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HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..! has been loved, especially by ladies and family audience, for its freshness and novel pre­sentation | 9 August, 2019

By
Film Information
-

(From our issue dated 13th August, 1994)

LATEST POSITION

All talks in the trade throughout the week centred around HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..!. Despite trade reports to the contrary, it has been accepted by the public with open arms. Its unconventional form, feared (by many in the trade) to be its minus point, has, in fact, turned out to be its biggest plus point. …..VIJAYPATH has also done very well.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! has been loved, especially by ladies and family audience, for its freshness and novel pre­sentation. Reduction in its length due to editing is expected to improve collections of first shows which will now start a bit late. 1st week Liberty, Bombay 3,32,661 (100%); Ahmedabad 1,34,807, Gandhi­nagar 2,41,672, Baroda 1,76,841, record, Vapi 1,83,889, Rajkot 62,121; Pune 2,07,249, Solapur 91,365 (99.13%), Nasik 1,18,320, city record; Delhi 5,80,438 from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 2,23,467, Kanpur 2,06,314, Varanasi 1,29,613, Agra 1,48,741; Calcutta 3,55,279 (100%) from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 2,84,826, theatre re­cords at both the cinemas, Amravati 1,12,729, city record, Akola 77,767, Bhilai 94,070; Jaipur 2,54,786; Banga­lore 1,90,411 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 4,74,678, total 46,82,044 from 26 cine­mas all over.

Vijaypath takes a very impressive start: 1st week Bombay 28,18,682 (91.64%) from 18 cinemas (13 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,47,527 from 9 cinemas, Baroda 100%, Bharuch (gross) 2,10,249; Pune 4,72,039 from 6 cinemas, Kolhapur 66,119, Nasik Road 93,620; Hubli 1,18,510 (84.09%) from 3 cinemas (1 in noon), Belgaum 1,11,187 (84.65%) from 2 cinemas; Delhi 28,88,905 (95.73%) from 14 cinemas; Allahabad 1,16,500, Meerut 2,52,855 from 2 cinemas, Gor­akhpur 1,20,000, share 64,000; Chandi­garh 1,55,000; Calcutta 19,19,656 from 26 cinemas; Nagpur 3,25,235 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,35,797 from 2 cine­mas, Amravati 85,556, Raipur 1,10,383, theatre record, Bhilai 1,11,425 from 2 cinemas, Jalgaon 67,554; Indore 1,55,614 from 2 cinemas (4 cinemas on F.H.), Bhopal 2,78,427 from 3 cinemas, Ujjain 77,145; Jaipur 7,88,017 from 5 cinemas; Hyderabad 21,55,159 from 14 cinemas, share 10,88,291.

……

DO YOU KNOW?

* Naghma, who is a busy star down South, not only agreed to make a spe­cial appearance for a song-dance in Pahlaj Nihalani’s MR. AZAAD but she also insisted that she wouldn’t charge anything for the dance. Inci­dentally, the song (‘Lage garmi lage garmi’) is a hit number.

* While Shakti Kapoor plays a dreaded villain in AAG, released this week, he plays a complete comedian in the other release of this week, EENA MEENA DEEKA.

* Raman Kumar, the director of Zee TV serial TARA, has signed another TV serial director, Ravi Rai, to direct a soap opera for him. This new serial will be telecast from Sept. 15. Raman Kumar has now turned an actor as well. He is enacting the role of a film director in Raja Bundela’s TV serial, SCANDAL, being directed by Satish Kaushik.

* HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..! has created a district record by collecting 1,82,887/- (nett) in 1st week at Jay­shree, Vapi. A lady among the audi­ence on 7th August in the last show fell unconscious while seeing Renuka Shahane fall to her death. She had to be rushed to hospital for treatment.

* HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..! is already being repeated by cinegoers. One Satish has seen it four times in five days at Liberty, Bombay. ….The licensed products (merchandise) of Archies, being sold on their counters at Liberty, Bombay are in good de­mand. The cinema has made an exe­cutive lounge with catering by Crois­sants. The idea has proved popular among youngsters and family audi­ence.

* The mother of a Delhi-based distributor, Deep Jain, saw a film (HAHK..!) after 22 years!

* At Hind, Calcutta, about 200 persons gatecrashed (without tickets) into the cinema, which was screening HAHK..!, in the last show on one day. The exhi­bitor had to call in the police to con­trol the situation. The show started at 9.30 p.m. instead of 8.45 p.m.

* At Maheshwari, Hyderabad, screening HAHK..!, ladies audience can be seen carrying their lunch boxes alongwith them. They eat their food in the cinema premises if they do not get tickets for one show and prefer to wait for the next show. Incidentally, no street publicity was done in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secundera­bad – that is, not a single hoarding, banner, kiosk or poster was display­ed in the twin cities. In spite of that, all the 28 shows were full in advance!

* Abhinay cinema, Aurangabad will hold special shows of HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..! for ladies only, every morning from 15th August onwards.

FIRST TIME IN 30 YEARS

* Galaxy Pictures, Rajkot, leading distributor of Saurashtra, has acquired a film on MG royalty basis for the first time in 30 years. The film in question is Venus’ MAIN KHILADI TU ANARI which it acquired for Saura­shtra after seeing its songs. Galaxy Pic­tures always releases films on commission basis.

YOU ASKED IT

If entertainment tax is reduced in Maharashtra, can the other state governments be expected to follow suit?

– Surely. Not only because Maha­rashtra is the nerve-centre of the film industry but also because reduction in entertainment tax has been recommended by the committee of state information ministers.

Too many songs were regarded as a minus point in a film. After Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, can producers and directors be expected to go in for more songs in their films?

– Everybody cannot be a Sooraj Barjatya.

How long will prices of films go on increasing?

– As long as there are distributors willing to buy them at those prices!

TWO SONGS CUT IN ‘HUM AAPKE….’

Two songs and two antras of a third song, totalling 1,100 feet, have been edited from Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. The cuts were effected by the producers from 10th August in Bombay and thereafter at other places. The running time of the film is now 3 hours and 14 minutes as against the earlier 3 hours and 27 minutes.

The two songs that have been comp­letely cut in the film are the ‘Chocolate’ and the ‘Mujh se judaa hokar’ numbers. Two antras of ‘Dhik tana’ song have also been edited.

NEW CINEMA AT GANDHINAGAR

A new cinema, Rajshri, opened in Gandhinagar last week with Rajshri’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!. It is owned by Ajay Chudasma. A press party will leave for Gandhinagar today (13th Aug­ust) to see the cinema which is said to be spectacular.

‘AAG’ SCREENING DISCONTINUED IN AURANGABAD

A dialogue in Aag, referring to the daughter of a bhangi, irked a section of the cinegoers in Aurangabad so much that they broke the chairs and tore the screen of Apsara, Aurangabad, where the film opened on 11th August. The irate mob did not permit the 6 p.m. show to be held. The 9 p.m. show was, however, held. The print was being shuttled between Apsara and Anuradha cinemas, and the part con­taining the allegedly objectionable dia­logue was forcibly seized by the mob and set on fire. This, after the management of Apsara cinema had already deleted the dialogue following the pandemonium in its auditorium in the 6 p.m. show. The police had to be called in to control the mob.

Both the cinemas had to discontinue the film’s screening fearing further vio­lence. The film is being distributed in Nizam by Vandana Films.

SC REJECTS SANJAY’S BAIL APPLICATION,
REFERS MATTER TO CONSTITUTION BENCH

The Supreme Court on 12th August declined to grant bail to Sanjay Dutt who has been arrested under the TADA. The two-member bench consisting of Mr. Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy and Mr. Justice N.P. Singh heard the appeal for three hours. They however, decided to refer the issues (relating to certain vital provisions of TADA) raised in the case to a constitution bench.

The two judges will pass their “reason­ed order” on 18th August when the reas­ons necessitating an adjudication by a five-member constitution bench would be giv­en.

The judges assured expeditious dispo­sal of the matter but declined to grant in­terim bail.

MAHARASHTRA GOVT. TO REDUCE ENT. TAX?
IFFI BOYCOTT DROPPED

The film industry has assured the chief minister of Maharashtra that it would withdraw its boycott of the coming Inter­national Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Bombay in Jan. ’95. A delegation of the industry met the CM, Sharad Pawar, at Mantralaya on 8th August.

Mr. Pawar gave them a patient hear­ing. He assured them that their demands for reduction in entertainment tax and hike in service charge would be considered sympathetically. It is reported that a sub­stantial relief in entertainment tax in the state is in the offing.

The CM also promised to look into the remarks of the finance minister, Ramrao Adik, which had annoyed the industry to the extent of prompting it to boycott the IFFI.

‘1942’ TAX-FREE IN RAJASTHAN

Vinod Chopra’s 1942 A Love Story has been granted tax exemption in Rajas­than for a period of three months.

‘JURASSIC PARK’ 100 DAYS IN JODHPUR

Jurassic Park (dubbed) completed 100 days of its run at Olympic, Jodhpur on 31st July. The film ran for 11 weeks in regular shows and thereafter in morning shows.

Sweets were distributed by the proprie­tors, Adeshwar & Co., among the cinegoers on the 100th day. This is the first film in eight years to celebrate 100 days in Jodhpur.

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF ALANKAR, BIJAPUR

Alankar Theatre, Bijapur will celebra­te its silver anniversary on 15th Aug­ust.

VARSHA USGAONKAR TENDERS
APOLOGY TO COURT

Varsha Usgaonkar on 9th August ten­dered an unconditional apology to the court of the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Andheri, Bombay, for her allegedly adverse remarks “against the coun­try’s judicial system” published in the magazine Film City.

The actress is being prosecuted under section 6 of the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, and section 292 of the Indian Penal Code for her allegedly obscene picture in the film glossy, Stardust.

Her controversial interview given to Film City was published even while the obscenity case against her was pending before the 44th metropolitan magistrate’s court at Andheri. In the interview, Varsha allegedly made certain unfavourable references to the Indian legal system.

A complaint, charging the actress with contempt of court, was filed before the magistrate’s court by Alka Pandey, who is also a complainant in the original obscenity case against Varsha. In her complaint, Ms. Pandey accused the actress of mak­ing “adverse comments on the judiciary.”

I & B MINISTRY RECOMMENDS INDUSTRY STATUS
FOR FILM INDUSTRY

The I & B ministry has recommended to the ministries of finance and industry to accord industry status to the film industry. The recommendation follows the reports submitted by the core committee of state information ministers which met in Delhi on 24th June.

The committee has made four recommendations to the I & B ministry:

(1) reduction in entertainment tax on cinemas;

(2) introduction of compounding system of entertainment tax;

(3) imposition of tax on video parlours and cable TV networks; and

(4) grant of industry status to the film industry.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Producers Beware!

The new registration form of Motion Pictures Association, Delhi, has a clause which producers would do well to read carefully! It provides that the producer should give 10% of what he receives from Doordarshan for telecast of his film (after five years of premiere theatrical release), to his Delhi-U.P. distributor. If the film has not recovered its MG royalty till the date of telecast, the registration form provides for proportionate shar­ing of the telecast revenue. This is not what was decided by the FMC and the FDC jointly. Will the FMC look into the matter?

Considerate Pahlaj

Few producers must be as considerate as Pahlaj Nihalani is. Realising that his distributors would suffer losses in Andaz mainly because of its high price, Pahlaj refunded/adjusted part of the money received in Andaz account. The “excess” amount received from distributors who are also distributing his forthcoming Mr. Azaad was adjusted towards the under-production amount receivable from them in that film’s account. And to those distributors who are not releasing Mr. Azaad, Pahlaj returned the money.

Not An Opportunist

If Pahlaj is considerate, he is also a conscientious producer. He had announced two films with Sunil Shetty but while one never got started, the other had to be shelved mid-way. An­other project with Sunil was always in his mind but for some reason or the other, it never got to be launched. It was very re­cently that Pahlaj decided to start a new film with Sunil Shetty. But his son pointed out to him that he had delayed the project all along and was launching it as soon as Sunil Shetty had be­come a star (Mohra, Dilwale, Anth). This hit Pahlaj so badly that he postponed the project immediately. “If my son can tell me this, the world can also tell me so. I don’t want to look like an opportunist,” explained Pahlaj.

Tale Behind The Title

Making the film may not be as difficult for director David Dhawan and producer Ketan Desai as getting the title has been. Or so it would seem. They had a tough time tracking down a producer who had registered the title Deewana Mas­tana which they wanted (at any cost) for their venture, starring Anil Kapoor and Govinda. They finally traced him in Delhi and managed to get him to relinquish his claim on the title. Shabnam Kapoor was next in queue, having applied for the same title. It took a couple of hours for Govinda and David Dhawan to convince Shabnam to give them the title. Finally, Shabnam gave in, much to the joy of Govinda and David.

Discontinued Due To Show Timings

The length of Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! did adversely affect its collections in the 10.30 a.m. shows. In Bombay, however, there was no question of the collections being affected since the film was released at Liberty in 3 shows daily (1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.). Jurassic Park was being screened in the matinee show (11 a.m.) but because of the length of HAHK..!, the show timing of Jurassic Park had to be advanced to 10.30 a.m. Since it was too early in the day, collections of JP drop­ped rather steeply. As a result, JP has been discontinued from this week – after a 17-week run at the cinema.

Perfect Planning

Producer N.N. Sippy has been right on schedule in the making of his Teesra Kaun?. Started in June ’94, he had plan­ned to complete it in August. With 90% of the film in the cans and shooting of the balance 10% on, the target is not difficult to reach. Obviously then, Sippy is thrilled to bits. He has spared neither efforts nor money to make the film. Why, he has spent some lakhs, only by way of insurance premium for a train hired in Madras. The train plays an important part in the film. That is why he had to renew the insurance cover for an addi­tional day of shooting. But not the one to cut corners, he book­ed the train over again even if that meant shelling out many thousands as insurance premium.

Waiting For Roles Worth Her While

People in the trade were beginning to get the impression that Sangeeta Bijlani was not interested any longer in pursuing acting as a career. But it is not so. The girl is serious as serious can be, about acting. She has been receiving offers but is wait­ing for more worthwhile roles to come her way. And going by Sangeeta’s new-found enthusiasm, it may not be long before she does bag some lucrative roles.

Cinema-Going A Pleasure

The Barjatyas and Liberty cinema, Bombay have ensured that cinema-going is a pleasure for the public. People going to Liberty to see Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! come out praising not only the film but also the cinema. The air-conditioner works continuously. The foyer is clean, the stalls put up are neat and tidy. The sound system is wonderful. As Rakesh Roshan, who saw the film at Liberty earlier this week, says, “For once, I felt, I was watching a film in a cinema abroad.”

Weighing Bananas & Oranges In A Tarazu?

Believe it or not but Raaj Kumar wanted Anu Aggarwal to play his leading lady in Vimal Kumar’s Tarazu! And if Anu would have been signed for the role, she would be playing Akshay Kumar’s mother!! This is one of the several reasons why Vimal Kumar preferred to drop Raaj Kumar from the pro­ject. Amrish Puri has now come in his place. Incidentally, Raaj Kumar prefers putting down everything in black and white. And that includes his hours of sleep (in the afternoon) on the sets, and also the number of bananas and oranges the producer is supposed to provide him with when shooting. Can’t believe it? Some facts of life are such.

FLASHBACK | 21 July, 2023
(From our issue dated 25th July, 1998)

By
Film Information
-

PYAAR TO HONA HI THA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ANGAARAY

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

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

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

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

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

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

LATEST POSITION

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

………..

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

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

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

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

FILM INDUSTRY TO DOWN SHUTTERS ON AUGUST 11

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

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

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

ASHA PAREKH IN OFFICE

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

Lot Of Anand At Bakshi’s Birthday

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

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

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

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

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

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

‘Prem Aggan’ Music Released With Pomp And Show

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

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

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

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Soldier’ Complete

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

‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ Unit Returns

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

YOU ASKED IT

Why are banks not willing to finance film producers?

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

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

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

Which is the hottest territory today?

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

STRAY SUGGESTIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DO YOU KNOW?

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

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

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

MIX MASALA

NO SMOKING

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

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

How About This Birthday Gift, Mr. Ghai?

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

Better Late Than Never

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

Boomtime In Bengali Film Industry

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

‘Kareeb’ & Liberty

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

FLASHBACK | 8 April, 2022
(From our issue dated 12th April, 1997)

By
Film Information
-

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.

………

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.

………

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.

……….

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.

FLASHBACK | 30 June, 2023
(From our issue dated 4th July, 1998)

By
Film Information
-

SATYA

Varma Corporation Ltd.’s Satya (A) is the story of the underworld told in a very realistic manner. It neither highlights crime nor shows the police in a bad light. The film also attempts to show that those in the underworld are also human beings and do have a family life like the rest of the world.

A young educated guy comes to Bombay and is drawn into the world of dons although he never nursed a desire to be a part of it. But once in it, he becomes a dreaded name in the underworld, not just for his skill but also for his sharp brain and intelligence. He falls in love with his neighbour, a lower-middle class girl who is trying to make it in the word of playback singing. One day, he decides to confess to his beloved, of the life he is leading and also of his plans to leave the country (with her) to start life afresh, away from the underworld. But before he can do so, he is nabbed by the police. His girlfriend, who is till then unaware of his activities, is shattered when the truth about his connections comes to her knowledge in such circumstances. Although he pleads with her to hear him out, she does not give him a second chance. Ultimately, he is killed by the police.

The film is stark and leaves the viewer numb with shock. Its making is brilliant and the technical finesse is astonishing. Sound effects and the background score are splendid, adding to the tension in the drama.

But the technique and the sincerity of director Ramgopal Varma notwithstanding, the film appears to have been made for a select audience only. It will appeal to the classes and the city audiences, mainly in Maharashtra. The underworld lingo used is of the kind typical to Maharashtra, hence the sectional appeal. Censors have been liberal (perhaps, as a reward for the film’s authenticity), and a lot of swear words have been allowed in the dialogues. Ladies will, however, find it difficult to take so many swear words, besides the gruesome violence. That would also limit the business prospects.

J.D. Chakravarthy suits the role very well and gives a restrained performance as a thinking underworld guy with a mind of his own. Urmila Matondkar excels as his beloved, playing the poor girl’s character to near-perfection. Manoj Bajpai delivers an award-winning performance as the hero’s friend. Shefali Chhaya, as his wife, is cute and natural to the core. Paresh Rawal is good. Saurabh Shukla lives his role. Govind Namdeo does a fine job. Aditya Srivastav shines. Makrand Deshpande, Raju Mavani, Sabeer, Rajesh Joshi and Sanjay Mishra provide able support.

Ramgopal Varma’s direction deserves distinction marks. His handling of the subject is remarkable. Vishal’s music is a major letdown. Actually, a tense drama of this kind could have done with hit music, but most of the songs in the film are dull and boring. The wedding song is the better of the lot. The light scenes in the film are well-placed but the humour again is subtle and, therefore, of the kind that can be appreciated more by the elite. Action scenes have fresh composition. Dialogues are very natural.

On the whole, Satya has appeal for Bombay and other big cities in Maharashtra mainly. It should also do well in cities in C.I. and South on the strength of mouth publicity. But given its dull start, lack of face value and poor music on the one hand, and high theatre rentals on the other, it may not really get a chance to grow in the rest of the country as well as at the smaller centres in the aforementioned parts.

Released on 3-7-’98 at Eros and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: very good. Opening: so-so. …….Also released all over. Opening was good in Lucknow, Nagpur and a couple of other cities but dull in most other places.

LATEST POSITION

Heavy rains throughout the week, in Bombay and various other parts of Maharashtra have adversely affected box-office collections.

Major Saab started dropping from 5th/6th day onwards. Maximum drop (alarming) was noticed in Gujarat, Saurashtra, Bombay, Rajasthan and C.P.C.I. The drop notwithstanding, the film will fetch commission in most of the circuits on the strength of its initial value and, of course, its reasonable price in many circuits. The film was re-edited mid-week in some cinemas of Bombay. 1st week Bombay 52,21,530 (84.32%) from 13 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 7,70,643 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 1,84,802, Jamnagar (27 shows) 1,63,640; Pune 12,35,932 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 3,14,472 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 47,30,303 (87.97%) from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 5,31,932 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,84,410 (100%), Agra 4,03,879, Allahabad 1,89,077, Bareilly 1,49,820 (78.55%), Dehradun 2,31,312 (87.77%), Muzaffarnagar 1,18,839, Saharanpur 1,67,325, Hardwar 70,000; very good in East Punjab, Amritsar 65,500; Calcutta (6 days) 21,77,749 from 16 cinemas; Nagpur 6,88,149 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,53,101, Amravati 1,65,919, Akola 1,45,092, Dhule 1,07,878, Raipur 2,15,303 (69.57%), Bhilai 1,33,184, Jalgaon 1,36,408, Yavatmal 1,02,981, Bilaspur 2,10,176 from 2 cinemas; Indore 4,13,541 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 4,77,963 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 9,27,766 from 5 cinemas, Udaipur 2,35,870; Hyderabad 33,69,488 from 18 cinemas (2 in noon), share 16,92,000, Aurangabad share 3,20,000 from 3 cinemas; Visakhapatnam 1,76,000.

Ghulam has maintained extremely well in Maharashtra (despite rains) but has dropped in other circuits, at several places by 40-50%. 2nd week Bombay 40,07,696 (84.24%) from 13 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,58,664 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 1,18,810, Jamnagar (matinee) 15,646; Pune 11,15,608 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,66,868 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee, 1 in daily 2 shows); Belgaum 1,17,476, 1st week Bijapur 1,34,000; 2nd week Delhi 21,64,408 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,39,819 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,71,828, Agra 1,40,675, Allahabad 1,15,000, Dehradun 1,25,469; Nagpur 3,04,588 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,08,234, total 4,57,167, Amravati 1,95,060, total 4,61,721, Akola 1,09,327, total 2,95,636, Dhule 77,000, Raipur 1,42,443, Bhilai 1,08,149, Jalgaon (6 days) 1,51,917, Chandrapur 1,15,435, total 3,31,201, Bilaspur 1,08,481; Indore 1,06,290 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,86,313 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,88,321 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 11,11,362 from 5 cinemas (1 in noon).

………..

Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai 6th week Bombay 9,71,817 (58.09%) from 4 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Baroda 91,609, Jamnagar 36,410, total 3,70,974; Pune 2,40,541 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 47,198, 2nd week Barsi 17,906; 6th week Belgaum 76,818; Delhi 18,23,216 from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 66,000, Lucknow 79,194, Allahabad 30,342, 2nd week Hardwar 32,000, 6th week Bareilly (6 days) 37,944 (19.67%), Dehradun 37,000; Calcutta (6 days) 2,55,747 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,24,325, Jabalpur (6 days) 90,803, Akola (26 shows) 33,200, total 4,01,274, 5th week Raipur 52,229, total 4,24,338, Jalgaon 5 weeks’ total 4,30,000, 1st week Wardha (5 days) 76,028, 6th week Chandrapur 63,240, total 6,39,764, 5th week Bilaspur 19,213; 6th Bhopal 1,54,393; Jaipur 2,32,976; Hyderabad 3,31,707 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

YOU ASKED IT

Why are action films considered safer bets than, say, social films?

– Because even today, action films have more takers in small centres.

What needs to change the most in the film industry, to take advantage of the industry status?

– The mindset of the industry people in general and producers and actors in particular.

What is the progress of Time’s Hu Tu Tu? At what ratio is it being offered?

– It is nearing the completion mark. The makers are demanding in the region of 1.75 crore per major circuit.

PHALKE AWARD FOR KAVI PRADEEP

Renowned poet and lyricist Pradeep has bagged the Dadasaheh Phalke award for his life-long contribution to Hindi films. The award — the highest in the field of Indian cinema — will be presented to him by the President of India at a function to be held in New Delhi.

Kavi Pradeep has penned lyrics for a number of Hindi films over a career spanning more than four decades. Known for the high literary quality and simplicity of his lyrics, he has penned a number of hit songs including the soul-searching Dekh tere sansar ki haalat kya ho gayi Bhagwaan from Nastik, the patriotic Aao bachchon tumhen dikhayein jhanki Hindustan ki from Jagruti, and Hum laayein hain toofan se kashti nikaal ke from the same film. Although the award is being given for Pradeep’s immense contribution to Hindi films, his best song is, perhaps, the non-filmi number, Ae mere watan ke logon. It is a well-known fact that Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of this song at the Red Fort, New Delhi, in the ‘sixties had moved the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to tears.

CINEMA OWNERS SHOT AT

Rajesh and Vinayak Mayekar, partners in Plaza cinema, Bombay, were shot at near Hiranandani Gardens at Powai, Bombay, on 1st July. Three men, in a white Maruti car, fired six rounds of bullets at the Mayekar brothers as they were travelling to Hiranandani Complex by car. They were rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, where Vinayak was discharged after treatment. Rajesh Mayekar was later shifted in a critical condition to Hinduja Hospital.

Extortion is believed to be the motive behind the attack.

SURESH WADKAR WEDS

Wedding of playback singer Suresh Wadkar with Padma was solemnised at Juhu, Bombay, on 1st July. A host of film celebrities, including Lata Mangeshkar, attended the wedding.

GOVINDA BEREAVED

Govinda’s father, Arun Kumar Ahuja, passed away on the morning of 3rd July at Hinduja Hospital, Bombay, following a massive heart attack. He was seriously ill and was hospitalised two days before the end came. He was 81.

Arun Kumar (that was his screen name) was an actor in his own right and had acted in many films including Mehboob Khan’s Ek Hi Raasta, Aurat, Savera, Samaj Ko Badal Dalo, Return Of Toofan Mail, Shankar Parvati, Aulad and Payal Ki Jhankar. He played the lead man in almost 40 films of the 50 he worked in.

His funeral, held the same evening, was largely attended. Chautha ceremony will be conducted at Arya Samaj, Santacruz, Bombay, on Monday (6th July). He is survived by three daughters and sons Govinda and director Kirti Kumar.

CHAMAN PURI DEAD

Veteran character actor Chaman Puri, eldest brother of Amrish Puri, expired on 26th June in Bombay. He was 82. Chautha ceremony was held on 29th June. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.

His cremation was attended by many from the film industry despite incessant rains.

Chaman Puri was the treasurer of The Cine Artistes’ Association for a decade.

RAMESH AHUJA NO MORE

Director Ramesh Ahuja passed away on 29th June at a private nursing home in Dehradun after a long ailment. He was 55.

Born on 5th October, 1942, in Peshawar, Ramesh hailed from a well-known family. He graduated from DAV College, Dehradun. During college days, he was very active in sports and other cultural activities. He chose to pursue a career in the film industry and for that, he left for Bombay in May 1964. He started his career as an assistant to director Raghunath Jhalani in Aaye Din Bahar Ke. His first independent directorial venture was Tahir Husain’s Khoon Ki Pukar. Some of the films directed by him were Locket, Tamacha, Garibon Ka Daata and Roti Ki Keemat. He also directed a comedy TV serial, Nok Jhonk.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The government of Tamil Nadu has so far been distributing 70% of the entertainment tax collected, among the local bodies. From 1st June, the percentage has been raised to 90.

* Zee TV and Meteor Films hosted a party on the evening of July 1 at Hotel Ambassador to celebrate the telecast of their serial, GHAR JAMAI. But nothing went right for R. Madhavan who plays the title role in the serial. The actor, fond of dressing in dhoti-kurta ensemble, had sent his most expensive designer dhoti for ironing. But the dhobi disappeared with the dhoti! Then, his Toyota car met with an accident. While he was arguing with the owner of the vehicle which banged his car, someone quietly walked away with his mobile phone which was kept in the car. However, the ghar jamai managed to reach the party when it was almost over.

* Subhash Ghai commenced the shooting of his TAAL on 2nd July in Bombay. No artiste faced the camera because Ghai and his cameraman were only capturing nature — rains that lashed Bombay city, and the high tide.

ADVANCE REPORTS!

* Although the name of Kavi Pradeep for the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award was announced yesterday (3rd July), Film Information had more than six months ago mentioned that the great lyricist-poet deserved the coveted award in the 50th year of India’s independence.

In our issue dated 13th December, 1997, Jagat Gupta had mentioned in his ‘Here & There’ column that Pradeep deserved to be awarded the Phalke award for 1997. And sure enough, he has been awarded.

HALF-YEARLY CLASSIFICATION: 1998
(Total Releases: 66 films, including 17 dubbed)

AA (Super-Hit)

–

A1 (Hit)

–

A (Semi-Hit)

PYAAR KIYA TO DARNA KYA (‘A1’ in Bombay)

BB (Overflow)

–

Commission To Overflow

Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai
Miyan Bivi Aur Woh (dubbed)

B1 (Commission Earner)

Ghulam (‘A1’ in Bombay and Maharashtra)
Kama Sutra – A Tale Of Love (dubbed)

Coverage To Commission

Major Saab (overflow in a couple of circuits)
Tomorrow Never Dies (dubbed)
Chandaal
Gharwali Baharwali (losing in some circuits, overflow in some)
Speed 2 (Ab Samandar Pe, dubbed)

The Rest (56 films)

Haiwan (dubbed), Sher-E-Hindustan, Char Dham, Air Force One (dubbed), Badmaash, Miss 420, Ajnabi Saaya, Yeh Aashiqui Meri, Bada Din, Aag Aur Tezaab, Double Team (dubbed), Banarasi Babu, Vinashak, Hafta Vasuli, Laash, Zor, Saat Rang Ke Sapne, Saazish, 2001, The Blue Lagoon (dubbed), Military Raaj, Monsoon (dubbed), Barsaat Ki Raat, Mohabbat Aur Jung, Ustadon Ke Ustad, Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Phir Wohi Awaaz, Ghar Bazar, Yugpurush, Rustom-E-Jehan (dubbed), Aakrosh, Deewana Hoon Pagal Nahin, Pyasi Chudail (dubbed), Qila, Keemat, Nanha Rakshak (dubbed), Kabhi Na Kabhi, Dand-Nayak, Kanoon Ka Khiladi (dubbed), Salaakhen, Gudia, Qatil Kaun? (dubbed), Aunty No. 1, Duplicate (commission earner in Bombay), Jeans (dubbed), Hitler, Jiyaala, Mard, Angaar Vadee, Dushman, Sham Ghansham, Hatyara, Mera Desh (dubbed), Achanak, Humse Badhkar Kaun, Maut Ke Saudagar (dubbed).

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Half A Crore In Matinees Only

In direct contrast to so many films that bite the dust after a few weeks’ run at the box-office, try to digest this. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (tax-free), in its 84 weeks’ run in matinee shows at Maratha Mandir, Bombay, has so far collected Rs. 50,27,090! The blockbuster continues its good run at the cinema and looks set for a 100-week run. An example of what magic low admission rates can do!

Film More Important, Not Role

While on the topic of rare things in the industry, have you ever heard of a hero asking for his role to be cut down in a two-hero film? Never! Well, Salman Khan did so for producer Sajid Nadiadwala’s Jeet which co-starred Sunny Deol with him. The whole story goes thus: When producer Sajid and director Raj Kanwar narrated the story of Jeet to Salman, he jumped at the role even though it was slightly inferior to the one played by Sunny. In fact, the producer-director team told Salman that his role was unnees as compared to Sunny’s, which was bees. But Salman corrected them, saying his role was pandrah and Sunny’s was bees. Still, he signed the film because he was fully convinced that it would turn out to be a success. Later, when the film was shot and the rushes viewed, he realised that several of his scenes didn’t quite jell with the film and — believe it or not — he insisted on those scenes being deleted from the film — even at the cost of reducing his role by a significant extent! His rationale behind it was simply that the main reason for him to sign the film was its gripping story and if certain scenes of his made the film’s structure appear loose, it was better that the scenes be deleted from the film! Bravo, Salman! We hope, more and more stars take his example and put their films before the lengths of their roles.

“It is better to share profits than to try to get 100% and end up getting not even 10%.”

– AMITABH BACHCHAN

KOMAL NAHTA & SANJAY K.S.
Amitabh the actor has fascinated millions. But Bachchan the businessman had never caught our fancy — not when he launched ABCl, not even when ABCL was in deep trouble, not before that, not after that. But, as it is said, he who suffers losses becomes a wiser businessman. And wisened Amitabh Bachchan indeed has, as a businessman. Perhaps, that business wisdom surfaced so much in our conversation with him earlier this week that we realised, after the interview, that we had hardly spoken to the actor in him. Most of our talk was with the head of a corporation which had the actor as its brand equity. Actually, the business talk started from the word ‘go’ when Bachchan enquired about how the seminar on Film Insurance, which we had organised the previous day, had gone (read report elsewhere in this issue). “You tell us, what you felt about it,” we asked him. To which his reply was, “It was very interesting, a lot of what was being said was music to my ears.” Amitabh then explained how he had tried to take a key man insurance policy but the same did not materialise, “but it is just on hold for the time being”. He also explained that ABCL was the first company of its kind which had a human being as its corpus — Amitabh the brand name was valued at Rs. 15 crore, and Jaya, at Rs. 3 crore.
Amitabh also recalled why ABCL had got into so many things all together. “We had two options — either to start divisions one by one or to start several divisions together. We opted for starting everything together. We were trying to bring in vertical integration of our activities.” In between praising Bharatbhai Shah for controlling 80% of the industry and lamenting his bad experience in Overseas distribution of a super-hit film “because the people doing business there just don’t believe in giving accounts”, Bachchan spoke about film business in general and AB Corp. in particular.

So, are you excited that MAJOR SAAB took a bumper initial?

– Yes, I am very happy about it. It has given me a chance to reconsolidate my position. After Mrityudaata, people had said all sorts of things. The opening of Major Saab is an answer to that.

But then, has the consequent drop in collections saddened you?

– Yes, of course, it is saddening. But ultimately, a star cannot ensure more than the initial collections. After that, it is the film’s merit that counts.

Agreed. But as long as you were only the hero of a film, you could say so. Now that you are also the producer of the film in question, don’t you think, you can’t just talk of the film’s merits and forget about it. Because, as a producer, it is you again who is responsible for the merits. So if you take credit for the opening, shouldn’t you also take discredit for the drop?

– Yes, you’re right. I must take the discredit along with the credit. I understand, I am connected with the film in two capacities — as an actor and as a producer.

Besides the good opening, the other best thing about MAJOR SAAB was its reasonable price. Does this mean, your price (which governs the price at which your films are sold) for outside productions, too, will now be lower?

– My price has never been a problem. Nor has it ever been rigid. Way back during the making of Aaj Ka Arjun, I had reduced my price to accommodate Mr. Bokadia. I’ve done it often in the past and I do it even today. What’s the big deal? I realise, I cannot command the price I used to earlier. Although my contract with ABCL (AB Corp.) stipulates that I charge 3 crore per film, it may not be possible to get that kind of a price. Adjustments will, therefore, have to be made.

Stars are known to have yes-men around them. The bigger the star, the more the chamchas. How then do you have access to honest reports of your films?

– Trade papers. They are a true reflection of audience tastes. Their reviews are the only ones I take seriously, others simply don’t matter. Because trade papers are the only ones who interpret monetary collections rather than writing subjective reviews.

Do you think your starting too many things together in ABCL (like multi-productions, distribution, music company, event management etc.) was responsible for the company’s failure?

– I agree, we got over-ambitious. You may call it our greed but that’s how it was. You see, we had promised, we would achieve a certain target before going public, and, in the process, we took on more than we could manage.

And why couldn’t you manage?

– Our biggest blunder was that we didn’t realise, it had to be someone from the family who had to be in complete charge of the company. Even an empire like Reliance is in overall charge of Dhirubhai Ambani or, in his absence, his sons. There is simply no alternative to this. One family man has got to be the head, otherwise, no business, however small or big, can work. Anyway, we’ve realised the mistakes we committed and we are taking care now, so that they aren’t repeated.

But your brother, Ajitabh Bachchan, is known to be a shrewd businessman.

– We relied too much on our managers and executives. And they let us down. We thought, we’d try to induct management graduates into the company to bring in professionalism into the industry. Alongside, we also had street-smart persons from the industry. But gradually, the MBAs of the company said, they did not want interference, that they wanted a free hand. We reposed trust in them but they let us down badly. They were simply not accountable, they fibbed, lied, they stole.

If you are blaming the executives, don’t you think, you need to also blame yourself or your family for having lapsed so badly?

– Yes, I take the blame too. It was the first time, we were doing what we were doing, and we weren’t really prepared for it. That is why, this time, I’ve taken personal interest in Major Saab after having burnt my fingers in the earlier projects. I’ve even supervised the publicities, trailers etc. of the film. Major Saab has been a great learning experience for me. Also, I salute producers for how they manage to make film after film in such a disorganised atmosphere. No business anywhere in the world works the way our industry does. Here, simply a pat on the back can make the actor poorer by 25 lakh and the producer richer by that amount. If an actor quotes 1.5 crore as his price, the producer pats him on the back and involves him in emotional talk like, “Yaar, dedh is not a shubh figure, I like sawa. Let your price be sawa karod.” And there, the actor has agreed.

Is it right to say in retrospect that you aren’t half as good a businessman as you are an actor?

– Yes, I’ve not proved to be the best businessman. But things will not be the same now.

Does that also mean that the MBAs you hired were not even trained for industry work?

– No, no, they were trained. But they let us down very, very badly.

How do you propose to guard against such a calamity in the future?

– Either me or my family member now oversees everything. Day-to-day working reports are on our desks now everyday.

But don’t you think that a creative job like filmmaking cannot be handled by a corporation which produces several films at a time?

– AB Corp. will now appoint executive producers who will not only be in overall charge of the film they handle but will also get a percentage share in the profits. That way, they’ll be encouraged to do their best. Of course, our creative inputs will also be there. But it is impossible for one person to be involved completely in five or six projects at a time. In that case, the person would have to rely on his director or production manager, who may end up cheating him. But if an executive producer were to be given a share in the profit, this eventuality can be avoided. So, I’ve realised, it is better to share profits than to try to get 100% but end up getting not even 10% or, sometimes, even losing.

What does AB Corp. have up its sleeve now?

– There’s a film with Mansoor Khan and Aamir Khan. Then there’s one with David Dhawan and myself. We’re also negotiating with Shah Rukh Khan for a film. Abbas Mustan are already signed with us. Then, there will also be a film with Abhishek.

SUHAAG | 31 October, 2019

By
Film Information
-

(From Our Issue Dated 5th November, 1994)

Shweta International’s Suhaag is a vendetta story. A woman leads the life of a widow even though her husband is alive, so that her son should not know that his father is languishing in jail. His life imprisonment is the handiwork of a gang of villains who are traders in human organs in the name of doctors. The son and his close buddy seek revenge, getting back the father’s honour and the mother’s suhaag.

The first half is excellent, abounding in light scenes, songs, romance, fun and frolic. The film takes a serious turn at the interval point (which scene is brilliant), and the second half abounds in tension. It is also lengthy and morbid. Cinematic liberties are a bit too many but none that can mar the prospects of the film. The term of life imprisonment is shown as almost 20 years! Dialogues are good.

Among the plus points in the film are a racy first half, good comedy, excellent music, arresting interval point and a novel and remarkable climax. Akshay Kumar’s entry is simply superb. Emotions touch the heart. The second half should have been more exciting.

Both, Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar, are excellent. They shine in action and light scenes and are the life of the film. Naghma is good. Karisma Kapoor has a small role and also does well. Aroona Irani scores in the interval scene. Although she has limited scope, her presence is felt throughout. Suresh Oberoi does a fine job but his villainy is not menacing enough. Dalip Tahhil is effective. Romesh Sharma is quite good. Adi Irani, Gufi Paintal, Brij Gopal, Jack Gaud, Ghanshyam and Tiku Talsania provide good support.

Kuku Kohli’s direction is competent. Anand Milind’s music is hit. ‘Gore gore mukhde pe’, ‘Ta na na na’, ‘Pyar pyar pyar’ and ‘Shaaba ye nakhra ladki ka’ are all racy numbers and have been well picturised. ‘Tere liye jaanam’ is melodious and the locations on which it has been picturised are breathtaking. Photography is superb. Action scenes are thrilling.

On the whole, Suhaag has a good dose of everything for everybody — masses, ladies and families. An overflow film with good chances of proving class A.

Released on 4-11-’94 at Novelty (daily 1 show) and 23 other cinemas of Bombay thru Modern Movies. Publicity & opening: excellent. …..Also released all over.

ANDAZ APNA APNA

Vinay Pictures’ Andaz Apna Apna is a comedy with no pretentions of seriousness whatsoever. Two lively young boys dream of becoming multi-millionaires and they try to win the heart of a rich NRI girl to fulfill their dream. The game of one-upmanship which follows in wooing the girl is quite hilarious.

Although the entire film is farcical, the incidents are novel and their presentation is beautiful. Yes, there’s no base to the story and that inherent drawback remains. The first half is quite good. It is after interval that the film becomes a laugh riot. Of course, many jokes are of the kind that will be appreciated more by the city-based audience. But there’s masala for masses too. Excellent scripting is complemented by superb handling of the subject and praiseworthy performances.

Aamir Khan is extraordinary. His sense of timing is unbelievably perfect. His is an award-winning performance. Salman Khan is also remarkable. The two make a perfect team. Raveena Tandon and Karisma Kapoor have done well. Paresh Rawal is very effective in a double role. Shakti Kapoor is praiseworthy. Shehzad Khan and Viju Khote impress. Tiku Talsania, Javed Khan, Harish Patel, Mehmood, Jagdeep and Deven Varma lend admirable support. Juhi Chawla and Govinda’s special appearances are enjoyable.

Director Rajkumar Santoshi succeeds in making the film a crazy comedy. His comic touches are fantastic. Music is not much of a prop even though it has the O.P. Nayyar stamp. ‘Ye raat aur ye doori’ and ‘Elo elo sanam hum aa gaye’ are quite nice. Photography and other technical values are of a high standard. Climax is non-stop laughter. Dialogues are very good.

On the whole, Andaz Apna Apna is a very enjoyable comedy which will be liked by youngsters. Its major business will come from cities and towns. Performance in Bombay, Nizam and Mysore should be the best.

Released on 3-11-’94 at Metro and on 4-11-’94 at 14 other cinemas of Bombay thru Niraj Movies. Publicity & opening: excellent. …….Also released all over.

YAAR GADDAR

Eagle Films’ Yaar Gaddar (A) is a masala film with a good suspense angle. A police inspector is on the hunt for a gang of villains involved in a bank robbery in which his innocent young brother also gets framed due to circumstances. The two brothers finally succeed in bringing the culprits to book. While the screenplay is generally racy, some linking scenes are a bit contrived. The post-interval portion is more gripping. Comedy is enjoyable though a bit on the excessive side.

Mithun Chakraborty does well. Saif Ali Khan is also good. Somy Ali exposes uninhibitedly and is fair. Shweta needs to reduce some weight. She acts freely. Prem Chopra, Gulshan Grover, Puneet Issar, Amrit Pal and Umesh Shukla have all done promising jobs. Johny Lever and Himani Shivpuri evoke laughter. Shubha Khote, Anjana Mumtaz, Yunus Perwaiz and Jugnu lend the required support. The dog has been well exploited.

Umesh Mehra’s direction is good. Anu Malik’s music is quite appealing but a hit number is missing. Camerawork is alright, though more lights should have been used in some scenes.

On the whole, Yaar Gaddar is a fair entertainer with medium price and a good release period on its side.

Released on 4-11-’94 at Minerva and 24 other cinemas of Bombay thru Shivani Films. Publicity & opening: very good. …….Also released all over except in Mysore.

SARDAR

Ketan Mehta’s Sardar (tax-free) is a docu-drama on the life of the iron man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It concentrates more on the last five years of his life, from 1945 to 1950, when the Congress and the Muslim League were struggling for power, and Sardar Patel’s contribution in making India, a country with hundreds of independent states, one nation. Decisions taken for the division of the country have been shown vividly, laying bare the minds and hearts of the leaders then.

Although the film does not have a big canvas, and Patel’s early life has been shown just in passing shots, it has its own power, making it nostalgic for those who have witnessed the freedom movement. The treatment of the historical film basically holds appeal only for the intelligentsia.

Paresh Rawal gives a memorable and award-winning performance as Sardar Patel. Annu Kapoor has done extremely well as Gandhi. He is extraordinary in emotional scenes. Benjamin Gilani, as Jawaharlal Nehru, is passable. Srivallabh Vyas and Tom Alter are okay.

Ketan Mehta’s direction is praiseworthy but he has succeeded in making the film a documentary, at best. Camerawork is beautiful. Editing is sharp and the background score is effective.

On the whole, Sardar is a beautifully made film which will find appreciation among a very limited section of audience only.

Released on 31-10-’94 at Nehru auditorium and Metro (matinee) and on 4-11-’94 at Naaz and 7 other cinemas of Bombay thru Hira Films Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: excellent. Opening: so-so. …….Also released in Gujarat.

SPEED
(Dubbed)

Released on 4-11-’94 in many circuits (other than Bombay), Twentieth Century Fox’s Speed (dubbed) is a thriller. A bomb is planted in a moving bus and it will explode if the speed of the bus comes down to 50 mph. How the passengers in the bus are saved provides edge-of-the-seat excitement and tension-filled moments.

Dubbing is wonderful. Performances of Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels and Sandra Bullock are lovely. The thrilling scenes have been very ably captured.

On the whole, Speed should appeal to the Hindi audience too. The English version has been released this week in Bombay where the dubbed version will be released next week.

Dream Merchant

New Year’s Night

The deafening sounds of crackers on the night of Diwali did not let me sleep in peace. I tried to make up on New Year’s night by sleeping soundly. And I dreamt…

That Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgan were having a joint suhaagraat. That is to say, they were holding a night show of Suhaag for the trade. And since the Suhaag was at raat, they had called the show their Suhaagraat!

That Jackie Shroff was undergoing a change of image. No more stuntttts for him after the debacle of Stunttman. Jackie had decided to do dancing roles instead, having won accolades for his ‘Amma dekh’ dance. The other action heroes were dancing with joy at Jackie’s exit.

That Sunny Deol was saying “Tada”, sorry “Tata” (“goodbye”), to several of his producers, pleading inability to complete their films because he had signed Subhash Ghai’s Trimurti. He was especially thrilled because he had given a hit in Trimurti’s Tridev. After the Trimurti banner and Tridev, Sunny was praying that Trimurti would complete his hat-Trick.

That Saif Ali Khan was autographing the handkerchieves of his fans but saying “no” to autograph books. Haathon mein aa gaya jo kal rumal aapka…. he kept humming while putting pen on rumal.

That Juhi Chawla was moving out (to shootings, parties, for shopping) only in the company of men… sorry, gentlemen. No affairs, only a publicity ploy for The Gentleman.

That Sridevi had resolved never to shoot except on full-moon days and nights. Chaand kaa tukdaas, however small or big, had got on her nerves just as she had got on people’s nerves in Chaand Kaa Tukdaa. Nothing short of a fool moon, sorry, full moon would do for Madame Devi.

That Govinda was terribly disturbed about the fate of his Beta Ho To Aisa. He had cancelled all his shooting and had hit the…. video, not the bottle. He kept seeing Anil Kapoor’s Beta again and again and he muttered to himself, “Beta ho to aisa!”

That Vinod Khanna was holding a press conference in the Himalayas to prove to the world that he would go to any heights (literally!) to ensure an out-of-the-world launching for his son, Akshaye Khanna, in Himalay Putra.

That Subhash Ghai, who has a penchant for bigness, was now trying to get used to things small. He had decided to advertise his first TV serial as ‘Small Screen Entertainment to be enjoyed on television only’. He had also decided to have a very small muhurt of the serial at an Udipi restaurant, to be followed by tea and snacks.

– Komal Nahta

SNAPSHOTS

BENGAL DISTRIBUTOR’S “NO” TO HIKE

The Bengal distributors of Andaz Apna Apna, Musical Films, almost did not take delivery of the film. They put their foot down and refused to hike the price by 2 more lakh at the time of delivery. The price for Bengal, when the film was sold, was 27. It was raised to 32 thereafter. After completion of the film, the producer hiked the price in all the territories, having gone over-budget. The new price for Bengal was 40. When the Bengal distributors came to Bombay to take the film’s delivery, a new price of 42 was quoted. They refused to oblige and threatened to go to the court. Better sense prevailed and the producer agreed to effect delivery at 40 so as not to jeopardise the release.

*        *        *

DIWALI RUSH

There was tension among the distributors of Suhaag all through last week. It was because of delay in the delivery of prints by Gemini Lab. Gemini was processing the prints of 8 South films, besides Suhaag, and all the nine films were scheduled for release on Diwali. The Diwali dhamaka gave Suhaag distributors a lot of dhak dhak in their dil.

*        *        *

BITTERNESS

There was bitterness recently between the Hollywood company which, not long back, dubbed a Hollywood wonder in Hindi, and its Bombay distributor. It had reportedly something to do with payment.

PEOPLE
Are Speculating About

** Sunny Deol replacing Sanjay Dutt in Subhash Ghai’s Trimurti. The speculations are not baseless. It is now almost certain that Sunny will play Sanjay Dutt’s role. Some changes in the script to suit Sunny’s presence, are on the anvil.

** Which will be the best of this week’s lot of releases. The number game has begun.

** What will be the collections of HAHK..! this week as the number of prints has been increased substantially. The total number of prints is 222.

PEOPLE
Are Talking About

** Who is better in Suhaag – Ajay Devgan or Akshay Kumar? The fact is, both are equally good.

** The futility of releasing so many films this week and there being no new release next week. Maybe, the benefit of coming solo next week would have been far more for a film than the Diwali period benefit this week.

** The colourful folders of Karan Arjun and Gambler and the audio cassettes of the two films, all distributed with the Diwali special issue of Film Information last week.

PEOPLE
 Are Cribbing About

** The sound system of Alankar cinema, Bombay. It is so unclear. To compare it with Metro or Liberty, Bombay would be suicidal.

PEOPLE
Are Hoping

** The New Year will really be a prosperous year for the industry.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The Bombay distributors of ANDAZ APNA APNA, Niraj Movies, held a total of 82 trial shows of the film before its release!


* Radhika cinema, Satara which is screening HAHK..! has reverted back to the admission rate of 10/- in balcony from 10th week onwards. It used to charge 10/- for a balcony ticket in the first 6 weeks. The rate was reduced to Rs. 7.50 in seventh, eighth and ninth weeks. Sweets were distributed among the balcony class audience of Radhika cinema on New Year’s day (4th November) in all the 3 shows

‘HAHK..!’ SCORE: 222

* As many as 88 additional prints of HAHK..! have been put into circulation from this week all over India, taking the total number of prints being screened to 222. At Liberty cinema, Bombay, an additional show will be held on Sunday (6th November) at 9 a.m. The show is full in advance.

PLAN FOR SPECTACULAR SHOW FOR 100 YEARS OF CINEMA

The National Film Development Corporation, the ministry of Information & Broadcasting will stage a spectacular hi-tech audio-visual show to celebrate 100 years of world cinema, in Bombay at the NSCI Stadium on 15th January, 1995. About 30,000 people will witness the show at the stadium, besides millions all over the world, on their television sets.

The show will be part of the International Film Festival of India which will open in Bombay on 10th January. It is planned to be the greatest show ever and will depict the growth and glories of world and Indian cinema during its 100 years. Many old and new artistes and technicians are expected to participate in the celebration show. Subhash Ghai will direct it, with a band of visualisers and writers assisting him.

The total budget is estimated to be about Rs. 1.5 crore. Art director Nitin Desai has designed multi-dimensional stages which will cost about Rs. 50 lakh. Over 150 dancers, 100 musicians, top choreographers and music directors will take part in the show for which work has already begun.

Ravi Gupta, managing director of the NFDC, is the chief convenor. The Cine Artistes’ Association, the Film Federation of India and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees have pledged their wholehearted support to the show.

YOU ASKED IT

Is True Lies also being dubbed in Hindi?

– Yes, its dubbing has already started.

With Dhirubhai Shah claiming to hold satellite rights and producers refuting his claim, what will happen finally?

–The matter may have to be decided by the court of law.

What is most necessary to make a film with a top and busy star?

– His dates!

How do you gauge the effect of an emotional scene in a film?

– If the audience cries in the scene, it is effective. If only the character on the screen cries, it is a waste.

MAHARASHTRA  GOVT.’S CIRCULAR STRUCK DOWN

Extracts From High Court Order In Writ Petition
Filed By Liberty, Bombay & Rajshri

Given hereinbelow is the operative part of the order of the Bombay high court in the writ petition filed by Nazir Hussain, proprietor of Liberty cinema, Bombay, and Rajshri against the Maharashtra government’s circular which restricted the right of cinemas to increase admission rates without prior permission of the Collector/licensing authority. It may be recalled that the division bench consisting of Justices Mr. M.L. Pendse and Mr. S.M. Jhunjhunwala struck down the government circular insofar as it restricted the right of cinemas. The order was passed on 17th October, 1994 following which cinemas in the state are free to fix their own admission rates.

Entertainment tax had been reduced in Maharashtra vide an ordinance in September ’94. Alongwith the ordinance, the government had issued a circular as above. The state of Maharashtra, the collector of Bombay and the Commissioner of police were the respondents in the petition.

The order:

The petitioners have preferred this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to challenge the validity of Condition No. 5A inserted by amendment in pursuance of Circular dated September 27, 1994. Shri Chagla, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners submitted that it is not permissible for the respondents to provide that the theatre owners cannot increase rates for admission without prior permission of the Collector. The learned counsel submitted that the benefit of the Ordinance cannot be made dependent upon condition that the rates of admission of cinema theatres should be those prevailing on August 12, 1994. Shri Chagla submitted that the Act does not confer any power upon the respondents to specify the fixation of admission rates or its increase or reduction and such legislative power cannot be grabbed by resort to issuance of the circulars, which are administrative in nature. We find considerable merit in the submission of the learned counsel. On behalf of the respondents, Shri M.N. Kale, Desk Officer who has issued the circular, has filed a return, sworn on October 17, 1994. In paragraph 16 of the return, it is admitted that the Act does not specify the fixation of admission rates or its reduction. It is then claimed that the State Government has responsibility towards cinegoers and it can take suitable action in the matter and it has a right to impose reasonable restriction on theatre owners. In face of the admission that the Act does not confer any power to determine or fix or reduce admission rates, it is difficult to appreciate how such power can be exercised by issuance of the Circulars which are clearly administrative in nature. Shri Saraf, learned counsel appearing on behalf of State Govt., very fairly stated that the conditions issued while granting licence are not statutory conditions and, therefore, it is not open for the respondents to modify such conditions by including Condition No. 5A, which cannot be supported with reference to the power flowing from the Act. It hardly requires to be stated that in case the respondents do not possess power under the Act, then the orders cannot be issued by issuance of such Circular to control something which is not permissible under the Act. Shri Saraf submitted that Section 4(2) (b) of the Act confers power on the State Government to determine the rates of admission to the entertainment. The submission cannot be accepted for more than one reason. In the first instance, in view of the specific admission in paragraph 16 of the return, even the State Govt. does not consider that such power exists under section 4(2) (b) of the Act. The sub-section, inter alia, provides that the State Govt. may prescribe to pay the amount of the duty due in accordance with returns of the payments for admission to the entertainment. It is impossible to appreciate how section 4(2) (b) of the Act can entitle the State Government to determine the rates of admission. In our judgment, inclusion of Condition No. 5A in the licence in pursuance of Circular dated September 27, 1994 was clearly without any authority of law.

Shri Saraf made a brave attempt to urge that the Government published the Ordinance with a view to give benefit not only to the theatre owners but with an object that the cinegoers are benefitted. Whatever may be the object or the intention in issuance of the Ordinance, that does not entitle the respondents to exercise administrative powers and impose conditions which are not permissible under the Act. In those circumstances, in our judgment, the petitioners are entitled to the relief.

Accordingly, petition succeeds, and Condition No. 5A inserted in pursuance of Circular dated September 27, 1994 is struck down. In the circumstances of the case, there will be no order as to costs.

COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING CENSORSHIP

The ministry of Information and Broadcasting has sent two communications to the CBFC, regarding matters connected with contents in the films presented for certification, for public exhibition.

The first letter relates to a resolution passed at the conference of the State Ministers of Information and Cinematography. The text of the resolution is reproduced for your information: ‘The responsibility of ensuring that only good and wholesome films are exhibited rests not only on the CBFC. This conference recommends that the film industry may evolve a model code of conduct for themselves in this regard and that the industry associations should consider ways and means of seeing that their members adhere to it.’

The second letter from the ministry relates to the debate in the Rajya Sabha, held recently, regarding the need for issuing guidelines to prevent caricaturing of a particular community in Hindi films. The observations made in this regard by the Hon’ble deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha are: ‘Humour has to be inborn. Humour should not hurt the feelings of people. When it starts hurting people, it becomes vulgar. I hope, the minister will take care of it. It should not be at somebody else’s expense. It should be from within.’

No Cine Workers Of FEFSI To Shoot In Andhra

FWICE SUPPORTS FEFSI

To safeguard the interest of cine worker-members of the various affiliates of Film Employees’ Federation of South India, Madras, who go on assignment for shootings in Hyderabad/Andhra Pradesh, from some rowdy elements in that state, who refuse to recognise the membership of FEFSI (which is a constituent of the All India Film Employees’ Confederation) and threaten them to become members of some union there, which is not affiliated to the AIFEC, and further in view of the open declaration of hostility towards cine workers belonging to FEFSI, by the Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Federation, and open challenge that they shall not allow any cine worker belonging to the Film Employees’ Federation of South India to work in Hyderabad/Andhra Pradesh, the Film Employees’ Federation of South India has decided that no member of FEFSI shall accept any assignment in Andhra Pradesh from 3rd October, 1994.

FEFSI has also asked for the co-operation of the All India Film Employees’ Confederation and its various constituents in Eastern, Western and Karnataka regions in their ongoing struggle, which is, in other words, a struggle to uphold the right of cine worker-members of any affiliate of any of the constituents of All India Film Employees’ Confederation to work anywhere in India, by advising their members not to accept any assignment for shooting/work of any film in any language in Andhra Pradesh till further notice.

Accordingly, the Secretariat of All India Film Employees’ Confederation has advised all its other constituents in Eastern, Western and Karnataka regions to advise their members not to go for any shooting of any film in any language held in Andhra Pradesh till further advice. The General Council of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees considered the matter at its meeting held on 7th October and unanimously decided to extend its wholehearted cooperation to FEFSI in its ongoing struggle.

FLASHBACK | 6 May, 2022
(From our issue dated 10th May, 1997)

By
Film Information
-

SANAM

Magnum Films International’s Sanam is a love story which has a disjointed script. The drama comprises scenes which often do not have any connection with the ones they follow or precede. There’s a nationalist angle too which has no relevance to the love story. The two tracks are sought to be juxtaposed in the climax but the result is pathetic. The first half deals with a girl unsuccessfully trying to woo a military trainee. The latter, after dodging her for quite a while, reveals why he is doing so. A fairly good part of the second half deals with his revelation. It turns out that he cannot love the girl because his elder brother was killed in an accident, which made him pledge to become a responsible and respectable military officer. This reason for his aloofness sounds strange but so do many incidents in the film. Actually, the love drama takes a backseat a little before interval, and for some reels thereafter, there is a bit of family drama. Then comes the nationalist part. Comedy falls flat most of the times.

If the story is childish, the screenplay is worse still. Dialogues are ordinary. The film has taken years in the making and the staleness shows.

Vivek Mushran does an average job. Manisha Koirala looks pretty and performs fairly well. Sanjay Dutt is okay in a brief and rather inconsequential role. Anupam Kher entertains at places only. Kader Khan is good. Shakti Kapoor and Gulshan Grover are alright. Dalip Tahhil, Harish Patel, Maya Alagh, Razzak Khan, Achyut Potdar, Dinesh Hingoo, Anjan Srivastava, Rami Reddy, Madan Jain, Aroon Bakshi, Ishrat Ali, Asrani, Usha Nadkarni and the rest pass muster.

Aziz Sejawal’s direction is unbelievably poor. Although the film seems to have lost its impact due to the undue delay in its completion, even its handling otherwise is bad. Anand Milind’s music is the only plus point of the film. ‘Kasam se kasam se’, ‘Ishq mein mere Rabba’, ‘Raks mein hai saara jahan’, ‘Aankhon mein neendein’, and ‘Khuda kare ki mohabbat mein’ are all very hummable numbers. But since the music was released years ago, it has become stale. Song picturisations are so so. Action is functional. Camerawork and other technical and production values are okay.

On the whole, Sanam is a weak fare.

Released on 9-5-’97 at Alankar and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru VIP Enterprises. Publicity & opening: average. …….Also released all over except in East Punjab and C.P. Berar.

LATEST POSITION

Film after film is failing to make a mark at the box-office.

Sapnay (dubbed) has found very limited appreciation and proves losing. 1st week Bombay 20,25,277 (87.23%) from 5 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,16,970 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,80,472, Rajkot 1,07,557, Jamnagar 87,628; Solapur 96,153; Delhi 13,59,488 (70.98%) from 5 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Kanpur 1,14,942, Lucknow 1,55,646, Agra 1,00,500, Allahabad 80,000, Varanasi 75,430 (27.19%), Dehradun 76,000, Gorakhpur 52,000; Amritsar 42,000; Calcutta 10,53,342 from 12 cinemas; Nagpur 3,71,128, Jabalpur 1,39,882, Amravati 1,49,606, Akola 84,500, Bhilai 52,045; Bhopal 1,73,023 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,22,377, Udaipur 87,870; Hyderabad 6,77,185 from 5 cinemas, share 1,27,322.

……….

Koyla 3rd week Bombay 6,13,041 (51.44%) from 3 cinemas (10 on F.H., 5 unrecd.); Ahmedabad 52,428 (3 unrecd.), 1st week Padra 88,591, Idar 75,500 (68.63%), 3rd Rajkot 1,01,025; Solapur 88,035; Dharwad 53,665; Delhi 19,15,256 from 10 cinemas; Kanpur 1,57,584 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,60,361, Agra 77,530, Allahabad 74,700, Varanasi 98,577, Meerut (35 shows) 94,781, Bareilly 79,466 (34.58%), Dehradun 65,535, Gorakhpur 84,000 (2nd 1,02,402); Calcutta 8,20,054 from 11 cinemas; Gaya 32,000; Nagpur 2,07,734 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 80,137, total 4,32,459, Amravati 1,04,481, Akola 84,074, total 3,03,682, Raipur 1,15,254, Bhilai 31,200, Durg 39,853, 2nd week Khandwa 55,713; 3rd Indore (14 shows) 62,990 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 94,779; Jaipur 1,72,730, Udaipur 46,640; Hyderabad 5,17,674 from 2 cinemas, share 2,05,692.

Ziddi is still going strong. 4th week Bombay 5,97,781 (73.07%) from 3 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,38,750; Solapur 92,771 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 9,47,438 from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,95,398 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,64,689, Agra 1,20,000, Allahabad 85,000, Varanasi 1,00,723, Bareilly 56,468 (29.37%), 3rd week Dehradun 72,000, 4th Gorakhpur 56,000 (3rd 61,700); Calcutta 2,62,324; Nagpur 1,24,285 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 89,144, total 5,47,358, Amravati 90,836, Raipur 1,09,875, Bhilai 43,564, Chandrapur 38,649 (3rd 37,609); Bhopal 1,13,630; Jaipur 2,16,014, 3rd week Jodhpur 1,56,000, 4th Bikaner 58,341; Hyderabad 5,75,898 from 4 cinemas.

Judaai 10th week Bombay 3,55,671 (60.66%, 3 on F.H., 1 unrecd.); Ahmedabad 1,71,129 from 2 cinemas, Baroda 1,03,296, Rajkot 52,000, Jamnagar 43,370, total 7,87,807; Solapur (matinee) 18,555; Delhi 82,312; Kanpur 85,399 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 48,289, Allahabad 41,000, Varanasi 52,560; Amritsar 12,160; Nagpur 1,54,960 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 40,779, total 5,74,216, 9th week Amravati 80,113, record, 10th Akola 81,601, record, total 9,15,150, Raipur (last) 49,367, 4th week Wardha (last) 30,937; 10th Indore 82,652, record, Bhopal 75,990, record; Hyderabad 1,77,047.

Hero No. 1 11th week Bombay 4,89,628 (63.43%) from 2 cinemas; Baroda 23,062, 10th week Rajkot 40,007 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); 11th Solapur (matinee) 28,222; Delhi 1,77,222 from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 55,442, Agra 45,500, Varanasi (shifting) 44,595, Gorakhpur (shifting) 15,000; Calcutta 86,689; Nagpur (shifting) 30,306, Jabalpur 54,609, total 10,09,311, 1st week Amravati 2,05,785, 11th Akola 46,403, total 6,50,175, share 3,65,140, 1st Khandwa 91,000; 11th week Indore 58,725, Bhopal 49,661; Hyderabad 3,02,940 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

CONTROL ON FILM PRICES: CCCA GETS STRICT

No distributor of C.P.C.I. Rajasthan will henceforth be allowed to offer to buy any film which has already been sold by the producer to another distributor. If a distributor makes a counter-offer for an already sold film, he will be liable to a penalty imposed by the Central Circuit Cine Association.

This decision was taken at the meeting of the executive committee of the CCCA held in Bombay on 5th May. The intention of the resolution passed is to avoid the artificial increase in film prices triggered off by over-enthusiastic distributors.

It was also resolved at the same meeting that the price of a film acquired for distribution will have to be fixed on the very day the deal is concluded by paying the signing amount.

The CCCA also resolved to take action against any producer who would make unreasonable demands on its distributor-members at the time of delivery (eg. unjustified dupe charges, price hike, etc.). The CCCA president would in such cases have a right to suo moto issue a circular, asking its members not to deal with the erring producer.

R.K. SORAL DRAGS DD TO COURT

The Bombay high court has admitted a petition alleging that Doordarshan broadcasts films at the instance of touts. Producer R.K. Soral has filed the petition, submitting that his Saveray Wali Gadi was not accepted for screening by DD as, according to DD, it was not found suitable for family viewing.

According to the petition, the Tamil version of the same film was telecast by DD. Soral has alleged that his film had not been accepted because he had not approached the authorities through touts.

Counsel for Soral, P.A. Sebastian, said that the film had been granted tax exemption by the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi and that it had been granted a ‘U’ certificate. Therefore, according to him, the film qualified for public viewing.

CINEMA COMPLETES 25 YEARS

Meghdoot Talkies, Vidisha (M.P.), which was opened on 7th May, 1972, completed 25 years on 7th May, 1997. Coincidentally, the opening film at this cinema — Mera Gaon Mera Desh — and the one being screened on 7th May, 1997 — Raja Hindustani — are distributed by the same distributor, Lalchand (Prem Films and Sunil Enterprises, Indore). What’s more, Lalchand has screened all his films in the last 25 years at this cinema only and in no other cinema of Vidisha.

The silver jubilee must be a joyous occasion then for the cinema owners as well as for C.I. distributor Lalchand.

44th National Awards

Swarn Kamal For ‘Lal Darja’
Kamal Haasan, Tabu Bag Awards For Best Actor, Actress

Lal Darja (Bengali) was adjudged the best film of 1996 at the 44th National Film Awards announced in New Delhi on May 6 by jury chairman T. Subbarami Reddy. Awarded for “poetic presentation and exploitation of the complexities of human relationships in a contemporary urban milieu”, the film has been produced by Chitrani Lahiri and directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta. It gets a Swarn Kamal, besides a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 each for the producer and the director. Maachis, declared the most popular film with wholesome entertainment, also gets a Swarn Kamal and Rs. 40,000 each for its producer, R.V. Pandit, and director, Gulzar.

Kamal Haasan won the best actor award for Indian (Tamil) while Tabu won the best actress award for her “sensitive portrayal of a woman trapped in vortex of conflicts” in Maachis. Nana Patekar was declared the best supporting actor in Agni Sakshi, and Rajeshwari Sachdeva, the best supporting actress in Sardari Begum.

Other award winners are:- Best director and best screenplay: Ahathian for Kaathal Kottai (Tamil) which is being remade in Hindi by Boney Kapoor in association with Neha-MAD Films Combine; best music: A.R. Rahman (Minsara Kanavu, Tamil); best choreography: Prabhu Deva (Minsara Kanavu); best male playback singer: S.P. Balasubrahmaniam (Minsara Kanavu); best female playback singer: Chitra (Minsara Kanavu); best lyrics: Javed Akhtar (Saaz); best cinematography: Mrinal Kanti Das (Adajya, Assamese); best audiography: Krishnanunni (Desadanam, Malayalam); best art director: Thotta Tharani (Indian); best special effects: Venki (Indian); and best costume designer: M. Dandapani (Kulum, Malayalam).

Best film on social issues: Tamanna, produced by Pooja Bhatt and directed by Mahesh Bhatt.

Indira Gandhi award for best first feature film: Raag Biraag (Assamese) by director Biddu Chakraborty. This film also won the best editor award for A. Sreekar Prasad.Nargis Dutt award for best feature film on national integration: Kanakkinavu (Malayalam) by Sibi Malayil.

Best film on family welfare: Laathi (Bengali) by Prabhat Roy.

The films awarded in the regional categories are: Gudia (Hindi); Sardari Begum (Urdu); Adajya (Assamese); Sanghat (Bengali); America America (Kannada); Desadanam (Malayalam); Rao Saheb (Marathi); Shunya Swaroopa (Oriya); Kaathal Kottai (Tamil); and Ninne Pelladutha (Telugu).

Raja Sen’s Damu (Bengali) won the best children’s film award, and Kumar Kavya and master Kumar jointly won the best child artiste award for their performances in Little Soldiers (Telugu) and Desadanam (Malayalam) respectively.

The Special jury award went to Amol Palekar for Daayra, and to Kiron Kher, for her performance in Sardari Begum. The jury also made special mention of the performances of Dolon Roy in Sanghat, and Bhagirathi in Adajya.

TV & VIDEO INFORMATION

BINDU ON SMALL SCREEN

Bindu will appear on the small screen for the first time in Kamroop Kanakhya Productions’ untitled TV serial. It will co-star Ajit Vachani, Bharat Kapoor, Suhas Khandke and others, and will be directed by Sanjay Upadhyay from a story written by S.P. Shrivastava and screenplay by M. Saleem. Producer: Bina S. Shrivastava. Regular shooting will begin from May 11.

YOU ASKED IT

What is the estimated loss likely to be in Mrityudaata?

– It would be in the region of 1.5 crore per major circuit.

Will Ishq be released in June? What is the delay?

– ISHQ will not come before July or August. Two or three days’ shooting remains to be done, besides picturising a song on Amitabh Bachchan (special appearance). All the artistes have finished their dubbing.

When vacations should prove beneficial for films, why have the releases of April bombed one after the other?

– Films have bombed because they weren’t good. Whatever business they’ve done, it’s partly due to the vacation period. ZIDDI, a good success, was also an April release. The vacation period is helping good films like HERO NO. 1, JUDAAI and ZIDDI.

MIX MASALA

VAASTU SET

The science of vaastu shastra has a good number of takers in the film industry. Film folk often build their houses and offices in accordance with the principles of vaastu shastra. But some art directors of the South take the cake. While constructing film sets also, they keep in mind the vaastu principles. One such set, constructed in accordance with the rules of vaastu shastra, is that for Tutu Sharma’s Gharwali Baharwali at Padmalaya Studios.

“It was an inner voice in me which kept telling me not to give up!”

– AFZAL KHAN on ‘Mahaanta‘

Mahaanta may have been inordinately delayed due to Sanjay Dutt’s arrest three years ago but the enthusiasm with which its director, Afzal Khan, has completed the film is admirable. Not just completed, he has actually re-shot about 60% of the film. Coupled with Afzal’s excitement in the project was Sanjay Dutt’s and the rest of the cast’s complete involvement. In this brief interview, Afzal Khan talks about his first directorial venture and how his distributors have stood by him. Excerpts:

Why did you think of re-shooting so heavily?

– After Sanjay Dutt’s release from jail, when I completed picturising a song on Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit, I saw the rushes, sat down and thought, and realised that if I didn’t re-shoot, there would be a lot of continuity problems and jerks. Ultimately, I realised, there would be problems at the time of delivery. Besides, I was too bothered about my name and respectability as a director. Secondly, I also feel that in a film, if there’s even a bit of upsetting of something, the final result can be disastrous. Also, when I decided to re-shoot, I got a chance to change the script a bit to reduce the footage of the stars who don’t run today, like Mohsin Khan.

How long did it take you to re-shoot?

– I re-shot during the period from July ’96 to October ’96, and then again in December ’96. In between, I completed the film’s background music in November.

Why did the background music recording take so long? And why have you gone in for DTS mixing — because it is the in-thing today or because your film needs it?

– We took Pyarelal-ji to Madras to record the entire background score. Everybody knows the perfectionist Pyare-ji is. And we didn’t use stock music at all. As for DTS sound, we realised that the film needed it. After all, we wanted Mahaanta to be today’s film.

When you took the decision to re-shoot, did you take your distributors into confidence or did you break the news to them gradually?

– No, we didn’t inform them before re-shooting. We involved them slowly, after re-shooting had started. We had to inform them sooner or later because they were going to bear the additional cost.

What has been the reaction of your distributors? What is the new ratio of your film?

– My distributors have been cooperating fabulously. When they saw excerpts from the film, they all were unanimous in their feelings about my work. They told me, it didn’t look like Mahaanta was my first film. We’ve re-fixed the ratio at about 1.75 crore to 2 crore.

How did your producer react when you told him of your plans to re-shoot?

– Producer Ayub Khan, presenter Nasir Khan and myself are all related. One sister of Ayub Khan is my wife and another sister of his is Nasir’s wife. Both, Ayub and Nasir, gave me the green signal without so much as even batting an eyelid.

How much was your film complete when Sanjay was jailed?

– 75% approximately. Had I thought like some other producers, I too could’ve completed the film by engaging the services of duplicates. But I had mentally decided not to complete it without Sanjay Dutt. He’s a genuine friend.

After the re-shooting and increase in ratio, will the producer be in the red or will he break even?

– No, it is a big setback for the producer. After all, besides the re-shooting, he has spent for 43 days for background music. DTS mixing has taken a month and ten days.

Who was your moral support during the time between the starting of MAHAANTA and its completion?

– No amount of external support can help until you yourself are convinced that what you are doing is right. It was an inner voice in me which kept telling me not to give up. That voice was my greatest moral support. Anybody else in my place would’ve broken down under the pressure, but I never looked back. The secretaries of my artistes also co-operated wonderfully and so did the stars themselves. Amrish Puri used to invariably joke with me and say, “You’ve taken so many of my dates, I almost feel as if I am the hero of the film.” The technicians also cooperated fabulously but I gave them extra remunerations. Here I must mention what (action director) Veeru-ji (Devgan) used to say. Looking at my unfailing confidence in the film, my undying spirit and my extensive re-shooting, he used to joke, “We should take out his heart and see the stuff it is made of.”

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

The Hit Pair

Two films, the songs of which are currently very popular, are Virasat and Border. At least three songs of the former film have become the favourites of music lovers. And in the case of Border, the ‘Sandese aate hain’ song is quite a craze, more so in Punjab. The coincidence is that the music of both the films is scored by Anu Malik and the lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar. And before we know it, so many producers will rush to sign the lyricist and the music director that the hit pair will also become the ‘hot’ pair!

Enter The Ad Film People

Ad film people are entering the film industry. At least two leading persons from the ad world have already started their film projects in 1997. Shantanu Sheorey, ace photographer, is directing Kamal Haasan’s Chikni Chachi, the Hindi version of the English flick, Mrs. Doubtfire. Well-known ad filmmaker Kailash Surendranath also makes his bow as a feature film director with Ashok Amritraj’s Love You Hamesha. Who knows, as the year progresses, we may have a couple of more from the ad world come into this ‘mad’ world.

Of Luck — Good And Bad

There have been umpteen incidents of major losses being averted by sheer good luck, or windfall gains accruing due to plain luck. One such incident deals with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film, Iruvar. Before it was released, Jhamu Sugandh had finalised the negotiations for the Hindi dubbing rights of the film. Something went wrong between Ratnam and Sugandh, and the deal was cancelled. Reportedly, Mani Ratnam asked for a price higher than that committed earlier, which agitated Jhamu Sugandh and prompted him to call off the proposed deal. Mysore distributor N.R. Sudhir jumped in and clinched the deal at the enhanced price. A few days later, Iruvar was released in Tamil Nadu and it bombed miserably at the box-office. Jhamu Sugandh must be thanking his stars, and Sudhir, cursing his!

Involvement, Not Interference

Amitabh Bachchan has come in for a lot of criticism for Mrityudaata. But Bachchan has preferred to pass on the blame to whoever by saying that he never interfered during the film’s making and that he had seen it only in bits and parts and not in totality. What Amitabh fails to realise is that he is not just the hero of Mrityudaata but also its producer. So long as he was only an actor, the statement that he had seen the film only in bits and parts would have been understandable. But now that he has a dual role — that of a producer and a hero — making such comments does not behove Bachchan. He should realise that when a producer takes interest in his project or makes suggestions to his director or asks for changes to be carried out in script/
music/action etc., it is not called ‘interference’. The right word to describe the same is ‘involvement’. And a producer’s involvement is needed even if an actor’s interference must be avoided. And yes, even if Amitabh saw Mrityudaata only in bits and parts, he couldn’t have liked it. After all, other than the Daler Mehndi song, no bit and no part of the film could have appealed to him or to anyone else. Incidentally, Amitabh himself has said that including a Daler Mehndi number in the film was his (Amitabh’s) brainwave. While it must be said that it was a truly good idea, what should one call it — interference in Bachchan’s lingo, or involvement in ours?

Panic Everywhere…

There is all-round panic in the trade after Mrityudaata and Koyla. In Bombay trade circles, the panic is most pronounced among sub-distributors of Gujarat, Saurashtra, Thane and Karnataka. In the case of Koyla, Dilip Dhanwani acquired the aforementioned four sub-circuits at an unheard of MG price and stands to lose at least 1.5 crore. The sub-distributors of Mrityudaata for Gujarat and Thane will also lose heavily. These losses and the consequent panic situation have resulted in sub-distributors shying away from buying new films. But Bombay distributors have some reason to smile amidst all the panic. It’s because of the reduction in entertainment tax in the state of Maharashtra from 7th May.

…And Confusion At Places

While it was first reported that the new entertainment tax rate in Maharashtra would come into effect from 2nd May, it was later clarified by the authorities that the reduced rate would apply only from May 7. It is learnt that several cinemas of Bombay have refrained from making DCRs of May 7 and 8 (Wednesday and Thursday), awaiting a decision on whether to pay 100% tax or 60%. Some cinemas have prepared the DCRs showing tax calculated at 100% for May 7 and 8 too. But in some centres of Maharashtra, some exhibitors have prepared DCRs showing 60% tax from 2nd May itself.

In Defence Of ‘Border’

Even before Border has been released, all efforts are being made to seek tax exemption for the film in the various states. Towards this end, the film was shown to the defence ministry on 9th May in Delhi. With the Indo-Pak war as its base and the reported nationalist flavour of the film, J.P. Dutta shouldn’t find it difficult to convince the state governments to grant tax exemption to the film. Reportedly, Javed Akhtar, who has penned the wonderful lyrics of the film, is very close to defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Barter Exchange

J.P. Dutta’s Border has changed hands in C.P. Berar. The film, which was earlier with Raju Kothari, has now been acquired by the Kabras. As if to settle scores, Tutu Sharma’s new film, Gharwali Baharwali, has been acquired for C.P. Berar by Raju Kothari. The Kabras have been distributors of all of Tutu’s earlier films but his latest project has been bagged by Raju Kothari.

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