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Monday, May 6, 2024

Yeh Dillagi is a musical, youthful love story.

(From our issue dated 7th May, 1994)

YEH DILLAGI

Aditya Films’ Yeh Dillagi is a musical, youthful love story. Music is its biggest scoring point and it must be said to the credit of music directors Dilip Sen Sam­eer Sen that they’ve come up with some fantastic songs. The picturisations match the quality of music, thereby making the songs a veritable audio-visual treat.

The story deals with a poor girl and two rich brothers – one, a Casanova, and the other, a straightforward and sober businessman. The Casanova brother rubs the girl the wrong way but falls in love with her once she becomes a top-ranking model. The other brother, unaware of his brother’s one-sided love story, also falls in love with the girl who reciprocates his love. Finally, one brother sacrifices his love for the sake of the other’s love.

Although the story has hardly any novelty, the scripting is fresh and the drama has been presented well. The light scenes, the fun and frolic, the songs (well spaced out) and dances, all of these make the film an entertaining experience. The comedy scene with the gay and Saif is hilarious. Climax is predictable. Dialog­ues are good.

Akshay Kumar does a fine job, acting with just the right amount of restraint. His single action scene is superb and so is his dance. Saif Ali Khan is cute and acts very well. He is excellent in the ‘Ole Ole’ dance. It is Kajol who gets the best foot­ age and she comes out with flying colours. Her performance is praiseworthy and she looks stunning as the model. Saeed Jaffrey and Deven Varma provide good light moments. Reema, Achyut Pot­dar, Neena Softa and the rest lend able support.

Debut-making Naresh Malhotra’s dir­ection is competent. Music, as said above, is super-hit. The ‘Ole Ole’ song is already a rage with youngsters and its picturisation is superb. ‘Hothon pe bas’ is also wonderful and has been sexily pic­turised. ‘Barkha ki ghadi’ and ‘Naam kya hai’ are well picturised. The title song and Pankaj Udhas’ ghazal are lyrically rich. Camerawork is very effective. Simla lo­cations are a treat to watch. Production values are very good.

On the whole, reasonably priced Yeh Dillagi is a racy musical entertainer for teenagers and masses. It will bring in rich dividends and can prove class ‘A’.

Released on 6-5-’94 at Novelty and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru A.A. Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. 1st day Indore 47,367/- from 3 cinemas, Bhopal 35,715/- from 2 cinemas, Jaipur 79,397/- from 3 cinemas, C.P. Berar excellent.

DO YOU KNOW?

* HMV, in a bid to promote Vinod Chopra’s 1942 A LOVE STORY and its music, has got printed special pic­ture postcards of the film, having pic­tures of scenes from the film on one side and a little explanation of the picture on the reverse.

* Allahabad may be topping the list of cities in India as far as closure of cinemas is concerned. It had 18 cine­mas not long ago, of which seven have downed shutters. The closed cinemas are Naaz, Rupbani, Vish­wam­bhar, Payal, Jhankar, Vishwa­ mitra and Kalpana.

* Mehul Kumar has completed the entire shooting of his KRANTI­ VEER in just 6 months. It took him 72 shifts, spread over 62 days, to complete the film.

* On the last day of shooting of KRANTIVEER, Nana Patekar bid a tearful farewell to all the unit mem­ bers. He became emotional while taking leave of the cast and crew of KRANTIVEER.

* Dimple Kapadia participated in a Holi dance for KRANTIVEER last week at Aram Nagar, Versova, Bom­bay. And she will go through the Holi revelries all over again at the same venue from May 9 to 12, this time for PATHREELA RAASTA.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) is creating records at Sadhna, Baroda. It had collected 96,436/- in 1st week and 1,03,507/- in 2nd week. In the 3rd week, it has collected 1,12,395/-.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi, TF) has created a record by collecting 42,928/- in 3rd week at Circle, Nasik. It has also created a record by collecting a total of 3,50,050/- in 3 weeks (3rd week TF) at Anuradha, Nasik Road.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a record by collecting 1,20,180/- in 3rd week (36 shows) at Regal, Kan­pur. 1st week (28 shows) was 1,15,680/- and 2nd week (28 shows) was 1,06,152/-.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a city record for dubbed films by collecting 53,049/- in 2nd week at Balram, Bilaspur. 1st week was 62,300/-. 3rd week 1st day 5,210/-, record.

MIX MASALA

CALCUTTA CALLING

Both, Dilip Kankaria and Salim Akh­tar, have released their films (Mohabbat Ki Arzoo and Aa Gale Lag Jaa) this week in a couple of cinemas only, while the actual release will be next week. This has been done with a view to circumvent (without flouting) the FMC regulation that no deliveries will be effected after 6th May. Interesting to note that both the producers hail from Calcutta.

NO DELIVERY,
ONLY RELEASE

Heard of a film’s release without its delivery being effected? Qatil Husn Ka, a dubbed film, was released last month in C.I. although its distributor (Ankit Enter­ prises) did not take delivery thereof from the producer. Reportedly, the prints were taken from the Rajasthan distributor and screened in Indore and Bhopal. Qatil producer ka!

YOU ASKED IT

Is the Hindi dubbed version of Jura­ssic Park expected to cross the business of the dubbed Roja?

– Yes, it should.

I want to make a Hindi film with Ar­vind Swamy of Roja as the hero. Is it advisable to sign him?

– After the success of ROJA, Arvind has become a favourite at many places.

When films dubbed in Hindi from South languages don’t all fare well, do you think, dubbed foreign films will affect the Indian film industry adversely?

– Dubbed foreign films with an ele­ment of novelty can be expected to score in India.

POOJA BEDI WEDS

Pooja Bedi got married to model Farhan Ibrahim on 6th May in Bombay.

GULSHAN KUMAR’S STUDIO AT NOIDA INAUGURATED

Gulshan Kumar’s new studio at NOIDA (U.P.) was formally inaugurated recently by his father, Chandrabhan. The first film to be shot there is Gulshan Kumar’s own film, Suryaputra Shani­ dev. A 14-day schedule is in progress at the studio on two different sets. The film stars Puneet Essar, Adarsh Gautam, Sunita Rao, Dinesh Kaushik, Dharmesh Tiwari, Vaishali, Arvind Kirad, Naresh Suri, Rooplata, Brijesh Tiwari and Sudhir Dalvi. Director: Uday Shankar Pani. Music: Nandu Honap. Art: R.K. Handa.

I-T RAIDS ON SUBHASH GHAI, ASSOCIATES

The income-tax department carried out raids on Subhash Ghai, his office in Delhi and Bombay, as also on his associa­tes – his distributor-partner, Tolu Bajaj, his Bombay distributor, Bharat Shah, and Tips, the music company which released the cassettes of his Khal-nayak – on 4th May.

‘JURASSIC PARK’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

The Hindi dubbed version of Jurassic Park has been granted 100% tax exemption in Maharashtra for a period of one year. It is being screened at tax-free rates from 2nd May.

BABUBHAI PATEL NO MORE

Babubhai Patel (Krishnakant A. Patel), proprietor of Gopal Talkies, Cambay, passed away on 3rd May at Cambay (Guja­rat).

VULGARITY IN FILMS: MPS TO MEET INDUSTRY

Vulgarity and obscenity in films will be the topic of discussion in a meeting of the film industry with members of Parliament (including lady MPs) on 11th May in Delhi. The I & B minister and the ministry’s secretariat will also attend the meeting. A delegation of the film industry will leave for Delhi on 11th morning.

DD TO DO AWAY WITH CUT-OFF YEAR

The cut-off year for the telecast of feature films under Doordarshan’s sponsored films’ scheme is likely to go soon. This assurance was given by Mr. R. Basu, additional secretary, I & B ministry, and director-general of Door­darshan, Miss S. Gokhale (joint secretary of I & B ministry), and R.K. Singh (additional director-general of DD), to a delegation of the film industry on 5th May in Delhi. The industry delegation comprised G.P. Shirke and K.D. Shor­ey. According to Shorey, “The meeting was very fruitful.”

Doordarshan has fixed 1984 as the cut-off year for purposes of this scheme but there may soon be no restriction on the year. The minister assured the dele­gation that good films produced before 1984 (from 1964 to 1979) would be telecast on national holidays and Wed­ nesday nights, while the cut-off year would be considered for Saturday screenings till the restriction was re­ moved completely.

The officials also assured the team that the rates for telecast of Hindi as well as regional films would be increa­sed. The new rates for regional films would be two-and-a-half times the current rates but DD would be entitled to telecast them thrice (instead of once only) at the concerned regional centre. The rate for ‘B’ category Hindi films would be enhanced from Rs. 4 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh.

Award-winning films would be per­mitted to be telecast after being dub­bed in various languages for different DD kendras. Half the cost of dubbing would be borne by the I & B ministry.

NO NEW RELEASES AFTER 6TH MAY
FMC GETS STRICT, REBUTS FDC
No Early Solution In Sight

Even six days after the Film Makers Combine’s decision to postpone indefinitely all releases after 6th May, no headway has been made in settling the dispute between the FMC and the Film Distributors’ Council (FDC). No early solution also appears to be in sight, with the FDC taking a couldn’t-care-less stand vis-à-vis the FMC decision. The FMC, at the general meeting of producers held on 1st May at ISKCON, Juhu, Bombay, resolved that no producer would directly or indirectly allow the release of his film after 6th May. The extreme step has been taken by the producers due to the “unprecedented attitude of confrontation, high-handedness and harmful interference by the Film Distributors’ Council (FDC) in the activities of the production sector.”

The atmosphere was charged at the well-attended meeting of producers held under the aegis of the FMC, and the mood was upbeat. Producers decried the FDC resolutions of (i) delay of video cassettes by three months from the date of theatrical release, and (ii) producers hav­ing to seek clearance of the FDC before starting new films. Besides deciding to stop all releases of new films after 6th May, it was also resolved that no producer would deliver any new print of old films also.

TOKEN RELEASES

Producer Salim, whose Aa Gale Lag Jaa was scheduled for release on 13th May, announced amidst applause at the meeting that he did not mind if releases were suspended from 13th, even if that meant his release being affected. Later, however, Salim effected deliveries of his film to his distributors before 6th so that it could be released on 13th. It was also released at Metro, Bombay on 6th and will be released all over next week. Likewise, producer Dilip Kankaria, too, effected de­ liveries of his Mohabbat Ki Arzoo be­fore 6th and released it in a distant suburb of Bombay (one print) and a small centre of Rajasthan. Mohabbat Ki Arzoo would also be released all over next week.

MIXED REACTIONS

The convenient way in which the two producers have circumvented the FMC resolution, without technically flouting it, met with mixed reactions in trade circles. While some felt, the two were justified in doing what they had done, many others opined that it was not right.

SONKIYA APOLOGISES

The general meeting of producers felt that a three-month delay in release of video cassettes was impractical. It also condemned and decided to punish those producers who had sought FDC clearance before starting their new films despite FMC directions to the contrary, as they had thereby accorded recognition to the fdc. One of the producers who sought FDC clearance, Sunderdas Son­ kiya, has since tendered an apology to the FMC and has written to it that his application to the FDC for clearance stands withdrawn. On its part, the FDC has al­ready cleared Sonkiya’s film and granted him permission to shoot.

NO FURTHER RELEASES

A meeting of the executive committee of the Film Makers Combine was held on 6th May at IMPPA House and it was decided that nobody would be allowed to effect their deliveries hereafter. The cases of producers Salim and Dilip Kankaria were also discussed and it was decided that since they had technically released their films on 6th, they should not be stopped from actually releasing them on 13th. Barring these two films, it was deci­ ded that no other films should be allowed to be released till a settlement was reach­ ed at.

ASSURANCES

The meeting also took up for consideration rumours that G.P. Sippy was going ahead with the release of Aatish on 20th May. Sippy, who was present at the meet­ing, assured the FMC that he would not release his film till the latter and FDC did not settle the dispute. Gulshan Rai’s Mohra was scheduled for release on 27th May but he, too, gave an assurance that the film would not be released if there was no settlement.

RUMOURS

Rumours were rife all through the week that Sippy was planning to release Aatish on 6th at a station of Gujarat so that he could release it all over on 20th May even if the FMC resolution was not withdrawn till then. Insiders, however, re­veal that although Aatish has been cen­sored, some re-shooting was still to be done, and the film could not be released prior to that.

SHIRKE BLASTS

In a chat with Information, G.P. Shirke lamented that G.P. Sippy was thinking of releasing Aatish on 20th at the cost of unity. He condemned Sippy’s plans in no uncertain terms.

LAST CHANCE

J. Om Prakash was concerned for the production sector and prayed that unity would be maintained in the FMC. “No­ body must flout the FMC resolution,” he said, adding, “This is the last chance for producers. If there surfaces a Vibhishan among producers, our Lanka will be burnt.”

FDC NOT IN HURRY

Reacting to the FMC resolution, San­tosh Singh Jain, speaking on behalf of the FDC, said that it (the FDC) was in no hurry. “If the FMC will not allow its members to release films after 6th May, let that be, we don’t mind,” he said. Acc­ording to Jain, it may take two months before a solution is arrived at. “Good construction can come only after a good destruction,” he said, adding, “A strong foundation must be laid for a strong structure to be built. Putting off the releases is like destruction or, in other words, a good foundation.”

Distributors’ Misdirected Enthusiasm

It has happened for the second time in seven months. In November ’93, producers were involved in a battle with cine workers and had to ulti­mately resort to suspension of all production activities. This time, they are engaged in a battle with distributors and have had to call for suspension of releases of films after 6th May.

The present dispute with distributors is mainly on two issues – one, re­lease of video cassettes, and two, clearance to producers for their new films. It is the contention of the Film Distributors’ Council (FDC) that video cassettes should not be released for three months from the date of theatrical release of a film. The FDC also wants that producers should seek its clearance before starting any new film so that it (FDC) can monitor the star ceiling scheme. The FDC has alleged that star ceiling was its baby and it was taking its possession back from the Film Makers Combine (FMC) as the latter had failed to take care of it or, in other words, had not implemented it properly.

The FDC seems to have taken these unilateral decisions because the FMC went back on its agreement with it on the point of delaying video cassettes by three months.

Whatever the reasons for the actions and counter-actions of the two parties, some re-thinking needs to be done on both the sides. Confron­tation benefits none. Both, producers and distributors, must bury their egos for the common interest of all.

The FDC’s move to delay the release of video cassettes is no doubt laudable, but isn’t it getting too impractical in asking for a three-month delay? Delaying videos by three months is fraught with at least two dangers – (i) surfacing of pirated video cassettes, and (ii) video distributors refusing to take delivery after three months in a majority of the cases as 85% of the films are flops/disasters/losers. To begin with, a two-week delay would be ideal. If the idea clicks, producers would themselves be open to delay for a longer period.

The FDC’s bid to monitor the star ceiling scheme is nothing but misdirected over-enthusiasm. Producers sign stars, they produce films, then on what basis can the distributors appoint themselves as the clearance authority? Next, they may say, all scripts must be approved by the FDC. The distributors’ involvement is praiseworthy, but let them not usurp the pow­ers of the producers. Because, finally, it is the producer who is the principal, and a distributor is but his agent. And nowhere in the world does an agent wield more power than the principal. The film industry is no exception.

– Komal Nahta3

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Englightenment

I-T Sleuths Impressed

On Thursday, May 5, the national dailies of Bombay carried the news of income-tax raids on Subhash Ghai and his associates, on their front pages. And what exactly did the I-T sleuths think about Ghai and his accounts? Well, they were mighty impressed with the meticulous functioning of the showman’s office. Reportedly, the cash in hand tallied paisa to paisa with that shown in the accounts book. The I-T offi­cials got whatever information they wanted, in seconds, thanks to the data fed into Ghai’s computer. And about Sub­hash Ghai himself, they said, they’d never met a more simple person.

Moral of the story: If you don’t want the I-T people as your guests, don’t be a Simple Simon. Right, Mr. Ghai?

Record Tax!

And while on Ghai and the income-tax raids, it wouldn’t be out of place to mention here that the showman has paid income-tax of Rs. 72 lakh last year.

Keeping I-T People Away… The Ghai Way

Overheard after the income-tax raid on Subhash Ghai and his associates, reportedly initiated by the department due to the outstanding sale of the music of Khal-nayak: “Now, just to spite the income-tax department, Subhash Ghai must make a film with poor music.” Na rahegi (bajegi) music, na aayen­ ge income-tax wale.

White Cars

There’s a shortage of white Ambassador cars in Madras! A total of 300 such cars were required for the climax shooting of Pranlal Mehta’s Mafia, but the makers could manage to get only 194. The cars are being used in the shooting from 3rd to 9th May.

Inspired From….

Of course, this is a sheer coincidence, but both the releases of this week, Pehla Pehla Pyar and Yeh Dillagi, are inspired from Audrey Hepburn starrers of the fifties, viz. Roman Holiday and Sabrina respectively. The Bombay distributors of both the films (Kanak Films and A.A. Films respectively) have their office in Naaz building in the same premises.

Personal Touch

Kajol visited Gaiety cinema at Bandra, Bombay on 2nd May, the day on which the advance booking of Yeh Dillagi opened, and personally autographed the tickets. There was almost a stampede to see Kajol, and police had to be called in to control the crowd.

Jugal Hansraj, too, visits Metro, Bombay daily and is there from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. while the advance booking of his Aa Gale Lag Jaa is on.

Considerate Pahlaj

There are few producers like Pahlaj Nihalani who think of their distributors so considerately. Realising that his distributors would lose in Andaz mainly because of its high price, he has promised to adequately compensate their losses. Natu­rally, his distributors are thrilled with Pahlaj’s concern.

IFDA Decries Obscenity

The Indian Film Directors’ Association has expressed grave concern over obscenity on cinema screens. In a press release issued by general secretary Madhusudan, it has put the blame on the I & B minister, K.P. Singh Deo, and the CBFC chairman, Shakti Samanta, “who is holding an elected posi­tion in the film producers’ apex organisation. He is in no posi­tion to annoy or alienate any of the producers who are his electoral constituency.” The release adds that the crying need is the strict and uniform application of guidelines. No one should be allowed to circumvent. “It is not that cinemas will empty out if cinegoers do not see forward thrusts of the pelvis or gruesome, blood-splattered violence…… There are a host of producers who feel revolted at the kind of films they have to compete with. They should not be left to feel helpless.”

New Titles

Let’s have a look at some of the interesting new titles registered by the title registration committee in its meeting held on 18th April:

Dear India, Race Course, Aaj Ka Nayak, One Way Traffik, Herapheri Master, Vijay Ki Vijay, Calendar 1995, Bharat Mein Mahabharat, Hum To Mohabbat Karega, Hinsaraaj, 1 Dn. – Calcutta Mail, Conductor, Bus Stop, Laila Chhaila, Buckle, Drummer, 1-13-7, Fauladi Mard, Bangali Babu, Bangali Babu Bombay Mein, Laadla Beta, Love Ticket, Gunda Vakil, 13 Khoon, One More Idea Sir, Sali Ras Ki Pyali.

Frighteningly Crazy

A distributor of Rajasthan telephoned his producer on the day of release of their film. “How is it?”, questioned the excited producer. As the public response was dismal, the unhappy distributor replied, “Darr lagta hai….” The producer shot back. “Oh, great! I’ll be happy if it is as good as Darr. Mujhe bhi meri film Darr lagti thi.” The distributor banged down the receiver in disgust.

Saajan Ka Ghar, remake of the Marathi super-hit

(From our issue dated 30th April, 1994)

SAAJAN KA GHAR

Roopvati Productions’ Saajan Ka Ghar, remake of the Marathi super-hit Maherchi Saadi (which itself was ins­pired from hits in other languages), is an emotional family drama. It is the story of a girl whose father refuses to even see her face right from the time she is born be­cause he considers her unlucky. But, in fact, she spells luck wherever she goes. Finally, the girl sacrifices her life for the sake of the happiness of her mother-in law, and when her father yearns to see his dead daughter’s face, nature comes in the way. The first half is a tear-jerker and has plenty of emotions for ladies. The film becomes a bit dull after interval and the sentiments then do not manifest them­ selves as effectively. Dialogues (Adesh K. Arjun) are excellent and some are ex­tremely touching. Comedy track is quite entertaining but it does not have any con­nection with the story. Climax is effective.

Juhi Chawla is the life of the film and gives a praiseworthy performance as the suffering girl. Rishi Kapoor has less scope but does full justice to his role. Deepak Tijori, as Juhi’s step-brother, plays the sympathetic rebellion with complete con­viction and wins the audience’s hearts. Anupam Kher is okay. Bindu is effective and so is Shubha Khote. Farheen does an average job. Kader Khan and Johny Lever entertain to some extent. Aloknath, Mohnish Bahl, Anjana Mumtaz, Beena, Tej Sapru and others support adequately.

Direction is quite good. Had the focus been equally, if not more, on father-dau­ghter as on sister-brother, it would have been better. The ‘bidaai’ song,’ ‘Apni bhi zindagi’, ‘Saawan aaya’ and ‘Nazar jid­har jidhar jaye’ are musically appealing numbers. ‘Dard sahenge’ is good. Song picturisations (Raju Khan and Farah Khan) are eye-catching. Action is appropriate. Photography and other technical values are of good standard. Background music serves to accentuate the emotional impact in the film.

On the whole, Saajan Ka Ghar is a slow starter (except in Bombay) but will pick up by word of mouth, on the strength of ladies audience to prove a paying film.

Released on 29-4-’94 at Minerva and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru Shrin­gar Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good (1st day Minerva full, Chitra 13,175/-, Bandra Talkies full, Pinky 20,506/-, Kasturba full, Jaya 17,174/-, Kalpana 14,867/-). …….Also released all over.

LATESTPOSITION

Vacation period is aiding the box-office. On the other hand, summer heat is taking its toll.

Anjaam has not been appreciated. Collections started falling after a very good start…..

…..

Jurassic Park (dubbed) continues to do roaring business. 2nd week Bombay 10,40,055 (78.46%) from 6 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,11,810 from 5 cinemas, Baroda 1,03,507 (89.60%), re­ cord, 1st week Jamnagar (7 shows) 22,000; 2nd week Kolhapur 60,414 (96.54%), Solapur (14 shows) 38,388, Satara 68,459, Nasik Road 91,874, Malegaon 42,903; Delhi 14,39,098 from 7 cinemas; 1st week Lucknow 1,54,903, 2nd Agra 99,980, Aligarh (shifting) 73,810; 1st week Calcutta 73,794 (98.74%); 2nd Nagpur 1,89,310 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,00,615, record, Am­ravati 84,384, Akola 46,500, 1st week Bhilai 1,48,018 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Chandrapur 45,442 (1st 69,510), 1st week Bilaspur (27 shows) 62,146, record; 2nd Indore (31 shows) 86,400 (100%), theatre record, Bhopal 1,25,453 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,86,948, 1st week Aj­mer (29 shows) 68,919, Kota 86,035; 2nd Hyderabad 4,39,928 from 4 cinemas.

……

––––––

Jurassic Park (English) 2nd week Sterling, Bombay 2,71,530 (100%); Ah­medabad (last) 33,876, Surat 40,260, Baroda 57,970 (76.34%); Kolhapur 24,848 (38.22%), Solapur 29,951, Nasik 51,000; Nagpur 50,397, 1st week Raipur 45,730; 2nd Vijayawada 2,84,124 from 2 cine­mas, Visakhapatnam 2,26,336, Rajah­mundry 66,742.

DO YOU KNOW?

* ANJAAM has created a theatre re­cord by collecting 1,16,049/- (against 1,25,780/-) in 1st week at Vihar, Baroda.

* ANJAAM has created a theatre re­cord by collecting 68,970/- in 1st week at Rajlaxmi, Amravati.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a theatre record by collecting 1,03,507/- (against a capacity of 1,15,521/-) in 2nd week at Sadhana, Baroda.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a theatre record by collecting 1,45,374/- in 2nd week at Smruti, Nagpur. 1st week was 1,49,905/-.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a theatre record by collecting 50,103/- in 1st week at Rajkamal, Dhulia.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) is the first film to have collected over a lakh (1,00,165/-) in 2nd week at Anand, Jabalpur. Total for 2 weeks: 2,02,050/-, all-time theatre record.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has created a theatre record by collecting 86,400/- in 2nd week (31 shows) at Sapna, Indore. All shows were full. The cinema was forced to conduct 6 shows on Saturday owing to huge family crowds. Incidentally, the C.I. distributor, in the press publicity of the film, advertises the names of the cinemas as ‘Disneyland’ with the actual name in brackets!

* ANDAZ has created a theatre record by yielding a distributor’s share of 1,70,000/- in 3 weeks at Pratap, Baro­da. 3 weeks’ collections:- 1st 87411/-, 2nd 78,292/-, 3rd 65,820/-.

YOU ASKED IT

So many films are exempted from payment of entertainment tax these days. What do you think about it?

– We need complete abolition of entertainment tax.

Which Hindi film has taken the long­est time in the making? And which, the shortest?

– LOVE AND GOD took the longest time – more than two decades – in the making. M. Maroof’s MOHABBAT KA MASIHA took the shortest time – 48 hours – and this has qualified it to be entered in the Guinness Book of World Records.

G.P. SIPPY BEREAVED

Sunita J. Uttamsingh, daughter of pro­ducer G.P. Sippy, expired in London on 28th April. She was 42. The production and distribution offices of the Sippys re­mained closed on 29th.

‘TEJASVINI TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

N. Chandra’s Tejasvini has been granted tax exemption in Maharashtra, for a period of one year. The film is running at tax-free rates from 29th April.

ISHRAT ALI WEDS

Marriage of actor Ishrat Ali with Nigar Sultan was solemnised on April 24 in Bombay. A reception to celebrate the wedding was held the same evening at Vile Parle Club, Juhu. It was well-attended by film personalities.

LALCHAND JANIANI’S SON TO WED

Wedding reception of Harish, son of Lalchandji Janiani of Prem Films, Indore, with Lata will be held on May 6 at Yesh­ want Club Ground, Indore.

AMRUTA ASSAULTS JOURNALIST

Amrita Singh allegedly attacked film journalist Kanan Divecha on 27th April at the Star & Style office at Juhu, Bombay. Amrita had gone to the office alongwith her husband, Saif Ali Khan, and their sec­retary, Bhupendra.

The magazine’s editor, Uma Rao, call­ed a press conference on 29th at the Press Club and stated that the apparent provocation for the attack was a story written by Kanan Divecha in Star & Style two years ago, on an “embarrassing encoun­ter” between Amitabh Bachchan and Amrita Singh. According to Uma, Amrita and Saif had sought a meeting with her in the presence of Kanan to clear a recent mis­understanding. While the meeting was on at the office, Amrita suddenly “poun­ced on Kanan and began strangling her and beating her all over”. Uma added that Saif and Bhupendra were mere spectators to the drama.

Uma tried to set Kanan free from Am­rita’s grip and it was only when she failed that Saif and Bhupendra pulled her away from Amrita. It is alleged that later Saif became aggressive.

Both the parties have lodged comp­laints against each other and a case has been registered in the Santacruz police station.

MISSED THE BUS

Producer Ashok Thakeria has pro­ved unlucky twice in the last eight months. And both the times, with dub­bed films!

His distributor-friend, Tolu Bajaj, had suggested that the two of them distribute Roja in partnership in Delhi-U.P. Somehow, the deal did not mate­rialise; Roja went on to become a hit. (It was distributed by another distributor.)

The second time, it was the Hindi dubbed version of Jurassic Park. Once again, Tolu and Ashok decided to buy the film in partnership. And once again, it was not to be. But this time, Tolu Bajaj’s luck favoured him. He bought the film without Thakeria’s partnership. Jurassic Park, needless to add, is a blockbuster.

Moral of the story: If it’s a dubbed film now, and if the offer is from Tolu Bajaj, Thakeria must simply nod in agreement.

‘Krantiveer’ Complete

The entire shooting of Mehul Movies P. Ltd.’s Krantiveer, a Din­esh Gandhi presentation, produced and directed by Mehul Kumar, has been completed following a 22-day marathon schedule which concluded on April 27. The last schedule was held at R.K. Studios, Chandivali, Fil­mistan, Natraj and Kamaal Amrohi Studios and at Convent Villa, where the remaining dramatic, action and preclimax scenes were picturised featuring the entire cast. Nana Patekar and Dimple Kapadia head the cast of the film starring Atul Agnihotri, Mamta Kulkarni, Paresh Rawal, Bindu, Fari­da Jalal, Tinnu Anand, Ishrat Ali, Mukesh Rawal, Rakesh Bedi, Mah­esh Anand, Mushtaq Khan, Zubair Khan, K.K. Raaj, Anu Dhawan, Ghanshyam Nayak, Devendra Pandit, Ankush Mohit and Danny Denzong­pa. Written by K.K. Singh, it has music by Anand Milind and lyrics by Sam­eer. Cinematography: Rusi Billimoria. Editing: Yusuf Shaikh. Action: Man­soor. Art: Sunil Singh. The film’s post-production work commences on May 5 with dubbing session.

GENERAL MEETING OF PRODUCERS TOMORROW

The Film Makers Combine has convened a general meeting of all the producers on 1st May at 5.30 p.m. at ISKCON, Juhu, Bombay.

The meeting will discuss the matter pertaining to the video re­lease of feature films vis-à-vis the stand taken by the Film Distri­butors’ Council. The meeting will also take for consideration other matters affecting the production sector due to the various decisions taken by the FDC.

A.P. GOVT. PLAYING HIDE-N-SEEK WITH FILM INDUSTRY

The Andhra Pradesh government has still not announced the measures it would take to assuage the grievan­ces of the film industry in the state, although it had promised to do so on 11th April, the day the Nandi awards function was to be held. But the function itself was postponed to 30th Ap­ril. It has been further postponed now and, therefore, the government’s decision on the memorandum of de­mands submitted by the industry is still not known.

It may be recalled here that the in­dustry had postponed its proposed strike from 1st April, 1994 only due to the assurance given by the gov­ernment that action would be taken on 11th April.

Garma-Garam

** The set erected at the entrance of Film City for Tutu Sharma’s Raaj­ kumar is indeed majestic. It must­’ve cost Tutu and Vinod Doshi (who presents the film) a huge packet but the encomiums being showered on the castle set by all those who’ve seen the heavenly creation are worth more than the hefty cost. When Tutu invited me to see his set a few weeks back, saying that it was one of the finest sets erected, I thought, he was talking like a typical producer who finds everything he does, the best. But when I saw the set for myself, I had to believe what Tutu said. Art director Nitesh Roy (yes, he had created that talked-about set for 1942 A Love Story, too, at Film City) has done a marvellous job and reportedly, it took him two-and-a-half months and the efforts of 400 workers to build the castle – not in the air, of course! According to me, it is a must-see for everyone in the industry.

** After Khal-nayak, Sanjay Dutt will appear as Nayak. That’s the title of Ramgopal Varma’s new film starring Sanjay. Another film of Varma is titled Rangeela.

** Now that Jurassic Park (Hindi) has become a hit, there must be several distributors who must be cursing themselves. These distributors are those who were offered JP for distribution but refused the offer on one ground or the other. The main fear was that it was an experiment, and not many wanted to take the risk. Those who did take the risk are having the last laugh. Suresh Sikchi (of Anurag Films, Amravati) bought its distribution rights for C.P.C.I. Rajasthan. He then ventured to sell the rights for C.I. and Rajasthan but nobody came forward. He must’ve been nervous for having to release it in the entire circuit but his nervousness has given way to smiles. Tolu Bajaj was undecided till the eleven­th hour about whether he should or should not buy it for Delhi-U.P. It was kabhi haan kabhi naa for him. Finally, he clinched the deal and, in the bargain, got a jackpot. Bombay distributor Sharad Doshi was the first to strike a deal with Paramount Pic­tures. There was no buyer for Ben­gal, and Sharad Doshi acquired it for part of that territory after seeing the first week’s collections!

** The general meeting of producers, convened by the Film Makers Com­bine on 1st May, is not a day too early. The FDC’s unilateral decisions about video releases and clearance for new films are creating a lot of confusion in the minds of producers. Besides a solution to the problem, the general meeting can be expected to at least clear the con­fusion.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Englightenment

Rishi & Juhi Film Festivals

It’s going to be a virtual Rishi Kapoor film festival beginning this week. Saajan Ka Ghar is the inaugural film follo­wed by Pehla Pehla Pyar next week and Mohabbat Ki Arzoo on 13th May. Close on the heels of these films will come Ghar Ki Izzat, Rishta Ho To Aisa and Premyog. Juhi Chawla’s film festival started with Andaz. Her second film in the festival was Paramaatma, followed by Saajan Ka Ghar this week. Ghar Ki Izzat and Rishta Ho To Aisa will come next.

Ladies First…… And Last

Shringar Films, the Bombay distributors of Saajan Ka Ghar, held free opening shows of the film for ladies only, at various places. Gentlemen were prohibited in such shows, held at Bombay (Minerva and Ashish-Chembur), Kolhapur, Pune, Nasik, Ahmedabad and Surat. The ladies show at Minerva, the main cinema of Bombay, was formally inaugurated by the Mayor of Bombay, Nirmala Samant-Prabha­ valkar. What’s more, handkerchieves were also distributed free among the ladies audience in these shows. …..At Ashish-Chembur, the crowd of ladies in the special show was so much that they compelled the management to allow them to see the film, sitting on the floor. At Minerva, questionnaires were distributed among the audience for their views on the film. At Kolhapur, a crowd of 5,000 ladies had gathered for the special show (for which tickets were distributed at the ticket-window by a leading corporator) and police had to be summoned to control them.

The Great Studio Project

Producer-director Sanjay Khan is so enamoured of JodhPur that he is game for investing upto Rs.130 crore in a studio project he has in mind, to be built in this picturesque city of Rajasthan. This was revealed by the Khan who was shooting the battle of Panipat for his TV serial, The Great Maratha, at Mandalnath Hills near Jodhpur recently. He said, the stud­io would cost Rs. 500 crore and he was ready to invest 26% of the project cost if the Rajasthan government provided land at concessional rate, and the financial institutions provided loan at low interest and easy repayment facility. The maker added that he was sure not only of regional film producers of Rajasthan wanting to shoot at the studio, besides those of nearby states of M.P., U.P. and Bihar but also Bollywood producers because the city had wonderful locations and of different kinds.

Anjaam (a) is one more film in which current heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan plays a negative hero

ANJAAM

Shiv-Bharat Films’ Anjaam (a) is one more film in which current heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan plays a negative hero, this time more venomous than ever. It is the story of an extremely rich and eccentric boy who must have what he desires. He goes bonkers over a girl and wants her to marry him at any cost. When all his attempts fail, he gets down to ruining her. His philosophy: if she can’t be mine, she can’t be anybody else’s. After a lot of tor­ture, the girl sets out to avenge the atrocities perpetrated on her.

The film has an entertaining and interesting first half although it reminds of Darr at places. But soon after interval, it takes a morbid turn. Tension mounts and the violence is too brutal. Further, Shah Rukh Khan is absent from the scene for a good part of the second half, something that can’t be digested easily, looking to his present craze. Although the end is appropriate, the build-up is quite tame.

Screenplay leaves something to be de­sired. Hard-hitting dialogues were the need of the drama but, unfortunately, they aren’t so. In fact, the impact of several high-voltage scenes gets diluted because of ordinary dialogues.

Madhuri Dixit gives a wonderful per­formance and rises above the script, not once going overboard. Shah Rukh Khan is also brilliant, repeating his wild per­formance of Darr, this time like a true villain. Deepak Tijori is good in a special appearance. Johny Lever is remarkable in the role of a eunuch and provides the much-needed relief. Ghanshyam and Jugnu are okay. Tinnu Anand does a fine job. Beena, Kalpana Iyer, Kiran Kumar, Sudha Chandran, Himani Shivpuri, baby Gazala and Dinesh Hingoo lend formidable support.

Direction is fairly good. Three songs – ‘Main ro-oon ya hasoon’, ‘Chane ke khet mein’ and ‘Tu saamne jab aata hai’ – are extremely well-tuned and their picturisations are also good. ‘Pratighat ki jwala jale’ is effective. Photography and other technical values are of standard. Action is well-composed.

On the whole, Anjaam suffers on acc­ount of a weak second half. It has mainly Shah Rukh’s popularity wave (and consequent good initial value) and superlative performance of the two lead players to fall back upon. Average.

Released on 22-4-’94 at Dreamland and 27 other cinemas of Bombay thru Maha­lakshmi Film Distributors. Publici­ty: very good. Opening: very good (aff­e­cted slightly due to Sharjah cricket match). …….Also released all over. Open­ing was surprisingly poor in C.I. 1st day Jaipur 92,025/- from 4 cinemas.

LATEST POSITION

The dinosaur has proved to be the star attraction; JURASSIC PARK (Hindi) has done extraordinary busi­ness all over. The other two releases of last week were extremely weak.

…..

Jurassic Park (dubbed) proves class A. 1st week Bombay 20,58,463 (84.95%) from 13 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Ganesh, Thana 1,44,646, Tilak, Dombivli 1,45,669, Shriram, Ulhasnagar 1,53,255; Ahmeda­bad 6,15,811 from 6 cinemas, Baroda 96,436 (83.48%); Pune 3,21,215 (100%) from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 62,026 (99.12%), Solapur (14 shows) 49,240, Satara 73,500 (100%), city re­cord, Nasik Road 1,21,257, theatre re­cord, Malegaon 48,503 (99.90%), theatre record; Belgaum 63,089 (100%) from 2 cinemas (1 in noon); Delhi 11,11,863 (98.07%) from 4 cinemas; Kanpur 1,15,680, Agra 1,35,000, Allahabad 1,08,000; Nagpur 4,11,875 from 3 cine­mas, Jabalpur 1,01,884, Amravati 90,727, Akola 91,869; Indore 75,875 (100%; 1 cinema on F.H.), Bhopal 81,888; Jaipur 3,27,801 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 4,18,797 from 3 cinemas (1 cinema un­recd.).

…….

DO YOU KNOW?

* Shammi Kapoor and Raaj Kumar have been signed together for Pitra Chhaya Productions’ untitled ventu­re. The two will be seen together in the film after many years. They have come together earlier in only one film, UJALA.

* The Bombay municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities dismantled a huge set of a bungalow put up at Madh Island (next to The Retreat) by Mahendra Shah for his SARHAD, even while shooting was in progress on 20th April. The BMC contention was that proper permission had not been taken to construct the set.

B. N. GHOSH NO MORE

Producer B.N. Ghosh expired on 18th April in Bombay. He had produced Waris, starring Jeetendra. He had also worked as Jeetendra’s secretary.

ISHRAT ALI TO WED

Actor Ishrat Ali will get married to Nigar Sultan on 24th April at Vile Parle Club, behind Chandan cinema, Juhu, Bombay.

MAHARASHTRA GOVT.’S CLARIFICATION ON CINEMA FSI

Cinemas in Bombay, which have ex­ceeded the floor space index (FSI) regulations through unauthorised constructions, would be required to reduce their seating capacity, as prescribed, without the nece­ssity of pulling down any part of the structure, under a set of clarifications iss­ued by the Maharashtra government. The government has also stipulated conditions, subject to which proposals for re­ducing seating capacities of existing cinemas and permitting non-cinema uses in lieu thereof, could be considered.

MIX MASALA

LONG LIVE HER SAREE!

Sudha Chandran, who plays Madhuri Dixit’s sister in Anjaam, is shown wear­ing the same saree and blouse in almost every scene in which she appears – and the drama spans more than four years! And when Sudha Chandran does finally change her saree, she is killed in an acci­dent. Moral of the story: Don’t change your clothes if you want a long life.

SECOND TIME

Darr is Yash Chopra’s second film which has bagged the National Award for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment, the first being Chandni in 1989. B.R. Chopra’s Dhar­ amputra, which was directed by Yash Chopra, had also bagged the National Award.

How Movies Grew Up To Become Videos

Reproduced hereunder is an article that appeared in Los Angeles Times last month. It is also relevant to Indian film business and shows how videos have over­ taken theatrical business – and thereby benefitted the entertainment in­dustry.

Oscar winner Schindler’s List tells you that a good story will always have value, no matter what develops on the overwrought subjects of information highways and multimedia.

The film, which won the best film and best director awards for Steven Spiel­berg, can also be a guide to understanding many other things in the entertainment business today. For example, Schindler’s List, which has taken in 60 million dollars at the box office to-date, may do even better in home video rentals – for the very human reason that it is a searing, three-hour movie that many people might find easier to watch in their homes.

But then, more films are seen on home video than on movie screens these days – by a margin that may surprise you. In 1993, video rentals totaled 8.8 billion dollars and home video sales added an­ other 5.9 billion dollars, according to a major study by analyst Jeffrey Logsdon of Seidler Cos., a Los Angeles investments firm.

That’s almost 15 billion dollars from the U.S. video market, compared to 5.2 billion dollars at the theatrical box-office.

Moreover, video can be more profit­able than theatrical distribution for the studios, because they get a higher share of every deal, says analyst David Davis of Paul Kagan & Associates, a Carmel, Calif., research firm. Thanks to the growth of video, movie studio revenues have more than doubled in the last eight years.

The irony is that the studios didn’t see the bonanza coming. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the video rental business got started in stores owned by record dis­tributors, who first had the idea of selling movies on tape to new owners of videocassette recorders. Later, they moved to renting the films.

But the whole idea made studios un­easy. Warner Bros. and others threatened to withhold films from the storefront mer­ chants. Then the studios sought to have Congress pass a law limiting the mer­chants’ business. Fortunately for all in­volved, Congress listened to local small-business people more than it did big companies.

No action was taken on the matter, and videos became a great and stable source of film industry revenue, contributing im­portantly to making studios more valu­able – witness the recent bidding in which Viacom paid more than 10 billion dollars for Paramount.

How could studio heads a decade ago have missed the promise of such a busi­ness? Simple: They yielded to what is called the displacement fallacy – the idea that a new technology displaces a previous one. It doesn’t. Radio continues alongside television, the movie business has adapted and grown with each new wrinkle in distribution – from theaters to television to growing international markets.

The surging business of video cassette sales grew 28% last year, spurred by the runaway success of family films, espe­cially by Walt Disney Co. Disney’s Alad­din took in 286 million dollars in video sales, compared to 217 million dollars at the box-office; Pinocchio had 174 milli­on dollars in video sales, compared to 19 million dollars (worth more than 100 mil­lion dollars in today’s dollars) in box-office receipts more than 50 years ago.

A successful film doesn’t have to be a Disney classic. Free Willy, a 20th Cen­tury Fox story about a boy and a whale, took in 94 million dollars in video sales after earning 78 million dollars at the box-office.

And a film doesn’t have to be for children, nor even a box-office hit, to score in video rentals. Silver, a steamy thriller panned by critics, that took in only 37 million dollars in theatres, added an­ other 29 million dollars in rental, possibly turning a loss into a profit for Paramount.

The lesson should be clear for all in Hollywood and investors around the world, who are now trying to predict de­velopments in new media: The more ad­vances and varieties there are in film distribution, the more valuable the movie business becomes.

The latest news is that Pacific Bell is going to test a system for beaming movies digitally over telephone lines directly to theaters, eliminating the costs of duplicating films and delivering canisters.

PacBell will be testing machinery that one day could be used to send movie dir­ectly into homes in response to signals from interactive television sets – the much-touted movies on demand. Such wonders will come to pass, no doubt, but not soon and not cheaply.

Technological breakthroughs and major investments will be needed to bring interactive television over fiberoptic cables to homes and neighbourhoods. Analyst Logsdon believes that important thresholds, such as 1 million homes capable of conducting interactive experiments, may be crossed by 1998 or so.

Meanwhile, movies, one of the identifying technologies of the 20th century, will continue to attract growing audiences in the 21st century simply because they reflect an ancient art. They tell stories, as in Schindler’s List, a true story of decency and good surviving and ultimately prevailing against incredible evil.

It is a powerful business.

“I was deeply shocked and outraged……”
Anil Kapoor’s Reply To Vijay Anand

April 21, 1994

Dear Shri Vijay Anand,

Received your letter on 1st April, ’94.

I was deeply shocked and outraged at the entirely one-sided version of its content and I feel, it is in the fitness of things that I respond to your letter point by point.

(1) You said that on the sets of 1942 A Love Story, the two of us (Jackie and myself) inspired you to start a film. What happened was, during the course of a casual conversation, I suggested that you ought to be making films. “If I do, will you work with me?”, you asked, to which I answered, “Sure.” Next, you phoned my office to say that you were announcing the muhurt. Surprised, I rushed Rikoo to request you to delay the project till I had heard the script, a clause that, without exception, extends to all my film makers. But you chose to go ahead with the muhurt in travesty.

(2) You said that, perhaps, we were celebrating the April Fool’s Day with you. Quite frankly, Goldie Sahab, I’m still not sure, who played the April Fool on whom. Considering, I was the injured party, I ought to have scream­ ed betrayal. Instead, I have been accused, humiliated in print with a threat of emotional blackmail when all I was trying to do was help a senior.

(3) You have mentioned that you are grateful to us both for giving you a master-lesson in human relationships. On the contrary, Sir, I am grateful to you, for, it is through this episode that I’ve learnt how not to let a senior mis­interpret the admiration and co-operation of a junior for subjugation.

And finally, your hope that our relationship will remain the same in future. Of course, it will. What I fail to comprehend, though, is why would you want to associate with a man responsible for almost making you jump off the terra­ce. Can you, Goldie Sahab?

Very sincerely,

Anil Kapoor

South Sweeps National Awards
‘DARR’ BEST WHOLESOME ENTERTAINER

Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Charachar (Bengali) has been adjudged the best fea­ture film of 1993 in the National Awards announced in New Delhi on 21st April. Mammootty and Shobhana bagged the awards for best actor and best actress, the former for his roles in Ponthan Madaand Vidheyan (both Malayalam) and the latter for Manichitrathazhu (Malayalam).

The Malayalam film industry featured in six awards in the technical awards category. Besides the above two, it bag­ged the award for the best director (T.V. Chandran for Ponthan Mada), best cine­matography (Venu for Ponthan Mada), best music director (Johnson for Ponthan Mada) and best male playback singer (Yesudas for Sopanam).

Darr and Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu, shared the award for the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. Mahesh Bhatt and Tahir Husain won a special mention for their “innocent comedy”, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke.

Alka Yagnik won the award for the best female playback singer for Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Neena Gupta and Paresh Rawal were adjudged the best supporting actress and supporting actor for their portrayals in Subhankar Ghosh’s Woh Chhokri. The same film also fetched a special jury award for Pallavi Joshi.

Satyajit Ray will get a posthumous award for the best screenplay for his Ben­gali film, Uttoran. Renu Saluja won the best editing award for Sardar.

The 41st National Awards were ann­ounced by Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy, chairman of the 13-member jury.

Mandhra Phu was adjudged the best feature film in Kodava language, and Bangara Patler, in Tulu language. These languages have been included in the awards this year.

The Indira Gandhi award for the best first film of a director went to Ashok Viswanathan for the Bengali film, Sunya Theke Suru. Ketan Mehta’s Sagar bagged the Nargis Dutt award for the best feature film on national integration. Two films – Janani (Bengali) and Narayam (Malayalam) – shared the Rajat Kamal for the best film on social issues.

The jury made a special mention of producer Jugal Debata and director Sus­ant Misra for their Oriya film, Indradha­ nura Chhai.

Neena Gupta, besides being adjudged the best supporting actress, will also re­ceive the award for the best non-feature film of a new director, for her documentary, Bazar Sitaram. The other short films which won awards are Aakasha Doothu (Malayalam) and Devara Kadu (Kannada). A.K. Bir’s Lavanya Preeti (Oriya) bagged the award for the best children’s film. It also brought Tarashankar Misra the award for the best child artiste. Malhar Raag got the award for the best non-feature film. Sunday bagged the award for the best short fiction film. Pritiman Sarkar got the critics award. ‘Naalo Nenu’, an autobiography in Telu­gu by Dr. Bhanumati Rama­ krishnan, got the award for the best book.

The films which have been awarded the Rajat Kamal (Rs. 20,000) for the best feature films in the various languages are: Abartan (Assamese), Antareen (Ben­gali), Manavini Bhavai (Gujarati), Pat­ang (Hindi), Chinnari Mutha (Kanna­da), Vidheyan (Malayalam), Sambal Wangma (Manipuri) and Lapandav (Marathi).

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Musical Chairs Or Music Sittings?

In the morning and afternoon, he had a music sitting with Anand Milind. The same evening, he had another music sitting with Nadeem Shravan. And in the night, he had his third music sitting of the day, this time with Anu Malik. That’s David Dhawan for you! Yes, the busybee director had three music sittings on one single day this week. Anand Milind are scoring the music of his Coolie No. 1, Nadeem Shravan, of Saajan Chale Sasural, and Anu Malik, of Yaraana.

GUNEHGAR is being shot in a 20-day spell at Ooty in the South, and Simla and Sangla in the North


(From our issue dated16th April, 1994)

JURASSIC PARK
(dubbed
)

Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (UA), dubbed in Hindi, is a thriller. It thrills, terrifies and horrifies and since all these need no language to create an impact, the dubbed version succeeds in leaving the audience spell-bound. The dinosaurs, which used to exist 65 million years ago, have been recreated by computer graphics. These dinosaurs, born in laboratories, are sought to be made the attractions of a novel computer-operated park, by a rich and enterprising businessman. But when the computer system fails, the dinosaurs run riot and create hell for a team that has gone to see them in the park.

The film appears like a documentary in parts but the thrilling moments are so effective that one is literally swept off one’s feet. The thrill/terror is spine-chilling and the tension, almost killing. The size of the dinosaur itself is so awesome that one stares in disbelief.

Jurassic Park has a number of chilling highlights: the first close-up of the dinosaur in the park, the birth of a dinosaur from an egg, the dinosaur striking the car, the children playing with a huge dinosaur, a group of dinosaurs coming charging together, the dinosaur chasing the team of visitors, the children trying to escape from the two dinosaurs, etc.

The film is visually very rich. The shot of the helicopter landing near Jurassic Park looks brilliant. Dubbing is appropriate; since there aren’t too many dialogues, the dubbing is not of primary importance.

Special effects are extraordinary. Performances of Richard Attenborough, Sam Neill and Laura Dern are good. Child artistes Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards are convincing. Jeff Goldblum and Ian Malcolm do well. Background score is very effective.

On the whole, the dubbed version of Jurassic Park will pay rich dividends, thereby thrilling the distributors while thrilling the audience. Business will be the best in cities. 

Released on 15-5-’94 at Liberty (daily 2 shows) and 17 other cinemas of Bombay thru Hira Films P. Ltd. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released in Delhi-U.P., C.P.C.I. Rajasthan. Opening was excellent in Delhi-U.P. , C.P. and C.I. The English version has been released simultaneously.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Maan Singh Deep’s GUNEHGAR is being shot in a 20-day spell at Ooty in the South, and Simla and Sangla in the North. Sangla is a snow-covered valley near Simla and is on a height. It has no hotel and, therefore, the unit and artistes will live in tents to be put up in the valley for four days.

* LAADLA has created a record by collecting 70,000/- in 1st week (20 shows) at Radhika, Satara.

* LAADLA has created a record by collecting 1,04,000/- in 3rd week (24 shows) at Relief, Ahmedabad.

* LAADLA has created a record by collecting 53,294/- in 3rd week at Chitra, Jalgaon.

* LAADLA has created a theatre record by collecting 49,131/- in 3rd week at Shyam, Nagpur.

* LAADLA has created a theatre record by collecting 73,905/- in 3rd week at Yeshwant, Indore.

* LAADLA has created a theatre record by collecting 55,321/- in 3rd week at Metro, Ujjain. It has also created records in 3rd week at Neemuch and in 3rd combined week at Lokendra, Ratlam.

* LAADLA has created a theatre record by collecting 1,58,773/- in 3rd week at Golcha, Delhi.

* LAADLA has created a theatre record by collecting 67,000/- in 3rd week at Anjana, Agra.

HIGHEST ADMISSION RATES FOR DUBBED FILM

* The Bombay distributors of JUR­ASSIC PARK (dubbed) have hiked the admission rates of cinemas screening the film. The highest rate at Satyam and Liberty cinemas of Bombay is Rs. 40.50 per ticket. And this is the highest rate ever in the country! What’s more, the film has taken a very good opening in spite of high admission rates.

YOU ASKED IT

Which is the best month to release a film in?

– The month in which the luck of the concerned people is favourable!

A big star-cast film sometimes gets no opening whereas a non-star-cast film takes a bumper opening. What is the reason?

– Star-cast of a film is just one factor responsible for opening, the others being craze for a film, its music, publicity etc. Sometimes, the stories surrounding a film create an aura around it due to mouth publicity, which attracts the audience to cinemas.

SPECIAL JURY AWARD FOR KANCHAN

Kanchan has bagged the special jury award for her acting in A. Purnachandra Rao’s Telugu film, Prema Pustakam, in the Nandi Awards announced by the Andhra Pradesh government.

FMC CONDEMNS FDC’S “DICTATORIAL STAND”

The Film Makers Combine, in a meeting of its executive committee held on 15th April, unanimously condemned the “dictatorial attitude” of the Film Distributors Council (FDC) in forcing producers to seek clearance of the FDC before starting new films. The FDC has resolved that its affiliates will not register films which are not cleared by the FDC.

The FMC has decided not to accept this resolution of the FDC and will inform its members that the clearance authority is FMC and only FMC.

A sub-committee has been formed to chalk out the course of action to counter the FDC resolution. The FMC sub-committee consists of the four presidents of the producers’ associations, viz. G.P. Sippy, Shakti Samanta, G.P. Shirke and Pahlaj Nihalani, besides J. Om Prakash, Yash Chopra, Sultan Ahmed and Harmesh Malhotra.

AFTER ‘SEXY SEXY’

If people called Karisma Kapoor’s ‘Sexy sexy’ dance in Khuddar vulgar, and David Dhawan earned the title of ‘Dada Kondke of Hindi films’ after Andaz, wonder what they would have to say to a song recorded recently by Anu Malik for Compact Disc India Ltd.’s Prashna. The song has Kama Sutra as its base and it will be picturi­sed at Khajuraho!

VOICING ARTISTES FORM ASSOCIATION

Association of Indian Voice Artistes, a body of all languages voice artistes, was formed on 10th April at a meeting held at Andheri, Bombay. Ajay Chaddha was elected its president and Harish Bhimani and Robin Gupta, vice presidents. Vishnu Sharma was elected general secretary while Pushpa Saxena, joint secretary. Rakesh Vidua was elected treasurer. Asha Sharma, Amarnath Mukherji, Kishan Bhutani, Surendra Bhatia, Pradeep Shukla, Dharmesh Tiwari, Ramesh Goyal and Raj Joshi were the others elected on the managing committee.

The office of the AIVA is situated at 82, Bharat Nagar, Juhu Versova Link Road, near Vikram Petrol Pump, Andheri (W), Bombay-58. Phones: 623-1498/ 624-4958.

‘JURASSIC PARK’:
SHOULD THE HINDI FILM INDUSTRY REJOICE OR REPENT?

If the opening response to Jurassic Park (Hindi) is any indication, the experiment of dubbing an English film in Hindi seems to have paid off. There are a number of English films in the pipeline, which will be dubbed in Hindi now. Ashim Samanta and Uday Row Kavi, who have dubbed Jurassic Park, will follow it up with Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. The Ghost is also in queue. Then, there’s a Bond film which will have its all-India premiere with the Hindi dubbed version only.

Does this sound a danger siren for Hindi film producers? Is Jurassic Park a disturbing trend-setter? For, if the audience gets used to the technical finesse of Hollywood, it may find the Hindi films technically poor, especially in the field of special effects. And that won’t be a very good thing for the indigenous film industry. Besides, our ‘copycat’ writers may see red in this dubbing trend. Of course, viewed positively, this can be taken as a challenge, by our writers, producers and technicians. The Hindi industry people may today not know whether they should rejoice or brood over the ‘dubbing disease’ that is spreading. Like Shah Rukh Khan in Anjaam, they’ll, perhaps, have to sing: ‘Main ro-oon ya hasoon, karoon main kya karoon?’

But it may be mentioned here that only English films which have something novel to offer by way of presentation or special effects and which have less of talkie portion, should ideally be dubbed in Hindi. It is those films which would be able to compete with Hindi films.

Sudhakar Bokade Starts Three Films

Producer Sudhakar Bokade launched three films under the banner of Divya Films International on April 12 at his bungalow. A cocktail-dinner party marked the launching.

Sambandh is being directed and cinematographed by Lawrence D’souza and stars Pooja Bhatt, Saif Ali Khan, Atul Agnihotri, Saeed Jaffrey and Vikas Anand. Nadeem Shravan have recorded all its songs, penned by Sameer. The film, written by Talat Rekhi, has art by Ratnakar Phadke, sound by Buta Singh and editing by R. Rajendran.

Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, a heroine (to be finalised), Raj Babbar, Moushumi Chatterji, Kiran Kumar, Avtar Gill and Mohan Joshi comprise the cast of Jai Devaa, being directed by Dayal Nihalani. Music is scored by Anu Malik. Story and screenplay: Pradip Ghatak. Dialogues: Jalees Sherwani. Art: Ratnakar Phadke.

The third film, yet untitled, will be directed by Ramesh Modi. A start-to-finish shooting schedule will be held in Mauritius and Bombay from April 18. It stars Sumeet Saigal, Neelam and Saeed Jaffrey. Vikas Bhalla will be introduced in this film. Music: Aadesh Srivastava. Lyrics: Shyam Raj and Madan Pal. Screenplay & dialogues: Shashi Raj. Editor: R. Rajendran. Art. R. Verman. The first song of the film (Prod. No. 11) was recorded on April 12 at Mehboob Recording Theatre. It was rendered by Udit Narayan.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Not Nominated

Believe it or not but Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke has not been nominated for the National Award for the most wholesome and entertaining film of the year. According to newspaper reports, the FMC has laid the blame on the producer who “did not get back” to the FMC although circulars are sent by the FMC to all the producers. The films are entered by the FMC in consultation with the Film Federation of India. Aamir Khan, the hero of HHRPK, is said to be of the opinion that the entire system of entering films in this category is questionable. He has suggested that the government authorities which decide the rules and regulations for the entries, should do some rethinking.

Crestfallen Vijay Anand Writes To Anil, Jackie

Vijay Anand has dashed off a letter to Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff, which we reproduce hereunder and which is self-explanatory:

My dear Anil/Jackie,

It was on the 23rd of Nov. ’93 that I met you on the sets of ‘1942 A Love Story’ at Film City when the two of you inspired me to start a film.

It is on the 1st of April ’94 that I have reluctantly but finally realised that, perhaps, on that day, you both were celebrating the April-Fool’s Day with me.

Therefore, with a sad heart but with a great sense of relief, I am informing you that I am dropping the project that I have planned with you for which I performed the muhurt on 2nd Dec. ’93.

I don’t mind telling you that I am very grateful to you both for giving me a master-lesson in human relationships; in the art of evasion; in the craft of making promises not meant to be kept; in the science of rendering apologies which have more substance than thin air; in the game of smiles and embraces that are designed more to hide real TRUTH than to express friendship. I don’t mind having paid a heavy monetary price for learning this lesson. My loss is my gain.

If this was the prelude to my film, I shudder to wonder what the end would have been, had I not seen the writing on the wall on this April-Fool’s Day and decided to save myself from an ultimate disaster (like, for example, jumping off the terrace of a building).

With love and regards and with a hope that our relationship will remain the same that was before 23rd November, 1993.

Yours sincerely,
Vijay Anand

Available For Shootings

Famous, the recording studio which once upon a time used to be the most heavily booked, is today among the least frequented. Situated at Tardeo in South Bombay, the studio’s main ‘drawback’, if one may say so, is its location. Producers who have a number of options in the suburbs, are reluctant to come all the way to Tardeo for their song recordings. Then, there are singers like Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan who do not prefer to leave the suburbs for their recordings. As a result, Famous has now decided to give its premises for shooting purposes also, besides continuing the recording studio, of course. And to think of it, Shanker Jaikishen and Laxmikant Pyarelal used to record all their songs at Famous, Tardeo only.

Video….. But An Excuse

Videos are but an excuse for the poor performance of films. A film’s business cannot be affected much due to simultaneous release of video cassettes. So feels Ramesh Taurani of Tips Cassettes. According to him, films run on their merits, and not a single film has failed merely because of simultaneous release of its video cassettes. Success depends on several factors, he says, prominent among them being a good story, hit music, convincing performances and competent direction.

Bappi’s Background Score

Bappi Lahiri has recorded the background music of Rajeev Kumar Chowdhury’s Premyog in a total of 14 shifts. This is the first film after Ghayal for which Bappida recorded the background score. It is the done thing nowadays for films to have music recorded by one music director and the background score, by another. Incidentally, Premyog is the first Hindi film, the entire background music of which was recorded at B.R. Usually, the theatre is booked for dubbings. Just recently, Filmalaya’s Bengali film, Rakta Nodir Dhara, also had its background music sessions at B.R.

Animal Instinct?

A lady watching Jurassic Park in a cinema began screaming hysterically when the dinosaur chases people in the park. When the others tried to pacify her by reminding her that it was only a film that she was watching, the lady shot back, “Okay, okay, I understand that it is a film. But does the dinosaur understand so? Suppose, it pounces on me. What will I do then?”

That’s Vulgarity!

Overheard this one at a party:

Someone asked Pahlaj Nihalani why Jurassic Park had taken such a fantastic initial while his Andaz hadn’t. Pahlaj replied, “Andaz has limited vulgarity, Jurassic Park abounds in vulgarity.”

Jurassic Park is vulgar?”, asked the first person.

“Of course,” shot back Pahlaj. “The dinosaur is completely nude.”