KOYLA

Filmkraft’s Koyla (A) is an action-filled revenge drama with a romantic track too. A money-hungry villain gets a labourer, working in a coal mine, and his wife killed for the lure of money. So that the only child of the victims should not identify the killers, the villain shoves burning coal down the poor child’s throat and makes him mute. The villain brings up the mute child (who is unaware of the fact that it is the villain who is responsible for his mute status) as his bonded labourer and the latter is ready to lay down his life for his master any time. The master is fond of girls one-third his age and his lust prompts him to marry one such girl. The mute boy rescues the girl from his master’s clutches when he realises the master’s fraud. The two then fall in love but are separated after a while. The mute boy gets back his lost voice and also gets to know that it was his own master who had rendered him mute. Obviously, he avenges the murder of his parents and the atrocities perpetrated on him and his beloved.

The story as such offers little novelty, and the screenplay is good in parts. At times, however, the writers have taken ‘convenience’ as the guiding factor and put logic or sound reasoning in the backseat. As a result, the film has some defects and flaws. For example, the child is rendered mute so that he may not give his witness in the court, but the same mute boy is asked to identify the killers, which he does! And this mute boy is the central character of the story, and his muteness, an important point in the story. The first half moves at a slow pace and it picks up well when the hero rescues the heroine. Even after interval, the really engrossing turns and twists are few and far between. Another drawback is that when the boy gets his voice back after years, there’s not much feeling of joy which the audience experiences, if only because they have not been made to suffer his pain. Comedy is crude and of the kind which would appeal to the masses but would not be quite liked by ladies and family audience. Romance has not been established. Dialogues lack the fire.

On the positive side are: excellent and abundant action, fantastic chase scenes (in particular, the helicopter scenes), beautiful locations, exceptional sound effects (in DTS mixed prints) and a good music score. Some comedy scenes are even hilarious.

Shah Rukh Khan has, no doubt, done extremely well as the mute bonded labourer but it must be conceded that the role of the angry young man does not suit his image. An action hero was the need of the story. Madhuri Dixit lacks glamour and looks fat. Her performance is, however, good, as usual. Her kotha scenes are in excess and don’t appeal. Amrish Puri has got an unduly lengthy role, something which does not appeal. He has performed ably but there’s too much of him. Ashok Saraf and Johny Lever evoke laughter at places. Deepshikha leaves a mark and lends oomph with her uninhibited exposure. Salim Ghose is average. Mohnish Bahl is good in a very brief special appearance. Ranjeet, Jack Gaud, Shubha Khote, Suresh Chatwal, Kunika, Ram Mohan, Himani Shivpuri, Vikas Anand, master Mohsin and master Vicky lend able support.

Rakesh Roshan should have opted for a more substantive plot. Although his direction is good, he ought to have gone easy on the crude comedy. Music (Rajesh Roshan) is very good but the absence of a super-hit and evergreen number is sorely felt. The ‘Bhang ke nashe mein’ song can be deleted. ‘Saason ki mala pe’ also needs to be edited. Picturisation of ‘Hosh na khode kahin’ is very good. ‘Badan juda hote hain’ is musically very good but a sensuous song of this kind deserved a more appropriate picturisaton — it is picturised on a girl who is sensuously dancing in front of her parents! ‘Dekha tujhe to’ is musically very appealing. Bhikoo Verma’s action is splendid and mind-blowing. Production values are good but not as much as the price for which the film has been sold. Camerawork (Sameer Arya) and the Arunachal Pradesh locations complement each other wonderfully. Both are exceptionally good.

On the whole, an unduly high-priced Koyla has an initial value which is simply mind-boggling, but it does not have matching merits and the fire in it. Since it has to depend only on the masses for patronage, it may not cover its high price on the strength of its opening. Even if some distributors do cover their price, exhibitors and third parties, who have paid phenomenal terms, would, in all likelihood, stand to lose. Business in North India will be better. Collections of the first week will undoubtedly be historic.

Released on 16-4-’97 at Madhuban, Dombivli and on 18-4-’97 at Minerva and 22 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: excellent. Opening: bumper. …….Also released all over. Opening was historic everywhere. 1st day East Punjab over-capacity in many centres, full in Delhi-U.P., Bengal, C.P. Berar, Rajasthan (approx. 12,50,000/- on 1st day on 32 prints), full in all 22 cinemas of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

LATEST POSITION

The phenomenal opening of KOYLA this week has surpassed all expectations… The week that has gone by was good for the box-office due to the various holidays.

Ziddi has done very well and although it dropped at some places mid-week, its first week’s shares are excellent. 1st week Bombay 46,77,874 (83.22%) from 19 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,24,674 from 3 cinemas (4 unrecd.), Vapi 2,95,462, Baroda 100%, theatre record, Padra 2,57,080, record, Bharuch (gross) 2,90,903, Jamnagar 1,57,442; Pune 11,44,928 from 6 cinemas, Solapur 2,72,771 (93.45%) from 2 cinemas; Delhi 46,19,166 (97.67%) from 12 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,76,223 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,46,603 (100%), Varanasi 1,89,156 (98.40%), Moradabad 1,91,932, city record, Bareilly 1,72,234 (87.31%), Gorakhpur 1,48,176 (100%), theatre record; Amritsar 54,165; Calcutta (6 days) 23,93,542 from 20 cinemas; Rourkela 1,50,000; Nagpur 7,03,340 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,25,502, theatre record, Amravati 1,27,865, Chandrapur 1,43,709; Jaipur 11,24,766 from 5 cinemas, city record, Jodhpur 7,29,426 from 2 cinemas, Bikaner 3,07,711, city record; Hyderabad 34,15,919 from 16 cinemas, share 16,26,688.

Kaun Sachcha Kaun Jhootha is a washout. 1st week Bombay 6,90,018 (33.03%) from 8 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,43,494 from 4 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Rajkot 36,536 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 1,32,892 from 4 cinemas; Delhi 8,32,440 (22.64%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 42,641 from 2 cinemas, Varanasi 32,138, Gorakhpur 36,000; did poor in Calcutta; Nagpur 61,860, Jalgaon (6 days) 23,849; Hyderabad 2,75,341 from 7 cinemas (5 in noon).

Dil Ke Jharoke Main is also miserable. 1st week Bombay 3,66,327 (23%) from 7 cinemas; Pune 69,878 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 34,780; Delhi 3,66,615 (28.24%) from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 34,118; Calcutta (6 days) 2,29,224 from 4 cinemas; Bikaner 38,135; Hyderabad 2,95,087 from 5 cinemas (3 in noon).

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Himalay Putra 2nd week Bombay 5,40,081 (45.33%) from 4 cinemas (4 unrecd., 4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 72,081 (2 unrecd.), Baroda 57,920; Pune 2,51,032 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 19,232; Delhi 10,42,168 from 8 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,24,303 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,70,440, Agra 88,790, Varanasi 66,705, Bareilly 55,400 (30.94%), Gorakhpur 53,000; Calcutta (6 days) 2,37,314 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 54,369 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 45,240, Akola 38,628, 1st week Bhilai 1,13,720 from 2 cinemas, Yavatmal 41,303; 2nd Ujjain 20,200; Jaipur 1,54,005 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 3,56,599 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.).

Judaai 7th week Bombay 11,15,818 (77.06%) from 3 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,30,457 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Baroda 1,20,444, Rajkot 68,000, Jamnagar 78,739 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 3,00,141 from 3 cinemas, Kolhapur 79,000, Solapur 82,948, 3rd week Miraj 40,186 (1st 51,613, 2nd 45,429), record; 7th Belgaum 59,874; Delhi 2,77,823 from 2 cinemas; Kanpur (last) 1,00,748, Lucknow 81,936, Agra 48,756, Varanasi 65,082, Gorakhpur 47,000; Nagpur 1,16,363 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 49,624, total 4,85,792, 6th week Amravati 1,02,150, 7th week Akola 95,703, theatre record, Bhilai 50,217, 2nd week Wardha (6 days) 52,856, 4th Yavatmal 46,826, total 2,21,735; 7th Indore 99,837; Jaipur 74,066; Hyderabad 2,57,851, share 97,196.

Hero No. 1 8th week Bombay 6,49,559 from 3 cinemas; Baroda 38,713, Rajkot 54,400; Pune 1,96,055 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 43,021; Delhi 4,49,102 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 88,505 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,02,233, Agra 80,735, Varanasi 31,982, Gorakhpur (shifting) 32,000; Calcutta (6 days) 1,13,754; Nagpur 1,28,685 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 56,885, total 8,48,557, Akola 61,285, theatre record, 7th Bhilai 33,678, 4th Jalgaon 65,568; 8th week Indore 69,760; Jaipur 1,39,090; Hyderabad 4,08,362 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon), share 1,38,962.

Raja Hindustani 19th week Bombay 1,66,960; 22nd week Ahmedabad 70,130, Rajkot (matinee) 13,930; 19th Pune 2,96,222 from 2 cinemas, 18th week Solapur (7 shows) 59,297 (100%); 22nd week Delhi 1,99,384; 23rd week Kanpur 51,341, 22nd Lucknow 84,606, Agra 53,481, 23rd week Varanasi 25,015, Meerut 52,250, 22nd Bareilly 35,628 (19.14%), 23rd Gorakhpur 28,300; 20th week Nagpur 49,005, Jabalpur 70,919, total 31,43,068, 1st Balaghat 1,11,365, 4th Gondia 50,200; 22nd week Indore, 1,16,570; Hyderabad 1,92,181.

MEHTAB DEAD

Mehtab, yesteryears’ leading star and widow of producer-director-actor Sohrab Modi, died in Bombay on April 10. She was 70.

Mehtab’s last film, Jhansi Ki Rani, made by Sohrab Modi in Technicolor, was released in 1953. She joined the film industry during the silent era. She starred in scores of films, prominent being Kidar Sharma’s Chitralekha made in 1941, in which she appeared nude in a bathing scene, Father India, Stree Dharm, Sharda and Sanjog.

PEN OFFICE SHIFTED

Jayantilal Gada of Popular Entertainment Network Ltd. (PEN) has shifted his office, ‘Pen House’, to Asha Colony, Bungalow No. 3, Opp. Sea Princess Hotel, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Bombay. A get-together was held on the occasion on April 16.

YOU ASKED IT

For English films, which territories are hot and in what order?

– The hottest territory for English films is Tamilnad-Kerala followed by Andhra, Bombay (excluding Karnataka), Nizam, West Bengal, Delhi, East Punjab, C.P.C.I. Rajasthan and Karnataka in that order.

Who has scored the music in the English film, Fire, starring Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Javed Jaffri and Kulbhushan Kharbanda?

– It is a songless film but its background music has been scored by A.R. Rahman. The film is being dubbed in Hindi and from the reports of those who’ve seen FIRE, it appears that the film, if properly exploited, can do wonders in Hindi.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Overseas distributor Kishore Lulla had no words to express how much he had liked the seven songs of Subhash Ghai’s PARDES when he heard them, so he sent Ghai a giant-sized bouquet of flowers. Lulla feels, all the songs are surefire hits.

* There are just 4 Telugu films which have grossed more than 50 lakh from one single cinema. The films are: PREMALAYAM which collected 54,91,762/- in 175 days’ run at Urvasi 70mm, Vijayawada, and 52,67,819/- in 175 days at Chitralaya 70mm, Visakhapatnam; PELLI SANDADI which collected 55,49,866/- in 301 days at Swarna Palace, Vijayawada; BHARATIYUDU which collected 55,02,912/- in 102 days at Venkateshwara Palace, Vijayawada; and NINNE PELLADUTHA which collected 56,64,774/- in 161 days at Raj 70mm, Vijayawada.

* KOYLA has taken a mind-blowing opening in East Punjab. It has collected almost double the house-full capacity on the first day at Friends, Jalandhar, Sangeet and Laxmi cinemas of Ludhiana, Shakuntala, Jammu, Rachna cinema in Faridabad and at Bhatinda.

* KOYLA has taken a historic start and has created city records on the first day at the following centres and cinemas of C.P. Berar: Raj, Raipur (50,008/-), Jeet, Bilaspur (41,668/-), Vandana, Jabalpur (48,235/-), Anjani, Khandwa (24,297/-), Rajkumar, Pusad (40,224/-, gross). It has also created theatre records at New Basant, Bhilai (36,036/-), Gajanan, Khamgaon (21,484/-) and Janta, Itarsi (25,115/-). It drew all shows full on the opening day at three cinemas of Nagpur, viz. Smruti, Panchsheel and Sangam as also at Vasant, Amravati.

* KOYLA has created theatre records on the opening day at all the five cinemas of Indore by collecting: 50,522/- at Sangeeta, 52,208/- at Neelkamal, 35,360/- at Devshri, 35,675/- at Premsukh, and 43,434/- at Smriti.

* KOYLA has created theatre records on the opening day by collecting: 55,000/- at Roxy, Gwalior; 30,000/- at Basant, Morar; 30,000/- at Metro, Ujjain; 30,000/- at Sundaram, Ujjain; 40,000/- at Bharat, Bhopal; 35,000/- at Jyoti, Bhopal; 28,000/- at Darshan, Ratlam. It has created a city record by collecting 38,000/- on 1st day at Jhankar, Rewa.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Playing Safe

If Bombay distributors V.I.P. Enterprises today prefer selling the distribution rights of their films to sub-distributors for Gujarat, Saurashtra, Karnataka and Thane district, it is thanks to Prem Granth. They had found Prem Granth so good that they decided to release it in the entire circuit themselves. Added to this were producer Randhir Kapoor’s instructions to V.I.P. to not sell any part of the circuit at anything but a really high price. They burnt their fingers and learnt their lesson. Had they sold the rights for the various sub-circuits, they would’ve covered their risk. Even if the film would have clicked in a big way, they would’ve got something by way of overflow. As Anil Choksey of V.I.P. says, “It is better to repent after selling than to repent without selling.” Another Bombay distributor, Vimal Agarwal, supports the system of covering one’s risk by selling the rights for sub-circuits, with the following comment: “A trader must always trade.” Vimal feels that to guard against errant sub-distributors, you can insist on foolproof and precautionary clauses in your agreements with them.

All The Trouble For Just One Week!

It would surprise many to know that Koyla will be screened at the main cinema of Indore — Sangeeta — for just one week, after which the cinema has booked Mrityudaata. Obviously, Rakesh Roshan is irritated with his C.I. distributor who had not informed him of the limited run. Instead, his distributor, Ashok Tolani, and the owner of Sangeeta cinema (Indore), Sanjay Tolani, prevailed upon Rakesh Roshan to anyhow facilitate the installation of DTS sound system at the cinema (Sangeeta). Without knowing that his Koyla would be discontinued from Sangeeta after just a week’s run, Rakesh requested Jaya cinema (Borivli, Bombay) to urgently transfer its DTS sound system (which was till then not installed) to Indore and instead instal another system after a couple of days. Jaya cinema obliged, but Rakesh Roshan now feels cheated. Understandably so!

This Is Not Done

Rakesh Roshan’s son, Hrithik, who had gone to see Koyla on the opening day at Minerva, Bombay, was shocked out of his wits with what he saw. There were several boys stationed outside the cinema, wearing Mrityudaata boards on either sides of their bodies. These guys were hurling abuses at Koyla and were passing derogatory remarks about the film. Whose brainchild this was, nobody knows. But whoever thought of this style of publicising Mrityudaata must surely be sick in the head!

ZIDDI

Ratan International’s Ziddi (UA) is an out-and-out action drama. A young boy is too practical to be true and cannot bear injustice of any kind; this quality of his often gets him into fights with people whom he interacts with. His simpleton father cannot tolerate the practical side of his son, and the conflict between the father and son takes a serious turn when the son is turned out of the house by his father, much to the sorrow of his mother, brother and sister. With the passage of time, the son becomes an underworld don but always helps the poor and needy, who dote on him and are ready to lay down their lives for him. A rival don and an old enemy of his (who poses to be his and the family’s best friend and well-wisher) exterminate his brother and sister one by one to teach the young man a lesson and to settle scores with him. How the young boy avenges all the wrongs forms the climax of the film. There is also an additional angle of the chief minister whose life is saved by the young man.

The story may be quite common but it keeps audience interest alive due to the fast-paced screenplay and some unusual twists and turns. The scene in which the true colours of the family friend are revealed comes as a veritable shock and is brilliantly canned. The climax is yet another high point of the film. Although lengthy, it has been executed with a rare brilliance and keeps the audience speechless for a while. The way in which the entire police force is overpowered by the hero’s men-in-hiding is truly enjoyable. The blasting scenes and destruction of cars and jeeps are breathtaking, to say the least.

But on the negative side is the excessive violence and gore, which will limit the film’s appeal for ladies. Emotions could have been better. Dialogues also needed to be more fiery. In the first half, several points are clarified through dialogues only and there are no scenes to establish the facts. Some scenes are predictable.

Sunny Deol excels in a role that’s tailor-made for him. He looks dashing, acts brilliantly and his expressions of anger are a treat to watch. His dance in the ‘Kammo’ song is superb and should have the audience, particularly in North India, go wild with excitement. Raveena Tandon has very little scope but does well all the same. Her ‘Kaale kaale baal’ dance is terrific. Anupam Kher is effective. Ashish Vidyarthi acts with effortless ease and carries off a difficult role with efficiency. Farida Jalal overacts in some comedy scenes but is spontaneous and entertaining in others. Raj Babbar deserved a better role. Sachin Khedekar leaves a mark. Beena, Sharat Saxena, Richa, Virendra Saxena, Suresh Chatwal, Harish Patel and Dulari lend the desired support.

Guddu Dhanoa’s direction is good. He, however, needs to take a little more care in emotional scenes and dramatic ones. Tinnu Verma’s action is the film’s mainstay. Sunny and Tinnu are actually the real heroes of the film. Not only has plenty of money been spent on the plenty of action scenes, but the results too are fantastic. Music (Dilip Sen Sameer Sen) is yet another major asset. The ‘Kammo’ and ‘Kaale kaale baal’ songs are hits and their picturisations are also remarkable. Editing should have been sharper. Camerawork (Shripad Natu) is of a high standard. Background music is very effective. DTS sound effects are very good in action scenes.

On the whole, Ziddi is a definite runner and earner with A class prospects. Business in North India will be the best.

Released on 11-4-’97 at Maratha Mandir (DTS) and 24 other cinemas of Bombay by Ratan International thru Mahalakshmi Film Distributors. Publicity: excellent. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening in most other circuits was much better than in Bombay city and suburbs. In Delhi-U.P., East Punjab and C.P. Berar, it was mind-blowing.

LATEST POSITION

The extraordinary opening of ZIDDI this week has spread cheer in the industry… While HIMALAY PUTRA has been rejected, Vinod Khanna’s putra has been loved.

Himalay Putra started dropping from 2nd day onwards. 1st week Bombay 26,75,481 (71.75%) from 12 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,53,300 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,27,035, Padra 87,553, Rajkot 1,16,605, Jamnagar 78,105; Pune 5,92,385 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,69,088, Solapur 1,07,724 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 26,43,179 (62.66%) from 12 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,43,270 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,47,308, Agra 1,85,640, Allahabad 1,24,600, Bareilly 1,26,138 (70.45%), Dehradun 1,06,800 (58.98%), Gorakhpur 1,19,000 (65.40%); Amritsar 42,000; Calcutta 9,26,954 from 19 cinemas; Nagpur 3,66,421 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 80,308, Akola 70,009, Raipur 1,24,659 (55.48%), Jalgaon 86,919, Bilaspur 93,194; Bhopal 2,60,314 from 3 cinemas, Ujjain 63,180 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 4,73,893 from 3 cinemas, Bikaner 1,96,120; Hyderabad 18,88,571 from 9 cinemas, share (including fixed hires) 11,35,250.

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Judaai 6th week Bombay 12,97,424 (73.46%) from 5 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,83,691 from 4 cinemas, Baroda 1,30,366, Rajkot 72,000, Jamnagar 84,641 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 2,39,561 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 83,000, Solapur 83,376; Hubli 64,939 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon), Belgaum 67,949; Delhi 9,36,805 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,11,639, Lucknow 96,287, theatre record, Agra 62,500, Allahabad 44,057, 5th week Bareilly 29,254 (16.04%), 6th week Dehradun 45,069, Gorakhpur 54,000; Nagpur 1,35,162 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 61,495, total 4,36,168, 5th week Amravati 1,01,000, theatre record, 6th Akola 85,974, total 5,89,335, Raipur 77,731, Bhilai 50,217, total 4,73,856, 1st Wardha (6 days) 68,079, 3rd Yavatmal 48,048; 6th week Indore 1,03,390, theatre record, Bhopal 1,03,435, theatre record; Jaipur 1,05,385, 3rd Ajmer 78,298; 6th week Hyderabad 4,30,448 from 2 cinemas, 3rd Aurangabad 1,39,386, doing very well at Naaz, Parbhani.

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Raja Hindustani 17th week Bombay 7,61,070 from 4 cinemas (2 on F.H.); 21st Ahmedabad 1,86,412 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot (matinee) 17,390; 18th week Pune 2,11,352, 16th week Kolhapur 56,588, 17th Solapur (7 shows) 54,345; 21st Delhi 4,26,085 from 3 cinemas (1 on F.H.); 22nd Kanpur 45,986, Lucknow 84,601, 21st Agra 65,781, Allahabad 52,200, Meerut 67,682, Bareilly 34,879 (18.73%), 22nd Gorakhpur 34,000; 19th week Nagpur 55,031, Jabalpur 86,031, total 30,72,149, 5th week Durg 39,735, 6th week Sagar about 46,000; 20th week Bhopal 54,349; 21st Hyderabad 2,16,731, completed 100 days at Naaz, Parbhani, all-time record.

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SHOW TAX IN RAIPUR TOO GOES UP

Close on the heels of the Aurangabad municipal corporation, show tax has been hiked by the Raipur municipal corporation too. The new show tax in Raipur is Rs. 25 per show or Rs. 100 per day (4 shows) with effect from 1st April. The tax prior to 1st April was Rs. 4 for matinee and noon shows and Rs. 7 for evening and night shows, totalling to Rs. 22 per day. This means, there has been a hike of more than 350%!

ILLEGAL PRINTS: A SERIOUS PROBLEM

Dr. Sunil Patil of V.N. Films, Miraj-Shrirampur, a sub-distributor of Judwaa in these two stations, conducted raids with the help of police at Satyam Talkies, Taharabad (dist. Nasik). An illegal print of Judwaa was seized and an FIR was filed.

The owner of the said Satyam Talkies, Subhash Motilal Kankaria, said that the print was supplied to him by one Usman Gani of Malegaon.

Dr. Sunil Patil told Film Information representative Vijay Deshmukh that the business of no. 2 prints was going on in full swing in Shrirampur-Malegaon area, due to which sub-distributors of Shrirampur were adversely affected. He also said that the no. 2 prints of films are obtained for as less as Rs. 200/- to 300/- per day. “This is a very, very serious problem we are facing,” concluded Patil.

EMPIRE AUDIO INAUGURATION

Empire Audio Centre, the recording studio of A.G. Nadiadwala and Yusuf M. Lakdawala, will be inaugurated on 13th April. The studio is located at 10, Shah Industrial Estate, Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Bombay. Phones: 633-0606/7/8. Fax: 633-0605.

SERVICE CHARGE DOUBLED IN GUJARAT

The tax-free service charge permitted to be levied by cinemas on every admission ticket has been doubled in the state of Gujarat with effect from 4th April, 1997. As against the Re. 1 service charge levied before April 4, cinemas are now collecting Rs. 2 by way of service charge. However, the rate of admission existing on 14th February cannot be reduced for this purpose.

HARISH PATEL ARRESTED

Actor Harish Patel was arrested by the Andheri (Bombay) police on 7th April alongwith two associates, Shakir Omar and Shabbir Patel of Oscar Builders, for allegedly assaulting a security supervisor. The supervisor complained to the police that the trio were under the influence of alcohol and had mercilessly beaten him up at a complex in Andheri (Bombay) on the night of 6th April and were planning to kill him.

The three arrested persons applied for bail on 9th April at the Andheri court but the application was rejected due to non-availability of the medical report of the supervisor who had been admitted to Cooper Hospital after the incident.

After the trio had a few pegs of alcohol, they had gone for a sauna bath and later for a swim in the pool. The three suspected that the security supervisor, Gopal Shukla, had stolen Rs. 55,000 from Shabbir’s clothes and beat him up with bamboos and iron pipes till he became unconscious. The police has not yet come to the conclusion that Shukla stole the money, as alleged.

MAVJIBHAI SHAH’S SON TO WED

Marriage of Bipin, son of Bombay distributor Mavjibhai Shah, with Heena will be solemnised on 13th April at Garware Sabhagruha, Worli, Bombay.

CENSOR NEWS

Film Kraft’s Koyla was given C.C. No. CIL/3/12/97 (A) dt. 7-4-’97; length 4661.76 metres in 17 reels (cuts: 82.33 metres).

ABCL’s Mrityudaata was given C.C. No. CIL/3/9/97 (A) dt. 31-3-’97; length 4547.95 metres in 18 reels (cuts: 82.39 metres).

Ratan International’s Ziddi was given C.C. (in Hyderabad) No. CIL/2/15/97 (UA) dt. 20-2-’97; length 4792 metres in 18 reels (cuts: 134.63 metres).

YOU ASKED IT

How important is pre-release publicity for a film?

– More important than the quantum of publicity is the kind of publicity. If the publicity is wrong, no amount of the same can help. Right publicity ensures a good opening.

What are the under-production reports of some of the forthcoming films?

– ITIHAAS and ISHQ are carrying very good reports.

Why do Bombay distributors these days prefer selling rights for Gujarat, Saurashtra, Thane district and Karnataka?

– Stakes are so high that it is prudent to cover the risk as much as possible.

Is it true that Pan Music made several crores of rupees from the sale of music cassettes of its own film, Maachis?

– It made hardly anything. It is the pirates who minted money out of the hit music score of MAACHIS.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Rakesh Roshan’s KOYLA has been booked at Janta Chitralaya, Itarsi, at an MG which is double that paid for his KARAN ARJUN. KOYLA will be released in Itarsi on 18th April (simultaneously with all India).

* MRITYUDAATA has been booked at Bharat, Itarsi, on an unheard of MG. The film is due at the cinema on 24th April.

* Although Chandra Talkies has the lowest seating capacity (566) in Muzaffarnagar (U.P.), it has paid the highest entertainment tax (Rs. 26,79,937/-) in the financial year 1996-97.

* Shashikant Chitra Mandir at Karanja (C.P. Berar) paid the highest entertainment tax (5,90,619/-) in the town in 1996-97. It collected a tax-free service charge of 4,56,096/- during the same period.

*ZIDDI has created a city record by collecting 48,433/- on first day at Prabhat, Raipur.

* JUDAAI has created a theatre record by collecting 96,287/- in 6th week at Leela, Lucknow.

* JUDAAI has created a theatre record by collecting 1,00,900/- in 5th week at Shyam, Amravati. This is more than the collection of the 4th week.

* JUDAAI has created a theatre record by collecting 1,03,435/- in 6th week at Lily, Bhopal.

*JUDAAI has created a theatre record by collecting 1,39,386/- in 3rd week at Abhinay, Aurangabad.

* HERO NO. 1 has created a theatre record by collecting 70,358/- in 7th week at Anand, Raipur.

* HERO NO. 1 has created a theatre record by collecting 28,122/- in 7th week at Laxmi, Bilaspur.

* HERO NO. 1 has created a theatre record by collecting 77,525/- in 7th week at Alka, Indore. 6th week was 54,902/-.

* HERO NO. 1 has created another record at Bhopal Talkies, Bhopal, by collecting 81,888/- in 7th week.

* HERO NO. 1 has created a record by collecting more in 7th week than in each of 4th, 5th and 6th weeks at Maheshwari, Hyderabad. The collections for 7th, 6th, 5th and 4th weeks respectively are: 3,33,000/-, 3,20,000/-, 3,14,000/- and 3,14,000/-.

* JUDWAA has created a shifting record by collecting 50,189/- in 4th week at Rangmahal, Bhopal.

* RAJA HINDUSTANI has created a new record at Bharatpur (Rajasthan) by being booked at B.P. Palace cinema on a fixed hire of 3.61 lakh!

* RAJA HINDUSTANI has broken all previous records at Parbhani (Nizam) by yielding the highest distributor’s share from Naaz cinema. It completed 100 days at the cinema.

* JAI MAHALAXMI MAA is doing well in several centres of Rajasthan and C.I., like Ajmer (7th week), Bayra (8th week), Agar (6th week) and Devdhar (6th week).

BABA RE BABA!

* Rajasthan distributor Baba Ramdeo has offered an unbelievable Rs. 1 crore for the distribution rights of Baba Films’ ISHQ for Rajasthan. And if the deal is really clinched, it will be the highest ever price for Rajasthan. Baba re baba!

MIX MASALA

WAH MIYAN!

Trust Chunkey Panday to come up with this joke:

On spotting David Dhawan at a party, he announced: “Have you heard of a film called Bade Miyan Chote Miyan Mote Miyan? The mote miyan bit was said pointing towards mota David Dhawan.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Quite Unsound

While many filmmakers are going in for DTS mixing, there is not a single cinema in Bihar, Assam and Orissa which is installed with DTS sound system. Leave alone DTS, there isn’t even one cinema in these three circuits with Dolby sound system. Perhaps, the low admission rates discourage exhibitors from investing lakhs of rupees in installing the sound systems of today. Rajasthan is another state where, surprisingly, no cinema has gone in for DTS sound.

Sound Sense

While on DTS, a total of 31 prints of Ziddi are with DTS mixing. This means, more than 10% of the total number of prints (254) are in DTS. For next week’s release — Koyla — out of a total of about 325 prints, 47 will be with DTS sound. There are chances of a couple of more being added to the DTS list as cinemas are even now contemplating installing the new sound system. A small circuit like Tamil Nadu takes the lead as far as percentage of DTS prints goes. Of the 7 prints being taken by the Tamil Nadu distributor, six are with DTS sound.

Incidentally, it involves an additional expenditure of about Rs. 4 lakh to install DTS sound system in cinemas which already have Dolby sound system fitted. For such cinemas, the changeover also takes just some hours. Like at Maratha Mandir in Bombay, which was fitted with Dolby sound, the installation work for DTS (for Ziddi) started on the midnight of 9th April and was complete before 12 noon on 10th.

Of Roshan Sr. And Jr.

Rakesh Roshan’s son, Hrithik Roshan, has made a 23-minute film — The Making Of ‘Koyla’ — which is on air on the various satellite channels. If Koyla took Roshan Sr. 18 months to complete, it took Roshan Jr. two months to make and edit The Making Of ‘Koyla’. The junior’s work is good and has already come before the public eye. In a week, it will be Roshan Senior’s Koyla which will be judged by the public.

One Main Cinema, One Distributor, Two Films

It’s Problem Time

What happens when two big films, coming within a gap of two weeks of each other, are booked at the same main cinema in Bombay by the same (common) Bombay distributor? There’s tension, commotion, allegations and counter-allegations!

That’s exactly what’s there presently. The two films in question are Vinod Khanna’s Himalay Putra, released this week, and Rakesh Roshan’s Koyla, due for release on 18th April. The common main cinema: Minerva. The common distributor: Bharat Shah (VIP Enterprises).

Although the main cinema for Koyla was announced in trade papers before that of Himalay Putra, the tension started only last week. Vinod Khanna and Rakesh Roshan met at the CBFC office in Bombay where the actor-producer is said to have asked the actor-producer-director to shift his Koyla to another main cinema and thereby make way for a longer and uninterrupted run of his own Himalay Putra. Not the one to get into controversies, Rakesh Roshan matter-of-factly informed Vinod Khanna that Minerva had been finalised for Koyla several weeks ago and that the cinema had also agreed to install DTS sound system for the film. Anyway, it was a matter for the Bombay distributor to decide, felt Rakesh Roshan and told so to Vinod Khanna.

Obviously then, Vinod Khanna contacted his distributor, Bharat Shah, and told him, he couldn’t do injustice to his maiden film which was also his son, Akshaye’s launch vehicle. At the time of going to the press, the main cinema of Koyla in Bombay yet stands as Minerva although there is a chance of a change.

When contacted, Bharat Shah told Information, “The issue is not as big as the hue and cry over it in the trade.” Explaining how the mess arose, Bharatbhai continued, “Himalay Putra was to have released in February. In all, it has been delayed by seven weeks, and Minerva was the best bargain we could get for it. Rakesh Roshan, on the other hand, had planned the release of Koyla on 18th Apri, months in advance. So, he is absolutely not at fault.” When asked, how he would get out of the sticky situation, Bharat Shah replied, “Let us see, we will monitor the public reports of Himalay Putra till Monday and then take a decision. If the film does well, we will definitely change the main cinema of Koyla, and continue Himalay Putra at Minerva. We yet have time to decide.” But with Ziddi due next week at Maratha Mandir, Hero No. 1 running at Novelty, Judwaa poised for a 15-week run at Liberty (the distributor of Bombay has been sent the letter for 100 days to Liberty), Sapnay booked at Metro from 2nd May, Judaai running at New Excelsior, and Mrityudaata booked at Eros from 25th April, which main cinema would be available for Koyla? Bharatbhai is unperturbed and replies, “Some solution will emerge. It is not as if Koyla will not get a good main cinema. Everything will be alright by Monday or Tuesday.”

F.C. Mehra, owner of Minerva cinema, on the other hand, is eager that after Himalay Putra, his cinema should also screen Koyla. “Himalay Putra can be shifted in matinee shows at our cinema,” he said, “and Koyla can be screened in regular shows from 18th April. We’ve installed DTS sound system specially for Koyla.” Unlike Bharat Shah, who is confident of a solution to the problem, F.C. Mehra feels, there can be no solution for the simple reason that “there are no main cinemas available”. “Collections,” explained Mehra, “have picked up and are picking up further, due to vacations and so, nobody would like to discontinue his film from the main cinema.”

Confusion breeds rumours. One such rumour born out of the confusion prevailing over the matter of main cinema of Koyla was that Vinay Choksey of V.I.P. Enterprises was refused permission to screen the trailer of Koyla at Minerva earlier this week for exhibitor-friends, as F.C. Mehra demanded that the film’s publicity material be put up at the cinema before the trailer could be screened. When asked to explain, F.C. Mehra laughed and dismissed the rumour as “baseless”. He explained, “Vinay arrived 8 minutes late at the cinema, by which time our regular show had started. I and he did not think it fit to disrupt the just-started show for the trailer. Vinay immediately contacted the nearby Novelty cinema and since the main show hadn’t started there, the trailer was screened at Novelty. There was no question of not screening the trailer of Koyla due to non-arrival of its publicity.”

That explains about the trailer. But will Koyla come at Minerva? Or won’t it? And if it won’t come at Minerva, where will it? At Liberty? Or Novelty? Or Metro? The days ahead will tell.

– Gautam Mutha

NEW CINEMA IN BOMBAY

A new cinema, Madhuban, will open at Dombivli (Bombay) shortly. It is owned by Vira Theatres Pvt. Ltd. which also owns Tilak Talkies at Dombivli. A cocktail-dinner party will be held this evening (5th April) at the cinema to celebrate the opening.

ORIYA FILMMAKER DEAD

Noted Oriya film producer-director Banabihari Patnaik died of a heart attack this week at his residence at Puri. He was 67. He had been associated with the Bhubaneswar Centre of Doordarshan.

BHUSHAN JEEVAN DEAD

Actor Bhushan Jeevan, son of late actor Jeevan and younger brother of Kiran Kumar, died of heart failure on 2nd April at Hinduja Hospital, Bombay. He had been hospitalised over a month back for kidney failure and other complications. He had also slipped into a coma. Even as doctors had almost given up hopes, he came out of coma but soon passed away due to heart failure.

Bhushan had acted in several films. He was also acting in quite a number of television serials when the end came. Among the serials in which he played important roles were The Great Maratha, Tara and Sailaab. He was only 36 years old and single. He is survived by his mother, two brothers and a sister.

His funeral took place on 3rd. Chautha will be held today (5th April) between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. at his residence (Jeevan Kiran, Bandra, Bombay).

FILM MUSEUM NEAR BANGALORE

Filmmaker M. Bhaktavatsala is planning a film museum near Hesarghatta on the outskirts of Bangalore. The Rs. 25-crore project has attracted the appreciation of Karnataka chief minister J.H. Patel, who has asked the departments of tourism and information to look into the project profile immediately. A 100-acre land area has been set aside for the museum which would take four years to complete. The Heritage Museum has been planned on the lines of the Museum of Moving Image, London, and the American Museum of the Moving Image, New York. It is expected to be a main draw for tourists.

CINEMA MANAGER, OPERATOR ARRESTED

The manager and operator of Laxmi Talkies, Navsari, were arrested recently for screening uncensored portions (bits) in the English Film Woman’s Play. The police also unearthed a racket of bogus admission tickets at the cinema. The management was also permitting non-adults for films which were meant for adults only. Investigations are on.

DTS IN C.P. CINEMAS

Five cinemas of C.P. Berar, viz. Panchsheel and Smruti in Nagpur, Prabhat in Amravati, Raj cinema in Raipur, and Abhay in Chandrapur will be installing DTS sound system for Koyla.

DTS SOUND

DTS sound system has been installed at Krishna, Padra (district Baroda). DTS sound is also being installed at Apsara, Baroda. Koyla is due at Apsara from 18th April.

In Bombay, Marathi Mandir cinema will instal DTS for Ziddi.

CINEMA OWNER DEAD

V.P. Dubey, proprietor of Shyam Talkies, Bilaspur, expired on 29th March at Delhi Hospital. He was 77.

YOU ASKED IT

Why have the South film actors — Chiranjeevi, Rajinikanth and Nagarjuna — stopped acting in Hindi films?

– Maybe, they’ve realised that they have limited appeal in North India. Incidentally, Kamal Haasan is acting in two Hindi films — LADIES ONLY is complete, and another has just started.

Don’t you think, the film industry should have its own film awards?

– It can have, but the awards would be worthwhile only if they are given on the basis of merit alone and without fear or favour.

Why has a new star-cast film, Himalay Putra, got a good opening all over when star-cast films like Judaai and Lahoo Ke Do Rang opened to dull houses?

– HIMALAY PUTRA has the advantage of starring a star-son.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Mani Ratnam’s wife, Suhasini, who had directed INDIRA (in Tamil), will play the title role in NANDINI (Tamil), to be directed by Manobala and produced by V. Natarajan of Pyramid Films International. NANDINI is a woman-oriented film.

* How strict contract laws in France are can be gauged by this instance. The Dior Fashion house has decided not to renew its contract with actress Emmanuelle Beart after she appeared in protests without make-up. Beart had joined in demonstrations against the conservative government’s new law aimed at limiting immigration. Although Dior did not object to her politics, it let her contract with it lapse because of her appearance in the news media ‘Au Naturel’ without having gone to the hair-dresser. Beart had recently starred in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE.

* It has become quite usual for Hollywood films these days to show executives working in tobacco companies as villains. A number of books and television series also threaten to plunge the corporate nicotine behemoths, collectively known as Big Tobacco, into the category of celluloid shame. In fact, there are few screen heroes who smoke, apart from Bruce Willis in the DIE HARD films.

* Plus Channel paid an annual telecast fee of Rs. 8 crore (net) to Doordarshan upto March 1997, perhaps, the highest paid by any independent production house in the country.One Main Cinema, One Distributor, Two Films

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

First 3-D Film In DTS Digital Sound

Navodaya’s Malayalam film, My Dear Kuttichathan, will be the first 3-D film in the world in DTS digital sound. The film, which was also the first 3-D film of India, will be re-released shortly. DTS and its agent, Real Image Pvt. Ltd., will present DTS plaques to the many cinemas releasing the 3-D film in digital sound in Kerala. Another Malayalam film, Chemeen, is being revived in Kerala in DTS digital sound. It wound not be out of place to mention here that DTS digital sound system was launched over four years ago with the release of the English film, Jurassic Park. Today, DTS has approximately 9,000 installations worldwide. DTS received a technical achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its contribution to the motion picture industry.

CVO, The Dangerous Movie Channel

CVO, the cable movie channel of the Hindujas, is giving the film industry sleepless nights. And if anybody is to be blamed for this sleepless state, it is only the producers themselves. For, the channel shows films after just six months of their theatrical release, that too with the legal rights to do so. Earlier, the channel had its reach only in metropolitan cities but its reach is now fast spreading to other places too.

Man Of His Words — In Gold

Bobby Anand, the Delhi-U.P., Rajasthan and Overseas distributor of Judaai, had promised gold chains to the staff of producer Boney Kapoor if the film clicked. Keeping his promise, he gave the staffers beautiful gold chains last week to celebrate the film’s success.

Bold And Beautiful

If novelty is the name of the game, producer-director Prakash Jha should be pretty excited because if his Mrityudand is anything first and foremost, it is novel. A preview of some scenes and portions of songs of the film gave the impression that the film is bold and blunt in its message, besides being new. It shows rather dramatically how women in an ultra-orthodox Bihari society revolt against the male domination and exploitation. To say that Shabana Azmi and Madhuri Dixit have excelled in their respective roles would be an understatement. Both the heroines vie for top acting honours in this purposeful film. The censors, one hopes, would not come down harshly on the dialogues in the film because the words used, though raw and hard-hitting, are too appropriate to be true.

Incidentally, Madhuri Dixit, who attended the special screening, has shed weight now and is looking slim and beautiful once again.

‘Border’ Brochure

Producer-director J.P. Dutta has brought out a beautiful brochure of his Border. It gives the film’s story in brief, illustrated by colourful pictures from the film. Incidentally, the Sandeshe song of the film is rising in popularity day by day and should become a hit soon.

Odd Man Out

This incident took place at Indore’s Regal cinema recently. A man who had taken a ticket for the balcony for Judaai, went and occupied his seat before the film could start. A couple of minutes before the show could begin, he went back to the manager’s cabin and requested him to take back the balcony ticket and issue him a stalls ticket instead. The manager found the request quite unusual and asked the gentleman the reason for it. The man replied that he was embarrassed sitting in the balcony because he was the only male. All the other seats had been occupied by ladies! The manager smiled and obliged. Maybe, the manager was reminded of the hit song from the old Judaai (starring Jeetendra and Rekha) — Charon taraf gopiyaan, beech mein Kanhaiya.

Exposing Reply

Here’s a contribution from one of our readers:

Mamta Kulkarni was asked to comment on her alleged involvement in the Bihar Fodder Scandal. Her assumed reply: “Where is Bihar, I don’t know. Fodder, I’m sure, means chaara and when main mere producers ko chaara nahin dalti hoon, where is the question of involvement in any other chaara. As for the Scandal, I am used to reading all sorts of scandalous writings about me by gossip magazines. And let me tell you, had I been involved, I would never have hidden the fact. The world is aware of my spirit of exposing all things which are close and personal to me.”

LATEST POSITION

While examinations in some parts are over, those in other parts should get over soon. Till then, collections continue to be adversely affected.

Lahoo Ke Do Rang has not been appreciated. 1st week Bombay (6 days) 25,65,689 (65.32%) from 15 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,86,208 from 8 cinemas, Baroda 1,42,922, Rajkot 1,79,100 from 2 cinemas, Jamnagar 1,01,469 (1 unrecd.); Pune 6,12,511 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,25,209, Solapur 1,09,188 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 1,73,865 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon), Dharwad 73,256; Delhi 34,45,078 (72.93%) from 12 cinemas (1 cinema unrecd. and 1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,37,217 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,53,932, Meerut 1,71,000, Dehradun 1,30,577, Gorakhpur 1,40,000 (79.17%); Calcutta (6 days) 22,30,134 from 26 cinemas; Nagpur 3,30,996 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,38,639, Amravati (4 days) 85,835, Akola 93,062, Raipur 1,38,890 (59.33%), Jalgaon 88,671; Bhopal 2,39,430 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 4,98,779 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 28,50,857 from 19 cinemas, share 15,01,512; Vijayawada (nett) 1,45,385, Visakhapatnam (nett) 91,946.

Judaai is being patronised by ladies all over and continues to do well. 4th week Bombay 13,60,273 (64.09%) from 7 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,99,797 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,45,374, 3rd Bharuch (gross) 2,17,784, 4th week Rajkot 78,000, Jamnagar 99,809 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 3,03,688 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 91,000, Solapur 77,947; Hubli 92,998 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon), Belgaum 97,249, Dharwad 27,214 (3rd 39,847); Delhi 11,42,081 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,47,271, Lucknow 1,18,140, Agra 1,00,172, Meerut 87,000, Dehradun 94,730, Gorakhpur 60,800; very good in East Punjab; Calcutta (6 days) 2,94,000 from 3 cinemas; excellent in Bihar; Nagpur 58,662, Jabalpur 62,333, total 3,09,250, 3rd Amravati 93,295, 4th week Raipur 75,049, Bhilai 71,277, 3rd Jalgaon 65,030; 4th Indore 1,18,256, Bhopal 1,14,321, record; Jaipur 1,14,181, 1st week Ajmer (29 shows) 93,956, 4th Sriganganagar 64,762; Hyderabad 3,01,586, share 1,40,930.

Hero No. 1 is going strong. 5th week Bombay 14,50,564 (79.08%) from 6 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,68,205 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,07,866 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 86,819; Pune 2,54,192 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 60,000, Solapur (matinee) 33,063; 3rd Bijapur (7 shows) 26,079, total 2,23,442; 5th week Delhi 17,37,123 from 7 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,31,401 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,40,280, Agra 1,10,795, Meerut 1,11,224, total 7,36,120, 4th week Dehradun 1,14,000 (3rd 1,27,000), 5th Gorakhpur 50,000; Calcutta (6 days) 1,48,182; Nagpur 88,479, Jabalpur 91,873, total 6,30,173, Akola 46,791, Raipur 76,694, Bhilai 57,478, 1st Jalgaon 1,25,006; 5th Indore 2,22,329 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal 94,972, record; Jaipur 1,83,781, Bikaner (last) 51,575; Hyderabad 3,90,707 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon), share 1,20,929.

Raja Hindustani 15th week Bombay 8,05,207 (52%) from 4 cinemas (3 on F.H.); 19th Ahmedabad 2,18,368 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot (matinee) 25,123; 16th week Pune 3,79,819 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), 15th Solapur (7 shows) 53,115, 16th Satara (matinee) 12,660; 17th week Bijapur (7 shows) 23,732; 19th week Delhi 6,79,731 from 4 cinemas; 20th Kanpur 1,06,825 from 2 cinemas, 19th Lucknow 1,03,507, Agra 92,864, 20th Meerut 77,709, 19th Dehradun 15,000, 20th week Gorakhpur 31,000; 17th week Nagpur 38,142, Jabalpur 93,239, total 28,85,177, 15th Amravati (3 days, last) 23,688, Akola (last) 35,727, total 14,15,797, 3rd week Durg 70,349, 4th Sagar about 80,000; 19th Indore 1,34,635, 18th week Bhopal 59,200; 19th Jaipur 1,09,357.

______

Prema Bandham (Telugu, dubbed version of Raja Hindustani) 1st week Vijayawada 1,55,254, Kakinada 1,32,754, Rajahmundry 1,20,305, Eluru 97,031, Bhimavaram 80,585, Palakol 51,954, Machilipatnam 74,129, Gudivada 67,375, Visakhapatnam 1,90,158, Nellore 2,06,168, Ongole 1,04,018, Guntur 1,67,071.

Entertainment Tax In Maharashtra To Go Down

New Tax Rate Is 60% On Nett Admission Rate

Tax-Free Service Charge To Be Allowed
To Be Carried Forward

Entertainment tax in Maharashtra will come down from the present 100% to 60% on nett admission rates. A proposal to this effect was presented in the Cabinet meeting in Bombay on 27th March. The new reduced rate of tax will come into effect only after the Cabinet’s proposal is passed by both, the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad. Since this would require a time of some days, it is not likely that the new tax rate comes into force from 1st April, 1997, as is felt. The government, it is learnt from reliable sources, may promulgate an Ordinance instead of passing the new tax structure in the Assembly, as above. The Ordinance, duly signed by the governor, may be made effective from May 1, it is learnt. The said Ordinance will not be for any specific time period.

The tax rate will be proportionately ascertained in places where the current rate of entertainment tax is 80% and 90% in place of the normal 100%. Thus, for example, the new tax rate may be 48-50% and 54 or 55% respectively in such places.

It is also believed that the Maharashtra government may permit exhibitors to carry forward the unutilised tax-free service charge for spending in the following year. Presently, the unspent amount has to be refunded to the government.

It may be mentioned here that cinemas all over Maharashtra had downed shutters for a month from 1st January, ’97 to protest against the doubling of entertainment tax to 100%. Despite the best efforts of the action committee of the film industry, formed for the purpose of interacting with the government with regard to this problem, the industry could not get the government to agree to restoration of the tax rate to the old 50%. This relief has, therefore, come as a shot in the arm for the action committee. As N.N. Sippy, a member of the action committee, said, “I am thrilled. It had become a personal issue for me.”

KARNATAKA BUDGET CAUSES PANIC

Panic has overtaken distributors and exhibitors of the Bombay-Karnataka region following the hike in entertainment tax proposed in the recent Karnataka state budget. The extent to which business is likely to be adversely affected due to the new tax structure can be gauged by the example of a cinema of Bijapur. The nett capacity per show of Dreamland cinema in Bijapur, which is Rs. 6,854/-, will become Rs. 4,152/- after the new tax structure comes into force. As against the Rs. 44,000/- entertainment tax paid by the cinema so far, it will now be required to pay Rs. 1,32,000/- per week by way of tax!

BABY BOY FOR BUNTY

East Punjab distributor Bunty alias Gurinder Singh (Narsimha Films) was blessed with a baby boy on 27th March in Jalandhar. This is Bunty’s first boy-child.

CAMERAMAN RAVI CHAVAN KILLED IN ACCIDENT

Cameraman Ravi Chavan was killed in a car accident on 22nd March. He was going from Bombay to Vapi alongwith four crew members of the unit of Gulshan Kumar’s serial, Shiv Maha Puran, when the car in which they were travelling collided with a tanker coming from the opposite direction. Ravi died on the spot. The other occupants of the car were seriously injured and are undergoing treatment at Nanavati Hospital, Bombay.

Ravi was Ken Ghosh’s regular cameraman. He was 46 years old and is survived by his wife and two children.

RAMAN PANDEY DEAD

Film publicist Raman Pandey expired on 24th March at his residence at Bhayandar (Bombay) due to a heart attack. He was 51 and is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter. Raman had also directed a film, Pathbhrashtha, which is still to be released.

CINEMAS INSTALLING DTS FOR ‘KOYLA’

Maheshwari cinema in Hyderabad and Amba, Aurangabad, are installing the DTS sound system. Koyla is due for release at both the cinemas on 18th April.

DTS AT MAHALAXMI, NASIK

Mahalaxmi cinema in Nasik is in the process of installing DTS sound saytem. It will also undertake heavy renovation work.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Barood’ 15-Day Schedule

A 15-day shooting stint of Pramod Films’ Barood commenced on March 26 in Bombay on sets at Film City, Kamal Amrohi Studios and in NSE Compound. All the artistes are participating in the picturisation of climax and other scenes. Being produced and directed by Pramod Chakravorty, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Raakhee, Mohnish Bahl, Mohan Joshi, Aroona Irani and Amrish Puri. Music: Anand Milind. Co-producer: Bharat Shah.

‘Vinashak’ In Mahabaleshwar

Producer Xavier Marquis, director Ravi Dewan and the unit of Mark Films International’s Vinashak left for Mahabaleshwar on March 27 for a 9-day shooting schedule. All the artistes are participating. The film stars Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Om Puri, Tinnu Anand, Mukesh Rishi, Alok Nath, Disha, Harish Patel, Shivaji Satam and Danny. Its story is written by Ravi Dewan and screenplay is by Rajkumar Santoshi. Cinematography: Peter Pereira. Action: Ravi Dewan.

YOU ASKED IT

Who is the most highly paid actor today?

– Some of our directors are charging even more than our top actors!

Don’t you think, the production of small films has declined in recent years? Why?

– Production is a big game today. Cost of production and star prices on the one hand and theatre rentals on the other have gone up so much that it is neither possible nor feasible to make small films in toady’s time.

When producers spend crores to make films, how do they often take such thin story-lines?

– Basing a film on a thin story line is not alarming. It is finally the screenplay and the presentation which must be fresh, novel and proper.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Mukul Dev is winning rave reviews from his co-artistes and others. People who’ve seen the rushes of Umesh Mehra’s QILA, swear, he has stood out in some dramatic scenes. Alongwith the good reviews, he is also getting good films. He has replaced Anil Kapoor in N. Chandra’s WAJOOD. Besides this, he is working in one more film — JAI SURYA — with Nana Patekar.

* Three cinemas in C.I. territory — Sangeeta and Kastur in Indore, and Rambha in Bhopal — are installing DTS sound system.

* Bappi Lahiri’s 12-year old son, Bappa, did the arrangement for a computerised song for MILITARY RAAJ at B.L. Temptation on 25th March.

MIX MASALA

IN NEWS

Madhuri Dixit may be passing through a low phase as far as her career goes but the girl continues to remain in national news for one reason or the other. Barely has the news of the income-tax raid on her house been relegated to the sidelines than comes news that Madhuri is among the handful of persons who were allotted plots of land by former Haryana chief ministers out of their discretionary quota.

Novelty Is The Catchword

Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat. Then Maachis. Next, it was Tere Mere Sapne. And Aastha. The latest is Judaai. Although the range of success of all the five above-mentioned films is different (a couple of them are even losing propositions in a circuit or two), one thing common to them is that they all took a start which was far from satisfactory but picked up by word of mouth and went on to become successful earners. Yet another common factor in the films was their unusual story. Of these, Tere Mere Sapne may not exactly boast of a novel or unusual storyline but its presentation was, nevertheless, fresh.

Coming to Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat. The point in the story where the heroine, a victim of rape, pleads before the court that her rapist should be asked to marry her and look after her all her life found acceptance among the audience, if only because of its novelty value. The film took a disastrous start but as word of mouth about the newness in the story spread, collections picked up. Although it may not cover its distributors’ investments in some circuits, the film is a commission-earner/overflow in others . In Bihar territory, the film seems to have caught the fancy of the viewers so much that it is expected to do a business of over 75 lakh there. A terrific figure, considering that the film was a low-budget and new star-cast film.

Maachis dealt with the topic of terrorists and terrorism in a way different from the many films made with the theme of terrorism. It probably did not take even a respectable start because of two factors — new faces and lack of time for the music to grow. Of course, in parts like Madhya Pradesh (due to entertainment tax exemption), Delhi and Punjab, the film did open well. But where it did not, collections began to pick up as the weeks progressed and as the music became a veritable craze. Controversies surrounding the film also did help but the bottomline was that the film had been liked. Translated in monetary terms, it meant that the film brought returns to its distributors.

Tere Mere Sapne, like the two earlier films, didn’t do its makers proud, what with a lukewarm opening. And this, despite a hit music score, popularised thru various television channels! Was television then indeed the right medium to publicise a film? Anyway, what television couldn’t do, word of mouth did. The best publicity for the film were the words of appreciation of the people who’d seen it. Slowly but surely, collections shot up and today, Tere Mere Sapne is a plus fare in all the circuits. In Bombay, it is doing A1 business.

A small-budget and artistic film like Aastha may not have created any earth-shattering records. But its business in many ‘A’ class centres has proved a point — that a novel subject is today accepted with open arms.

To say that Judaai, a star-cast film, took an average initial would be an overstatement. If it did start reasonably well in Gujarat and Rajasthan and brilliantly in Bihar and Orissa, its opening in Bombay, Delhi, parts of U.P., C.P., C.I. and Nizam was shockingly low. Again, the novel subject of a wife selling her own husband for the lure of luxuries caught the fancy of the viewer. What appeared in the first week to be a subject which had been rejected, found acceptance, and collections showed a marked improvement. As against the trade pronouncement in the week of release of the film that it would entail losses of about a crore per major territory, there’s already talk of “overflow” today, in most circuits. In Overseas, it is already among the major hits of all time.

So what does all this prove? That novelty in writing and presentation is what the audience wants. It is tired of seeing the run-of-the-mill kind of cinema. Fresh subjects, if well presented, do have takers. The catchword is good presentation. Tamanna, too, had a novel story but if it did not click even after the benefit of tax-exemption, it is because its presentation was far from good. It left the viewer depressed. Otherwise, the audience of today wants something new all the time. For a film with a novel subject, they may come in late but they do come.

That’s good news for writers and directors, right?

SHOOT AT SITE

S. Raamanathan’s Film In Madras

Rajaji Hall in Madras is a picture of frenzied activity on Sunday, March 23. Almost a thousand college students are stationed outside the court (the exterior of Rajaji Hall), protesting against the arrest of their friend for murders he hasn’t committed. Not just arrest, the friend has been awarded the death sentence! Leading the protest are Karisma Kapoor and Rajesh (Rangeela) Joshi. The friend in question is Arshad Warsi. Even as the police commissioner, with his entire team of policemen, is trying to control the revolting and stone-pelting crowd, there appears on the scene a blind lawyer who fires at the commissioner for issuing orders to shoot down the students. He says, he is convinced about the innocence of the arrested boy because otherwise, such a huge force would not be standing behind him like a rock. Even as the police commissioner is left speechless by this least-expected intruder, the lawyer waves a vakalatnama in the air, asking Karisma Kapoor to get it signed by Arshad. It is now the slogan-shouting Karisma’s turn to be left speechless. The lawyer had come like a messiah in their lives when they had thought, it was the end of the road for their dear friend. The blind lawyer was Amitabh Bachchan, wearing a grey beard and, of course, dark glasses.

The film being shot is producer-director S. Raamanathan’s Prod. No. 9, as yet untitled. The 75-year-old Raamanathan could give any youngster a complex with his energy and enthusiasm. Although he has a microphone in his hand, he is issuing instructions on the mike with the same force as he would have, without a mike! And how many times he must’ve climbed up and down the 30-odd steps of Rajaji Hall, one doesn’t really know. It could’ve easily been 200 times!

‘MIKE’AL ACTION

Well, so charged is S. Raamanathan that when the press party reaches the venue, he greets them all with handshakes and shouts ‘Welcome, welcome’ on the microphone, forgetting that it wasn’t instructions he was giving. The college crowd (read that, junior artistes) is amused and so are we. At another time, the extra-particular film-maker shouts out for chairs for us (again on the microphone) while we are standing at a distance and watching the proceedings. The mike does its magic because the chairs arrive in a split second. Anyway, we decide to rechristen Raamanathan ‘Sir-ji’ as ‘Mike’al Jackson because his nervous energy reminds one of Michael Jackson’s!

OF WETTING PANTS & SWEATING SHOTS

After the chair, arrives Anupam Kher. No, not to participate in the shooting but to meet Bachchan. Anupam Kher plays Amitabh’s doctor-friend in the film. He is not required for the shooting that day and is, instead, shooting nearby for a Tamil film with Prabhu Deva. He jokes, “Looking at such a huge crowd, I thought, my fan following in Madras had increased.” Bachchan too is in a mood to joke. After giving the final rehearsal of his shot in the sweltering heat, which requires him to say long lines of dialogues, he plonks himself on the chair next to Anupam’s and confesses, “Patloon geelee ho gayee, yeh shot dete dete.” And before Anupam feels that the camera has made Bachchan so nervous in his comeback days, the star continues with a poker face, “Itni dhoop jo hai.” Anupam Kher has a different thing to say about the scorching heat. “I was shooting this morning at the beach and I had to speak my dialogues in Tamil. Iss liye, mere to do-do pasine chhoot rahe thhey. Garmi ka pasina toh thheek tha, Tamil ka pasina jaane ka naam hi nahin le raha tha.”

THE WATCHFUL ‘BLIND’ EYE

Amitabh is called to give the final take. Before this, there is discussion about the point at which the crowds should applaud him. There are two options and one is finally okayed. In between the rehearsals and discussions, a unit hand comes to clear off some pieces of paper and plastic bags lying as waste in the field. Amitabh’s watchful ‘blind’ eye falls on the dutiful unit hand and he asks him to let it be as it is, so that it looks natural. In the rehearsals, Amitabh, quite understandably, falters as he forgets his long lines of dialogues twice.

SLIP OF THE…

In the take, it is Karisma’s chance to falter. While she is climbing down two steps to reach out to the vakalatnama being held out by Amitabh, Karisma loses her balance, thanks to her high-heeled sandals and the small steps. “Now, that’s not a slip of the tongue,” says Anupam who has been watching the shooting, “It is a slip of the taang.”

Before we know it, Anupam has given us the slip as he is required for giving his shot in the Tamil film’s shooting.

BLIND MAN’S BLUFF

S. Raamanathan is quite secretive about his film’s story. “We will tell you the story at the appropriate time,” he tells the visiting party, “so that you can then convey it to your readers.” Sensing S. Raamanathan’s mood, Amitabh takes back his words. For, he has already informed us that he plays a blind lawyer in the film. “No, I’m not playing a blind lawyer,” he says, trying to keep a straight face while taking off the dark glasses he has worn. Of course, none in the press party is blind. And we all know, lawyers are liars. Amitabh, perhaps, takes his role too seriously even when not shooting and bluffs us when he says, he isn’t blind in the film. That’s what you call ‘Blind Man’s Bluff’! For, it’s there for all of us to see when Amitabh gives his first shot of the day, that he indeed does play a blind lawyer. In a nutshell, the story is about a young college boy who is framed for four murders and is ordered by the court to be hanged to death. A blind lawyer is convinced that the college student is innocent and takes up his case to finally get him acquitted in the court of law. Vijayashanti plays Amitabh’s heroine. Shivaji Satam also plays an important role.

Amitabh does not remain blind all through the film. His doctor-friend (Anupam Kher) operates on his eyes and restores his eyesight. After all, it’s the kanoon which is andhaa forever, not the lawyer who argues in front of the blindfolded statue…

– Komal Nahta

“We can camouflage his age
to quite a large extent”
Make-up Man Deepak Samant
Talks About Amitabh And Age

“I’m already 55 years old and I have wrinkles on my face.” This is the famous quote of the comeback-Amitabh. An honest confession this, but one which could shake the confidence of the distributors of Amitabh starrers. Although, of course, Amitabh is being careful about the roles he accepts in films and is happy playing his age. Still, the question haunting distributors, exhibitors and his legion fans alike is: Will Amitabh not look old now? Can he be accepted now?

Amitabh may be frank enough to himself declare that age is no longer on his side. Yet, his make-up man, Deepak Sawant, does not sound as if he has surrendered to Amitabh’s age factor. It’s his job to make Bachchan look fresh and he accepts the “55 years” as a challenge. “It is not as if Amit-ji will look old and tired on the screen. We can camouflage his age to quite a large extent,” he says with conviction and a confidence which bears testimony to his 23 years’ association with the man who has often been referred to as the no. 1 to 10 among heroes.

Explains Deepak, “We get different shades of make-up — there’s red, pink, brown, yellow, white, orange, etc. Now, I’ve got to be careful about the colour I use on Amit-ji’s face. Another thing I’ve got to take great care of is the oil and sweat. Oil is secreted from within the body, and sweat comes due to external heat. When the oil and sweat/water (artificial sweat) react with the make-up, the wrinkles on the face become more visible in front of the arc-lights.” Does that mean that one will never see Amitabh with sweat running down his face on the screen? “It’s not that,” clarifies Deepak, “but I will have to be extra-careful for such scenes.”

Deepak concedes that earlier, he used to take 20 to 25 minutes to do Amitabh’s make-up but now, it takes him about 35 minutes to do the job. “Some stars are very interfering, but Amit-ji lets me do my job without interference. He is a fabulous person to work with,” announces Deepak with pride.

The veteran make-up man laments that in an industry where make-up is so important, there’s no award for this craft. “How would you like if an actor plays a hungry beggar without make-up? However good an actor he may be, he will never be able to create as much of an impact merely by his acting talent as with a combination of his acting skill, make-up, hair style and costumes.” In fact, Deepak feels, an actor is 25% acting talent, 25% make-up, 25% hair style and 25% costumes. “If even one of them is lacking, he has to make up for it with the help of the other three,” explains Deepak, “but a good actor must have all the four in equal proportion.” To substantiate his point, Deepak cites the instance of the climax scene of Sholay. “Amit-ji is blown up with a bomb in that scene and is dying. The director told me, he wanted ‘blood’ coming out from the corners of Amit-ji’s mouth. I thought for a while, then I asked Amit-ji to give me the shirt and pant he was wearing for the scene. I took them and tore them with a stone so that they looked shredded. I asked him to wear them again and then I sprinkled ‘blood’ all over his tattered clothes as well as on his forehead. In the scene, after Amit-ji is blown up, his body is lying still when the other characters arrive at the place of the accident. During this time, the blood trickled down from his forehead and came to the sides of his mouth, as desired by the director.”

Coming back to the Bachchan of today, Deepak shuns all talk about his boss having gone in for facial skin treatment or a face lift, as baseless. “It’s just make-up and regular exercising,” he says. “We may have faulted a bit in the first couple of films but even those faults will not recur once we see the first film’s copy. The errors that may have remained in his make-up can be analysed and, thereafter, avoided in the future.”

So, all ye distributors of Bachchan starrers, let the wrinkles of tension on your foreheads go. For, Deepak Sawant assures that he is taking care of the wrinkles and the age of Amitabh Bachchan.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Sippy Surfaces Again

N.N. Sippy has finally decided to take the plunge into production once again, after a long gap. He plans to start his new film in June and complete it within six months. In place of a film with Rishi Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit and Ajay Devgan, which he was earlier planning to produce, this project of his will star Karisma Kapoor and Chandrachur Singh. Raj Kanwar was to have directed the earlier film but this one will be directed by Shravani Deodhar. Informed Sippy, “The subject is so wonderful that dialogue writer K.K. Singh is too thrilled for words.” N.N. Sippy plans to have a third of the film shot abroad “because the story moves there and not just to picturise the songs, as is the fashion these days”.

Mauritius Indoors

Producer Yash Johar has lost count of the number of sets his art director, Sharmishtha Roy, has erected for his Duplicate, so many have there been for the film. One more was put up by the talented girl at Mehboob Studios last week, on which a song and some scenes were picturised on Shah Rukh Khan, Sonali Bendre and others. Before picturising the song, director Mahesh Bhatt had shot the film in Mauritius. But unlike other units which shoot on the beautiful landscapes of this picturesque place, the Duplicate unit was confined to the indoors only. It so happened that the (indoor) location required for the shooting was not available continuously in India as in Mauritius.

Pricey Reena

Reena Roy is acting pricey these days. Shocked? You needn’t be shocked because it isn’t for the big screen for which Reena Roy is acting pricey. She is doing so for a serial, Jung. Reena feels, the serial (produced by Pranlal Mehta) is enjoying popularity because of her presence in it. And so, she’s now demanding a price more than half as much as she gets for a film. This price is not for working in the entire serial, it is just for one episode!

Hero Mastana & Not-So-Mastana

All was not well on the sets of a comedy film starring two heroes and a heroine and nearing the completion mark. One of the heroes (who, incidentally, is the favourite of the film’s director) reportedly changed his dialogue in a scene (involving the two heroes together) at the time of its final take. This seems to have agitated the other hero so much that he charged into his hoted room and didn’t shoot… till the director and the errant hero went to his room and apologised!

Enemies Only

Can you believe this? Kamal Haasan’s Ladies Only is complete but all through its making, its director, Dinesh Shailendra, was barely on talking terms with one of the three heroines of the film, Seema Biswas. Dinesh, it is reported, was angry with Seema as she did not greet him when on the sets!

LAHOO KE DO RANG

A.G. Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Lahoo Ke Do Rang (UA) is the story of two men — one, an upright and honest customs officer who is out to wipe out a family of villains, and the other, a happy-go-lucky chap who specialises in giving false evidences in court and making a living out of it and who is hired by the villains to kill the customs officer. The story looks like a mixture of two or three earlier films. The tracks of the two heroes move separately and when they do meet, it looks like a contrived attempt. Screenplay is one of convenience and there are clichéd scenes like the heroine losing her eyesight in an accident. The twists and turns in the drama are mostly predictable. Confrontation scenes between the customs officer (Naseeruddin Shah) and the villains are devoid of dramatics or exciting dialogues. In fact, the film’s dialogues are too ordinary for its cast and canvas and should have had much more punch.

On the better side are some light scenes which are quite enjoyable. Some songs are catchy and their picturisations on foreign locales are fairly eye-filling. The climax action is exciting.

Naseeruddin Shah does a fine job, as usual. Akshay Kumar is average in performance but excellent in action scenes and good in dances. Karisma Kapoor deserved a better deal as she has quite an insignificant role. She too impresses in dances. Farha is so so. Suresh Oberoi is effective. Mukesh Rishi screams and shouts too much. Mahesh Anand, Tej Sapru and Mushtaq Khan are alright. Dinesh Hingoo excels in the light scenes. Tiku Talsania is also good. Farida Jalal does a fair job. Vishwajeet Pradhan impresses in a positive role. Sheeba stands out in a sexy dance which, incidentally, has been effectively picturised. Avtar Gill, Shashikala, Navin Nischol, Alok Nath, Aparajita, Shiva, Mukesh Rawal, Amrit Patel and the others lend the desired support.

Mehul Kumar disappoints, both, as a writer and director. He takes too many cinematic liberties and seems not to have even made an attempt to give something fresh or exciting to the audience. Music (Anand Milind) is good. ‘Haseenon ko aate hain’, ‘Mujhe paisa mila’ and ‘Saas soye angna’ are well-tuned numbers. Camerawork (Russi Billimoria) is good. Editing leaves something to be desired. Action scenes provide thrill in the climax only.

On the whole, Lahoo Ke Do Rang lacks in merits and will find the going tough in most of the circuits. It may prove average in some circuits on the strength of business of small centres and due to the good (holiday) period ahead.

Released on 21-3-’97 at Dreamland and 24 other cinemas of Bombay thru Balaji Enterprises. Publicity: good. Opening: below expectations. …….Also released all over. Opening was below the mark at several places.

MAMTA KULKARNI INTERROGATED IN FODDER SCAM

Mamta Kulkarni was recently examined by the special investigation team constituted by CBI joint director, East, U.N. Biswas, to probe into the conspiracy aspect of the multi-crore animal husbandry scam.

It is reported that Mamta admitted to having performed two years back, at the Patna residence of a legislator who is currently in jail for his involvement in the said scam. She is said to have told the CBI that she was an artiste and could perform anywhere.

The huge amount allegedly paid to the actress by the scamster is being sought to be linked to his huge earnings from the fodder scam.

YOU ASKED IT

Will Mrityudaata take a good initial?

– Undoubtedly, it will take an excellent opening. Amitabh is returning to the screen after a long gap. The film’s music is also good. Especially, the Daler Mehndi song should have the crowds of North India dancing in glee.

A film like Tamanna does not do well in Bombay even after tax-exemption. What does it indicate?

– Two things. One, that admission rates even without tax are high. And secondly, not even tax exemption can help a film if it is basically not liked.

If English films are not allowed entry in India, will it give a boost to the box-office collections of Hindi films?

– It will definitely help to an extent. But, why think of making gains at the expense of another.

MIX MASALA

COLOURFUL COINCIDENCE

It is just a coincidence but a noteworthy one, nevertheless. Holi is a festival of colours and a film with as colourful a title as Lahoo Ke Do Rang has been released just four days before the Holi day. The title of next week’s release, too, has something to do with colours. It is Kaalia.

CODE WORD FOR DISASTERS

Naaz traders in Bombay have coined a new term. Taking off from the current sound system in vogue — DTS — they’ve coined the term ‘DTL’. Talk about films like Salma Pe Dil Aagaya, Jeeo Shaan Se and Chupp, and you have them termed as ‘DTL’, that is, Distributors’ Total Loss!

RED LIGHT AND SUNLIGHT

B. Subhash was spotted with prostitutes earlier this week. Along with him were Deepti Bhatnagar, Anant Jog and cameraman Ishwar Bidri. They were shooting in the red light area of Bombay for Dulhan Banoo Main Teri and were all praise for the co-operation from the sex workers who used to sometimes voluntarily hold the umbrellas over the heads of the cast and crew members to protect them from the scorching heat and the sunlight.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Cinemas of the Rathi group alone in C.P. Berar have given the distributors of RAJA HINDUSTANI a share of over 50 lakh. This whopping share has come from the following cinemas: Smruti, Jayshree and Rajvilas of Nagpur; Shyam, Yavatmal; Vasant, Akola; Prabhat, Amravati.

* RAJA HINDUSTANI is the tenth film in the last 12 years to complete 100 days at Jayshree, Nagpur. The earlier films to have achieved this distinction were: SHIVA KA INSAAF (in 1985), RAM TERI GANGA MAILI (1986-87), TEZAAB (1988), CHANDNI (1989), SANAM BEWAFA (1990), SAAJAN (1991), BETA (1992), KARAN ARJUN (1995) and AGNI SAKSHI (1996). Besides Jayshree, Nagpur, RAJA HINDUSTANI has also completed 100 days at the following other cinemas of the Rathi group: Prabhat, Amravati and Vasant, Akola.

HOLI TITLES

It’s Holi time, folks. And what better than Holi to award titles to the industry people. Of course, there’s no malice meant. The titles are to be taken in the spirit in which they’ve been written — for the fun of it! So here goes:

Dharmesh Darshan and Suneel Darshan: Lahoo Ke Do Rang.

Mukul Anand: Dus……. Uske baad bas!

Tabu & Sajid Nadiadwala: Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.

Pooja Bhatt: Tax exemption ki tamanna thi, ab audience ki tamanna hai.

Plus Films: Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin.

Manish Malhotra (Dress designer): Aey Button Tere Liye.

Maharashtra Government: Sabse Bada Shaitaan.

Milind Gunaji: Duplicate/Yeh meri aankhen jhuki jhuki (naturally, after the poor performance in good roles).

Akshay Kumar & Raveena Tandon: Prem Deewane.

Zakir Hussain: Wah Saaz!

Sangeeta Bijlani: Jal Bin Machhli Azhar Bin Bijli.

Shilpa Shetty: Tan Badan.

R. Mohan: Mira (Nair) Ka Mohan.

Anuradha Paudwal: Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan.

Mamta Kulkarni: Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai.

Arvind Trivedi: Aaya Raavan Jhoom Ke.

Rahul Roy: Jaayen To Jaayen Kahan.

Priya Gill & Avtar Gill: Gill Hi Toh Hai.

You Name It, The Super-Computer Does It!

You’ve shot a chase sequence for your film in the night because the busy artistes could give their dates only at night, but you want that the sequence should look as if it were a chase scene in the day. Or you’ve taken a shot, with busy stars, against the backdrop of a wall which shows a picture hanging on the wall, but you realise thereafter that the photo-frame should have had a garland of fresh roses. No problem! You don’t have to reshoot the sequence or the shot all over again. Corrections of this kind and many more can now be made through computer graphics. Although graphics are costly, the expense is nothing compared to what you would have to spend if you had to shoot the scenes all over again.

One such computer graphics studio specialising in the field is Ramesh Agarwal’s Rajtaru Videosonic. Named after his twin sons, Rajeev and Tarun, it is these two sons themselves who’re doing the graphics at the studio which is, to put it modestly, in good demand.

Ramesh Agarwal has recently imported two super-computers, one of which is of infinite reality and the other is of reality engine 2, which give his studio an edge over all the others in the same business. The super-computers are of Silicon Graphics and the one with infinite reality is compatible for using the Inferno programme which makes it possible to match perfectly the special effects created by the Inferno programme on negative with the quality of the original negative. “Usually,” explains Ramesh Agarwal, “when computer graphics are used in the film, the viewer experiences a jerk in the picture. This is because of the difference in the resolutions of the output from the computer and that of the film negative. But the Inferno programme and the infinite reality make it possible to avoid the jerks because of the compatibility.”

Further, the super-computer can take care of unlimited layers, which, in practical terms, means, as many as 90 special effects can be mixed together.

Rajtaru Videosonic did the special effects in ABCL’s Tere Mere Sapne (showing the galaxy of stars with Amitabh Bachchan’s commentary). They’ve also done some amazing work for the to-be-released Mahaanta and Dhaal. In the last-named film, the Black Label whisky bottle in a song sequence has been replaced by a Bagpiper whisky bottle. “The producers got Bagpiper to sponsor the song and so, instead of reshooting the already picturised number, they did the next best thing — asked for the actual bottle to be replaced by the sponsor’s own brand.” Of course, to the viewer in the cinema, it would never dawn that the Bagpiper bottle was on the screen because of the super-computer!

“In the same way,” winks Rajesh, “we can make the famous Mona Lisa painting wink at you and say ‘Hi, sweetheart’.” With the flick of the computer mouse, he indeed has Mona Lisa winking at us……

Maybe, Viju Shah can set to tune another song which goes thus: Aankh maare O Mona Lisa aankh maare…..

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Blame It On The Industry

Bombay distributor Ramesh Sippy blames the poor box-office collections (generally speaking) in Bombay city and suburbs these days, not so much on the enhanced entertainment tax but on the industry’s thoughtlessness in hiking admission rates so indiscriminately. According to him, when the Maharashtra government doubled the tax, the industry should not have increased admission rates because they were already too high. Instead, rentals of cinemas should have been brought down, he feels. Says Sippy, “All limits have been crossed with the current high rates of admission. If this continues for a long time, a doom is inevitable.” While condemning the exorbitant rates, Ramesh Sippy also says that the low box-office collections are, in a way, good. “Because now producers and distributors will at least realise that the high prices of films are unrealistic. Maybe, prices then will come down soon.”

Sound Revolution

There should be quite a sound revolution and explosion on the Hindi film screens in the coming days. For, film after film is being mixed in DTS sound. There are Ziddi, Koyla, Mrityudaata, Border, Daud and Gupt already due for release in April, May and June, with DTS sound.

In Telugu Too

After Karan Arjun, Rakesh Roshan also has plans to dub his new film, Koyla, in Telugu. With this aim in mind, he has asked the Andhra distributor of Koyla to relinquish his rights in the film. For, Rakesh Roshan will now not release the Hindi version anywhere in Andhra.

Punctual Hoon, Late Nahin

Shatrughan Sinha reporting on time for shooting! Did you say, “impossible”? Well, the impossible happened. And not just for one day but for four days consecutively. Mohanji Prasad, for whose film, Deewana Hoon Paagal Nahin, Shatru reported on time recently, would like to think that it is because of the keen interest the Bihari babu is taking in his film, thanks, among other things, to the hit ‘O bhabhi’ song in it.

Even God Doesn’t Know

To end this week’s column with a joke:

A producer, a share market broker and a businessman, all passing through bad times, decided to seek God’s intervention to help them. First, the businessman asked God, “When will my business flourish again?” Replied the Almighty, “After three months.” Then came the turn of the share broker. “When will the share bazaar look up?”, he queried. “It will take six months for the bazaar to pick up,” was God’s answer. The producer, a trifle nervous, asked, “Oh God, tell me, will my new film be a success?” The Almighty thought for a while, then said, “Even I can’t predict that. I can only tell you on the Friday on which your film will be released, after the first show gets over!”

JEEO SHAAN SE

Prathima Distributors Pvt. Ltd.’s Jeeo Shaan Se (A) is neither here nor there. It doesn’t succeed in turning out to be either an entertainer or a proper love story or a crime film or even a revenge drama. The story is about three friends, two of whom are flirtatious by nature and the third is a simpleton. One of the two flirtatious guys always craves to have sex with a new girl! The intention, obviously, is to titillate the viewers. The other flirt has a father who has two look-alike brothers. Of the threesome, one (the father) is a businessman, the other is a professor and the third is a police inspector. An attempt is made to juxtapose the two tracks — of the three friends and of the three look-alikes — but without much success. Even the comedy turns out to be childish and of the kind which would only appeal to some front-benchers. At times, the comedy gets too irritating to be true. Like the story, the screenplay leaves plenty to be desired.

Dharmendra does an average job in a triple role. Ayub Khan, Jay Mehta and Vikas Bhalla are fair as the three friends. Monica Bedi, Saaxshi Shivanand and Rubina Khan give average performances as the sweethearts of the three friends. Mukesh Rishi is alright as the villain. Navneet Nishan has some light scenes which she carries off well. Sheeba dances sexily. Reena Roy, Neena Gupta, Bharat Kapoor, Harpal Singh and the rest fill the bill.

Direction is as poor as the script. Music is reasonably good. ‘Thoda thoda pyar’ and ‘Na khol tu pat ghoonghat ke’ are quite nice numbers. Song picturisations are fair. Action could have been better. Climax is predictable. Dialogues are ordinary. Photography and other technical and production values are alright.

On the whole, Jeeo Shaan Se is a poor show.

Released on 14-3-’97 at Naaz and 17 other cinemas of Bombay thru Dilsa Distributors Combine. Publicity: fair. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over.

LATEST POSITION

The examination period is taking its toll on the box-office, generally speaking. The additional holiday (Maha Shivratri) last week proved good for the film business.

Salma Pe Dil Aagaya meets with a disastrous fate. It had to be discontinued mid-week from some cinemas. 1st week Bombay 8,72,250 (41.03%) from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,08,282 from 3 cinemas; Solapur (matinee) 5,195; Delhi 8,44,134 (36.55%) from 6 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 80,302 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 40,004, Agra 65,317, Varanasi 33,766; Amritsar 48,000; Nagpur 66,616 from 2 cinemas (1 for 4 days); Bhopal 64,298 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,80,780 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 9,72,594 from 8 cinemas (2 in noon).

Tamanna finds very limited patronage despite tax exemption in some states. 1st week Bombay 2,99,361 (66.31%) from 3 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Ahmedabad (TF) 94,989, Baroda (TF) 77,646; Delhi 6,15 372 (58%) from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 70,060, Varanasi 49,763; Calcutta 2,42,535; Jabalpur (TF, 6 days) 31,172, Bhilai (TF, 6 days) 29,876; Indore (TF) 67,032.

………

Judaai, as predicted, has found acceptance after the initial resistance. It has picked up in several circuits like Gujarat (excellent), C.P. Berar, C.I. and Nizam and is steady in other circuits. 2nd week Bombay 15,19,703 (78.26%) from 6 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,09,192 from 4 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,53,195 (100%), Rajkot 1,42,165 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 1,09,532 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 3,24,035 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,05,223; Belgaum 1,56,784, Dharwad 47,256; Delhi 22,42,494 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 1,75,515, Lucknow 1,33,816, Agra 1,20,055 (1st 1,40,177), Allahabad 78,554 (1st 92,244), Varanasi 1,02,112 (1st 1,01,411), Meerut 1,06,231, Dehradun 79,798, Gorakhpur 97,544 (1st 1,01,677); Calcutta 13,20,020 from 13 cinemas; Nagpur 1,82,776 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 80,891, total 1,67,415, 1st Amravati 1,11,370, 2nd Akola 1,11,912 (1st 1,18,400), 1st week Dhule 89,263, 2nd Raipur 1,07,921 (1st 1,01,994), Bhilai 83,017; Indore 1,39,372 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,91,599 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,67,159 from 2 cinemas, Jodhpur 1,70,694 (1st 1,75,000); Hyderabad 5,33,626 from 3 cinemas.

Auzaar proves average in some circuits and losing in others. 2nd week Bombay 10,84,304 (67.80%) from 7 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,50,529 from 4 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Baroda 1,06,172, Rajkot (matinee) 18,509, Jamnagar (matinee) 8,623 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 2,45,196 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), 1st Solapur (14 shows) 82,203, Satara 56,525 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 2nd Delhi 7,94,481 from 6 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Kanpur 90,404, Lucknow 1,57,827, Agra 61,540, Allahabad 54,550, Varanasi 77,971, Meerut 1,02,633, Dehradun 48,000, Gorakhpur 55,000; Calcutta 1,70,047; Jabalpur 55,820, total 1,65,615, 1st week Amravati 97,457, 2nd Akola (26 shows) 36,529 (1st 65,555), Raipur 61,736, 1st Bhilai 83,637, 2nd Jalgaon (last) 45,230 (1st 1,16,203), Yavatmal 16,187 (1st 46,472), Bilaspur 50,019; Bhopal 1,12,755 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,83,771; Hyderabad 6,62,589 from 3 cinemas.

Hero No. 1 is going strong at several centres. 3rd week Bombay 18,35,328 (80.31%) from 8 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,97,539 from 3 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Baroda 1,52,808 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 1,20,703, Jamnagar (matinee) 9,863; Pune 4,68,286 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 40,771, Satara (last) 23,809 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 1st week Nipani 1,57,984; 3rd Delhi 19,70,053 from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,55,943 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,42,719, Agra 1,28,432, Allahabad 62,000, 2nd week Dehradun 1,26,795, 3rd Gorakhpur 57,000; Calcutta 4,32,637 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 1,85,985 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,06,150, total 4,19,978, Akola 70,787 (2nd 81,072), total 2,71,614, Raipur 1,07,021, theatre record, Bhilai 55,170, 2nd Yavatmal 29,450 (1st 55,324); 3rd Indore 3,02,200 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal 1,89,185 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,84,471 from 2 cinemas, Bikaner 75,279; Hyderabad 6,41,101 from 4 cinemas, share 2,96,101.

……

MAHARASHTRA CABINET TO TAKE UP ENT. TAX ISSUE

The issue of entertainment tax in Maharashtra is likely to be finally taken up in the cabinet meeting on 18th March. The industry is waiting with bated breath, expecting some relief, at least. The rate of entertainment tax, it may be recalled, was doubled to 100% from January 1, 1997.

I-T RAIDS YIELD RS. 16 CRORE

Documents recovered from the raids on film personalities by the income-tax department in December ’96 have indicated the possession of concealed income totally worth about Rs. 16 crore. Field officers of the department are conducting further investigations.

KANNADA FILM PRODUCER MURDERED

Unidentified assailants kidnapped noted Kannada film producer Chidambara Shetty (45) and beat him to death on the night of 13th March.

According to his wife, Usha, who had filed a complaint of kidnapping with the K.G. Nagar Police in Bangalore, five persons had come to their house around 4 p.m. on Thursday. They held discussions with the film producer regarding the loans he had taken from them for producing Kannada films earlier, and demanded repayment.

Usha complained to the police after she suspected foul play in the whole episode.

Shetty was asked to accompany them in a van to their office. His body was found inside the NIMHANS compound on the Siddapur Road junction on Friday morning. His body bore multiple assault injuries with a blunt weapon.

CINEMATOGRAPHER BURIED ALIVE

Bangalore-based cinematographer Vijay Kumar was buried alive during a shooting stint when a mound of mud caved in at Samod town near Jaipur, the police said on 14th March. The incident took place when Vijay Kumar was shooting for a scene for Shimadhamari from atop a mud hill on 13th. The film’s unit and other people tried their best to save him but he succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.

ALKA YAGNIK STARTS RECORDING STUDIO

Alka Yagnik launched her own recording and dubbing studio, A.B. Sounds, in partnership with her brother, Samir Yajnik, on 23rd February. This was done in memory of her late father, D.S. Yajnik, and was inaugurated by her mother, Shubha Yajnik.

The opening was attended by a large number of personalities from the music world, like Khayyam, Kalyanji, Anandji, Laxmikant, Pyarelal, Usha Khanna, Rajesh Roshan, Bappi Lahiri, Raamlaxman, Anand, Milind, Jatin, Lalit, Dilip Sen, Sameer Sen, Nadeem, Shravan, Anu Malik, Ajit Verman, Aadesh Srivastava, Uttam Singh, Javed Akhtar, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Kavita Krishnamoorthy, Sapna Mukherji, Suresh Wadkar, Mohd. Aziz, Shailendra Singh, Ila Arun, Ramesh Taurani, Amit Khanna, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Tabassum and others.

Recording will commence with the blessings of Khayyam who will be recording the song of his home production serial, on Alka’s birthday, March 20. It will be rendered by Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik (the birthday girl).

The technical engineer and designer of the studio is veteran sound recordist Daman Sood, and the recordist is Shashi Kumar (of Bombay Lab).

The studio, A.B. Sounds, is located at 61, Row House, RSC-II, Park Street, Bungalow Owners’ Association, Lokhandwala, Andheri, Bombay. Phone: 6320385, 98210-44692.

YOU ASKED IT

Which is the best period to release a film?

– That during which your stars are favourable. Because, if your stars aren’t favourable, even the smallest of oppositions can prove to be disastrous for the film. And if your stars are favourable, the biggest of oppositions may not affect your film!

What is the industry’s reaction to the three recent murders of people connected with the film trade?

– While the industry is sorry about the murders, it can do precious little except sympathise with the kith and kin of the deceased.

Don’t you think, ABCL is rushing with the release of Mrityudaata, considering that even its music has not been released as yet?

– The producer knows the best when to get his film. Maybe, ABCL feels, a month-and-a-half is sufficient for the music to grow. The audio cassettes are being released today (15th March), and the film is scheduled for release on 25th April.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai’ Stint Complete

Director Deepak Sareen completed a 10-day shooting schedule of Tips Films (P.) Ltd.’s Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai this week at Mehboob Studios on a set and on Bombay locales. Salman Khan, Twinkle Khanna, Anupam Kher, Mushtaq Khan and Johny Lever participated. The film has music by Jatin Lalit, lyrics by Anand Bakshi, cinematography by Manmohan Singh, story by Honey Irani, dialogues by Javed Siddique and art direction by Sharmishtha Roy.

Paresh Rawal In ‘Loha’

Producer-director-writer Kanti Shah has signed Paresh Rawal to play a key role in Jockey Films’ Loha. It stars Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Divya Jaiswal, Mohan Joshi, Deepak Shirke, Shakti Kapoor, Shashikala, Sujata Mehta and Rami Reddy, with Govinda and Manisha Koirala in guest appearances.

‘Kachche Dhaage’

A further 9-day shooting stint of Tips Films (P.) Ltd.’s Kachche Dhaage began from March 14 at R.K. Studios on a set erected by Bijon Dasgupta. Choreographer Saroj Khan and director Bunty Luthria are picturising a song on Saif Ali Khan, Namrata Shirodkar and dancers. The film also stars Ajay Devgan, Govind Namdeo and Om Puri. Another heroine is yet to be finalised. It is based on a story and screenplay by Anjum Rajab Ali. Music: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi.

ANNOUNCEMENT & LAUNCHING

Govind Nihalani Launches ‘Takshak’

Udbhav’s Takshak was launched on March 10 at Natraj Studios. The muhurt began with a musical rendition, specially composed by the film’s music director, A.R. Rahman, for the occasion. Thereafter, the dramatic muhurt shot was picturised on Ajay Devgan, Tabu, Amrish Puri and Rahul Bose. It underlined the film’s theme in a subtle manner. The set for the muhurt was erected by art director Nitin Desai. An image of sun radiating raw energy, cast in fibre glass, hung over the decorated stage.

The muhurt was followed by a press conference addressed jointly by Govind Nihalani, Amrish Puri, Tabu and Govind Namdeo. The film also stars Om Puri and Manoj Bajpai. A new girl will be finalised shortly. It is being written, produced, directed and cinematographed by Govind Nihalani. Dialogues by Kamlesh Pandey, and poems by Surya Bhanu Gupt are the other major credits.

The muhurt was very well-attended.

MUSIC INFORMATION

Venus Releases ‘Border’ Music In Style

Union defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was appropriately chosen as the chief guest at the function to release the audio cassettes of J.P. Dutta’s Border on March 8 at Hotel Sun N Sand. It was also not out of place to honour two war heroes, on the occasion. Brigadier K.S. Chandpuri and Air Marshall Bawa were felicitated, which created the mood for the release of the music of a film about war heroes and about the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The stage and lighting for the cassette release function were handled by Wizcraft.

The music of Border has been scored by Anu Malik and its lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar. The film is presented by Bharat Shah. The music is being marketed by Venus.

DO YOU KNOW?

* KOYLA has been booked at Metro, Ujjain, on fantastic terms.

* Although Aditya Chowksey (Prachi Films, Indore) is not the distributor of JUDAAI in C.I., he distributed handbills of the film (printed in his own mini press) among the public in Indore in order to publicise the film. Aditya says, he did this because he is “very fond of Boney uncle”.

* JUDAAI has surpassed in 2nd week the collections of 1st week at the following centres of Gujarat: Anupam, Ahmedabad by collecting 1,82,029/- (1st week was 1,58,968/-); Natraj, Ahmedabad 1,55,522/- (1st week was 1,55,255); Amber, Ahmedabad 1,63,016/- (1st week 1,49,920/-); Rajshri, Gandhinagar 3,32,546/- (1st week 3,05,668/-); Dreamland, Valsad 1,59,319/- (1st week 1,56,195/-).

Dream Merchant

The Industry’s Voluntary Disclosure Scheme

I must’ve had too much of the Union Budget in general and the proposed Voluntary Disclosure Scheme in particular. For, I dreamt of a Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) with a difference.

I dreamt that a special Voluntary Disclosure Scheme had been announced for the film industry only, that too, for just one day. Under this Scheme, industry people had the liberty to disclose one major secret which they may have kept closely guarded all these years. Nobody would point an accusing finger at them, no questions would be asked, and their confessions or disclosures would not be used against the declarants. The voluntary disclosures had to be made at Film City where a huge set had been erected for the purpose by art director Nitin Desai.

The first to arrive at the VDS venue was Saawan Kumar Tak. He disclosed that he would henceforth never disclose that his dil kis pe aagaya. Tolu Bajaj was touched by his disclosure and I could see tears in Tolu’s eyes. In that tearful state itself, Tolu Bajaj took the mike and announced his disclosure, “From now on, I’ll never buy any film for three territories simultaneously except if it is directed by Indra Kumar. I’ve burnt my fingers badly in Trimurti and Salma Pe Dil Aagaya, both of which I released in Bombay, Delhi-U.P. and Nizam.

Mamta Kulkarni had come to Film City on crutches due to her fractured leg. It was quite a sight because it was for the first time that people were seeing her leg covered, even if it was just a plaster cover. Flashing her cute smile, Mamta spoke uninhibitedly, “I’ve come to say that the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme does not excite me. I would have appreciated if a Voluntary Exposure Scheme had been introduced.” The front-benchers cheered Mamta for her bold revelation!

Anu Malik apologised for coming late and said, he was held up at a copying session — sorry, recording session. His disclosure was quite revealing. He said, he had flicked the tunes of 14 songs of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, 27 of A.R. Rahman, and a record 169 of Shankar Jaikishen. When asked to further declare about tunes of other music directors, Anu swore, he didn’t remember the figures!

Amitabh Bachchan was pretty upset when he took the mike. “Haan, mujhe voluntary disclosure karna tha,” he thundered in a style that’s typical of him in a filmi climax, “lekin dus saal pehle — jab main karodon kamaata tha. Aaj, jab meri ABCL mein nuksaan hee nuksaan hai, main kya disclose karoon, haaeen? Kya main yeh disclose karoon ki ABCL ne 1995 aur 1996 mein kitna ghata kiya hai ya main yeh disclose karoon ki ABCL ki liabilities kis tarha badh rahi hai?” Amitabh would have gone on, so emotionally charged was he, but Mehul Kumar (who was seated among the audience) shouted “Cut, cut”.

Fardeen Khan, the debonair son of Feroz Khan, came jazzily dressed and was driving his car at breakneck speed. As he was getting off the car, I asked him why he was in such a tearing hurry. He replied equally hurriedly, “The discos are heading for closure, so I want to dance to my heart’s content.” I laughed and told him, it wasn’t a disco closure but rather a Disclosure Scheme. He looked sheepishly at me and fled from there.

After Fardeen, came Farheen. She refused to open her mouth and simply raised two fingers of her right hand. Did she want to declare Rs. 2 lakh income? “No,” she said, shaking hear head. Was it 2 crore? No again. Then was it do Arab? “Yes, yes,” she exclaimed, “I’ve got to voluntarily disclose do Arab — one is in my cupboard, and the other, under my bed.” I saw a number of people going red in the face. And a few young heroines getting green with envy!

Govinda disclosed that it was not always his ill-health that prompted him to cancel shootings. He said, he was fond of feigning illness and that his producers should, therefore, stop worrying about his high and low blood pressure.

Sridevi came with her new-born daughter in her arms. She said, she loved the film industry too much to agree to a judaai from it. So, she had decided to henceforth accept mother’s role, provided, of course, Anil Kapoor would play the father.

Madhuri Dixit put all speculation about whether she was still No. 1 to rest. She voluntarily disclosed that she was no longer the No. 1. When asked to name the new No. 1, Madhuri smiled, “I can’t disclose her name — voluntarily or involuntarily.”

Akshay Kumar and Raveena Tandon came hand-in-hand to make their declaration. Akshay spoke first, “We aren’t married,” he declared. Raveena was more honest when she said, “I want to voluntarily declare today that Akshay and I are very fond of talking lies.”

The last to arrive was Mahesh Bhatt. As is his style, he spoke philosophically of everything but the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme. He lamented that his Dastak and Tamanna, too, had bombed like several of his earlier films. “I think,” he spoke slowly, “it’s time for me to quit. This is my Voluntary Closure Scheme. Yes, I’d like to close shop…”

– Komal Nahta

SALMA PE DIL AAGAYA

Saawan Kumar Productions’ Salma Pe Dil Aagaya is a Muslim love story. The son and the daughter of two sworn enemies (Sardars) meet in a common friend’s marriage, fall in love and decide to unite in matrimony. But the fathers are against the wedlock. The boy prevails upon his father to forget the dreadful past and bury the enmity by agreeing to his marriage with the daughter of his enemy. Even though the father relents, the girl’s father would hear nothing of it. Sensing danger, the two lovers run away from their homes. It finally falls upon a noble man, who believes in brotherhood and love, to convince the two fathers to accept the alliance.

The film has no novelty either in story or screenplay. While the first half is somewhat entertaining, if only because of three well-tuned songs and eye-catching picturisations (but they come too close in succession), the same cannot be said of the post-interval portion. In fact, the last three or four reels of the film have little relevance or significance because the two fathers have by then agreed to the marriage. The drama thereafter stretches only for an outsider (head of the Sardars) whose importance in the entire scheme of things is never really established. Further, the two fathers have been shown as giving in too easily to be true. One more drawback of the film is that in spite of it being a romantic tale, the audience’s heart doesn’t go out to the two lovers. What the story also lacks is the heroism of the hero who, rather than confronting his enemies, hides from them, alongwith his beloved.

Ayub Khan does fairly well. Saadhika is also quite good. Milind Gunaji’s performance lacks fire. What was required of the character was a dashing performance. Kiran Kumar is very effective as Saadhika’s father. Shashikala also acts ably and brings tears to the eyes in an emotional scene with Kiran Kumar. Mohan Joshi is quite impressive. Mukesh Khanna is fair. Pran is okay but his slow dialogue delivery gets irritating at times. Tiku Talsania, Shiva and the others pass muster.

Direction needed to be more sensitive, considering that the film is a teenage love story. Aadesh Srivastava’s music, as mentioned earlier, is very good. The title song, ‘Dholki bajaao’, ‘Phool main bhejoon’ and ‘Mere paanvon mein mehndi lagee hai’ are all very well-tuned. Song picturisations are very lively and colourful. Action is functional. Dialogues are good at places. Camerawork is quite nice. Background music leaves something to be desired. Editing should have been crisper.

On the whole, Salma Pe Dil Aagaya has not take an encouraging start and does not have the entertainment value to score at the box-office except, perhaps, in some Muslim centres.

Released on 7-3-’97 at Alankar and 13 other cinemas of Bombay by Tiks Movies thru Metro Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over except in West Bengal. Opening was unsatisfactory almost everywhere.

TAMANNA

Pooja Bhatt Productions’ Tamanna (A) is an unusual story (inspired from a real-life story) about a eunuch (hijra) who brings up an abandoned girl-child right from the day she is born. The eunuch dotes on the child and gives her the best upbringing even at the cost of himself forgoing the necessities of life. After 18 years, the girl is shocked to learn that her guardian is a eunuch. She sets out to track down her parents and, in this, she is helped by the eunuch, an old friend of the eunuch, and her own childhood friend. Once she reaches her parents, she is further shocked to learn that it was her father who had discarded her because he did not want a girl-child. She then begins to expose her father and his criminal deed till he is arrested.

The story is morose and depressing. Screenplay too provides little by way of entertainment. The treatment of the subject is of the kind which would appeal to a section of the elite audience because there’s no relief, no light moments and no entertainment value. Dialogues are good at places.

Paresh Rawal may have imitated beautifully the real-life eunuch from whose story the film has been inspired, but, for the audience (who haven’t met the real-life eunuch), his performance sometimes looks too good but at other times, it looks as if he were enacting the role of a mentally deranged person (as in Raja). Pooja Bhatt performs with feeling and conviction. Sharad Kapoor has hardly any role. Manoj Bajpai is natural. Akshay Anand does quite well. Kamal Chopra leaves a mark. Nadira, Abha Ranjan, Sulbha Deshpande, Chandu Parkhi and the rest of the cast lend adequate support.

Direction has the typical Mahesh Bhatt stamp — the swing towards authenticity and the overlooking of the commercial and entertainment values. Music is good. ‘Yeh kya hua’ is a good number. Camerawork is quite nice.

On the whole, Tamanna is too dry a subject to be lapped up by the masses or families. Despite the tax-free label in several states, it remains a film for select cinemas in select major cities only. Business in Bombay and South is expected to be good.

Released on 7-3-’97 at Metro (matinee) and 4 other cinemas of Bombay thru Madhuraj Movies. Publicity: very good. Opening: fair. …….Also released in Delhi-U.P., Bengal, C.P. Berar and C.I.

LATEST POSITION

Examinations have adversely affected collections all over.

Judaai has maintained at mediocre collections at most of the places. Is good in Gujarat, Bihar, C.P. Berar and Nizam but poor in West Bengal and C.I. 1st week Bombay 18,76,861 (75.03%) from 8 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,27,982 from 5 cinemas, Baroda 1,44,788, Padra 1,32,947, Rajkot 96,500, Jamnagar 1,12,542 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 5,32,020 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,07,040, Solapur 1,28,191; Hubli 1,47,766 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon), Belgaum 1,63,347 (100%), Dharwad 69,692; Delhi 26,19,785 (76.99%) from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 2,02,261, Lucknow 1,55,426, Agra 1,42,500, Allahabad 92,250, Varanasi 1,01,411, Gorakhpur 1,05,000 (62.11%); Calcutta 21,65,842 from 22 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Nagpur 1,98,937 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 86,523, Raipur 1,01,994; Indore 1,34,965 (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,34,570 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 5,62,378 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 11,42,405 from 6 cinemas, share 5,58,889.

Auzaar dropped badly from mid-week. 1st week Bombay 26,02,295 (74.52%) from 12 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,37,015 from 5 cinemas (2 unrecd.), Baroda 1,42,140, Rajkot 1,04,456 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar (matinee) 15,050 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 5,58,637 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 1,15,263 (100%), Belgaum (noon) 41,748 (100%, 1 in regular unrecd.), Dharwad 78,946; Delhi (6 days) 20,76,480 (74.57%) from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H., 1 unrecd.); Kanpur 2,98,264 from 2 cinemas, Agra 1,45,520, Allahabad 1,06,600, Varanasi 1,47,183, Meerut 1,60,680, Bareilly 1,19,554 (67.78%), Gorakhpur 1,10,000 (60.10%); Calcutta 17,82,180 from 20 cinemas; Nagpur 3,85,309 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,09,794, Raipur 1,04,167, Jalgaon 1,16,203; Bhopal 1,08,358 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 5,29,337 from 3 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,08,174, Bikaner 1,90,000; Hyderabad 29,90,650 from 16 cinemas, share 14,22,000.

…….

DILIP KUMAR IN JODHPUR

Dilip Kumar was in Jodhpur on 7th March to attend a retrospective of his films organised by the Film Society of Jodhpur at Girdhar Mandir cinema from March 7 to 13. The thespian was felicitated. MP Ashok Gehlot and MLA Rajendra Gehlot were present on the dais at the felicitation function. Film Society secretary Mohan Swaroop Maheshwari compered the function.

Dilip Kumar was introduced to the gathering by famous Urdu poet Shin-Kaf-Nizam. A music programme was presented, and Dilip Kumar was especially impressed by the khadtal played by the Mangariars of Jaisalmer. Prof. Rajendra Vaishnav rendered Shiv Stuti as 7th March was Shivratri day. Manmohan Dayal, founder member of the Film Society, spoke on the occasion. The thespian wore a Jodhpuri headgear.

In his address, Dilip Kumar thanked the people of Jodhpur for the honour. Talking about films today, Dilip Kumar said that the reason for their bad quality was the lack of good writers. He also criticised the present entertainment tax structure and fondly recalled that the tax rate during the British Raj was 12.5% only. He lamented that because of the high entertainment tax rates today (which, in some states, was 150%!), the government was filling its coffers but the industry was getting negligible returns. Ashok Gehlot proposed a vote of thanks.

The retrospective started with Dilip Kumar’s Shakti. Rajasthan distributor Rakesh Sabharwal arranged for prints of several Dilip Kumar starrers to be screened in the retrospective.

MUKESH DUGGAL SHOT DEAD

Producer Mukesh Duggal was shot dead by two unknown persons outside his office in Bombay on the night of 7th March. He was in his forties. Underworld don Chhota Shakeel has owned responsibility for the killing. “I got Duggal gunned down for sheltering Nana’s (Chhota Rajan’s) men,” the Dubai-based underworld don and close aide of Dawood Ibrahim said after the murder.

According to the police, the two assailants fired 13 rounds at him around 10.40 p.m. while he was getting into his car. Mukesh Duggal was to leave for Hyderabad in a day or two for the shooting of his Ek Duje Ke Liye.

Duggal was rushed to Cooper Hospital where he was declared dead before admission. He was on the hit-list of Chhota Shakeel for the past several months as he allegedly harboured and financed members of Chhota Rajan’s gang.

Mukesh Dugga had produced Dil Ka Kya Kasoor, Fateh, Platform, Saathi, Milan, Gopi-Kishen, Khilona and Andaz Tera Mastana (unreleased).

BABY GIRL FOR SRIDEVI

Sridevi delivered a baby girl on 6th March at Breach Candy Hospital in Bombay. This is the first child of producer Boney Kapoor and Sridevi.

‘JEET’ JUBILEE

Sajid Nadiadwala’s Jeet is celebrating combined silver jubilee this week in Bombay and Rajkot. Directed by Raj Kanwar, the film stars Sunny Deol, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Amrish Puri, Alok Nath, Dalip Tahhil, Mohan Joshi, Deepak Shirke, Johny Lever, Ashish Vidyarthi, Arun Khedwar, and Tabu in a special appearance. Music: Nadeem Shravan.

SURENDRA PAL HOSPITALISED

Actor Surendra Pal was injured while enacting a stunt scene for the TV serial Akhir Kyon. He was rushed to Nanavati Hospital and has been advised rest. He will resume shooting after some days.

VINOD RATHOD’S HOUSE-WARMING FUNCTION

Playback singer Vinod Rathod organised a jagran and pooja at his new bungalow, ‘Shivam’, at Kandivli, Bombay, on Maha Shivratri day (March 7). Narendra Chanchal rendered bhajans.

GUDDI MARUTI’S BROTHER SHOT DEAD

Actress Guddi Maruti’s brother, Dara, was shot dead by four unidentified persons in his house at Khar, Bombay, on 4th March. The assailants entered his house around 9.45 a.m., went to the kitchen and pumped 12 bullets into him. Dara was rushed to Bhabha Hospital but was declared dead before admission.

The police has not made any arrests so far.

BHOOSHAN JEEVAN CRITICAL

Actor Bhooshan Jeevan, son of late Jeevan and brother of Kiran Kumar, is critically ill at Hinduja Hospital. His kidneys have failed, and the actor also suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this week.

U.A. THADANI FINE

Bombay exhibitor and distributor U.A. Thadani was discharged from hospital on 5th March. He is fine now and will resume office from 10th March.

SIGNED

S. Raamanathan Signs Karisma Kapoor

Producer-director S. Raamanathan has signed Karisma Kapoor to play the leading lady in Raam Raj Kalamandir’s Prod. No. 9, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vijayashanti, Arshad Warsi, Tinnu Anand and Shivaji Satam. The film has music by Viju Shah. Story: Om Shree. Screenplay: Prayag Raaj and M.D. Sunder.

MIX MASALA

WHAT’S THE INSIDE STORY?

The story of this week’s release, Tamanna, has been a subject of controversy for months now. There are claims and counter-claims about the origin of the story (is it lifted from a stage play or has it been written by Tanuja Chandra or, as the film’s booklet mentions, jointly by Mahesh Bhatt and Tanuja Chandra?). There is an unusual credit line in the booklet of the other release of this week, Salma Pe Dil Aagaya. While the film’s screenplay is credited to Bhaarat B. Bhalla, there is another credit line which reads: ‘Screenplay Re-Written By Saawan Kumar’. What’s that?

IN & OUT OF BOMBAY

Producer Rahul Gupta and director Shashilal Nair left for the USA on 7th March to scout locations and to finalise the special effects personnel for their HUM PANCHI EK DAAL KE. They will be back after three weeks.

Writer-director M.V. Gopal Ram is at Hotel Seaside (620-0293/97) and will return to Madras on 10th March.

Mr. Naraindas Mukhija of Shree Navchitra Distributors Pvt. Ltd., Jaipur, is expected in Bombay (626-0106) on 11th/12th March.

Producer Dinesh Salgia is in Madras and will return next week.

YOU ASKED IT

Please let us know what the ratios of the various circuits and sub-circuits are these days?

– Quite often, there’s no fixed percentage and the ratios of the various circuits vary from film to film. But, generally speaking, Bombay, Delhi-U.P. and the Eastern circuit are 100% each. East Punjab is 30 to 35%, C.P. Berar 40%, C.I. 20%, Rajasthan 20 to 25%, Nizam 25%, Mysore 10%, Andhra 7.5%, Tamilnad 7.5%, Audio 50 to 150%, Overseas 60 to 125%, India Video 10 to 15%. In Bombay, Gujarat is roughly 35 to 40%, Saurashtra 20%, Thane 25 to 30%, Karnataka 7 to 10%. In the Eastern circuit, West Bengal fetches 25 to 35%, Bihar-Nepal 35 to 50%, Orissa 10 to 15%, and Assam 10 to 12.5%.

What happened to the Maharashtra government’s promise to reduce entertainment tax in the state after 5th March?

– There was no such promise made by the government. The present cabinet meeting in Aurangabad has not taken up the issue of entertainment tax at all. If at all, the issue is likely to be considered in the cabinet meeting on 18th March. By the way, the industry leaders met the Maharashtra revenue minister on 5th.

KAVIRAJ INDEEVAR

The dark night on 28th January, ’97 was further darkened by the failure of electric supply not only in major parts of Bombay, but in many other cities of Maharashtra. A few friends were enjoying the birthday celebration of Shri Ravindra Jain with candles all around, when my wife rang up there to ask if I had received the ‘news’. I asked her, “What news?”; and then she told me that Kaviraj Indeevar-ji had passed away. I immediately tried Indeevar-ji’s telephone numbers, both at Andheri and Bandra, but nobody answered the phone. Finally, I came to know that he had died at the Lilavati Hospital. I rushed there, but there was nobody except the silent body of Indeevar-ji. After contacting a few friends, I was given to understand that the funeral would take place at 10 next morning at the Vile Parle Hindu Crematorium. There was no trace of Indeevar-ji’s mortal remains upto 11 a.m. the following day, and, therefore, I left the place. I was later informed that the funeral took place at around 2.30 p.m. with hardly any close friends from the large film world, attending it. I was also told that the body was claimed by two different persons. I still don’t know if Indeevar-ji’s ashes have been collected and immersed in a holy river and also if the last rites have been duly performed.

Should a great poet, a well-known Hindi film lyricist, who wrote Kya maar sakegi maut usey / Auron ke liye jo jeeta hai, have gone in such a manner? And what to say about such of my friends and colleagues, who know everything of Western culture, including who was seen with whom at which disco, and who was attracting more attention, and who from the pop world is doing what and where, but do not remember the songs written by as great a lyricist as Indeevar. I was really hurt when songs written by others were attributed to Indeevar-ji, in some newspapers.

Shyam Lal Rai ‘Indeevar’, born on 15th August in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, lost his father when he was only 2 years old, and was brought up by his brother-in-law. At 12, he had started writing poems, and at 14, he wrote a patriotic song on ‘Quit India’, which resulted in his detention. Later, he did his M.A. in Hindi from Allahabad University. He had good knowledge of science, psychology and neurology, and was also interested in music. He saw many ups and downs in his life. Though his songs in Malhar became very popular, he had to struggle hard till he was recognised for his hummable songs in Dulha Dulhan.

Indeevar-ji was an ever-smiling man though he was away from his family. He had divorced his first wife, and the second died leaving an estranged son who lives separately. Indeevar-ji never trusted anybody, but would also not like to live alone. He always liked good company because, as he used to say, “Yaar, akele mein darr lagta hai.” Most of the time, Indeevar-ji would act like a totally uneducated person, asking the other persons the meaning or spellings of even simple words. But those who have seen him in action, moving uneasily like a lion in pain, know that during such ‘fits’, he was a brilliant person, possessed with thorough knowledge of English, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit and many other languages; and a large number of subjects. His songs had a touch of romance. He worked with many music directors like Roshan, Shanker Jaikishan, Kalyanji Anandji, Usha Khanna, Rajesh Roshan, Bappi Lahiri, Anu Malik, Timir Basan, S.K. Pal, Shyamal Mitra, Jagjit Singh and Jatini-Lalit. He never spoke ill about others and used to consider Sahir Ludhianvi as a great lyricist. He had high regards for all his colleagues but used to complain that Hindi lyricists were not given their due. Once, he had openly criticised the Urdu lobby for neglecting Hindi poets like Pt. Pradeep-ji. He was indeed very happy when I returned from Delhi after participating in a programme in which Pt. Pradeep-ji was felicitated by I.C.C.R. and the Information & Broadcasting ministry. The Uttar Pradesh governor had informed me last year that Indeevar-ji’s name had been recommended for the U.P. government’s award; but he left before the award could be given to him.

I sincerely wish that the cassette companies bring out special albums of popular songs written by Indeevar-ji. Such albums will do good business for them and, at the same time, satisfy his fans and lovers. I also wish, some close friends would arrange a condolence meeting soon to pay regards to the Kaviraj.

Following are some of the top songs, apart from the latest hits written by Indeevar-ji — Bade armanon se (Malhar – Mukesh, Lata); Jeevan hai Madhuban (Jasoos – Talat); Humne tujhko pyar (Dulha Dulhan – Mukesh, Lata); Kasme vaade pyar wafa (Upkar – Manna Dey); Jis path pe chala (Yaadgaar – Lata); Mujhe naheen poochhani tumse beeti baatein (Anjaan Rahen – Mukesh); Ohe re taal mile (Anokhi Raat – Mukesh); Kaise koy jiye (Badbaan – Hemant, Geeta Dutt); Chhod de saari duniya (Sarawatichandra – Lata); Dil aesa kisine (Amanush – Kishore); Zindagi ka safar (Safar – Kishore); Teri chamakti aankhon (Chhote Babu – Talat, Lata); Koi jab tumhara (Purab Aur Pachhim – Mukesh); Babul pyare (Johny Mera Naam – Lata); Jeevan se bhari (Safar – Kishore); Jo pyar toone (Dulha Dulhan – Mukesh); Madhuban khushboo deta hai (Saajan Bina Suhagan – Yesudas); Nadiya chale chale re dhara (Safar – Manna Dey); Meri pyari bahaniya (Sachcha Jhootha – Kishore); Tumhara pyar chahiye (Manokamna – Bappi Lahiri); Ganga maiya mein jab tak (Suhagan – Lata); Chandan sa badan (Saraswatichandra – Lata, Mukesh); Hothon se chhoo lo tum (Prem Geet – Jagjit Singh); Rambha ho (Armaan – Usha Uthup); Yeh mera dil (Don – Asha); Laila main Laila (Qurbani – Kanchan, Amit Kumar); and some non-film songs like Mil na sakaa mujhko agar pyar tumhara (Mukesh).

Indeevar-ji sometimes used to take help of some friends in developing ideas into songs. I was also lucky to be associated in the making of seven or eight songs; but it was he who used to give the final and finishing touches. He never cheated anybody and was an innocent soul who would not hesitate to confess openly if he considered himself wrong anywhere.

He was recently felicitated in Pune, when he released film producer-industrialist Shammi Chaudhari’s book; and he was to be felicitated in Uttar Pradesh also. On 16th February, ’97, he telephoned me at night and said, ‘Yaar, meri kitaab ka kaam kab karoge? Mere marne ke baad?’; and I laughed and said, “Indeevar-ji, jaldi hi karoonga.” He suffered a severe heart attack the same night, which probably was detected the next day, when family friend Mrs. Pramila Gupta took him to Lilavati Hospital. His long-time secretary, Rima, and some family friends and associates took every possible care. But nobody informed me till I got the news of his death. The only last thing that I could do in his lifetime was to get his Hindi and English letterheads printed. But I feel guilty that I did not take him seriously and could not get his book published.

– Kishan Sharma

In ‘Pardes’ Territory

Shortly after the runaway success of his Ram Lakhan, Subhash Ghai, in an informal chat with the film’s hero, Anil Kapoor, had told him, “Ram Lakhan is now the past. I don’t want to talk about it. Let us now think of our next film instead of basking in the glory of our past achievements.”

If the man did not let success affect his thinking, you can be sure, failure (of Trimurti) couldn’t have shaken his confidence for too long.

And confident he was in Agra where he was shooting the “last major outdoor schedule” of his now almost complete film, Pardes. The unit had shifted to Agra from Hardwar. Actually, it wasn’t Agra where Pardes was being shot. Several kilometres away from Agra, the unit was shooting in the famous mosque of Fatehpur Sikri.

“Thanks to the administration, we’ve been extended so much co-operation to shoot inside,” revealed an enthusiastic Ghai. Alongwith so much co-operation also came so much tension for the unit, because there were crowds of thousands and thousands of star-struck fans who seemed to have forgotten everything else in the world and would reach the location religiously every morning and quit only after pack-up! But there were enough policemen on duty to control the crowds. Amrish Puri would, at regular intervals, make it a point to wave out to the fans, much to their joy. At times, he would also raise his right hand in a gesture of beating them, an action which would make the people literally shout in applause.

Shah Rukh Khan had blood splattered all over his face and clothes, which gave an idea that it was the film’s climax that was being picturised. One had to just guess what was going on because Ghat refused to divulge any part of the film’s story. “Don’t ask me the plot because I’m not going to tell you anything,” he smiled. Then what does one do? “Just enjoy yourself,” he quipped.

The enjoyment came when the songs of Pardes were played for all to hear. The musical genius of Subhash Ghai and Nadeem Shravan was all too obvious in the two songs that one heard. There was Do dil mil rahein hain, magar chupke chupke which had just the violin for music. “No other instrument has been used,” informed Subhash Ghai and explained, “The other sounds you hear are not of instruments, they are effects like the sound of wind etc.” The other song was the climax qawwali which is a potentially hit number.

Besides Nadeem Shravan, Ghai employed the services of Surender Sodhi, Naresh Sharma and Tabun, all music directors in their own right, for all the song recordings.

In Pardes are being introduced two newcomers — model Ritu Chaudhry, who has been rechristened Mahima Chaudhry, plays the heroine, and Apoorva Agnihotri is being introduced as the other hero in the film. Apoorva is the dashing young son of late writer Gyandev Agnihotri. He plays a non-resident Indian and “therefore, I don’t have any song exclusively with Mahima”. Apoorva would not have bagged Pardes had it not been for Mrs. Shatrughan Sinha who is close to both, Ghai and Apoorva. “She suggested that I meet Subhash-ji and when I did, I was selected for the role,” revealed the screen NRI, speaking with an accent. Also making his debut on Hindi screen with Pardes is Akash Singh, son of character actress Asha Singh. Akash is also playing the hero in a South film, besides helping dad O.P. Singh with organising star shows abroad.

Coming back to Pardes, Ghai picturised part of a song at the end of the day. It was a picnic song in which Shah Rukh, Mahima, Apoorva, Alok Nath, Himani Shivpuri, Prachi, Aditya Narayan (Udit Narayan’s son) and master Nagrath (Anil Nagrath’s son) participated.

All through the day’s shooting in the mosque, the artistes had to wear shoes made of cloth, on their own shoes, because the mosque rules don’t permit people to move about in their shoes/chappals. An exasperated Shah Rukh was heard telling Subhash Ghai, “Oh, I’m tired of not being able to shoot in my shoes. Once out of the mosque, I’ll wear shoes all over my body and then shoot!”

The unit did shift out of the mosque, a few kilometres away, just a little before pack-up. But while Ghai and his cast reached the location, the camera van was late to arrive. Tension was mounting as the sun was setting and the light, getting dimmer. Subhash Gahai had lost his cool and could be heard yelling at the top of his voice. The stars kept at a distance from him. Till the camera finally reached….. just in time. A couple of shots were canned on Shah Rukh, Amrish Puri, Mahima and Alok Nath in the green fields dotted with yellow flowers. Did the scenery ring a bell?

Yes, it did. It reminded of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Well, actually there were rumours that the story of Pardes was quite similiar to that of DDLJ. Was it really so? Well, Subhash Ghai was going to say nothing about it. Because that would mean revealing the story and screenplay written by Neeraj Pathak and Javed Siddique. So rather than deny the allegation, Ghai would prefer to simply smile.

But not the ones to give up so easily, we did manage to gather bits of information from cameraman Kabir Lal and Amrish Puri. Should we let you in? No, please. Like Ghai, we’ve also decided not to reveal the story! Suffice it to say, there’s plenty of patriotic flavour and colour in the film. There’s also a whole song in praise of our dear motherland. Are the distributors of Pardes already keeping their fingers crossed for tax exemption? Jai Bharat!

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Unmusical Budget

The Indian music industry is the unhappiest after the Union Budget presented in Parliament on 28th February. For, audio cassettes have been subjected to 8% excise duty. The industry feels, this excise duty will adversely affect its returns. A representation will be made to the government to do away with the proposal of excise. Representatives of top music companies will go to Delhi next week to register their protest.

Holy War

When Dilip Kankaria had sold the audio rights of his Lav Kush to Plus Music, he was a picture of joy and contentment. But today, the agreement for the sale of audio rights is a subject matter of court litigation. Kankaria took Plus Music to court when it refused to pay 50% of the contracted amount even several months after the release of the film’s audio cassettes. In turn, Plus Music has filed a criminal case against Dilip Kankaria, alleging that he had defaulted by not releasing the film and instead, delaying it. In the meantime, it is rumoured that Kankaria is considering reselling the audio rights of Lav Kush to a rival music company. If that happens, Plus’ music repertoire will be minus Lav Kush. In the meantime, the court cases may multiply.

Lab Owners Dancing To Producers’ Tunes?

Some producers have been taking lab owners for a ride these days. And the laboratory owners are more than willing to be fooled, if only because of the cut-throat competition among them. With laboratories vying to get producers to patronise them, their owners don’t mind even lending money to producers for shooting. And extra-smart producers don’t hesitate before changing their laboratories (for the same film) according to their financial needs! The producer of a film, starring the new angry young man, has already changed three laboratories even before the film has gone before the cameras! The three labs in question are Filmcenter, Gemini and Adlabs. Likewise, a young debut-making producer, who is producing two films, is dealing with two laboratories — Filmcenter and Adlabs — for one film.

‘Virasat’: Thrice Lucky

Mushir Riaz are thrilled to bits. Even as the music of their Virasat is faring well in India (it’s a different thing that HMV, for unknown reasons, has not as yet flooded the market with the film’s cassettes so that the supply continues to be short of the demand at some places), the Zee Top 10 countdown show in London has been showing the hit Payalay chunmun chunmun song from the film at no. 1 for the past three weeks! Usually, a song occupies the top place in this programme only once or twice, but Virasat has been thrice lucky! Anu Malik, Javed Akhtar, Kumar Sanu and Chitra should celebrate.

JUDAAI

S.K. Films Enterprises’ Judaai, remake of the Telugu super-hit Shubhlagnam, has an unusual story of a greedy lady who, despite being happily married, sells her husband to another girl for the lure of luxury. The other girl is filthy rich and madly in love with the greedy lady’s husband and initiates the deal (of buying the husband) when she learns of the lady’s greed. At first, the first wife revels in her new riches, but slowly, as the second wife starts taking her place in the day-to-day life of her ex-husband, she realises the blunder she has committed. All hell breaks loose in the lives of the three people when both the wives want the husband exclusively. The first wife repents; the second wife refuses to relent. Finally, the tension is resolved in a tear-jerking and moving climax.

The film’s first half is light and full of fun. The drawback is that except for the wife’s comedy track, all the other comedy tracks (yes, there are several comedy angles) are completely unrelated with the main story. Further, there is an overdose of comedy and hardly any seriousness. The film takes a serious turn a little before interval. The initial part of the second half is once again very comic but slowly, the drama becomes tense and, to an extent, even emotional. Overall, it is the second half of the film which is its mainstay due to the scenes of the two wives and the helpless husband together. The best part of the film is its Indian ending which justifies the unusual story too. Some scenes like the one in which the second wife applies teeka to her husband, the sarcastic comments directed towards the first wife by her mother, her friend, her children, her husband and even an outsider are a highlight.

Performances of the entire cast are first-rate. Anil Kapoor does an excellent job in a role that is very difficult. He plays with feeling the silently suffering husband, ruled by the emotions of his two wives, both of whom forget that he too is a human being. Sridevi is mind-blowing as the money-hungry wife and mother of two kids. She shines in light scenes and excels in emotional ones. So brilliant is her performance that it is impossible to imagine another actress who could have done such justice to the role. Urmila Matondkar proves that she too is a performer par excellence. As the moneyed girl, she looks gorgeous, her entry being very mass-appealing. Her changeover to an understanding wife in the post-interval portion is so remarkable and her performance, so sincere that one can’t help falling in love with Urmila’s character. This girl is bound to go places. Paresh Rawal’s comedy is simply hilarious; his poker-faced dialogue delivery is terrific. Johny Lever plays to the gallery and entertains a lot. Kader Khan is superb. Upasna Singh is very good and her ‘Abba dabba jabba’ dialogue should be liked by front-benchers. Farida Jalal shines in a brief role. Saeed Jaffrey, Junior Mehmood, master Omkar Kapoor, baby Alisha Baig, Dharmesh Tiwari, Shehzaad and Dinesh Hingoo lend admirable support. Poonam Dhillon, in a guest appearance, comes as a pleasant surprise and performs ably.

Raj Kanwar’s direction is superb. Not only has he extracted excellent work from his team of artistes, he has also handled the subject with maturity. Nadeem Shravan’s music is good but a couple of super-hit songs were very necessary. ‘Allah miya’ is the best number, followed by ‘Judaai judaai’ and ‘Pyar pyar karte karte’. Song picturisations are heavenly. Foreign locations are beautiful and they’ve been ably captured by cameraman Harmeet Singh. Dialogues (Jainendra Jain) are wonderful. Production values are rich.

On the whole, Judaai may meet with initial resistance due to its offbeat story but can be expected to pick up by word of mouth and ladies’ patronage to keep its investors of most circuits happy.

Released on 28-2-’97 at New Excelsior and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: excellent. Opening: below average. …….Also released all over except in Mysore. Opening was poor in C.P.C.I. and Punjab, and excellent in Bihar and Rajasthan.

AUZAAR

Tips Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Auzaar (UA) is the story of two friends, one a CBI officer and the other, son of an underworld don. The don’s son has murdered another don and the latter’s son now wants to wipe out his father’s murderer and his entire family. The CBI officer comes to the rescue of his friend and, together, the two of them succeed in killing the villain. There is nothing new by way of story. Even the screenplay, especially in the slow first half, is routine. But what makes the film somewhat interesting is the brilliant action, particularly in the lengthy and exciting climax, the racy music and eye-catching song picturisations, and the big canvas of the film. The pre-interval portion is not only routine, it also sometimes moves at a terribly slow pace unnecessarily.

Salman Khan does a splendid job as the college boy who later becomes a CBI officer. Sanjay Kapoor shows improvement and does quite well. Shilpa Shetty is alright and she dances very gracefully. Paresh Rawal is fair. Nirmal Pandey, as the eccentric son of the murdered don, is the film’s surprise packet and he leaves a mark in every scene he comes. Johny Lever provides the much-needed light moments but such moments are few and far between. Asif Sheikh is effective. Kiran Kumar is okay. Jeetu Verma impresses with his Rajasthani dialogues. Vishwajeet Pradhan, Tiku Talsania, Ila Arun and the rest lend adequate support.

Sohail Khan’s approach to the scripting seems to be a bit too casual. For a debut effort, his direction is fair, but more concentration on the writing is necessary if he is to really make a mark. Dialogues are good only at places. Anu Malik’s music is very catchy. ‘Masti ka aalam aaya hai’, ‘I love you’, ‘Chalte chalte mila ladka deewana’ and ‘Dhoondhte reh jaaoge’ (good lyrics) are extremely well-tuned numbers. Picturisation of ‘Masti ka aalam’ is the most mass-appealing. ‘I love you’ has tremendous visual appeal. Camerawork (Kaka Thakur) is very nice. Production values are rich. Action (Mahendra Verma) is excellent. Background music should have been better.

On the whole, despite being a routine film, Auzaar has good initial value, action and music to sail safe in majority of the circuits.

Released on 28-2-’97 at Maratha Mandir and 18 other cinemas of Bombay by Tips Films P. Ltd. thru R.G. International. Publicity: excellent. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was excellent in Delhi-U.P. and Rajasthan, and very good in other circuits except C.I. where it was below the mark.

LATEST POSITION

Hero No. 1 started declining from 5th/6th day onwards everywhere. Should prove to be, at best, a commission-earner/overflow film. 1st week Bombay 51,76,378 (95.21%) from 16 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Baroda 2,81,300 from 2 cinemas, Bharuch (gross) 2,33,868, Rajkot 1,63,376 (1 in mat. unrecd.), Jamnagar 1,19,341 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Kolhapur 1,86,400, Solapur 1,75,207 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Delhi 48,20,530 (90.65%) from 13 cinemas (1 unrecd. and 3 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,15,514 (2 unrecd.), Lucknow 2,45,951 (100%), Agra 2,21,000, Varanasi 1,82,209 (88.55%), Allahabad 1,46,100, Aligarh 1,84,288, Gorakhpur 1,53,000 (72.40%); Amritsar 52,350; Calcutta 20,96,561 (82%) from 17 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Nagpur 6,00,240 from 4 cinemas, Akola 1,19,754, Raipur 2,16,881, Risali 78,982, theatre record, Bhilai 2,24,217 from 2 cinemas, Wardha 77,587, Chandrapur 1,08,912, share 83,912; Indore 4,70,626 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,96,842 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Bikaner 1,71,123; Hyderabad 37,73,978 from 20 cinemas, share 18,95,295.

Judwaa proves overflow in some circuits and class A in other circuits. 3rd week Bombay 19,52,953 (80%) from 8 cinemas (5 on F.H.); 1st Padra 1,31,502, 3rd Rajkot 1,47,971 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.), Jamnagar (mat.) 7,080 (1 unrecd.); Solapur 85,824 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.); Delhi 15,67,094 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,57,542 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,96,136, Agra 1,35,217, 2nd Allahabad 1,00,000, 3rd Varanasi 96,225, Bareilly 53,153 (29.15%), Aligarh 64,299, Gorakhpur 57,000; Calcutta 6,82,941 from 8 cinemaas; Nagpur 2,49,163 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 66,700, Akola 48,516, total 2,32,784, Raipur (6 days) 81,237, Bhilai 50,960, Jalgaon 52,997, Bilaspur (6 days) 55,974; Bhopal 1,14,045; 2nd week Hyderabad 7,60,040 from 5 cinemas.

Yeshwant is also an overflow film. Class A in Maharashtra. 3rd week Bombay 16,78,317 from 11 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Baroda 1,35,672, Jamnagar 90,862, total 3,46,206; Solapur 1,42,571 from 2 cinemas (1 in mat.), 1st week Miraj 70,400 (96%); 3rd Delhi 8,49,451 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 1,41,800 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,32,827, 2nd Agra 1,38,000 (1st 1,86,000), 3rd week Allahabad 84,600, Varanasi 1,13,880, Bareilly 52,183 (29.15%), Aligarh 78,655, Gorakhpur 99,000, theatre record; Calcutta 10,00,199 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 1,67,344 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 1,41,218, total 4,82,761, share 3,54,413, Akola 97,327, total 4,32,497, Raipur 1,24,809, theatre record, Bhilai 51,110, Durg 59,981, Jalgaon 1,00,016, theatre record; Indore 1,30,898, Bhopal 1,04,050, Ujjain 72,983; 1st Bikaner 60,856; 3rd Hyderabad 5,92,263 from 3 cinemas; 1st Vijayawada 2,97,718.

Raja Hindustani 11th week Bombay 21,23,741 (73.73%) from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Solapur 1,21,906, 10th Barsi 14,562; 15th Delhi 9,27,923 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,58,021, Agra 1,10,820, 16th Allahabad 63,000, Varanasi 77,686, Meerut 1,18,326, theatre record; 15th Bareilly 56,898 (30.57%), Aligarh 1,06,200, 16th Gorakhpur 56,000, city record; 15th week Calcutta 1,33,631; 12th Nagpur 1,77,978 from 2 cinemas, 13th week Jabalpur 1,48,593, total 24,29,238, 11th Akola 58,320, total 12,48,576, 15th Raipur 55,041, 16th Bhilai (6 days) 29,970, 11th week Wardha 31,548; 15th Indore 1,97,006, 14th Bhopal 1,19,297; 15th Jodhpur 91,000; Hyderabad 3,47,995 from 2 cinemas.

KAVIRAJ INDEEVAR BIDS GOODBYE

Veteran lyricist Indeevar passed away on 28th February in Bombay at Lilavati Hospital due to a cardiac arrest. He was 73 and is survived by his wife and a son. He had been admitted to hospital on 17th on account of a heart ailment.

Kaviraj Indeevar, as he was respectfully called, had written over 2,500 songs for almost 450 films. Among his evergreen and popular hits are such songs as Chandan sa badan (Saraswatichandra), Kasme vaade pyar wafaa sab (Upkar), O laal duppatte wali (Aankhen), Suraj kab door gagan se and Jaati hoon main (both from Karan Arjun). Almost 50 films for which he has penned lyrics are currently in various stages of production.

Shyamlal, which was the real name of Indeevar, came to Bombay in 1941 from a village in Uttar Pradesh. He got his break in 1946 in Shyambabu Pathak’s Doubleface. He had completed half a century in the film world just last year. During his 51 years as lyricist, he worked with almost all the music directors. Perhaps, the only notable music director for whom Indeevar never wrote lyrics was Naushad. Even for Naushad, he did write a song in Kishore Sharma’s Chanakya Aur Chandragupta, directed by B.R. Chopra. That song was rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, but the film got shelved mid-way. He also composed the music for the 1996 Miss World contest in Bangalore.

If Indeevar’s lyrics could move a listener to tears or bring a grin on one’s face, they could also irritate the Britishers so much that the lyricist was put behind bars for a year. His ‘crime’: he had written anti-British songs.

A typicality of Indeevar’s songs was that they were almost always written in chaste Hindi and were simple, yet meaningful. Like his lyrics, Indeevar too was simple in his thoughts and living. He had a smiling face and a down-to-earth nature.

Among the hundreds of films Indeevar penned lyrics for are Nirmoy, Madari, Bhool Na Jana, Badbaan, Himalay Ki Godmein, Safar, Purab Aur Pachhim, Mohra, Qurbani, Karan Arjun, Khudgarz, Koyla (unreleased).

It is difficult to imagine what the film music scene will be like without Indeevar. His sudden death has left the industry shocked. The genius lyricist, who had a song for every occasion and mood, didn’t even give a hint that he was going. Even if he had said, “Jaata hoon main….”, the industry could have pleaded to the Gods up there with a line from Indeevar’s own song. “Jaldi hai kya?”

‘JUDAAI’ RELEASE IN KARNATAKA POSTPONED

Boney Kapoor’s Judaai has not been released in the state of Karnataka this week. While Mysore circuit comprises many parts of Karnataka, Bombay circuit also consists of a part of the state. A couple of stations of Karnataka also fall in Nizam circuit. While Judaai has been released in other parts of Bombay and Nizam circuits, it has not been released in Mysore circuit at all.

The Kannada version of the Telugu super-hit, Shubhlagnam, of which Judaai is a remake, is due for release next week in Karnataka. It stars the son of matinee idol of Kannada films, Rajkumar, as hero. Because of the immense power Rajkumar wields there, he saw to it that the release of Judaai was stalled till after his son’s film hit the screens. At first, Mysore distributor Pal Chandani is reported to have refused to postpone the release of his Judaai, but he relented later.

Another reason for the stalling of the release of Judaai seems to be the controversy which Anil Kapoor landed himself in recently with Kannada film actress Malashri who is the heroine opposite Rajkumar’s son in the Kannada film due for release next week. It is learnt that Malashri had wanted Anil Kapoor to make a special appearance in Lady Commissioner, being produced by Ramu (who is now her husband) and starring herself. Anil had initially agreed to act in the film but later decided against it. This seems to have agitated Malashri who, it is likely, may have pulled the strings on the eve of release of Anil’s Judaai. Before that, she had also filed a case against Anil Kapoor in her Association.

DHANNALAL THAKURIA NO MORE

Dhannalal Thakuria, owner of Regal cinema, Indore, expired on 21st February in Indore. He was 95. Thakuria was also a distributor and, in fact, the oldest living distributor.

DILIP KUMAR TO ATTEND HIS RETROSPECTIVE IN JODHPUR

Dilip Kumar will attend the opening of a retrospective of his films in Jodhpur on 7th March at Girdhar Mandir cinema. The retrospective is being organised by the Film Society of Jodhpur with a week-long festival of Dilip Kumar starrers.

Dilip Kumar will be publicly honoured at a function on 7th. According to the secretary of the Film Society, Mohan Swaroop Maheshwari, two shows each of 14 Dilip Kumar starrers will be held in the week-long festival. Among the films to be screened are Amar, Andaz, Aan, Devdas, Babul, Mughal-E-Azam, Ram Aur Shyam, Udan Khatola, Madhumati and Mashaal.

U.A. THADANI HOSPITALISED

Veteran Bombay exhibitor and distributor U.A. Thadani took ill on 26th February while he was attending to his work in office and was rushed to the ICU of Hinduja Hospital. He is recuperating at the hospital and his condition is reported to be steady now.

MALASHRI WEDS RAMU

Kannada film heroine Malashri announced at a press conference in Bangalore this week her marriage with producer Ramu. The wedding took place at her Bangalore residence.

Malashri became close to Ramu during the making of his Muttinantha Hendthi some years ago. She is currently working in two forthcoming films of Ramu, CBI Durga and Lady Commissioner.

‘AUZAAR’ PROMOTION IN BOMBAY

Tips Films has worked out an innovative advertising and promotion plan for Auzaar in Bombay. The message of the film’s release is being reached out to people in a rally of uniformed motor-cyclists who are doing the rounds of the city. The rally was flagged off by Salman Khan.

A contest for viewers is also currently on in cinemas screening the film, where over 10,000 prizes can be won.

URMILA BHATT MURDERED

Urmila Bhatt was murdered at her residence in Bombay on the night of 22nd February. Although the identity of the murderer is not known, the motive behind the killing seems to be a dispute over money. According to the police, there was a transaction of about Rs. 8 crore between Urmila Bhatt and somebody for whom the police are on the lookout. Urmila Bhatt’s husband was not in Bombay when the murder took place.

The police suspect that the TV serial, Zee Horror Show, may have inspired Urmila’s murderer because she was murdered in the same way as she was killed in the said serial which was telecast just four days prior to the murder.

Urmila Bhatt had received a telephone call at around 7 p.m. the same day, and the caller threatened to kill her. The actress told this to an undisclosed friend who also was reportedly threatened over the phone on Sunday night. Urmila Bhatt was cremated on Sunday evening.

The murder came to light when a relative visited the veteran actress. When nobody answered the door-bell, he got scared and, alongwith Urmila’s daughter and son-in-law, opened the door, only to find her dead body. Her throat had been slit with the help of a sharp instrument. The rear door of the house was partly open.

Urmila Bhatt had acted in a number of Hindi, Gujarati and Rajasthani films. Among her Hindi films are Phir Bhi, Tapasya, Toofan, Preetam, Pratiggya, Koshish, Dhund, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Pyasi Nadi, Sankoch, Chattan Singh, Call Girl, Chhatis Ghante, Vardan, Dharam Karam, Geet Gata Chal, Jaan Haazir Hai, Pratikaar, Touheen, Dosti Ki Saugandh, Izzat Ki Roti, Zakhmi Rooh etc.

PRODUCTIONS NEWS

‘Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya’

A week-long shooting stint of G.S. Entertainments’ Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya began on Feb. 26 at Madh Island and on Bombay locales. A song on Salman Khan, Kajol and a huge crowd is being picturised under the supervision of choreographer Ganesh Hegde. The film co-stars Arbaaz Khan, one more heroine, Asif Sheikh, Kunika, Tiku Talsania, Rajoo Kariya, Kiran Kumar, Shakti Kapoor and Ashish Balram Nagpal who has been recently signed. It is being directed by Sohail Khan from his own story and screenplay, and produced by him jointly with Bunty Walia. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer. Vashu Bhagnani presents its.

‘Barood’ Unit Back From Europe

Producer and director Pramod Chakravorty and the unit of Pramod Films’ Barood returned to India this week after completing a 20-day shooting schedule in Europe. Action and other scenes as well as songs were picturised featuring Akshay Kumar, Raveena Tandon, Mohnish Bahl and fighters. The film co-stars Raakhee, Gulshan Grover, Mohan Joshi, Aroona Irani and Amrish Puri. It is being co-produced by Bharat Shah, and has music by Anand Milind and lyrics by Sameer.

YOU ASKED IT

Big banners pay low prices to their artistes and technicians but charge double the price while selling their films to distributors. Are they justified in doing so?

– Who are you and I to talk about justification when the price is governed by the laws of demand and supply? The big banners charge a big chunk for their goodwill.

When music has always been an important part of Hindi films, why is it said that ‘today’, hit music is very necessary?

– Hit music generally ensures good opening, and since the prices of films these days are phenomenal, a good opening is very essential. Hence the importance of hit music these days.

What happened to Sudhakar Bokade’s Kalinga? Its director, Dilip Kumar, had over a year ago said in a press conference that differences between him and Bokade had been cleared.

– But the film is incomplete as yet. Maybe, another press conference would have to be called to clear matters again.

DO YOU KNOW?

* For Naaz cinema, Parbhani (Nizam circuit), it is double celebration time. While RAJA HINDUSTANI completed 100 days at the cinema in regular shows on 19th February, TERE MERE SAPNE completed 50 days in morning shows.

* Producer Surendra Bohra seems to be a lucky mascot for his artistes as far as awards are concerned. When his SAAJAN KA GHAR was being made, Juhi Chawla bagged her first Filmfare award (for HUM HAIN RAHI PYAR KE). This year, Chandrachur Singh and Arbaaz Khan have bagged the Filmfare awards and both of them are acting in Bohra’s films.

MIX MASALA

RECORD CUTS!

One has heard of censors banning a film completely but Mohan Sulibhavi’s Duniya Ki Rangeen Raatein may, perhaps, be the film which has been passed with the maximum number of cuts in the history of Hindi cinema. Believe it or not, it has been cleared for adults after the deletion of 4,046.14 feet (1,233.49 metres) which is almost of a running time of 45 to 50 minutes! And these cuts have been offered by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal. The total length which has been passed is 2,286.43 metres. The producer, it may be mentioned here, has accepted the cuts, and the censor certificate has also been issued. Incidentally, the producer (Mohan Sulibhavi) is a censor script writer who does the liaison work of producers in regard to censorship of films.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Unusual Twists Are The Real Challenge

It is not for nothing that Rajkumar Santoshi is considered a director of great standing. Some of his views are truly worth appreciating. Like, for instance, he says, while talking of film stories: “When we sit for story discussions, I never get put off by such remarks as ‘…..But how can this be possible? Who will do such a thing? Nobody can do such and such a thing.’ Rather, such reservations inspire me to take up the challenge because that is the unusual twist in the story. Yudhishtir in Mahabharat put his wife at stake while gambling, which no human being would dream of doing. But because Yudhishtir did it, Mahabharat was born. And if Mahabharat can appeal to mankind, a film story with some unusual twist, which is least expected, can surely be lapped up by cinegoers.”

And while on Santoshi, the best compliment anyone must have paid him was the one paid by financier Bharat Shah. This was when Santoshi was making Damini. He was planning a film with a top South actor, but everybody kept dissuading him, saying that the project wouldn’t be financially viable since the hero, despite being a great actor, doesn’t sell in the Hindi belt. When Rajkumar Santoshi asked Bharatbhai Shah whether he would finance the project, the latter told him, “Even if you make a film with my peon as hero, I’ll back the project!” Rajkumar Santoshi even today cherishes this compliment as the most valued one.

Sorry For The (Leg) Break

That Mamta Kulkarni fractured her leg in the recent shooting spell of Rajkumar Santoshi’s China Gate at Gangavati (near Bangalore) is common knowledge. But not many know that another actor also fractured his leg in the same shooting spell. The only difference is that while Mamta got hurt while getting off the horseback, this actor — Mukesh Tiwari — fractured his leg while doing stunts on horseback for the film. Action director Tinnu Verma must be feeling doubly sorry for the leg breaks! Mukesh Tiwari, it may be mentioned here, is a new villain who is being introduced in China Gate. He is from the National School of Drama. Incidentally, the Gangavati shooting schedule, which remained incomplete due to the leg breaks, will be continued once the two artistes recover — that is, after quite a long break!

Big Bengali Hits

If Raja Hindustani is doing roaring business in West Bengal (it is expected to do a business of 2.5 to 3 crore!), so are two Bengali films. Ravi Agarwal’s Lathi, inspired from Mohan Kumar’s Avtaar, is expected to touch the 2-crore mark. Dhanuka’s Swami Keno Asami, imported from Bangladesh, is also doing very good business. This hit stars Chunkey Panday, Rituparna and others. So even if Chunkey doesn’t have exciting Hindi films on hand, he has reason to celebrate all the same.

From Clerk To ‘King’: What A Success Story!

The life story of Nizam distributor and exhibitor B.G. Upadhyaya would read like a fairy tale. Son of a post-master, he started out as a booking clerk in Krishna cinema of Parli Vaijnath (Maharashtra). He rose to the post of a manager in the same cinema and then became its controller. He then purchased the cinema and another cinema too (Gopal Krishna) at Parli Vaijnath. His enterprising activities didn’t stop there. He also acquired the other two cinemas, Shree and Shreenath, of Parli Vaijnath, on lease. All of which makes him a monopolist at Parli Vaijnath. Not content with being only an exhibitor in Nizam, Balaprasad Gangadhar Upadhyaya then decided to dabble in distribution. And dabble he did. In a short span of some years only, he has released (distributed) as many as 40 films in Nizam circuit, including many of K.C. Bokadia and Anil Ganguly. In fact, he started his distribution office, Aruna Enterprises, with Anil Ganguly’s Dil Ki Baazi. Having become an exhibitor and distributor, Upadhyaya is now trying his hands at production. He has started out by dubbing a Tamil film (Sangotte which means ‘Red Fort’) which is now ready for release in Hindi as Kalyug Ka Arjun. A bold political film, Upadhyaya is confident that it will be exempted from entertainment tax, at least in Maharashtra. And not just because Maharashtra deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde was his classmate, but also because the film, he feels, deserves tax exemption. Upadhyaya will now be producing a Hindi film. He has acquired the remaking rights of the Malayalam hit, King.

CBFC Hits Back At Ratnam

The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in Madras has taken exception to Mani Ratnam’s critical comments on its functioning and on the procedure adopted by the censors in clearing his recently released Tamil film, Iruvar. The CBFC has described a recent interview of Mani Ratnam as “misleading”. In the said interview, Mani Ratnam is said to have cast aspersions on CBFC members and officials, according to regional officer of CBFC (Madras), G. Rajasekaran. The celebrated filmmaker, who is known as much for his controversial films as for his films getting stuck up at the censors, said in the interview that censors lacked guts to take decisions on their own and tended to pass the buck to curry favour with politicians. It may be recalled here that Ratnam’s Iruvar has two main characters bearing striking resemblances to Tamilnadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi and late M.G. Ramachandran. The film was referred to the state home department before it was cleared by the CBFC, with cuts. Mani Ratnam has wondered whether the censors had the legal right to refer the film to the home department. He has alleged that the censors seemed to have a prejudice against Iruvar even before seeing it. In a three-page statement issued by the regional officer (RO), the RO has noted that the CBFC had acted in accordance with the rules. He has explained that in certification of a film, the CBFC had to ensure that the public order was not endangered. The state home department, which was responsbile for law and order, had been asked to review the film in view of the possibility of it provoking a clash between rival political groups. That was in order, according to G. Rajasekaran, who has noted that the entire procedure adopted by the CBFC was recorded in writing, and nothing prevented Ratnam from going to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal or even the court of law if he considered that the CBFC had violated the law in referring his film to a committee of the home department.

Quite A Mouthful

When it comes to coinage of certain film trade phrases and terminology, you can’t beat West Bengal distributors. For them, drop in collections means ‘droppage’. Kitna droppage aaya?, is the common question among Calcutta distributors. Of course, it’s a different thing that there is no such English word as ‘droppage’.

And when it comes to seeking advice on which film to buy, a Calcutta buyer is sure to ask: Kya yeh picture main kha loon? So, next time, if a West Bengal distributor asks you “Kya kha loon?”, don’t give him a list of delicacies. Instead, give him a list of probable hits — films, that is.

HERO NO. 1

Puja Films’ Hero No. 1 is a comedy film inspired from Bawarchi. A boy and girl fall in love in a foreign land and while the strict father of the boy agrees to their marriage, the ultra-strict guardian (grandfather) of the girl objects to the alliance for a flimsy reason. The boy then decides to win the hearts of the grandfather and other family members of the girl before re-proposing for marriage, rather than eloping with her. Towards this end, he disguises himself as a servant and takes up a job in the girl’s house as nobody, except the girl and her helpful aunt, has seen him before this. The boy succeeds in his mission but not before a bit of tension and drama and plenty of comic incidents.

The film’s first half is enjoyable and has some truly original punches. But after interval, its comic content is less. Further, the climax looks flat in the absence of any negative character in the drama. All the same, a fast screenplay and some witty dialogues do make the drama entertaining and even hilarious at times. In particular, the interval scene; the war of words in the first encounter between the boy’s father and the girl’s grandpa; the interaction of the boy with the grandpa, are all excellent.

Govinda does a marvellous job yet again and proves what a versatile performer he is. His sense of timing is remarkable and the effortless ease with which he carries off the comedy scenes is truly praiseworthy. Karisma Kapoor is brilliant. She looks gorgeous (her costumes are beautiful), acts excellently and dances as gracefully as Govinda. Paresh Rawal deserves distinction marks for enacting the role of the grandpa with such enthusiasm and sincerity. Kader Khan is very effective; his emotional scenes with Govinda touch the heart. Shakti Kapoor evokes laughter in a brief special appearance. Rakesh Bedi is immensely likeable. Satish Shah acts ably but his comedy tends to become class-appealing. Himani Shivpuri is cute. Tiku Talsania, Anil Dhawan, Reeta Bhaduri, Shagufta Ali, Shashi Kiran, Prachi, master Omkar Kapoor and Harish (special appearance) lend very good support.

David Dhawan is in good from and does a find job in direction. He is greatly assisted by his writer (Rumi Jafri) and his cast. Anand Milind’s music score is good; the title song and ‘Tere baap ke darr se’ are mass-appealing songs but an overall consistent music score would have made a difference. The other songs (besides the above two) are, comparatively speaking, not as entertaining. K.S. Prakash Rao’s camerawork is very eye-filling. The foreign locations are heavenly and they’ve been captured on celluloid beautifully. Editing is crisp. Production values are grand.

On the whole, Hero No. 1 is a good family entertainer and will keep the family of distributors happy, with exciting returns. Business should be the best in Bombay and South.

Released on 21-2-’97 at Novelty and 27 other cinemas of Bombay by Puja Films thru Mahalakshmi Film Distributors. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was extraordinary in Rajasthan but below the mark in some stations of C.P. Berar, C.I. and Nizam.

LATEST POSITION

The below-expectations opening of HERO NO. 1 at some main stations of different circuits, in spite of extraordinary publicity, has shocked the entire trade.

Chupp is disastrous. 1st week Bombay 4,69,861 (37.24%) from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Indore 75,000 (2 on F.H.); Hyderabad 1,72,276 from 4 cinemas (2 in noon).

Judwaa has maintained exceptionally well in 2nd week and has done fantastic business. Is superb in 1st week in Nizam. 2nd week Bombay 31,11,974 (88.88%) from 12 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,91,218 from 6 cinemas (4 unrecd.), Bharuch (gross, last) 2,57,361, Rajkot 1,82,900 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Bhuj 2,09,653, Jamnagar (matinee) 14,224; Pune 7,60,682 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,27,770, Solapur 81,826; Belgaum 97,814; Delhi 30,03,082 from 10 cinemaas (1 unrecd., 2 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,89,654 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,30,236, Agra 2,15,354, 1st week Allahabad 1,90,000, 2nd week Bareilly 95,938 (52.61%), Dehradun 1,10,000 (60.77%), Gorakhpur 84,000; Calcutta 15,64,082 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 2,73,632 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,19,766 (1st 2,07,090), Amravati (6 days) 78,298, Akola 82,463, total 1,84,268, Dhule 63,698, total 1,71,130, Raipur 1,30,574, theatre record, Bhilai (6 days) 84,209, Jalgaon 66,319, Gondia 49,642 (1st 68,361), Yavatmal 32,288; Bhopal 2,79,086 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,82,822 from 3 cinemas, Bikaner 1,63,767; 1st week Hyderabad 40,70,615 from 19 cinemas, share (including MGs) 18,62,000.

Yeshwant is doing very well in Maharashtra and several stations of other circuits. 2nd week Bombay 28,02,733 (78.58%) from 13 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,63,291 from 4 cinemas (3 unrecd.), Baroda 1,66,955, Padra 1,09,975, Jamnagar 1,19,585, total 2,55,344; Pune 8,83,150 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,72,705 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 2,04,624, Belgaum 79,274; Delhi 16,57,862 from 10 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,01,136 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,67,376, Allahabad 1,14,000, Bareilly 72,618 (40.56%), Dehradun 98,776 (1st 1,35,000), Gorakhpur 1,16,000 (78.30%), theatre record; Calcutta 17,46,884 from 17 cinemas; Nagpur 3,56,797 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,47,879, total 3,37,287, Amravati 1,60,822, total 3,41,543, Akola 1,40,318, total 3,35,170, Dhule 90,463, total 1,91,000, Bhilai 81,300, Durg 92,206, Jalgaon 1,22,906, Bilaspur 1,27,435, record; Indore 1,60,060 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,97,821 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,95,986 from 2 cinemas, Bikaner 1,78,000; Hyderabad 6,78,022 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon), share 2,60,000.

Raja Hindustani 10th week Bombay 21,61,174 (84.09%) from 8 cinemas (5 on F.H.); 14th week Ahmedabad 3,62,790 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), 4th Idar 1,01,970, 2nd Kadi 97,669; 11th Pune 5,32,257 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), 10th Solapur 1,42,975 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 14th Delhi 10,59,506 from 6 cinemas (1 on F.H.); 15th week Kanpur 2,07,700 from 2 cinemas, 14th Lucknow 1,83,042, Agra 1,31,890, 15th Allahabad 80,000, Meerut 1,55,484, 14th Bareilly 70,056 (37.63%), Dehradun 56,000, 15th Gorakhpur 61,000; 14th week Calcutta 1,69,082; 11th Nagpur 1,33,645 from 2 cinemas, 12th Jabalpur 1,61,668, total 22,80,645, 10th Amravati 83,673, Akola 71,967, 15th Bhilai 30,602, 10th Wardha 40,918, Yavatmal (last) 25,289; 14th Indore 2,01,850, 13th week Bhopal 1,42,224; 14th Jaipur 2,16,891, Jodhpur 1,03,052, 13th Bikaner 56,513; 14th Hyderabad 4,77,390 from 4 cinemas (2 in noon).

BOMBAY CINEMAS HIKE ADMISSION RATES

Most of the cinemas in Bombay city and suburbs have hiked admission rates to cover the increase in entertainment tax. The new rates have been fixed in such a way that the nett capacities of the cinemas have remained at the level at which they were before 1st January, ’97 when the entertainment tax rate was 50% in place of the current 100%.

But there are some cinemas, like Metro, which have increased their nett capacities too. The weekly nett capacity of Metro (for 21 shows) has been increased from Rs. 7,20,846 then to Rs. 8,08,636.50 now. The balcony and dress circle classes in the cinema have been merged and the admission rate of both is now Rs. 76 (earlier rate was Rs. 76 for dress circle, and Rs. 61 for balcony). The new rate for stall is Rs. 40 in place of Rs. 37. The admission rates for matinee are Rs. 60 (dress circle), Rs. 40 (balcony) and Rs. 20 (stall).

Cinemas of Solapur, too, have raised admission rates as in Bombay city and suburbs.

The enhanced admission rates, it may be added here, are telling upon audience attendance in cinemas.

IDPA’S FORUM ON COPYRIGHT

The Indian Documentary Producers’ Association (IDPA) organised an open forum on Copyright on 21st February at Films Division. Sanjay Tandon (general manager of IPRS), Ameen Sayani, Shirrin Bharucha (eminent contract lawyer) and Shama Habibullah (senior documentary filmmaker) spoke on the topic.

‘LAL DARJA’ FOR CANNES

Bappi Lahiri’s Bengali film, Lal Darja, directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, has been entered for screening in Cannes film festival.

STAR TV, KEWAL SURI ARRIVE AT SETTLEMENT

Following an out-of-court settlement between STAR TV and Kewal Suri, the case earlier filed by Kewal Suri in Bombay city civil court against STAR and Zee TV has been withdrawn. STAR and Zee gave an undertaking in the court not to broadcast the films of Subodh Mukerji on their satellite channels. But following the settlement, the films will now be shown on their channels.

COPYRIGHT IN FILM BELONGS TO PRODUCER: HC TELLS DIRECTOR

Justice Mrs. K.K. Baam of the Bombay high court on 14th February dismissed the notice of motion in suit no. 403 of 1997, filed by Dharmesh Darshan, director of Raja Hindustani, claiming sole and absolute ownership of the copyrights in the story of the film produced by Karim Morani, Bunty Soorma, Aly Morani and Cineyug. Dharmesh claimed that Raja Hindustani was his original artistic work, and the producers had no copyrights therein, save and except a licence to make a film in Hindi on the basis of the said literary work.

The producers have dubbed the film in Telugu. It was the case of plaintiff Dharmesh Darshan that he being the author of the literary work, the copyrights in the work vested in him, and the producers had no right to produce the film in any other language as there was an understanding between him and the producers that the film would be produced in Hindi only.

It was the case of the defendants (producers of the film) that in view of the fact that the film had been produced, under the Copyright Act, the copyrights in it vested in the defendants so far as the cinematographic film was concerned. What the defendants were trying to achieve was a change in sound track.

After hearing both the sides, the court held that there was no written agreement between the plaintiff and the defendants to the effect that the latter were directed to produce the film in Hindi language only. It also held that in view of the fact that the copyrights of the cinematographic film on its completion vest in the producers, as per the provisions of section 14(c)(iv), the producers had the right to dub the film.

The court also held that the plaintiff’s rights as author are restricted to the extent of literary work i.e. story writing which rights can be used by him for publishing his story, but the story having been processed in a cinematograph film and in the absence of specific agreement in writing to the effect that the film was to be produced in Hindi only, the plaintiff was not entitled to any relief.

In the meantime, writer Brij Katyal was planning to sue Dharmesh Darshan for Rs. one crore for his alleged piracy of the former’s script of Jab Jab Phool Khile in Raja Hindustani. Dharmesh’s father, Darshan Sabarwal, intervened and prevailed upon Katyal to refrain from going to court.

MARATHI FILM MUSIC DIRECTOR RAM KADAM NO MORE

Well-known Marathi film music director Ram Kadam passed away in Pune on 19th February after a brief illness. He was 81.

Ram Kadam had scored the music in more than 200 Marathi films, two Hindi films and one Telugu film. He had given break to chorus singer Vishnu Waghmare and late Arun Sarnaik.

Ram Kadam died in virtual penury at a private nursing home at 3.30 a.m. following health complications leading to pneumonia. He is reported to have not even had enough money for his hospital bills and treatment.

A disciple of Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana gharana, Ramchandra Vasudeo Kadam started off as a peon and rose to become a clarinet player at the Prabhat Film Company. His first music score as an independent music director was in Pativrata (Marathi), but he shot to fame after he provided music for one of the songs of the Marathi super-hit, Sangte Aika. Ram Kadam lent respectability to Marathi folk art music in films. His memorable score was in Shantaram’s Pinjra.

PUNJABI FILMMAKER JAGJIT NO MORE

Well-known writer, producer and director of Punjabi films, Jagjit, passed away on 15th February due to a heart attack. He had returned to Delhi from the USA and was on his way to his home town, Chandigarh, when he suffered the attack and died at Murthal, near Delhi.

Among the many Punjabi films made by Jagjit were Mahi Munda, Putt Jattan De, Patola, Gabroo Punjab Da, Chhora Haryane Ka etc. He was making Lalkara at the time of his death.

The Punjabi Film Producers Association held a condolence meeting on 17th February in Bombay to mourn his death.

RUMI JAFRI ENGAGED

Well-known writer Rumi Jafri was engaged to Hanan on 17th February at Radio Club, Colaba, Bombay. Among those who attended the engagement ceremony were Rishi Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Aishwarya Rai, Rahul Rawail, David Dhawan, Ketan Desai, Tutu Sharma, Kirit Trivedi, Kaleem, Manmohan Singh, Vashu Bhagnani, Ramesh Taurani and Mansoor Ahmed Siddiqui.

MADHUBHAI KHOZA’S SON TO WED

Salim, son of Madhubhai Khoza, partner in Vaishali cinema, Vapi, will get married to Shamsha on 27th February at Vapi.

CENSOR NEWS

Tips Films P. Ltd.’s Auzaar was given C.C. No. CIL/2/2/97 (UA) dt. 14-2-’97; length 4215.53 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 130.11 metres).

A.G. Films (P.) Ltd.’s Lahoo Ke Do Rang has been passed for adults, with cuts.

Art Films’ Allah Meharban Gadha Pehelwan (length 4299 metres in 16 reels), applied on 17th, was seen on 18th.

Super Cassettes Industries Ltd.’s Surya Putra Shanidev (length 4039.11 metres in 15 reels), applied on 18th, was seen on 19th.

REGIONAL FILMS

Cineyug’s Prema Bandham (Telugu, dubbed version of Raja Hindustani), seen on 19th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/1/7/97 (U) dt. 21-2-’97; length 5033.77 metres in 18 reels (no cut).

MIX MASALA

INSPIRING TITLE?

The title Judwaa seems to have inspired black-marketeers at Liberty cinema, Bombay. For, they’ve made judwaa — that is duplicate — tickets of the film and sell them to gullible cinegoers, passing the fate tickets as genuine ones. The poor guys who buy the fake tickets at inflated ‘black’ rates get the shock of their lives when they are turned out by the cinema management.

MUSIC INFORMATION

Salman Khan Releases ‘Mahaanta’ Music

Salman Khan released the music cassettes of Ayesha Films’ Mahaanta on 20th February at a function at Holiday Inn. The cassettes are being marketed by Zee Music. Anand Bakshi’s lyrics are set to tune by Laxmikant Pyarelal. The film is directed by Afzal Khan. The film’s lead players, Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit, attended the cassette release function. A screening of the songs of the film was also held. ‘Tapka re tapka’ and ‘Chhoo le chhoo le’ are well-tuned as also well-picturised songs.

DO YOU KNOW?

* After scoring music in films in 11 different languages, Bappi Lahiri has now scored music in a Punjabi film — MUQADDAR — for the first time. He recorded four songs for the film between February 17 and 20 at B.L. Temptation in the voices of Daler Mehndi, Baba Sehgal and others.

* HERO NO. 1 has created a city record by collecting 45,190/- on the first day at Anand, Raipur.

* YESHWANT has created a theatre record by collecting 1,16,000/- in 2nd week at United, Gorakhpur, against a capacity of 1,48,147/-.

* YESHWANT has created a record by collecting 1,27,435/- in 2nd week at Gangashree, Bilaspur.

* YESHWANT has created a theatre record by collecting 1,40,318/- in 2nd week at Rajkamal, Akola.

* YESHWANT has created a theatre record by collecting 1,22,906/- in 2nd week at Natraj, Jalgaon.

* JUDWAA has created a record by collecting 74,481/- in 2nd week at Khatoon Mahal, Calcutta. All 42 shows in the first 2 weeks were full.

* JUDWAA has created a theatre record by collecting 1,30,574/- in 2nd week at Prabhat, Raipur.

*RAJA HIDUSTANI has created another city record in Meerut by collecting 1,55,484/- in 15th week at Apsara.

* RAJA HINDUSTANI has created history by collecting 91,322/- in 1st week at Menka, Rai Bareilly.

* RAJA HINDUSTANI has created a new city record by collecting a total of 22,80,645/- in 12 weeks at Jyoti, Jabalpur. 12th week’s collection was 1,61,668/-. It has surpassed the distributor’s share of all films in just 12 weeks.

* RAJA HINDUSTANI has created history by collecting 2,19,644/- in 1st week at Priyadarshini, Rewa (C.I.), in spite of communal riots.

YOU ASKED IT

Is an overdose of pre-release publicity good or bad for the film?

– If the film lives up to the expectations created by the publicity hype, the excess publicity can prove to be a boon, but if it falls short of expectations, the overdose can be a bane.

How much fall in audience attendance is there likely to be in cinemas in Maharashtra (Bombay, in particular) which have hiked admission rates to cover the increase in entertainment tax?

– About 20 to 25%. And this fall will be more pronounced and noticeable in the case of smaller and unsuccessful films.

Why do stars generally have two sets of prices — one (higher) for smaller producers, and the other (lower) for big producers and directors?

– If they don’t charge a lower price in the case of big producers and directors, they (big producers and directors) won’t be interested in even touching them. It is the stars who need big banners and directors, and not vice versa.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Why Blame The Government Then?

Video piracy is one of the biggest menaces the film industry is fighting today. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it is fighting a losing battle as the government has hardly provided any assistance to the film people to combat the rampant piracy. But is the industry itself doing enough to get rid of this malady? It wouldn’t seem so if what the experience of the National Productivity Council has been is any indication. The National Productivity Council is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Industry. It is currently carrying out a study on piracy in India, trying to estimate the copyright violation with respect to cinema (video piracy, cable piracy etc.). Naturally, therefore, the National Productivity Council should have been the industry’s best friend because it is, perhaps, the first study of its kind which is being carried out by the NPC. But the industry people don’t seem to think so. For, A.K. Burman, deputy director (research) of the NPC, had sought help from the Film Federation of India and the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association but “without any result”. And what did Mr. Burman want? Such simple details as a list of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films released during 1996 and till date during 1997 alongwith the names of their producers so that they could cross-check with the concerned producers whether they had given video rights, cable rights etc. to anybody and the extent to which the rights had been violated. Isn’t it sad that neither the FFI nor the IMPPA could provide the Council such simple information? And then the industry blames the government for not helping it. Rightly is it said: Even God doesn’t help those who cannot help themselves!

Too Late The Hero!

Till a week before its release, Hero No. 1 was open for Orissa. A distributor offered to buy it just about four days before its release, for Orissa at an astronomical price of 18. The producer asked for the payment in one stroke, to which the distributor readily agreed.

But, as they say, there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip. Before the distributor could clinch the deal, Padmavati Enterprises clinched the deal at the same price. The previous distributor proved to be too late the hero!

Some Style, This!

That the marriage of Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter, Shweta, and late Raj Kapoor’s grandson, Nikhil Nanda, was a quiet affair in the sense that only family members and very close associates were invited is common knowledge. But not many know that the Bachchans sent extremely tasteful cards to their acquaintances, informing them of the marriage and seeking their blessings and good wishes. The card extraordinaire says: ‘Nikhil and Shweta have expressed a desire for a quiet and simple wedding. We hope that you will respect their sentiments.’

LATEST POSITION

The week was good for the box-office due to the Idd festival. Both the releases of last week raked in good collections.

Judwaa has done extremely well. 1st week Bombay 39,13,301 (97%) from 14 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 11,19,775 from 7 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Hubli 2,70,781 (100%), record, Belgaum 2,46,203 (100%) from 3 cinemas (1 in noon), Dharwad 96,384; Delhi 40,12,354 (85.67%) from 11 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,62,869 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,29,585, Agra 2,59,655, Varanasi 1,56,922 (90%), Bareilly 1,44,734 (79.37%), Gorakhpur 1,20,000 (81%); Calcutta 24,90,164 from 20 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Nagpur 5,83,756 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,87,722, Amravati (6 days) 94,802, Akola (27 shows) 1,01,805, Raipur 2,07,736, theatre record, Bhilai (6 days), 1,43,078, Jalgaon 1,08,050; Jaipur 10,60,059 from 4 cinemas, Bikaner 2,57,000.

Yeshwant is particularly good in Maharashtra. In other circuits, it has done fair business. 1st week Bombay 38,93,681 (90.44%) from 16 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,55,067 from 4 cinemas (4 unrecd.), Baroda 1,98,453 (90.81%), Padra 1,65,451, Jamnagar (24 shows) 1,35,759; Belgaum 4,23,499 (100%) from 3 cinemas (1 in noon), Nipani 1,84,256 (100%), record; Delhi 27,94,820 (62.79%) from 12 cinemas (1 unrecd., 1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,60,391 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,15,319 from 2 cinemas, Varanasi 1,86,188, Hardwar 62,000, Meerut 1,82,000, Bareilly 1,10,416; Calcutta 28,89,195 from 22 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Nagpur 6,76,721 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,90,409, Amravati 1,80,721, Akola 1,94,851, Raipur 2,15,368 (88.32%), city record, Bhilai 2,39,376 from 2 cinemas, Durg 1,41,180, city record, Jalgaon 1,60,858; Indore 1,70,762 (3 on F.H.); Jaipur 4,34,795 from 3 cinemas, Bikaner 2,57,161; Hyderabad 39,37,677 from 21 cinemas.

……….

MAMTA KULKARNI FRACTURES LEG, ADVISED REST

Mamta Kulkarni fractured her left leg at Gangavati, near Bangalore, on 11th February during the shooting of Rajkumar Santoshi’s China Gate. The fracture is said to be major, and Mamta had to be rushed to Mallya Hospital in Bangalore for treatment. She is reported to have been advised complete rest for three months.

Mamta was dismounting from a horse after pack-up when she slipped and landed hard on her left leg which fractured her tibia.

O.P. GOYAL HOSPITALISED

C.I. distributor O.P. Goyal was injured in a car accident this week in Indore. He was admitted to Gokuldas Hospital and is recuperating there.

SHAILESH SIKCHI TO WED

Marriage of Shailesh Sikchi, proprietor of Shreeram Pictures, Amravati-Bhusawal, with Savita will be solemnised on 16th February in Amravati.

KAMAL RATHI BEREAVED

Rajkumari Rathi, mother of Kamal Rathi, partner in Shyam Talkies, Khamgaon and Neelkamal cinema, Nandura, expired on 3rd February in Nagpur. Gangaprasadi was held on 14th at Khamgaon.

Maharashtra Govt. Refuses Reliefs To Cinemas

100% Entertainment Tax Confirmed * Panic In Industry

The expected has happened. The Maharashtra government has refused to grant any relief or concession in entertainment tax to cinemas in the state. The revenue minister, Narayan Rane, on 11th February told a delegation of the film industry that the rate of entertainment tax in the state would henceforth be 100% and that no relief could be given to cinemas in that regard.

Cinemas in Maharashtra had downed shutters from 1st January in protest against the state government’s decision to double the rate of entertainment tax, from 50% to 100%. The month-long bandh was called off from 30th January when chief minister Manohar Joshi assured leaders of the action committee of the film industry that he would give some relief but for that, cinemas would have to be reopened first. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray also promised concessions when the action committee met him on several occasions during the cinema bandh.

But despite all assurances, the government went back on its word and simply pleaded helplessness in coming to the aid of the industry. Actually, it was becoming increasingly clear with each passing day, after the cinemas reopened, that the government was not serious in doing anything for the industry. Its dilly-dallying tactics had, so to say, prepared the exhibitors and distributors of Maharashtra for the shock of 100% tax.

It was, perhaps, because of this that most distributors and exhibitors did not express shock when the news of 100% tax came. Quite surprisingly, it is the leaders who expressed utmost shock at the government’s refusal, when actually they should have known what was coming. As a leading distributor of Naaz building, wishing to remain anonymous, remarked, “Our leaders are pretending to be shocked. If we could sense what was coming, how can we believe that they didn’t know what was expected? See, for the whole month during which cinemas were closed, it is the ministers who fooled the leaders with false promises. But once the cinemas reopened, it was the leaders who were fooling the industry!”

Following the 100% rate of tax effective from 1st January, business is expected to be adversely affected. If cinemas do not increase admission rates to cover the hike in tax, the nett collections will go down and the loss will have to be shared between the exhibitor and the distributor. Whether the exhibitor will agree to share in the loss is a million-dollar question and there is bound to be a lot of bickering over the issue. If exhibitors decide to increase admission rates to cover the hike in tax, they will have to raise the admission rates by 33%. In such a case, the nett collections would remain the same, assuming that the increase in admission rates would have no effect on cinema attendance. But since such a steep rise in admission rates is more likely (than not) to have an adverse effect on attendance in cinemas, it would mean a loss of revenue to distributors as the exhibitors in this case would be assured of their rentals as before 1st January, ’97.

The immediate reaction of the action committee members to the government’s refusal to grant any relief in tax was that cinemas should down shutters once again from 14th March. The date (March 14) was tentatively fixed in the hope that the government would, perhaps, grant relief after March 5 when the election code of conduct would cease to remain in operation.

But sensing the general resentment against another closure, the action committee is now almost decided that it wouldn’t call for a fresh closure. Distributors and exhibitors, unlike action committee members, are of the opinion that even after March 5, no concession would be forthcoming from the government and, therefore, a closure would not help. Looking to this mood of the trade, the action committee dropped the plan for a second closure. As it is, cinemas of Marathwada region did not join in the bandh last month and would surely not join in this time. Distributors and exhibitors of C.P. Berar are also said to be against another bandh.

A general meeting of distributors and exhibitors was scheduled to be held at Opera House cinema on 17th February to chalk out the future course of action. But having mentally decided against a closure, it is not known whether the general meeting will, in fact, be held or not.

DISTRIBUTORS UNHAPPY

The most unhappy due to the 100% entertainment tax rate are the distributors. If cinemas do not increase admission rates to cover the hike, distributors will have to bear the major chunk of loss in nett collections. If cinemas do hike admission rates, attendance is likely to go down, in which case, it will be the loss of distributors alone. Distributors, who have bought films for Bombay at fancy prices, are panicking because when the deals were struck, the tax rate was 50%. Producers are unlikely to agree to compensate them by reducing the price at the time of delivery.

GOVT. REVENUE TO GO UP

The revenue of the government of Maharashtra is not likely to go down due to the hike in entertainment tax. This is because cinema attendance is not likely to reduce by 50% due to the doubling of the tax rate.

LOSSES OF UPTO A CRORE!

Business of a hit film is likely to be reduced by anywhere between Rs. 50 lakh and a crore or even more, thanks to the hike in entertainment tax. As for flop films, it is feared that some of them may not be able to bear the burden of 100% tax.

Last week’s releases, Yeshwant and Judwaa, are likely to suffer to the tune of at least Rs. 60 to 75 lakh because of the tax hike.

Cinemas are also likely to feel the pinch of the tax rate hike. If the government does not reduce the tax, it is possible that some cinemas may be forced to close down for good.

COMPOUND TAX

Cinemas, which were paying compound tax before 1st January, 1997, are confused about the exact status due to the hike in entertainment tax. The government has made no clarification about the rate and amount of compound tax (which is fixed according to the population of the city/town). Rather, the Collectors have been demanding 100% tax from such cinemas too.

PRODUCERS TO BE HIT

Today, producers may not be feeling the gravity of the situation created due to the increase in entertainment tax in Maharashtra. But they will feel the pinch — and feel it terribly — in the months to come. For one, distributors will now not pay the fancy prices they had been paying so far for films. Secondly, distributors may even ask for a price reduction at the time of delivery in case of films earlier acquired by them but not yet released.

BOMBAY CINEMAS HIKE ADMISSION RATES

Cinemas in Bombay city and suburbs have either hiked or are all set to hike their admission rates by 33% with a view to pass on the burden of extra entertainment tax to the public completely. Cinemas like Liberty, Satyam, Sundaram, Sachinam, New Era, Gaiety, Galaxy and Gemini are already selling tickets at the enhanced rates. Many other cinemas are awaiting permission from the Collector for increasing admission rates. The permission should come in four to five days’ time. That would mean, an increase in admission rates at such cinemas either this week or next.

RELEASES UNCERTAIN

Considering the uncertain situation in Maharashtra, releases of several films have been postponed. There is confusion about whether cinemas will down shutters once again in protest against the 100% tax. Due to this, some producers have decided to announce their release plans only once the mater is settled.

CENSOR NEWS

Puja Films’ Hero No. 1, seen on 11th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/1/6/97 (U) dt. 14-2-’97; length 3889.56 metres in 16 reels (no cuts).

Tips Films P. Ltd.’s Auzaar will be issued UA certificate dt. 14-2-’97 early next week.

Shree Siddha Rameshwar Films’ Piya Ka Ghar has been passed for U, with cuts.

A.G. Films (P.) Ltd.’s Lahoo Ke Do Rang (length 4615.28 metres in 17 reels), applied on 12th, was seen on 13th.

YOU ASKED IT

Why are producers not reacting to the 100% entertainment tax in Maharashtra? Are they not going to feel the pinch with the tax rate having doubled?

– Producers are bound to feel the pinch because Bombay distributors will now think ten times before buying films at fancy prices. This is because business in Maharashtra will go down due to the phenomenal hike in entertainment tax. It wouldn’t be surprising if distributors even failed to take deliveries of contracted films at the contracted prices.

What are the reports of Hero No. 1?

– The reports are excellent.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Chetan Anand had given break to Kamini Kaushal in his NEECHA NAGAR 50 years ago. At that time, Chetan Anand’s brother, Vijay Anand, was a 7-year old boy whom Kamini Kaushal used to dote on. Today, fifty years later, Vijay Anand will be playing Kamini Kaushal’s son in NYAYMURTI KRISHNAMURTY, being directed by himself!

* Singer Udit Narayan is mighty impressed with the ‘Tu hai kamaal’ song he recorded recently with Kavita Krishnamoorthy for Jyotin Goel’s SAFARI. It has been composed by new music directors Shyam-Mohan.

WANT TO GET MARRIED? SCREEN ‘RAJA HINDUSTANI’

* Is RAJA HINDUSTANI a good omen for marriages? So it would seem, judging by what has happened in the families of people associated with cinemas screening the film in C.I. circuit. Of the families of persons connected with the 14 cinemas which have so far screened or are screening the film, there have been weddings in eight families during the film’s run. The niece of the owner of Sapna cinema, Indore; the daughter of the owner of Jyoti, Bhopal; the daughter of the manager of Radha, Bhopal; the sister of the owner of Panchsheel, Bhopal; the nephew of the owner of Metro, Ujjain; the son and daughter of the owner of Lokendra, Ratlam; the daughter of the owner of Mohan, Mhow; and the son of the manager of Sehore Talkies, Sehore have all either got married or are due to get married during the run of RAJA HINDUSTANI at the respective cinemas!

Who Is To Blame More?

The Maharashtra government has played its old game once again. It had made a promise on 6th January and then it went back on its word, refusing to grant reliefs it had assured the industry of. Again, on 11th February, it did what it is known for — lying through its teeth. After assuring the action committee of the film industry that they would grant concessions if the cinemas were reopened unconditionally, ministers of the Shiv Sena-BJP government just refused to give any concession or relief.

The government’s action — or rather, inaction — is worth condemning, especially because the enhanced rate of entertainment tax (100%) would sound the death-knell for quite a few cinemas and distributors. The government seems to be killing the hen which lays the golden egg. It is not as if the government will not realise its mistake. It will! It is a different matter that its ego will prevent it from admitting that it had erred. It is also possible that it realises its folly after it is too late.

If the government is to be blamed for the sorry state of affairs in which the Maharashtra film industry finds itself today, the industry itself also cannot shirk responsibility for it. Whether the members of the action committee of the film industry like it or not, they have failed in their battle. And failed due to their own faults and follies.

If the cinema closure was not total from day one, it is the action committee which must take the blame. Why the action committee members did not prevail upon the Marathwada region exhibitors to join them in the bandh, is not known. And if they could not convince them to join in the closure, why did they launch such a half-hearted battle? Even after the closure commenced, how did some cinemas in C.P. Berar dare to reopen? Again, it spoke volumes for the lack of leadership. Unfortunately, the Maharashtra industry did not have a leader who could inspire everybody and get them united for a common cause. In times of closure/strike, a leader who can keep everybody’s morale high is required. Such a leader was conspicuous by his absence here.

Most important of all, why did the action committee agree to reopen the cinemas without getting any relief and merely on the strength of empty promises of politicians? The committee might say that had they not called off the closure, the bandh may have fizzled out completely. But even this argument is not appropriate because, had the bandh fizzled out, it would again point out to the ineffective leadership.

Who is to blame more — our government or our leaders? You be the judge.

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Script Is The Thing

Believe it or not, Sooraj Barjatya had finalised the one-line story of his new film as far back as in September 1994 — that is, just a month after the release of his Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. He has been working on the script since then. Little wonder, his scripts are so tight and flawless.

Satyam About ‘Shivam’ Invitation: It’s Truly Sundaram

The invitation card for the muhurt of Kulbhushan Gupta’s Shivam must be the longest ever. Rolled and packed in the style of a bullet, the invitation measures over 115 centimetres in height. It shows pictures of the two newcomers being introduced in the film — Panini, son of late Raaj Kumar, and Maheep, better known as Sanjay Kapoor’s girlfriend. The catchy invitation card has been designed by Studio Link. Incidentally, the invitation comes in a letter sent alongwith the ‘card’, and no mention of the muhurt is made on the 155 cms. card, “so that people can pin up the card,” as Kulbhushan Gupta says.

Ambitious ‘Dus’

Mukul Anand’s Dus, starring Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan, is based on the Operation Topac which was initiated by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq in Kashmir in 1988. It is not only being directed by Mukul but also produced by him jointly with Nitin Manmohan, Sunil Manchanda and Gautam Kumar. This ambitious film of Neha-MAD is being written by Piyush and Prasun Pandey, the two talented brothers of Ila Arun. They both are famous ad copywriters. While Piyush shot to fame with his national integration campaign, ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’, Prasun made a great mark with his humorous Ericsson mobile phone commercial. His (debut) Ericsson film made him the first Indian to win the Silver Lion at Cannes. That the film will be quite different from the past films of Mukul Anand is clear from what a press release of the company, signed by Mukul, says: “Having completed 25 years of dependence on the clichés that plague our filmmaking, I am now embarking on a new journey whereby the quest is for new vistas in commercial cinema. ….It’s like starting all over again.”