record straight, Pakistan was not the element of hate in Border. It was just an aggressor. I didn’t play the hate card.

What’s your next? Will it also have an element of patriotism?

I don’t know. But I am tempted to complete this trilogy. Trilogies are rarely made. In India, Satyajit Ray made Apu trilogy. Earlier, Rosellini and Andrezj Wajda made trilogies.

What’s your filmmaking ideology? To earn money? Or to win appreciation? Or both?

There is no such thing as ideology. What I wish is that my work should be looked upon with respect. And that’s what is important for me. Therefore, I have always made films on my terms.

What would you say to the charge that you are not a producer’s director?

I am a producer. Period.

The electronic medium has made a big dent in the film industry’s revenue. How, according to you, can this menace be dealt with?

(Laughs) Had I known, I would have myself stopped it by now. We have to live with the revolution. When talkie films came, the silent era was out. Many filmmakers became suddenly rich and many found themselves in the pits. Even in the silent era, a 4-hour war film was made. It was Napoleon, made in the ’30s. Its LDs have come out now. Though silent, it is an amazing film.

You seem to have seen a lot of foreign war films.

Yes, I have always been fascinated by Western war films. You must have seen the undercurrent of war in my films like Ghulami and Batwara.

This question deals with your personality trait, so don’t get offended….

Then, don’t ask me the question. If you already know, I will get offended, then don’t….

But let me complete my question: There is a general impression that you are a difficult type of person….

You have known me for quite some time now. Did you ever find me that way?

Well, not really.

Then tell your readers. They will believe you more than if I said so!

What explains your fascination for deserts and sand-stretched landscapes?

I love deserts. I like to see human beings in a vast landscape. In Refugee, you will see an unbelievable stretch of the Rann of Kutch where no film has ever been shot. It is restricted to civilians; a vast stretch which is 30 to 40 kms. away from Pak border.

What, according to you are the highlights of your film?

The entire film is a highlight, if you really want to know from me!

JOSH

Venus Records & Tapes Ltd.’s Josh (UA) is the story of two rival gangs who try to outdo each other at the slightest provocation. Set in Vasco (Goa), the film has its two biggest stars playing twin brother and sister. The brother is the leader of one gang and he is over-protective about his twin sister who is beautiful and bewitching. The brother of the leader of the other gang falls in love with the beautiful girl and tries to woo her. At first, hard to come by, the pretty girl finally reciprocates his love, but her twin brother will not hear anything of the alliance. In the meantime, the leader of the other gang hatches a conspiracy to kill the twin brother. Around the same time, the twin brother decides to exterminate his sister’s beloved.

In the confusion that ensues, the leader of the rival gang is killed at the hands of the twin brother. Obviously, the relationship between the two lovers is soured. How the two come together again forms the climax.

The film, inspired from the Hollywood film, The Westside Story, has a routine story, and a screenplay that does not really boast of novelty. The Christian background and the odd pairing of the two stars (Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai) as brother and sister may have been handled cleverly by director Mansoor Khan but they do trouble the viewer mentally. Dialogues are natural.

Music (Anu Malik) is one of the biggest plus points of the film. Not only are most of the songs very well-tuned, they also come at proper situations and ensure the smooth flow of an otherwise ordinary drama. Local gang rivalries have been seen umpteen times on the screen. What’s more, since the real cause for the rivalry is not shown in action, the impact is diluted.

The first half is lengthy but it has its share of comic relief and pleasant songs. The post-interval portion is fast-paced, but the pre-climax and climax are dull and predictable. The track of Shah Rukh and Aishwarya’s father does not interest the audience even one bit. Emotions, therefore, fall flat.

Shah Rukh Khan does a wonderful job as leader of one gang and as Aishwarya’s twin brother. Aishwarya Rai looks gorgeous and extremely charming. She too acts pretty confidently. But showing them as brother and sister will disappoint their fans. Chandrachur Singh, as Aishwarya’s lover, does a good job but looks too fat. Pairing Priya Gill with Shah Rukh is almost a tragedy! Priya Gill is average. Sharad Kapoor springs a surprise; as leader of the other gang and as Chandrachur’s brother, he leaves a mark with his villainy and absolutely natural performance. Viveck Vaswani is funny and cute. Sharat Saxena does a fair job. Nadira, in a special appearance, is alright. Anjan Srivastava, Suhas Joshi, Kumar Bhardwaj and the rest lend admirable support.

Mansoor Khan’s shot-takings are excellent. But his choice of subject leaves plenty to be desired. Giving the film a period flavour and setting the drama in Vasco limits the film’s appeal. K.V. Anand’s camerawork complements wonderfully the eye-filling locations. Action (Abbas Ali) has thrill but no novelty. Song picturisations are eye-pleasing.

On the while, Josh lacks in merits except for superb performances of all the lead players, and an excellent music score. Nevertheless, it has taken an absolutely brilliant initial, breaking records at many places. Considering the flying start it has taken and the lack of big oppositions for two more weeks, it will do average business on the strength of audience patronage in ‘A’ class centres mainly. Its shares of the first week should be historic at several places. But its sustaining power is less. Business in Bombay and South will definitely be better (above average) than in the rest of India.

Released on 9-6-2000 at New Excelsior, Novelty and 21 other cinemas of Bombay by Venus Records & Tapes thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: bumper. …….Also released all over. Opening was earth-shattering everywhere.

LATEST POSITION

The fantastically phenomenal opening of JOSH this week has brought joy in the industry. Collections are historic at many places.

Sabse Bada Be-Imaan is dull. 1st week Bombay 6,16,794 (49.11%) from 4 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,87,986 from 4 cinemas; Solapur (matinee) 23,035 (1 in regular unrecd.); Delhi 4,94,218 (21.21%) from 5 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 41,430; Calcutta 3,78,078 from 6 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Nagpur 89,294 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 58,264, Raipur (6 days) 52,196; Jaipur 1,34,250 from 2 cinemas.

Dalaal No. 1 is a disaster. 1st week Bombay 5,60,555 (27.31%)  from 6 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Delhi 1,52,655 (17.45%) from 3 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Calcutta (approx.) 60,100.

Deep Rising (dubbed) is so-so. 1st week Bombay 9,35,798 (32.32%) from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Pune 1,00,862; Amravati (6 days) 1,28,106, 2nd Akola (2 days) 18,359 (1st 1,00,018), 1st Bhilai 1,86,258, Bilaspur (8 days) 80,765; Jaipur 1,36,058.

Hum To Mohabbat Karega 2nd week Bombay 10,68,340 (31%) from 6 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Rajkot 89,000 (1 in matinee unrecd.), Jamnagar 51,150 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 1,26,804 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,16,791; Hubli (noon) 21,386, 1st Bijapur (28 shows) 92,276; 2nd week Delhi 11,41,675 from 10 cinemas (1 unrecd.; 1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,28,206 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,47,897 (1st 2,90,985), Bareilly (6 days) 50,878 (1st 1,30,355), Hardwar 20,000; Calcutta 1,46,781; Nagpur 1,22,808 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 52,912, Amravati (6 days) 73,757, Akola 54,468, Raipur 64,397, Bilaspur 46,577 (1st 85,601); Jaipur 2,54,054, Jodhpur 68,515; Hyderabad (gross) 2,08,491.

Kya Kehna! is very good. It has collected better in 3rd week than 2nd week at several places. 3rd week Bombay 35,00,997 (75.18%) from 9 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 7,04,094 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda (28 shows) 1,88,167 (1 unrecd.), Jamnagar 77,000, 1st Adipur 96,485 (54.44%); 3rd Pune 4,68,388 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), 2nd Solapur 1,86,700 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 3rd Delhi about 31,55,164 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 2,18,697, Lucknow 3,56,550 (2nd 3,41,086), Agra 1,02,000 (2nd 1,28,000), Bareilly (6 days) 59,900 (2nd 87,391); Calcutta 14,13,360 from 11 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 4,64,863 from 3 cinemas, 2nd Jabalpur 1,38,123 (1st 1,22,342), 3rd Amravati (6 days) 1,29,202, Raipur 88,141 (2nd 87,304), total 3,08,845, Chandrapur 1,10,615, total 4,30,543, Bilaspur 76,738 (2nd 80,101); Indore 2,90,314 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal 1,52,000 (2nd 1,63,000); Jaipur 3,07,430, Jodhpur 80,084; Hyderabad (gross) 6,57,053 from 2 cinemas.

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 21st week Bombay 7,98,527 (50.02%) from 3 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,29,318 from 3 cinemas, Baroda (28 shows) 1,54,884; Pune 4,96,644 from 3 cinemas, Solapur 1,11,823; 8th Bijapur (28 shows) 66,765; 21st Delhi 1,16,068; Kanpur 78,979, Lucknow 1,56,486 (20th 1,60,908), Agra 45,000, 1st Bareilly (revived) 1,04,402, 1st week Hardwar (3rd run) 30,000; 21st Calcutta 1,76,521 from 2 cinemas; 5th Puri 38,380; 21st Nagpur 1,37,077 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 63,586 (20th 63,345; total 23,86,194), Amravati (6 days) 70,204, Akola 78,188, total 24,36,262, Raipur 74,791, total 24,27,082, Jalgaon 88,728, 20th Chandrapur 86,491, total 25,30,713; 21st Bhopal 84,415 (20th 87,960); Jaipur 1,54,930, Jodhpur 50,532 (20th 47,330); Hyderabad (gross) 3,85,437 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon; 2 on F.H.).

KRISHAN KUMAR FREED ON BAIL

The Delhi high court on 9th June freed actor Krishan Kumar on bail. Krishan was granted bail in both, the cricket match-fixing as well as the FERA cases.

MOVIE GEM AT DAHISAR

Movie Gem, a new cinema with 500 seats, will likely be inaugurated next week (it was scheduled to open on 9th June with Josh) at Dahisar, a distant suburb of Bombay. The cinema is owned by Lalit Kapoor of Continental Films.

CINE MAGE AT BHIWANDI

A new cinema, Cine Mage, is coming up near the premises of Haseen Cinema, Bhiwandi, a far-off suburb of Bombay.

CINEMA OWNER SHANTARAM BHATT PASSES AWAY

Shantaram M. Bhatt, who built Nandi and Vijay cinemas in Bombay, and Bhiwandi Talkies, Bhiwandi, passed away on 8th June at his Shivaji Park residence in Bombay. He was 91 years old and is survived by his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. A prayer meeting will be held today (10th June) at Maharashtra Scouts Pavilion Hall, opp. Mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

JACK GAUD NO MORE

Actor Jack Gaud passed away in the early hours of 7th June (1 a.m.) following cardiac arrest at his Tarapore Garden residence at Oshiwara, Bombay. He was 42 and is survived by his wife, two sons and parents. The last rites were performed on 8th.

Jack Gaud had acted as villain in over a hundred films including Tezaab, Karan Arjun, Mard and Vaastav, besides doing a few television serials. He also worked in some Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced by Manmohan Desai in Gangaa Jamunaa Saraswathi. He was producing a film, Kaaldev (earlier titled Aakhri Inteqam), at the time of his death. He had earlier produced Jungle Ka Beta and a Haryanvi film, Chhori Natki.

Tall and well-built, Jack was a national boxing champion. He was also a part of the Indian Navy for a while. Jack used to organise shows too and owned a club in Bombay and another in Surat.

SENIORMOST C.P. EXHIBITOR MOTIDASJI UDASI NO MORE

The seniormost exhibitor of C.P. Berar, Motidasji Udasi of Chitra Talkies, Amravati, passed away on 3rd June following brain haemorrhage. Born on September 2, 1916, he started his long journey way back in 1935 with Sudarshan Theatre (now Chitra Talkies), aided by his elder brother, Arjundasji Udasi. In 1945, he formed a partnership firm alongwith the founder-president of the CCCA, late H.N.S. Subbarao. The partnership flourished for 29 years. Motidasji left no stone unturned to make Chitra Talkies the best threatre in Amravati.

He was actively involved with various committees of the CCCA. He was also a member of the executive committees of the famous Ambadevi Trust and Brijlal Biyani Shikshan Samiti and president of Rotary Club of Amravati (1974-75). He established a school for the deaf and dumb in Amravati. A graduate from King Edward Memorial College (presently Vidarbha Mahavidyalaya), Motidas was a man of principles and a man of vision. He was fond of wrestling and astrology.

He is survived by his wife, Sumitradevi, son (Dr. Harish), daughter-in-law (Dr. Rajani) and grandchildren (Anurag and Ambika). His funeral the same day was attended by members of the entire distribution and exhibition trade and dignitaries from all walks of life. A condolence meeting was held after the funeral and it was conducted by Bharat Khajanchi and CCCA vice president Vijay Rathi.

SANDIP MUKHERJEE NO MORE

Sandip Mukherjee (Tutu), youngest son of veteran director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, expired in New Delhi on 6th June.

DO YOU KNOW?

* JOSH collected an unbelievable 94,650/- on the opening day at Raj, Raipur.

* JOSH has created a theatre record at Krishna, Akola by collecting 63,000/- on its opening day.

* JOSH has created an all-time city record by collecting 1,13,535/- on its first day at Premprakash, Jaipur. It has also created a new record by collecting 2,75,617/- on 4 prints in Jaipur city.

* KYA KEHNA! has created a record by collecting 80,083/- in 3rd week at Darpan, Allahabad, despite heavy rains and stormy weather. Better than 2nd week’s collection (70,000/-).

* KYA KEHNA! has collected more in 2nd week (1,38,123/-) than 1st week (1,22,341/-) at Vineet, Jabalpur. 3rd week 1st day: 13,000/-, better than 1st day of the 1st week.

* KYA KEHNA! has created a theatre record by collecting 76,738/- in 3rd week at Bihari, Bilaspur. 

* KYA KEHNA! has collected 2,97,349/- (64%) in 3rd week at Smruti, Nagpur. 3rd week’s distributor’s share from Smruti alone is above 8,00,000/-.

* KYA KEHNA! has done better in 3rd week than in 2nd week at Gem, Jaipur, by collecting 3,07,430/- in 3rd week.

* HOT GAMES (English; re-issue) has created a theatre record by collecting 2,07,553/- in 1st week at Rivoli, New Delhi. It has entered 2nd week in regular shows.

* Govinda plays a Gujarati character, Raju Patel, in JORU KA GHULAM which is due for release next week. Distributor Dilip Dhanwani (Dilsa Distributors) saw the film and acquired it for Gujarat and Saurashtra.

* HADH KAR DI AAPNE has created a record by collecting more than 7,90,000/- (nett) in 8 weeks at Sangeet, Allahabad.

PRODUCTION NEWS

10-Day Stint Of Vijay Galani’s Film

A 10-day shooting stint of Film Folks’ Prod. No. 2 started on June 6 on a huge set at Filmistan Studios and at other places in Bombay. Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kareena Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Dalip Tahhil, Narendra Bedi, Amita Nangia, Sheela Sharma, Mink, Sharat Saxena and Johny Lever are participating. Being directed by Abbas Mustan, the film has music by Anu Malik, and lyrics by Sameer. Writers: Shyam Goel, Neeraj Vora, Sanjeev Duggal and Robin Bhatt. Cinematography: Rajan Kinagi. Action: Kaushal Moses. Editor: Hussain Burmawala. Choreographer: Saroj Khan. Art: R. Varman. Sound: Jitendra Chaudhary. The film is presented by Venus.

12-Day Schedule Of ‘Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai’

A 12-day shooting schedule of Super Good Films’ Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai in Delhi, Agra, Simla and Bombay commenced on June 1. The entire cast, including Govinda, Rani Mukerji, Apoorva Agnihotri, Johny Lever, Deepak Tijori, Laxmikant Berde, Farida Jalal, Kishore Bhanushali and Om Puri, is participating. Producer: R.B. Chaudhary. Director: Kirti Kumar. Story-screenplay: S.M. Ahale. Dialogues: Javed Siddiqi. Music: Uttam Singh. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi. Cinematographer: Peter Pereira. Dances: Ganesh Acharya and Chinni Prakash. Co-producer: Balram Sharma.

‘Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage’ Song Picturised

The first song and scenes of Mohan Kumar and Emkay Films (P.) Ltd.’s Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage were picturised in a 10-day shooting schedule ending today (June 10) at Filmalaya Studios. Hrithik Roshan, Ali Asgar, Vrajesh Hirjee, Jasbir Thanda, Mushtaq Khan, Suchit, Hemant Pandey, dancers and junior artistes participated. The film stars Amisha Patel in the female lead. Being produced by Rohit Kumar and directed by Vikram Bhatt, it is based on story-screenplay by Robin Bhatt and Sanjeev Duggal. Dialogues: Girish Dhamija. Music: Rajesh Roshan. Lyrics: Ibrahim Ashq. Cinematography: Pravin Bhatt. Dances: Raju Khan. Editor: Amit Saxena. Art: Gappa Chakraborty. Sound: Murari Krishna. The film is presented by Gautam Kumar.

YOU ASKED IT

Why don’t you start an astrology column predicting what’s in store for people under various Indian zodiac signs?

– Why don’t you become my astrologer? And before starting this column, can you please predict whether this weekly bit of information will find favour with our readers?

The trend these days is to give double titles like Mrityu – The Truth, Sandeh – The Doubt, Jaal – The Trap, Taandav – The Dance Of Revenge. Which film set off this trend? Since I am not getting an appropriate title, I intend to title my film Anaam – The Untitled. Please tell me whether I should go ahead with this title?

– The answer to your first question is that DAAG – THE FIRE set off the trend. Producers generally give double titles to their films to circumvent the non-availability of titles. One can use the unavailable title by adding the English suffix to it. Your title, ANAAM – THE UNTITLED, is quite mazaakiya – the funny!

Who, according to you, is the most well-behaved, decent and considerate star who does not do more than 2-3 films at a time and who does not quote a high price?

– All these attributes in one star?! Good day-dreaming!!

TAX PAID BY AMRAVATI CINEMAS
BETWEEN 1-4-’99 AND 31-3-’00

Rajlaxmi Cinema                        39,13,299

Prabhat Talkies                            36,62,395

Chitra Talkies                              35,74,391

Panchsheel Cinema                     29,68,015

Shyam Talkies                             28,78,988

Vasant Talkies                             21,84,138

Saroj Talkies                               12,36,038

Priya Talkies                               10,03,104

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Power Of Promotion

At a time when many producers don’t even bother about a decent pre-release promotion of their films, the attitude of Tips’ Ramesh and Kumar Taurani comes as a pleasant change. Not only did they spend a fortune on the pre-release publicity of their Kya Kehna! (which ensured a brilliant opening to the small star cast film) but they are, even now, leaving no stone unturned to further publicise their film. Earlier this week, Ramesh Taurani, director Kundan Shah and Preity Zinta went to Jaipur and attended a show at Gem cinema. They also addressed a press conference in the pink city. The trio now plans to visit Baroda, Surat and Ahmedabad to interact with the public. Little wonder then that more number of prints of the film are being added every week. In the second week, a total of 22 prints were added in the whole of India, taking the number of prints in circulation to 175. A further 21 prints were taken out in the 3rd week and now, in its 4th week, four extra prints have been employed. As Kumar Taurani puts it, “Producers are not realising the importance of publicity. Sustained promotion even after a film clicks is very very necessary.”

Excellent Promotional Materials

Both, producer Sajid Nadiadwala and Super Cassettes, which holds the music rights of his Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega, are going all out on the film’s promotion. Sajid has got made extraordinary photo-sets, printed on silver paper, which gives a metallic look to them. The photo-sets and posters have been designed by Soham. The music hamper from Super Cassettes contains not just the film’s music cassette and CD, but a number of other things — a calculator, a writing pad, a note pad, coasters, a pen and a trendy baseball cap. Most of the items are in shocking pink colour. While the pink shocks, the efforts and the expenditures shock even more.

From Condemnation To Commendation

The film industry is very impatient. Nobody here has time to wait and watch, it would appear. As soon as the music of J.P. Dutta’s Refugee was released, trade people lost no time in pronouncing that it would not work. The only reason for the combined condemnation was that the music was slow. But nobody had the patience to appreciate the old-world charm of the music. Very few in the industry were confident that the music would grow — and grow surely. Today, the music has, in fact, become popular and is gaining in popularity day by day. In fact, the music and the promotional trailers of Refugee have generated so much craze among the trade and the public alike that people are now eagerly awaiting its release. An indication of the excitement the debut film of Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor is generating is the scene in Nagpur: reportedly, about 15 shows of the film have been booked completely by various organisations. And this, almost a month before the film’s release (on 30th June)! Yes, Refugee, like Josh, will also take a flying start! In Delhi too, the film is being booked at fantastic terms!

Mission: Piracy Destruction

Here’s an example which the Indian film and music industries must emulate before the devil of piracy devours the Indian entertainment industry.

The film and music industries in Hollywood have decided to put up a determined fight against international optical disc and internet piracy. The Motion Picture Association (MPA) of the USA and International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) have signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint anti-piracy battle. The chairman of MPA, Jack Valenti, like a wounded tiger, has sworn, “We will use every option available to us to protect the sanctity of the copyright.”

According to reports in Hollywood, one in three recordings sold worldwide is a pirated copy. Globally, music piracy is valued at US $4.5 billion. The loss, due to audio piracy, totalled $2.5 billion in 1999.

In a joint statement, the MPA and the IFPI have observed, “Music and audio-visual piracy has proliferated in recent years, driven by a huge optical disc manufacturing over-capacity and the widespread involvement of organised crime.”

MPA, which represents seven major US motion picture companies internationally, has pledged its support to stamp out piracy of CDs and DVDs. Some other associations like International Recording Media Association (IRMA) and International Digital Software Association (IDSA) have also backed the move to protect copyright on digital products.

An Apology, A Gesture

It is now common knowledge that Salman Khan had replaced Chandrachur Singh in Tips Films’ Kya Kehna! mid-way during its making. Of course, Salman arranged a meeting between producer Ramesh Taurani and Chandrachur and saw to it that they settled their differences so that Chandrachur was back in the film, and Salman (who had not shot for it) was out. But not many may be aware that even before the film was started with Saif Ali Khan and Chandrachur Singh, the original choices for the two roles were Samir Soni (of China Gate) and model Vishal. But both declined the offers. Samir, who had been offered the negative role, did not want to play a villain in the film and so refused the offer. Of course, even before Kya Kehna! could be released, Samir felt, he had committed a blunder. To apologise to Taurani, Samir acted in two video albums of Tips and did not charge them a single rupee for it! A good gesture, this.

Permanent Sets

A new studio, housing permanent sets of the interior of a bungalow and an office, is coming up on Andheri Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Bombay. Located opposite the erstwhile Mohan Studios, the new Chetan Studio is owned by the KLJ group of companies chaired by K.L. Jain. The sets have been tastefully created under the supervision of art director Pradeep Singh. The studio is less than a minute’s drive from the highway and has a very easy approach. It is to be inaugurated very shortly. Sunil Kumar (phones: 826-4195/96 or 98200-21330) is looking after the management and bookings.

Industry Heaves A Sigh Of Relief As.…

MAHARASHTRA GOVT. HOLDS SALES TAX IN ABEYANCE

The cloud of uncertainty and anxiety, which loomed large over the film industry for the past two weeks, cleared on June 5 when a delegation comprising representatives of all trade associations of the film industry were told by Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh that the issue of 4% sales tax on film transactions had been kept in abeyance for two months. The state government had decided to levy the tax on all film transactions in the state, reportedly in order to tide over its financial crunch. While announcing the keeping in abeyance of the sales tax, the chief minister asked the industry leaders to formulate some alternate ways to augment resources from the film industry to help the state to tide over its financial crisis. A 9-member committee, under the chairmanship of the state finance minister and comprising industry people, has been formed by the CM to suggest and recommend alternative sources of revenue for the state government as well as for the film industry. The committee comprises N.N. Sippy, Subhash Ghai, Shakti Samanta, U.A. Thadani, Santosh Singh Jain, Pahlaj Nihalani, Madhusudan, Kiran Shantaram and Amit Khanna. The committee’s first meeting with the state finance minister, Jayant Patil, will be held on 14th June.

The issue of imposing sales tax on the film industry has its genesis in the announcement made by Maharashtra’s minister of finance in the legislative assembly while presenting the Budget for the year 2000-2001. In pursuance of the finance minister’s announcement, the commissioner of sales tax, Bombay issued a circular (13.T of 2000 dated 3rd May, 2000) that copyright, as described in section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957, had been added in the schedule to the Sales Tax Act and accordingly, sales tax at 4% is leviable on the turnover of sales in respect of transfer of the right to use the goods covered by new entries w.e.f. 1st May, 2000.

SALES TAX IN ABEYANCE

The Inside Story

On 5th June, representatives of the various sectors of the Maharashtra film industry went to Mantralaya to hold discussions with Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on the issue of 4% sales tax on all film transactions in the state. As soon as the CM came out of his office, even before the representatives of the industry could initiate the talks, he declared, much to everybody’s relief, that the proposed sales tax on film transactions would be kept in abeyance for two months. The industry leaders must have patted their own backs for bringing about a change in the CM’s heart. But the industry owes a lot to Avinash Adik, son of Maharashtra’s political luminary, Govindrao Adik. Yes, it was he who had brought about a change in the CM’s attitude. Before the CM came out of his office to declare the ad hoc withdrawal of the 4% sales tax, Avinash Adik, accompanied by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain, Kiran Shantaram and Balkrishna Shroff, briefed Vilasrao Deshmukh on the repercussions of the sales tax on the film industry. They cautioned the CM that the imposition of sales tax on film transactions in Maharashtra may force the film industry to shift base to Gujarat, or Goa, Daman and Diu. They impressed upon him that Bombay, being the film capital of the country, had assumed the sobriquet of Bollywood even in the domain of international cinema, adding that the shifting of the film capital to any other state would rob Maharashtra of its pristine glory. After being convinced of the four men’s concern for the film industry and the state, the CM made the happy declaration.

Avinash Adik reportedly holds the agency for Kodak film alongwith Santosh Singh Jain and Hira (of Filmcenter).

BENEFITS BOTH

Balakrishna Shroff (Shringar Films, Bombay) has a surefire formula by which the Maharashtra government as well as the film industry can benefit. Says Shroff, “No state in India has so far imposed sales tax on film transactions. If the state wants to raise revenue from the film industry, the ball lies in the government’s court. Set the ball rolling. Let the government deal with film piracy with an iron hand. If the government strictly deals with the infringers of the Copyright Act, the business of films will definitely zoom up. And then the industry will surely contribute a great deal to the state treasury. If the state expects, say, 10 crore, we might be in a position to pay even 100 crore. Let the state display its might in effectively dealing with the video and cable pirates, and the industry will surely contribute its mite to the state’s coffers. Ek haath do, do haath se lo!”