(From our issue dated 21st May, 1994)

DO YOU KNOW?

* JURASSIC PARK has created a city record by collecting 1,54,972/- in 1st week, 1,55,484/- in 2nd week, and 1,56,456/- in 3rd week at Shubham, Lucknow.

* JURASSIC PARK has created a re­ cord by collecting 73,741/- in 4th week at Navina, Calcutta.

YOU ASKED IT

What business is the Hindi dubbed version of Jurassic Park expected to do?

– Over a crore per major territory! It has already crossed 50 in Bombay and touched 50 in Delhi-U.P.

Will the Cine Artistes’ Association be able to monitor the star-ceiling scheme?

– It doesn’t seem so. It is like pro­ducers asking for self-censorship.

How much does tax exemption add to a film’s business?

– At least 25% unless the film is a flop.

When will producers apply brake on the ever-increasing prices of films?

– When distributors apply brakes on their eagerness to buy such films.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
TO BOOK VIDEO PIRATES

Hollywood studio giants Paramount and Universal Pictures have decided to take on Indian video pirates. This ann­ouncement was made at a press conference in New Delhi on 20th May, by the vice president of the Motion Picture Export Association of America (MPEAA) and director of the Asia-Pacific Anti-piracy division, Lowell B. It came close on the heels of Parliament passing the Copyright (second Amend­ment) Bill, 1992 last week.

The new amendment provides that rental or lending of even legitimate video cassettes without authorisation from the copyrights owner or its licensee, shall be an offence.

Video library owners were warned that copyright infringement or piracy was a cognizable offence and a police officer was entitled to take suo moto action and seize without a magistrate’s warrant all pirated video cassettes, equipment and machinery used for making such copies. The penalties ranged from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2 lakh and imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years. Subsequent offences would attract heavier penalties.

MIX MASALA

PRICEY BOOKLET

A leading producer, whose film is due for a very early release, has done what no producer must have done earlier. He has charged his distributors for the booklets sent to them! Each booklet has cost the distributors Rs. 10!! Can’t believe it? We, too, can.

KRISHAN DHAWAN DEAD

Veteran actor Krishan Dhawan breath­ ed his last on 20th May in Bombay follo­wing a cardiac arrest. He was 67.

Krishan Dhawan had started his career with Prithvi Theatres and had acted in a number of plays. He worked in about 100 films and in almost all films made by Manoj Kumar, Navketan and R.K. He had a prominent role in Ram Teri Ganga Maili. He had also acted in several TV serials.

He is survived by his wife and actor-son Dilip Dhawan. The final rites were performed this morning (21st May).

PRASENJIT WEDS DEBASREE ROY

Prasenjit got married to leading Beng­ali film actress Debasree Roy recently in Calcutta. The marriage was kept a closely-guarded secret.

ART DIRECTOR KULKARNI DEAD

Veteran art director N.B. Kulkarni died at his residence in Bombay on 15th May after a brief illness. He was 78 and is sur­vived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

After his education at the J.J. School of Arts in Bombay, he started his career as an art director with Bombay Talkies. He later started working with Kamal Amrohi. Among the films for which he had erected sets were Kavi, Stage, Dayara, Razia Sultan and Pakeezah.

COURT SCENES IN FILMS: RAJASTHAN LAWYERS
IN COURT

Lawyers are shown as persons sold to criminals, tampering with the evidence, shouting in the courtrooms at the top of their voices….. judges are shown as weak­ lings, lacking knowledge of law…. the law is shown to be full of loopholes and helpless… judicial process never reaches the criminals who, in turn, are not booked for their crimes….. These are some of the many charges in the writ petition filed by the Rajasthan Chapter of Indian Associa­tion of Lawyers, through its secretary Vineet Kothari, in the Jodhpur bench of the Rajasthan high court.

Reacting to the charges against court scenes depicted in Indian films, which allegedly degrade the judicial system, Justice V.J. Palsikar on 17th May issued notices to the government of India and the Cenral Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Submitting the writ petition, senior advocate Marudhar Mridul said that these only tend to shake up the faith of the common man in the judicial sys­tem. The scene from Shahenshah was cited as an example. In the scene, the hero barges into the court, bashes up the eye­ witness and eventually goes to the extent of having the villain hanged to death in the precincts of the court. In the writ peti­tion, it was prayed that a retired judge of the Supreme Court or an eminent jurist be appointed as chairman of the CBFC, whose duty it would be to not permit any scenes to be passed, which depict the law or the court of law in bad light.

SATISH KULKARNI APPOINTED

Prominent Marathi film producer Satish Kulkarni has been appointed as special invitee on the board of directors of the Maharashtra Film Stage & Cultural Development Cor­po­ration (Film City) and the Kolhapur Chitra­nagari Mahaman­dal, by the government of Maharashtra with immediate effect.

SAAWAN KUMAR TAKES SHOW
ORGANISERS TO COURT

Saawan Kumar has filed suits in the courts of law in London and New York against two show organisers who have allegedly used photographs of Sridevi and Anupam Kher from his underproduction film, Chaand Kaa Tukdaa, without seeking his permission.

Nilesh Patel and Alan Cordery of Celebrity Promotions International Ltd. will hold the show in London on 4th June. The New York show is being organised by Kanu Chauhan and it will be held on 28th May. Both the show organisers have allegedly used stills of Chaand Kaa Tukdaa in their publicity pamphlets/hand­ outs etc.

Saawan Kumar has served a legal notice on Celebrity Promotions in London and is expected to move the court any day now. Before leaving for London and New York on 19th May, Saawan Kumar informed that he would claim heavy damages from both the show organisers.

STOP PRESS

COURT ORDERS SIPPY TO DELIVER
‘AATISH’ PRINTS

Judge Deshpande of the Bombay city civil court today (on May 21) or­dered Sippy to deliver the prints of AATISH to Bombay exhibitor U.A. Thadani for release on 27th May. This order followed Vijay Sippy’s appearance before the judge at the latter’s residence this morning, where Vijay claimed that AATISH was complete and ready for release. He also said, the letter of Anand recording studio, pro­duced by the FMC in court yesterday (May 20), was incorrect.

Earlier, on May 20, the judge had fixed May 23 as the date for further hearing, but realising the urgency, the matter was heard today itself.

Technically speaking, therefore, AATISH can now be released on 27th May subject, of course, to the CBFC clearance. The release plan of the film following the court order, however, was not known.

FMC-FDC DISPUTE: NO HEADWAY

With no settlement arrived at bet­ween the Film Makers Combine (FMC) and the Film Distributors’ Council (FDC), the FMC’s embargo on releases continues for the second week. No films were released this week. G.P. Sip­py’s Aatish was due for release on 27th May (next week) but with no time left, the release on 27th seems to be almost impossible. The new date has not been announced so far. (Read Aat­ish release story given elsewhere in this issue.)

There is no evident move for a com­ promise from both, the FMC and the FDC sides. It may be recalled that the embargo on releases was announced by the FMC on 1st May in retaliation to the FDC’s decision that (i) no film would be registered by any distributors’ association unless the producer gave an undertaking that he would post- pone the release of its video cassettes by three months from the date of thea­trical release, and (ii) producers should obtain clearance certificate for new films from the FDC.

In view of the FMC embargo, a meeting of the distributors of Delhi-U.P. was held on 20th May in Delhi under the aegis of the Motion Pictures Association (MPA).

The meeting was very largely atten­ded and the “unilateral” action of the FMC was discussed. The distributors reitera­ed that the FMC had gone back on the joint decisions taken by itself and the FMC in Indore in November ’93. They felt that the joint decisions should be strictly adhered to by the FMC. The distributors requested the FDC not to com- promise with the terms already settled.

The distributor-members were of the view that the producers had taken this decision under the pressure of a lobby created by Cable TV operators and Video Operators Association, who are injuring the distributors’ interests as al­so the interests of the industry all over the country.

It was also decided that the distributors may not pay the instalments due or they may claim compensation/damages from the producers for not giving the delivery on due date.

The FDC was also authorised to take a decision that the films, as and when released by the distributors, should be in the sequence they had been cen­ sored or advertised for release but de­layed due to the unilateral decision of the FMC.

FMC chairman Shakti Samanta told Information, “Distributors don’t want to meet the producers to settle the mat­ter. Producers are willing to sit across the table. The general opinion is for a 1-week delay in the release of video cassettes. Beyond that, the delay period could be left to the individual producers and distributors. But as far as cable TV goes, a three-month delay was ag­reeable to producers. As regards the star ceiling, it can rightly be monitored only by the FMC.”

VETERAN PHANI MAJUMDAR DEAD

Veteran writer, producer, director Phani Majumdar breathed his last on May 16 at Hinduja Hospital in Bombay. He died a natural death. He was 82 and is survived by his wife, Monica Majumdar, an actress of yesteryears.

Phani Majumdar started his career in Calcutta under the great P.C. Barua in 1931 at New Theatres, and graduated as an in­ dependent director after seven years with a bilingual, Street Singer (Hindi) and Saathi (Bengali) under the banner of New Theatres. The films were commercially successful. His next, Zindagi, was a hit. Kapal Kundla, his third film, also did well. He migrated to Bombay in 1941 and made a number of notable films including Mohabbat, Justice, Door Chal­en, Hum Bhi Insaan Hain, Andolan, Tamasha, Dhobi Doctor, Baadbaan and Faraar.

In 1955, Phani Majumdar signed a five-year contract with Singapore-based Shaw Brothers and made a number of films for them.

On his return to India, he made many films during the sixties, like Pyasi and Oonche Log. He made his first film for Raj­shri, Aarti, in 1962. It was a super-hit. He held a kind of world record for directing films in eight languages: Bengali (his mother tongue) – 3, Hindi – 35, Malay – 8, Chine­se – 2, English – 1, Magadhi – 1, Mai­thili – 1 and Punjabi – 1.

Recently, Phani Majumdar was associa­ – ted with the writing of the epic tele-serial, Ramayan. He also completed a script on Swami Vivekananda as well as one on Lord Buddha.

Phani Majumdar, who was among the first few Indians to have studied scenario writing and cinematography in America, wrote the scripts of such popular films as Kajal, Neelkamal, Badaltey Rishtey, Jaan Hatheli Pe and Ek Chadar Maili Si.

A very humble person, Phani Majum­dar always kept himself busy in writing scripts. He was felicitated by the Indian Film Directors’ Association in December 1991 on his 80th birthday. Shakti Saman­ta, who started his film career with Phani Majumdar’s Andolan, paying tributes to his guru, had then called him ‘a pure human being’, B.R. Chopra had said that he was a versatile man and to find an equal to him was very difficult.

Paying his tribute to Phani, prime min­ister P.V. Narasimha Rao said that he was a multi-faceted film personality whose films stood as a testimony to his talent as a filmmaker. Information and broadcasting minister K.P. Singh Deo said, “His death is a loss to the cine world in particular.”

‘Aatish’ Release Drama

SIPPY CORNERED

The heat that the Aatish release controversy generated all through the week gone by and more particularly on Friday, May 20, would make even the Sun hang its head in shame. There were as many stories about the release date of Aatish as tongues that wagged. At the time of going to the press, however, it was certain that Aatish would not be released on 27th May. In G.P. Sippy’s own words, “It will take some time now. But Aatish will not come on 27th.”

A number of developments took place simultaneously on 20th May, making it difficult, if not impossible, for Sippy to meet the release date of 27th May.

Bombay exhibitor U.A. Thadani moved judge Deshpande’s court in the city civil court, Bombay, on 20th, seeking delivery of the prints of Aatish for release at his cinemas on 27th. The FMC, presumably fearing that Sippy was hand-in-glove with the exhibitors, obtained a consent letter from him (Sippy), permitting the FMC to defend the case in the court. It was argued in the court on behalf of Thadani that he had contracts with Sip­ sons (the Bombay distribution concerns of the Sippys, which would be releasing Aatish) to rele­ ase Aatish at his cinemas on 27th. It was also pointed out that the film had been released on 6th (for 1 show) at Edward, Bombay and the daily collection report for the said show was produ­ced in the court as evidence. The FMC (on behalf of Sippy) argued that since the film was not complete, delivery thereof could not be effected. In support of its claim, the FMC produced in the court a letter of Anand Recording Studio, stating that the film’s mixing was not yet comp­lete. On behalf of Thadani, it was argued that Aatish had already been certified by the CBFC and, therefore, the question that it was incomplete did not even arise. The C.C. no. (1216, UA, dated 5-5-’94) was quoted. The judge reserved his order and, in the absence of G.P. Sippy in the court, asked for an affidavit from Sippy to as­ certain the actual position regarding its completion. The matter was again fixed for hearing on Monday, May 23. Sippy has been directed to file an affidavit, if he so desired. It is reliably learnt that Vijay Sippy, however, will appear in the court today (May 21) at 11 a.m. and state on oath that his film is complete and ready for release. If the court orders that the exhibitors were entitled to be given delivery for 27th release, there is a possibility (theoretically speaking) of the film coming on schedule. But there is another hitch – that of the censor certificate (read further).

It may be mentioned here that the judge opined that the FMC’s embargo on relea­ses was general and a consequence of the fight between distributors and producers. Exhibitors could not be made to suffer because of the embargo, the judge noted.

In the meantime, G.P. Sippy obtained letters from Anand, retracting its earlier letter given to the FMC. The two letters dated 19th May clarified that the mixing of Aatish was complete and that the earlier letter was inadvertently issued by an administrative staffer of Anand, who had no technical knowledge.

Meanwhile, the FMC also rushed a complaint to the CBFC on the basis of the letter it had obtained from Anand. In turn, the CBFC sent a letter to Sippy Films on 19th May (received by Sippy late in the evening of 19th), which, in effect, can­ celled the certificate (no. 1216, UA) issu­ed by it. The letter reads:

“We have received a complaint from M/s. Film Makers Combine that mixing and re-recording is being carried out in the Hindi film Aatish after a certificate for public exhibition has been issued. In this connection, your attention is invited to Rule 33 of Cinematograph (Certifica­tion) Rules, 1983, which clearly states that when a film is altered by excision, addi­tion, colouring or otherwise after it has been certified under these Rules, it shall not be exhibited unless the portion or por­tions excised, added, coloured or otherwise altered, have been reported to the Board in Form III in the Second Schedule and the Board has endorsed the particulars of the alteration or alterations on the certificate. It is further laid down in Rule 33(4) that pending examination of the altered film under this Rule, the applicant shall not exhibit the film incorporating the proposed alteration.

“You are therefore requested to com­ply with the provision of Rule 33 and submit the necessary application to this offi­ce for further necessary action. You are further advised that till the issue is finally settled, no action in regard to exhibition of film Aatish may be taken on the basis of certificate no. UA-1216 dated 5-5-1994 issued by this office.”

According to G.P. Sippy, he was shock- ed to receive the letter from the CBFC. In a hard-hitting reply to the CBFC, he has said that Shakti Samanta, who was the president of IMPPA, was misusing his position as the CBFC chairman and had issued him a letter to appease the mem­bers of IMPPA.

He denied that rule 33, as mentioned in the CBFC’s letter, applied to Aatish. He also mentioned in his reply that he had already submitted on 17th May the addi­tions to the CBFC, and the same had even been viewed by two members of the exa­mining committee and the assistant re­gional officer, but the endorsement on the censor certificate was pending. A hurt G.P. Sippy told Information, “The FMC has stabbed me in the back when I was standing by the FMC. The letter of the CBFC, written at the behest of the FMC, is totally wrong and illegal.” Sippy’s remark re­garding standing by the FMC was an obvious reference to an undertaking given by him to the FMC on 18th May that he would not release Aatish on 27th since the dispute between the FMC and the FDC was not settled. Vijay Sippy told In­ formation, “We’ve made a movie, we’ve got it certified. Is that a crime? Why are we being penalised.?”

CBFC chairman Shakti Samanta, however, did not think that the CBFC letter had cancelled the censor certificate. “It is only the official language used,” he said matter-of-factly, adding, “If Sippy has already submitted the additions and they have been viewed by the CBFC, the cen­sor certificate cannot be withdrawn. It’s a small thing.” Shakti-da said, he did not draft the letter to Sippy Films, as rumour­ ed. “I definitely told the administrative officer to use soft language,” he explain­ed.

In the meanwhile, according to reliab­le sources, the Bengal distributor of Aatish has secured a court order directing the producers to give delivery of the prints to him for release on 27th May. The Over­ seas distributor has filed a similar case in Bombay.

But with the censor certificate being put on hold, the Sippys cannot hope to achieve much on the strength of court orders. What assumes paramount importance now is the stand of the CBFC. Only if it gives Aatish the green signal can the film be released on 27th. In Vijay Sippy’s words, “We want to release the film. But Aatish is in a strange fix. Let’s see.”

COMPOUNDING TAX INTRODUCED IN KARNATAKA

Specific Cinema Activities Accorded Industry Status

The Karnataka state government has taken a major decision which will prove beneficial to the film industry. It has accorded cinema the status of an industry, besides announcing several concessions and subsidies, including a slab system for collection of entertainment tax. The subsidies will total Rs. 25 crore.

The new slab system for entertainment tax collection is as follows: for places with population upto one lakh, 15% for 14 shows per week; it would be 20% for 21 shows in places with a population bet­ ween one lakh and three lakh; 22% for 23 shows per week in places with a population between three lakh and five lakh; 25% for 25 shows per week in places with a population between five lakh and 10 lakh. In towns with a population of over 10 lakh, the tax would be 28% for 25 shows per week.

The much needed revenue, generated by the immediate introduction of the slab system, would help in setting up a film city in the state.

Further, an exemption of entertainment tax for three years to new cinemas excluding those in Bangalore, was announced, provided they reserved 75% of their screening time for Kannada films. A 10% subsidy upto a maximum of Rs. 5 lakh would be given for construction of cine­ mas outside the city.

A cash investment subsidy of 10% with a ceiling of Rs. 5 lakh would be granted for setting up film processing, printing and developing centres, outdoor shooting units, dubbing and recording theatres and film studios. Non-speculative cinema activities such as the above would be accorded industry status. These units would be exempted from payment of stamp duty, and concessional registration charge of Re. 1 per Rs. 1,000 would be collected for loans on credit documents to be executed by them and sale deeds to be exempted for purchase of land required.

Chain Of Events

The Film Makers Combine seems to have beaten G.P. Sippy at his own game. The sequence of events:

(1) 1st May: FMC puts an embargo on all releases after 6th May.

(2) 5th May: Censor certificate is issued to Aatish.

(3) 6th May: Aatish is screened in one show at Edward, a side cinema of Bombay, without any fanfare or notable announcement.

(4) In Bombay, exhibitor U.A. Thadani prepares to move the court to get Sippy to deliver the prints to him for release at his cinemas on 27th May as per contract between him and Sippy. G.P. Sippy is fully aware of Thadani’s move even before 10 days.

(5) 18th May: The FMC is critical of Sippy’s move to release Aatish on 27th without waiting for a solution to the FMC-FDC dispute. Sippy gives an assurance that he will not release the film on 27th. FMC asks Sippy to let it (the FMC) appear in court on behalf of Sippy in the Thadani case on 20th. Sippy grants permission.

(6) 18th May: A delegation of FMC meets Ramesh Patel of Filmcenter and asks him not to deliver the prints of Aatish till the FMC-FDC dispute is resolved.

(7) 18th May: The same FMC delegation goes to the CBFC office in Bombay and questions its issuance of a censor certificate to the film even though its post-production work is still in progress at Anand recording studio (Anand’s letter obtained by FMC).

(8) 19th May: The CBFC dashes a letter to Sippy Films on a complaint by the FMC. Sippy Films is asked by the CBFC not to release the film under the censor certificate issued to it on 5th May.

(9) 20th May: Thadani moves the city civil court, Bombay. No order is passed. Case kept back for Monday, May 23.

(10) 20th May: An infuriated Sippy writes to the CBFC, alleging foul play and seeking its endorsement on the censor certificate for the additions made in the film and applied for certification on 17th May. (The additions, claims Sippy, have been seen by the regional officer and two members of the examining committee on 18th.) Sippy refutes the charges that alterations have been made in the film after the C.C. was issued on 5th May. He also obtains a letter from Anand recording studio to the effect that its earlier letter (issued to the FMC) was null and void.

(11) 20th May: The Bengal distributor of Aatish obtains a court order, directing Sippy to deliver the prints of Aatish for release on 27th.

From the above, it is clear that G.P. Sippy wanted that his film should be released on 27th May. He tried his best to meet the release date, but some­ where along the way, he seems to have bowed down to the pressure of the FMC. The FMC’s complaint to the CBFC later, seems to have hurt Sippy.

The FMC, on its part, did not want to take any chances. Not only did it obtain authority to represent Sippy in court, it also complained to the CBFC and had the censor certificate of Aatish virtually cancelled! But for this, Aatish may have been released on 27th May. The FMC, however, upheld the unity among producers.

Garma-Garam

** I was in Jaipur earlier this week and it was disheartening to see veterans in the trade in a despondent mood. Both, distributor-exhibitor O.P. Bansal and distributor Trilok Singh, were critical of the high prices de­manded by producers on the one hand, and sky-high theatre rentals, on the other. Mr. Bansal was of the view that within a couple of years, the MG royalty sys- tem would go and films would be re- leased on agency/commission basis. Trilok Singh-ji lamented, “I’ve stopped buying films… I don’t understand where the prices are going… There’s nothing like average business today. If your film doesn’t click, you are in the red.” Mr. Bansal said, he failed to understand how a star can shoot up his price by leaps and bounds just because one Raja Babu clicks.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Primary Dispute And Secondary Disputes

It is funny how the dispute between the FMC and FDC has been temporarily side-tracked and a new dispute – that bet­ ween the FMC and G.P. Sippy – has arisen. The impending release of Aatish is creating so many problems that it has be­ come a full-time job for the FMC to monitor Aatish alone. No doubt, the FMC has risen to the occasion and is doing all it can to keep unity among producers alive. But putting in so much time and effort in the Aatish case is leaving it with hardly any time to think of a solution for its primary dispute, that with the FDC. One hears that all is not well in the FDC too. Reportedly, a section of the FDC office-bearers aren’t too happy with Santosh Singh Jain’s over-enthusiasm in granting clearance to two films of the South. Interestingly, one of the films stars Sanjay Dutt. While Sanjay Dutt has not been clear­ ed for Subhash Ghai’s Trimurti, he has got the FDC’s (cour­ tesy Santosh Singh Jain) green signal for the South film. And this has not met with the approval of all in the FDC.

His Conviction, His Confidence, His Price

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has been pretty lucky in getting the price he demands from distributors for his 1942 A Love Story. After C.P. Berar, which was sold for 40, the deal for C.I. has also been clinched at a fabulous price. One can’t help admiring Vinod Chopra’s conviction in his product. Not once dur­ ing its making did the man lose confidence when no buyers came forth at the price he was quoting. He continued to make his film with the concentration few could emulate and most would envy. And today, he is getting the rewards of his confidence and perseverance. In fact, when Chopra had signed R.D. Burman to score the music in the film, it hadn’t met with much approval in trade circles because R.D. was considered to be passé. Today, if Vinod Chopra is getting the phenomenal price for his film, it is largely because of the popularity of its music. The ‘Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga’ song, especially, has caught the fancy of music lovers throughout the length and breadth of the country. One waits with bated breath now, to see whether the film will also catch the fancy of cinegoers in a similar fashion.

From 1977 To 1994

For Parto Ghosh, directing Teesra Kaun? for N.N. Sippy must be the most exciting thing. For, Parto used to assist Maneck Chatterjee when the latter was directing N.N. Sippy’s Ghar in 1977. Parto used to then get a salary of Rs. 200 per month. From a salaried assistant to calling the shots – for the same producer – is indeed a creditable growth.

Goodbye To Rajasthan

J.P. Dutta has a penchant for shooting his films in Rajas­ than. No single director must have exposed as much raw stock in the deserts of Rajasthan as J.P. has. Whether it was Ghulami, his first directorial venture, or Hathyar, Batwara or Kshatriya, Rajasthan has always been the backdrop in his films. But the surprise is that he will not shoot a single frame of his new film, which he is directing for producer Sunderdas Sonkiya, in Rajasthan. Seems unbelievable but it’s true!

New Chief For ‘Mukhia’

Producers Mushir Riaz had announced Mukhia over a year back. Remake of the Tamil hit Thevar Magan, it was to have been directed by J.P. Dutta. But J.P. has now been re­ placed. South film director Bharatan will call the shots. Inci­ dentally, while Anil Kapoor plays a leading role in Mukhia, a hero to play the title role is yet to be finalised.

Then And Now

This one is from music director Milind: “Till about two months back, music companies used to insist that songs have a little bit of double-meaning lyrics to “lure in the masses”. After Andaz, the same music companies tell us to keep miles away from vulgar lyrics.” How typical of the film industry!”

(From our issue dated 14th May,1994)

DO YOU KNOW?

* According to producer Premji, he has changed the title of his film from AURAT to AURAT AURAT AURAT as it speaks about the three phases in a woman’s life, viz. maidenhood, married status and motherhood.

* Director Talat Jani directed his father, the famous qawwal, Jani Babu, for Super Cassettes’ album, ‘Allahwala’, on 13th May.

* So impressed was director Talat Jani with the crew-cut hair of the trainees at State Reserve Police Force Quart­ ers, Jogeshwari, Bombay, where he had gone to shoot his HIMMATVAR recently, that he too trimmed his hair then and there.

* For the first time, perhaps, three tax-free films – JURASSIC PARK, TEJ­ ASVINI and SALAAMI – were running in Yavatmal last week.

* LAADLA has created a theatre re­cord by collecting 47,581/- (nett) in 2nd week at Vasant, Wardha.

* BEERA BEGO AAYEEJE RE (Raj­asthani, TF) has created a record for Rajasthani films by collecting 2,07,220/- in 1st week at Girdhar Mandir, Jodhpur. It has also created a theatre record by collecting 73,055/- at Swapnalok, Udaipur. It has created another record at Manthan, Pali.

* JURASSIC PARK has created a new record by collecting 34,610/- in 4th week at Circle, Nasik.

* JURASSIC PARK (Hindi, TF) has created a record by collecting 90,529/- in 4th week at Anuradha, Nasik Road. Total for 4 weeks: 3,91,113/-.

* JURASSIC PARK (TF) has created a theatre record by collecting a total of 1,73,515/- (against a capacity of 1,94,880/-) in 4 weeks at Kakani, Malegaon. 4th week: 40,012/-.

* JURASSIC PARK has created a theatre record by collecting 93,196/- in 1st week and 84,692/- in 2nd week at Prabhat, Dehradun.

MIX MASALA

NATION’S SHOW PLACE

Bombay’s Minerva cinema is advertised as the ‘pride of Maharashtra’, and Novelty, as ‘Theatre Magnificent’. Now, Liberty, which is being readied to release Rajshri’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, is being publicised as ‘Show place of the nation’.

YOU ASKED IT

How many cinemas have closed down in Bombay in the last 10 years?

– Twenty cinemas!

Despite so many associations in the in­dustry and their rules and regulations, why is the film industry so indisciplined?

– For one, there are too many associa­tions and they often work against each others’ interests. Secondly, many in the industry do not take rules and regulations too seriously; it is money and status that matter.

What are the pre-requisites of a succ­essful hero today?

– He must be young, fresh, lucky and a good actor and dancer. In the alternative, he must be a dinosaur!

‘1942 A LOVE STORY’: MRTPC SUSPENDS OPERATION OF FMC CIRCULAR

The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) on 11th May suspended the operation of the FMC’s boycott of Vinod Chopra Productions vide the former’s (FMC’s) circular dated 19th November, 1993. The order was passed in the injunction application no. 65 of 1994 made by Vinod Chopra Pro­ductions. The application is listed for hearing on 23rd May before the Commission.

It may be recalled that following Vin­od Chopra’s flouting of the FMC resolution in November ’93, the FMC had on 19th November issued circulars asking the distributors’ associations and Film City and other studios as also other associations and federations to boycott Vinod Chopra and his production concern. The FMC had resolved to suspend all shooting activities in November ’93 as a result of its dispute with cine workers, but Vinod Chopra had shot his 1942 A Love Story despite the suspension.

The MRTPC has suspended the operation of the FMC circular. Notice under section 10(a)(i) and 12-A of the Monopo­lies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 has been issued to the FMC.

KAMAL CANCELS TRIP

Kamal Haasan has boycotted the Cannes film festival where his Thevar Magan (Tamil) is being screened. The boycott came as a result of the lackadaisi­ cal attitude of the Directorate of Film Festival authorities who were not even present to receive Kamal at Bombay airport where he arrived earlier this week from Madras to proceed to Cannes.

BABY BOY FOR SUNNY DEOL

Sunny Deol’s wife delivered a baby boy in London on 12th May. This is the couple’s second child.

VETERAN ACTOR DEAD

S.B. Nayampally, a veteran actor of the late silent and the early talkie era, died of old age in Bombay on May 7. Having started his career with Wedding Night in 1929, he had to his credit many films like Noor Jehan, Alam Ara, Zarina, Saire Paristan, Kal Koot and Zingaro. His other notable films were Jhansi Ki Rani and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, his last film.

VETERAN FILMMAKER SUBODH MITRA DEAD

Subodh Mitra (86), a veteran filmmaker of New Theatres, died on April 29 in Calcutta, after a prolonged illness. Hav­ing started his career as an editor with New Theatres, he had edited about 150-odd films made by New Theatres bet­ween 1931 and 1954. His first directed film was Doctor. Grihadata, made in 1967, was his last film. It was a big hit.

FOX MD DEAD

J.R. Shenoy, managing director of 20th Century Fox Corpn. (India) P. Ltd., died on 1st May in Bombay, succumbing to the multiple head injuries he suffered on April 12, when the car he was travelling in skidded near Sahar airport, Bombay. He was on his way to Hong Kong to attend the conference of the managers of Fox when the accident took place.

REGE APPOINTED CBFC ARO

Mrs. M.P. Rege of the CBFC, Bombay, has taken charge as assistant regional offi­cer and superintendent officer.

CCCA BREAKS JOINT TRIBUNAL WITH FMC

The Central Circuit Cine Associa­tion (CCCA), in its executive committee meeting held on May 12 and 13, decided to discontinue its joint tribunal with the Film Makers Combine. This follows the ongoing dispute between the FMC and the Film Distributors’ Council over the issue of video release and monitoring of the star ceiling scheme.

PUNJAB DISTRIBUTORS SUSPEND PAYMENTS TO PRODUCERS

An emergency meeting of distributors of East Punjab, held on 11th May in Jalandhar, condemned the stand of the FMC to postpone all releases after 6th May. The meeting decided that no distributor would, until further directions, send any remittances to the pro­ducers, whether the payment was to­ wards signing amount, under-production instalments or overflow money. It was also decided that if any distributor did not comply with the decision, he would be suspended from the membership of NIMPA for six months and a penalty of Rs. 50,000 would be levied on him.

SELF-REGULATION BY STARS: CAA TO MONITOR CEILING

Even as the stalemate over who would monitor the star-ceiling scheme – the FMC or the FDC – continues, the Cine Artistes’ Association (CAA) has decided to monitor it itself.

On a representation made by major stars that they would like to self-regu­late their assignments and would like the CAA to monitor the same, the ex­ecutive committee of the CAA at its meeting held on 8th May, resolved that henceforth all stars shall self-regulate their assignments. It was also resolved to form a sub-committee of stars to monitor the same. The meeting decided that henceforth, all artistes desiring to start shooting for new films would have to approach the sub-committee and obtain necessary clearance before starting shooting for the same.

Vulgarity, Violence In Films Condemned

CBFC chairman Shakti Samanta gave an assurance that vulgar songs will not be permitted in films henceforth. He was speaking at a meeting convened on 11th May in Delhi on film censorship, by I & B minister K.P. Singh Deo. The meeting lasted over four hours and was attended by parliamentarians, members of the Nat­ional Commission for Women, film critics, cable TV operators, members of the CBFC and representatives of the film industry.

Vulgarity and obscenity in films came in for sharp criticism by the government. References were made at various stages to Khuddar, Raja Babu, Dulaara and Khal-nayak. Shakti Samanta said, by the time the aforesaid films came up for cen­sorship, the songs (found objectionable) in them had already been telecast a num­ber of times on Doordarshan and satellite channels. He added, the CBFC had cur­rently started censoring the songs prior to their release in the market and their tele­cast on television. Even violence was being gradually curbed, he informed.

BJP MP Uma Bharti wondered why more films like Maine Pyar Kiya and Roja were not being made. She added that both the films were enter­taining, be­ sides being full of messages.

Actor-turned-MP Arvind Trivedi de­cried the vulgarity in songs and warned, “Today, they are merely asking what lies behind the choli. Tom­orrow, they will actually show what lies behind. What will we do then?”

Members of the Women’s Commission refuted the contention of filmmakers that they were giving what the audience want­ed. According to them, a recent finding revealed that the cinegoers, especially women, found sex and violence in films revolting

Film industry representatives felt, the allegations were mostly unwarranted as only a handful of films con­tained vulgar songs and excessive vio­lence. They pointed out that the govern­ment had not granted the film in­dustry the status of an industry so far.

Actor-cum-MP Sunil Dutt explained that there were always two sides to a coin. “You must find out what the industry has gone through before you look down upon us and condemn us as dishonourable, vulgar people,” he said.

Raj Babbar also defended the film in­dustry in the Rajya Sabha on 13th May. In his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, Raj said that vulgarity in films was only a reflection of society. He called khadi wallahs (politicians) the real villains of society. He opined that it was wrong to blame films alone.

FMC-FDC Stalemate Continues

Early Settlement In Sight

Preparations On For ‘Aatish’ Release

The stalemate in the dispute between the Film Makers Combine and the Film Distributors’ Council continues, with no official announcement of a joint meeting. Consequently, the FMC’s embargo on releases continues to be in operation.

No new films were released this week. Both, Mohabbat Ki Arzoo and Aa Gale Lag Jaa, had been technically released last week (6th May) and they were released all over India on 13th. Aatish, Anth, Jai-Kishen and a couple of other films were scheduled for release on 20th May but since no settlement has been arrived at, they have all been postponed. Consequently, there will be no new release next week.

In the meantime, preparations are on to release Aatish on 27th May. Large-scale publicities of the film have come up all over Bombay, presumably, in the hope that the film will be released on 27th. It is rumoured that G.P. Sippy is trying his best to bring about a settlement so that Aatish can come on 27th. Gulshan Rai’s Mohra, which was fixed for release on 27th May, has been postponed to 10th June.

The producers’ delegation which was in Delhi on 11th May for a meeting with the I & B minister and others, had unofficial discussions (on 12th) with G.S. Mayawala, G.D. Mehta and others representing the FDC. However, no concrete solution could be arrived at. G.D. Mehta, it may be mentioned here, is distributing Aatish in Delhi-U.P. He is also reportedly very keen that a settlement comes about soon so that Aatish can be released on 27th. Several members of the FMC also concurred with Mayawala and Mehta in Delhi that an early settlement was necessary. Among those who were present in Delhi in the unofficial meeting on 12th afternoon were Shakti Samanta, Shreeram Bohra, J. Om Prakash, G.P. Shirke, N.N. Sippy, K.D. Shorey, Sultan Ahmed, Shabnam Kapoor, Pahlaj Nihalani, Pappu Verma and Sush­ ama Shiromanee. Santosh Singh Jain of the FDC had returned to Bombay on the night of 11th itself.

Meanwhile, rumours were rife in Bombay and Delhi trade circles all through the week that a settlement had been reached at. Most of the rumours were born out of the fact that hectic pre­parations were on to release Aatish.

It is also rumoured that G.S. Mayawala and G.D. Mehta are coming to Bombay in a day or two and will hold a meeting with the FMC on Monday, May 16, to arrive at a possible solution. N.N. Sippy of the FDC pleaded ignorance about any meet­ing between the FMC and the FDC. “I’ve not been informed of any meeting,” he said. He confirmed, an unofficial meeting was held in Delhi, but said, he couldn’t participate actively in it as he had to leave for Indore even while discussions were on. “Further, I did not have the mandate of the FDC to talk to the FMC, so I wasn’t keen on the unofficial meeting anyway.” explained Sippy.

Know-alls in the trade hint that an early settlement is on the cards because of Aatish. “There’s G.P. Sippy on the side of the FMC, and G.D. Mehta and G.S. Mayawala in the FDC, who’ll see to it that the embargo is lifted so that Aatish can be released on 27th,” said an industry leader wishing to remain anonymous.

Garma-Garam

** Vidhu Vinod Chopra is leaving no stone unturned to make his 1942 A Love Story a ‘1994 Most Discussed Story’. He is all set to fly to England to mix his film in Dolby stereo sound. This would make 1942 the first Indian film in Dolby sound. The mixing would take about 20 days and, consequently, its release has been postponed by three weeks. Some re-shooting is also on the cards. “The film will now hit the screen on 1st July,” said Vinod Chopra. Incidentally, Suresh Sikchi (Anurag Films, Amravati), who is, these days, busier than the proverbial bee in counting the handsome shares from Jurassic Park (he has released it in C.P.C.I. Rajasthan), has acquir­ed 1942 for a phenomenal price for C.P. Insiders say, the MG price is 40! Sikchi says, “The film will be a blockbuster.”

** Metro Cinema in Bombay and Mangala Cinema in Pune have made arrangements to screen Vinod Chopra’s 1942 in Dolby stereo sound. Other cinemas are expected to foll­ow suit.

** After Vinod Chopra, I come to Vinod Doshi. The financier and one-time producer has launched his son, Gaurang, as a hero. Writer Vinay Shukla will direct Gaurang in a film to be produced by Tutu Sharma. The dinner party hosted by Vinod Doshi two weeks back at Juhu Sports Club, to celebrate the launching, was note­ worthy for the extremely tasty food, shudh shakahaari.

** The Cine Artistes’ Association seems to have made a smart move. Even while the FMC and the FDC are in­volved in a battle about who would monitor the star ceiling scheme, the CAA has thrown a bombshell. The scheme will be monitored by the CAA alone, according to a resolution passed by the Association. One scheme and three guardians!

** Sanjay Dutt was to have reported out of Bombay for the shooting of a big film last week. But he couldn’t make it to the location and consequently, the shooting schedule had to be can­ celled midway. The unit has since returned. And the set on the picturesque location stands there silently (since March), waiting for Sanjay.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Logic Worth A Crore

A leading producer (who also owns a music company) reportedly met Yash Chopra recently and expressed his desire to buy the music rights of his next film. Chopra, who always sells the audio rights of his films to HMV, told the producer so. When the latter did not give up, Yash Chopra is reported to have quoted an exorbitant price of 1 crore for the music rights. The Marwari producer is said to have asked for 5 minutes’ time. After 5 minutes, he told Yashji, “For 1 crore, why don’t you direct a film for me?” Yash-ji couldn’t figure out why the producer had agreed to the crore figure. The producer’s logic was that if Yash-ji would agree to direct his film for 1, the price would cover the charges for direction as also for the music rights because those would then, obviously, vest with his company. Smart logic, isn’t it?

(From our issue dated 7th May, 1994)

YEH DILLAGI

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DO YOU KNOW?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MIX MASALA

CALCUTTA CALLING

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

NO DELIVERY,
ONLY RELEASE

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

YOU ASKED IT

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

– Yes, it should.

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

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

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

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

POOJA BEDI WEDS

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

GULSHAN KUMAR’S STUDIO AT NOIDA INAUGURATED

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

I-T RAIDS ON SUBHASH GHAI, ASSOCIATES

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

‘JURASSIC PARK’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

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

BABUBHAI PATEL NO MORE

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

VULGARITY IN FILMS: MPS TO MEET INDUSTRY

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

DD TO DO AWAY WITH CUT-OFF YEAR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TOKEN RELEASES

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

MIXED REACTIONS

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

SONKIYA APOLOGISES

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

NO FURTHER RELEASES

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

ASSURANCES

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

RUMOURS

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

SHIRKE BLASTS

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

LAST CHANCE

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

FDC NOT IN HURRY

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

Distributors’ Misdirected Enthusiasm

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Komal Nahta3

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Englightenment

I-T Sleuths Impressed

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

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

Record Tax!

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

Keeping I-T People Away… The Ghai Way

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

White Cars

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

Inspired From….

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

Personal Touch

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

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

Considerate Pahlaj

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

IFDA Decries Obscenity

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

New Titles

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

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

Frighteningly Crazy

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

(From our issue dated 30th April, 1994)

SAAJAN KA GHAR

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

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

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

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

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

LATESTPOSITION

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

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

…..

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

……

––––––

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

DO YOU KNOW?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

YOU ASKED IT

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

– We need complete abolition of entertainment tax.

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

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

G.P. SIPPY BEREAVED

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

‘TEJASVINI TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

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

ISHRAT ALI WEDS

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

LALCHAND JANIANI’S SON TO WED

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

AMRUTA ASSAULTS JOURNALIST

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

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

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

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

MISSED THE BUS

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

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

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

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

‘Krantiveer’ Complete

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

GENERAL MEETING OF PRODUCERS TOMORROW

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

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

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

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

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

Garma-Garam

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

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

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

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

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Englightenment

Rishi & Juhi Film Festivals

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

Ladies First…… And Last

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

The Great Studio Project

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

ANJAAM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LATEST POSITION

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

…..

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

…….

DO YOU KNOW?

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

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

B. N. GHOSH NO MORE

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

ISHRAT ALI TO WED

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

MAHARASHTRA GOVT.’S CLARIFICATION ON CINEMA FSI

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

MIX MASALA

LONG LIVE HER SAREE!

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

SECOND TIME

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

How Movies Grew Up To Become Videos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is a powerful business.

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

April 21, 1994

Dear Shri Vijay Anand,

Received your letter on 1st April, ’94.

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

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

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

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

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

Very sincerely,

Anil Kapoor

South Sweeps National Awards
‘DARR’ BEST WHOLESOME ENTERTAINER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Musical Chairs Or Music Sittings?

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