LATEST POSITION

It was a normal week.

Maharaja has not lived up to its majestic title and faced a steep fall in collections from mid-week. It is, however, good in East Punjab, some stations of U.P. and Rajasthan. 1st week Bombay 30,46,719 (70.29%) from 10 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,60,169 from 6 cinemas, Vapi 2,62,806, Rajkot 1,56,424, Jamnagar 1,37,876; Pune 9,25,206 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 34,76,207 (56.93%) from 11 cinemas (1 on F.H., 1 unrecd.); Kanpur 3,22,439 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Lucknow 2,74,680, Agra 2,50,000, Allahabad 1,50,625; Amritsar 60,365; Calcutta 13,95,333 from 13 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Nagpur 5,25,060 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,33,390, Amravati 1,61,428, Akola 1,20,000, Dhule 1,21,209, Raipur 1,16,014, Durg 77,894, Jalgaon 1,41,735; Indore 1,64,498 (5 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,18,130 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 8,39,901 from 4 cinemas, Bikaner 2,17,852; Hyderabad 26,80,132 from 12 cinemas, share 12,87,600 (2 on F.H.).

Mere Do Anmol Ratan is disastrous and collects unbelievably low. 1st week Bombay 10,06,220 (37.49%) from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Delhi 1,89,088 (29.80%) from 2 cinemas; Kanpur 37,769, Lucknow 53,246, Agra 90,380; Calcutta 1,44,706 (other cinemas unrecd.); Nagpur 29,888 from 2 cinemas; Bhopal 52,827 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 4,24,462 from 6 cinemas (3 in noon).

………..

‘PYAAR KIYA TO DARNA KYA’ CELEBRATES SILVER JUBILEE

G.S. Entertainment’s Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya entered 25th (silver jubilee) week yesterday (11th September) at Metro (matinee), Bombay. The film, directed by Sohail Khan and produced by him jointly with Bunty Walia, stars Dharmendra, Salman Khan, Kajol, Arbaaz Khan, Anjala Zaveri, Kunika and Kiran Kumar. Music has been scored by Jatin Lalit, Himesh Reshammiya and Sajid-Wajid.

EMPEROR OF CINEMA AKIRA KUROSAWA DEAD

Akira Kurosawa, Japan’s topmost filmmaker, who put his country on the world map, died in Tokyo on 6th September. He was 88 years old. Kurosawa is the only director who has won two Oscars for the best foreign film, apart from a lifetime achievement award presented to him at the Oscar awards ceremony in 1990.

He began his career in 1936, hoping to use his skills as a painter, for films. He switched over as an assistant director in the same year, with the film Senman Choja. In 1948, he made Drunken Angel with actor Toshiro Mifune with whom he had a life-long association. Mifune died last year in December. Kurosawa shot to international fame in 1951 with Rashomon, a medieval murder tale which broke new cinematic ground by using different narratives to tell the same story from four points of view. He made 30 films of which The Seven Samurai, Drunken Angel, To Live, Run and Rhapsody In August are the best-known. The last-named film was made in 1991 and starred Richard Gere. His last film was Madadayo, made in 1993. This film marked the 50th anniversary of his film career.

PRABHAKAR SUVARNA DEAD

West Bengal distributor Prabhakar Suvarna (Anubhav Films Enterprises) expired on 8th September in Bombay due to kidney failure. He had undergone heart bypass surgery a few days back, after which his kidneys failed. He was 52 years old.

‘TITANIC’ GESTURE

The grand success of the home videos of Titanic, released last week in the U.S., was believed to be a foregone conclusion. However, it is not widely known that this success is also partially due to a company called Deluxe Video Services Inc., which was entrusted with the job of making millions of copies of the film on video cassettes. Hundreds of employees of the company worked very long hours so that the required number of video cassettes could be made ready by the deadline. That their efforts have not gone unnoticed can be judged by the fact that Paramount arranged for a continuous and free showing of Titanic for the hard-working employees of Deluxe Video Services Inc. Thus the film was played continuously round-the-clock in all four break rooms at Deluxe, thereby making their employees feel suitably rewarded for a job well done.

PRANLAL DOSHI ELECTED CEAI PRESIDENT

Pranlal K. Doshi was elected president of the Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association of India for 1998-99 at the first meeting of the newly elected executive committee held on 11th September in the Association office. A.D. Chaphalkar was elected deputy president, Vinod H. Kansagara, vice president, and Gunvantrai N. Desai, hon. treasurer.

Earlier, at the 52nd annual general meeting held the same day, the following other members too were elected to the executive committee: Suresh Choksi, Nitin Datar, Soli Arya, Yunus Aghadi, Sharad Pai, Kanhaiyalal Navandhar, Suryakant Patil, D.F. Hodiwalla, Rashmi Bhalodia, Ulhas Joshi, Rajendra Jain, Nester Desouza, Rahul Haksar, Russ Balaporia, Prashant Vartak, N.F. Damania and Vimal Doshi.

V.N. Borawake, Manoj Khivasara, Ismail Patel and Govind Khoont were co-opted to the committee.

17 IN FRAY FOR 12 SEATS IN IMPDA COMMITTEE

A total of 17 members will contest in the elections to the executive committee of the IMPDA in the Ordinary Class. Of the 17 members, 12 are sitting members and five are new contestants. The sitting members standing for re-election are Ayub Selia, Balkrishna Shroff, Devendra Shah, Guru Shenoy, Haresh Bhatia, Kantilal Mehta, N.N. Sippy, Ramesh Sippy, U.A. Thadani, Tolu (Vashdev) Bajaj, Vinay Choksey and Vinod Kakkad. The five new persons in the fray are Abid Zaffar, Manoj Khivasara, Pradeep Singh, Sanjay Chaturvedi and Tekchand Anchal.

There will be no election in the Associate Class as there are no fresh nominations in this category. Therefore, the three sitting members viz. Indravadan Shah, Mohan Susania and D.Y. Pattani will be elected unopposed.

The executive committee has a strength of 15 — 12 in Ordinary Class and three in Associate Class. Elections will be held on Tuesday, 22nd September at Birla Kreeda Kendra, Chowpatty, Bombay.

IMPPA ELECTION NOMINATIONS

The last date for filing nominations for elections to the executive committee of the IMPPA is 14th September. The elections are scheduled to be held on 28th September at ISKCON, Juhu, Bombay.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE MEETS IN BOMBAY

Several members of parliament (MPs) attended the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the I & B and Communications ministries, in Bombay on 11th September. From the film industry, Santosh Singh Jain, Sultan Ahmed, Shakti Samanta, K.D. Shorey, Pappu Verma, Rajender Singh Hora and others attended.

The industry representatives explained the problems plaguing the industry viv-à-vis the CBFC, government, cable pirates etc. Speaking to Information, Santosh Singh Jain said that the meeting was “fruitful”.

FILM CITY PROJECT IN DEHRADUN IN COLD STORAGE?

Yet another glaring example of how a change in the political scenario can change the government’s tune towards important issues is the following. Reportedly, the U.P. government has put the plans of building a Film City in Dehradun in cold storage. Chief minister Kalyan Singh had two months back promised a delegation of the film industry that the government would provide land for the purpose, ostensibly being carried away by the central government’s decision to grant industry status to films. But now, he is reported to have developed cold feet over the project, thanks mainly to the fact that the demand for a separate statehood for Uttaranchal region in the state is fast gaining ground. It may be mentioned here that Dehradun is an integral part of Uttaranchal and hence if a separate statehood is granted for the region, the U.P. government will not be able to gain any mileage out of the Film City.

The film industry has been hit hard by this change in the governmental attitude towards Film City, for, the project was perceived as one which would be able to provide an ideal environment for filmmaking. Fresh locations, safer environment and the site’s proximity to both, Delhi and Lucknow, made the proposed Film City in Dehradun a perfect choice for producers. But now, embroiled in a political wrangle, the project seems to be doomed. Much to the dismay of the film industry, we may add.

ANDHRA GOVERNMENT’S NEW MEASURES FOR TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced a single-window system for granting permissions for shooting Telugu films in the state. Speaking at a meeting with a delegation of the Telugu Film Producers’ Council on 7th September, Naidu promised to take a number of remedial steps to help the Telugu film industry come out of the present crisis. He said that a uniform fee of Rs. 1,000 would be charged for hiring a location to shoot films. Moreover, he said, the government would levy uniform charges for the use of government guest houses and motels by film producers, actors and technicians.

Naidu also assured the delegation that stringent action would be taken against those indulging in video and audio piracy, and, if need be, the government would suitably amend the Cinematograph Act or bring in fresh legislations. The CM assured the delegation that he would look into their demand for subsidies and entertainment tax exemption for small-budget films.

The meeting was attended by the Andhra minister for home and cinematography, A. Madhava Reddy, and chairman of the Andhra Pradesh State Film Development Corporation, Murali Mohan, among others. The Telugu Film Producers’ Council delegation was led by its president, Dasari Narayana Rao.

TEJNATH ZAR PASSES AWAY

Veteran writer, producer and director Tejnath Zar passed away in Bombay at Sushrusha nursing home at Shivaji Park on 10th September after a brief illness. He was 73 and is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter.

Having begun his career as far back as in 1952, when he joined producer Nanabhai Bhatt as a writer, Tejnath Zar will be remembered for his simplicity and humility. After setting up his own concern, Zar’s International, in 1956, he produced films like Khoj, Tajposhi, Shahi Mehmaan, 24 Ghante, Chaalis Din, Reshmi Rumal, Naqli Nawab, Vachan, Garam Khoon, Sardar and Anokhi Chaal, apart from directing Chaalak.

He also had a long association with producer-director Jugal Kishore who had nearly all his films written by Zar. Another distinction to Tejnath Zar’s credit is that three of the most prominent villains of Hindi films turned heroes with films written by him. These villains were Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna and Amjad Khan, who gave their maiden performances as heroes in Sabak, Nateeja and Dada respectively.

Some of Tejnath Zar’s recent works include writing five-six episodes for B.R. Films’ popular TV serial Kanoon, made a couple of years ago. Moreover, he had been the honorary general secretary of The Film Writer’s Association for the last two-three years and also an executive committee member of the IMPPA. He worked selflessly for the Association.

Zar’s chautha will be held on 13th (tomorrow) between 4.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. at Arya Samaj Hall, Santacruz (W), Bombay.

CCCA ELECTION SCENE
Leaderless Opposition Defies Jain’s Ruling Panel

As expected, the CCCA election heat has caught on in C.P. Berar and C.I. in just the same way as it had been generated a while ago in Rajasthan (reported in our issue last week). Hectic activity is on at a feverish pitch to form panels — basically, there will be two panels viz. the ruling group panel, headed by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain, and the opposition panel. The opposition panel, though, has no leader. However, C.I. distributor O.P. Goyal may well emerge a leader of sorts of the opposition candidates, such is the force with which he is opposing the ruling group of Santosh Singh Jain.

In C.P. Berar, exhibitor Munshiram (of Jeet cinema, Bilaspur) will be contesting this year from the opposition. His supporters feel that the Chhattisgarh-Mahakoshal region has long been ignored as no member from this region has been taken on the executive committee. Munshiram, therefore, will represent this “long ignored” region and may get regional support. Laloo (N.D.) Kabra’s nomination is another one which is creating quite a stir in C.P. Berar. Although a sitting member, Santosh Singh Jain is contemplating excluding his name from his panel and, in his place, taking in G.E. Naik, manager of Mihir Pictures, Bhusawal. Jain’s anti-Laloo stance stems from two facts — one, according to Jain Saheb, Laloo, despite being a committee member, supplies prints to SMR cinemas and thereafter takes the plea that he hasn’t supplied the prints; secondly, Laloo had promised to make a deferred payment of Rs. 5 lakh to the producer of Bhai (which he distributed in C.P. Berar) and Jain had stood guarantee for it, but instead of making the payment within four weeks of the film’s release, as promised, Laloo delayed it by some weeks. On his part, Laloo says that a number of distributors supply prints to SMR cinemas but Jain Sahab is singling him out. As regards the Bhai payment, Laloo insists that he had not promised to make it within four weeks. “Otherwise also,” he says, “I did make the payment, so why should Jain Sahab be angry?”

In C.I., distributor O.P. Goyal is heading the opposition group. Among the other likely opposition candidates are Sunil Chowdhry and Jaiswal (of Kanchan Shree Talkies, Jaora). According to Goyal, “The elections this year will be one of the most fiercely contested. We, the opposition, have decided to oppose Santoshji tooth and nail.” The anti-bandh lobby may well vote in favour of the opposition to give vent to their sentiments.

In the meantime, Santosh Singh Jain is not spilling the beans about who will and who won’t be included in his panel. In his characteristic diplomatic style, he told Information that he would be able to decide on his panel only after a couple of days. But he gave an indication that Naik would come in place of Laloo Kabra. In Rajasthan, Baba Ramdeo, Kishinchand Janiani and Rajendra Mamoria may be the new opposition contestants. Reportedly, Rajendra Mamoria is prevailing upon members of his territory to come to Nagpur to cast their votes.

The last date for filing nominations for the elections is 12th September (today). The elections will be held on 27th, and annual general meeting, on 26th.

RECEPTION COMMITTEE FOR CCCA AGM

A reception committee under the chairmanship of Dilip Singh Tuli was formed for the organisation of the 45th annual general meeting of the Central Circuit Cine Association on 26th and 27th September in Nagpur at the Dr. Vasantrao Deshpande Hall. Vijay Kher and Prashant Rathi are the vice chairmen. The other office-bearers and members of the committee are S.B. Patil, secretary, K.K. Sawhney, treasurer, B.M. Diwan, joint secretary, S.A. Sorathiya, public relations officer, K.G. Sarda, R.P. Sharma, Pramod Munot, Dr. Bhiwapurkar, Raju Khanduja, Prakash Ramrakhiani, Praneet Singh and Milind Naik.

Among the distinguished personalities expected to attend the annual meeting are some artistes, besides ministers of Maharashtra, like Pramod Navalkar, Narayan Rane, Nitin Gadkari and Anil Deshmukh.

It may be mentioned here that it is after six years that the annual general meeting of the CCCA is being held in Nagpur. The 39th AGM was held in Nagpur in 1992 when Anil Kapoor and other stars and some singers had attended the meeting. Over, 1,200 members are expected to attend the meeting this year.

VEDPRAKASH MENDIRATA RESIGNS FROM FORUM

Vedprakash Mendirata on 11th September resigned from the presidentship of the Indore Film Distributors’ Forum. His resignation has reportedly been accepted.

According to reliable sources, there were differences between Mendirata and some members of the Forum, which led to his resignation.

HEAVY TURNOUT EXPECTED AT CCCA ELECTIONS

With the Madhya Pradesh bandh from 17th September a certainty now, the direct effect of the closure is likely to be seen in the attendance at the annual general meeting and the elections of the Central Circuit Cine Association on September 26 and 27. The turnout for the double event in Nagpur is expected to be large this year, not just because there is likely to be a fierce fight between the ruling group and the opposition but also because exhibitors of Madhya Pradesh will have a lot of free time on hand. Since cinemas will be closed, exhibitors might as well use the opportunity to attend the AGM and also cast their votes. Distributors, too, will be comparatively free as there will be no new releases from 17th September.

As they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The silver lining to the dark cloud of the bandh is that the voter turnout at the elections of the biggest and the strongest film trade association may well be heavy.

Amidst Protest From Indore, Ujjain Trade
Madhya Pradesh Cine Trade Gears Up For Indefinite Closure From September 17

Despite a strong opposition from distributors and exhibitors, mostly of Indore and Ujjain, the Madhya Pradesh cinema closure from 17th September is now a certainty. Cinemas all over the state will down shutters for an indefinite period.

Even as a signature campaign was carried out in Indore and Ujjain, urging the CCCA president to call off the proposed bandh, the Amravati film trade on 11th September unanimously decided to support the bandh call of the CCCA and, at a meeting held under the chairmanship of CCCA vice president Vijay Rathi, even passed a resolution to that effect. It was also resolved that no distributor would supply prints for screening to exhibitors in M.P. from 17th. It was also agreed that distributors would telegraphically inform exhibitors of the state to stop screenings of films from 17th September.

CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain will visit Indore next week to take stock of the situation and to impress upon the several dissenting members of the Indore and Ujjain trade the need to observe the bandh for the larger interest of the trade. Except for Sapna-Sangeeta, Alka, Premsukh and Praful cinemas of Indore, the entire exhibition sector of Indore and Ujjain is said to be unhappy with the proposed bandh.

The stage, therefore, seems to be set for the Madhya Pradesh cinema closure from 17th September. The CCCA has given the call for an indefinite bandh in protest against the anti-industry stand of the M.P. government. So blatant has the apathy towards the film industry become that the M.P. chief minister, Digvijay Singh, refused to meet a delegation of the M.P. film trade on 1st September when the industry observed a day’s token bandh and again on 2nd September.

The industry has been pressing for various demands, principal among them being reduction in entertainment tax, check on cable piracy, allowing cinemas to levy a tax-free service charge on every ticket, granting industry status to films, as done by the central government, simplification of procedure for issuance and renewal of cinema licences, and reduction of power tariff for cinemas.

With the bandh in M.P. a certainty now and with the CCCA having asked its members of Rajasthan and Maharashtra belt of C.P. Berar to also show solidarity by not releasing new films on and from 17th September, it is unlikely that there will be any major releases till the bandh is called off. Even otherwise, there weren’t too many big films scheduled for release on 17th or 25th September. Bandhan, earlier due on 25th, has now been postponed to Oct. 2, that is, if the M.P. cinemas reopen by then.

Although it is hoped that the bandh will be called off by 2nd October at least, the entire release schedule of the forthcoming weeks is uncertain and will remain so till the bandh begins and a clearer picture of the state of affairs in Madhya Pradesh emerges.

Cinemas Will Be Entitled To Rebate Of Compound Tax During Bandh Period In M.P.

Since a number of cinemas in Madhya Pradesh pay compound tax and since compound tax is to be paid on a weekly basis in advance, there is a fear in the minds of many exhibitors of the state that they would have to bear the burden of the compound tax even though their cinemas will be closed indefinitely from 17th September.

But a legal opinion, sought by the Central Circuit Cine Association (CCCA), which has given a call for the indefinite closure, breaks this myth. Advocate Rakesh Jain, in his legal opinion, has said that closed cinemas will be entitled to a rebate of the compound tax paid if the cinema proprietor gives an intimation of the closure of his cinema to the Excise Commissioner, Deputy Excise Commissioner of the Division, Collector and the District Excise Officer within 24 hours of the closure. If such an intimation is given, the proprietor shall be entitled to proportionate rebate in his weekly instalments after he submits an application to the Collector in this behalf.

Thus the relevant condition is that such an application must be made within 24 hours to the concerned authorities and the application for rebate must be made to the Collector in this behalf.

Under sub-rule 4(g) of rule 16 of the Madhya Pradesh Entertainment Duty Rules, instalments of advance compound tax is payable by the proprietor irrespective of the number of shows held during the week and he shall not be entitled to any refund or rebate on account but there are certain exceptions. One such exception is contained in sub-rule 4(I) of rule 16 which says that the proprietor of a cinema may close his cinema under intimation to the concerned authorities within 24 hours of the closure.

YOU ASKED IT

What happens to Mani Ratnam after Dil Se..?

– Mani can still make a Hindi film but it is unlikely that anybody will pay him the kind of price they paid him for DIL SE…

With films like Satya, China Gate and Kaun? being made, does it mean that a different genre of films is also getting financial backing?

– Yes, it does mean so. Not just the financiers, audiences too — at least in cities — are beginning to appreciate the new kind of films.

How long do you think will the Madhya Pradesh cinema bandh last?

– God and M.P. chief minister Digvijay Singh alone know it. Or may be, even they don’t know how long the bandh will last. With elections due in M.P., the government has to give reliefs before the election code of conduct rules come into operation. That is, if the government is in a mood to help the industry.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The dispute between producer Naraindas Mukhija and Gopal Bharatiya, the Bihar distributor of his MAHARAJA, was finally resolved last Saturday. The latter, alongwith another distributor, took the film’s delivery.

* CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain has denied a statement attributed to him in a gossip trade paper, that artistes, who did not attend the anti-cable piracy rally on 18th August in Bombay, should be fined a lakh of rupees each. According to Jain, “I did not say that the artistes should be made to pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh each although I did mention that the absence of most of our stars was heart-burning.”

* Yet another clarification comes from producer N.N. Sippy, who is shooting  his SILSILA HAI PYAR KA in Switzerland. The same trade gossip paper reported — falsely, of course — that Karisma Kapoor had fallen ill in Switzerland, which had upset the entire shooting stint. The fact is that Karisma was ill for just one day, after (and before) which the shooting progressed so marvellously that Sippy and his director, Shrabani Deodhar, will manage to wrap up the schedule on 13th September — a full three days before time! Guess, for the gossip trade paper, it’s silsila hai desperate jhooth ka!

FIT FOR CINEMAS, NOT FOR DD

* Producers of several old films are going crazy, trying to get their films re-certified for telecast on Doordarshan. Even though they are prepared to accept cuts for ‘U’ certificate (DD telecasts only ‘U’ certificate films), the CBFC has refused them certificates on different grounds such as superstitious theme, excessive violence and sex. Among the films refused certificate this year are JUNOON, BHAI, DO RAHA, KAGAZ KI NAO, INSAAF KA TARAZU, JAAGRUTI, MAA, PATI PATNI AUR TAWAIF and KSHATRIYA.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Days Of Chocolate Heroes Again

The days of baby-faced heroes all over the world are returning with the unprecedented success of Titanic and its chocolate-faced hero, Leonardo DiCaprio. For the last decade or two, tough guys of the screen like Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty in India, and Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis in Hollywood were the ones who attracted women the most. But with the arrival of Leonardo, the scale has gone down for good-looking tough heroes. Researchers in Britain and Japan were recently testing the belief that the most feminine of women and the most masculine of men were seen as the most attractive. But they found that while people in general preferred faces of women that were more feminine, men whose faces were not really rugged were also seen as the most attractive by both the sexes.

Big Film, Big Controversies

Vashu Bhagnani’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan seems to be making news, not always for the right reasons. C.I. distributor Ashok Tolani had appointed the Advanis of Shri Bableshwar Films as sub-distributors for the territory. But the latest news is that the Advanis have relinquished the rights in the film, reportedly because of a dispute over its price. Naaraaz miyan! In the meantime, the Delhi high court will hear Delhi-U.P. distributor Bedi’s matter in the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan case on 14th September. But there’s also a move for an out-of-court settlement.

Hoarding In Rajasthan? No, No, No!

Rajasthan distributors would do well to take note of this . All films, of which hoardings have been put up in Jaipur before release, have failed to create a mark at the box-office. Examples: Jeans, Kareeb, Satya and Dil Se... It may be noted that putting up hoardings of due-for-release films is a recent phenomenon in Jaipur. Years ago, a huge hoarding of Saawan Kumar’s Sanam Harjai had also occupied a pride of place in the pink city. But its collections saw the distributor of the pink city in the red.

Producers, Distributors In Same Boat

With the continuing spate of films bombing at the box-office all over India, the film industry seems to be heading for a massive cash crunch, worse than the one prevalent today. The situation has become so bad that not only have the distributors suffered heavy losses, even producers have begun to be affected severely by the flopping of their films. A leading Bihar distributor, who is known for his acerbic wit, was recently heard summing up the situation thus: “Pehle, sirf distributors ke makaan bikte thhey, par ab to producers ke makaan bhi bikne lage hain!” So, producers and distributors are now sailing in the same boat. Or rather, sinking in the same boat!

INFORMATION MEETS

“There are a lot of people who still savour the misconception that I only sing in those films, audio rights of which lie with T-Series. This isn’t true.”

– ANURADHA PAUDWAL

RAJ VIDYA

Date: 20th July, 1998. Venue: United Nations Headquarters, New York. Occasion: The presentation of the Cultural Ambassador In Music Award. This, perhaps, marks the greatest day in singer par excellence. Anuradha Paudwal’s illustrious career so far. For, she became the first ever Indian to have been presented this award. While receiving awards is nothing new for the talented singer, this one must surely hold the pride of place in her vast and ever-increasing collection of trophies and awards. “More than anything else, it was an immensely emotional experience,” she says, while reliving the moment. “Tears of joy began rolling down my cheeks the very moment they informed me about the award.” Considering the fact that the famous Carnatic vocalist, M.S. Subbalaxmi, has been the only other Indian who has performed in front of such a distinguished gathering (she did it in Geneva), Anuradha Paudwal’s feat seems to be no mean achievement. And yet, she remains unflinchingly modest in spite of the accolade, as we found out during our chat with her.

Beginning her career way back in 1973 with a minuscule rendition of a shloka in Abhimaan, Anuradha Paudwal has traversed great distances in her musical journey so far. Hero, Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka, Dil, Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Sadak, Beta and, in the recent past, …Aur Pyar Ho Gaya, Mr. & Mrs. Khiladi and Aflatoon are only a few of the films her voice has left a mark in. Moreover, her long association with T-Series has resulted in a vast number of devotional and ghazal albums in which she has lent her voice. In a chat with Information, Anuradha Paudwal clears a number of misconceptions about her, apart from baring a few important facts about herself.

ON RECEIVING THE U.N. MUSIC APPRECIATION CLUB’S AWARD

It was a very fascinating experience for me mainly because, here in India, you don’t even imagine performing for, let alone being honoured by, such a select gathering of people, and that too, in New York! It was an extremely emotional experience, too, as it makes you feel wanted and reassured. While at the function, I realised for the first time how well my work in the last 25 years or so has been appreciated. Prior to this, I had some idea that my work could reach a large number of people, but what I saw at the U.N. was completely unexpected for me. For one, there were about 20-odd women from various countries around the world, who had come all dressed up in saris to welcome me! As if this were not all, they even recited a few Sanskrit shlokas! Later, I performed some of my bhajans and a few devotional pieces at the function, and was pleasantly surprised when they gave me a standing ovation. People do show a lot of respect here in India, but when the foreigners show such high respect for your work, it is extremely touching.

ON EARLY BEGINNINGS

I never ever thought that I would end up singing in films. I come from a family that has absolutely no background in films. Though my mother was very fond of singing, my father wasn’t. He and my sisters were more academically inclined. So, eventually, it was my mother who really encouraged me to continue singing. She hoped that some day, I might even get to sing in a film! Later, when I was offered to sing a shloka in Abhimaan, I for the first time began thinking seriously about becoming a playback singer. Incidentally, my career in films began with a shloka, just like the first time I faced the microphone….I had sung Shivstuti then. Anyway, after Abhimaan, I began to find the work very challenging. Just about then, a ballet was being made, the music for which was being composed by Pt. Jasraj who asked me to sing in it. During that time, I started learning music from him, and later, from a few other distinguished teachers of Hindustani classical music. Soon, I began getting a few offers for songs in more films.

ON THE ‘BIG BREAK’

Well, I think my shloka in Abhimaan was my biggest break, for the simple reason that it is remembered even today. In fact, I still get a farmayish for that shloka almost every time I perform at shows. Its popularity continues to amaze me, especially considering the fact that it hardly lasts half a minute or so on the screen. I guess, people seem to remember it after so many years mainly because it comes at a very crucial juncture in the film. Anyway, after Abhimaan, there came Doooriyaan, Kalicharan, Saajan Bina Suhagan and a few others. Later, I began getting some more films where all I got to do was sing a line or two here and there. You see, that was the time when a lot of male-dominated films were being made. Most of these films had almost all their songs picturised on their heroes. Even in musicals like Amar Akbar Anthony, a female singer didn’t have much scope to display her talent. This dismal phase in my career lasted till Hero came along, or so I thought. I had two full songs in the film, which became quite popular. Yet, my career didn’t seem to take off. It was only when my songs were consistently becoming popular with Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka, Jeena Teri Gali Mein and Aashiqui, that I became established as a singer in the true sense of the word. It took me over fifteen years to get there.

ON DECIDING TO SING EXCLUSIVELY FOR T-SERIES

Like I said, when my career didn’t seem to take off in a big way even after Hero, I began to become disillusioned with the industry. So, I thought of bringing out a private album of my own. Very soon, I produced an album called ‘Durga Saptashati’ and began making the rounds of various music companies. I was completely taken aback when they told me that there was absolutely no market for my voice! Finally, I took the album to T-Series which readily took it up together with another album that I had done, called ‘Manache Shlok’. Both the albums did extremely well and later, Gulshanji asked me, ‘Why are you going through the hassles of producing your albums? Why don’t you let us do it for you?’ I liked the idea very much. He also said that the company will promote me as well as it could, except — and he asked me as a request — that I would not do private albums with any other company. I immediately agreed and that was it. There was nothing on paper — only a verbal agreement between Gulshanji and me, that I will not cut any private albums with anyone else. I agreed simply because here I was, 15 years in the industry and still being told that there was no market for my voice. Then comes this person who says, ‘I’ll establish you… just that I request your exclusivity.’ So, why shouldn’t I have taken up that offer? And in any case, I have never had to regret the decison ever in my life.

ON OVER-EXPOSURE ON TELEVISION

One thing that I had admired about T-Series was the way they marketed their albums. For the first time, songs were being brought to the people in a big way. I still remember when Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka became a hit, people asked me, ‘arre, yeh hai kya? Film, video, ghazal, or what?’. Similarly, Gulshanji was, perhaps, the first person in India who thought of making videos to promote music albums. I was very hesitant when he asked me to appear in a video of my private album a long time ago. At that time, he had told me that it was okay if I didn’t do it then, but sooner or later, music videos were going to be the order of the day and that it would be very difficult for me to refuse appearing in them. To think of it, he said this when nobody was making videos in India and there were no satellite channels except DD-1 and DD-2. Anyway, I agreed and soon enough, music videos became a part and parcel of a singer’s job. For me, appearing in videos has helped a lot in the success of my albums. I achieved popularity with all kinds of listeners. Morever, thanks to the videos, people can now identify my voice with my face.

ON SUCCESS

Success comes only after being consistently good at doing something. When an artiste gets his/her type of songs consistently, only then does his/her voice become established. In my case, the popularity of my songs in Hero did not establish me simply because I wasn’t consistently getting my type of sogs for two-three years after that. It was only when Lal Dupatta Malmal Ka, Jeena Teri Gali Mein, Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Sadak and Beta happened in quick succession of each other that my voice became established.

ON HER MUCH-HYPED RIVALRY WITH LATA MANGESHKAR

It is like you said, hyped. There is nothing of that sort, in reality. See, I believe that you cannot have rivalry with someone you don’t know. I do not know Lataji well as I have hardly met her a couple of times. So, there is no question of rivalry between us. In any case, Lataji is a great singer and one of my favourites. So, I really think that it is the people and the media who/which created this myth about our rivalry by misrepresenting certain things that I had said.

ON HER LONG ABSENCE FROM HINDI FILMS

There is no doubt in my mind that the Indian public, by an large, would like to hear me sing film songs, apart from the devotional ones. Even I used to think that the popularity of devotional music can never match that of film music. But, after being to the U.N., I am extremely delighted that they chose to acknowledge my work in the field of devotional music and not in films. Even the citation they presented me with bears only the names of my devotional albums and not my films! So, this reassures me as it means that I haven’t really been on the wrong path all along. Moreover, I think, it is all pre-destined. If I was heavily into films, I wouldn’t have been able to do the entire Bhagvad Gita on tape as it requires a lot of concentrated effort. I have also been able to perform large collections in Sanskrit like Saptashati (which comprises as many as 700 shlokas). This kind of work takes up a lot of your time and energy as it is extremely vital to be mentally attuned to do it. You just cannot do it when you are too busy running from one studio to another. Anyway, all said and done, I have again begun singing in films of late, but the irony is that there are a lot of people who still savour the misconception that I only sing in those films, the audio rights of which lie with T-Series. This isn’t true. I am open to singing for all kinds of films, irrespective of who brings out their audios.

ON FORTHCOMING FILMS

There are a lot of good offers coming my way of late and one may look forward to hearing my songs in films like Khauff, Khubsoorat, Raja Ko Rani Se Pyar Ho Gaya and many more.

MAHARAJA

Navchitra Productions’ Maharaja (UA) is a fantasy film. A boy, endowed with divine powers, is brought up in a jungle because his life is in danger in the palace in which he was born. An over-ambitious and wicked uncle of the boy wants to kill him so that he can usurp all his wealth. The jungle boy befriends the wild animals in the forests, who ultimately help him to wipe out his menacing uncle and his cronies. There’s also a girl who is madly in love with the wonder-boy.

The film has a lavish making and a lot of interaction between human beings and animals. But several of the scenes involving animals have been executed through computer graphics and they (graphics) are quite poor. That is to say, the audience immediately gets the impression that the human-animal interaction is fake. While the scenes showing animals will be liked by kids, the youth and the older generation will not really fancy them, if only because of the shoddy computer graphics. What’s more, the fantasy drama, especially the angle of divine power, will not find favour with everybody since the film’s stars have an image of their own.

The first half is quite nice with several light-hearted and comic scenes. But the film takes quite a drastic turn after interval. The second half has very few light moments and plenty of continuity jerks. The proceedings then become dull. The pre-climax is poor and so is the climax (with birds and elephants). Dialogues are commonplace.

Govinda does a fairly good job in a relatively serious role. Manisha Koirala hams throughout the film. She seems to be least interested in her work, and that shows. She has not even looked very pretty. A part of her dubbing is also not in her voice. Manisha needs to take a lot of care if she has to live up to the position she has reached. Salim Ghouse makes an irritating villain. Raj Babbar is wasted. Shakti Kapoor’s comedy is the best thing in the film, but he gets little scope after interval. Aroona Irani acts ably. Prem Chopra and Ishrat Ali lend good support. Shashikala fails to impress. Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Monty, Kunika, Amrit Pal, Aparajita, Sudhir, Mac Mohan, Dinesh Hingoo and the others lend fair support.

Anil Sharma’s direction is inconsistent — good at some places but dull at other places. He also resorts to too many cinematic liberties. On the music side, the title song is very nice and so is its picturisation. The other songs are like fillers. Camerawork is effective. Sets are opulent. Action scenes are fair. The lion fight is weak because it looks obviously farcical.

On the whole, Maharaja is an ordinary fare for small centres.

Released on 4-9-’98 at Novelty and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru Aditya Films. Publicity: very good. Opening: fairly good. …….Also released all over except in Bihar. Opening was very good in U.P., East Punjab, Bengal and Rajasthan (1st day Jaipur 2,04,382/- from 4 cinemas, very good) but dull in C.I.

MERE DO ANMOL RATAN

Tina Films International’s Mere Do Anmol Ratan is the story of a lady who has not been able to conceive a child for years after her marriage. When she does finally deliver a child, a catastrophe takes place in the hospital in which she delivers, so that she is forced to raise two new-borns instead of one. Because of a mix-up, she, or for that matter, nobody knows which of the two is her child. Finally, after many years, it is revealed that both the children have been fathered by the same person, that is to say, they are step-brothers. In the meantime, both the guys also fall in love with one girl. Besides the identity problem, the question of who should get the girl and who should sacrifice is also resolved in the climax. The story resembles (to quite an extent) that of Sham Ghansham.

The biggest drawback of the film is that a sensitive story idea has been treated in too frivolous a manner. The intention must have been to make the film a comedy but the story has too serious a base to be taken lightly. For instance, the mystery of who (among the two) is the lady’s actual son is hardly a matter to be made fun of. In fact, such comedy will not be digested by the audience. The climax is predictable and ineffective.

Arshad Warsi and Mukul Dev deliver average performances. Namrata Shirodkar is dull. Sadashiv Amrapurkar confuses shouting (at the top of his voice) for comic acting. He gets unbearable after a point. Kader Khan is alright. Reema gives a restrained performance. Johny Lever raises a bit of laughter and so does Dinesh Hingoo. Pramod Moutho is so-so.

Direction is average. Had K. Ravi Shankar handled the subject as an emotional drama (emotions are his forte), the film would have had a different colour altogether. Dialogues are witty but only at places. Music is generally functional although a couple of songs are melodious. Camerawork is quite good. Emotions fall flat.

On the whole, Mere Do Anmol Ratan is a non-starter.

Released on 4-9-’98 at Liberty and 7 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.V. Films. Publicity: fair. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over except in Rajasthan. Opening was shockingly dull everywhere.

CCCA TO BUY BUILDING IN JAIPUR

The Central Circuit Cine Association will soon have a premises of its own in Jaipur. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the CCCA in Jaipur on 4th September. Reportedly, a building on Ashok Marg is likely to be purchased by the Association.

A five-member committee has been formed to negotiate for the purchase of the said or any other building. The committee has Kishinchand Janiani as its convenor, and Trilok Singh, Naraindas Mukhija, Ramdhan Mamoria and Baba (D.P.) Ramdeo as its members.

BEDI MIYAN TAKES VASHU MIYAN TO COURT

Delhi-U.P. distributor Bedi has knocked the doors of the Delhi high court for getting an order directing producers Vashu Bhagnani and Sheetal Jain to effect delivery of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan to him for Delhi-U.P.

It may be mentioned here that the producers had sold the distribution rights of the film to another distributor, G.D. Mehta, when Bedi allegedly defaulted in paying his under-production instalments. But Bedi is now keen on distributing this Amitabh starrer (BMCM) himself. Bedi filed the case on 3rd September and it was heard on 4th. The producers have been given two days to file their replies.

POLICE COMPLAINT AGAINST NASEERUDDIN SHAH

A non-cognisable offence was lodged against Naseeruddin Shah for verbally abusing Deepak, the son of Jamnalal Jhaveri, producer of Paltan. Deepak allegedly asked Naseeruddin Shah to return the Rs. 1 lakh the actor owed Deepak’s father, when the actor abused him. The complaint alleges that Naseeruddin walked out of Jhaveri’s Paltan after receiving a signing amount of Rs. 1 lakh. Naseer, on his part, says, he didn’t walk out of the film but rather the film was shelved.

ASHA PAREKH RE-ELECTED CINTAA PRESIDENT

Asha Parekh was unanimously re-elected president of the Cine & TV Artistes’ Association for 1998 and 1999 at the first meeting of the newly elected executive committee of the Association, held on 23rd August. Raza Murad was re-elected vice president, and Ram Mohan, general secretary. Dara Singh and Dharmesh Tiwari were elected treasurer and assistant secretary respectively.

Amrish Puri and S.S. Randhawa were co-opted on the executive committee.

Five sub-committees were also constituted viz. Dispute Settlement Committee (Amrish Puri – chairman, members – Satyen Kappu, Gajendra Chauhan, Dharmesh Tiwari and Shammi); Scrutiny Committee (Raza Murad – chairman, members – Javed Khan, Gajendra Chauhan, Manmoujee, Ali Khan and Yunus Perwaiz); Vigilance Committee (Raza Murad – chairman, members – Deep Dhillon, Ali Khan, Gajendra Chauhan and Javed Khan); Care Committee (members – Dara Singh, Satyen Kappu, Deep Dhillon and Ali Khan); Public Relations Committee (members – Raza Murad and Gajendra Chauhan).

SIX INDUSTRY MEN NOMINATED TO SPECIAL CELL

The Action Committee Against Rampant Cable & Other Piracy has nominated the following six members to the Special Cell which will interact with the police in matters relating to piracy: G.P. Shirke, K.D. Shorey, N.N. Sippy, U.A. Thadani, Shyam Shroff and Pappu Verma.

Bombay commissioner of police R.H. Mendonca has nominated deputy commissioner (economic offences wing) A.D. Shinde as the nodal officer in the matter.

In the meantime, R.H. Mendonca has set up a special cell in each police station to deal with video piracy. The special cell will be headed by the PSI (Preventive) of the police station. He will receive complaints relating to video piracy and showing of films for which copyrights have not been received by the cable operators, and take suitable legal action.

PRASAR BHARATI ORDINANCE ISSUED: GILL MOVES COURT

The government issued the Prasar Bharati ordinance on 29th August after president K.R. Narayanan finally put his signature on it. The cabinet had cleared the same on 26th. The ordinance restores all those provisions which were part of the original Prasar Bharati Act of 1990. It restores the 22-member Parliamentary Committee and 14-member Broadcasting Council. It has also limited the retiring age of the chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati to 62 years, which paves the way for removing S.S. Gill who is 72 years old.

S.S. Gill, as he had announced earlier, moved the Delhi high court on 2nd September against the ordinance. He filed a writ petition challenging the new ordinance. He has challenged the constitutional validity of the ordinance and termed the government action as mala fide. A division bench of the high court comprising Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice C.K. Mahajan issued show cause notices to the secretaries of information and broadcasting, law and justice, cabinet secretary, Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prasar Bharati Corporation to reply within four weeks. The next hearing has been fixed for 14th October. However, the court said that any appointment made by the government to the post of CEO would be subject to the final order on the writ petition.

The court asked Gill’s counsel, Kapil Sibal, how the ordinance was mala fide and who were the persons interested in seeking Gill’s ouster. In this regard, Gill submitted an affidavit on 3rd September, naming I & B miniser Sushma Swaraj and state minister for I & B, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. The matter will be decided in the court on 7th September.

O.P. KEJRIWAL APPOINTED ACTING CEO OF PRASAR BHARATI

The government has appointed All India Radio director-general O.P. Kejriwal as the new chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, till a new final appointment is made.

SUBHASH GHAI TO INSURE ‘TAAL’

Subhash Ghai is the first producer who has gone in for a comprehensive insurance cover, for his new film TAAL. The policy is the direct result of eight months of negotiations between Mukta Arts’ Parvez Farooqui and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. The policy provides a cover for the expenses incurred by Ghai due to the death (either by illness or by accident) of any of the film’s principal artistes viz. Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai. The cover is also extended to cover the expenses incurred for postponement and deferment of any shooting schedule due to natural calamity, act of God, illness and/or accident of the principal artistes (the above three, besides other stars) and technicians, fire and allied perils, burglary, theft or any mishap during or before the shooting schedule including terrorist risk.

A separate policy will cover loss/damage of sets, wardrobes, costumes, machinery, equipments owned or hired, raw stock/exposed negatives whilst stored and/or lying in the custody of the producer or stored by him in any laboratory or processing unit in India due to accidental loss or damage, natural calamities, act of God, fire and allied perils, burglary, theft and terrorist risks.

Yet another policy provides a cover for the loss of money in transit (i.e. whilst being carried to the location and/or stored at the residence or at location) up to a single limit of Rs. 5 lakh.

Further, more than 200 people connected with the film will be covered up to Rs. 2 lakh each, against death, permanent total or partial disablement.

Moreover, a Third Party Liability policy will cover the expenses incurred due to damage to a third party property as well as up to Rs. 10 lakh for bodily injury to a third party. The policy covers all risks due to accidents to a third party, up to a total of Rs. 40 lakh.

DRIVE IN, AHMEDABAD COMPLETES 25 YEARS

Drive In cinema in Ahmedabad completed its silver jubilee this week. The management has planned several events to celebrate the occasion. The cinema, which began exhibiting films on 6th September, 1973, has been tremendously popular with the cinegoers in the walled city.

CINEMA IN AURANGABAD REOPENS

Sangeeta Cinema reopened in Aurangabad on 23rd September with Dil Se... Owned by Savera group, it has a seating capacity of 914 and is equipped with Dolby DTS sound system.

The reopening function was attended by distributors and exhibitors of Nizam circuit. It was presided over by Uttam Singh Pawar. The formal opening was done by Haribhau Bagade, food and civil supplies minister of Maharashtra. Moreshwar Save welcomed the guests and also felicitated some of them.

‘JAB PYAAR KISISE HOTA HAI’ 100 DAYS

Tips Films’ Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai completed 100 days of its run on 29th August all over. Directed by Deepak Sareen, the film stars Salman Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Namrata Shirodkar (special appearance), master Aditya Narayan, Farida Jalal, Saeed Jaffrey and Anupam Kher. Music: Jatin Lalit. Writer: Honey Irani.

‘TITANIC’ SUCCESS PARTY

Twentieth Century Fox will celebrate the majestic success of Titanic with a party on 7th September at The Taj, Bombay.

ANIL SHARMA DISCHARGED FROM HOSPITAL

Anil Sharma, director of Maharaja, was hospitalised a week back in a private nursing home in Bombay for an eye ailment. He is fine now and was discharged on 4th September.

M.P. CHIEF MINISTER REFUSES TO MEET INDUSTRY DELEGATION
As A Retaliatory Measure….
….M.P. CINEMAS TO DOWN SHUTTERS INDEFINITELY FROM SEPTEMBER 17

In an extremely callous and condemnable move on his part, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh refused to discuss the demands of the M.P. film industry on 1st September in Bhopal. The incident, criticised by one and all, occurred when a delegation comprising eminent personalities of the M.P. film trade called on him after a rally of the trade was disrupted by the police.

The rally was organised on September 1 with an aim to draw the government’s attention to the problems plaguing film business in the state and the government’s anti-film industry policies. The rally saw the trade in its full strength, with over 1,000 people from all areas of the state participating in it. A state-wide bandh of film-related activities was also observed on that day.

The rally, which set off from Rangmahal Cinema in Bhopal, consisted of such eminent personalities as Santosh Singh Jain, Vijay Rathi, Ramesh Sureka, Vinod Malhotra, Dilip Mudliar, Jitendra Jain, O.P. Goyal, Ramkisan Kasat, Bharat Khajanchi, Uttam Nahar, M.M. Jain, J.P. Chowksey, Loonkaran Parikh, Hemant Shah, Joharilal Jhanjharia and others. It was planned to terminate the rally at Vidhan Sabha Bhavan in the city. Unfortunately, the police forced it to a halt mid-way. Subsequently, it was decided that a delegation of industry representatives would leave for the chief minister’s office and present him a memorandum of demands. But the chief minister’s refusal to even see the delegation irked the trade people to a great extent. Later, two separate delegations met the state leader of opposition, Vikram Varma, as well as M.P. governor Bhai Mahavir, both of whom responded favourably to the demands made by the delegation.

Finally, in a meeting held at Rangmahal cinema at 6 p.m., the trade decided to embark on an intensive course of action to display its protest. The following resolutions were adopted by CCCA at the meeting:

(i) That the entire film industry of the state of M.P. strongly condemns the negative approach of the state government and the humiliating approach towards CCCA;

(ii) it was further decided to close the cinema theatres in the state of M.P. on and from 17-9-’98 indefinitely till further decision;

(iii) that the distributors of C.P., C.I. & Rajasthan regions will not take delivery of the prints for release on and from 17-9-’98 and will also not supply the same to the exhibitor-members within Madhya Pradesh;

(iv) that if any exhibitor violates the decision of indefinite closure, then the entire trade will perpetually stop dealing with the violator.

It was also decided to hold protest rallies in various centres of the state.

BADLE KI AAG!

Is Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh playing hide-n-seek with the M.P. film trade? So it would seem, going by what he did on September 1 and 2.

The M.P. film industry, which observed a bandh on 1st, was scheduled to meet the CM the same day to apprise him of the problems facing it. But although the representatives had sought an earlier appointment, Singh chose not to meet the delegation of leaders who waited for more than an hour outside his chamber. The disgruntled delegation sought another appointment for the following day but even on that day. Digvijay Singh did the vanishing trick. Even while the leaders kept waiting outside his chamber, Singh ‘escaped’ from the back door!

One wonders why Singh chose to do what he did. One source informs us that the CM is repaying the industry for its own wrongs. Reportedly, the industry leaders had on an earlier occasion fixed an appointment with him but did not turn up at the appointed time. Nor did they inform him of the cancellation!

If the above is true, one may be reminded of the Dreamgirl song — Luka chhupi khelen aao — to describe the game being played by Digvijay Singh’s government and Santosh Singh’s CCCA. Maybe, the CCCA can complain by borrowing from the old hit, Bade badle se sarkar nazar aate hain. To which the govt. may reply: Hum to bas aap ki tarah bhaag jaate hain!

CCCA ELECTIONS
Rajasthan In Grip Of Election Fever

With just a little more than a fortnight to go for the elections to the most powerful film association — the Central Circuit Cine Association — the heat is building up. Until last week, it seemed as if the elections this year would be a cold affair. But the scenario has changed today.

Distributors and exhibitors of Rajasthan seem to have contracted the election fever the maximum. This fever is sure to spread to C.P. Berar and C.I. from Rajasthan. A good many nominations are being changed in Jaipur so that votes do not go waste. The election this time will be held in Nagpur on 27th September and, therefore, people who will not be attending the election and the annual general meeting before it, are transferring their nominations in favour of those who will be attending.

From Rajasthan alone, there may be a record number of contestants this year. Besides Santosh Singh Jain, Nandu Jalani, Trilok Singh, Kishanchand Jain and Mohan Godha, the other likely candidates are Ramdhan Mamoria, his son, Rajendra, Baba Ramdeo (or his son Akhilesh), Kishinchand Janiani (or Prem Janiani), Chandrashekhar Chowdhry, Liyakat Ali, Sandeep Bhandari and Narendra Sharma.

The election excitement this year is being interpreted as the desire for change. Although CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain enjoys immense popularity among his members, many of them are now looking for freshness in the working of the Association. The recent fiasco of the Madhya Pradesh industry bandh is being viewed with scepticism by Jain’s detractors who have seized the opportunity to pin the blame on him and his lack of planning.

With things being as they are, it is very likely that there may be a heavy turnout of voters in Nagpur this year. It may be recalled that the last time the CCCA elections were held in Nagpur in 1992, the battle between the ruling Santosh Singh Jain group and the opposition had ended in a tie with each bagging eight seats.

Will there be a similar excitement this year? Only time will tell.

YOU ASKED IT

I have a story and plenty of money. Can I enter the industry as a producer?

– Just a story and lots of money are no guarantee that you will succeed as a producer. There have been countless cases of moneyed men going abegging to their own artistes — for dates which they (artistes) have cancelled.

Why are stars and directors always insecure?

– Unsuccessful stars and directors have the feeling of insecurity because they have to prove themselves. Successful stars and directors are insecure because they are scared of losing their position. They are also insecure about a competitive star/director succeeding.

Your editorial last week made a mention of script-doctoring in India? What would a script doctor’s charges be?

– It would vary from case to case. But, paying a few lakhs to a script doctor for an objective script analysis is worth it when you consider the cost of films today — 6, 7 and even 8 crore.

TV & VIDEO INFORMATION

SONU NIGAM TURNS MUSIC DIRECTOR

Playback singer and TV show host Sonu Nigam has turned a music director with Icon Entertainment’s Yahi To Pyar Hai, a TV serial being produced by Jatin Kumar and Deepak Mukut and directed by Neeraj Pathak. He recorded two songs recently for the serial at Joshna Recording Studio, in the voices of Kavita Krishnamoorthy and himself. The serial stars Sanjay Suri, Aditi Gowitrikar, Kamal Chopra, Madan Jain, Arun Bali, Shraddha, Lucky, Zeeshan Ali, Mahesh Bhatt and Aroon Bakshi.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The preview theatre-turned-cinema, Glamour, Bandra, Bombay, drew all shows full in advance in its first week (8 days). In some shows, there was block booking for the entire 46-seater cinema which is screening GODZILLA (English) in daily 5 shows.

*PYAAR TO HONA HI THA has collected 2,14,953/- in 6th week, and a total of 18,18,707/- in 6 weeks at Novelty, Lucknow.

* DULHE RAJA has created a theatre record by collecting 33,615/- in 8th week at Samrat, Raipur. Total for 8 weeks: 6,69,717/-.

* SATYA (tax-free) has created another Khandesh record by collecting 1,14,139/- in 2nd week at Ashok, Jalgaon.

* TITANIC (E.) has created a South Gujarat record by collecting 2,82,306/- (gross) in 1st week at Shree, Vapi.

* TITANIC (E.) has created history at two cinemas owned by Grandhi Bros. of Vijayawada. At Dasapalla Chitralaya in Visakhapatnam, it has collected 60,39,900/- in 154 days, and at Urvashi 70mm, Vijayawada, it has collected 69,31,142/- in 175 days!

HISTORIC SHARES

* Govindbhai Patel’s DESH RE JOYA DADA PARDESH JOYA has created history at Citylight, Palanpur, by collecting a total of 28,19,614/- in 25 weeks (20 weeks with tax, and 5 weeks tax-free). It has fetched a share of 12,75,000/-. No film since the inception of the cinema in 1951 has celebrated silver jubilee there or even completed 100 days!….. At Roopraj, Pethapur, the film has collected a total of 4,07,712/- in 5 weeks (with tax) and is still going strong. It has already fetched a share of 2,75,000/- in 5 weeks.

IN & OUT OF BOMBAY

Producer-director Rakesh Roshan will leave for Bangkok on 9th September to finalise locationis for his KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI and will return on 16th.

Producer-director Subhash Ghai is in Delhi, shooting TAAL, and will proceed to Chamba from there for further shooting.

Producer Boney Kapoor left for the USA on 4th September.

Bihar distributor Gopal Bharatiya is in town.

Mr. Ramesh Bhandari of Rahul Movies, Jaipur, is at Hotel Evergreen (386-4214/386-3489).

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Maha Sad!

Producer Naraindas Mukhija had a unique experience with his Bihar distributor, Gopal Bharatiya. Mukhija was very secretive about his Maharaja and did not show it to anybody, not even to his distributors, before release. But even while a trial show of the film was on at Rajkamal a week before the film’s theatrical release (it was being seen by the producer, the director and their families), the Bihar distributor reached the preview theatre unannounced. The producer was taken aback but, luckily for him, when the distributor reached Rajkamal, it was interval time. The producer refused to start the second half of the film lest his distributor also saw it. Finally, the distributor got the hint that he was there uninvited and that that was creating the problem, so he left (and the trial show continued thereafter). But, but….. that was not all.

The agitated distributor forthwith sent the producer a telegram, stating that he was not interested in releasing his film as the price increase (the price had been hiked by the two of them mutually, some days before this incident) was not acceptable to him. Many moments and a couple of days of tension later, the producer showed the distributor the trial show. But after seeing the film, the distributor refused to take delivery at the enhanced price despite earlier having agreed to the new price. He asked for delivery at the original price. Mukhija did not succumb to the pressure even if that meant Maharaja not opening in Bihar this week. On his part, Bharatiya says, “I agreed to a price hike because Mr. Naraindas Mukhija told me, he had made a fantastic film and had over-spent in doing so. But both his claims proved to be false when I saw the trial. Why should I pay for a Mercedes and take delivery of a second-hand Fiat?

‘Maharaja’ Premiere That Never Was!

Have you heard of a premiere show being organised, invitation cards being distributed and then, the show being cancelled? Well, that’s what happened this week. A premiere show of Maharaja was organised on 3rd September at Yeshwantrao Chavan auditorium in Bombay by Silver Screen Services and the film’s Bombay distributors, Aditya Films. The show was, however, cancelled after the cards had been distributed to the invitees. But the organisers had no courtesy to even inform the news of the cancellation to the invitees, some of whom made it to the auditorium only to be told by the security men there that the show was not on. Yes, no representative of Aditya Films or Silver Screen Services was in sight at the premiere venue.

The security guys told the guests that their auditorium was under repairs and it couldn’t possibly have been fixed as the venue of the premiere show. Another source tells us that the organisers failed to get the charity commissioner’s permission for tax-exemption as it was supposed to be an invitee show. Whatever the reason, the silence on the part of the organisers was disgusting. Or did they think, nobody would have, in any case, taken their invitations seriously and, therefore, there was no need to inform them of the cancellation? And to think of it, Aditya Films is releasing the film in Bombay. If this is how a premiere show was handled, how will the exploitation of the film be handled is anybody’s guess.

LATEST POSITION

DIL SE.. has been rejected by the classes as well as the masses. It will put distributors and exhibitors to heavy losses. It has done somewhat better in Bombay and South. The Telugu dubbed version is also weak.

Dil Se.. has been rejected by the audience despite its hit music. Although it has done well in the first week in Bombay, Delhi, some centres of U.P. and in South, it will entail losses to the tune of about 60 lakh to a crore per major territory. 1st week Bombay 66,25 958 (91.20%) from 13 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 12,40,017 from 6 cinemas, Vapi 2,56,062, Padra 1,56,006, Rajkot 1,60,468, Jamnagar (matinee) 27,492; Pune 11,95,029 from 6 cinemas (3 in matinee), Kolhapur 2,17,000 (1 unrecd.), Solapur 3,23,775 from 2 cinemas; Hubli 100%, Belgaum 100%; Delhi 52,41,206 (88.99%) from 10 cinemas; Kanpur 3,33,570, Lucknow (6 days) 3,20,471, Agra 2,35,400, Varanasi 1,97,165, Allahabad 1,75,000, Meerut (6 days) 1,81,489, Bareilly (6 days) 1,23,677 (64.60%); Calcutta 23,07,967 (69.93%) from 16 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Nagpur 7,89,592 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,51,774, Amravati 1,82,659, Akola 1,36,469, Raipur (6 days) 1,51,820, Jalgaon (6 days) 1,09,970, Bilaspur (6 days) 1,22,870; Indore (6 days) 3,53,402 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal (6 days) 3,07,532 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Hyderabad 43,40,353 from 17 cinemas.

………

Godzilla (dubbed) 3rd week Bombay 5,95,152 from 2 cinemas; Ahmedabad 1,99,347 from 3 cinemas, Baroda (Hindi & Eng.) 1,30,108, Rajkot 1,00,500; Pune 1,95,474; Delhi 16,05,434 from 7 cinemas; Kanpur 80,156, Lucknow 1,77,193, Agra 72,000, Varanasi 86,033, Allahabad 29,338; 1st week Rohtak 10,270; 3rd week Nagpur 2,10,372, 1st week Jabalpur 57,742, Akola 49,542.

Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha 5th week Bombay 22,75,065 (97.70%) from 5 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 86,421 (2 unrecd.), Rajkot (matinee) 15,507 (1 unrecd.), Jamnagar 75,803; Pune 6,04,096 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 65,724, Solapur 89,276; Delhi 15,45,063 from 7 cinemas; Lucknow 2,26,678, Varanasi 1,05,898, Allahabad 62,000, Meerut (6 days) 89,973, 3rd week Bareilly 51,114 (22.70%), 5th week Hardwar 24,544; Calcutta 3,74,431 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 1,76,049 from 2 cinemas, 3rd Jabalpur 1,68,524, total 6,18,866, 5th week Amravati 81,247, Akola 91,144 (4th 1,27,320), total 6,86,718, Raipur 93,369, 2nd week Yavatmal 84,268; 5th week Indore 1,51,429 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,13,197; 3rd week Bikaner 1,04,278; 5th Hyderabad 5,07,417 from 4 cinemas.

_________

Godzilla (English) 3rd week Bombay 5,07,970 (69.59%); Delhi 7,83,950 from 2 cinemas; Calcutta 2,05,177; Vijayawada 3 weeks’ total 6,45,680.

CINE ARTISTES’ ASSOCIATION FINDS INFORMATION EDITORIAL DISTURBING

While Information‘s editorial last week, condemning the stars for remaining absent from the Bombay film industry’s rally against cable piracy on 18th August came in for a lot of praise for its boldness, frankness and honesty, the Cine & TV Artistes’ Association has taken strong objection to the same.

In a letter to Film Information, the honorary general secretary of CINTAA, Ram Mohan, has blamed Information of unnecessarily blaming the stars for utter lack of responsibility. The letter, quite strangely, asks of the editor: “Do you expect, my dear friend editor, that our stars should leave aside their shooting schedules and their other professional commitments?”

(Of course, we did expect that. After all, why else did the Action Committee cancel all production activities that day?)

The letter further adds: “Was it a rally to draw the government attention towards video piracy? Or was it a get-together of the stars? Or a tamasha to draw the public out of their homes on to the streets to collect donations for some drought or flood relief fund or defence fund?”

(Here, we’d like to ask Mr. Ram Mohan: If you justify the absence of stars, what were Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan, Sunil Shetty and CINTAA president Asha Parekh doing at the rally? Creating a tamasha?!?)

The letter also requests us to desist from criticising each other at this “crucial juncture”.

(If it is such a crucial juncture, why did the stars not attend the rally, we ask again. A wrong must be criticised and will be criticised.)

SINGER SUNIDHI ROBBED

Singer Sunidhi Chauhan and her family were robbed by seven men at gun-point last week in Bombay. The armed men robbed their car, gold chains, rings, cellphone and other valuables worth Rs. 3 lakh. A complaint has been lodged at the Oshiwara police station in Bombay.

SAURASHTRA DISTRIBUTOR ATTEMPTS SUICIDE

Saurashtra sub-distributor Vasu Jayram (Deepa Films, Rajkot) attempted suicide last week but was saved in time. He was reportedly forced to take such a drastic step after running into huge debts following the flopping of some of his films. He is presently recuperating in a Rajkot hospital.

YOU ASKED IT

What repercussions will the flopping of Dil Se.. have?

– Distributors and exhibitors will brood over its failure for some more days and also swear that unrealistic prices are killing the industry. After that, everyone will forget about it and continue to pay crazy prices for films.

Will the industry rally of 18th August against cable piracy yield fruits?

– The government has made promises to the industry but it seems very unlikely that there will be implementation of what has been promised. This is India.

When will distributors stop ‘playing blind’ in the acquisition of films?

– Never! Very often, films are bought by distributors on announcement or while they are under-production. It has to be a blind game in such cases. When completed films are acquired, their producers may be unwilling to show the film to the prospective buyers. So, it’s again a blind game.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Chandan at Juhu, Bombay, has become a favourite cinema of a number of film stars who have been frequently seen enjoying their evenings there with friends and families. Madhuri Dixit, Abhishek Bachchan and Sanjay Khan are only a few names on the long list of Chandan’s high-profile visitors.

* SATYA (tax-free) has created a theatre and Khandesh record by collecting 1,62,374/- in 1st week at Ashok, Jalgaon.

* PYAAR TO HONA HI THA has collected an excellent 16,03,754/- in 5 weeks at Novelty, Lucknow. 5th week: 2,26,677/-.

* TITANIC (E.) has created a record by collecting 70,230/- in 1st week (21 shows) and 59,794/- in 2nd week (despite heavy rains) at Shivshankar, Miraj.

‘DIL SE..’: ZOR KA JHATKA LAGE AUR BHI ZOR SE..

Distributors of Dil Se.. all over except, perhaps, of Mysore circuit, are in for terrible losses.

Exhibitors of the various circuits are queuing up in their respective distributors’ offices, asking for compensation. Like the film’s distributors, the exhibitors, who paid fancy MGs or FHs, also stand to lose heavily.

*          *          *

A new cinema, Sapna, was to open in Nasik with Dil Se.. on 28th August. The cinema owner, Sanwaldas Thakur, had paid a hefty MG amount to Bombay distributor VIP Enterprises. A part of this amount was paid by a post-dated cheque. Reportedly, the cinema owner was so shaken by the film’s debacle that he refuses to take the licence for starting the new cinema.

*          *          *

Some cinemas in Gujarat, like Apsara in Baroda and Krishna in Padra, are repeating the hit Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan song after interval. Their logic is that there’s no relief in the second half. Also, the song comes right at the start of the film, thereby diluting its impact. Besides, they argue that even where the song actually appears, it does so without a situation, so, even after interval, it can be repeated without any situation. Distributors of several circuits have become self-appointed editors and have reportedly heavily edited the film.

*          *          *

Saurashtra sub-distributor Nanubhai had acquired both, Barood and Dil Se.., from VIP for a fantastic (combined) price. The combined loss will be more than 50% of his investment. Kasam se!

*          *          *

In Delhi, an exhibitor of Hapur (U.P.) went to the office of Om Namah Shivay Enterprises, the distributors of Dil Se.. and Gunda. Asking for the booking, the exhibitor told the distributor that he would screen the film for just one week. The distributor tried to prevail upon him to screen it for 2 weeks at his cinema. “After all, Dil Se.. is such a big film,” argued the distributor. This shocked the exhibitor. He cried, “Dil Se..? Who has come here for Dil Se..? I’ve come to book Gunda!” The distributor didn’t know where to look!

*          *          *

In C.I., the collections of Dil Se.. were disastrous everywhere. For example, in Dewas, collections were Rs. 700 against a capacity of Rs. 6,500 in some shows on the fourth day. Little wonder, the film has been discontinued in Dewas after just one week.

*          *          *

In Rajasthan too, the scene was as ugly as in C.I. Fifth day’s collections in some cinemas of Jaipur were less than 40%.

*          *          *

In Bihar, collections nosedived from 2nd and 3rd day onwards.

*          *          *

A Bengal exhibitor joked about Dil Se... “It has a super hero, a super heroine, a super-hit director, super-hit music, super-hit choreography and super-hit opening. Everything is super. Even the losses are super-duper!”

*          *          *

An East Punjab exhibitor telephoned us to say that this is what distributors and exhibitors of Dil Se.. are singing:

Jiyaa jale
Jahan jahan chale..

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Distributors’ Woes

Many distributors all over the country are getting disillusioned with their producers — and the flopping of their films is not the only reason. Actually, it is because of the current practice of keeping the film under wraps right till the day of its release. This is fast becoming a trend among film producers. Many producers have begun excluding even their distributors from having a dekko at the film! Very often, the poor distributors, even after investing huge sums of money in the film, do not get to see even a single frame before its release. Take the case of Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se... Not a single preview of the film was held for its distributors and exhibitors. Hence, when the film bombed so terribly, it caught its distributors completely unawares. Repeated occurrences of such types have finally forced the distributors to openly voice their protest at this “unfair” and “unethical” practice indulged into by producers. On the other hand, producers complain that if they hold trials of their films and if distributors do not like them, they start playing games with the producers.

Jitendra Jain, a leading C.I. distributor, compares today’s scenario with that of the past. He recalls how valued the opinions of distributors and exhibitors were to even a producer-director of such a stature as Dr. V. Shantaram. Says Jain, “Even though he distributed all his films himself all over India, he would still invite a number of distributors, exhibitors and friends for the previews of his films. After the previews, he would very seriously consider every suggestion made by them about improving/exploiting the film.” According to Jain, there was no compulsion of any kind on Shantaram to show his films to the distributors as he distributed them himself. But he did so only because he had a healthy respect for their opinions, a trait, sadly, missing in today’s producers, he laments. Jain also cites the example of the Barjatyas who likewise distribute their films themselves. Yet, they make sure that their films are previewed by distributors, exhibitors and friends much before their release. And their suggestions are taken seriously by the Barjatyas.

Finally, the point remains that even if a producer does not have respect for his distributors’ opinions, he must be obligated to show him the film, say distributors. If for nothing else, only because the distributor has invested money in the product. Sadly, this right is being denied to him, feel distributors of all India. Maybe, after seeing a film in a preview, a distributor can plan his release strategy better. But……..

Four New Cinemas For Jodhpur

Jodhpur residents will have four more cinemas for their viewing comforts. The owners of Kohinoor Cinema, Jodhpur, are building a cinema hall on the same road on which Kohinoor stands. It is expected to be ready soon. Permission to construct three more cinemas has already been sought. The work is expected to begin shortly on a cinema to be built on a plot between Kamla Nehru Nagar and Housing Board Colony. It will be owned by the Nasranis of Nasrani Cinema, Jodhpur. Jagdeo Singh Khalsa of Khalsa Theatre, Falna, is coming up with a 300-seat cinema hall on Sardarpura ‘B’ Road. The Bohra brothers (producers and exhibitors) have already set the plans in motion for a 200-seat cinema on the Jodhpur-Pali highway. This cinema will be part of a multiplex, complete with restaurants and other recreational facilities.

Manisha + Khan = Jinx

Our resident statistician is not in the least bit surprised over the dismal failure of Dil Se.. at the box-office. According to him, the film was destined to bomb the moment Manisha Koirala was signed opposite Shah Rukh Khan. His analysis indicates that the odds are always against the film that pairs Manisha with a ‘Khan’. To prove his point further, he provides the examples of Akele Hum Akele Tum, in which she was paired with Aamir Khan; Majhdhaar, Sangdil Sanam and Khamoshi, in which she starred opposite Salman Khan. Needless to say, all the four films were super-duds. Come to think of it, even the only earlier film in which she was paired with Shah Rukh Khan, Guddu, turned out to be a turkey at the box-office! So Dil Se.. was, perhaps, destined to go the Guddu way! Raj Kumar Santoshi is well aware of this ‘Manisha + Khan = Jinx’ equation. Maybe he would, therefore, steer clear of Manisha while casting a heroine for his film that stars not only one but two Khans (Aamir and Shah Rukh). Hmmm….. about time we took our resident statistician more seriously!

Rational Thinking Is Need Of The Hour

The debacle of Dil Se.. has sent tremors in the industry. While this is not the first film to have bombed, its resounding failure raises some pertinent points.

Were the producers justified in selling the film at the price of 2 crore per major circuit? If one were to go by the market forces of demand and supply, the price of 2 crore looks perfectly justified. But it is a wonder that our distributors, who constantly crib about the risk factor in their business, agreed to be dictated simply by the market forces and chose to overlook the risk in buying the film at the prohibitive price. Frankly speaking, the proposal looked tempting, what with Shah Rukh Khan, Manisha Koirala and Mani Ratnam’s names adorning it. To top it all, A.R. Rahman’s music score was a definite bait to lure buyers to strike a deal at even an otherwise unthinkable price.

But if the distributors would have thought rationally and not let emotions dictate terms, would they have really paid 2 crore for a film directed by Mani? After all, Mani Ratnam may have given hits but he has also delivered bombs. His Bombay was a super-hit but his Roja was only a sectional hit. A number of his other dubbed films like Anjali and Dalapathi and Hindi remakes of his Tamil hits, like Dayavan, have bombed miserably. Business prudence then should not have permitted distributors to pay the fancy money demanded by Mani and presenter Bharat Shah.

Even after having paid such a heavy price, what did the distributor get? A whole lot of suspense before the film’s release! No distributor was shown the trial of Dil Se.. till one day before its release. Not that seeing the film two or three days or even a week in advance would have made any difference to how it ultimately fared. But still, distributors did get a feeling of being cheated after having paid through their nose. Like the distributors, exhibitors too were groping in the dark. They too paid fancy terms to distributors and are, today, shedding tears of blood alongwith the distributors.

Coming to Mani Ratnam, how could he have been so careless and callous about his script? When his heroine was being shown as a terrorist, he should have at least taken care to show his hero in good light. But he chose to do the reverse. People are complaining that Manisha Koirala’s negative character is not easily digestible, but they are also disillusioned with the characterisation of Shah Rukh Khan. For, he too is a negative character in the film, maybe not as negative as Manisha but, nevertheless, negative. At least two points in the film bring out his negative traits. One, even after getting engaged to Preity Zinta, he is shown as trying to woo Manisha. Which means, if Manisha would have said “yes” to his advances, he would have dumped Preity — and for no fault of hers! That’s not like a Hindi film hero. Secondly, Shah Rukh is least concerned about the security of India, his primary aim being to coax Manisha to get married to him. That is why, his death in the climax failed to evoke the sympathy it should have. Indians don’t like selfish lovers, and Shah Rukh is shown as being exactly that. Further, there’s no repentance on his part for his selfishness.

It is because of faux pas such as these that the concept of script doctoring must come soon in India. Hollywood has script doctors, who are experts in their field. Writers, directors and producers there bury their egos when it comes to the betterment of their films. They don’t mind taking the expert opinion of a script doctor, but will Indian directors or writers be ready to take a second opinion? Considering that the stakes are so high today, they should be more than willing to do so. That’s the only way, complete objectivity can be brought into a project. A dialogue on this aspect would be an interesting exercise.

Coming back to Dil Se.., the losses in most of the circuits are going to be back-breaking. The failure of Dil Se.. will, one hopes, teach a few lessons to the trade. For one, prices of films should be more reasonable and realistic. Yash Chopra, after DDLJ, could have sold his DTPH at the ratio of 3 crore, but he chose to sell it at 2 crore only. The market forces were at work then also, but Chopra did not let greed get the better of his considerateness. Secondly, the background of a maker and his past films should decide the right price of his next. Mani Ratnam has always made ‘class’ films and such films, even if they click, have limitations. Thirdly, super-hit music score may not be enough for a film to hit the bull’s eye. Fourthly, script is the thing. We need to become more serious about this single aspect of filmmaking and if that happens, the other things will fall in place automatically.

– Komal Nahta

DIL SE..

India Talkies’ Dil Se.. (A) is the love story of a programming executive, working in All India Radio, and a girl who is a member of a terrorist group out to destroy the country. Although the first half moves as a romantic tale, a good part of the second half is like a tense drama on terrorism. Even the romantic part has limited appeal because the love is one-sided. While the guy is madly in love with the girl, she is unable to reciprocate because of her terrorist activities.

Music is the film’s highlight and it would not be incorrect to say that all the songs are the film’s mainstay. A.R. Rahman’s tunes are heavenly, and Farah Khan’s choreography adds even more colour to the extraordinary songs. Not only are the songs picturised brilliantly, they have also been conceived quite differently. Picturisations of ‘Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan’ atop a moving train, ‘Dil se re’ and ‘Deeya jale’ are absolutely mesmerising. ‘Satrangi re’ is also beautiful and so is ‘Ae ajnabi’.

But the film’s script is not half as good as its music. There’s no relief and hardly any light moments in the drama. Some of the very few jokes there are, are of the kind which will be understood by the class audience only. A major drawback of the love story is that there’s not a single heart-warming scene or one which would draw applause from the audience or even inspire their involvement. That is, perhaps, because the love is one-sided. In his quest to show that love is above all else, writer-director Mani Ratnam has committed a mistake which the Indian audience may not like to overlook — even when the hero gets to know that his beloved is a terrorist, he is crazy about getting married to her; the thought of saving his country from the terrorist group is shown as coming to his mind as secondary, his primary aim being to possess the girl. In a country where mother and motherland are above all else, even above love, this kind of crazy love may not appeal too much to the masses. It is in this context that the hero’s love appears to be totally selfish. The flashback of the heroine is not as convincing as it should have been for one to appreciate her becoming a terrorist.

Shah Rukh Khan does a splendid job but goes a bit overboard in the last few reels. Manisha Koirala plays the terrorist with perfect understanding of the role. Her character should have been more well-defined, though. Preity Zinta looks endearingly cute and makes a pretty impressive debut with emphasis on natural performance. Raghuvir Yadav, bankable as usual, is very good. Mita Vashishth has no role worth her while. Zora Sehgal, Arundhati Roy, Sabyasachi Chakravarthy, Piyush Mishra, Ken Philip, Sanjay Mishra, Aditya and Krishnakant lend good support.

Mani Ratnam has given the film great gloss but could have, instead, worked harder on the weak screenplay. Had the hero been shown as being equally concerned for his country as for his beloved, it would have served two purposes — the film would have become mass-appealing and it would have brought in clap-traps. Dialogues are natural but not intense.

Santosh Sivan’s camerawork is mind-blowing and so are the landscapes and locations. Editing is loose. Action is alright. Sets are very appropriate. Mixing is not up to the mark — dialogues at several places are incomprehensible, sometimes due to overly loud background score.

On the whole, Dil Se.. has the too heavy price of a ‘mass’ film but remains a ‘class’ appealing fare which will find more patronage in ‘A’ class centres, mostly in Bombay, Maharashtra and South. It gives the impression of being a romantic drama but, along the way, changes track and becomes a terrorist fare. The film may fetch awards for A.R. Rahman, Farah Khan and Santosh Sivan but it will not bring box-office rewards at the astronomical price at which it has been sold to distributors. Besides music and song picturisations, the other point most in its favour is that there are hardly any major new releases for five to six weeks now, and, therefore, the film has a relatively clear field. This would help distributors reduce their losses.

Released on 21-8-’98 at New Excelsior and 21 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity & opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was superb in most places but below the mark in a couple of centres like Ahmedabad and Jaipur. …….The Tamil dubbed version of the film (Uyire) opened in Tamilnadu to bumper response. The Telugu dubbed version opens today (22nd).

‘TITANIC’ FACT FILE

Twentieth Century Fox’s Titanic is continuing its voyage all over the world, capturing newer and newer territories week after week. Director James Cameron’s magnum opus has collected more than US $1 billion overseas as well as over $800 million in North America, thereby becoming the largest grosser ever in the history of feature films. The film’s success story in India has been no different from anywhere else. It has grossed Rs. 44 crore in India so far, achieving a number of firsts in the process.

Titanic is the first ever English film to have completed 25 weeks in more than 10 centres across the country. An estimated 2.5 crore Indians have seen the film. It has also been the first English film to have run to full houses for its first 10 weeks. What is more remarkable is the fact that Titanic achieved such a huge success despite having only 86 prints in circulation, and all in the original (English) version! In fact, the collections of Titanic in India are the fourth highest in the whole of Asia, after Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Emboldened by the film’s tremendous 25-week run in India, Fox is planning to introduce another 30 prints of the film with an aim to gross at least Rs. 75 crore from the country.

PROTIMA BEDI FEARED DEAD

Protima Bedi, mother of Pooja Bedi and ex-wife of Kabir Bedi, is believed to have perished in a landslide near Mansarovar (between Nepal and Tibet) on 18th August. It is feared that over 200 people, including 60 pilgrims, died in a landslide which washed away several houses in Malpa village, 60 kilometres off Dharchula on the Indo-Tibet border. Protima, a renowned Odissi dancer, established a dance school, Nrityagram, near Bangalore a few years ago. She was proceeding to Mansarovar for a darshan of Lord Shiva. This may be the second tragedy to have hit the family in recent times as Protima’s young son, Siddharth, died last year in a tragic accident in New York.

PERSIS KHAMBATTA DEAD

Persis Khambatta, the Indian actress who won international recognition for her bald-pated appearance in the Hollywood film, Star Trek, died of a heart attack on 18th August in Bombay. She was 49.

Persis had been crowned Miss India in 1965 and she also participated in the Miss Universe contest. She joined films after doing some modelling jobs and won the best newcomer award for her performance in Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein, made by K.A. Abbas and released in 1967. Not satisfied with the Bombay film world, she moved to London with an assignment to star opposite Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine in The Wilby Conspiracy. She later moved to Hollywood. Her other English films are Conduct Unbecoming, Night Hawks, Warrior Of The Lost World and Mega Force. She left Hollywood a few years ago and came back to India to work on her book on Miss Indias, called The Pride Of India, which was released some time back. She was also planning a serial based on her book.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

‘Dil Se..’ Magic At Cine Magic

Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.. finally released yesterday (21st), thereby bringing the tremendous anxiety about the film among cinegoers to an end. The music of the film had already become a rage a month ago and the television promos depicting Shah Rukh Khan and Malaika Arora dancing to Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan atop a moving train had subsequently precipitated a further rage among the public. In fact, the public in Bombay had become so crazy about Dil Se.. that a new cinema, Cine Magic at Andheri, Bombay, witnessed long queues at the advance booking counter — there were people more than four times its seating capacity (362 seats)! Looks like Chal Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan has translated into Chal Dil Se.. Dil Se.. among the Bombay cinegoers!

Cable Talk

Overhead this one when our telephone cables got cross-connected with the cables of Rekha and Sridevi on 18th August, the day of the industry rally against cable piracy of new Hindi films:-

Rekha: Sri, are you going for the rally?

Sridevi: I would have loved to, but I don’t want to miss Satya which my cable-wallah is showing today at 11 a.m.

Rekha: Really? You have a lovely cable-wallah, it seems. My cable-guy just doesn’t show new films. That is why, I’m planning to participate in the rally against these bloody cable-wallahs. After all, why do they charge such high monthly fees if they are not going to show us new films?

Cable Piracy Rally A Success Sans Stars
Maharashtra Government Promises Action Against Pirates

The Maharashtra government has decided to take stringent action against cable operators airing pirated films, as is being done in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the state government also proposes to bring cable piracy under the purview of a law similar to the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDAA), commonly known as the Goonda Act, under which an accused can be jailed for a year without trial. These assurances from the government came as a result of the film industry’s concerted efforts in drawing the authorities’ attention to the growing menace of cable piracy. In an unprecedented show of solidarity, the film industry registered its protest against the cable piracy of Hindi films, on 18th August in Bombay. The entire Bombay film industry downed shutters on that day and nearly 2,500 people connected with the industry took out a procession from Bandra to Azad Maidan in response to a call given by the Action Committee Against Rampant Cable and Other Piracy of the Mumbai Film Industry a few weeks ago. Those who participated in the rally comprised representatives from all sectors of the film industry, and included artistes, producers, directors, distributors, exhibitors, technicians, dancers, junior artistes, workers as well as others affiliated to the Federation of Western India Cine Employees. In a rare show of solidarity, the Pune film industry also remained closed on 18th.

Just like most filmi functions, the Bombay rally began later than its scheduled time. A convoy consisting of over 40 buses, apart from some jeeps, several cars and two-wheelers, started from Mehboob Studios at 11 a.m. About a hundred participants, who arrived after the convoy of buses had left Mehboob, organised their own means of transport and joined the procession midway. That the participants’ mood was upbeat was evident in the way they participated in shouting various slogans in protest against the people engaged in cable piracy in India. The procession then tarried along to the Worli office of SitiCable and still latter, to the office of IN CableNet, also at Worli. As announced beforehand, the participants registered their protest against the perpetration of cable piracy by those two networks. As a precautionary move against the industry’s protest march, both the cable networks had obtained a court order stipulating that the participants of the rally maintain a minimum distance of 25 feet from their offices. Heavy police bandobast was also arranged by the networks to control the participants. But, this ploy could yield no dividends for the networks as the industry folk, while still remaining within the legal limits, made their protest clear by shouting slogans at the top of their voices. Some junior artistes and dancers were also seen standing on top of the buses while voicing their protests.

Having demonstrated outside the cable networks’ offices, the convoy then wound its way to the Azad Maidan — the termination point of the rally. Once the participants arrived there, a number of speeches outlining the ill-effects of cable piracy on the industry, were delivered by various industry spokespersons. The chairman of the Action Committee Against Rampant Cable and Other Piracy of the Mumbai Film Industry, K.D. Shorey, CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain, G.P. Shirke, actors Aamir Khan and Raza Murad were among the principal speakers at the termination of the rally. The prevalent mood at the end of the rally was one of determination to fight till the end. Santosh Singh Jain mentioned during his speech that the CCCA, following the Bombay film industry’s example, had decided to down shutters of the entire film industry in Madhya Pradesh on September 1. He further added that the other states should also begin tackling the issue in a similar manner so that the fight against cable piracy in India continued till the evil was rooted out completely.

Finally, the rally officially ended after a delegation from the industry met Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi and deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde. The delegation handed over a charter of demands (see box on next page) which was accepted by the ministers with promises of action to be taken soon on the industry’s demands.

In the end, though some people viewed the rally as one lacking in glamour (most stars, unfortunately, stayed away, with Asha Parekh, Madhuri, Aamir, Salman, Sunil Shetty, Arbaaz, Johny Lever, Raza Murad, Kunika, Ghanshyam, Gajendra Chauhan, Saahil and a few others being exceptions), what counts is that the industry, nevertheless, succeeded in achieving the main objective of organising the rally — to demonstrate its solidarity. It is only hoped that the fight continues in the same enthusiastic manner in the future and gathers momentum as time passes — that is, till results are achieved.

FILM INDUSTRY’S CHARTER OF DEMANDS

The delegation of the Action Committee Against Rampant Cable and Other Piracy, which met Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi on 18th August, raised the following demands on behalf of the film industry:

(1) Police should immediately take cognizance of a complaint lodged by a producer/copyright holder or his agents, supported by an affidavit that he has not parted with the rights, together with an affidavit of an eye-witness of the film illegally screened on cable TV network. Video piracy being a cognizable and non-bailable offence, the inspector on duty must immediately arrest the operator and should not insist on or wait for the result of a raid on the cable control room.

(2) For vigorous implementation of the anti-piracy laws and to strengthen the enforcement machinery in this regard, the state government should set up special police cells. These cells should thoroughly study the related legislation, gather intelligence and take prompt action against pirates.

(3) Hearing of pending cases in courts should be expedited. If possible, special courts should be set up to try offences committed under the Copyright Act. The copyright law was first amended in 1984, but not a single pirate has been convicted so far.

(4) Publicity machinery of the government should be used effectively to counter video piracy.

(5) The pirates should be arrested under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act and should be detained for at least one year without any trial.

(6) The licences of all video parlours should be cancelled for screening pirated films, as no producer has parted with the commercial video rights of any film.

(7) The government should encourage construction of new cinemas in Maharashtra. The government should grant tax holidays to newly constructed cinemas for at least five years.

SIDELIGHTS

* The Bombay film industry rally on 18th August had more than its share of light moments. A leading Naaz distributor, looking to the large turnout of Naaz-wallahs, commented, “First, we had thought of sending just Tolu Bajaj to represent the entire Naaz building in the rally. Because, as it is, if Tolu is in the forefront, people standing behind him can’t be seen.” Tolu Bajaj, it may be mentioned here, is very tall and well-built.

* The much needed bottles of mineral water for the participants in the rally were supplied free of cost by T-Series who bottle pure water.

* Because there were just four leading stars — Aamir Khan, Sunil Shetty, Madhuri Dixit and Salman Khan — they were, obviously, stationed in two jeeps which led the rally. Curious onlookers had a great time seeing the stars in flesh and blood, but their searching eyes, trying to recognise more stars in the huge procession of buses that followed the jeeps, met with disappointment. For, there were no stars other than the ones in the jeep! Aamir and Sunil Shetty took part in the entire rally, while Madhuri and Salman were there for some time.

* Ajay Devgan had been to his Naaz office a day before the rally. He was shooting nearby and visited his office for lunch. This led to the Naaz people to speculate that Devgan would definitely partake in the rally the following day. But that was not to be. Both, Ajay and dad Veeru Devgan, were conspicuous by their absence.

M.P. FILM INDUSTRY TO OBSERVE BANDH ON SEPTEMBER 1

In a bid to follow the example set by the Bombay film industry, the Madhya Pradesh film industry will also remain closed on 1st September in protest against the rampant menace of cable piracy of Hindi films. This decision was announced by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain while addressing the participants at the rally on 18th August in Bombay.

Shame! Shame!!

Why is so much hue and cry being raised over the absence of our leading stars in the Bombay film industry’s rally on 18th August in protest against cable piracy? The stars, who abstained from attending the procession, must surely have had logical reasons for doing so.

For instance, why did the Action Committee Against Rampant Cable And Other Video Piracy Of The Mumbai Film Industry not announce that artistes who would partake in the rally of 18th would be entitled to petrol money, and their drivers and spot boys, to lunch money? The Action Committee should have realised that our stars are so poor, they can’t afford petrol for their cars, to reach from their houses to Mehboob Studios. And if the Action Committee wasn’t going to pay lunch money to their drivers and spot boys, would they go hungry that day? As it is, the stars can barely manage to survive these days, how can we expect them to also take care of the lunch of their attendants etc.? Look at the way the films are flopping, stars are indeed in dire straits, right? Then why blame our poor stars for not making it to the rally?

Some stars have detested the idea of protesting outside the office of Zee TV at Worli. After all, there are Zee Cine Awards to be won. And if a star wants to win awards, how can he/she dare to ‘win’ the wrath of the Zee people. No, no, that would be unpardonable. And then, even the well-deserved award would not go to a star who participated in the rally but would instead be given to another undeserving star who abstained from attending the rally. So, the awards-hungry stars must be saluted for their foresight!

Come to think of it, many of our stars must be watching the new releases of their rivals on cable TV only. So how can they protest against cable piracy? Cable TV comes to the stars’ rescue in more ways than one. Firstly, stars can pretend that they aren’t interested in seeing films of their competitors because they don’t have to go to cinemas to see them; the films come right into their bedrooms, courtesy cable piracy. And, more importantly, admission rates in cinemas are so high these days, our stars genuinely cannot afford them. Such astronomical rates do leave a hole in their pockets.

Some stars must also not have turned up for fear of falling sick due to the heat. Did you say, they shoot in the heat when they shoot outdoors? Oh, silly, for shooting in the blazing sun, they are paid lakhs of rupees. But for taking part in the rally in the heat, they weren’t going to be paid a single paisa. So, obviously, they had to consider the pros and cons of it. The fear of a heat-stroke must have really made them develop cold feet. Can you blame the poor stars then?

Yes, you must! If the stars didn’t turn up for the rally for any of the above reasons, shame on them! And if their reasons were different, shame on them even then. Because, the excuses may differ, but the bottomline is that most of OUR STARS DON’T CARE. Yes, we knew it all along. Yet, we hoped, their lack of feelings wouldn’t be exposed so blatantly. It’s time to shed a tear for ourselves before we curse the cable pirates for making us cry.

– Komal Nahta

WHY THEY STAYED AWAY FROM THE RALLY?

Almost everybody one meets nowadays is criticising the industry bigwigs who stayed away from the Bombay film industry’s rally against cable piracy on 18th August. Their absence, no doubt, robbed the rally of a great deal of glamour. While this may be true, we think, such an opinion is awfully one-sided. We mean, what if a particular celebrity had a  perfectly legitimate reason which forced him/her from being able to attend the rally? So, we decided to call up a number of these absentees and find out why they couldn’t make it to the rally, thereby putting their versions on record. However, since nobody was coming out with the true reasons for their absence, we decided to stop asking them. Instead, we ourselves thought of reasons for the non-participation of the various top names. Here are their genuinely cooked-up (by us) replies:

BOBBY DEOL: I did not attend the rally because I whole-heartedly support cable piracy. Why? Arre, had Kareeb been pirated on video, at least somebody would have seen the film!

AMITABH BACHCHAN: Sure, I would have attended the rally had I found time to do so. I spent the whole of 18th (as well as 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th, for that matter) being interviewed by the newspapers and TV channels. After all, I had to explain to them why the collections of the next AB Corp. film will start dropping after the first week. Yes, that’s planning, corporation style!

AKSHAY KUMAR: Cable piracy doesn’t matter. My films flop anyway.

GOVINDA: Who said I wasn’t there? May be, nobody saw me as I was only about six hours late in reaching there. By that time, I presume, the rally was over.

KAJOL: Ask Ajay.

AJAY DEVGAN: Ask Kajol….. But, jokes apart, if we are in town and not shooting on any day, how  do you expect us to make a public appearance together? Public ki nazar se gaayab to hona hi tha, na?

SOORAJ BARJATYA: Well… there was a wedding in the family and I was busy making a video of the various functions.

DILIP DHANWANI: (Smilling as always) So far, all my films have flopped even before they were pirated. Let me first be affected by piracy, may be, then I’ll think about joining the fight.

RAJIV BABBAR: I would have definitely come, but sadly, Mithun couldn’t make it, you know?

MITHUN CHAKRABORTY: I hate Bombay. Had they organised the rally in Ooty, I would have not only led it, but would have also put up the participants at my own hotel. May be, I could have roped in T.L.V. Prasad to direct the procession as well.

VIKRAM BHATT: It is all bull… this rally and all. They don’t do this in Hollywood.

KARISMA KAPOOR: Yes, I didn’t go for the rally. I used the holiday on 18th to sit with my mom and plan Kareena’s walking out of J.P. Dutta’s film now. You don’t get such opportunities baar baar, yaar!

RISHI-RANDHIR-CHIMPOO KAPOOR: We had actually left  from Chembur at 8 o’clock to join the rally on time. But, after wasting a couple of hours in a  traffic jam at Bandra, Chintu said, “Aa ab laut chalen”. So, back we went to Chembur.

SUNNY DEOL: BACK PROBLEM.

DIMPLE KAPADIA: I thought, piracy was a problem in the early nineties. Is the PROBLEM BACK?

SUBHASH GHAI: As everyone knows, I make guest appearances only in my own films, not in rallies…

MANISHA KOIRALA: Itni dhoop mein sadkon pe nikalna? Nana…Nana…na na.

RAVEENA TANDON: I didn’t know that participation in the rally was a ‘must must’.

SHAH RUKH KHAN: Sitting on the top of buses and shouting slogans is passé. Dancing and singing on top of trains is in.

AMRISH PURI: Rally ke din Mogambo phus hua.

SHAKTI KAPOOR: Rallies like these PISS me off. No rally can solve this problem. This is the NAKED truth.

DHARMENDRA: Jaana to main bhi chahta tha, par mainu kaha ki vaddi peaceful rally hai aur koi gaali-galoch nahin chalegi. Ab batao, main un cablewalon ko (yells) ‘kutte, kameene’ kehkar nahin chillata to kya karta?

DHARMESH DARSHAN: Khud ka Mela chhod kar main doosron ke mele mein jaaoon? You think, I’m so vela, or what?

RANEE MUKERJI: I am very angry with Aamir. Why didn’t he ask me, ‘Aati kya Azad Maidan?’

RAJKUMAR SANTOSHI: I had no time. I was re-re-re-shooting China Gate and planning for the re-re-re-re-shooting of Pukaar.

RAKESH ROSHAN: I was keen on attending but my son, Hrithik, said, “Dad, unhe kaho naa…bukhaar hai.”

– RAJ VAIDYA

LATEST POSITION

The Rakshan Bandan holiday/s on 7th/8th proved bountiful for the industry.

Barood reaped the benefit of Raksha Bandhan holidays but dropped from 5th/6th day onwards. 1st week Bombay 36,42,868 (71%) from 12 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,03,505 from 5 cinemas, Vapi 4,85,986 from 2 cinemas, Padra 1,30,225, Rajkot 1,28,390 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar (matinee) 24,069; Pune 8,06,646 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,46,825; Delhi (6 days) 23,22,062 (62.91%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,80,435 from 2 cinemas, Agra 1,87,000, Varanasi 1,39,432 (70.15%), Allahabad 1,01,000, Bareilly 1,39,432 (70.15%); Calcutta (6 days) 17,55,979 from 18 cinemas; Nagpur 5,34,286 from 6 cinemas, Amravati 95,579, Bhilai 92,864; Bhopal 2,53,250 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 7,27,687 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 20,23,978 from 11 cinemas (1 in noon), share 7,25,928.

…………

Godzilla (dubbed) has done excellent. 1st week Bombay 4,54,913 (100%) (2 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,72,450 from 3 cinemas, Baroda (English & Hindi) 2,30,351, Rajkot 1,50,230, Adipur 1,64,923, share 1,16,455, record; Pune 3,38,467; Delhi 18,92,581 (85.51%) from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 3,35,647 from 2 cinemas, Varanasi (6 days) 1,61,372, Allahabad 94,300; Calcutta (6 days) 16,69,608 from 15 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 45,038.

………..

Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha is doing very well in Bombay, West Bengal, C.P.C.I. and South. 3rd week Bombay 22,49,795 (94.82%) from 5 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,82,805 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Vapi 2,35,896, total 10,64,702, Rajkot (matinee) 14,160, Jamnagar 92,789 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 6,48,184 from 3 cinemas, Kolhapur 1,10,000; Delhi (6 days) 18,39,773 from 6 cinemas; Kanpur 2,87,200, Varanasi 1,20,117, Allahabad 1,13,000, Meerut 1,39,128, 1st week Bareilly 1,55,006 (68.87%), 3rd week Hardwar 49,589; Rohtak 20,494; Calcutta (6 days) 5,44,117 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 2,42,391 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 1,19,001, Akola 1,35,344, total 4,68,254, Raipur 1,39,373, Bhilai 91,045, Chandrapur 81,790 (2nd 85,238), total 3,30,560; Bhopal 2,85,601 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 5,49,281, Ajmer 1,23,291, 1st week Bikaner 2,18,134; 3rd week Hyderabad 6,93,346 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Dulhe Raja 5th week Bombay 5th week Bombay 6,48,553 (52.17%) from 4 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,21,320, Jamnagar (matinee) 9,583; Pune 1,45,254 from 2 cinemas, 1st week Barsi 30,981; 5th week Delhi (6 days) 4,15,342 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,07,648 from 2 cinemas, Agra 1,48,756, Varanasi 1,12,632, Allahabad 74,300, Bareilly 90,927 (42.09%); 2nd week Rohtak 10,364; 5th week Calcutta (6 days) 1,08,561; Nagpur 1,49,124 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 68,510, 4th Akola 60,125, total 4,13,167, share 2,68,862, 5th week Raipur 84,698, Bhilai 60,270, 4th Jalgaon 48,064, total 4,16,868; 5th week Bhopal 38,783; Jaipur 3,90,388 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Ajmer (gross) 1,69,092, Bikaner 85,780; 5th week Hyderabad 4,18,931 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

Satya 6th week Bombay (TF) 41,22,214 (82.71%) from 10 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 97,143, Baroda 22,083, Rajkot (mg. shows) 9,865; Pune (TF) 5,23,893 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur (TF) 1,73,687, 2nd week Barsi (TF) 43,877 (1st 79,153); 6th week Delhi (6 days) 2,47,913 from 2 cinemas; Kanpur 81,434 from 2 cinemas, Allahabad 45,861, 1st week Hardwar 78,800; 6th week Calcutta (6 days) 1,07,815; Nagpur (TF) 87,916, Amravati (TF) 1,07,523, Akola (TF) 59,066, total 4,36,392, share 3,09,406, 2nd week Dhule (TF) 92,302 (1st 1,18,450), total share 1,18,471, Wardha (TF) 61,009, Yavatmal (TF) 60,040; Bikaner 38,380; 6th week Hyderabad 3,34,810 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

________

Godzilla (English) 1st week Bombay 8,95,474 (92.01%); Delhi (6 days) 26,03,585 from 4 cinemas; Calcutta (6 days) 6,02,039 from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 2,11,875; Vijayawada 2,30,000, Visakhapatnam (noon) 50,278.

DELHI-U.P. DISTRIBUTOR AJAY GOEL DEAD

Ajay Doel, proprietor of M.K.D. Films (96), Delhi, was killed in a gas leak accident in his office in Delhi earlier this week. Kriya ceremony was held on 14th August.

MADHUBHAI PATEL DEAD

Madhubhai Manibhai Patel of Laxmi Cinema, Nadiad, Natraj Talkies, Borsad, and Natraj, Kapadwanj, passed away in Nadiad on 7th August. Besna was held on 13th at his residence in Nadiad.

SIZE DOESN’T MATTER!

Glamour, the preview theatre housed in the premises of Gaiety, Galaxy and Gemini cinemas of Bandra, Bombay, will very soon be turned into a commercial cinema. The mini cinema has 46 seats, and the admission rate will be Rs. 65. Its weekly capacity (daily 5 shows) will be Rs. 64,400.

The new cinema will open with Godzilla (English). It is equipped with Dolby digital sound and a new AC plant. It is being managed by Manoj Desai and Rajesh Thadani.

INDUSTRY PLEADS FOR MORE RELIEFS IN U.P.

The Film Makers’ Combine and the Association of Motion Picture & TV Programme Producers hosted a meeting on 9th August at Citizen Hotel to discuss the U.P. government’s film policy with Kalraj Mishra, tourism minister of the state.

While thanking the minister for the reliefs granted by the Uttar Pradesh government, including reduction in entertainment tax and industry status for films, a fervent appeal was made to further reduce entertainment tax.

The CHAMPP also presented a memorandum to the minister at the meeting, requesting for the following:

(1) The U.P. government should give a grant of Rs. 15 lakh, like the Maharashtra government, to a filmmaker making films in Bhojpuri, Brajbhasha, Awadhi, Bundelkhandi, Maithili, Purvi, Garhwali and other languages of the state.

(2) Films made in regional languages should be granted entertainment tax exemption for one year if filmed 50% in the state and for 2 years if 75% shooting is done in the state.

(3) 50% concessions should be given to the units of regional films shooting on locations in U.P. and staying in government lodges. Such concessions should also be given by the tourism and other departments of the state.

(4) The film producer should get as a loan up to 50% of the grant at minimum interest rate from government’s financial institutions, taking into consideration the progress of the film.

RAVI DEWAN’S BEAUTY CARE SALON

Action master and director Ravi Dewan and his wife, Maya, are inaugurating a beauty care salon today (15th August). Called Maya’s, it is situated at MHADA, Building no. 7, Flat 001, Oshiwara Extension, New Link Road, near Tarapore Towers, Andheri (W), Bombay. Phone: 639-1386.

DO YOU KNOW?

4.41 CRORE IN 1 WEEK

* The English and Hindi versions of GODZILLA have collected a total of 4.41 crore in 1st week on 123 prints in India. The first week’s all-India share is a fantastic 2.91 crore!

MAIN SOLAH PER CENT KI!

* In a unique coincidence, Dev Anand’s MAIN SOLAH BARAS KI has collected 77,248/- against the capacity of 4,64,915/- at New Era in Malad, Bombay, thereby achieving the dubious distinction of recording 16.62% collections in its first week! This uncanny similarity between the film’s title and its percentage collections has led people to wonder whether Dev Anand will now make an autobiographical film and title it MAIN EK SAU SOLAH BARAS KA! If nothing else, it would at least give some hope to that film’s distributors — for a similar coincidence (116% collections)!

YOU ASKED IT

Why are so many horror films being made?

–Because their budgets are small and they are made in a short span of time. Other than these, small non-star cast films don’t have buyers.

There’s a fad to cut non-film albums these days, coupled with making music videos. Are these enterprises paying?

– If a private non-film album clicks in a big way (like Alisha Chinai’s ‘Made In India’, Daler Mehndi’s ‘Bolo Ta Ra Ra Ra’ and Altaf Raja’s ‘Tum To Thehre Pardesi’), it can yield profits of a couple of crores or even more!

For a super-hit music album like Dil Se.., is it worth spending lakhs on publicity?

– Of course, it is worth the money being spent before the film’s release. It would be wrong to not spend on publicity of a hit album.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Kaho Naa…Kareena Hai

So, finally the lid is off. Our sources have confirmed that Kareena Kapoor has been signed by director J.P. Dutta finally. Of course, there’s no formal announcement by Dutta so far. It may be recalled that Kareena Kapoor’s controversial departure, a few weeks ago, from Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai had opened up a can of worms. It has been rumoured since then that Kareena left the film because she was being offered a film by J.P. Dutta, pairing her opposite Abhishek Bachchan. The rumours seem confirmed now, with the news of Kareena signing the J.P. Dutta film which stars Abhishek Bachchan with Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty. There, the cat’s out of the bag.

Tug-Of-War For Film

A controversy involving Bade Miyan Chote Miyan may soon start in Delhi. For, there seem to be two distributors of the film for Delhi-U.P. While one is the original distributor to whom the film was sold at a price of 2 crore plus, the other is a new entrant. It so happened that after having acquired the film and even paying under-production money, the original distributor reportedly developed cold feet and asked for a price reduction. The producer, not in a mood to reduce the price, negotiated with another distributor who expressed his willingness to buy the film. In the meantime, Major Saab was released and it not only took a flying start but also did good business in the subsequent weeks. This seems to have influenced the thinking of the original distributor who is now keen to release BMCM himself. But the producer has reportedly promised the distribution rights to the other distributor. Who will finally get the film and at what price remains to be seen. In the meantime, the producer must be feeling thrilled about the heat the film is generating, what with two buyers ready to buy it at a heavy price.

‘Dil Se..’ Craze At Peak

The music of Dil Se.. is rapidly making inroads into the hearts of millions of people everywhere. Almost every other person is heard humming various tunes from the Dil Se.. album, seemingly paving the way for a fantastic opening for the film, due for release next week. In fact, the never-before-heard combination of A.R. Rahman, Gulzar and Lata Mangeshkar has become so adorable to the public that it would not be surprising if cinema halls all over the country witness scenes of people getting up and dancing on their seats, whistling, even showering coins on the screens and asking for an encore, especially of the Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan number when the film releases.

BAROOD

Pramod Films’ Barood (UA) is a routine revenge drama made on a lavish scale. A lady vows to avenge the murder of her husband at the hands of a ruthless business tycoon. As luck and coincidence would have it, her foster-son falls in love with the arrogate daughter of this business magnate. Of course, the son tames his beloved but yet, their proposed marriage is met with severe opposition from the businessman. The boy’s mother, however, challenges the girl’s father to stop the wedding. She even keeps aside her quest for revenge, for the sake of the happiness of her foster-son. When the girl’s father targets the boy to kill him, the latter’s mother is injured instead. She is finally killed by the businessman and his group. The boy then destroys the tycoon who is the killer of both, his father and mother.

The story is oft-repeated and reminds of a number of films released in the seventies and eighties. The first half is slow and the drama is interspersed with songs which seem to be too many and quite quick in succession of one another. Although the post-interval portion is lengthy, it is quite good and has some clapworthy and dramatic scenes. In particular, the scene in which Arjun helps the hero to escape from jail and the scene in which Aroona Irani and Gulshan Grover make it possible for the heroine to run away from her home are clap-traps. Climax abounds in action but is too long-drawn out. Dialogues are good at places.

Akshay Kumar excels in stunts and is fair in acting. Raveena Tandon is impressive in dances but does an average job in scenes. Raakhee delivers a good performance. Amrish Puri is efficient as usual. Mohnish is alright. Aroona Irani appeals but she has limited scope. Gulshan Grover plays to the gallery and is truly very good. Mohan Joshi does a fair job. Ayesha Julka appears in a song in which her dance is sexy. Johny Lever, Rana Jung Bahadur, Brij Gopal, Arjun, Shiva, Suresh Chatwal and Deepak Parasher lend average support.

Direction is quite nice but director Pramod Chakravorty has selected a story that cannot let him take much credit for his direction. Anand Milind’s music comprises a couple of reasonably well-tuned songs but there’s not even one number that’s even close to being a hit. In fact, song picturisations are all rich and eye-filling and, considering the money spent on them, their tunes sound lacklustre. Foreign locations and sets (Nitin Desai) are heavenly. Anil Dhanda’s camerawork does full justice in capturing the visual beauty on screen. Action, particularly in the climax, will appeal to the masses. Production values are marvellous. Technically, of a good standard.

On the whole, Barood has gloss and richness but not the substance to match. It will do average business due to a good period and lack of any big oppositions next week.

Released on 7-8-’98 at Minerva and 19 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity & opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was good in Gujarat, U.P. and C.I. but ordinary in Delhi and C.P. Berar.

FILM INDUSTRY GEARS UP FOR RALLY ON 18TH AUGUST

About 50 buses as well as a large number of jeeps and cars have been arranged for the participants in the proposed rally of the Bombay film industry on August 18. As is already known, the entire film industry will down shutters for a day to mark its protest against the government’s apathetic attitude towards the menace of video and cable piracy of Hindi films. Moreover, a rally comprising representatives from all sectors of the film industry will begin from Juhu. It will terminate at Azad Maidan after making peaceful demonstrations in front of the offices of Siti Cable and INCable en route. Prominent members of the film industry will deliver speeches at Azad Maidan following which a delegation will hand over a memorandum to Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi, demanding firm and swift action against cable piracy.

A meeting of representatives of all the sectors of the film industry will be held at Mehboob Studios on 9th August at 4 p.m. to chalk out other details of the Bombay industry closure and the rally.

CINEMA FOR SRINAGAR AFTER A DECADE

One cinema reopened in Srinagar yesterday (7th August) with Vinod Chopra’s KAREEB. All cinemas in this Kashmir valley have been closed for almost 10 years now, due to terrorist activities there. The cinema, which opened, is owned by Arjun Amla. It will conduct three shows daily. Vinod Chopra and his heroine, Neha, were present at the opening.

Chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who said at the cinema opening that military security would be provided at the cinema, was hopeful that other cinemas would also reopen in the near future.

CINEMAGIC CINEMA TO OPEN IN BOMBAY ON 21ST

Cinemagic (previously Darpan cinema) at Andheri (East), Bombay, is slated to open on 21st August with the release of Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se... Owned by the Kanakia brothers, it will be managed by V.I.P. Enterprises. The cinema has 362 seats in two classes (338 in regular and 24 in Executive class boxes).

AIR CONDITIONER INSTALLED AT CINEMA

Shreyas cinema at Ghatkopar, Bombay, has been equipped with an air-conditioning unit from 7th August. Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai opened at the cinema on 7th.

AKHTAR HUSSAIN DEAD

Producer Akhtar Hussain, father of actress Zaheeda, brother of late Nargis Dutt and late Anwar Hussain and maternal uncle of Sanjay Dutt, expired on 7th August in Bombay following a severe heart attack. He was 78. Akhtar Hussain had produced a couple of films including Raat Aur Din, starring Nargis.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Rajesh Khanna, for whom Kishore Kumar had playbacked a number of hit songs, attended the inauguration of Gouri Kunj Kala Mandir Hall at Khandwa on 4th August. The hall has been built in memory of the late singer’s mother. Rajesh Khanna and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh were the chief guests on the occasion.

* In keeping with the spirit of the song ‘It happens only in India’ from PARDESI BABU, Super Cassettes will promote it in a big way on several TV channels on 15th August. The song, which is in Hindi of course, symbolises the Indian culture. It has been penned and set to tune by Anand Raaj Anand.

* Choreographer Habiba Rehman was bitten by a snake during a song picturisation for R.K. Joshi’s LADY BOND last week. The snake was being used in the song picturisation when it decided to raise its hood, and bit the dance director, Habiba Rehman.

* GODZILLA (Hindi dubbed) has created a record by collecting 69,176/- (100%) on the opening day at Vaishali, Vapi.

* DULHE RAJA has created a theatre record by collecting 64,150/- in 4th week at Samrat, Raipur.

*SATYA (revived after a gap of 2 weeks) has collected more than it collected in its 1st run at Vapi. It had collected 1,54,000/- in 1st week at Vaishali, and has now collected 1,81,868/- in 1st week at Shree cinema.

* DEV (Rajasthani) has created a city record at Kishangarh by yielding a share of 1,35,429/- in 3 weeks from Sumer Talkies. 3rd week’s collection: 55,270/-.

* SUN LADKI SASARCHI (Marathi; tax-free) has created a city record by collecting 48,425/- in 4th week (share 37,425/-) and 35,093/- in 5th week at Arun, Pandharpur.

YOU ASKED IT

Does acting in TV serials by big-screen stars affect their marketability?

– In India, it is almost always only the heroes who make a difference to the selling price of a film, not even the heroines, what to talk of character artistes. And those who are getting into serials are all character artistes. Therefore, the question of making a difference to their market standing doesn’t arise since their appearance in serials doesn’t make a difference to the prices of the films in which they are acting. But yes, if the concerned star becomes a regular feature on television, people may not prefer him on the big screen too. That danger is always there.

How many Mithun-starrers have been released so far this year? How many more are expected to come before the year-end?

– So far, Mithun has had 11 releases. Five to six more can come in the remaining five months.

Is the Bombay film industry bandh, scheduled for 18th August, going to serve any purpose?

– Whether it is going to serve any purpose or not is not the question. Because the bandh is trying to highlight the plight of the industry due to inaction of the government in curbing cable piracy, every member of the industry should make it a point to participate in the industry rally and make the bandh successful. Whether or not the government opens its eyes to the reality is to be seen.

CENSOR NEWS

India Talkies’ Dil Se.. (length 4576.31 metres in 15 reels), applied on 6th and seen on 7th, has been passed with U certificate, without cuts.

Surya Shakti Films P. Ltd.’s Khote Sikkey was given C.C. No. CIL/3/37/98 (A) dt. 3-8-’98; length 4140.12 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 23.58 metres).

Aftab Pictures P. Ltd.’s Mehndi has been passed for adults, with cuts.

COMMENTS

KUNDAN THADANI (Bombay exhibitor-distributor)

In a country in which there is daylight robbery, how can we ask the thieves to mend their ways. I feel, piracy will increase after 18th August, the day the Bombay film industry has decided to down shutters to protest against video and cable piracy.

RAMESH LUDHANI (Bombay distributor)

These days, when first-run films do not get a good opening, there’s no use in talking of re-issue rights. Old films are telecast on satellite channels, Cable TV and DD round-the-clock!

TOLU BAJAJ (Bombay distributor)

The Bombay film industry strike on 18th signifies total unity. We must see to it that the industry ultimately gains in a big way due to the strike.

HEMANTBHAI (Bombay exhibitor)

It is indeed disheartening to see that the industry leaders have decided to down shutters on 18th August, because the month of August usually registers good box-office collections. Actually, I don’t think, there should be any strike in the first place.

ASHOK AHUJA (Bombay distributor)

Whenever any industry protests by striking, it stands to gain. The Maharashtra government will at least hear our voice due to the industry closure of 18th. Distributors have lost crores of rupees due to the rampant video piracy.

HARESH BHATIA (Bombay distributor)

The industry closure of 18th August will have a major effect on video parlours, video pirates and others telecasting films illegally. This strike was necessary and it will ultimately help the film industry in general and the film distributors in particular.

GURU SHENOY (Bombay distributor-exhibitor)

Until and unless we don’t register our protest against video piracy, neither the government nor the public will appreciate the problems we face. It has never been as bad for distributors as it is today. Post-strike, the industry has full chances of getting relief.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Mithun Mania

A leading C.I. distributor-cum-financier has shown his willingness to finance each and every project starring Mithun Chakraborty. He is even willing to pull out all the money he has invested in other projects and to become the sole financier of all Mithun starrers! The news doesn’t really come as a surprise, for, there is hardly a financier who would not want to finance a Mithun film. Given the brisk pace at which Mithun’s films get completed, the financiers are assured of their returns within six or seven months of investing. Even then, this is the first case where a financier is willing to invest solely in Mithun projects. It sure speaks volumes for the confidence of the financiers in the star.

In New Territory

Surendra Bohra’s Ganga Ki Kasam, starring Mithun Chakraborty and being directed by T.L.V. Prasad, has been acquired for Rajasthan by Bombay distributor Sanjay Chaturvedi in partnership with Rajasthan distributor Suresh Bokadia. Although Sanjay restricts himself to acquisitions for Bombay only, he has made an exception in the case of Ganga Ki Kasam which he will be distributing in Rajasthan with friend Suresh Bokadia. Incidentally, Sanjay Chaturvedi was the Bombay distributor of Bohra’s Mard, and also has Bohra’s Jeetenge Hum for the same circuit.

Three Versions Simultaneously

The Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions of Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.. will be released simultaneously with the Hindi (original) version on 21st August. Shah Rukh Khan’s dialogues in the Tamil version, titled Uyire, have been dubbed by Arvind Swamy, and those of Manisha Koirala, by Suhasini (wife of Mani Ratnam). The Telugu version is titled Premakudu.

Dispute Settled

The dispute between producer Naraindas Mukhija and Anil Sharma, director of the former’s Maharaja, has been settled. Anil Sharma owed Mukhija money in an earlier account on which interest has accrued over the years. The dispute has been set to rest by CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain who was appointed the arbitrator by both parties to the dispute. Although Mukhija is reported to have sought legal opinion on contesting Santosh Singh Jain’s arbitration award in the court, he is not doing so, maybe under legal advice. The film, incidentally, will be released in Bombay circuit by director Anil Sharma.

‘Jeans’ Means Business

While Jeans proved a complete misfit in its Hindi version, the original Tamil version and the dubbed Telugu version have fared well not only in South India but in a couple of Overseas countries too. The film has recorded a number of firsts for regional films in India. It is the first-ever Tamil film to have completed 100 days in 24 cinemas in Tamil Nadu, 21 cinemas in Malaysia and 3 in Singapore. The film’s Telugu dubbed version has completed 100 days in 40 cinemas of Andhra Pradesh, which is yet another record. In fact, the film’s run in Malaysia and Singapore is the longest for any Indian film there. Moreover, the film has fetched record shares from two cinemas of Madras — Rs. 35 lakh from Satyam in 15 weeks, and Rs. 27 lakh from Abhirami, again in 15 weeks.

Old Still Gold

Situated right opposite the Victoria Terminus building in Bombay, Capitol can easily be called one of the oldest cinemas of India. The 125-year-old Gemini building, which houses Capitol, was originally designed as a drama theatre. A number of English stage productions as well as English films were played here in both, the pre- and post-Independence era. Later, with the increase in the number of Hindi film releases, the cinema hall switched to screening Hindi films exclusively. In fact, its strategic location is one reason for it being a sought-after cinema as films released there fetch superb collections. Controlled by the Sidhwa brothers of Globe Theatres Pvt. Ltd., Capitol has now been equipped with Dolby SR for the release of Barood this week.

Emotional Social Drama

Mhara Saaybani Chundadi, a Gujarati film due for release next week, is not only producer Rajendra Butala’s first film, it is also director Arvind Vaidya’s debut effort. Although both, Butala and Vaidya, are not new to the field of entertainment, being famous personalities of Gujarati stage (dramatics), film as a medium of entertainment is definitely new for them. Considering that it is their maiden attempt, the two have packed in a good deal of masala in the social film which boasts of some heartrending emotions and which is based on a well-known stage-play. Arvind Vaidya seems to have used his skills as drama director in the film to benefit. Also praiseworthy is Butala’s comedy — yes, the theatre comedian has also played a comic role in his maiden production venture, and the audience is going to love his jokes. While Roma Manik and Hiten Kumar play the romantic lead, the two central characters are portrayed endearingly by Arvind Trivedi and Mukesh Rawal. Arvind Trivedi, especially, delivers a brilliant performance. Dialogues (Pravin Solanki) are also good. But still, the song Bhaada na makaan ma is the best thing in the film. A popular folk song, its haunting melody (music: Raghuveer Kunchala) and meaningful lyrics are wonderful.

Allegations & Counter-Allegations

Taken over by the spirit of Raksha Bandhan, here’s a bit of news about rakhee — but of another kind. Actress Raakhee had, some time ago, filed charges of molestation against an Indian Foreign Service officer, Vishnu Hade. Raakhee, in what was seen as a sensational move, had alleged that Vishnu Hade, currently the head of the Regional Passport Office in Bombay, misbehaved with her in May last year. She had visited his office in connection with her application for a fresh passport. The matter took a new turn last week when the All India Regional Passport Office Employees’ Association announced its decision to protest against Raakhee’s allegations. The employees claimed that Raakhee had tampered with her passport and had forged her date of birth to change it from 15th August, 1947 to 15th August, 1957. When this was brought to her notice, she conveniently made allegations against Hade, the employees further added. Incidentally, Raakhee’s appeal to a Bombay metropolitan magistrate court for a speedy trial was rejected recently.

On second thoughts, the news is not quite in the spirit of rakhee, huh?

BOMBAY FILM INDUSTRY CLOSURE POSTPONED TO AUGUST 18

The proposed one-day strike of the Bombay film industry and the rally of August 11, to demonstrate the industry’s protest against the government’s inaction in curbing cable piracy of Hindi films, have been postponed by a week — to August 18. The rest of the details remain the same i.e. the entire industry will down shutters on August 18 (instead of August 11) and a rally will be organised from Juhu to Mantralaya in Bombay. It will terminate after an industry delegation hands over a memorandum to the chief minister, urging him to take firm and necessary action to curb the menace of cable piracy.

A meeting of representatives of all sectors of the film industry will be held at Mehboob Studios on August 9 at 4 p.m. to chalk out other details of the closure and the rally.

LATEST POSITION

Heavy rains in Maharashtra and various other parts have adversely affected collections.

Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha has done very well in the 1st week and is particularly excellent in major cities of the various circuits, but a drop was noticed in several other places from 5th/6th day onwards. 1st week Bombay 22,60,634 (100%) from 5 cinemas (6 on F.H.), Vashi 2,67,750; Ahmedabad 11,13,784 from 6 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Vapi 6,19,710 from 2 cinemas, Padra 2,03,464, Rajkot (matinee) 36,697 (1 unrecd.), Jamnagar 1,29,282 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 11,83,723 from 5 cinemas, Solapur 2,30,726 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee); Belgaum 1,16,507; Delhi 39,85,872 (86.65%) from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 4,10,924 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 4,18,769, Allahabad 2,07,370, Varanasi 1,85,603, Meerut 2,05,644, Hardwar 1,05,562; Rohtak 41,215; Calcutta 20,04,361 from 12 cinemas; Nagpur 8,26,157 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 1,81,427, Akola 2,07,640, Raipur 1,75,612, Chandrapur 1,63,531; Indore 2,38,013 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal 4,29,711 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 12,07,588 from 4 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,66,938; Hyderabad 15,58,445 from 7 cinemas (1 in noon).

Angaaray has not found appreciation. 1st week Bombay 20,01,430 (60.56%) from 9 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,76,671 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,07,265 (1 in matinee unrecd.); Delhi 14,86,349 (43.03%) from 8 cinemas (1 on F.H., 1 unrecd.); Kanpur 1,84,528 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,83,452, Allahabad 63,500, Varanasi 1,22,068, Bareilly 63,669 (41.36%); Calcutta 11,76,360 from 16 cinemas; Nagpur 2,00,729 from 4 cinemas; Indore 2,46,803 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,47,872 from 2 cinemas; Jodhpur 1,62,000; Hyderabad 16,24,303 from 9 cinemas (7 on F.H.), share (including F.H.) 11,25,000.

Kareeb drops further. 2nd week Bombay 19,45,260 (50.35%) from 7 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,59,812 (1 unrecd.), Vapi 1,00,900, total 3,71,394, Baroda 1,42,107; Pune 3,27,269 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 40,725; Delhi 22,13,639 from 6 cinemas; Kanpur (6 days) 85,642, Lucknow 2,33,575, Allahabad 57,880, Varanasi 85,212, Bareilly (6 days) 51,603; Calcutta 6,17,540 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,04,498, Amravati (6 days) 42,390, Raipur (6 days) 54,834; Bhopal 97,454; Jaipur 1,61,244, Bikaner 90,024; Hyderabad 4,44,744 from 2 cinemas.

………..

Dulhe Raja 3rd week Bombay 11,63,643 (60%) from 6 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,19,454 from 3 cinemas, Jamnagar (matinee) 11,582; Pune 3,60,532 from 3 cinemas, 2nd week Solapur 81,306; 3rd week Delhi 12,55,330 from 6 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,81,071 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,84,528, Allahabad 1,11,300, Varanasi 1,42,824, Bareilly 1,08,114 (50.04%); Calcutta 2,43,450 from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 1,63,801 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 93,002, 2nd week Akola 1,02,477, total 2,97,009, share 2,24,304, 3rd week Raipur 95,182, Jalgaon 94,000, Yavatmal 57,286; Indore 1,53,780, Bhopal 1,63,092; Jaipur 2,69,706 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 3,45,506 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Satya is extraordinary in Maharashtra. 4th week Bombay (TF) 44,08,892 (86.16%) from 10 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,49,907 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 45,744; Pune (TF) 8,90,283 from 5 cinemas (2 in matinee), Solapur (TF) 1,74,035; Delhi 6,33,364 from 3 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 96,501 from 2 cinemas, Allahabad 60,857, Varanasi 39,838; Calcutta 1,83,352; Nagpur (TF) 2,20,782 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (TF) 1,44,679, Akola (TF) 71,846, total 3,23,938, share 2,38,770, 1st week (3 days) Wardha (TF) 59,695, Chandrapur (TF) 1,21,222; 4th week Bhopal 70,000; Hyderabad 3,26,958.

Show Tax In Madhya Pradesh Shoots Up
Industry Loss Estimated At 6 Crore Annually

Show tax in Madhya Pradesh has been increased 13 times with effect from 24th June. According to a gazette in notification (no. 30/18) dated 3rd July, the show tax per show will now be charged between Rs. 50 and Rs. 200. The show tax before this was Rs. 15 per show.

Although the gazette notification of 3rd July does not specify cinema, it does talk of public performances. The Supreme Court in 1959 had in the case of Delite cinema, Jabalpur, versus Jabalpur Municipal Corporation held that film screenings in a cinema came within the ambit of public performances.

According to Narendra Agarwal of Anjani Talkies, Khandwa, the additional burden to distributors and exhibitors of the state due to the hike in show tax would be about Rs. 6 crore annually. Madhya Pradesh has more than 700 cinemas, of which 500 operate regularly.

The Central Circuit Cine Association has been trying to get the M.P. government to permit cinemas to levy a tax-free service charge on the lines of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. While the tax-free service charge has not been allowed, the increase in show tax has come as a rude shock to the film trade in M.P.

With CCCA elections due next month, this issue of show tax is likely to be brought up at the annual general meeting by members who feel that the present executive committee should have taken steps to ensure that show tax on cinemas was not increased. There is still time, and a timely and effective representation to the government can save the industry 6 crore and also serve as a face-saving device for the CCCA executive committee.

YOU ASKED IT

Which films will be released on Diwali this year?

– BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN and KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI.

While Rajiv Babbar’s Shapath and Chandaal had opened to good houses, why has Yamraaj, released this week, not had a similar (good) opening?

– Perhaps, because of a surfeit of releases of Mithun starrers. Too much of anything is bad, right? Nevertheless, in Bombay, YAMRAAJ has taken a good start.

Do you think, banks will finance film production or is all this talk about bank and institutional finance for the film industry, useless?

– It is just a matter of time. Banks and financial institutions seem to have started thinking in terms of giving loans to film producers.

Who is the biggest enemy of the film industry?

– Some of the industry people themselves, especially those who claim to be on the creative side but are actually interested in only making a quick buck. There’s no seriousness or dedication in their work.

REGIONAL FILMS

Gujarati
Upendra, Naresh, Jeet Teamed

Upendra Trivedi, Naresh Kanodia and Jeet Upendra have been teamed in J.K. Film Productions’ Prod. No. 1, to be produced by Vikram Singh Dodia and Mahavir Singh Kochar. It will be directed by Atmaram Thakor. Story: Vikram Singh Dodia. Screenplay & dialogues: Vikram Patel.

100 Days In Bombay

G.N. Films’ (Keshod) Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya completed 100 (combined) days in Bombay at Dreamland (matinee) two weeks back. The film also completed silver jubilee in 25 centres of Gujarat and Saurashtra and is now heading towards golden jubilee. It was released in America last week.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Unexciting Independence Day

With the release of Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.. having been postponed by a week, there’s no major release now scheduled for 14th August. Surprising, because the Independence Day holiday on 15th August is considered to be truly bountiful for the box-office. Maharaja was trying to meet the 14th August release date but the film will not be ready for that day now, maybe, because post-production work went slow under the assumption that Dil Se.. would make it on 14th, so Maharaja could follow the next week. In the meantime, rumour-mongers insist that presenter Bharat Shah has postponed Dil Se.. by a week so that Barood, which is also presented by him, gets two clear weeks without any major opposition. Barood is scheduled for release on 7th August. Of course, the rumours are baseless, but it is said that there should be no big film hitting the screens on 14th August.

Dream Goes To Dust

After all the pains he has taken over the completion of his dream project, Ramoji Rao must be a disillusioned man today. His Film City in Hyderabad is reportedly running into losses to the tune of several lakhs every month. Reason: no takers. Now, this must surely seem surprising, for, the Film City offers every single facility required in the process of making a film. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that one can just walk into the Film City with the script, cast and crew, and walk out with the first copy of his film. Yet, it is a sad fact that for inexplicable reasons, producers are shying away from this completely self-sufficient studio. In the past six months, only two films have been shot there, putting Ramoji Rao to huge losses.

20 Flops For Every Hit

You way have heard of two-in-one and three-in-ones. Commonly used to describe a radio-cum-cassette-player (two-in-one) or a radio-cum-cassette-player-cum-CD-player (three-in-one), the expression could also be used to refer to a person or thing who/which does two/three jobs/activities/duties. But have you heard of a twenty-in-one? Well, that’s what one leading Bengal distributor has been nicknamed by others in the trade in Calcutta. Of course, although there’s no malice meant, this distributor is referred to as 20-in-1 because, to quote another Bengal distributor, “The 20-in-1 releases 20 flops for every hit/success released by him.” That is to say, for every hit/success released by him, there are about 20 flops that follow in his distribution concern.

Godzilla-Replies

The publicity caption of the Hollywood film Godzilla, viz. ‘Size does matter’, has become a popular catchline. Here’s how the catchline can be altered to suit happenings in the Indian film industry.

Why is Satish Kaushik the favourite comedian of David Dhawan these days?

Because size does matter!

Why were Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda cast in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan?

Because height does matter!

Why has Saawan Kumar made Mother ’98 with four oldies?

Because age does matter!

Why are so many films flopping these days?

Because price does matter!

Why did nobody believe Mukesh Bhatt when he said that Ghulam had cost him 15 crore to make?

Because lies does matter!

Dream Merchant

Film Folk and Bank Loan

There’s so much optimism in the film industry after 10th May, the day on which I & B minister Sushma Swaraj announced industry status for the film world. Without knowing how and when bank finance will become available to films, trade people are all talking of bank and institutional finance. Every filmland party, every film-folk gathering has a fixed topic of discussion since that May day! Actually, bank finance is coming out of my ears — and last night, it also came into my dreams. Not the finance, silly. They were some proposals for bank finance that made it into my dreams.

Pramod Chakravorty applied to the Bank of Baroda for finance for his next, starring Akshay Kumar and Shilpa Shetty. The bank manager pleaded inability to finance such a risky proposal. “But where’s the risk?”, argued Chakki-da. “See,” replied the bank manager, “when your Barood was launched, Akshay and Raveena Tandon were in love with each other but during its making, they fell apart and thereby delayed your film. If Akshay and Shilpa also decide to split, it would mean delaying your new film. We are wary of Akshay’s temporary love affairs even more than his permanent affair with flops.”

Harmesh Malhotra, flush with the success of Dulhe Raja, approached Union Bank for a loan for his next, also starring Govinda and Raveena Tandon. The assistant manager of the bank processed the file and not only turned down the loan application but also Harmesh Malhotra’s request for a meeting with the manager. “Govinda starrers are a strict no-no in this bank,” informed the assistant manager. “We are aware of Govinda’s latecoming habits and we’d rather not risk our money in his films.”  Harmesh-ji tried to reason out with the bank officer that Govinda had mended his ways and was now reporting for his shootings on time, but the banker said, he was also aware that Govinda gets such I’m-now-punctual-and-serious stories printed in the press at regular intervals. “He is regular about these news items but very irregular for his shootings,” the banker concluded.

Boney Kapoor and Anil Kapoor approached Dena Bank for a loan of Rs. 4 crore. The money, they said, would be needed after 30 days for a start-to-finish shooting schedule of Pukaar. The bank officials were not totally ignorant about films and asked the Kapoor brothers, “Start-to-finish? But Pukaar was started three years ago, right?” Boney nodded, “Of course, it was. What we mean by start-to-finish is that we start our next shooting schedule after we receive your loan and the shooting goes on till your loan is finished.” The bank officials gave the Kapoors one look of dismay which said more than a thousand words.

Amitabh Bachchan’s application for loan was rejected by Bank of India even before it was read. Reason: the bank felt, it was too risky to lend money to AB Corp. as Amitabh’s detractors pay money to buy people who then frequent cinemas screening the star’s film and walk out mid-way. This, the bank managers agreed with Bachchan, created the wrong impression among the rest of the people viewing the film. Amitabh tried to reason out with the manager that the situation was not as grim as he was imagining and that his (Amitabh’s) press statements about detractors or anything else should not be taken so seriously. “Yes, seriously,” nodded the bank manager, “we aren’t taking your loan application also seriously.” And he began to laugh deliriously.

Vinod Chopra, aware of how every loan application for films was being rejected by different banks, tried to be different. He approached the Grindlays Bank to get a loan sanctioned not for his next film but rather for the legal battle he would have to fight against video pirates at the time of release of his new film. The manager of Grindlays Bank was, however, blunt to the point of being rude. He told Vinod Chopra, “You needn’t get any court order for your new film. After the debacle of Kareeb, the cable TV operators may themselves refuse to touch your next film. No legal battle, no loan.”

Vashu Bhagnani tried to sweet-talk the manager of Saraswat Bank into giving him a loan for his new film. “If you sanction the loan, I’ll make a film on your bank and title it Bank No. 1,” smiled Vashu, while pushing a briefcase of money no. 2 into the manager’s hand. The manager, fearing a scam no. 1, returned Vashu his briefcase of currency notes as well as the loan application. “Cash liya to darna kya?”, asked Vashu. “Loan deke marna kya?”, counter-questioned the bank manager. “Okay, okay, loan nahin deke ladna kya?“, shot back Vashu as he caught hold of his briefcase and sped out of the bank.

Mahesh Bhatt refused to go to any bank. “If I can direct films over the telephone, I can jolly well raise finances over the same telephone,” he told brother Mukesh Bhatt. He then telephoned his bank (Overseas Bank) manager and asked if he could finance the purchase of the latest VCDs and LDs of Hollywood films. “Their cost,” explained Bhatt to the banker, “is much more than the production cost of my films.” The bank manager explained to Mahesh Bhatt that the bank rules did not permit him to lend money for anything except film production. He, therefore, asked him to get a loan application prepared, attaching the script of the film he wanted finance for. Bhatt shouted, “Are you mad? How can I write the script without seeing LDs of new Hollywood releases?” Saying thus, he banged down the telephone.

Saawan Kumar approached his bank — Bank of Maharashtra — for a loan for his next film. “What is the security you can offer?”, asked the manager. Replied Saawan Kumar, “I can offer the security of my unreleased film, Mother ’98.” “But that film is not sold,” lamented the manager. “So what if the film is not yet sold?”, asked Saawan Kumar, adding, “I have the capacity to hold. The film is taking some time to be sold because the subject is bold…” The bank manager interrupted him, “Okay, okay, but what do I do with the security of an unsold film?” It was now Saawan Kumar’s chance to cut him short. Said he, “Look, mister, would you accept gold as security?” The manager’s face lit up. “Of course, I would,” he smiled. “Okay then, do you know the cast of my Mother ’98?”, asked Saawan Kumar, and himself answered the query, “It has Rekha, Jeetendra, Randhir Kapoor and Rakesh Roshan.” The manager looked perplexed. “But there are no youngsters in the film?”, he queried. Saawan Kumar shot back, “You just said, you will accept gold as security, didn’t you? Well, my film may have oldies, but then, old is gold.” The manager grinned, “Sir, your loan is sanctioned.”

– Komal Nahta

PYAAR TO HONA HI THA

Baba Films’ Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha is a love story with a difference. Inspired from the Hollywood film, French Kiss, it is the story of a girl who comes to India from Paris to win back her fiancé who has fallen in love with another rich girl. On her flight from Paris to India, the girl meets a guy who is a jewel thief. He hides his loot (a diamond necklace) in the girl’s handbag and then what follows is a long chase. By the time he does get to the necklace, he also gets close to the girl and promises to help her get her fiancé back. In doing, so, the Paris girl and the Indian thief (who, incidentally, has a heart of gold) fall in love. Ultimately, the fiancé is dumped, and the two of them express their love for each other.

The first half is not too serious except for the couple of reels before interval. The chase is stretched too much so that it becomes boring. Of course, the pre-interval portion, like the second half, does have some really cute moments but while some of them are of the kind which will be appreciated by the gentry only, the others (of universal appeal) are few and far between. Besides, the Paris girl trying to win back her fiancé even after seeing him openly flirting with another girl looks quite unbelievable, if only because of two reasons — one, their love has not been established, and secondly, the fiancé‘s role is played by an actor (Bijay Anand) who does not have any star image. On the other hand, the Paris girl is a star (Kajol) and so is her Indian friend (Ajay Devgan). The base of the story, therefore, appears to be weak. It is for this reason that while the audience do not really crave to see Kajol and Ajay Devgan united in matrimony, they also do not weep when it appears that their love may not triumph. In short, the viewers do not move with the lovers. Ajay not being able to express his love to Kajol does not appeal after a while.

Dialogues are witty at many places. Screenplay writing, on the other hand, shows too much recourse having been taken to cinematic liberties. Climax, though fairly exciting, is not novel.

Ajay Devgan does a good job, but because he has an image of an action hero, his fans may not really cherish seeing him in a romantic role, devoid of any action or stunts. Kajol is the life of the film and delivers a simply fantastic performance. She is cute and natural to the core and endears herself to the audience right from the word ‘go’. She looks pretty too. Bijay Anand does a fair job, but an actor with a star image was the actual requirement of the role. Kashmira Shah is so-so. Tiku Talsania does quite well. Om Puri’s talent has not been utilised properly in the role of a police officer whose character is quite unbelievable. Harish Patel lends good support. Mushtaq Khan leaves a mark. Anjan Srivastava, Ghanshyam, Reema, Asha Sharma, Poornima Bhave, Satish Kaul, Shama Deshpande, master Mohsin, master Sharukh and Anant Mahadevan provide the desired support. Remo Fernandes and Jaspinder Narula impress in a song that’s racy.

Anees Bazmee’s direction is fair but his writing should have been far more convincing and much more taut. What was needed the most was to make the borrowed story more plausible and more Indian. Besides the song in the title (a better situation for that hit song would have made a positive difference), the last two songs (‘Jab kisi ki taraf’ and ‘Ajnabi mujhko’) are extremely well-tuned (Jatin Lalit) but they both come too late in the drama. The aeroplane song is dull while the rest are okay. Nirmal Jani’s camerawork is splendid. Action is alright. Art direction is very good. Production and technical values are of a high standard.

On the whole, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha has cute moments but not the magic and pain of a love story. It has a fantastic initial value (due to bumper publicity, popular music and the lead pair) but not the merit to sustain and go for a long run. The film rests on a weak foundation and, therefore, remains an average fare, mainly for ‘A’ class centres, especially in Bombay and South.

Released on 23-7-’98 at Metro and on 24-7-’98 at 11 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan’s Entertainment. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was superb everywhere. However, quite a perceptible drop was noticed in collections in some stations of C.P. Berar on the second day (Friday).

ANGAARAY

Rose Movies Combines’ Angaaray (A) is about life in the world of crime in Bombay. A young police inspector is sent to Bombay to get to the root of the underworld and to exterminate the anti-social elements. He is shocked to find his childhood friends as a part of the underworld. Actually, he, too, would have been a part of it had he not been arrested for a crime while still a child. After his punishment, he got an opportunity to reform himself, which he had done. He was now keen to show his friends the right path. He also knew that they (friends) were mere pawns in the hands of the don who actually needed to be finished. The climax deals with the elimination of the don and the reformation of two of his three friends, the third having been killed by the don.

Although an action film, it moves at a very slow pace, especially in the pre-interval part. The pace picks up a bit in the second half in which there’s abundant action. But there’s no relief or entertainment in the whole film. There’s no novelty, neither in the subject nor in the presentation. The character of the don is quite weird and unnecessarily mysterious. Dialogues are okay.

Akshay Kumar does well in the role of a police inspector. His stunts in the initial reels are very good. Nagarjuna, as his friend, is good. Pooja Bhatt has a small role and does a fair job. Sonali Bendre’s character is shown in poor light; she performs well and even her dialogue delivery, which is otherwise lifeless, is good. Irfan Kamal is fair. Paresh Rawal, though reasonably alright, is not in his elements. Gulshan Grover plays the weird don quite well. Mohan Kapur is average. Razzak Khan leaves a mark. The other artistes lend the desired support.

Mahesh Bhatt’s direction is routine. No attempt seems to have been made by him to offer something fresh to the viewer and, what’s more, too much has been taken for granted. Music is functional; ‘Aan de aan de’ and ‘Tanha tanha’ are fairly good but the other songs are dull. Song picturisations are ordinary. Camerawork (Sameer Arya) is of a good standard. Action should have been much more exciting (like Akshay’s stunts).

On the whole, Angaaray is an action film for ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres only.

Released on 24-7-’98 at Minerva and 18 other cinemas of Bombay by Vimal Agarwal thru R.M. Ahuja & Co. Publicity: fair. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over.

LATEST POSITION

Kareeb has not been appreciated and it began to drop from the 2nd day itself. It has, nevertheless, done well in some ‘A’ class centres. Bombay 32,46,775 (83.36%) from 7 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,75,151, full (1 unrecd.), Vapi 2,70,494, Baroda 1,75,895; Pune 4,78,295 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,01,843; Hubli 92,340 (100%), Belgaum 92,180 (100%); Delhi 32,75,624 (88.90%) from 7 cinemas; Kanpur 1,70,650, Lucknow 2,69,743, Agra 1,70,150, Allahabad 96,600, Varanasi 1,49,403, Bareilly (6 days) 71,404 (37.01%); Amritsar 52,500; Calcutta 9,74,147 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 3,53,305 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,01,806, Amravati 1,06,284, Raipur (6 days) 99,423; Bhopal (6 days) 2,75,866 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 4,70,592 from 2 cinemas, Bikaner 1,69,795; Hyderabad 19,08,447 from 8 cinemas, share 8,60,000.

………..

Dulhe Raja is quite good. 2nd week Bombay 22,70,855 (62.82%) from 10 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,91,997 from 3 cinemas, Jamnagar 76,860; Pune 4,62,324 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,88,445 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 20,33,438 from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,43,319 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,20,542, Agra 1,50,000, Allahabad 1,46,500, Varanasi 1,51,635, Bareilly 1,30,942 (60.61%); Calcutta 5,56,679 from 6 cinemas; extraordinary in 2nd week in Bihar; Nagpur 1,66,934 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 1,16,413, 1st week Akola 1,94,532, 2nd week Raipur 1,18,045 (1st 1,70,101), Jalgaon 1,15,000, Yavatmal 87,354; Indore 3,11,494 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,82,724 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 8,45,612 from 3 cinemas; Hyderabad 4,17,064 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Satya is a super-hit in Bombay and Maharashtra and Nizam but average/losing in the other circuits. 3rd week Bombay (TF) 42,95,740 (94.11%) from 9 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,44,189 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), 1st week Padra 78,564, 3rd week Rajkot 80,569; Pune (TF) 9,91,555 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (TF) 3,56,320 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 6,49,689 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 1,05,017, 1st week Lucknow 2,53,172, 3rd week Allahabad 61,000, Varanasi 70,355, Dehradun 74,189; Calcutta 3,33,666 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur (TF) 1,64,599 (91%), Jabalpur 44,954, total 1,41,478, Amravati (TF) 1,63,617, Akola (TF) 90,066, total 2,50,092, share 1,88,000, Raipur 63,048; Bhopal 78,005; Jaipur 71,139, Ajmer 53,769; Hyderabad 4,08,246.

Major Saab 4th week Bombay (TF) 9,82,590 (72.67%) from 3 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 56,667, Vapi 1,50,946,total 9,68,826, Rajkot 39,000, 1st Adipur 1,45,160, 4th week Jamnagar 23,881, 2nd week Bhuj 51,735 (1st 1,07,371); 4th week Pune (TF) 3,42,328 from 2 cinemas, Solapur (TF) 70,979, 1st week Barsi (TF) 40,034; 4th week Hubli 64,159 (3rd 85,915); Delhi 8,72,424 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H., 1 unrecd.); Kanpur 1,44,258 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,34,936, Agra 1,25,700, Allahabad 80,000, Varanasi 94,781, Bareilly 25,072 (13.14%), Dehradun 88,000; Rohtak 12,063; Nagpur (TF) 44,795, Jabalpur 93,328, total 6,26,116, Amravati (TF) 68,733, Akola (TF) 43,519, total 2,87,560, share 2,12,000, Dhule (TF) 36,367, Raipur 35,034, Jalgaon (TF) 64,138, total 3,31,518; Indore 88,931, Bhopal 50,129; Jaipur 2,24,015; Hyderabad 3,15,943 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

Ghulam 5th week Bombay 21,18,990 (60.42%) from 9 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,22,372 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot (matinee) 9,509 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 4,37,914 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,65,000 (4th 1,75,000), total 9,23,380, Solapur 84,655 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 3,87,853 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 28,093, Lucknow 82,561, Allahabad 31,000, Varanasi 55,600, 1st week Bareilly 75,164 (33.64%), 5th Dehradun 48,252; 2nd week Rohtak 10,813; 5th week Calcutta 1,39,020; Nagpur 1,08,606 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,19,228, total 8,78,064, Amravati 87,521, total 8,16,263, Akola 47,819, total 5,00,182, share 3,70,000, Dhule 40,000, Raipur 64,459, 4th week Jalgaon (6 days) 62,625, 1st Yavatmal 1,27,244; 5th week Indore 63,250, Bhopal 63,516; Jaipur 1,13,360; Hyderabad 5,25,933 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

FILM INDUSTRY TO DOWN SHUTTERS ON AUGUST 11

The Bombay film industry will down shutters on 11th August in protest against the government’s inaction in the matter of cable piracy of Hindi films. All film activities viz. production, distribution, exhibition, recordings etc. will remain closed on 11th. A mass rally consisting of members from all sectors of the industry will be organised in Bombay on that day. The rally, which will begin at Juhu, will terminate at Mantralaya where a delegation will meet the Maharashtra chief minister and submit a memorandum to him, urging the government to take quick and stern action against pirates of Hindi films. The rally will also, en route, pass the office of Siticable at Worli. The decision of the rally was taken during a meeting of representatives of all the sectors of the film industry — production, distribution, exhibition and cine workers — held at IMPPA House on 22nd July.

Illegal screenings of Hindi films on cable have spelt huge losses for the film industry in the past few years. The racket of cable piracy has flourished over the years in spite of the Indian Copyright Act being one of the most stringent and comprehensive legislations in the world. On its part, the government has amended the Copyright Act in 1984, making the piracy of films a cognisable and a non-bailable offence, yet it has failed to convict even one offender in 14 years since. The reason for this, according to IMPPA, is the apathetic attitude of the state law enforcement agencies towards the issue. As a result, the menace of cable piracy has continued to thrive under the aegis of major cable networks like Siticable and IN Network, alleges IMPPA. The decision to down shutters and organise a mass rally comes in the wake of this realisation. An Action Committee Against Cable And Other Piracy has also been formed by IMPPA to take up necessary follow-up action in the matter.

It may be recalled here that a few weeks ago, the Tamil film industry had resorted to a similar protest rally in Madras, after which it succeeded in getting several concessions for itself.

ASHA PAREKH IN OFFICE

The newly appointed chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, Asha Parekh, has begun attending the CBFC office at Bharat Bhavan, Bombay, from 20th July. She succeeds Shakti Samanta who held the office for three consecutive terms (almost seven years).

Lot Of Anand At Bakshi’s Birthday

His 68th birthday on 21st July is the one which veteran and celebrated lyricist Anand Bakshi will remember all his life. Showman Subhash Ghai celebrated the young-at-heart song writer’s birthday in great style at The Leela, where rich eulogies were paid to Bakshi’s writing prowess.

Although the show started almost two hours late due to unavoidable circumstances, the wait was worth its while. An audio visual on Anand Bakshi, made by Plus Channel, traced the growth of Anand Bakshi as a lyricist, beginning from his childhood days when, perhaps, he did not even in his wildest of dreams imagine that he would one day become a legendary name in the world of dreams. The informative AV presentation, with lucid commentary by Javed Siddiqi, was followed by recital of songs written by Anand Bakshi, by some top playback singers. People like Yash Chopra, Subhash Ghai himself, Hasan Kamal, Nida Fazli, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Jagjit Singh and Dilip Kumar praised Anand Bakshi’s works.

Bakshi has had a 20-year association with Subhash Ghai, having penned all the songs of all films made under Ghai’s Mukta Arts banner. In lyrics writing, he has completed 42 years.

Shabana Azmi greeted Anand Bakshi with a huge garland ordered by Ghai specially for the occasion. A memento was also presented by Ghai to Bakshi. Javed Siddiqi was the efficient master of ceremonies.

A huge birthday cake was cut by Anand Bakshi well after midnight.

Subhash Ghai also celebrated the golden jubilee of Pardes at the same party.

‘Prem Aggan’ Music Released With Pomp And Show

Feroz Khan launched the music of his Prem Aggan on 18th July at a function at The Leela. BMG Crescendo is marketing the film’s music released by UTV. The audio cassettes were formally released by Sanjay Dutt and Manisha Koirala.

Two songs from the film were screened for the invitees and this was followed by a live rendition of a couple of songs by the film’s playback singers. At least one song has been picturised on some breathtaking locations of Australia. The music of Prem Aggan is scored by Anu Malik. The songs are of the kind which definitely grow on the listener.

The film introduces Fardeen Khan and Meghna Kothari. At the music release function, Feroz Khan introduced the stars and music director of his film, Anu Malik, to the gathering which mainly consisted of the film’s cast, technicians, music dealers, UTV and BMG people, selected guests and media persons.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Soldier’ Complete

The entire shooting and dubbing of Tips Films’ Soldier have been completed. Background music is being recorded at Empire Audio Centre. Starring Raakhee Gulzar, Bobby Deol, newcomer Preity Zinta, Suresh Oberoi, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sharat Saxena, Johny Lever and Farida Jalal, the film is directed by Abbas Mustan. Music: Anu Malik. Story: Shyam Goel. Screenplay: Sachin Bhaumick. Dialogues: Javed Siddiqi. Lyrics: Sameer. Cinematographer: Thomas A. Xavier. Action: Akbar Bakshi. Editor: Hussain Burmawala.

‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ Unit Returns

The unit of Dharma Productions’ Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has returned to Bombay after completing a 15-day shooting schedule in Scotland. The entire cast participated. Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Rani Mukerji, Neelam (friendly appearance), Anupam Kher, Farida Jalal, Archna Pooran Singh, Himani Shivpuri, Johny Lever, baby Sana and Salman Khan in a special appearance, the film is being produced by Yash Johar and directed by Karan Johar. Music is scored by Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer. Cinematographer: Santosh Thundiyil. Choreographer: Farah Khan.

YOU ASKED IT

Why are banks not willing to finance film producers?

– Mainly for two reasons — uncertainty of the business, and the big component of black money involved in film transactions.

Why have films started behaving differently in different circuits rather than faring the same way all over India?

– If a film’s script is powerful and its music is hit, it is bound to do equally well in every circuit. The difference arises in the case of other films because audience tastes have begun to vary region-wise.

Which is the hottest territory today?

– Where are the distributors today that you are talking of the hottest territory? The ‘heat’ comes from a project, that too, before its price/ratio is announced. Other than that, it’s all thanda.

STRAY SUGGESTIONS

* Bobby Deol has cut his long hair short. Good! He should now also cut down his price. Look at Kareeb.

* Pooja Bhatt must really be the busiest heroine around. Don’t believe? Then see Angaaray. Although it is directed by her father, Mahesh Bhatt, the poor girl didn’t have the time to complete her dubbing.

* Govinda should seriously consider completing his films on time. He did it in Dulhe Raja and look at the results. Govinda, after dancing his way into the hearts of the audience, can now also dance his way into the hearts of his producers and directors by reporting on his sets on time. For, time and tide wait for no man.

* Amitabh Bachchan could do with signing a film with a director who has delivered hits in recent times rather than restricting himself to directors who had delivered hits when he (Bachchan) used to be in his prime — years ago!

* Shilpa Shetty should seriously take tips from new love, Akshay Kumar, on dressing. Her costumes in films are always being criticised. Akshay’s clothes are never bitched about. Half the times, he wears nothing except trousers!

* Aishwarya Rai must now try to get over her Miss World image. Models are known to be stiff. But Aishwarya is not stiff. She is very, very stiff. Sniff!

* I & B minister Sushma Swaraj has done a good job of constituting an Advisory Board, Film Export Promotion Forum etc. She should now form a Script Board to advise our film writers on how to write stories and screenplays. If films start running, there’ll be no need for other Advisory Boards.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Rumours were rife earlier this week that Subhash Ghai had replaced Aishwarya Rai from TAAL and had signed Mahima Chaudhry in her place. Of course, the rumours were baseless as Aishwarya continues to be the film’s heroine.

* Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh has launched an exclusive brand of kurtas called Jagjit kurta. The singer usually wears kurta with churidar in his concerts. Jagjit Singh has plans to extend the product line to include sunglasses, pens, clocks, watches etc. in times to come.

* Ashok Talkies, Jalgaon, is screening a festival of tax-free films! Or almost so. The tax-free MAJOR SAAB is running at the cinema in its 5th week. It will be followed by the tax-free DUSHMAN. After that, it will screen SATYA which also is tax-free in Maharashtra.

MIX MASALA

NO SMOKING

Anupam Kher has given up smoking. This is not the first time the actor has quit the habit but he’s very serious now, that he won’t light the cigarette again. Hope his resolve doesn’t go up in smoke!

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

How About This Birthday Gift, Mr. Ghai?

Subhash Ghai’s exemplary gesture of throwing a lavish party to celebrate Anand Bakshi’s 68th birthday has invoked high praise from all quarters. This fine gesture speaks volumes for the affectionate bond that the showman and the poet share between them. While this party will surely be cherished by Bakshi as one of the best birthday gifts he has received, one is sure, the celebrated lyricist would have been even happier had Ghai given him a song to sing in Taal and announced this at the birthday party. In a recent interview with Film Information, Anand Bakshi had expressed a keen desire to sing at least one memorable song in a film before he hangs his boots. In fact, he had gone to the extent of saying that his only fervent desire was that the people should remember him more for a memorable song sung by him than for those he had penned! This wish of his can be fulfilled by Subhash Ghai even now, so what if the birthday is gone. He could offer his favourite lyricist a singing opportunity in his forthcoming Taal. And should he really do so, it would be a great move, for, this would mean a unique occurrence of one of the oldest lyricists singing for one of the youngest music directors of today (A.R. Rahman).

Better Late Than Never

It seems that writers Rajiv Kaul and Praful Parekh had the story of Dulhe Raja for several years before Harmesh Malhotra made it. They repeatedly approached a number of producers with the story during those years, but without any success. With each producer rejecting the story, the chances of it being ever made into a film looked extremely bleak. It almost seemed as though the Dulhe Raja would never get married for want of baraatis! But, luckily for Kaul and Parekh, producer-director Harmesh Malhotra spotted the story’s potential as late as a year ago.

Boomtime In Bengali Film Industry

At a time when the Hindi film industry is struggling to grapple with its fluctuating fortunes at the box-office, at least one regional film industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom. As many as 35 to 40 Bengali films are currently under-production. Moreover, a number of Bengali films have succeeded in hitting the bull’s eye at the box-office in the recent past. A producer like Dilip Kankaria is making/planning at least four to five Bengali films. While low admission rates due to a reasonable entertainment tax of only 20% on Bengali films may explain the viewers flocking to cinema halls in large numbers, the current boom in the Bengali film industry has adversely affected distributors of Hindi films (which, incidentally, pay 70% entertainment tax) in the circuit. A number of exhibitors in West Bengal run mostly Bengali films only. While on the topic, another regional industry which is experiencing a similar boom, though of smaller proportions, is the Gujarati film industry. Following the runaway success of Govindbhai Patel’s Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya, as many as 15 to 20 Gujarati films are in various stages of production.

‘Kareeb’ & Liberty

It is a coincidence, and a strange one at that. Power failure disrupted the Kareeb screening on the opening day in the same show in two Liberty cinemas — of Bombay and Delhi. Bombay’s Liberty was in pitch darkness for over an hour in the 6 p.m. show on 17th July. In Delhi’s Liberty, power supply played truant two or three times in the 6 o’clock show, for 10-15 minutes each time.

KAREEB

Vinod Chopra Productions’ Kareeb is a love story set in a small town of Northern India. A poor girl and a rich boy fall in love with each other but the boy’s father will not let his son get married to a girl who doesn’t bring dowry. The boy, in order to fool his father, robs his money and gives it to him as if it were the dowry sent by the girl’s maternal uncle. All hell breaks loose when the theft comes to the notice of the father right on the day of the wedding. The marriage is stalled, which gives a heart attack to the girl’s widowed mother. She is shifted to a city hospital but the boy can’t do much because his enraged beloved has asked him to keep away. The boy, nevertheless, goes to the city and keeps tab on the mother’s progress. Finally, when over a lakh of rupees are required for the mother’s heart surgery, the boy comes to the rescue of the poor girl, but again, by unfair means. This not only wins him back his beloved but also prevents her marriage to the doctor attending to her mother.

While the first half has very interesting light moments between the boy and the girl, there is absolutely no romance in the post-interval portion. Not only that, the pace is very slow in the second half, and the drama seems to almost not move. One reason for this is that almost the entire second half has been shot in the hospital and the laundry which is opposite the hospital and in which the hero camps. Further, there’s no heroism of the hero in the whole film. Merely because the heroine has sworn him to keep away, his not coming to her aid in the hospital does not appeal. What’s more, there arises a feeling that he isn’t even trying hard enough to collect money for the mother’s treatment until towards the end. It is for this reason that the emotions simply do not come across because one doesn’t feel sorry for a hero who is not doing his best. The hero being conned by a couple also fails to have the emotional impact, if only because it is not the hero’s hard-earned money that’s lost. Even in the climax, the hero resorts to stealing, and his family members and friends also lie about his winning the lottery, further downgrading the character of the hero.

As against the abovesaid weak points in the story and screenplay, what is appealing is the comedy. While some scenes are hilarious, there are a few which bring a smile to the lips. But the fact remains, the drama after interval is weak. Also, the comedy is more of the kind that will be appreciated by the gentry and city audience. Climax is ordinary.

Bobby Deol does well in the light scenes but is not really good enough in the dramatic ones. His long hair rob him of Indian looks. Neha makes a confident debut and endears herself to the audience with a cute performance. She, however, needs to improve a lot in dancing, the awkwardness showing in the solitary and small dance piece she does in a song. Saurabh Shukla and Manav Kaushik are fantastic and evoke laughter at several places. In fact, they are the best performers in the film. Amit Phalke also impresses with a performance that’s natural to the core. Moushumi Chatterjee does an able job. Johny Lever’s comedy is enjoyable. Abhay Chopra gives a restrained performance but his dialogue delivery is not only too fast, it is also unclear at places. A star figure would have been a better choice for the role. Shammi Kapoor and Sushma Seth lend formidable support, and the change in the character leaves the audience quite shocked. The other artistes provide good support.

Director Vinod Chopra’s handling of the subject is sensitive and he also makes the film a visual delight. But his script sense leaves a lot to be desired. Anu Malik’s music score is good. All the songs are very melodious. Song picturisations do not befit a love story; they are too ordinary. Binod Pradhan’s camerawork is remarkable; the exotic locations have been fabulously captured by him. Editing is loose and the film could do with several deletions. Mixing is improper at places. Production values are fair.

On the whole, Kareeb remains a film for cities and the class audience and can be expected to do well in good cinemas of ‘A’ grade centres. For the distributors, therefore, the going will prove tough. Business in Bombay and South may be better.

Released on 17-7-’98 at Liberty and 10 other cinemas of Bombay thru Yashraj Film Distributors. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was good in Delhi and Calcutta but average in almost all the other places.

LATEST POSITION

The week that went by was normal.

Dulhe Raja has done very well. In Bihar, it has done exceptional business, breaking several records, and is expected to cross the crore mark there soon. It picked up in C.P. where the opening was below the mark. 1st week Bombay 48,92,947 (83.67%) from 14 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,15,242 from 5 cinemas, Padra 1,78,772, Jamnagar 1,17,244; Pune 7,69,496 from 5 cinemas; Delhi 39,57,727 (74.08%) from 11 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 5,60,425 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,23,043, Allahabad 1,95,000, Bareilly 1,85,403 (85.82%); Calcutta 15,26,093 from 12 cinemas; Nagpur 6,37,267 from 5 cinemas, Amravati 1,65,535, Durg 1,23,540, Jalgaon 1,53,808, Yavatmal 1,58,879, Bilaspur 1,78,877 from 2 cinemas; Indore 4,62,291 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,93,684 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 13,30,631 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 18,17,765 from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.).

Satya (tax-exempted in Maharashtra from 12th July) is doing wonderful business in Maharashtra. It is steady in Gujarat, Delhi-U.P., East Punjab and the Eastern Circuit. The Telugu version is fantastic. 2nd week Bombay (TF) 37,03,878 (95.29%) from 7 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 99,949 (2 unrecd.); Pune (TF) 10,30,344 from 4 cinemas, Solapur (TF) 1,76,320 (100%); Delhi 4,65,355 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Kanpur 1,19,407 (1st 3,07,661), Lucknow 1,75,026, Allahabad 72,000, Dehradun 79,416; Calcutta 2,02,373; Nagpur (TF) 4,37,576 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 53,095, total 96,524, Amravati (TF) 1,62,561, Akola (TF) 85,611, total 1,62,026; Jaipur 1,49,542, Ajmer 65,808 (1st 62,516); Hyderabad 4,39,391.

Major Saab continues to do well in Gujarat, U.P. and Bihar. It has been granted tax-exemption in Maharashtra (from July 15). 3rd week Bombay (TF) 17,09,693 (57.52%) from 8 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 73,760 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Vapi 2,03,660, total 8,17,880, Jamnagar 74,014, total 3,48,126; Pune (TF) 3,35,361 from 2 cinemas, Solapur (TF) 93,748; Bijapur 2 weeks’ total 1,63,000; 3rd week Delhi 22,37,619 from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,23,462 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,23,065, Allahabad 1,14,000, Bareilly 45,743 (23.98%), Hardwar 25,000; 3 weeks’ billing of Delhi-U.P. is over 1.30 crore; Rohtak 15,088; Calcutta 3,48,363 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur (TF) 76,531 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,23,749, total 5,32,788, Amravati (TF) 66,276, Akola (TF from 15th) 43,559, total 2,44,040, Jalgaon 54,854, Chandrapur 1,58,084, Yavatmal 17,633, Bilaspur 51,281; Indore 1,12,251, Bhopal 72,035; Jaipur 2,28,100 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Bikaner 1,62,546; 3rd week Hyderabad 3,61,377 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

Ghulam 4th week Bombay 29,39,613 (75.33%) from 10 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,40,150 from 2 cinemas; Pune 5,89,806 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,23,202 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee and 1 in 14 shows); Bijapur 3 weeks’ total 3,20,000; 4th week Delhi 7,53,746 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 1,31,247 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,21,238, Allahabad 45,000, Dehradun 61,000; 1st week Rohtak 20,077; 4th week Calcutta 1,72,406; Nagpur 72,012 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,44,723, total 7,58,836, Amravati 1,22,245, total 7,28,741, Akola 72,053, total 4,52,362, Jalgaon (6 days) 84,303, Bilaspur 58,064; Indore 87,218, Bhopal 86,312; Jaipur 1,35,705; Hyderabad 6,10,504 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

SHAH RUKH DISCHARGED

Shah Rukh Khan was earlier this week discharged by a court in Ajmer in a case field against him by a group of lawyers for using allegedly derogatory words for lawyers in Ram-Jaane. The defence argued that Shah Rukh, being an actor, speaks and acts according to the script written for him and he should not be held responsible for words spoken while acting.

ENTERTAINMENT TAX IN RAJASTHAN REDUCED

The Rajasthan government has reduced entertainment tax to 50% on nett admission rates of less than Rs. 10. The earlier rate of entertainment tax (100%) continues on tickets, the nett rates of which are over Rs. 10.

‘SATYA’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

Ram Gopal Varma’s Satya has been granted tax exemption in Maharashtra for a period of three months from July 10.

‘MAJOR SAAB’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

ABCL’s Major Saab has been exempted from payment of entertainment tax in Maharashtra for a period of three months from 14th July.

‘PARDES’ GOLDEN JUBILEE

Subhash Ghai’s Pardes is celebrating golden jubilee this week. Produced under the banner of Mukta Arts (Pvt.) Ltd., it stars Shah Rukh Khan, Mahima Chaudhry, Apoorva Agnihotri, Amrish Puri, Alok Nath and others. Music: Nadeem Shravan. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi, Cinematographer: Kabir Lal.

YOU ASKED IT

Why are state governments like those of Uttar Pradesh suddenly becoming sympathetic towards the film industry?

– Thanks to the efforts of the industry leaders as well as star-MPs like Shatrughan Sinha, the state governments are realising the seriousness of the precarious situation in which the film industry finds itself today. Further, the industry status granted by the central government is acting as a good starting point for states to act.

The Govinda-starrer, Achanak, did not take a decent opening whereas the other Govinda-starrer, Dulhe Raja, opened to excellent houses. Why so?

– DULHE RAJA boasted of a hit song, Ankhiyon se goli maare. ACHANAK had no hit number. Thus the difference in initials of the two films.

Has J.P. Dutta started shooting his Aakhri Mughal? Who is Abhishek Bachchan’s heroine in it?

– J.P. Dutta has reportedly decided to make another film, not AAKHRI MUGHAL. One hears, it will star Jackie Shroff and Sunil Shetty, besides Abhishek Bachchan.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Now, cinema tickets can be booked on fax. West Bengal distributor Pritam Jalan has introduced the booking-on-fax system with KAREEB in Calcutta. Perhaps, this is the first time anybody has tried this. The response is said to be tremendous. The film, released in three cinemas of Calcutta, drew all shows full on the opening day.

* Music directors Jatin Lalit seem to have taken it upon themselves to make stars sing. Having tasted great success by making Aamir Khan sing Aati kya Khandala in GHULAM, the duo has now gone ahead and recorded a song in the voice of Sanjay Dutt. The song, Ae Shivani, was recorded for writer-turned-director Sanjay Chhel’s film, KHUBSOORAT.

* Amit Kumar created a record of sorts on 14th July by recording four songs in a single day. A song each was recorded by music director Viju Shah and duo Jatin Lalit for David Dhawan’s BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN and Dharmendra’s as yet untitled film respectively. The remaining two songs were composed by music director Nilu Gavankar for Super Hit Cinema’s untitled film. 

* A vinyl 20′ x 20′ hoarding of SATYA is the first of its kind in Malegaon. Displayed by Bombay distributors VIP Enterprises at Sandesh cinema, it is attracting the public in large numbers.

MIX MASALA

SILVER COINS FOR SILVER JUBILEE

The silver jubilee of Gunjan Cinema, Vapi, is being celebrated with the distribution of silver coins. The cinema had opened on 12th July, 1973. Perhaps, after 25 years, the cinema’s golden jubilee will be celebrated with the distribution of gold coins.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

‘Penalty’ For Over-Spending?

While the Maharashtra government’s decision to allow the unspent service charge to be carried forward for a period of two years is laudable, what one fails to understand is why the government has not permitted exhibitors to carry forward the excess spent in a year (more than the amount of service charge collected in that year) to the next year. For instance, if an exhibitor spends Rs. 10 lakh in a year but collects only Rs. 3 lakh, he is not allowed to carry forward the difference (Rs. 7 lakh) to the next year. He will have to spend the service charge collection of the following year in that year or, now, can carry forward that amount for 2 more years. A typical case of an exhibitor being allowed to make a virtue out of not spending enough in a particular year but being penalised for spending more on the cinema in another year! But that’s how the government ‘thinks’.

Competitor Se..

The music of Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se.. is fast receiving both, critical acclaim as well as public appreciation. Released by Venus last week, the audio cassettes and CDs of the film are already so much in demand that Pravin Shah (of Time Audio) remarked that he had never before seen such a tremendous initial craze for any other film cassette in his showroom! Coming as it does from the boss of a rival music company, this compliment must hold a special meaning for Venus. Perhaps, it is time for whizkid music director, A.R. Rahman, to add a few feathers to his cap.

Distributor’s Confidence And Producer’s Magnanimity

Delhi-U.P. distributor Tolu Bajaj, who was to release Gordhan Tanwani’s Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha in Delhi-U.P. on commission basis, has gone ahead and changed his agreement to that for purchase on MG Royalty. Quite rare, one might say, considering that it wasn’t Tanwani’s intention to sell the film on MG royalty basis. Usually, a distributor, who is given a film on pure commission basis, would only too happily release it since he doesn’t have to take any risk. But Tolu’s confidence in the film prompted him to acquire it on MG. In all fairness to Tanwani, it must be mentioned here that he asked Tolu Bajaj to see the film’s first copy and then decide on whether or not he should pay an MG royalty amount for the film, but Tolu thought, it was more graceful to take a ‘blind’ decision. Incidentally, Gordhan Tanwani, who believes in spending lavishly on publicity, has despatched ten times more than the usual quantum of publicity materials, of his film to his various distributors. But the distributors have been told, they’ll be charged only for the usual or normal amount of publicity materials, the cost of the rest to be borne by the producer himself.

Zee To Produce Films

Zee TV is stepping into film production is a big way. Its first venture will be directed by Anil Sharma and will star Sunny Deol. Nitin Keni is incharge of the administrative side of Zee’s production division, and Shyam Gupta (who has directed a film, besides writing the dialogues for films like Ghatak) will head the creative side. The first venture will go on the sets later during the year.

INFORMATION MEETS

“Previously, songs would invariably come from the story. They were not fitted into a story as it is done today.”

– ANAND BAKSHI

RAJ VAIDYA

How can one best describe Anand Bakshi? Calm, collected and soft-spoken, Anand Bakshi’s persona is reflected in the songs that he writes. “Kya karoon, meri tabiyat hi kuchh romantic hai,” says Bakshi in response to a query about his preference for writing romantic lyrics. Having spent 42 years in the film industry, he remains one of the very few vanguards of the older school of lyricists, still very much in business today. He has been able to adapt his writing style to the changing times and, as a result, he remains a much sought-after song-writer, even now. That the younger generations still love his style of poetry has been comprehensively proved by the tremendous popularity of his songs from two hit films last year, viz. Dil To Pagal Hai and Pardes. From being in the Indian Army to becoming an award-winning lyricist, Anand Bakshi has traversed long distances in his career, delivering one classic song after another over the years. Yet, it is his modesty that prevents him from talking about his achievements. He would rather have his songs speak for himself, as they do — in volumes. In this interview, Bakshi allows us to take a peep into the mind of one of the most prolific song writers of our times.

At the risk of asking an oft-repeated question, how did the transition from Army to writing songs for films take place?
– When I was in the Army, I used to love singing — a passion that has refused to leave me even today. During the Army days, I had earned quite a reputation about my singing abilities. But, somewhere along the line, singing gave birth to poetry in me. I don’t know how this happened. Even today, I cannot say why or how I turned to poetry. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was fully consumed by the desire to write poetry while still in the Army. As both could not be done side by side, I decided to quit the Army and came to Bombay in ’56. After a brief struggle, I began to get a few song writing assignments through which I was able to prove myself.

What, according to you, is the essential difference between literary poetry and film lyrics?
– The basic difference is that as film lyrics are written primarily for mass-appeal, it is very vital that they have simplicity of thought and language. They must be easy for every film viewer to understand. It is a compulsion each film lyricist faces every time he writes a song. In contrast, a literary poet faces no such compulsion. He writes on an independent level without any qualms about the sensibilities of those who read his poetry. In other words, he writes for himself. A film lyricist, on the other hand, must be able to cater to the lowest common denominator through his songs.

Who has influenced you the most as a poet?
– While I was in the Army, I was deeply influenced by the work of D.N. Madhok who had earned the title of Mahakavi back then. Later, I was also influenced by some great film lyricists of yesteryears, like Shakeel Badayuni, Rajinder Krishen and Shailendra.

You are continuing in the 43rd year of a prolific song-writing career in films. How, in your opinion, has the music in films changed over the years?
– All the songs are dances nowadays. You can rarely see songs where heroes and heroines are not dancing with 50 other people. And what kind of dances do they picturise nowadays? Fifty-sixty dancers, all standing in straight lines, with the hero and heroines in front, and moving their hands and legs about in rhythm! It really takes me back to my Army days when we used to exercise in a similar manner every morning. Anyway, the days when a love song or a romantic song was picturised on just the hero and the heroine alone, seem to be over. This is the reason why that intensity, that passion, which was there in the songs of the olden days, is missing today. The very intensity and passion behind each song lent it an individualistic feel in the days of yore. Today, you will find it hard to differentiate between one song and the other. The individuality, or call it the uniqueness, of the older songs is lost today.

What about the process of creating a song — has it changed, too, over the years?
– Of course, it has. Previously, songs would invariably come from the story. They were not fitted into a story, as it is done today. Since the songs emanated out of various situations within the story, the story-writer was able to put in some germs, which were later developed into full-fledged songs by the lyricist. Nowadays, the lyricists and the music directors are asked to compose songs between them and are told that they would be fitted into the story somehow.

Do you feel, the quality of film lyrics has deteriorated in today’s times?
– It depends on how you look at the issue. I will certainly say that the lyrics of songs nowadays are different from those of the earlier times. I think, the main reason why this has happened is because the changing times have brought about the change in the style of lyric-writing. In my opinion, the lyricists of today are okay. You can’t really expect them to continue writing in the same way as before, simply because they — and more importantly, the younger generation of film viewers — haven’t been exposed to the songs of the earlier films.

What do you think about the recent controversy between lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and producer Mukesh Bhatt over the song Aati kya Khandala from GHULAM?
– Since I do not know much about the controversy, I cannot comment on it. But as far as the lyrics of the song go, I personally feel that there is nothing wrong with them and hence I do not feel offended by them.

To change tracks, tell us something about your legendary association with Laxmikant Pyarelal…
– I first got acquainted with Laxmikant Pyarelal when they were still assisting Kalyanji Anandji. I had already become a lyricist by then. We used to talk a lot to each other and later, when Laxmikant Pyarelal became music directors, I became their natural choice to pen their songs. We became a team after a couple of our hit songs in the initial years. As we worked more and more together, we were able to develop a very good rapport among ourselves. Another thing that worked in our favour was that all the three of us were nearly of the same age. But the most important thing that made us survive as a team was the fact that we were able to give hit songs at regular intervals. I say this because in our film industry, nothing succeeds like success. Success makes the teams, and failure breaks them.

In recent times, your association with producer-director Subhash Ghai has resulted in a number of memorable songs. What makes you both so formidable as a team?
– Having written all the songs for all of Subhash Ghai’s films, I can say that I understand the style of his filmmaking very well. Similarly, he understands my style of lyric-writing. So, there is a perfect understanding and tuning between us. We think nearly along the same lines on a lot of things. Moreover, apart from being colleagues at work, we also share a warm personal and family relationship. These and, like I said earlier, our successes together are the main reasons why we have been able to continue together for so many years.

Creative people, especially poets, are considered to be eccentric in one form or another. How does the statement apply to you?
– I don’t know about my eccentricities, but I do have this awful habit of chewing paan since a very long time. The habit has affected my health very badly and my doctors have warned me against continuing it. I have succeeded only to a small extent, in kicking the habit so far. Another habit that I have had, right from the time I made my foray into films, is that I am always punctual. In fact, I developed this habit during my Army days when we had to do everything at the appointed time. Sadly, punctuality is not exactly a virtue for the people in the film industry as nobody gets anywhere on time here. Very often, I find myself arriving at filmi functions before anyone else and end up waiting a long time for the functions to start.

Who are your favourite singers?
– Among my all-time favourites, I must include Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. I also like Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Asha Bhosle. Among the current lot, I like the voices of Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan.

Recently, veteran lyricist Kavi Pradeep was awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke award — the highest honour in the field of cinema in India. Any reactions?
– I would like to say that I am very happy that the contribution of the film lyricists has been appreciated by the government of India. Earlier, Majrooh Sultanpuri had also received the same honour. Kavi Pradeep has given the country some of the most inspirational songs ever written, and rightfully deserves the award.

What is your opinion on the increasing trend of Hindi pop music. Would you consider to write the lyrics of a pop album, if offered ?
– I can neither condemn pop music nor appreciate it for the simple fact that I cannot understand it. As regards the other question, I have already refused a number of offers of writing lyrics for pop albums.

You have seen a lot in your 42 years in the industry so far — be it fame, fortune or happiness. Is there still something that you have always wanted to do but still haven’t been able to?
– Yes, in fact, there is. As I mentioned earlier, I love singing. It is more than a passion with me. Sadly, I haven’t had much of a chance in this direction so far. It is true that Laxmikant Pyarelal gave me a break as a singer in Mom Ki Gudiya, where I sang a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, but after that, I was able to sing only three or four songs over the years. I hope, some day, I will be offered the song that would do justice to my singing abilities. I want to be remembered at least for one memorable song that I have sung.

Finally, what keeps you going so strong even after completing four decades in the industry?
– My need to work. That is the single most important reason for my consistency in films. I firmly believe that necessity pushes people to give their best in whatever fields they are. Those who have all they want, become lax in their work as they do not care whether they would get work the next day. For me, writing poetry is the only source of income I have. My children are yet not well-settled. So, I need to work in order to run the household. In turn, this need pushes me to give off my best in my songs.

Any poetic words, in parting…?
– Tadbeeron se phir jaayen,
Woh taqdeeren nahin hoti.
Jo taqdeeren na badal dein,
Woh tadbeeren nahin hoti.

DULHE RAJA

Eastern Films’ Dulhe Raja is a comedy film about a rich businessman who owns a five-star hotel, and a young dhaba owner who refuses to vacate the hotel’s compound in which he has built his dhaba and which is causing losses to the hotel owner. The dhaba owner (Govinda) falls in love with the businessman’s daughter (Raveena Tandon) and she, too, pretends to be in love with him to teach her father a lesson. Ultimately, of course, both, the father and daughter, realise that the dhaba owner is the most suitable match. Fun is the catchword and the film moves from incident to incident, evoking laughter and entertaining the viewers till interval point. The second half, when the drama branches out into various tracks, isn’t very funny. Still, it does have its enjoyable moments. The dhaba owner enlivens the proceedings whenever he comes on the scene. Dialogues (Anwar Khan) are witty at many places and help in elevating the comic drama to a good extent. Although the story is very ordinary, writers Rajeev Kaul and Praful Parekh have made up for it with a fairly well-written screenplay.

Govinda does a fabulous job in the title role. Comedy is his forte and he comes out with flying colours, endearing himself to the audience with his street-smartness and comic punches. Raveena Tandon looks pretty and does reasonably well. Kader Khan is very good. Johny Lever, as Kader Khan’s manager, provides several fun-filled occasions with his comedy. Monnish Bahl does an able job. Prem Chopra and Rana Jung Bahadur are good as the villainous brothers. Asrani also provides some entertainment. Anjana Mumtaz, Sudhir, Viju Khote and Manmoujee lend fair support. Guddi Maruti, Anil Nagrath, Suresh Malhotra, Anil Verma, Dinesh Hingoo, Veeru Krishan and the rest fill the bill.

Harmesh Malhotra’s direction is reasonably good. Anand Millind’s music is racy. ‘Ankhiyon se goli maare’ is the best number and is already very popular. The title song and ‘Raja Bhoj….Gangu Teli’ are also fairly good songs. Picturisation of songs is too ordinary and needed to be far better. Production values are also ordinary. Camerawork and other technical aspects are quite good.

On the whole, Dulhe Raja is a good mass entertainer and will keep its distributors, especially of Northern India and Bihar, happy.

Released on 10-7-’98 at Dreamland and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru Dilsa Distributors Combine. Publicity: good. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was excellent in Bihar, very good in Delhi-U.P., C.I. and Rajasthan but not up to the mark in C.P. Berar.

LATEST POSITION

The Idd holiday on 7th/8th proved advantageous for the box-office.

Satya picked up very well in Bombay and Maharashtra due to mouth publicity, but the pick-up in Gujarat, Bengal and Bihar was not up to the mark. It has done poor in Delhi-U.P., East Punjab, M.P. belt of C.P. Berar, in C.I. and Rajasthan. The Telugu version is extraordinary in Hyderabad where the Hindi version is also terrific. 1st week Bombay 39,15,035 (81%) from 9 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,61,354 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot 1,24,347, Jamnagar 71,702 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 8,73,260 from 4 cinemas, Solapur 1,60,510 (100%); Delhi 9,19,323 (48.29%) from 4 cinemas; Lucknow 2,19,272, Allahabad 68,000, Meerut 1,26,877; Calcutta (most of the collections are for 6 days) 5,15,500 from 5 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 5,20,349 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 43,428, Amravati 1,70,860, Akola 80,015, Raipur 90,008, Bhilai 82,045, Bilaspur 43,821; Indore (5 days) 1,08,684 (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,36,852 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,88,830 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 5,25,541 (100%), share 2,66,000, Aurangabad 2,04,263, share 1,54,000; Telugu (dubbed) version Hyderabad share from 13 cinemas 17,09,822; Vijayawada 3,39,549 from 2 cinemas, Visakhapatnam 4,04,225 from 2 cinemas, Anakapalli 92,227, Rajahmundhry 2,17,332 from 2 cinemas, Kakinada 1,24,569, Nellore 1,57,052, Guntur 2,47,120, Tenali 1,49,093, Eluru 1,27,659, Ongole 1,53,044.

Jaane Jigar is very dull. 1st week Bombay 6,95,137 (43.63%) from 5 cinemas (4 unrecd., 4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 51,875; Delhi 3,70,695 (41.16%) from 3 cinemas; Lucknow 64,220, Allahabad 42,128, Bareilly 51,378 (23.78%); Nagpur 98,161 from 2 cinemas, Raipur 31,923; Bhopal 65,152; Jaipur 89,413; Hyderabad 5,75,835 from 8 cinemas (2 in noon).

…………

Major Saab has dropped further. 2nd week Bombay 26,86,186 (62.73%) from 10 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,65,998 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Vapi 2,51,320, total 6,14,220, 1st week Padra 1,56,492, 2nd week Rajkot 1,21,731, Jamnagar 1,10,472, total 2,74,112; Pune 6,08,535 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,16,222; Delhi 31,68,686 (59%) from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 3,33,420, Allahabad 1,55,000, Bareilly 90,002 (47.19%), Dehradun 1,60,000, Hardwar 50,000; Rohtak 24,925 (1st 50,908); Nagpur 1,80,425 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,55,948, total 4,09,050, Amravati 1,05,606, Akola 55,388, total 2,00,480, Dhule 59,728, Raipur 92,421, Bhilai 60,119, Jalgaon 76,140, Yavatmal 31,614, Bilaspur 88,544; Indore 2,28,381 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,87,685 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 3,41,572 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 4,91,389 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

Ghulam 3rd week Bombay 40,59,867 (82.87%) from 12 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,48,279 (1 unrecd.), Vapi 1,28,735, total 10,05,157, 1st week Rajkot (matinee) 13,571, 3rd week Jamnagar (matinee) 13,000; Pune 6,74,493 from 4 cinemas, Solapur 1,52,592 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 15,30,724 from 7 cinemas; Lucknow 1,80,073, Allahabad 65,000, Meerut 1,04,571, Dehradun 82,000; Nagpur 1,13,974 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,56,945, total 6,14,112, Amravati 1,44,775, Akola 84,672, total 3,80,308, Dhule 90,109, total 3,62,500, Raipur 94,448, Bhilai 68,331, 2nd week Jalgaon (6 days) 1,11,136, 3rd week Bilaspur 85,397; Indore 1,14,897, Bhopal 1,07,728; Jaipur 1,72,480; Hyderabad 7,43,034 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

PRADEEP RECEIVES PHALKE AWARD AMIDST STANDING OVATION

Poet and lyricist Pradeep received the highest national honour conferred on a film personality, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, on 10th July at the 45th National Film Awards at Siri Fort, New Delhi. When octogenerian Pradeep came on the stage in a wheel-chair, president K.R. Narayanan came forward to greet him and presented him the award. The emotion-charged audience gave a standing ovation to the great poet, who was recognised as the best film poet by India’s first president, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, as early as in 1961.

President Narayanan also presented awards to the other winners — Jayamala (Golden Lotus for best film Thai Saheb, directed by Girish Kasaravalli), Yash Chopra (Golden Lotus for best popular film Dil To Pagal Hai), J.P. Dutta (Nargis Dutt award for Border), Govind Nihalani (best Hindi film, Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa), Jayraaj (best director, Kaliyattam), Suresh Gopi and Balachandra Menon (joint winners for Kaliyattam and Samaantharangal respectively), Indrani Halder and Rituparna Sengupta (joint winners for best actress in Dahan), Karisma Kapoor (best supporting actress for DTPH) and Deepa Gahlot (best film critic).

I & B minister Sushma Swaraj, I & B state minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and FFI president Santosh Singh Jain were seated on the dais.

RAKESH ROSHAN REPLACES KAREENA KAPOOR

Producer-director Rakesh Roshan has replaced Kareena Kapoor with Amisha Patel. Kareena was to have made her debut alongwith Rakesh Roshan’s son, Hrithik Roshan, in Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. In fact, the two had even participated in a shooting scheduled of the film last month.

According to Rakesh, he had to take the step of removing Kareena from the film’s cast because the heroine and her mother, Babita, made unreasonable demands like a top billing for Kareena, above even Hrithik. “They even wanted me to picturise scenes before I pcturised a song,” said Rakesh Roshan.

Amisha Patel is the grand-daughter of Rajni Patel and daughter of Amit Patel. She has modelled for Jai soap and many other products. Some of her commercials are currently on air on television channels.

While Babita was not available for her comments, close industry sources reveal that Kareena herself was keen to leave the film because she has been offered the lead role opposite Abhishek Bachchan in J.P. Dutta’s Aakhri Mughal. Obviously, Dutta would want his film to be Abhishek and Kareena’s launching pad, say the industry sources. However, our sources reveal that there’s no truth in this story.

AMARJEET NO MORE

Veteran producer-director and publicist Amarjeet passed away on 4th July in Bombay. He had directed Hum Dono and had produced several films like Prem Shastra, Teen Deviyan, Gambler, Sunny and Rocky. Amarjeet was closely associated with the Navketan banner and had also assisted Chetan Anand in many of his films.

Amarjeet is survived by his wife and a daughter.

The bhog ceremony will be held on Sunday, 12th July at 11 a.m. at Shri Guru Singh Gurudwara, 3rd Road, Khar (W), Bombay.

NATUBHAI DESAI DEAD

Natubhai Desai, controller of production for all the films produced by Vinod Shah and Harish Shah, expired on 7th July at his residence in Bombay. He was 68 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

A prayer meeting will be held today (Saturday, 11th July) between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Khalsa Sabha Bombay, behind Citylight Cinema, Matunga, Bombay.

JAMANBHAI MANSATA DEAD

Jamanbhai Mansata of Yeshwant Talkies, Indore, and Jyoti Talkies, Calcutta, expired on 7th July in Calcutta. He was 86 and is survived by three sons.

‘RAJA HINDUSTANI’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

Raja Hindustani has been granted tax exemption in Maharashtra for a period of one year from 6th July. The film was released in November ’96.

KUMAR SANU’S RECORDING STUDIO

Playback singer Kumar Sanu has started a recording studio, K.K. Sound, at Andheri (W), Bombay, at plot no. 23, Shah Industrial Estate, off Veera Desai Road. It will be formally inaugurated on 13th July. The studio offers 24-track digital and analog recording facilities.

YOU ASKED IT

After Ghulam and Major Saab, which is the next film which can be expected to take a bumper start?

– Mani Ratnam’s DIL SE… It has music extraordinaire, Shah Rukh Khan and Mani Ratnam’s name.

Which was the first Bhojpuri film and in which year was it made?

– Nirmal Pictures’ GANGA MAIYA TOHE PIYARI CHADHAIBO, made in 1962 and directed by Kundan Kumar. It proved to be a super-hit.

‘Dil Se..’: Instant Hit From Rahman

Rejoice! Sing! Dance! The music of Dil Se.. has been released and boy! what music! Venus’ album is a listener’s delight. Every one of the six songs is extraordinary.

Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan is an instant super-hit number. Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi are in top form in their rendition. Thayya Thayya is its Punjabi version. The song has that quality which can make people dance in the cinema halls. Satrangi re is another fabulous number, by Sonu Nigam and Kavita Krishnamoorthy. Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan and Satrangi re will soon be heard in every car and at every discotheque, that’s a guarantee!

Di se re has A.R. Rahman, Harmony Anuradha and Anupama using their vocal chords to the fullest. Melody at its peak! Jiya jale has none other than Lata Mangeshkar and M.G. Sreekumar rendering the soulful number. Ae ajnabi has an excellent tune and is of the kind which keeps growing on you. Udit Narayan is in great form in this song, teaming up with Mahalakshmi.

A.R. Rahman seems to be at his inspired best in this album and Gulzar’s lyrics complement his superb tunes. Undoubtedly, the best music of recent times, Dil Se.. is a triumph as much for the three producers, Shekhar Kapur, Mani Ratnam (director also) and Ram Gopal Varma, and for presenter Bharat Shah as for Rahman and Gulzar. And yes, unlike other Rahman albums which take time to grow on the listener, this one is an instant hit — there cannot be a mistake about that.

Venus has a goldmine in its hands. Kasam se..!

Tamil Nadu Government Concedes Industry’s Major Demands

Actors, directors, producers and others connected with the Tamil film industry took out a huge procession, led by Rajinikanth, on 3rd July in Madras to protest against video piracy in the state of Tamil Nadu, which is causing immense harm to the industry. Closure of 192 cinemas in the last two years is attributed to video piracy. Nearly 200 more cinemas are on the verge of closure. Now, videos of films are sometimes released even before the premiere of the films. Chief minister Karunanidhi announced a package of steps in response to a memorandum submitted by the industry representatives to him.

The chief minister conceded two major demands — to crack down on video pirates and to offer entertainment tax concessions to the tune of Rs. 40 crore. He said that a state enforcement wing, headed by an inspector general of police, besides district cells, would be formed to curb video piracy. The Goondas Act would be amended to enable the authorities to detain under the preventive detention law, anyone punished twice for video piracy. The government will not give any fresh licences to video theatres nor renew existing licences. Entertainment tax for new films would be reduced from 40% to 30%. The CM appealed to the film magazines to refrain from publishing reports which portrayed members of the film industry in bad light.

Entertainment Tax Reduced In Uttar Pradesh

The meeting of film industry delegates with the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh last month has borne fruits. Chief minister Kalyan Singh has announced a reduction in entertainment tax, from 125% to 100%. He said, films shot 50% in the state would be given 50% rebate in entertainment tax, and those shot 75% in the state would be fully exempted from tax, for three years. But these films should not compromise with the moral values of the society. A preview committee would be formed, comprising secretaries of various state departments and three members of the film industry including film journalists and critics. The chief minister also announced rebate to Hindi, Brij and Bhojpuri language films for six months, and films of other languages for 30 days. For the development of the film industry in the state, he also promised to develop a Film City.

Kalyan Singh also announced the formation of the Film Development Board, in the state assembly on 3rd July. He said, the Board was being formed to encourage film producers to make films on Indian culture and tradition. It would help to ensure more employment opportunities in the state, besides encouraging the film industry. The members of the Board will comprise principal secretaries or secretaries of information, institutional finance, industry and tourism departments along with reputed film producers, directors and distributors. The Board would table its recommendations for identification of important locations for filmmaking. The government would provide necessary facilities like roads, communications, power etc. in these identified areas.

Jackie’s Humane Gesture

It is a well-known fact that our film industry has gone out of its way in helping our countrymen in times of calamity and distress. Be it the Indo-Pak wars or the Bhopal gas tragedy or during droughts, the industry has invariably joined hands with the government and helped in raising significant funds for the relief of the victims. In the same way, the industry has shown a keen response to the Gujarat government’s request for help in raising funds for the relief of the people who lost heavily in the recent storm. Akshay Kumar had been on a tour of Gujarat recently to raise funds for the cyclone victims. Anu Malik is also presenting a nite today (July 11) in Surat. While this speaks volumes for the generosity of our industry, the most welcome gesture, perhaps, in this regard came from Jackie Shroff. Having expressed his inability to attend the musical nite as he was scheduled to be in Mauritius for a shooting, Jackie announced his decision to hold a special charity premiere of his Grahan in Ahmedabad in August when the film will be released. The proceeds of this premiere will go to the government fund for the cyclone victims. He has also promised that he would have his entire cast and crew flown to Ahmedabad for the premiere.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Sunny Deol  shot for 45 days at a stretch in Ooty for Polygram’s PYAR KOI KHEL NAHIN. Rarely does one hear of Sunny giving bulk dates for a film. PYAR KOI KHEL NAHIN is being directed by Subhash Sehgal.

* SATYA, which started at 1,700/-on the opening day at Ashoka, Behala (Calcutta), picked up day by day so that its week closed at 17,500/-.

* The Hollywood blockbuster TITANIC has earned its distributors, 20th Century Fox, a share of over Rs. 40 lakh from its combined run of 18 weeks in two cinemas of Bombay city alone. The film was first released at Cinemax, Goregaon, and recorded 100% collections in a six-week run there, earning a share of over Rs. 25 lakh. From the seventh week onwards, it was shifted to Cinestar, Kandivli, where in a twelve-week run so far, it has registered collections of Rs. 33,20,277/-. Incidentally, both these cinemas are controlled by Shringar, Bombay.

FANTASTIC RAJA

* The opening of DULHE RAJA was so fantastic in Bihar that the rentals in 12 cinemas of the 15 in which the film has been released were covered on the first day itself! Most of the cinemas recorded over-capacity collections.

COMMENTS

K.C. BOKADIA

The public is fed up of meaningless violence. One may burn up cars and trucks but the fact is, we cannot compete with disasters like in TITANIC. Indians are fond of good songs, emotions and good dialogues. And that’s what I’ve strived to give in my LAL BAADSHAH. The good dialogues, when spoken by Amitabh Bachchan, will add to the fun. After all, he has been known for his dialogue delivery.

GULSHAN RAI

Most of the films released these days have no sustaining power; they take bumper openings and soon, collections drop. This lack of holding power coupled with high theatre rentals is killing business.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Big B, Small Gestures

Amitabh Bachchan may have had a love-hate relationship with the press, but the general public, by and large, has continued to adore him just as it did before. One of the reasons why he has been able to maintain this popularity is the way he treats the people who come in contact with him. He attends to even the smallest things that would make the other person, regardless of his stature, feel comfortable. The following incident bears further testimony to this fact: Recently, Amitabh Bachchan was interviewed for a programme for the Vividh Bharati service of the All India Radio. The team comprising an interviewer and a sound recordist reached at the appointed hour at Amitabh’s bungalow, only to find him busy in a television interview. As a result, the duo had to wait for almost an hour before Amitabh could be with them. But, during their wait, Amitabh’s staff went out of its way to make them feel comfortable and even repeatedly apologised for the delay. The apology came in spite of the fact that it was due to the late arrival of the TV interview team and had absolutely nothing to do with Amitabh! Anyway, when he finally met the radio team, he ensured that absolutely no phone calls would be passed on to him for the next hour and began the interview only after a chair was provided for the sound recordist who would have otherwise had to remain standing throughout the interview. Not only this, the sound recordist, being an ardent fan of Amitabh, had borrowed a camera from a friend so that he could have a photograph of him taken with the superstar. When this fact was brought to Amitabh Bachchan’s knowledge, he readily obliged and even suggested a good spot where the photograph could be taken. This is not all. When the interviewer paid him compliments on behalf of a female relative who was a great fan of Amitabh and was bedridden due to arthritis, Amitabh sympathised with her condition and even wrote her a touching note, wishing her a speedy recovery! Needless to say, the special treatment at the hands of Amitabh Bachchan left the duo in complete awe of the superstar’s simplicity and humility.

Silence Is Golden

So much has been said and is being said about the kind of roles Amitabh should  or shouldn’t do. In fact, the issue has taken on mammoth proportions with almost every Tim, Dick and Harry airing an opinion on it. While a certain amount of discussion over such topics in the press and trade circles is valid and even helpful in certain cases, one mustn’t forget that such debates last only till the star in question delivers a hit. Similarly, the debate over the kind of roles Amitabh should be playing will die down the very moment he delivers a hit. In the meantime, Amitabh Bachchan himself is not faced with much of a choice. He could either be blunt and speak the truth that these issues, like he playing roles that suit his age, are being raised only because he has not been able to give a hit of late, or he could gracefully accept all this needless criticism and advice with a patient ear, knowing fully well that a hit by him will end all this chatter. Amitabh, being his usual self, has chosen the latter, in the process, perfecting the art of listening to unsolicited opinions. The debate, in the meanwhile, rages on……

Say “No”

The recent controversy over Kareena Kapoor being replaced in Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai has resulted in a lot of tongues wagging. Now that Rakesh Roshan and Kareena are no longer working together, rightly did a smart Alec remark, “It is a case of Kaho “naa” between the two of them.”

INFORMATION MEETS

“I had to try very hard to convince producers and directors that I had no intentions of giving up acting.”

– ASRANI

RAJ VAIDYA

From the humble beginning as a child artiste on All India Radio, Jaipur, to becoming one of the most fondly remembered comedy actors; then, being forced into oblivion by circumstances, but rising back to regain lost ground — Asrani has seen it all. An FTII graduate in acting, he struggled for a number of years before finally getting a break in Hindi films but once he arrived, he carved out a definite niche for himself in no time. Whether playing Amitabh’s secretary in Abhimaan, or playing the angrez ke zamaane ka jailor in Sholay, each character played by Asrani has left an indelible mark on the audience all over.

But then, why has Asrani, the comedy actor par excellence and former superstar in Gujarati films, disappeared from the silver screen in the recent past — this is a question many have wanted an answer to.

In a serious chat with Film Information, comedian Asrani himself explains his journey from acting to direction and back to acting after a few years of break from the screen.

You have worked with a host of reputed directors in your career spanning nearly three decades. What has the experience been like?

– It has been tremendous, to say the least. I have been fortunate in having worked with some of the top directors of Hindi cinema like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar, Shakti Samanta, B.R. Chopra and L.V. Prasad, among many others. The most important aspect of my association with these stalwarts has been the immeasurable amount of knowledge on cinema that I have received from them. Each of my directors had a distinct style of his own and I imbibed a lot by observing them as well as through interaction with them. I have always maintained that working in cinema is like learning a language. While FTII can teach you the rules of the grammar, only a good director can teach you how to make sentences using these rules.

You share a very special bond with Hrishikesh Mukherjee, having featured in nearly all his films since GUDDI…..

– You are right. It is a special bond — a bond of affection. To describe it, I will have to go back to my FTII days. Those days, Hrishikesh Mukherjee was on the FTII faculty and used to visit Pune to teach us film editing. I had been aware of his immense work in films till then, and quickly realised that if I could somehow impress him, it would surely open up the doors of the film industry for me. So, I soon began hovering around him as much as possible, but to no avail. Finally, in order to get rid of me, he told me that he would call me in case he thought of a role for me, and he returned to Bombay. A couple of years passed after that, during which I had moved on to become an instructor at FTII. Then, one day, Hrishikesh Mukherjee came again to the FTII, this time with his entire team comprising Gulzar and others. They had come to test Jaya Bhaduri for the title role in Guddi. I was asked to locate Jaya on the campus and I immediately rushed to the canteen where she was sipping tea with her batch-mates, Danny Denzongpa and Anil Dhawan. The moment I told her about Hrishikesh Mukherjee considering her for the role in Guddi, she rushed out to see him. It so happened that while Jaya was talking to Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar asked me what I thought of Jaya as an actress, since I was an instructor at the FTII. I praised her acting abilities and then, later asked Gulzar whether there was any role in the film which I could bag. Gulzar refused to part with any information about the film, adding that Hrishikesh Mukherjee was well-known for his discipline and would chuck him out of the project if he divulged anything about the film. But I persisted and finally succeeded in convincing Gulzar in telling me that there was a bit role of a small-town boy who comes to Bombay to make it in films. This was an opportunity too good to miss and soon, there I was, pestering Hrishikesh Mukherjee for a role in Guddi. He dissuaded me by saying that there was none that I could play. At this, I instantly asked him about the role of the young man wanting to become a film star. The very next moment, Hrishikesh Mukherjee was livid. He turned to Gulzar and shouted his lungs out at him for having divulged this information. Having realised that there was no way he  would give me a role after that, I quickly fled the scene. But, as fate would have it, I was eventually signed for the same role. I was paid Rs. 250 for it! My work in Guddi was appreciated and I received about eight to ten films soon after Guddi was released. Well, this was my first brush with Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Over the years, we have been able to develop a warm, emotional bond between us, which lasts even today.

Many consider your role of a comic jailor in SHOLAY as one of your finest. How was it conceived?

– To tell you the truth, the role was written down to its minute details even before I was approached. Ramesh Sippy had sent a message asking me to see him for a role that he wanted me to portray in his then forthcoming film, Sholay. When I went to meet him at the appointed hour, I was surprised to see writers Salim and Javed also present. I was even more surprised when Javed Akhtar narrated my role to me because rarely had I been narrated a role that was so completely sketched out in the script itself. My costumes, mannerisms and my look were described in minute details. Even my lines were already written. I was so impressed that I immediately agreed to do it, sharing director Ramesh Sippy’s belief that even though the role was small, it had the potential to become a landmark. Later, Ramesh Sippy showed me a few photographs of Hitler and called Akbarbhai of Kachins to create a set of costumes along the lines of what Hitler used to wear. He later called Kabir, who was one of the best wig-makers at the time, and gave him the responsibility of creating a special wig for me. He also asked me if I could imitate Hitler’s way of speaking in a high tone. I practised on my dialogue delivery during a few rehearsals and gave an okay performance in my very first take itself. The shot over, the writers and the director congratulated me on my performance which, according to them, was better than what they had visualised. But, the truth is, I was inspired a lot by their commitment to even a two-or-three-scenes role like mine, and hence, was able to deliver a performance like that.

I would also like to add here that Dharmesh Darshan, who is directing me in Mela currently, is also one such rare director who takes great pains over each and every role in his film, however small it may be.

Obviously, SHOLAY is one of your favourite roles. But, apart from it, which of your other roles are closer to your heart than the rest?

– Definitely the one where I play a patient at a mental asylum in the Sanjeev Kumar-Leena Chandavarkar starrer Anhonee. Then, there was the one in Balika Badhu, directed by Tarun Majumdar. I also like my performances in Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar, Abhimaan and Koshish.

In the ’80s, you worked in a number of films directed by directors from the South. The comedy in these films was somewhat different from that in our films. How did you adjust to doing such silly roles?

– I agree that the comedy in those films was crude. You see, most of these films were Hindi remakes of hit films made in Tamil, Telugu etc. Since the directors from the South are a superstitious lot, they refused to change anything — not even the smallest bit — from the original. Initially, I did point out the fact that their kind of comedy would not work with all-India audiences which view Hindi films. But they were adamant and one of them even asked me to pack up if I did not agree with his way of functioning. I am aware of an incident when even a star like Dharmendra was asked to pack up when he refused to wear a silly costume. He later agreed, just like I did, mainly because the working down South was very organised and disciplined, as also for the fact that we were paid well and in time.

Eventually, after a couple of big hits early on, there came a time when 24 Hindi films made down South flopped within a single year. Obviously, Hindi audience had passed their judgement on this practice of passing off buffoonery in the name of comedy.

There came a time in the ’80s when you ruled the roost as superstar in Gujarati films? How did that come about?

– Actually, in the early ’80s, I was getting bored with the kind of roles I was getting. I thought that, may be, I should try and create a decent role for me by myself. But the only way I could do it was if I were to direct the film myself. So, I wrote, directed and acted in Chala Murari Hero Banne. Though the film bombed at the box-office, producer-director Vijay Bhatt was impressed with my effort and offered me the lead role in the Gujarati film, Maa Baap. The role of a common but honest autorickshaw driver, devoted to his parents, was so well-appreciated by the audience that the film went on to become one of the biggest hits in Gujarati cinema. In fact, it ran for 25 weeks in London — a feat not even a Hindi film had ever achieved till then. The success of Maa Baap was followed by 10 jubilee hits in Gujarati, which included Mota Gharni Vahu, Via Viramgam and Amdavadno Rickshawalo — the last one directed by me.

After a successful and long career in both, Hindi and Gujarati films, you seemed to have disappeared from the scene for many years. What happened?

– This is an important question. So, let me give you a detailed answer. Let me describe the circumstances that led to my disappearance from the screen. Towards the end of the eighties, my roles in Gujarati films had become repetitive and as a result, I found myself stagnating once again in my career. The roles I was getting in Hindi films were also nothing to write home about. Just around that time, I was offered two films to direct. I took up the offers, thinking, I could create good roles for myself in these films. Thus, I directed Dil Hi To Hai for Magnum, and Udaan for Shabnam Kapoor and Raju Kothari. Unfortunately, the planning of both these films went haywire and, as a result, Dil Hi To Hai took two whole years to complete, while Udaan took four more years after that. This delay cost me a very significant loss of nearly 23 acting assignments as I had to refuse them due to unavailability of dates — most of which were taken up by the two films I was directing. But, even after Udaan was complete, nobody came forward to sign me, thanks to the misconception in the industry that actors who turn directors no longer like to act. I was a helpless victim of this misconception and had to try very hard to convince producers and directors that I had no intentions of giving up acting. Of late, I have begun getting roles in films like Gharwali Baharwali, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Mela, Priyadarshan’s Raftaar, Firoz Nadiadwala’s Kartoos and David Dhawan’s Haseena Maan Jayegi, among others.

One thing I would like to state while on the topic is the fact that the public never deserted me even during this period of forced oblivion and I am very grateful to them for that. Whenever I travelled, even abroad, for that matter, people always asked me why I had quit acting and when would they be able to see me again on screen. This encouraging response gave me a lot of strength and hope during the lean patch.

Who are your favourite actors currently?

– There are quite a few. Among them, Govinda is an extremely talented actor and my co-artiste in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Then, there is Kader Khan whose comedy timing is superb, to say the least. Moreover, I am particularly impressed with the dedication of Salman Khan and Aamir Khan. Both these heroes involve themselves completely in the project and you can be sure that they will give their 100% in every role they play.

Among my all-time favourites are Danny Kaye and, to some extent, Jack Lemmon in Hollywood, while in India, it can only be Kishore Kumar who, in many ways, was the Indian counterpart of Danny Kaye.