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).

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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).

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‘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.

MAJROOH SULTANPURI –
Ae Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagah Le Chal…..

Jaakar kahin kho jaaoon main
Neend aaye aur so jaaoon main
Duniya mujhe dhoonde magar
Mera nishaan koi na ho.

Nevertheless, the nishaan, the tell-tale signs will not vanish. Instead, his songs will return repeatedly to haunt…. hunt…. for, Majrooh Sultanpuri’s demise marks the end of an era.

The end came, as it usually does, unexpectedly in the early hours of May 25 at Lilavati Hospital, Bombay. The first lyricist to be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke award is survived by his wife, daughter and son (Andalib Sultanpuri). He was 78 and succumbed to a lung infection.

Majrooh, the pen-name of Asrar Hasan Khan, was the only lyricist, still in our midst, whose creation — Jab dil hi toot gaya / Hum jee ke kya karenge — had been rendered in the soulful voice of the legend of legends, Kundan Lal Saigal.

It was composed by Naushad for Abdul Rashid Kardar’s Shahjehan. This song had such a mesmerising effect on Saigal himself that he had requested its tune to be played on his last journey — from his death-bed to the pyre.

Strange to ponder that Majrooh had penned his own obituary in a song he wrote for Mamta in the ‘sixties. Mull over this antra of the evergreen hit Rahen na rahen hum: Jab hum na honge, jab hamaari khaaq pe tum rukoge chalte-chalte / Ashqon se bheegi chandni mein ek sadaa si sunoge chalte-chalte / Wahin par kahin hum tum se milenge ban-ke kali, ban-ke sabaa baagh-e-wafaa mein.

All the same, what wrings the heart is that Majrooh was in such fine fettle till the very end. Kya Kehna!, released last week, had lyrics penned by him, as did the film released yesterday — Hum To Mohabbat Karega.

A hallmark is invariably hard to define but Majrooh’s forte was in giving an image to the hero through his songs. In Mehboob Khan’s Andaz, he had the luxury of writing four songs to cast Dilip Kumar in the mould of the unrequited lover, the eternal loser, the tragedian — Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe, Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar, Toote na dil toote na, and Jhoom jhoom ke naacho aaj — all rendered by Mukesh under Naushad’s baton. Dev Anand’s flippant, lover-boy image was given a fillip by  Maana janaab ne pukaara nahin (Paying Guest) and even more piquantly in Nau Do Gyarah. Hum hain rahi pyar ke, hum se kuchh na boliye / Jo bhi pyaar se mila, hum usi ke ho liye was the mukhda and revel in one antra of this song — Raah mein pade hain hum kabse aap ki kasam / Dekhiye to kam se kam…. boliye na boliye! And when Dev Anand returned over two decades later with a new hair-style in Jewel Thief, Majrooh conjured up a song that sat pat on where the puff used to be:

Yej dil na hota bechaara, kadam na hote awara / Jo khoobsoorat koi apna humsafar hota.

In the interim period, Majrooh also caught the poetic part of Dev’s persona with brief preludes — like this couplet preceding Khwab ho tum ya koyi haqeeqat in Teen Deviyan. The gem was Subah ko jis tarah ho sham ka ho ghuman / Zulfon mein ek chehra, kuchh zaahir, kuchh nihaan.

Shammi Kapoor got his ‘yaahoo’ image, thanks to writer-director Nasir Husain’s imagination and Majrooh’s inspired writing in Tumsa Nahin Dekha. Jawaaniyan yeh mast-mast bin piye; Sar pe topi laal, haath mein resham ka roomal, O! tera kya kehna; Aayen hain door se milne huzoor se; Chhupnewale saamne aa; and Dekho kasam se. This trend carried on and the most recent beneficiary was Tahir Husain’s son, Aamir Khan, in Qayamat Se Gayamat Tak (Papa kehte hain bada naam karega; Ae mere humsafar).

Majrooh was a versatile writer who could pen songs as per the demands of the situation. He was, initially, a bit of a perfectionist, given his literary background as the following incident illustrates. At a song-sitting of Guru Dutt’s Aar Paar, Majrooh was aghast when Guru Dutt made a minor correction in the first line of the mukhda written by him. The song in question was: Sun sun sun sun zaalima, pyaar humko tum se ho gaya / Dil se mila le dil mera, tujhko mere pyar ki kasam. “But this is grammatically incorrect,” protested Majrooh, adding, “If you make it sun, then you cannot use tum, it has to be tujh. It is tu sun and tum suno,” he concluded. Guru Dutt was, however, more keen on the play on ‘m’ than on grammar and he told Majrooh that grammar could be sacrificed for an alluring alliteration — so essential to melody. Majrooh complied.

On reflection, what amazes one about Majrooh’s career-graph was his chequered relations with producers. Except for Nasir Husain, who stood by him through thick and thin for decades — from Tumsa Nahin Dekha to Jo Jeeta Woho Sikandar — other producers and composers utilised his talent as and when it suited them.

And this trend began from Mehboob’s Andaz. While Naushad remained Mehboob’s permanent composer, Shakeel Badayuni replaced Majrooh. Indeed, even Naushad worked with Majrooh almost three decades after Andaz, in Venus Pictures’ Saathi. He was never a regular in any camp and that was no reflection on the quality of his work. When B.R. Chopra launched his banner with Ek Hi Rasta, Majrooh was signed to write the lyrics. That was to be his first and last film with B.R. Chopra. Tarachand Barjatya launched Rajshri on a big scale with Aarti which had music by Roshan and lyrics by Majrooh. Dosti was a personal triumph for Majrooh as he won awards for it, with new music duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, for Chaahoonga main tujhe saanjh savere, which pipped the songs of Raj Kapoor’s Sangam, composed by the famous Shankar-Jaikishan duo, at the post. Dev Anand, Bimal Roy, S. Mukerji, Raj Khosla, all gave him assignments, but Majrooh was always in the dark about when the axe would fall. He forever had competition in Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Rajinder Krishan, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Asad Bhopali et al. Indeed, Raj Kapoor had no time to look beyond Shailendra-Hasrat till Shailendra was alive. Majrooh entered the R.K. camp, courtesy Randhir Kapoor, and wrote that pithy song, Ek din bik jaayega maati ke mol / Jag mein rah jaayenge pyare tere bol for Dharam Karam, directed by Randhir Kapoor.

Majrooh was generous to a fault. He would go out of his way to write songs for producers in distress, disregarding his price. His songs for Rajinder Singh Bedi’s Dastak — an FFC production — became a milestone in Madan Mohan’s life. He used his takhallus to telling effect in the climax song, sung by Rehana Sultana, Hum hain matae-e-koocha baazaar ki tarah — Majrooh likh rahe hain woh ahle wafa ka naam / Hum bhi khade huen hain gunehgaar ki tarah.

In a career spanning well over five decades, Majrooh maintained his personal and professional dignity and was thoroughly down-to-earth. Unlike the image usually associated with poets, he was a disciplined man with his feet planted firmly on terra firma. This accounts for his long innings and large and qualitative output. Among the hundreds of films he penned the lyrics for were Pukar (new), Jaanam Samjha Karo, Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke, Mere Humdum Mere Dost, Aakhri Dao (old), Abhilasha, Bhoot Bungla, Aulad, Chalti Ka Naam Gadi, Anamika, Andaz Apna Apna, Dilli Ka Thug, Kudrat and Arzoo (old). One is grateful that his songs are a source of solace. All the more so when one is faced with such feelings from his quill as: Sulagte seene se dhuaan sa uth-ta hai / Lo ab chale aao ke dum ghut-ta hai / Jala gaye tan ko baharon ke saaye main kya karoon haaye / Ke tum yaad aaye.

The answer, too, is provided by Majrooh himself through Asha Bhosle’s poser in Nasir Husain’s Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon — Khud dhoond rahi hai shama jise kya baat hai us parwane ki!”

– Dr. Shivaji Sen-Gupta

LATEST POSITION

The success of KYA KEHNA has spread joy in the industry…. KN…PH has got a further boost due to the additional song which has resulted in collections jumping up in the week that’s gone by….. Asia Cup cricket fever may affect box-office collections adversely from tomorrow.

Kya Kehna! has done splendid and is the best in Gujarat, Delhi, U.P. and C.I. 1st week Bombay 37,80,883 (91.46%) from 8 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 13,94,583 from 3 cinemas, Jamnagar 1,39,063; Pune 9,67,783 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 39,45,464 (94.81%) from 6 cinemas; Kanpur 3,70,806, Lucknow 4,47,573, Agra 2,80,000, Varanasi  2,12,108, Allahabad 1,13,172, Bareilly (6 days) 1,30,000; Calcutta 16,71,661 from 9 cinemas; Nagpur 4,72,419 (100%), Amravati (6 days) 1,77,744, Akola 1,61,039, Raipur 1,83,399, Bhilai (6 days) 1,16,666, Chandrapur 2,01,684, Bilaspur 1,35,080; Indore 2,40,000 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,35,500; Jaipur 6,39,067 from 2 cinemas, Ajmer 1,47,793, Bikaner 2,07,959; Hyderabad (gross) 12,47,981 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

…………

Jung 2nd week Bombay 19,95,719 (51.89%) from 7 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,82,034 from 6 cinemas, Baroda 89,282 (1st 1,84,609), Jamnagar (matinee) 13,904; Pune 5,33,763 from 6 cinemas; Hubli 65,387 (1st 83,265), Belgaum 67,849 (1st 98,384); Delhi 7,91,725 from 8 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,44,600 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,52,353 (1st 2,81,804), Agra 80,000; Allahabad 66,000, Bareilly 66,688; Calcutta 1,66,090 (1st 3,21,365); Nagpur 92,358 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 59,387, total 2,12,263, Amravati (6 days) 83,008, Raipur 48,244, Bhilai (6 days) 21,750, Jalgaon 1,00,145, Yavatmal (4 days) 10,662; Indore 36,755, Bhopal 60,534; Jaipur 1,24,206, Ajmer (gross) 87,358, Bikaner 73,390; Hyderabad (gross) 2,73,612 from 3 cinemas; Guntur (gross) 80,927, total 1,68,352.

Chal Mere Bhai 3rd week Bombay 30,04,003 (48.83%) from 10 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,82,637 from 6 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 75,535 (2nd 1,57,800), Jamnagar 22,622; Pune 4,59,330 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 9,63,226 from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,32,253 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,72,450 (2nd 3,78,127), Agra (22 shows) 1,05,000, Allahabad 45,418, Varanasi 81,098, Bareilly 62,897 (2nd 91,181), Hardwar 19,000; Calcutta 2,06,550 (2nd 3,06,742); Nagpur 1,63,367 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 87,358, Raipur (gross) 1,61,647 (2nd 2,55,377), Bhilai (gross) 83,706, Jalgaon 97,395, Wardha 27,429, Bilaspur 45,777 (2nd 83,420); Indore 98,000, Bhopal 49,480 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 94,267.

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 19th week Bombay 7,00,756 (52.16%) from 3 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,85,862 from 3 cinemas, Baroda 1,85,533; Pune 3,37,977 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 6th week Bijapur 92,410; 19th week Delhi 5,12,889 from 4 cinemas; Kanpur 88,089, Lucknow 1,76,353, Agra 64,000, Varanasi 1,03,381, Allahabad 52,302; Calcutta 2,81,621 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 3,18,428 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 85,540, total 23,22,346, Amravati 93,819 (18th 86,550), Akola 88,330, total 22,79,719, Raipur 78,188 (18th 75,000), total 22,83,103, 4th week Bhilai 34,714, 19th week Jalgaon 85,971 (18th 72,358), 14th week Wardha 43,994 (13th 37,948), 6th week Rajnandgaon 58,359, total 3,77,631, 18th week Chandrapur 81,872, total 23,54,531, 1st week Yavatmal (2nd run) 1,00,214, 19th week Bilaspur 32,322, 6th week Sagar 33,165, Betul 73,302, 1st week Ambikapur 1,60,460, 2nd week Karanja 51,883, total 1,54,159; 19th week Bhopal 1,07,111; Jaipur 61,657; Hyderabad (gross) 4,64,404 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.).

AIFPC DONATES 1 CRORE FOR ORISSA CYCLONE RELIEF

The All India Film Producers Council last week donated Rs. 1 crore to the prime minister’s Orissa relief fund. The amount was collected through a star-studded programme, ‘India 2000’, organised by the Hindi film industry in association with Global Online Entertainment at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi on 10th December.

The cheque was presented to prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee by Pahlaj Nihalani, Boney Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Sridevi and Aishwarya Rai.

BABY GIRL FOR SHAH RUKH KHAN

Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri have been blessed with a baby girl. The baby was delivered by Caesarean section on 22nd May at Breach Candy Hospital, Bombay.

SECOND SUNDAY NOT COMPULSORY HOLIDAY

The Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers has reverted its decision (of 3rd May) to enforce the second Sunday of every month as a compulsory holiday for artistes, technicians and workers. The new decision was arrived at in a joint meeting of the AMPTPP, AIFPC and FWICE on 22nd May, wherein the AIFPC contended that the provision for a compulsory holiday was no longer relevant as the production of films and TV serials had gone down drastically in the last few years.

Second Sundays will, therefore, not be observed as compulsory holidays now.

NAGPUR EXHIBITORS, CABLE AGENCIES ARRIVE AT LANDMARK DECISION

The joint meeting of the cable operators and cinema owners of Nagpur was held on 19th May at Hotel Tuli International, Nagpur. Dalipsingh Tuli, president, Cine Exhibitors Association, Nagpur, presided. The meeting was attended by almost all cable agency owners, namely Sachin Jain (Cable Network), George (Siti Cable), Nitin Patil (In Cable), Jagdish Palia (UCN), Dhawade (Universal Spectrum), Rajesh Joshi (Sargam), Motghare (Drishti) and Mazhar Sheikh (Bharat).

The CEA, represented by D.S. Tuli, S.B. Patil, Vijay Kher, Prashant Rathi, Sharma, Deewan, S.A. Sorathiya, K.K. Sawhney and Pali Sharma, described the problems faced by cinemas due to cable agencies showing new films on cable TV. This had resulted into decreased audience for the cinemas and also lower entertainment tax revenue to the government, they added.

After long-winding deliberations, the meeting arrived at a fruitful decision. It was unanimously decided that with immediate effect, the telecast of new films on cable TV would stop and no newly-released films would be transmitted by cable operators of the city (Nagpur) and that the decision would be strictly implemented. To co-ordinate the efforts, two representatives each from the two associations were named: Dalipsingh Tuli and K.K. Sawhney from the CEA, and Sachin Jain and Nitin Patil from the cable agencies. S.B. Patil, secretary, CEA, thanked all the cable agencies for their co-operation and for arriving at a good decision and said, the CEA expected their continued co-operation.

It would be pertinent to note here that the government revenue department and the police department had also helped in this effort. The police department had suggested the CEA to take up the issue with cable agencies and operators.

YOU ASKED IT

Producers say that there are no good stories available. But one sometimes sees ads issued by some writers who beg to be heard. Why don’t producers listen to their subjects? Why do the filmmakers go after the regular film writers?

– Do you guarantee that new writers will give good stories?

Do singers still get royalty from music companies?

– Very few singers get royalties from music companies. Nowadays, the music companies usually buy music of films outright.

Do you believe that a film title based on favourable numerological combination helps a film succeed at the box-office?

– I only believe that a good story contributes majorly towards a film’s success.

DO YOU KNOW?

* KYA KEHNA!, which was released with a total of 153 prints, is being screened with 175 prints in the 2nd week. Due to distributors’ demand, 22 prints have been added. The producers, Tips Films, took care to deliver all the prints to the all-India distributors at their offices!

* KN…PH has created a record by collecting 1,03,282/- in 19th week at Saraswati, Varanasi. More than 18th week (91,000/-).

* KN…PH has created a city record by collecting 1,08,072/- in 19th week at Alankar, Nagpur. It has also credited a theatre record at Natraj, Nagpur by collecting 45,374/- in 18th week (17th week was 44,588/-). It has created a theatre record by collecting 1,64,982/- in 1st week (3rd run) at Jaswant, Nagpur.

* KN…PH has created a city record by collecting 93,189/- in 19th week at Panchsheel, Amravati. Better than previous week (86,550/-).

* KN…PH has created a city record by collecting 88,330/- in 19th week at Manek, Akola. Total for 19 weeks: 22,79,719/-.

* KN…PH has created a city record in Raipur by collecting 78,188/- in 19th week at Anand cinema. Better than 18th week (75,000/-). Total: 22,83,103/-. The new song, added in 19th week, is being greeted by the showering of coins on the screen by the public that goes wild.

* KN…PH has created a city and Khandesh record  by collecting 85,971/- in 19th week at Ashok, Jalgaon. Better than 18th week (72,358/-) and 17th week (71,038/-). People went crazy over the new song added in the film, whistling, shouting, singing and dancing when it came on the screen!

* KN…PH has created a city record in Chandrapur by collecting 81,873/- in 18th week at Jayant Talkies. Total for 18 weeks: 23,54,531/-.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

If you can’t afford to lose them, try to win them. With this perception in view, the controller of Palace Cinema, Delhi, has slashed admission rates at his cinema by up to 50 per cent! And this has been done because the cinema found the attendance of patrons dwindling week after week, thanks to cable television operators freely showing new films. Joginder Mahajan, the cinema’s controller, has slashed the admission rates from Rs. 50/- and Rs. 45/- to Rs. 25/- and Rs. 20/-. Almost like, ‘buy one, take one free’! The seat occupany of the cinemas is likely to double up because of this. Seems, this is the only way out if cinemas have to survive.

CHANDAAL

Aabha Films’ Chandaal (A) is the usual revenge drama of a wronged police officer. A don kills the family members of the police inspector because the latter has, in the discharge of his duties, killed his (don’s) son and also chopped off his hand. The blame for the murders of the family members comes on the honest police officer who is, therefore, jailed. A lady-journalist pleads his case with the President and succeeds in getting him freed after five years. To his horror, he finds that his house has been converted into a cemetery. The ex-police inspector then decides to himself don the mantle of the chandaal and also seeks revenge on the don and his other sons.

The story is routine and oft-repeated. Screenplay, even though one of convenience, does not let the viewer get bored, at least in the second half, because it is quite fast-paced. There are, however, a few dull moments before interval. Dialogues are good at places.

Mithun Chakraborty does a good job. Sneha is fair. Rami Reddy is alright but filmmakers should realise that his dubbing (dialogue delivery and diction) is so poor that the impact of his acting is lost. Punit Issar is okay. Altaf Raja, in a song sequence, is alright. His song (‘Kar lo pyar’), although having no proper situation, is very good. Asrani’s comedy, aimed at front-benchers, lends some relief in the second half. Hemant Birje, Jack Gaud, Avtar Gill, Kasam Ali, Ashwin Kaushal, Lekha Govil, Pinky Chinoy and the rest provide adequate support.

T.L.V. Prasad’s direction is mechanical. Music (Anand Milind) is fair but there’s not even one number which could be rated as hit or semi-hit. The better songs, besides Altaf Raja’s, are ‘Husn tera hai kudiye’, ‘Tu ladki hai teekhi mirchi’ and ‘Ras malai’. Song picturisations are routine and the romantic ones are all dream sequences. Camerawork is of a reasonable standard. Production and other technical values are appropriate. Action scenes are fairly nice but too many cinematic liberties have been taken in stunts.

On the whole, reasonably priced Chandaal should do reasonable business on the strength of patronage of the masses.

Released on 13-3-’98 at Alankar and 17 other cinemas of Bombay by Hum Films thru Balaji Enterprises. Publicity: good. Opening: good (due to Holi holiday). …….Also released all over.

LATEST POSITION

Monsoon (dubbed) is doing very well in C.I. (opened this week in Gwalior to very good response).

Zor 4th week Bombay (6 days) 4,43,646 (61.65%) from 3 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 50,825 (2 unrecd.); Pune 2,75,459 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), 1st week Barsi 50,947 from 2 cinemas (14 shows at both the cinemas); 4th week Delhi (6 days) 3,55,475 from 3 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Kanpur 84,559 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,37,888, Allahabad 36,000; Calcutta (6 days) 1,07,480; Jabalpur (6 days) 36,644, Amravati (6 days) 35,235, Akola 25,773, total 3,21,106, Raipur (6 days) 23,565; Bhopal (6 days) 43,345; Hyderabad 2,42,027 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Kama Sutra – A Tale Of Love (dubbed) 5th week Bombay (6 days) 7,51,624 (54%) from 4 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,12,297 (3 unrecd.), 1st week Bharuch (gross) 2,15,924; 5th week Pune 1,21,490 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi (6 days) 13,03,448 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 77,726, Lucknow 1,08,179, Allahabad 33,000; Calcutta 2,23,795 from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 48,487, 1st week Jabalpur (6 days) 1,91,952, 2nd Jalgaon 71,086 (1st 1,85,000); 5th week Indore (6 days) 40,000, Bhopal (6 days) 41,904.

…………

_________

Titanic (E.) is extraordinary. 1st week Bombay 14,99,336 from 2 cinemas (collections of 1 cinema are for 6 days only); Calcutta (6 days) 3,00,180.

SATYEN PAL CHAUDHRY BEREAVED

Producer Satyendra Pal Chaudhry’s 17-year-old son, Viraj, committed suicide on 9th March at his residence in Bombay. After he had consumed poison, the boy was rushed to Nanavati Hospital where he died late evening. The pressure of the oncoming examination (he was studying in Std. XII) is said to be the cause of the suicide. The chautha ceremony on 12th was largely attended by industry people.

UPENDRA TRIVEDI ELECTED MP

Gujarati film actor Upendra Trivedi won the Lok Sabha elections from the Bhiloda constituency in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat. He contested independently and defeated his nearest rival by a handsome majority.

CHANDAN SINGH TYAGI ELECTED MADEA PRESIDENT

Chandan Singh Tyagi was elected president of the Movie Action Dummy Effect Association at its sixth annual general meeting held on 8th March at Natraj Studios. Arun Patil was elected senior vice president, and Vijendra Tyagi, vice president. Anthony Fernandes was elected general secretary, and R.I. Shaikh and Ajay Dwivedi, joint secretaries. Gulab Shingare was elected treasurer.

Ashok Patil, Suresh Gohil, Tanveer Ahmed, Rajendra Tyagi, Sadanand Poojary, Maxy Fernandes, Mohd. Salim, Javed Sayyed, Babu Sistla, Mahendra Yadav, Narayan Sharma and Mohd. Iqbal were elected other members of the executive committee.

Chandan Singh Tyagi, Anthony Fernandes and Ajay Dwivedi will represent the MADEA in the General Council of the FWICE. Anthony Fernandes will represent it in the executive committee of the FWICE.

SOUTH BEAUTIES FOR BACHCHAN

It is mere coincidence but not a small one, this. Amitabh Bachchan’s new films have him paired with South India beauties. He recently signed Suryavamsham (the Hindi title is unknown) opposite Tamil and Telugu film actress Soundarya. Mehul Kumar’s Kohram stars Jaya Prada and Tabu (she is a Hyderabadi). His Bade Miyan Chote Miyan co-star is Ramya Krishna. Soon to be released Lal Baadshah has Amitabh in a double role; while the senior Bachchan is paired opposite Radhika, the younger Bachchan is opposite Shilpa Shetty (she is a Mangalorean). In S. Ramanathan’s untitled film, Amitabh’s co-star is Vijayashanti. Priyadarshan has signed Shobhana opposite the big B for Dariya. Incidentally, Shobhana (Malayalam film beauty) has already done a music video, ‘Kabhi Kabhi’, with him. Last but not the least, the Amitabh-starrer yet to see the light of the day, Yaar Meri Zindagi, co-stars Sudha Chandran. 

YOU ASKED IT

What should the budget of a Mithun starrer be?

– Less than Rs. 2 crore.

How many releases should a hero ideally have in one year?

– Three to four.

Will the Hindi (dubbed) and Tamil (original) versions of Jeans be released simultaneously?

– The Tamil version will come on 10th April while the Hindi dubbed version is fixed for release either on 24th April or in May.

Haven’t we had too much of foreign shootings in films these days?

– But producers have been shooting in different countries and on newer locations, so what’s the harm?

IN & OUT OF BOMBAY

Mr. Shyam Shroff and Mr. Shravan Shroff of Shringar Films, Bombay, are in the USA and will be back after six or seven days.

Mr. Kishore Kala of Vinayaka Films, Jaipur, will come to Bombay on 16th March.

Mr. Pawan Todi of Vinayaka Films, Jaipur, currently in Calcutta, will come to Bombay on 16th.

Mr. Naraindas Mukhija of Shree Navchitra Distributors P. Ltd., Jaipur, will reach Bombay (636-0106) on 17th/18th March.

Producer Boney Kapoor has gone to Madras and Hyderabad.

Film agent N.S. Bhalla returned from his foreign trip on 11th March.

DO YOU KNOW?

* This must be a record of sorts. Producer Rajiv Babbar has so far made six films, all of them with Mithun Chakraborty as hero. His seventh film also stars Mithun and he has announced his eighth, MAA KASAM, again with Mithun Chakraborty.

WHAT A DELIGHT!

* Delite cinema in Delhi has screened three films of Mukta Shakti Combines, which have completed 100 days. RAJA HINDUSTANI ran for 16 weeks, and PARDES and ISHQ, for 15 weeks each. Indeed, a delightful cinema for Mukta Shakti Combines, this Delite!

* Actor and singer Aroon Bakshi has turned a music director by scoring music for a Punjabi non-film album, ‘Bol Mitti Dya Baavya’, to be released by Venus next month. Dharmendra has given commentary for the album in which one song is penned by his brother, Ajit Singh.

* Considering that it is a non-star cast film, BARSAAT KI RAAT has had a massive publicity campaign. Bharat Kapoor has not left any medium — television, radio, airports, railway stations, bus-backs, street publicity, magazines etc. — untouched. Truly, a creditable attempt.

* KAMA SUTRA has created a city record by collecting 50,225/- on the first day at Jayant, Jabalpur.

* ISHQ has collected a whopping 35,49,915/- in 15 weeks at Novelty, Lucknow.

* DESH RE JOYA DADA PARDESH JOYA is the first Gujarati film to be showing with 37 prints in Gujarat and Saurashtra.

* SARKARNAMA (Marathi; tax-free) has created a record in 2nd week too by collecting 35,017/- (nett) in 21 shows at Shiv Shankar, Miraj.

Music For The Ears
Narrative That Draws Tears
The Unprecedented Success Story Called ‘Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya’

The long and almost never-ending queues of people outside cinemas of Gujarat and Saurashtra, which are screening Govindbhai Patel’s Gujarati blockbuster, Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya, are reminiscent of the euphoria which had been witnessed almost three decades ago for the Upendra Trivedi starrer, Jesal Toral. People from nearby villages used to come in bullock-carts to towns and cities screening Jesal Toral and they used to camp in the cinema compounds. If they did not get tickets for the 12 noon show, they used to wait for the 3 o’clock show, and if they were similarly unlucky in the 3 p.m. show, they used to simply wait and try their luck in the 6 o’clock show or 9 p.m. show. But they would not return home without seeing the film. They used to carry their food with them and the ground of the cinema compound was where they used to eat it.

History is repeating itself after many, many years. Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya is a mega hit in the truest sense of the term. It has already crossed the crore-mark and at the rate at which it is going, it should touch the 2-crore mark in a matter of a few weeks more. It has broken all the box-office records and is also the first Gujarati film to be running with 37 of its prints engaged in Gujarat and Saurashtra! No Gujarati film producer can boast of having taken out so many prints of his film in the past.

DRJDPJ has opened up a new chapter in the history of Gujarati films. People are flocking to the cinemas as if they were visiting a carnival or a fair. No sooner does the current show become house-full than those waiting in the queues ask the management to open the ticket windows for the next show! The unprecedented crowds are the same whether it is Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Nadiad, Anand or Bharuch in Gujarat or Rajkot, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Veraval, Botad or Una in Saurashtra.

In Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Rajkot particularly, the upper class audience is patronising the film in a really big way. They come in cars, a sight hitherto unknown to the Gujarati film world because Gujarati films have almost always been patronised by the lower class and rural audience.

Why is the film such a roaring hit? Why is it creating such a stir and what is it in the film which is attracting such huge crowds? Most viewers felt, it was the film’s story and its music which were the two biggest plus points. The film shows the love between a grandfather and his grand-daughter who is married off in a family which lives abroad. The grand-daughter is unhappy in her married life but does not let this be known to her family members in India. This has struck a chord in the viewers’ hearts. The treatment of the subject, when the family members come to know the truth, is also excellent. Especially, the sad song, picturised on the entire family, has been moving the audience to tears. Most of those who have seen the film also cite the absence of vulgarity/cheapness/obscenity as another reason for liking it. This has also made the film a family affair.

What is really creditable about DRJDPJ is that it is the maiden directorial venture of lucky producer Govindbhai Patel. And it boasts of no star names like Naresh Kanodia in its cast or Mahesh-Naresh in its music score. Arvind Barot, a well-known folk singer of Gujarat, has achieved remarkable success by setting the meaningful and tear-jerking lyrics in rich folk tunes. The film’s audio cassettes are also selling like hot-cakes and it is a fact that Govindbhai is minting money from both the sides — box-office returns as well as sale of music cassettes (he has himself marketed the audio cassettes). Reportedly, about six to seven lakh albums have already been consumed by the market.

Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya will be released in Bombay city and suburbs on 10th April in three cinemas (Alankar matinee, Uday, Ghatkopar and Mehul, Mulund). Let’s see, how the Bambaiya Gujju bhais and behens treat this super-hit.

Condemnable Apathy

The death of a young stunt artiste a fortnight ago throws light on the callousness of a large majority of the industry people. It also exposes the indifference of the association of stuntmen, the Movie Stunt Artistes’ Association. Of course, it also reveals the humane side of a producer but this very revelation also brings to light the bitter truth that there aren’t many producers like Gupta — men with a heart.

The accident took place on the set of producer Kulbhushan Gupta’s Pardesi Babu. That it was a freak accident is borne out by the fact that the stunt artiste, who was in his early twenties and was used to doing daredevil stunts, fell off from a bench just two feet high. That was the beginning of the poor boy’s journey to his end. The freak accident landed him in a hospital where he battled for life for 18 days. Kulbhushan Gupta spent about Rs. 1.5 lakh for his treatment because the accident, although a freak one, happened on his set. He approached the Movie Stunt Artistes’ Association but the latter has no system of medical assistance. Gupta was shocked when he was told that the Association paid Rs. 40,000 to the family of a deceased stuntman but had no provision for paying for the treatment of a member. Did this amount to saying crudely that the Association would do nothing to save its member but would rather wait for him to die and, nevertheless, contribute Rs. 40,000 after doing nothing to save his life? The Association also asked the producer on whose set the accident has taken place, to pay Rs. 2 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family.

A question which arises here is that another producer may have not given the injured stuntman the top quality treatment which Gupta gave him and, in the process, spent a lakh-and-a-half. That producer, too, would have to pay Rs. 2 lakh after the stuntman’s demise, and Gupta is also being asked to pay Rs. 2 lakh. Put differently, isn’t a humane person being penalised, and a heartless producer being treated leniently? Why does the Association think that its members’ lives are worth something only after they are no more? It is a rather horrendous thought for an Association to look in the other direction while its member is battling with death, and offer money after he is no more. More horrendous, if one considers the risky nature of the job of stuntmen.

Equally horrifying was the apathy of the stars of Pardesi Babu. Neither Govinda nor Raveena Tandon nor Shilpa Shetty came forward to offer any monetary help — not when their co-worker was hospitalised, not even when he bid adieu to the world. Many of our stars would have behaved exactly the way the three abovenamed did. Compared to the poor stuntman, what the stars earn is phenomenal. But you require a big heart to contribute for a noble cause; simply a big pay packet is not enough. Who is the actual hero then? Govinda or the stuntman who laid down his life while doing what Govinda (or, for that matter, any of our stars) fears to do.

The Movie Stunt Artistes’ Association needs to revise its policies. It can have a contributory fund from which medical expenses of those injured while at work can be met. Producers and the stuntmen can contribute to the fund. Life insurance is still a far cry — why, nobody knows. And our ‘poor’ artistes deserve to hang their heads in shame for their cold behaviour.

P.S.: Even as this piece goes into print, news trickles in that a stuntman’s right palm was completely blown off when a bomb, which he was holding, exploded in his hand on the set of Majboor on 9th March.

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

The ‘Titanic’ Story

That the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic derives its name from the luxury liner which actually sank in 1912 is common knowledge. But not many know of an uncanny similarity between the sinking of the Titanic ship in 1912 and the contents of a novel published in 1898 by Morgan Robertson. The novel lies in a tattered and frayed condition in a glass-enclosed case in Philadelphia’s Maritime Museum. The novel, a work of fiction, recounts the story of the sinking of a big, fast and luxurious ship, delineating all the details and events leading up to what the book describes as the greatest ocean disaster in history. In the novel, Robertson describes a colossal ship believed to be unsinkable, embarking on its maiden voyage in the month of April. It is out to set a record and it has on board some of the wealthiest and most influential society figures from Europe and America. It is speeding along the northern lanes of Atlantic travel when it suddenly crashes into an iceberg and goes down swiftly. An inadequate number of lifeboats (only 24) are on board, and, consequently, there’s a heavy loss of life. The name of the ship is Titan. Fourteen years later, in 1912 in the month of April, the world-famous Titanic went down. The details of Robertson’s story paralleled the actual events of the sinking of the Titanic with uncanny faithfulness. The fictional Titan had 3,000 persons aboard, the Titanic had 2,207. Both were considered unsinkable because of their allegedly watertight compartments, and both made their maiden voyage in April. The length of the Titan was 800 feet, the Titanic was 882.5 feet long, and both used three propellers. The speed of Titan at impact with the iceberg was 25 knots, the Titanic’s was 23. The displacement tonnage of the Titan was 75,000 while of the Titanic was 66,000. While there were only 24 lifeboats aboard the fictional Titan, the Titanic, too, had grossly inadequate lifeboats — only 20!

Dada Dubbing Marathi Hits

Believe it or not but the king of double-meaning dialogues in Marathi cinema, Dada Kondke, is planning to dub his Marathi hits in Hindi. Dubbing work of one of his films has already commenced at Empire Audio Centre. Dada had made some films like Aage Ki Soch and Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein in Hindi too. The Hindi film buffs will now get to see many of Dada’s old Marathi hits.

‘Titanic’ Perks

Titanic has completed its glorious first week in Bombay at Regal and Cinemax cinemas despite the examination period. While Regal is screening a Dolby digital print, Cinemax is showing a DTS print. The latter cinema has some additional features to offer Titanic viewers. The video wall in the foyer of Cinemax shows the making of Titanic before the film begins as well as in the interval. In the auditorium, the music of Titanic (specially recorded on 6 tracks) is played in the interval. As if that isn’t enough, there’s a violinist in the foyer, who plays the Titanic music live. Little wonder then that the advance booking for the second week at Cinemax was somewhat better than at Regal. Incidentally, when Titanic was booked at Cinemax subject to Chhota Chetan (which will release at Cinemax on 17th April), it was felt that six weeks would be a sufficient run at the trendy cinema. But at the rate at which the film is going, it shouldn’t be a surprise if six weeks turn out to be an insufficient period. More so, because March-end and early April will see a lot of examinations getting over. As it is, students are already asking Balkrishna Shroff (of Cinemax) to reserve tickets in bulk for them for the days after their examinations.

Hit In Kerala

While on Chhota Chetan, this 3-D film of the early eighties has created a mini havoc in Kerala in its revised version. It is common knowledge that the film has been mixed in Dolby sound, and some additional shooting with Urmila Matondkar and others has also been done. Chhota Chetan, in its new form, has won the audience’s hearts in the South. Let’s see what happens in Bombay, Delhi and West Bengal on 17th April.

Indian Titanics

Here’s an intelligent joke from Javed Akhtar, to keep you laughing:

Two Hindi film trade people were discussing the Hollywood blockbuster Titanic. One of them wondered aloud: “What’s so great about Titanic? I wonder why there’s so much talk about the film. After all, it’s just a ship in the film, which sinks. Here in India, so many of our films themselves sink without a trace, and yet nobody talks of them!”

Holi Jokes

Since it is the Holi week, the column wouldn’t be complete without some Holi jokes.

Q: Why did Juhi Chawla not celebrate the colour of festivals?
A: Because saat rang hardly brought colour to her career.

Q: Why did Aamir Khan refrain from playing Holi?
A: Because he is already a Rangeela hero.

Q: Which colour did Amitabh Bachchan not smear on others when playing Holi?
A: Red. Because that’s his colour, the colour of Lal Baadshah.

Q: What does Rakesh Roshan apply on the faces of his enemies on Holi?
A: Of course, koyla!

Q: Why does Mehul Kumar detest playing Holi?
A: Because he detests anything that reminds him of rang. Remember Lahoo Ke Do Rang?

GHULAM

Vishesh Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Ghulam (A) is the story of a small-time thief whom circumstances force to become the messiah of the basti in which he lives. This basti is almost ruled by a local dada whom the small-time thief challenges and finally has the entire basti, hitherto petrified of him, revolting against him and his atrocities. Aamir Khan plays the thief-turned-messiah who is brought up by his elder brother.

The first half moves at a good pace and has interesting and enjoyable moments. The romantic track of Aamir Khan and girlfriend Ranee Mukerji may not be novel or fresh but all the same, it does appeal to the viewer, if only for the sincerity and spontaneity of Aamir Khan. The film switches tracks after interval and becomes grim and serious. Trying to establish Aamir Khan as a toughie does not quite jell with his lover-boy image. What’s more, Aamir is shown succeeding over a rough-and-tough villain like Sharat Saxena — something which won’t be digested by the audience even though pains have been taken to make it seem plausible.

The story, especially the post-interval portion, reminds of films like Parinda, Ghatak and Boxer. Still, Anjum Rajabali’s effort in writing is quite good; the film at least moves logically and does not appear patchy. However, once the tense drama begins, the romantic portion seems to have been forgotten. The scenes between Aamir and his brother, in the second half, have more of class appeal.  Moreover, the issue tackled in the film is on too small a level (a basti), thereby robbing the film of grandeur. Dialogues definitely needed to be better and much more hard-hitting. Climax is dull and the audience expects the film to wind up in the courtroom but it gets over in the basti. The climax fight is too lengthy.

Aamir Khan does a splendid job, getting into the skin of the character and taking care of the smallest of nuances. Although his physique and chocolate looks let him down as a toughie, his performance is fabulous. Ranee Mukerji has very limited scope and is alright. She does not look too glamorous. Sharat Saxena, as the main villain, is weak. He shouts more than acts. Rajit Kapoor, as Aamir’s brother, plays the villain’s sidekick ably. Meeta Vashishta impresses a great deal with her acting but she does not get much scope. Deepak Tijori is quite nice. Akshay Anand is convincing. Dalip Tahhil (in a guest appearance) and Ashutosh Rana are effective. Bobby Saini, Raju Kher, Madhu Malhotra, Javed Rizvi and the rest lend fair support.

Vikram Bhatt’s direction is good at times but not always so. He has handled the first half with maturity but the second half is loose and too dry. Jatin Lalit’s contribution is the best after Aamir Khan’s. The ‘Aati kya Khandala’ song is a hit. ‘Aankhon se tune ye kya keh diya’ and ‘Jaadu hai’ are also melodious numbers. Picturisation of the ‘Khandala’ song is lovely. Dharma Teja’s camerawork is reasonably good. Action scenes (Abbas Hanif) are fair. Editing is a bit loose. Production values are okay.

On the whole, Ghulam has a hit song, an entertaining first half and an endearing Aamir Khan to more than offset the boredom that creeps in in the tense second half. Considering its lovely opening almost all over, it should keep its distributors quite pleased. Business in Bombay, Maharashtra and South should be better.

Released on 19-6-’98 at Novelty and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru Veekay Enterprises. Publicity: very good. Opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was very good everywhere except in East Punjab and C.I., where it was fair.

LATEST POSITION

The fantastic opening of GHULAM has brought happy tidings in the industry.

Gharwali Baharwali is good in East Punjab  and C.P. Berar and fair in C.I. and Nizam, but started dropping from 4th/5th day onwards elsewhere. Is poor in Gujarat and Bengal. 1st week Bombay 34,00,800 (79.71%) from 9 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,23,244 from 2 cinemas (3 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,55,280; Pune 7,88,325 (86.99%) from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,99,216 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee, 1 unrecd.); Delhi 32,74,245 (71.11%) from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,08,417 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,90,324, good, Agra 1,84,253, Allahabad 1,38,000, Varanasi 1,47,770, Meerut 1,51,000, Bareilly 99,875 (44.71%), Dehradun 1,30,000, Hardwar 70,000; Rohtak 28,109; Calcutta 12,73,538 from 15 cinemas; Nagpur 4,40,216 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,65,143, Amravati 1,77,528, Akola 1,68,770 (98%), Raipur 1,92,405 (79.45%), Durg 1,10,697, Yavatmal 1,19,682; Indore 1,46,987 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,72,966 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 6,64,480 from 4 cinemas, Jodhpur 2,55,000, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,31,400, Bikaner 2,38,600; Hyderabad 15,75,018 from 7 cinemas.

Achanak has not found appreciation. 1st week Bombay 31,57,587 (61.61%) from 12 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,30,176 (3 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,53,942 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 8,78,882 from 5 cinemas, Solapur 1,91,850 (78.14%); Hubli (noon) 44,552; Delhi 16,80,320 (53.61%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,45,203 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,65,173, Allahabad 89,000, Varanasi 1,27,470, Meerut 1,57,048, Bareilly 88,034 (40.75%), Dehradun 96,000; Calcutta 9,92,751 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 4,13,204 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 54,069, Amravati 1,19,756, Raipur 1,10,051 (43.27%); Indore 2,38,000 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,10,433 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 3,38,516 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 14,48,909 from 8 cinemas (1 in noon).

Humse Badhkar Kaun has been rejected. 1st week Bombay 19,53,988 (42.42%) from 15 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 85,090 (3 unrecd.), Baroda 96,935, Rajkot 52,854 (1 in regular & 1 in matinee unrecd.); Pune 3,67,265 from 4 cinemas; Delhi 15,88,055 (41.31%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,21,796 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,05,344, Agra 1,10,315, Allahabad 95,000, Varanasi 1,04,886, Bareilly 38,731 (19.49%); Calcutta 5,43,634 from 7 cinemas; Jabalpur 66,748, Amravati 88,469, Wardha 57,194, Yavatmal 81,766, Bilaspur 54,022; Jaipur 1,74,720 from 2 cinemas.

Dushman 3rd week Bombay (TF) 11,44,458 (60.10%) from 5 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Baroda 48,760, Rajkot 47,272; Pune (TF) 4,15,923 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi (TF) 2,85,396; Kanpur 60,521, Lucknow 71,838, Varanasi 57,128, Dehradun 40,000 (2nd 79,000); Calcutta 1,20,661; Nagpur (TF) 59,376 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Jabalpur 1,14,706, total 2,95,048, Amravati (TF) 79,752, 3rd week Akola (TF) 52,069, total 1,58,537, Raipur 52,424, 1st week Bilaspur 61,140; 3rd week Indore 30,000, Bhopal 54,732; Jaipur 91,730; Hyderabad 2,36,403.

Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai is very steady in Delhi, C.I., Rajasthan and Nizam. 4th week Bombay 14,73,278 (69.42%) from 5 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,20,270 from 3 cinemas, Jamnagar (15 shows) 44,405; Pune 3,52,301 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 63,828; Delhi 20,29,440 from 6 cinemas; Kanpur 1,03,912, Lucknow 1,16,483, Agra 99,500, Allahabad 46,800, 3rd week Varanasi 96,021, 4th week Bareilly (6 days) 55,115 (28.57%), Dehradun 1,07,786 (3rd 1,46,000); Calcutta 4,42,247 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 1,56,566, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,09,026, Akola 55,176, total 3,17,120, 3rd week Raipur 73,746, 4th week Jalgaon (6 days) 46,432, Chandrapur 97,393, total 4,96,226, 2nd week Yavatmal 31,225, 3rd week Bilaspur 78,003; 4th week Bhopal 1,72,495; Jaipur 2,63,321, better than 3rd week, 3rd Bikaner (6 days) 76,545; 4th week Hyderabad 4,89,997 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

MYSORE DISTRIBUTORS FEEL PINCH OF SHOW TAX HIKE

The distributors of Mysore circuit have been feeling the pinch of an unreasonable hike in show tax for the past few months. It may be recalled that the state government increased the show tax from Rs. 80 to a steep Rs. 300 with effect from 1st April, 1998. The 15% surcharge on the tax remains. As a result, the distributor has had to pay a tax of Rs. 345 per show against Rs. 92 previously.

Given that a hit film runs for at least 400 shows in Mysore circuit, the show tax alone adds up to a whopping Rs. 1,38,000 — a very high figure, especially keeping the small size of the territory in mind.

FIRST AIR-CONDITIONED CINEMA IN KOLHAPUR

Saraswati Chitra Mandir in Kolhapur is now rechristened Saraswati Deluxe. After its purchase by Vijendra Shenoy (of Milap cinema, Bombay) and others, it has been fully renovated and equipped with Dolby SR sound. It is the first air-conditioned cinema of Kolhapur. With admission rates of Rs. 15, 20 and 25, it has a nett weekly capacity of Rs. 1,98,000. Its weekly hire is Rs. 50,000.

YOU ASKED IT

At what ratio has this week’s release, Ghulam, been delivered to its distributors?

– At the ratio of between 1.10 and 1.35 crore.

What is better — a bumper opening or pick-up by word of mouth?

– A bumper opening is definitely better because there’s nothing like initial business. Pick-up is generally never 100%.

To what do you attribute the lovely opening of Ghulam?

– To the Aati kya Khandala song and Aamir Khan.

‘Major Saab’ Cleared For June 26 Release

ABCL’s Major Saab, after four days of tension in Delhi, was finally cleared by the chief of army staff on 18th June. Objections to several scenes in the film had raised serious doubts about whether the film would be released on 26th June, as scheduled. The uncertain situation had sent exhibitors all over India panicking about their release schedules. Distributors of Major Saab in different circuits had a tough time convincing exhibitors that the film would get the army clearance and would, therefore, be released on schedule. Suspecting exhibitors held back their MGs/advances, putting distributors to further trouble.

But with the clearance having been obtained, all that is past now. Major Saab is set for release on June 25/26 all over. The defence ministry officials and the top brass of the three defence services saw the film at a preview in Delhi early this week. They reportedly objected to the wrongful and distorted portrayal of discipline in the armed forces, especially in the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakvasla. Amitabh also met army chief Ved Prakash Malik on 15th June.

According to a press release of ABCL, the no-objection certificate of the ministry of defence and the army was presented to the CBFC which gave the film a ‘UA’ certificate dated 19-6-’98. All recommended changes and cuts have been duly executed and presented. The release adds: Major Saab is a commercial film and, like all commercial cinema in India, is in the realm of fiction and make-believe. The events and episodes depicted in the film Major Saab are also fictitious and make-believe. The film needs to be looked at in this context. Even though the story is set partially at the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla, the incidents that are shown in the film do not factually happen at this institution. Certain sequences may appear to be violative of the ethos and tradition of the National Defence Academy, but we mean no disrespect either to the institution or any units or regiments of the Army and the Army personnel. We respect the sanctity and integrity of this premier institution of the country. We take great pride in the discipline, the sense of responsibility, the patriotism that is inculcated by the Academy in the future officers of the Armed Forces, whom we hold in high esteem.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Ramgopal Varma is contemplating dubbing his SATYA in English. He has already approached UTV which is likely to handle the dubbing, if finalised, on his behalf.

* In Goldie Behl’s ANGAARAY, Gulshan Grover plays an underworld don. Whenever Gulshan appears on the screen, a continuous humming sound intersperses the dialogue. The hum could have been produced through a musical synthesiser or by a dubbing/mimicry artiste. But director Mahesh Bhatt hummed and hawed at the idea as he wanted the hums exactly the way he had mentally conceived them to be. The fastidious Mahesh Bhatt finally himself hummed it out with all his lung power.

* GHULAM has created a city record by collecting 51,403/- on the opening day at Chitra, Amravati.

* TITANIC has yielded a share of over 7.25 lakh in 5 weeks from Premprakash, Jaipur.

* NADIYA KE PAAR has yielded a share of 91,000/- in the 1st week of its 4th run at Payal in Jamshedpur (Tatanagar area). The second week’s share is expected to be 30,000/-. The film will then be shifted to Shyam cinema at Haldwani (another suburb of Tatanagar).

What’s The Scene?

In finalising the price of Major Saab, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd. has considered the losses its distributors made in its earlier films, Mrityudaata and Saat Rang Ke Sapne. As a result, the price of Major Saab is a reasonable 1.25 crore to 1.50 crore. Good for the distributors.

Sunil Shetty needs to do some serious thinking about the projects he signs. His Humse Badhkar Kaun had to be discontinued from Jaipur’s Moti Mahal cinema after just a 2-day run.

Till two years back, David Dhawan was the magic man. But his last few releases, including Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi, Banarasi Babu, Deewana Mastana and now, Gharwali Baharwali, have failed to create the magic of his earlier hits. Is it over-confidence or over-commitment? Either way, it’s bad and sad.

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Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Initial Value

At last, there is some respite for the industry which has been craving for a film to take a fantastic opening at the box-office. Ghulam has opened to fantastic houses almost all over the country this week, much to the relief of the industry troubled by a spate of films failing to record even decent openings irrespective of their casts, makers or publicity campaigns. This favourable run of luck is expected to continue with the release of Major Saab next week (on 26th June). The publicity of the film has already generated a tremendous response among all and has come to be regarded as the year’s best publicity campaign so far. The fantastic poster and banner designs give an impression that the film has depth, and they are going a long way in creating the right mood for the film. Moreover, the film’s attractive promotional trailers have been well-received by the public.

The ‘A’ Factor

With the fantastic opening of Ghulam this week, and Major Saab expected to open to bumper houses next week, one cannot help but observe an interesting point of similarity between the two films — the ‘A’ factor. While Ghulam boasts of Aamir Khan in its cast, Major Saab has two A’s — Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgan — not to mention ABCL which has produced the film! It sure looks like the ‘A’ factor is all-important……

Amitabh Bachchan ‘Controversy’ Limited?

With the release of Major Saab next week, ABCL has once again lived up to its reputation of being involved in pre-release controversies. Mani Ratnam’s Bombay (the all-India rights of which were held by ABCL) ran into rough weather over censorship. Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen, an ABCL production, got into a major censor imbroglio not once but twice — the second time, it was resolved only when the Supreme Court granted the film a clearance for release. True to ABCL’s tradition, even Major Saab is reported to have upset the army which initially refused to clear the film for release. Fortunately for ABCL, the film was ultimately cleared by the army after minor changes were effected, but in good time for the release to not have had to be postponed. In view of the fact that each one of ABCL’s releases gets into unlimited problems while getting clearance from various agencies, it may help to change the company’s name to Amitabh Bachchan Clearance Limited! Or would Amitabh Bachchan Controversy (Un)Limited be a more appropriate change?

Hearing What And Signing What?

Nowadays, one often hears every other star waxing eloquent on how he never signs a film without hearing its complete story. If this were really true, our stars must be the worst judges of a film’s potential, in light of the fact that such a large number of films starring these very stars flop at the box-office! But the reality is not that they are poor judges. The fact is something else. In many cases, the stars hear only some scenes of the film instead of the complete story and, excited by them, sign the film without hearing the rest of the story. At other times, a star gets carried away by his role and, without knowing the whole story of the film, signs on the dotted line. As a result, it has become extremely easy for a clever, eloquent and articulate director to sign top stars up by narrating just three or four interesting scenes to them! Ultimately, what happens in such cases is that the rest of the film doesn’t match up to the narrated scenes and hence the film fails at the box-office. It must be borne in mind that a handful of scenes or a strong character for the hero alone do not make a film, and if our stars are under such an impression, they are fooling no one but themselves.

Who’s Copying Whom?

And here’s an incident that should make you laugh.

A 4-year old was watching Qila on cable TV. After a while, the little one, pointing at Dilip Kumar in the film, quipped, “Papa, papa, this old man is copying Shah Rukh Khan.”

‘Himalaya Putra’ Audio Released
With Pomp And Show

The music release function of Vinod Khanna and HMV’s Himalay Putra on 31st October at the Turf Club was a grand affair indeed. The occasion was special for Vinod as he introduces his son, Akshaye Khanna, in the film.

It was a ‘Himalayan’ welcome which was accorded to the invitees that evening as Himalay Putra’s dad, Vinod Khanna himself, stood at the entrance, personally welcoming the large number of guests who came to wish both, father and putra, the very best.

Sunil Dutt had thoughtfully been invited as the chief guest for the function. It may be recalled that it was none other than Sunil Dutt who had introduced Vinod Khanna in films. At the cassette release function, Dutt Sahab recalled how he had had to convince Vinod’s father to allow him to come into films. “When I first saw Vinod Khanna, I thought to myself that here was the Kirk Douglas of India,” recalled Sunil Dutt. “Vinod Khanna’s father had wanted to send him abroad for training because he wanted him to look after his factory,” continued Sunil Dutt. “But I told his father that Vinod should be given one chance to try his hand at acting. If he failed, the factory would, of course, be there. I was confident that Vinod would make a place for himself in this industry and I told so to his father.”

After Sunil Dutt’s speech, Vinod Khanna introduced Akshaye to the gathering. He also introduced the film’s new leading ladies, Anjala and Shazia. Thereafter, Sunil Dutt released the music cassette of Himalay Putra.

Excerpts from four songs of the film were screened. It must be said that Anu Malik has done a wonderful job and it can safely be predicted that the music of Himalay Putra will soon become extremely popular. Director Pankaj Parashar and the choreographer have done a fantastic job of the picturisation of some of the songs. In particular, the ‘I’m a bachelor’ song will be widely discussed for its unique picturisation.

The dinner and decoration at the function made it appear like a wedding reception. The giant-sized statue of Lord Shiva, which has been used in the film, was put up at the Turf Club. There were any number of varieties of dishes for dinner and dessert.

TOLU BAJAJ RECUPERATING

Bombay distributor Tolu Bajaj underwent a minor surgery earlier this week at Jaslok Hospital (and not Breach Candy Hospital, as mentioned in our issue last week). He is recuperating at the hospital and is likely to be discharged from the hospital shortly.

BABY GIRL FOR ATUL AGNIHOTRI

Atul Agnihotri’s wife, Alvira, gave birth to a baby girl on 27th October at Breach Candy Hospital, Bombay.

YOU ASKED IT

What do you think of the decision of the producers of Raja Hindustani to postpone its release by a week?

– It is a sensible decision to not come in opposition of two big action films even though it is the Diwali week.

What is your opinion about the new trend of music directors taking contracts for song recordings from producers?

– It isn’t a very good trend because music directors invariably try to cut corners in song recordings when they are paid for the entire recordings, and all outgoings for the same are borne by them.

Who is the most in-demand newcomer?

– Seems to be Sharad Kapoor. He reportedly has over 20 films on hand.

‘MAACHIS’ TAX-FREE IN M.P.

Gulzar’s Maachis has been grated tax exemption by the Madhya Pradesh government for a period of six months with effect from 1st November.

PRIYA VILLAGE TO BUILD MULTIPLEXES

The joint venture between Delhi-based Priya Exhibitors and Village Roadshow Ltd. of Australia, Priya Village Roadshow (PVR), has nearly completed the first multiplex situated in south Delhi’s Saket area. It intends to set up more such complexes in Bangalore, Calicut and Bombay in the next couple of years. The Delhi multiplex, which houses four cinemas, will open on 15th December. While one cinema has a capacity of 380 seats, another has a seating capacity of 320, and the remaining two have 150 seats each.

‘GHATAK’ DISPUTE SETTLED

The dispute between the producers of Ghatak and its distributors of Eastern circuit (excluding Orissa) — Musical Films Pvt. Ltd. — over the issue of price has been settled out of court. The film will be released in West Bengal, Bihar and Assam by Musical on Diwali.

MIX MASALA

ANU JACKSON?

The whole of Bombay was in the grip of a Michael Jackson fever this week when the great singer performed live (on 1st November) at the Andheri Sports Complex at Andheri, Bombay. Music director Anu Malik made no effort to hide the fact that it’s not just tunes that he can copy, it’s music-minded people, too, who can inspire him to ape them, at least as far as dressing up goes. For, the music director came dressed quite like Michael Jackson at the music release function of Vinod Khanna’s Himalay Putra on 31st October at the Turf Club, complete with a black hat. But the trademark curls of hair that fall on Michael’s face were missing on Anu’s face.

DO YOU KNOW?

* C.I. distributor J.P. Chowksey, who has a penchant for releasing art films, has proved lucky with MAACHIS. It has yielded a share of 1.75 lakh in the first week in C.I. Chowksey also left no stone unturned to publicise the film extensively. He sent letters to teachers, doctors and engineers ten days before the film’s release. Handbills, printed in Hindi and Gurmukhi, were distributed outside all gurudwaras in Indore. A special show was held in Bhopal, which was attended by ministers and IAS officers, besides the film’s director, Gulzar.

* Although Shringar Films was exploiting MAACHIS in Bombay, it dissociated itself from the film from the second day of its release itself. The film is now being exploited by the producers themselves from their Andheri office.

* Producer Rajan Sharma, Bombay distributor Vinod Kakkar and Gujarat distributor Devendra Shah are all praise for CBFC regional officer Sanjeevani Kutty and members of the examining committee, who saw their SAPOOT, for going out of their way to speedily hold discussions, verify cuts, etc. and issue them a certificate. Incidentally, both the Diwali releases, GHATAK and SAPOOT, were issued certificates on the same day (1st November).

* DDLJ, being screened at tax-free rates, drew all shows full in its first week at Maratha Mandir (matinee), Bombay, in spite of the dull pre-Diwali days.

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Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Censor Coincidence

It’s a strange coincidence that all the three films which had been planned for release on Diwali had to face some censor trouble or the other. Ghatak was offered many cuts, which prompted the producer to go to the revising committee. Although the revising committee did waive some cuts, they weren’t enough to satisfy producer-director Rajkumar Santoshi. It is presenter Bharat Shah who prevailed upon Santoshi to not go in for further appeal and that’s how the revising committee’s cuts were finally accepted by Rajkumar Santoshi.

The examining committee also offered very heavy cuts — 17, to be precise — to Sapoot, the maximum in the climax action, but the film’s producers were saved the trouble of going to the revising committee because the examining committee agreed, after personal hearing with the makers, to reduce/modify the cuts. The film will get its ‘A’ certificate on 4th November, and its Diwali release, alongwith Ghatak, is now confirmed.

The examining committee also offered several cuts to Raja Hindustani, which sort of shocked its makers who had expected a clean ‘U’ certificate for the film. Anyway, when the examining committee did not see reason in director Dharmesh Darshan and hero Aamir Khan’s arguments, the two decided to refer the film (after effecting some voluntary cuts) to the revising committee which saw the film on 1st November and has reportedly cleared the film for universal exhibition almost without cuts. In any case, Raja Hindustani has been postponed and will now hit the screens on 15th November — actually, it is available for screening on and from 12th November (New Year’s day).

Aamir’s New Residence

Aamir Khan, who lives at Bandra, Bombay, has purchased another flat in another block of the same building in which he stays. He is thrilled with the buy because it was in this flat that his “favourite director”, Raj Khosla, used to live before he passed away. The new flat of Aamir is being done up, after which the hero will shift there. The flat in which Aamir presently resides, will be converted into his office then.

Ten And Still Going Strong

Govinda and director David Dhawan have already worked in seven films together —Taaqatwar, Swarg, Shola Aur Shabnam, Aankhen, Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1 and Saajan Chale Sasural. Their under-production films together are Hero No. 1, Banarasi Babu and Deewana Mastana, which takes their total to 10. With several other projects in the pipeline, the hit team is poised to create a record of sorts, it seems.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai’ Marches Ahead

Producer-director Rakesh Roshan commenced a further 19-day shooting schedule of Film Kraft’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai on Jan. 30 in and around Bombay locales. Climax and other scenes are being picturised featuring the entire cast comprising Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel, Anupam Kher, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dalip Tahhil, Mohnish Bahl, Rajesh Tandon, Payal Malhotra, Farida Jalal, Vrajesh Hirjee, Satish Shah and master Abhishek alongwith stuntmen. Based on a story and screenplay by Ravi Kapoor and Honey Irani, the film has dialogues by Sagar Sarhadi, music by Rajesh Roshan, lyrics by Saawan Kumar and Ibrahim Ashq, cinematography by Kabir Lal, action by Tinnu Verma, sound by Navin Zaveri, editing by Sanjay Verma and dances by Farah Khan.

LATEST POSITION

Cricket matches and extreme cold in various parts of the country took their toll on the box-office.

Khooni Aahat (dubbed) 1st week Hyderabad 3,61,884 (gross) from 3 cinemas.

Aa Ab Laut Chalen dropped at many places. Is good in Nizam. 2nd week Bombay 33,36,466 (71.79%) from 9 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Jamnagar 1,11,182; Pune 5,69,442 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 96,961, Solapur 1,09,043; Hubli 1,46,387; Delhi 20,50,836 from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,46,423 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,35,646 (1st 3,76,962), Agra 1,45,242, Varanasi 1,07,832, Allahabad 90,000, Meerut 1,51,479, Bareilly 83,774, Hardwar 35,412; Calcutta 7,45,097 from 8 cinemas; Nagpur 1,88,846 from 3 cinemas, 1st week Jabalpur 1,22,166, 2nd week Amravati 1,21,903, Raipur 1,07,326, Bhilai 43,014, Jalgaon 1,06,868; Indore 95,000 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,99,700, Bikaner 85,153; Hyderabad 7,93,619 (gross) from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is excellent in Bombay and good in other places but has dropped in U.P. and continues to be dull in Rajasthan. 2nd week Bombay 44,62,979 (85.69%) from 11 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Rajkot 1,46,580, Jamnagar 98,200; Pune 10,06,710 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,98,321, Solapur 2,05,067; Belgaum 1,09,347; Delhi 29,71,299 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 3,32,875 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,57,975 (1st 4,91,849), 1st week Agra 3,15,000, 2nd week Varanasi 1,66,729, Bhadohi 30,652, Allahabad 1,22,781, Meerut 1,92,714, Bareilly 81,619, Hardwar 55,030; Calcutta 10,59,906 from 8 cinemas (other cinemas on F.H.); Nagpur 5,19,975 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,10,829, total 2,77,264, Amravati 1,53,192, Akola 1,22,824 (1st 1,61,538), Dhule 91,267, Raipur 1,45,025, Bhilai 1,30,608, Gondia (gross) 96,738, Chandrapur 1,52,432 (1st 1,75,875), Yavatmal 72,504 (1st 1,00,066), Bilaspur 1,25,000; Bhopal 1,39,691 (1st 1,60,000); Jaipur 2,64,868, 1st week Bikaner 1,26,076; 2nd week Hyderabad 7,13,045 (gross) from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hu Tu Tu is dull except in Bombay. 2nd week Bombay 15,96,935 (82%) from 4 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Pune 3,72,513 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 9,18,241 from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 72,719, Lucknow 1,79,846 (1st 3,75,962), Varanasi 76,926, Allahabad 67,000, Bareilly 26,404; Calcutta 2,05,897; Nagpur 92,680 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 49,731, total 1,74,385, Amravati 54,278, Akola 58,200 (1st 1,55,000), Raipur 46,713, Bhilai 35,288, Jalgaon 70,000, Chandrapur 1,06,703; Indore 87,106 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,16,868, Jodhpur 85,000; Hyderabad 1,66,808 (gross).

…………

EMBARGO ON RELEASE OF DUBBED HOLLYWOOD FILMS IN BOMBAY

Dubbed Hindi versions of Hollywood films have been boycotted by exhibitors of Bombay from this week as a result of a decision to this effect taken by the Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association of India (CEAI) and the Theatre Owners’ Association (TOA). The Indian Motion Picture Distributors’ Association (IMPDA) has also reportedly seconded the decision of the exhibitors’ associations.

Following the boycott, the release of Khooni Aahat, the dubbed Hindi version of Urban Legend, in Bombay city on 5th February was cancelled. Tej Raftaar, released two weeks back in Maharashtra, was the last dubbed Hollywood film to have opened in Bombay prior to the boycott decision. Tej Raftaar opened at Dombivli, a distant Bombay suburb on 5th.

Excessive sex, violence and obscenity passed by the CBFC in dubbed Hollywood films is the main bone of contention, which has prompted exhibitors of Hindi films to support the boycott call. It is being increasingly felt that the audience of Hindi films was being corrupted by seeing dubbed foreign films replete with sex and violence, a trend that may prove dangerous for the Hindi film industry in the long run. Exhibitors and distributors of Hindi films also felt that business of repeat-run films was being severely and adversely affected because of so many dubbed foreign films in the market.

The foreign film companies, which usually release such films, will meet representatives of exhibitors and distributors on Monday, February 8, to discuss the matter which could have far-reaching consequences and implications.

ANIL, DAVID DHAWAN BEREAVED

Rani Dhawan, mother of actor Anil Dhawan and director David Dhawan, expired on 29th January in Delhi due to a heart attack. She was 75 and is survived by three sons. She had not been keeping gold health since some time.

YOU ASKED IT

What should actors like Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Akshaye Khanna do to give a boost to their careers?

– Take the help of a level-headed script consultant before signing a film. For, they need to look before they leap — hear the script and be convinced about its box-office potential before signing on the dotted line.

Among the forthcoming releases, which do you think will take a flying start?

– JAANAM SAMJHA KARO should take a bumper start on the strength of its music and Salman Khan. Its promotional trailers on television are being loved by youngsters. KACHCHE DHAAGE is also slowly but surely gaining heat.

Is it true that Soldier is doing better than Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in small centres?

– Yes, it is 100% true. While SOLDIER is getting better terms in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres, KKHH is miles ahead in ‘A’ class centres in most of the circuits.

CENSOR NEWS

Inderjit Films Combine’s Daag – The Fire was given C.C. No. CIL/3/2/99 (A) dt. 1-2-’99; length 4416.93 metres in 18 reels (cuts: 37.80 metres).

Film Works India’s Bombay Boys (dubbed) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/4/99 (A); dt. 5-2-’99; length 2860.27 metres in 5 reels (few deletions in sound only).

Chaudhry Enterprises’ Zulmi has been offered A certificate, with cuts.

Tips Films P. Ltd.’s Kachche Dhaage (length 4370.22 metres in 18 reels), applied on 2nd and seen on 4th, has been okayed for UA certificate, with cuts.

Kshitij Production Combines’ Kaun (length 2798.06 metres in 10 reels), applied on 2nd, was seen on 3rd.

Pawan Putra Films’ Aadhi Raat (length 3018.30 metres in 14 reels), applied on 2nd, was seen on 3rd.

Lama Productions’ Laawaris (length 4602.08 metres in 17 reels) was applied on 5th.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Writer Neeraj Pathak may have co-written Subhash Ghai’s PARDES and written hundreds of episodes of various TV serials but what he is ultimately looking for is directing films. He already has a couple of completely bound scripts ready, with dialogues too. He is currently writing K.P. Singh’s HUM TO MOHABBAT KAREGA, directed by Kundan Shah.

* After being dubbed in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, B.R. Chopra’s TV serial, MAHABHARAT, is now being dubbed in Bhojpuri (for telecast on Lucknow Doordarshan), Marathi (Bombay DD) and Bengali (satellite channel). It has been dubbed in Persian language too, and the Persian version was telecast in Iran. The serial has been telecast in many countries including on BBC-London.

* Raj Kanwar picturised the additional song for his DAAG – THE FIRE in three nights last week. It was censored soon thereafter and is already on air on satellite channels. Theatrical trailers of the song are also being screened in cinemas all over India. The song — Mera lucky kabootar — is based on a Punjabi folk number and has been picturised on Sanjay Dutt, models and dancers.

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Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Pakistan As Part Of Overseas Territory

With relations between India and Pakistan seemingly improving, it may be premature but, nevertheless, not incorrect to dream about a day in the near future when Indian films will be permitted entry in the neighbouring country. If that happens, it will be heavenly for producers and Overseas distributors. It is a well-known fact that Indian films are loved by Pakistanis, and the opening of cultural exchanges and trade between the two countries would see prices for Overseas rights of films shooting up. Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif just recently told an Indian national daily that he would soon invite Lata Mangeshkar to visit his country and also perform there. He lamented the loss of great playback singers of India, like Mukesh, Mohd. Rafi and Talat Mahmood. It may be mentioned here that Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has made the first move towards burying the past and extending a hand of friendship by announcing that he would travel by bus to Pakistan next month. A bus service has for the first time commenced between the two countries.

Gujarat Beckons

The Gujarat government, after the recent shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in the Kutch region, is keen that more and more films are shot in the state. The obvious objective is to promote tourism in the state. J.P. Dutta, too, recently shot his Refugee extensively in Bhuj. The good news is that the Gujarat government is also offering attractive packages to lure producers to shoot in the state. Maybe, some producers would like to try it out.

Dubbed Versions

Santosh Sivan’s internationally acclaimed Tamil film, The Terrorist, has not yet been released theatrically in Tamilnadu, but the awards it has picked up abroad as well as in India have inspired Sivan to dub the film. And dub it not just in Hindi but in English too. The two dubbed versions have been acquired for all India by UTV Motion Pictures and Shringar Films jointly.

Unusual Indeed

John Mathew Mathan, an ad filmmaker of Delhi, whose first feature film as producer and director — Sarfarosh — is complete, has fixed its release date as 23rd/30th April. He has also told his distributors, they would be shown the film well in advance of the release date. Quite in contrast to the current trend among producers to not show the film to their distributors even a week before its release!