PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai’ Marches Ahead

Producer-director Rakesh Roshan commenced a further 19-day shooting schedule of Film Kraft’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai on Jan. 30 in and around Bombay locales. Climax and other scenes are being picturised featuring the entire cast comprising Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel, Anupam Kher, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dalip Tahhil, Mohnish Bahl, Rajesh Tandon, Payal Malhotra, Farida Jalal, Vrajesh Hirjee, Satish Shah and master Abhishek alongwith stuntmen. Based on a story and screenplay by Ravi Kapoor and Honey Irani, the film has dialogues by Sagar Sarhadi, music by Rajesh Roshan, lyrics by Saawan Kumar and Ibrahim Ashq, cinematography by Kabir Lal, action by Tinnu Verma, sound by Navin Zaveri, editing by Sanjay Verma and dances by Farah Khan.

LATEST POSITION

Cricket matches and extreme cold in various parts of the country took their toll on the box-office.

Khooni Aahat (dubbed) 1st week Hyderabad 3,61,884 (gross) from 3 cinemas.

Aa Ab Laut Chalen dropped at many places. Is good in Nizam. 2nd week Bombay 33,36,466 (71.79%) from 9 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Jamnagar 1,11,182; Pune 5,69,442 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 96,961, Solapur 1,09,043; Hubli 1,46,387; Delhi 20,50,836 from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,46,423 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,35,646 (1st 3,76,962), Agra 1,45,242, Varanasi 1,07,832, Allahabad 90,000, Meerut 1,51,479, Bareilly 83,774, Hardwar 35,412; Calcutta 7,45,097 from 8 cinemas; Nagpur 1,88,846 from 3 cinemas, 1st week Jabalpur 1,22,166, 2nd week Amravati 1,21,903, Raipur 1,07,326, Bhilai 43,014, Jalgaon 1,06,868; Indore 95,000 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,99,700, Bikaner 85,153; Hyderabad 7,93,619 (gross) from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is excellent in Bombay and good in other places but has dropped in U.P. and continues to be dull in Rajasthan. 2nd week Bombay 44,62,979 (85.69%) from 11 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Rajkot 1,46,580, Jamnagar 98,200; Pune 10,06,710 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,98,321, Solapur 2,05,067; Belgaum 1,09,347; Delhi 29,71,299 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 3,32,875 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,57,975 (1st 4,91,849), 1st week Agra 3,15,000, 2nd week Varanasi 1,66,729, Bhadohi 30,652, Allahabad 1,22,781, Meerut 1,92,714, Bareilly 81,619, Hardwar 55,030; Calcutta 10,59,906 from 8 cinemas (other cinemas on F.H.); Nagpur 5,19,975 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,10,829, total 2,77,264, Amravati 1,53,192, Akola 1,22,824 (1st 1,61,538), Dhule 91,267, Raipur 1,45,025, Bhilai 1,30,608, Gondia (gross) 96,738, Chandrapur 1,52,432 (1st 1,75,875), Yavatmal 72,504 (1st 1,00,066), Bilaspur 1,25,000; Bhopal 1,39,691 (1st 1,60,000); Jaipur 2,64,868, 1st week Bikaner 1,26,076; 2nd week Hyderabad 7,13,045 (gross) from 4 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hu Tu Tu is dull except in Bombay. 2nd week Bombay 15,96,935 (82%) from 4 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Pune 3,72,513 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 9,18,241 from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 72,719, Lucknow 1,79,846 (1st 3,75,962), Varanasi 76,926, Allahabad 67,000, Bareilly 26,404; Calcutta 2,05,897; Nagpur 92,680 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 49,731, total 1,74,385, Amravati 54,278, Akola 58,200 (1st 1,55,000), Raipur 46,713, Bhilai 35,288, Jalgaon 70,000, Chandrapur 1,06,703; Indore 87,106 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 1,16,868, Jodhpur 85,000; Hyderabad 1,66,808 (gross).

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EMBARGO ON RELEASE OF DUBBED HOLLYWOOD FILMS IN BOMBAY

Dubbed Hindi versions of Hollywood films have been boycotted by exhibitors of Bombay from this week as a result of a decision to this effect taken by the Cinematograph Exhibitors’ Association of India (CEAI) and the Theatre Owners’ Association (TOA). The Indian Motion Picture Distributors’ Association (IMPDA) has also reportedly seconded the decision of the exhibitors’ associations.

Following the boycott, the release of Khooni Aahat, the dubbed Hindi version of Urban Legend, in Bombay city on 5th February was cancelled. Tej Raftaar, released two weeks back in Maharashtra, was the last dubbed Hollywood film to have opened in Bombay prior to the boycott decision. Tej Raftaar opened at Dombivli, a distant Bombay suburb on 5th.

Excessive sex, violence and obscenity passed by the CBFC in dubbed Hollywood films is the main bone of contention, which has prompted exhibitors of Hindi films to support the boycott call. It is being increasingly felt that the audience of Hindi films was being corrupted by seeing dubbed foreign films replete with sex and violence, a trend that may prove dangerous for the Hindi film industry in the long run. Exhibitors and distributors of Hindi films also felt that business of repeat-run films was being severely and adversely affected because of so many dubbed foreign films in the market.

The foreign film companies, which usually release such films, will meet representatives of exhibitors and distributors on Monday, February 8, to discuss the matter which could have far-reaching consequences and implications.

ANIL, DAVID DHAWAN BEREAVED

Rani Dhawan, mother of actor Anil Dhawan and director David Dhawan, expired on 29th January in Delhi due to a heart attack. She was 75 and is survived by three sons. She had not been keeping gold health since some time.

YOU ASKED IT

What should actors like Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty and Akshaye Khanna do to give a boost to their careers?

– Take the help of a level-headed script consultant before signing a film. For, they need to look before they leap — hear the script and be convinced about its box-office potential before signing on the dotted line.

Among the forthcoming releases, which do you think will take a flying start?

– JAANAM SAMJHA KARO should take a bumper start on the strength of its music and Salman Khan. Its promotional trailers on television are being loved by youngsters. KACHCHE DHAAGE is also slowly but surely gaining heat.

Is it true that Soldier is doing better than Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in small centres?

– Yes, it is 100% true. While SOLDIER is getting better terms in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres, KKHH is miles ahead in ‘A’ class centres in most of the circuits.

CENSOR NEWS

Inderjit Films Combine’s Daag – The Fire was given C.C. No. CIL/3/2/99 (A) dt. 1-2-’99; length 4416.93 metres in 18 reels (cuts: 37.80 metres).

Film Works India’s Bombay Boys (dubbed) was given C.C. No. CIL/3/4/99 (A); dt. 5-2-’99; length 2860.27 metres in 5 reels (few deletions in sound only).

Chaudhry Enterprises’ Zulmi has been offered A certificate, with cuts.

Tips Films P. Ltd.’s Kachche Dhaage (length 4370.22 metres in 18 reels), applied on 2nd and seen on 4th, has been okayed for UA certificate, with cuts.

Kshitij Production Combines’ Kaun (length 2798.06 metres in 10 reels), applied on 2nd, was seen on 3rd.

Pawan Putra Films’ Aadhi Raat (length 3018.30 metres in 14 reels), applied on 2nd, was seen on 3rd.

Lama Productions’ Laawaris (length 4602.08 metres in 17 reels) was applied on 5th.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Writer Neeraj Pathak may have co-written Subhash Ghai’s PARDES and written hundreds of episodes of various TV serials but what he is ultimately looking for is directing films. He already has a couple of completely bound scripts ready, with dialogues too. He is currently writing K.P. Singh’s HUM TO MOHABBAT KAREGA, directed by Kundan Shah.

* After being dubbed in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, B.R. Chopra’s TV serial, MAHABHARAT, is now being dubbed in Bhojpuri (for telecast on Lucknow Doordarshan), Marathi (Bombay DD) and Bengali (satellite channel). It has been dubbed in Persian language too, and the Persian version was telecast in Iran. The serial has been telecast in many countries including on BBC-London.

* Raj Kanwar picturised the additional song for his DAAG – THE FIRE in three nights last week. It was censored soon thereafter and is already on air on satellite channels. Theatrical trailers of the song are also being screened in cinemas all over India. The song — Mera lucky kabootar — is based on a Punjabi folk number and has been picturised on Sanjay Dutt, models and dancers.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Pakistan As Part Of Overseas Territory

With relations between India and Pakistan seemingly improving, it may be premature but, nevertheless, not incorrect to dream about a day in the near future when Indian films will be permitted entry in the neighbouring country. If that happens, it will be heavenly for producers and Overseas distributors. It is a well-known fact that Indian films are loved by Pakistanis, and the opening of cultural exchanges and trade between the two countries would see prices for Overseas rights of films shooting up. Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif just recently told an Indian national daily that he would soon invite Lata Mangeshkar to visit his country and also perform there. He lamented the loss of great playback singers of India, like Mukesh, Mohd. Rafi and Talat Mahmood. It may be mentioned here that Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has made the first move towards burying the past and extending a hand of friendship by announcing that he would travel by bus to Pakistan next month. A bus service has for the first time commenced between the two countries.

Gujarat Beckons

The Gujarat government, after the recent shooting of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in the Kutch region, is keen that more and more films are shot in the state. The obvious objective is to promote tourism in the state. J.P. Dutta, too, recently shot his Refugee extensively in Bhuj. The good news is that the Gujarat government is also offering attractive packages to lure producers to shoot in the state. Maybe, some producers would like to try it out.

Dubbed Versions

Santosh Sivan’s internationally acclaimed Tamil film, The Terrorist, has not yet been released theatrically in Tamilnadu, but the awards it has picked up abroad as well as in India have inspired Sivan to dub the film. And dub it not just in Hindi but in English too. The two dubbed versions have been acquired for all India by UTV Motion Pictures and Shringar Films jointly.

Unusual Indeed

John Mathew Mathan, an ad filmmaker of Delhi, whose first feature film as producer and director — Sarfarosh — is complete, has fixed its release date as 23rd/30th April. He has also told his distributors, they would be shown the film well in advance of the release date. Quite in contrast to the current trend among producers to not show the film to their distributors even a week before its release!

This Is Simply Not Done!

The telephonic threats by Pravin Shah and Pradeep Singh, producer and Thane sub-distributor respectively of HU TU TU, to Komal Nahta, editor of Film Information, earlier this week, sent shock waves in the Bombay film industry. Industry leaders and top producers, distributors, exhibitors, artistes and technicians of Bollywood have expressed disgust over the incident and have promised support to your editor.

Pradeep Singh telephoned Komal on 26th January at the latter’s residence and threatened him of dire consequences for having written an “unfavourable review” of HU TU TU in Film Information issue dated 23rd January, 1999. This was followed by telephone calls from Pravin Shah who threatened to eliminate Komal for the negative review.

Komal Nahta lodged an N.C. complaint (no. 234 dated 26-1-’99) with the Khar police station and also met the additional commissioner of police, Mr. Rakesh Maria, who promised to look into the matter and assured him of his safety. But in the meantime, Komal’s mother panicked so much that she had to be hospitalised (at Leelavati Hospital) for highly fluctuating blood pressure. She was in hospital for three days and was discharged on 29th.

It would be pertinent to point out here that HU TU TU has done well only in Bombay and parts of Maharashtra (as predicted by us in our review) but has failed miserably in the other circuits. It had to be discontinued from Ramachandra cinema of Hyderabad (an ‘A’ class centre of Nizam) after just 5 days due to lack of audience (5 days’ collection was a paltry 48,359/-). In Jodhpur (an ‘A’ class centre of Rajasthan), the collections of the film at Kohinoor dropped like mercury in a thermometre kept in a refrigerator. Collections of other centres (printed elsewhere in this issue) are proof of how the film has fared in the whole country. But that is not the issue here.

The question which arises in that even if the film had hit the bull’s eye, were such ghastly threats in order? Rightly has the shameful incident been condemned with indignation by one and all in the industry. The incident assumes even more significance because it landed a lady, completely unconnected with the episode, in hospital in a traumatised state.

Does anyone in a free country have the right to play with another’s life so callously? It’s really shameful — much more shameful than the box-office figures of HU TU TU.

LATEST POSITION

Extreme cold in various parts of the country has affected collections in the night shows. At places, the night shows record 10-15% collections only.

Aa Ab Laut Chalen could not pick up much and remained steady at medium collections at many centres; it, however, dropped at some places. Is dull in East Punjab and Rajasthan. 1st week Bombay 42,92,860 (86.22%) from 9 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 10,60,166 from 6 cinemas, Padra 1,94,988, Rajkot 1,31,400, Jamnagar 1,41,713, Adipur 1,19,650 (73.73%); Pune 7,28,357 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,47,633, Solapur 2,33,901 from 2 cinemas; Hubli 1,89,988 (100%), Belgaum 1,62,505 (100%); Delhi 33,95,177 (77.90%) from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,26,569 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,76,520, Agra 2,97,282, Varanasi 4,14,410 from 2 cinemas, Allahabad 2,44,578, Meerut 2,64,900, Bareilly 1,71,597 (76.75%), Hardwar 44,622; Calcutta 12,55,314 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 2,51,381 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 1,49,510, Raipur 1,49,951, Bhilai 1,41,570 from 2 cinemas, Jalgaon 1,40,049, Bilaspur 1,00,345; Indore 1,38,640 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,76,608 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 4,42,796 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 28,28,501 from 12 cinemas, share about 14,00,000.

Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain picked up in several centres due to ladies’ patronage. It has done excellent in Bombay and is good in Delhi-U.P., West Bengal, C.P.C.I. and Nizam but dull in Rajasthan. 1st week Bombay 45,32,854 (94.77%) from 8 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,30,821 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Valsad 2,10,332 (81.75%), Rajkot 1,89,960 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 1,25,943; Pune 13,02,746 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 2,99,203, Solapur 2,19,217 (98%); Belgaum 1,27,890; Delhi 36,20,660 (85.16%) from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 4,97,480 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 4,91,849, Varanasi 2,26,939, Allahabad 1,83,430, Meerut 2,57,764, Bareilly 1,68,495 (55.60%), Hardwar 90,000; Calcutta 26,52,155 from 14 cinemas; Nagpur 5,83,275 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,70,435, Amravati 1,67,715, Dhule 1,30,609, Raipur 1,71,879, Bhilai 1,46,770, Gondia (gross) 1,20,631, Chandrapur 1,75,875, Yavatmal 1,00,065, Bilaspur 1,82,556; Bhopal 1,36,320 (1 on F.H.); Jaipur 7,09,544 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 14,95,762 from 7 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hu Tu Tu has done well in Bombay and parts of Maharashtra but dropped badly in the other places from 3rd/4th day onwards. It will entail heavy losses to almost all its distributors. 1st week Bombay 22,71,641 (93.82%) from 4 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,30,975 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 1,16,511, Jamnagar (matinee) 15,328; Pune 5,19,199 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 72,470; Delhi 15,65,422 (56.64%) from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,91,000, Lucknow 3,75,962, Allahabad 1,24,000, Bareilly 94,904 (33.45%); Calcutta 12,08,877 from 8 cinemas; Nagpur 5,32,818 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,24,654, Amravati 1,75,164, Raipur 1,31,010, Jalgaon 1,32,397; Indore 1,65,159 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,30,629; Jaipur 2,13,880; Hyderabad 12,88,764 from 7 cinemas (1 in noon).

Bade Dilwala is poor. 1st week Bombay 22,12,618 (49.09%) from 11 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,40,567 from 4 cinemas, Bhuj 45,000; Pune 4,45,770 from 6 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 14,52,907 (27.82%) from 10 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,64,759 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,37,179, Varanasi 98,984, Allahabad 1,13,000, Meerut 1,17,513; Calcutta 3,05,552 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,03,988 from 2 cinemas, Bhilai 24,084, Jalgaon 68,489; Indore 76,737 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 73,591; Jodhpur 1,50,000.

Tej Raftaar (dubbed) has done well despite the opposition of so many new releases simultaneously. 1st week Ahmedabad 1,20,507 (70%), Surat 1,30,929 (69%), Baroda 1,13,627 (78%), Rajkot 1,38,848 (65%); Pune 47,854 (19%), Kolhapur 83,587 (45%), Solapur 1,18,741 (79%), Nasik 43,537 (20%), Sangli 88,987 (37%), Ichalkaranji 77,147 (46%), Malegaon 1,20,075 (45%); Belgaum 85,756 (81%); Hyderabad 2,38,893 (98%).

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 15th week Bombay 23,25,892 (71.35%) from 8 cinemas  (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,80,835 from 4 cinemas, 2nd week Himmatnagar 1,24,210 (1st 1,27,325), 15th week Baroda 1,39,724; Pune 5,77,995 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 38,913; Delhi 4,72,397 from 2 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,50,249 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,80,146, Agra 1,03,000, Varanasi 1,65,411, Allahabad 72,339; Calcutta 5,71,169 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,06,970, 2nd week Kamptee 75,804 (1st 71,315), 10th week Jabalpur 1,61,848 (9th 1,58,369), total 19,12,562, 13th week Amravati (6 days) 76,570, 2nd week (6 days) Durg (gross) 63,678, 15th week Bilaspur 25,000, 3rd week Balaghat 66,090, total 2,27,482; 15th week Indore 89,224; Jaipur 4,61,496, Ajmer 43,581; Hyderabad 4,67,217 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon); Vijayawada 6 weeks’ total 4,25,146.

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YOU ASKED IT

What is the final tally of China Gate?

– It will fetch commission in a few circuits. In the rest, it will entail losses to distributors.

When so many English films are being dubbed in Hindi, why is Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth not being dubbed?

– You never know, someone just might dub it in Hind. But one wonders whether it will have the same appeal as in English.

How much would an ‘A’ grade project’s music rights fetch today?

– The audio rights may fetch the price of a major circuit.

MIX MASALA

UNIQUE WEDDING INVITATIONS

That a wedding in the family of leading film financier Bharat Shah would be an ultra-grand affair has now come to be accepted as a custom. The wedding cards are always as rich and tasteful as the string of functions preceding the wedding reception and the reception itself. And the invitation card for the marriage of Sweta, daughter of Vijay Shah and niece of Bharatbhai, with Bhavin, on 6th and 7th February in Bombay, is simply breathtaking. It is in the shape of a book which has been explained to be a Bhrigu Samhita — an ancient Indian text which is believed to contain the life histories of everybody. The pages of the heavily decorated book, printed on imported paper, contain the details of the marriage ceremony and other programmes. The invitation book, it may be added here, has been sent out in huge and stylish boxes.

HERE & THERE

Republic Day Honours For Ashok Kumar, Lata, Javed

Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar was among the 14 distinguished people of the country chosen for the Padma Vibhushan award on the occasion of Republic Day this year. This is the country’s second highest civilian award. Veteran Ashok Kumar has been honoured with Padma Bhushan. The two film personalities awarded Padma Shri are lyricist Javed Akhtar and character actress Sulochana. The awards were announced by president K.R. Narayanan.

All the winners, obviously, feel honoured. Lata expressed her gratitude to the government. Javed Akhtar said that the honour had reminded him of his social responsibilities as a writer and poet and he would try to fulfil them. Veteran actress Sulochana thanked her teachers, parents and all her fans whose blessings had given her the will power to achieve this success.

Mahajan Assures Immediate Action To Solve FTII Problems

I & B minister Pramod Mahajan, who is taking a keen interest in promoting the film industry and solving its problems, visited the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, on 18th January to have first-hand information on its problems. The tussle between the students and the director of the institute, Dr. Mohan Agashe, has been on for a long time, as the new members of the governing council of the Institute have not yet been appointed by the government. The governing council is to take the final decision in the matter of the revised syllabus suggested by Dr. Agashe. At present, nothing seems to be moving on the FTII front. The government is giving a thought to privatising the Institute to make it a profit-making centre by opening its doors for producers to shoot their films there. Mahajan, after his visit to the Institute, assured the staff and students that he would take an immediate decision to chart out the future course of the FTII, which has 200 staffers working full-time.

Asha Bhosle Pained At Today’s Soulless Songs

Asha Bhosle, who is in Delhi to participate in a musical nite today (30th January), while talking to the press, opined that the passing away of the great music directors and poet-lyricists was one of the primary reasons behind the absence of melody in today’s film songs. She also found fault with the audience, saying that public demand compelled lyricists and musicians to churn out soulless songs. “Let the public reject it and melody would return,” she said. Asha, who has earned a place for herself in the world of pop music too, said that pop music was nothing but popular music, and she sang only those songs which had scope for melody and popular appeal. She said that the younger generation preferred fast music but their singing in various TV musical programmes provided ample proof of the timelessness of old film songs which were melodious.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Too Disturbing?

Many among the audience have found the scene of Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain in which Kajol, in an advanced state of pregnancy, falls flat on her stomach, too disturbing to bear. But exhibitor Ravi Machhar has not just heard this complaint, he has had the staff of his Abhinay cinema in Aurangabad administer first aid to a couple of ladies who fainted in the auditorium while seeing the scene in different shows in the first week. While this is definitely not a good thing to have happened, it, nevertheless, speaks volumes for Kajol’s acting prowess.

The Showman And His Staff

The party which Subhash Ghai’s staff hosted at his Audeus studio on 23rd January to bring in his birthday on 24th was a well-organised and homely affair. It was a surprise party for Ghai who remarked, “Look, I’m not even dressed up for the occasion.” But the party also had surprises in store for the select invitees. For, Anand Bakshi rendered a lovely song which he has written for a film to be made by Zee and directed by Anil Sharma. Playback singer Sukhwinder also regaled the gathering with his songs. Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai and Alok Nath were the four As who added glamour to the party which went on till the wee hours of the morning. And although there was a lot of merry-making, drinks and dinner, what was the best part of the party came towards the end when the amiable Ghai danced with his office boys, making each one feel so special that day. His wife was happy playing the hostess but when it came to speaking a few words on the mike, the elegant lady only blushed and was heard sweetly whispering into hubby’s ear, “Main kya boloon?” (“What do I say?”).

AA AB LAUT CHALEN

R.K. Films & Studios’ Aa Ab Laut Chalen is a love story of two Indians who meet in America. The film also seeks to tackle the problem of brain drain and gives a healthy message to the youth of today. There’s one more track — that of the hero and his father. The hero and his family in India are under the impression that the father was killed in an accident but the truth is that he had survived the accident and had seized the opportunity to flee to America where he got married again and became a multi-millionaire.

The story is about an ambitious boy who leaves India and comes to America to earn a lot of money. He meets an Indian girl there and she immediately falls in love with him. But the boy tries to hook a rich NRI girl so that he can settle there and fulfil his ambition of amassing wealth. After some time, he realises his folly and goes back to the Indian girl. By chance, he meets his father in America and, after an emotional drama, they all return to India.

The film is a visual delight and is almost like a trip to America. It offers breathtaking foreign locales captured beautifully. But its content, unfortunately, is not as exciting as the gloss. The reasons for this are several — one, the script has some inherent flaws/drawbacks (example: the hero hooks the NRI girl even though he is aware that she smokes, drinks and moves around with guys. Although she picks up no new vice, the hero, after some days, fires her for her behaviour and expresses shock over the same. The audience wonders why the hero got into the relationship in the first place if he had to be shocked a couple of reels later.); secondly, too much has been squeezed into a 3-hour drama; thirdly, the screenplay writer has taken recourse to convenience more than common sense to further the drama on occasions; fourthly, since the misery of the family sans the father is not shown, the impact of the emotional climax is diluted; fifthly, the hero’s character is not what it should be (he comes to America because his friend tells him so; he tries to hook an Indian settled in America because another friend tells him so — why doesn’t he use his brains?). Further, there is not much romance in the romantic story! This is not to say that the film has no plus points. It does have several of them. Besides the eye-pleasing locations, its other winning points are: some good comedy (of Jaspal Bhatti), a couple of heartwarming scenes, Rajesh Khanna’s entry and performance, liberal body exposure by Suman Ranganathan, and the mini-India shown in America.

Akshaye Khanna does a fair job. He has not been photographed well in some scenes. He dances extremely gracefully. Aishwarya Rai is plastic at times and wooden at other times. But she looks very pretty. The girl should stop behaving as if she were a kid and should open her mouth fully while talking. Rajesh Khanna acts very well and is restrained. But care should have been taken of his appearance; he looks red. Suman Ranganathan exudes oomph and sex appeal and impresses with a free performance. Kader Khan is quite good. Jaspal Bhatti is cute. Satish Kaushik is not very funny except in one scene. Himani Shipvpuri has been wasted. Viveck Vaswani is alright. Alok Nath leaves a mark in a brief role. Moushumi Chatterjee is restrained and very effective. Paresh Rawal is superb and goes through his role with aplomb. Newcomer Aditya Hitkari does reasonably well. Jatin Sial is okay. Navin Nischol, Sulbha Arya, Achyut Potdar and Vishwajeet Pradhan lend fair support.

In his maiden directorial venture, Rishi Kapoor shows that he has an excellent sense of visuals. But his script sense leaves something to be desired. His direction, though, is smooth. Music does not befit the canvas of the film. ‘Otashi Anata’, ‘Mera dil tera deewana’, the title song and ‘O yaaron maaf karna’ are well-tuned but the lack of super-hit songs is sorely felt. Song picturisations are colourful and eye-filling. Production values are grand. Editing could have been a bit more crisp.

On the whole, Aa Ab Laut Chalen will have to depend upon its visual beauty and the clear field ahead (few major releases in the forthcoming weeks) more than its content to lure the audience (mainly class audience and youth) to cinemas. Its business will vary from circuit to circuit. It may sail safe in some circuits (like Delhi-U.P.) on the strength of business in cities.

Released on 20-1-’99 at Minerva and 2 other cinemas and on 22-1-’99 at 11 more cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was fair in some circuits but poor in others. (1st day Jaipur 79,074/- (50.56%) from 2 cinemas.)

HUM AAPKE DIL MEIN REHTE HAIN

Suresh Productions’ Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is an unusual story about a boy entering into a one-year contract of marriage with a girl. At the end of the contract period, he decides to call it quits with the girl, although he likes her and finds her excelling in all household work. The reason for his separation is that she is not his idea of a wife. But once the separation comes around, the guy starts missing her and, slowly but surely, realises that she was, in fact, the perfect wife for him. He apologises to her but, having been humiliated by society, she is reluctant to forgive him and go back to him. Not the one to give up easily, he tries to woo her in every possible way. Ultimately, after a game of insults and counter-insults and also a good deal of melodrama, the girl realises her mistake in not overlooking her husband’s mistake. The two are then united.

The best part of the film is the novelty of its subject. Although the point of contract marriage may sound improbable (like the point of the wife selling her husband in Judaai), it is presented in a believable manner and so smoothy (again as in Judaai) that once the contract marriage is solemnised, the viewer doesn’t really mind its improbability. Yes, the reason for the hero agreeing to a contract marriage may be flimsy but that’s not the issue. Secondly, the reluctance of the wife to forgive her husband may look a bit too stretched in the post-interval portion but again, that may make the film seem a bit long but it cannot rob it of its intrinsic worth. The wife’s reluctance, however, could have been made more appealing had the director shown her humiliation in society not once but at least three or four times differently.

If the story is novel, the screenplay is quite consistently well-written. Dialogues (Jainendra Jain) are excellent at several places. Emotions touch the heart at times. Climax should have been more effective.

Anil Kapoor underplays his character beautifully and shines in a film that otherwise belongs to the heroine. His casual handling of the issue of contract marriage makes it pretty believable. He is excellent in the gode bharayee scene. Kajol is extraordinary and lives her role. Before marriage, as the sole bread-winner of a family of five, after marriage, as the caring wife and daughter-in-law, and after separation, as the unrelenting bold lady, she does it all with such sincerity that the viewer falls in love with her. Kajol is so natural that one’s heart goes out to her. Her emotional scene, in which she announces that the entire family would commit suicide together, shakes one to tears as much for its starkness as for the girl’s brilliant performance. Her fiery and emotional outburst against her family members in the second half is also excellent. She also looks pretty. Anupam Kher is good. Johny Lever, Satish Kaushik and Rakesh Bedi evoke laughter with their hilarious comedy. But it must be said here that their comedy track has no relation to the film’s subject. Besides, it gets repetitive after a while. Parmeet Sethi leaves a mark. Shakti Kapoor is wasted. Sudha Chandran, Smita Jayakar, Rajoo Shreshtha, Gracy Singh, Adi Irani, Mink, Sadhu Meher and Dinesh Hingoo lend admirable support.

Satish Kaushik’s direction deserves praise. His narration is smooth and the tense drama and comedy portions have been well-balanced. Anu Malik’s music is melodious but one misses the title song in the film (it comes in bits and parts and, therefore, loses in impact). Another good song, ‘Yehi mera dil hai’, will be added a couple of weeks later. ‘Chhup gaya badli mein chaand’ is appealing. The ‘Dil hai Hindustani’ number is weak. Song picturisations should have been better. Kabir Lal’s camerawork is marvellous. Other technical and production values are of standard.

On the whole, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain may be a slow starter (except in Bombay where it has opened to excellent houses) but it has the germs to pick up by word of mouth and on the strength of ladies and family audience. It has chances of proving class A.

Released on 22-1-’99 at Novelty, New Empire and 15 other cinemas of Bombay by Vimal Agarwal thru R.M. Ahuja & Co. Publicity & opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was ordinary in some circuits, dull in some and fairly good in others. (1st day Amravati 5 shows 23,800/-, 2nd day 4 shows 22,803/-; 1st day Jabalpur 5 shows 19,000/-, 2nd day 4 shows 18,200/-; 1st day Raipur 5 shows 22,000/-, 2nd day 4 shows 21,600/-; 1st day Bhilai 5 shows 14,306/-, 2nd day 4 shows 14,635/-; 1st day Chandrapur 5 shows 22,000/-, 2nd day 4 shows 20,700/-; 1st day Bilaspur 5 shows 30,500/-, 2nd day 4 shows 26,300/-; 2 days Indore 1,62,460/- from 4 cinemas; 1st day Jaipur 1,26,155/- (51.32%) from 4 cinemas.)

HU TU TU

Time Films International’s Hu Tu Tu (A) is a comment on political dramas being enacted today. It is about the power games played by politicians to further their personal interests which, almost always, are at variance with the interests of the nation. The daughter of a lady politician and the son of a super-rich industrialist fall in love with each other but before they can get married, are separated in a serious accident. Both of them, even when they are together, are disillusioned by the political games and disturbed by the plight of the common man. After the accident, the boy joins a terrorist group to seek justice from the evil politicians and, in one such attempt, has his ex-beloved kidnapped to settle scores with her mother. Ultimately, the two lovers get even with their mother (girl’s) and father (boy’s) who, in the meantime, have joined forces to take care of their personal gains. There is also a commoner Dalit leader who entertains his brethren with his witty and caustic comments while fighting for their rights too.

The subject is unusual but its treatment is so abstract that the narration bores the viewer no end. Continuity has not been cared for and the drama looks incomplete as the reasons for the behaviour of some characters at times are left to the intelligence of the viewer. A lot of the script is in the director’s mind but it never really comes out on the screen. The pace is so slow that viewing the film becomes a tedious and boring exercise. One actually wonders whether the director has made the film as an exercise in entertainment or in trying the audience’s patience. Frankly, not many among the audience would have the patience to see such a slow-moving film. Few among those who have the patience may have the inclination to go through the drama devoid of entertainment and full of tension.

Dialogues are very good at many places. But the Maharashtrian flavour and the Marathi language, used at several places in the film, further limits its appeal. Even the tunes of some songs have a predominantly Maharashtrian flavour. Climax, though predictable, is quite good.

Nana Patekar does well as the Dalit leader. Sunil Shetty is very effective and restrained in his performance that offers no scope for action which is his forte. Tabu is simply splendid. She lives the character she plays and comes up with a performance that’s heartwarmingly natural. In fact, Tabu’s award-winning performance is the best thing in the film. Suhasini Mulay is very natural as also effective. Dr. Mohan Agashe is fair. Kulbhushan Kharbanda does a capable job. Shivaji Satam leaves a mark. Raj Zutshi, Ajit Vachani and the others lend adequate support.

Director Gulzar seems to be under the mistaken impression that the public has plenty of patience and all the time in the world. Although his handling of the complex subject is very good, he adopts such an abstract style of narration that the film ultimately turns out to be a commentary for a very select elite audience. Its slow pace is unpardonable. Vishal’s music is good. ‘Chhai chhappa chhai’, ‘Gaphla hai’ and ‘Itna lamba kash lo yaaron’ are well-tuned. While the first-mentioned song has universal appeal, the second will be liked in Maharashtra. Lyrics are very meaningful. Action scenes are appropriate. Camerawork (Manmohan Singh and Rajen Kothari) is excellent. Other technical values are of a good standard. Art direction is superb.

On the whole, Hu Tu Tu is too slow, dry, dull and drab to appeal to the viewer. Except in Maharashtra and a couple of big cities, where it would fare a bit better, its box-office result would be disastrous.

Released on 20-1-’99 at New Excelsior and 10 other cinemas and on 22-1-’99 at 1 more cinema of Bombay by Time Films International thru Shringar Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was fair at some places but poor at many others.

LATEST POSITION

Despite Idd festival, none of the new releases could get the benefit all over India. The films did take good starts but that was not universal. However, films like KKHH, CHINA GATE and SOLDIER did record fantastic collections due to Idd.

……..

Soldier 9th week Bombay 8,48,434 (62.51%) from 4 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,12,474 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Delhi 1,73,445; Kanpur 2,30,446 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,80,984, Varanasi (27 shows) 1,45,613, Dehradun 87,555; Calcutta (6 days) 1,42,266; Nagpur 83,954 from 2 cinemas, 8th week Amravati (6 days) 46,627, 9th week Akola 75,601, Raipur (6 days) 39,362, 3rd week Jalgaon (6 days) 92,371, 9th Bilaspur (6 days) 32,300; Bhopal 1,20,000; Jaipur 2,50,434; Hyderabad 3,82,009.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 14th week Bombay 22,62,367 (64.04%) from 7 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,21,682 from 3 cinemas, Baroda 1,61,068, Jamnagar (noon) 16,822; Solapur 1,23,396; Delhi 16,60,371 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,21,673 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,02,475, Dehradun 90,000; Calcutta 3,94,610 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,04,210, 1st week Kamptee 71,316, 9th week Jabalpur 1,58,369, total 17,50,713, 14th week Amravati (6 days) 80,166, Akola 67,246, total 15,49,047, Raipur (6 days) 64,671, Bilaspur (6 days) 45,212, 2nd week Balaghat 80,696, total 1,61,392; 14th week Indore 1,09,490; Jaipur 4,70,492, Ajmer 60,026; Hyderabad 4,74,772 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon); Vijayawada 3 weeks’ total 3,54,052.

………

‘KKKH’ 100 DAYS

Yash Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai completed 100 days of its run today (23rd January) all over. Written and directed by debut-making Karan Johar, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Ranee Mukerji, Johny Lever, Farida Jalal, Anupam Kher, Archna Pooran Singh, Reema, Himani Shivpuri, master Parzan Dastur, baby Sana Saeed and Salman Khan and Neelam in friendly appearances. Its music is scored by Jatin Lalit.

G.P. SHIRKE DEAD

Producer G.P. Shirke expired on 20th January in Bombay. He was president of the Chamber of Motion Picture Producers and the Western India Film Producers Association, chairman of the Film Makers’ Combine and also chief of the Shiv Sena Chitrapat Shakha.

A meeting to condole his death was held at IMPPA House on 21st January.

PRADEEP CHHABRA DEAD

Pradeep R. Chhabra, son of late Ramchandra Chhabra of Chhabra Film Exchange, Bombay, expired on 22nd January due to heart failure. He was rushed to Jaslok Hospital after he complained of uneasiness. He breathed his last soon thereafter at the hospital.

He was 42 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The Murad family seems to have a strong affinity for the title APRADHI KAUN. Actor Murad appeared in Bimal Roy’s film of that title in 1956. His son, Raza Murad, acted in Mohan Bhakri’s film of the same title in 1982. Mohan Bhakri is once again making APRADHI KAUN? and has singed up Raza Murad for a role in it. What’s more, Raza was also seen in a television serial of that name in 1985.

* KKHH is the 10th film to celebrate 100 days’ run at Vasant Talkies, Akola. The earlier nine films in the same league are GOPI, PREMNAGAR, KRANTI, DESH PREMEE, MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR, NAGINA, HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..!, RAJA HINDUSTANI and DIL TO PAGAL HAI.

ANNOUNCEMENT & LAUNCHING

‘Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega’ To Roll

Nadiadwala Grandson’s Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega will be shot from Jan. 27 till Feb. 4 in Bombay. A team of experts from America will picturise thrilling scenes (with special effects to be done by CMM) on two Rajdhani trains between Bombay Central and New Delhi. Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Ranee Mukerji will participate. Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala. Director: Raj Kanwar. Screenplay: Rumi Jafri. Dialogues: Javed Siddiqi. Scenario: Rakesh Malhotra. Lyrics: Sameer. Music: Anu Malik. Cinematography: W.B. Rao. Action: Abbas. Editor: A. Muthu.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Who’s The Winner? Nobody!

Four big films were released this week to take advantage of the Idd festival. But the funny part is that no film can claim to have reaped the benefit of the festival throughout India. If one film opened well in Bombay, its opening in C.I. and Rajasthan left a lot to be desired. If another had a decent opening in Maharashtra, its collections in some other circuits were pathetic. If a third opened to full houses in Patna, its opening day’s collections in Gujarat were 40%! Not only did Idd not prove bountiful for the films, the excess number of releases simultaneously also cut into one another’s collections. So there!

Varma’s Ventures

After completing Kaun, which has just one song, director Ramgopal Varma has now started shooting Mast which has — hold your breath — 11 songs! The music is scored by Sandeep Chowta, a well-known name in the South. Sandeep had recorded the background music in Ramgopal Varma’s Satya and has also composed the background score in his current Kaun. After Mast, which is supposed to be a ‘quickie’ (it is scheduled for a June ’99 release), Varma will soon start another film, starring Shah Rukh Khan.

No Difference

Producer Salim has shot a new climax for Mehndi. The new-look Mehndi was released yesterday but the response to the film is said to be not very different from what it was with the old climax.

INFORMATION MEETS

“I want to be the third consecutive generation of my family to bag the Dadasaheb Phalke award”

– RISHI KAPOOR

KOMAL NAHTA

Rishi Kapoor is a kid. And not just because his pet name is Chintu. But the way in which this 40-plus actor-turned-director runs away from any attempt to get him down to giving an interview, it is hardly any different from a 3-year old’s fear of holding a burning sparkler (phuljadi) in his hand. Not the one to let him get away with his “no”, you track him down to Empire Audio Centre on the last day of mixing of his first film as director, Aa Ab Laut Chalen. Amusingly, it is the film’s first reel that’s last to be mixed that morning after which recordist Anup Dev announces, “It’s over. We are through.” Chintu can’t believe it. “Really? Mera kaam khatm? Ab main kya karoonga? I’ve no work left! You mean, I can go home?” The child in Chintu has surfaced once again. Thanking Anup and the others in the room profusely for their unstinted support, he then moves out to thank everyone at Empire from owner Gaffarbhai Nadiadwala down to the office boys, shaking hands with every one of them, appreciating their efforts and support. He reveals later, “It was a very emotional moment, you know. Today is a very important day in my life. Now my job as director is over. Whatever I could do, I’ve done. Now let’s see what the public has to say about my labour of love.”

But before the people can say what they would have to say about Aa Ab Laut Chalen, you are there to know what Rishi has to say about the film and the filmmaking experience. “Nahin yaar, don’t be stupid,” he laughs. “Main kya boloon? I’m too embarrassed, chhod na! People know what kind of an actor I am — good, bad, ugly, whatever. As for the kind of director I am, what can I say? It’s my first film, let them see and decide for themselves. Forget it, yaar. I’m not too publicity-savvy, I can’t talk about myself, I’m…..” You don’t leave him, you pester him. Till he finally agrees to talk. You are happy. But your joy is short-lived. Because after every three or four sentences, Chintu tells you, “This is off-record” or “This is not for printing” or “Don’t write this” or, when he feels like being mischievous, “See, if you print this, I will hit you.”

Even though he won’t hit you, you don’t feel like letting down good old Chintu. You listen intently to what he has to say, on record as well as off record, and you realise that most of what is said off-record is about his supreme confidence in the film, its music, the performances of his cast etc. “I don’t want to sound haughty, let my film speak for itself,” he tells you while giving you the reason for speaking about so many things off-record. And so, if this interview reads disjointed, blame it on Chintu.

How does it feel to have directed a film? Is it as gratifying an experience as being an actor?
– More gratifying than that! As a director, I was totally in charge. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself, directing the film has been a great feeling. The whole experience is so creative. If you ask me, I’d say, every actor should become a director.

Do you mean to say that an actor is incomplete till he turns director?
– See, as a director, you’ve got so many roles to play. I’ve made Aa Ab Laut Chalen exactly the way I had wanted to. I’ve brought on screen what I had in mind. And for this, I have to thank my brothers, Randhir and Chimpu, without whom the film would not have been possible. About the film, I can say that it’s a very natural, real film. It’s a logical drama, it is what normal human beings would do in given situations. I’ve gone completely by the script. The film doesn’t have shots for the sake of shots, if they are there, they had to be there. That is why, you won’t find anything larger than life in my film. Of course, you don’t have background music in real life but my film has it. That’s because the medium of cinema requires it. Beyond these cinematic requirements, my film is as natural as can be. You may call it good, bad or ugly, but you can’t say, it’s unrealistic.

Since you are an actor yourself, did you enact the scenes to your artistes everytime?
– No, I never enacted scenes because, had I enacted them, everybody would have been Rishi Kapoor in the film! I used to only fine-tune the performances. I myself have never been a stylised actor. Like I am a spontaneous actor, I am also a spontaneous director. I never did any homework as an actor and, likewise, as a director. Of course, I had an absolutely bound script before I began shooting, but the daily shooting used to be spontaneous work.

Are you facing problems in respect of the price of your film because your hero, Akshaye Khanna’s past films have bombed?
– We’ve not sold our film on Akshaye’s name, so why blame him? Even when I signed Akshaye, he just had a Himalayputra behind him. I took him because he suited the role. In fact, all my artistes are going through professional lows but I take that as a challenge. I know one thing and that is, all of them have done tremendous work in my film, they’ve given me what I wanted and whatever was required of them. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Irrespective of how the film fares at the box-office, I’ll say, I’m very very happy with my cast. And I may add here, the R.K. banner has always made films with conviction, not with stars. And you never know, like Soldier took a bumper opening despite Bobby Deol not being ‘hot’, Aa Ab Laut Chalen, too, may open well notwithstanding Akshaye’s past debacles. Miracles can happen.

Is there a move by distributors to seek a price reduction?
– We ourselves have voluntarily reduced the ratio from 2 to 1.75, looking to the present scenario. If one or two distributors do insist on a further price reduction, we will at least know that they are not worthy of being called our “permanent distributors”. We will not let there be any delivery tension but then we will know whom to deal with in the future. If I had the courage to show my film to all the distributors two months before release, there must be something in the film, right? I’m embarrassed to say this myself but just yesterday, my West Bengal and Bihar distributor, Sanjay Suchanti, and Rajasthan distributor, Sunderdas Sonkiya, saw the film and rushed from R.K. Studio to Empire (where I was mixing) well past midnight to compliment me. Sanjay Suchanti hugged me and started crying like a child — crying tears of joy.

Is your film a conscious attempt to target the Overseas audience in particular?
– Not at all. My story is based in a foreign land. Unlike other directors who go abroad to shoot only their songs, I had to go there because my story demanded it. The film will find identification everywhere. Everyone moves on in life for better prospects. A guy from Patna may come to Bombay to make a living, a man form Nanded may go to Pune. In my film, the hero goes from Delhi to New York. The film has an important lesson for the educated youth of India.

Do you think, the formidable R.K. banner has been a boon for you or a disadvantage?
– Definitely a boon. There is something called banner-loyalty. Aa Ab Laut Chalen is our third film after my dad’s demise. Although Prem Granth did not do well, our distributors haven’t deserted us. This is what is called banner loyalty or brand loyalty. As we brothers always tell our distributors, “We won’t leave you, may leave us if you so desire.”

What you are speaking about is banner-loyalty of distributors. Is there also banner-loyalty of the public?
– Yes, of course.

Then where was that loyalty at the time of PREM GRANTH? It took a bad start everywhere.
– Maybe Rishi Kapoor in Prem Granth was not the right choice. I was at the end of the road. The public is very smart, it can smell a film. It is likely that the public did not want to see me in Prem Granth.

Coming back to AA AB LAUT CHALEN, how many shifts have you shot it in? Has it been made in the scheduled budget?
– This is R.K. banner’s first film to have been completed so fast. I shot for just 150 days and that includes travelling and cancellations due to bad weather etc. Considering, it’s my first attempt at direction, it is creditable, I think, that I’ve not done a single day’s reshooting or even a single day’s patchwork shooting. And I might add here, my film has 18 important characters. I’ve not exposed more than 1,75,000 feet of raw stock. As for the expenditure involved, we have spent a fortune but that’s because it was the demand of the script. On the day of delivery, we will be in a deficit of over 2 crore but we are confident of our product. Besides, the film is being released in the Overseas in our account. I’m happy, there has been no wastage.

Why aren’t you having a premiere? Raj Kapoor Sahab was the showman. Doesn’t his son believe in showmanship?
– Where’s the time for the premiere? I’m mixing till today. Besides, I’m not very comfortable with premieres of my films. Maybe, I haven’t inherited this trait from my father. I can’t stand with folded hands at the exit of the cinema after the premiere show, waiting for bouquets and hoping, there’ll be no brickbats. I’m like that only, what to do? Besides, even if I had wanted to have a premiere, I’d not hold one unless it was absolutely well-planned. But yes, there will be a premiere in the USA and another one in London. And there’s one in Delhi too, but that’s a charity premiere.

Before we split, tell me, do you subscribe to the view that a film is made or marred on the editing table?
– That’s a good quotable quote, but the truth is not that. Your writing is what makes or mars your film. The script has got to be very good. I feel, my film has a lot of story material. Once you have a good script, you must make your film with confidence and conviction.

Any parting shot?
– I am working towards one goal — to win the Dadasaheb Phalke award. Both, my grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor, and my father, Raj Kapoor, were honoured with the prestigious award, and I want to be the third consecutive generation of my family to some day bag the Dadasaheb Phalke award. My close friend and C.I. distributor, J.P. Chowksey, told me to make the Phalke award my goal, and I’ve done that…..

BABY BOY FOR GUDDU DHANOA

Santosh, wife of producer-director Guddu Dhanoa, gave birth to a baby boy on 9th January in Bombay. This is the couple’s first child and he has been christened Jeet. Incidentally, 9th January was also the wedding anniversary of Guddu and Santosh.

ZEE TO AIR EIGHT NEW CHANNELS

Zee Telefilms has announced its plans to launch eight new pay channels, including six regional channels, in the near future. The channels will be uplinked from India and will be transmitted digitally. The overall investment will be in the region of Rs. 110 crore. In the meantime, the Zee management has decided not to pursue its proposed merger with Star Network till a fair valuation of Zee Group’s business was arrived at.

The company has also announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ending 31st Dec., 1998, according to which the company has recorded a net profit of Rs. 14.36 crore (up 41% from the same period last year) against an income of Rs. 63.81 crore (up 21%).

M.B. SAMANT ELECTED CAA PRESIDENT

M.B. Samant was elected president of the Cine Advertisers’ Association for 1999-2000 at a meeting of its council of management held on 9th January. Ochhavlal was elected vice president, Brij Mittle, hon. secretary, and Kalgutkar, hon. treasurer. The other members of the executive committee are Satish Agarwal, Arvind Jhaveri, Chandrakant, Achal Agarwal, Garg, Balkrishna Vaidya and Mukesh Vasani.

ANJAN SHRIVASTAVA’S INTEGRATION MEET ’99

Actor and ex-MP Sunil Dutt was the chief guest at the Integration Meet ’99 on 9th January at Rang Sharda, Bandra, Bombay. Organised by actor Anjan Shrivastava and Allahabad Bank (where the actor has served for 30 years), the event was attended by many notable film personalities and other socialites. January 9 was the last day of Anjan Shrivastava’s service with Allahabad Bank.

J.P. Dutta, Amrish Puri, Danny Denzongpa, Mukesh Tiwari, Anjan Shrivastava, Kundan Shah, Bharati Achrekar, Sultan Ahmed, Ramesh Talwar, Siddharth Kak, Sanjay Chhel, Ram Mohan, K.K. Raina, Avtar Gill, Madhav Moghe, Rajeshwari, Neha Sharad, Udit Narayan and Ila Arun were felicitated. Shatrughan Sinha, MP, was also honoured at the meet. Playback singer Mubarak Begum was presented a purse of Rs. 5,000. Veteran film journalist R.M. Mishra (Cine Advance) was also felicitated. Rich tributes were paid to late lyricist Pradeep who had penned many popular songs on nationalism and national integration.

Anjan Shrivastava announced in his farewell speech that he was instituting an annual award for the best candidate of the CAIID, in memory of his late father, M.P. Shrivastava, who also served Allahabad Bank.

FIRST CONVICTION FOR VIDEO PIRACY

The Delhi metropolitan magistrate’s court has convicted a local video library owner for video piracy. Dinesh Chhabra was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and charged a fine of Rs. 5,000 under sections 63 and 68-A of the Copyright Act. This is the first time that anyone has been convicted under the Act.

Chhabra had been found in possession of 403 unauthorised video cassettes of Hindi and Punjabi feature films, when the police had raided his video library in November ’86. The police had acted on a complaint filed by Neelakanth Shetgiri, director, Neha Films Pvt. Ltd.

The counsel for Chhabra said, the accused was a juvenile when he committed the crime, so the trial should be declared null and void. But the magistrate over-ruled the plea, stating that the accused had not produced anything on record to substantiate it.

The metropolitan magistrate remarked, “Such offences are to be taken seriously and should be considered economic offences.”

Citing a previous judgement, State of Gujarat vs. Mohan Lal and others, it was held that an economic offence is committed with cool calculation and deliberate design, with an eye on personal profit regardless of the consequences. A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfeiting the trust and faith of the community in the system to administer justice, in an even handled manner, without fear of criticism from the quarters which view white collar crimes with a permissive eye, unmindful of the damage done to the national economy and national interest.

The judgement also quoted the Amendment Act 1965 of 1984. “There is three types of piracy — printed word, sound recording and cinematograph films. In all cases, the object is to make quick money and avoid payment of legitimate taxes and royalties.”

‘ZAKHM’ TAX-FREE IN MADHYA PRADESH

Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm has been granted exemption from payment of entertainment tax in Madhya Pradesh for 6 months with a maximum of two weeks per centre.

SURESH ISSAR, PUNIT ISSAR BEREAVED

Sarojini Devi, wife of director Sudesh Issar and mother of actor-director Punit Issar, expired on 13th January in Bombay. Chautha ceremony will be held today (Jan. 16) between 4.30 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. at Arya Samaj, Santacruz, Bombay.

YOU ASKED IT

Now that the Overseas market has grown so huge, will it result in Indian territorial prices of films coming down?

– The Overseas market has grown for barely 10% of the films — those starring heroes who are ‘hot’ there. So where’s the question of Indian territorial prices coming down because of that? Secondly, have you heard of anything coming down in this industry?

Is it a fact that producers are now allowed to shoot on second Sundays too?

– Yes, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees, in a meeting of its general council held on 25th November, 1998, unanimously decided to do away with the compulsory holiday on second Sundays. Producers are, therefore, now free to shoot on second Sundays.

After Mithun Chakraborty, who is the busiest actor with the maximum number of under-production films?

– Govinda and Jackie Shroff. Each of them has about 10 to 15 films under production.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Raveena Tondon is playing the female lead in top South film director Upendra’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual, titled UPENDRA. Besides producing and directing the film, Upendra will also cinematograph it, score its music and play the hero in it. Upendra’s last film, titled simply A, was a runaway hit.

* Tips, the producers of KACHCHE DHAAGE, are leaving no stone unturned to woo the Muslim population on the occasion of Idd. They have had special posters of the film (printed in Hyderabad), wishing ‘Idd Mubarak’ to all Muslims. The first batch of 5,000 attractive 30″ x 40″ posters has already arrived in Bombay for display in the circuit. Moreover, Tips have also released a special audio cassette of just the qawwali number from the film. The number is composed and rendered by late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. These cassettes will be distributed free of cost among Muslims mainly.

CENSOR NEWS

R.K. Films & Studios’ Aa Ab Laut Chalen, seen on 12th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/1/4/99 (U) dt. 15-1-’99; length 4848.07 metres in 19 reels (cuts: 26.67 metres and replacement: 26.67 metres).

Warner Brothers’ (USA) Tej Raftar (dubbed), applied on 12th and seen the same day, has been issued C.C. No. CFL/2/2/99 (UA) dt. 14-1-’99; length 2679.50 metres in 5 reels (no cut). Applicant: Warner Brothers (F.E.) Inc.

Aabha Films’ Shera has been passed for adults, with cuts.

5000 Films’ Murda Ghar has been refused certificate.

Ishwar Films’ Khooni Ilaaka (re-revised) has been passed with UA certificate, with cuts.

Karishma International’s Kaala Samrajya was seen by the revising committee on 11th.

Columbia Tristar Films’ Khooni Aahat (dubbed) was seen on 13th.

Bhooshan Films’ Dracula (length 2322.30 metres in 12 reels), applied on 11th, was seen on 15th.

Film Works India’s Bombay Boys (dubbed; length 2860.29 metres in 5 reels), applied on 12th and seen on 14th, has been offered some cuts in sound.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Star Tallies

That 1999 will see the release of films of almost all the top directors is common knowledge now. Subhash Ghai, Rakesh Roshan, Sooraj Barjatya, Rajkumar Santoshi, Indra Kumar, Raj Kanwar, Dharmesh Darshan, Abbas-Mustan and David Dhawan will all have a film of theirs hitting the screens. David Dhawan, of course, may have three or even more releases this year.

And what about the heroes? Amitabh Bachchan could have four or five releases. Lal Baadshah, Kohram, Hindustan Ki Kasam, Sooryavansham and S. Raamanathan’s untitled film are all racing towards completion.

Shah Rukh Khan has Badshah, Aap Mere Hain Sanam, Josh and K. Sashilal Nair’s film (is it called One Two Ka Four?) to look forward to.

Mann, Mela, Sarfarosh and 1947 (Earth) will be Aamir’s list for this year.

Salman Khan will be seen in plenty of films. Take a look at his list: Jaanam Samjha Karo, Biwi No. 1, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Hum Saath Saath Hain, Aap Mere Hain Sanam, Chal Mere Bhai and Hello Brother.

Govinda, the busiest hero after Mithun Chakraborty, may have six to right releases in 1999. Among his under-production films at various stages are Anari No. 1, Rajaji, Kunwara, Albela, Dil Ki Dhadkan, Dil Ke Aas Paas, Hadh Kardi Aapne, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Shikari and Chalo Ishq Ladayen.

Anil Kapoor, who will begin his account in the new year with Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain next week, will also be seen in Pukaar, Biwi No. 1, Taal and Bulundi for sure. His Aankh Micholi has just started but you never know, that too just might make it.

Akshaye Khanna, too, is set to start his account next week with Aa Ab Laut Chalen, to be followed by Laawaris, Dahek and Taal.

Sunny Deol will have his own directorial venture, Dillagi, releasing in 1999. His other under-production films are  Arjun Pandit, Farz, Champion, Pyar Koi Khel Nahin and some more.

Bobby Deol is the other hero in Sunny’s Dillagi. Deol Jr. also has Hum To Mohabbat Karega and Salim’s untitled film due this year, besides a couple of other films, maybe.

Ajay Devgan may well have six to seven releases beginning with Kachche Dhaage. Among the seven, there will be dad Veeru Devgan’s Hindustan Ki Kasam. Then there’s Takshak, Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet, Chhalia, Aankh Micholi, Dil Kya Kare and a couple of others.

Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty may have five/six and seven/eight releases respectively. Mithun Chakraborty may have almost 20 in 1999! Sanjay Dutt, too, may be seen in seven or eight films this year. His first release will be Daag – The Fire.

Odd Release Due To Idd

With Idd due on 20th, almost all the releases of next week will come on Wednesday (20th) instead of the customary Thursday/Friday. With the Idd holiday on 20th and another public holiday on 26th January (Republic Day), the week may well prove to be bountiful for all the new releases. Perhaps, the dull Ramzan period that concludes on 20th and the Republic Day holiday are the two main reasons for there being four star-cast films — Aa Ab Laut Chalen, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Hu Tu Tu and Bade Dilwala — due for release next week.

Censorship And R.K. Banner

Whoever thought that the CBFC bowing down to public outcry against films after their release is a recent phenomenon must read the following:

As far back as in 1949, the certificate of Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat was changed to ‘A’ — six months after the film’s release with a ‘U’ certificate! Apparently, a lot of people objected to — believe it or not! — a scene in the film where the heroine was shown clad in a salwar-kameez but without the duppatta! Another of the showman’s many films, Awara (1951), also witnessed the changing of its certificate from ‘U’ to ‘A’ months after its release. His Jaagte Raho (1956) invited the wrath of the Sikh community which protested vehemently against a character playing with a Sikh character’s turban in the song Main jhooth bole na in the film. Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960) had to be reshot, in parts, after its release because people found Padmini’s costumes and dance in the song O maine pyaar kiya too objectionable. Sangam (1964) had a similar problem — this time with Vyjayanthimala. The song, Main ka karoon Ram / mujhe buddha mil gaya, but of course! Simi’s steamy scenes were also too hard for the masses to handle in Mera Naam Joker (1970). Net result: Raj Kapoor had trouble once again after his film’s release. Even Ram Teri Ganga Maili, released with ‘U’ certificate in 1985, was reviewed on public demand, six months after its release. Subsequently, its certificate was changed to ‘UA’.

No Khandala Invitations, Please

The censors have reportedly objected to the patent dialogue of Shakti Kapoor in Zameen Ke Neeche, which goes thus: “Aati kya Khandala?”. Obviously inspired by the hit song from Ghulam, the producers must’ve never imagined that this seemingly innocuous dialogue would upset the censors, especially because the song from Ghulam was cleared without any hitch. But like one man’s food can be another man’s poison, one actor’s popular dialogue/song can be taboo for another actor. Shakti Kapoor plays a policeman in Zameen Ke Neeche and he is shown asking the question to every girl he encounters. This, perhaps, in the opinion of the CBFC, would lower the respectability of policemen in the eyes of the public. That is why, the CBFC wants this dialogue in every scene that it appears, chopped off and, perhaps, buried zameen ke neeche!

1948 Humour

A scene in Raj Kapoor’s Aag (1948) was heavily objected to by an esteemed member of the censor board, much to the filmmaker’s dismay. The showman was asked to change the dialogue where a father rebukes his son, “Tu iss gaddi par baithega?” Great confusion and a lot of explanations later, Raj Kapoor was able to finally convince the objecting member, who came from a non-Hindi-speaking community, that gaddi is not the same word as the Hindi word for a female donkey!

DILIP KUMAR RECOVERING

Dilip Kumar, who underwent bypass surgery of the heart on 1st January at Lilavati Hospital, Bandra, Bombay, is recuperating.

‘PYAAR TO HONA HI THA’ SILVER JUBILEE

Baba Films’ Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha entered combined silver jubilee week on 8th January at Alankar, Bombay (in matinee shows). The film stars Ajay Devgan, Kajol, Om Puri, Bijay Anand and Kashmira Shah. Producer: Gordhan Tanwani. Director: Anees Bazmee. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer.

KARISMA KAPOOR INJURED

Karisma Kapoor was injured recently while shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hain. She, however, participated in the shooting of Biwi No. 1 in Hyderabad last week and this, for scenes not requiring much movement. Since she is not completely alright, she has been advised rest. Following her injury, the foreign shooting schedule of Haseena Maan Jayegi, starring her, has had to be postponed. The schedule was to have begun this week.

TWO AHMEDABAD CINEMAS RAIDED FOR SCREENING ‘BITS’

Two Ahmedabad cinemas viz. Hanjer and Sheetal, Gomtipur, were raided by the city police last week, following a tip-off that the cinemas were screening uncensored portions from foreign erotic films. During the raid, it was discovered that uncensored ‘bits’, added to Jail House Girl (at Hanjer) and Chained Girls (at Sheetal), were being screened regularly in the late night shows. Nine persons, including the manager and staff of Sheetal cinema, were arrested, while action was initiated against Harish Popat, the manager of Hanjer cinema.

GIRISH SHAH’S DAUGHTER TO WED

Marriage of Kunti, daughter of Gujarat distributor-exhibitor Girish Shah, with Anand will be solemnised on 24th January in Ahmedabad. A reception will be held the same evening.

PRODUCTION NEWS

Salim’s Film In Full Swing

The unit of Aftab Music Industries’ Prod. No. 7 left on Jan. 6 for a 7-day shooting stint at Khandala. The film is being produced by Salim and stars Bobby Deol, Rani Mukerji, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Ashish Vidyarthi, Ashutosh Rana, Vishwajeet Pradhan, Razzak Khan, Mushtaq Khan and Amrish Puri. Story writer & director: Raj Kanwar. Screenplay: Robin Bhatt and Sutanu Gupta. Dialogues: Santosh Saroj. Music director Anu Malik recorded the first song of the film at Sahara India on Jan. 5. It was penned by Sameer.

‘Arjun Pandit’ In Dehradun, Hardwar

Ratan International’s Arjun Pandit is being shot in Dehradun, Hardwar and Rishikesh. Sunny Deol, Juhi Chawla, Shahbaaz Khan and others are participating in the month-long schedule. The film is being directed by Rahul Rawail for producer Babloo (N.R.) Pachisia.

‘Pukaar’ Complete

Boney Kapoor and S.K. Films Enterprises’ Pukaar is complete following the 4-day shooting spell at Surve Farm in Panvel near Bombay. Only a few days’ patchwork shooting now remains to be done. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi for producer Surinder Kapoor, the film stars Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Namrata Shirodkar, Mukesh Rishi, Girish Karnad, Mohan Agashe, Om Puri, Govind Namdeo and Danny Denzongpa. Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lyrics are set to tune by A.R. Rahman. Action: Tinnu Verma. Bharat Shah is the associate producer.

‘Aa Ab Laut Chalen’ On January 22

The first copy of R.K. Films & Studios P. Ltd.’s Aa Ab Laut Chalen will come out today (Jan. 9). It will be seen by the CBFC on Jan. 11/12. The film, directed by Rishi Kapoor and produced by him jointly with Randhir Kapoor and Rajiv Kapoor, stars Rajesh Khanna, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai, Suman Ranganathan, Moushumi Chatterjee, Paresh Rawal, Jaspal Bhatti, Satish Kaushik and Kader Khan. Music is scored by Nadeem Shravan and lyrics are penned by Sameer. The film will be released positively on January 22.

Shah Rukh, Juhi Starrer Progresses

Director Shashilal K. Nair began a 13-day shooting spell of Glamour Films’ Prod. No. 2 on different locales of Bombay on Jan. 4. Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla are participating alongwith Nirmal Pandey, Bharat Dabholkar, Dilip Joshi, Rehman Naushad and child artistes. Jackie Shroff also plays a stellar role in the film being produced by Nazir Ahmed. It has music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Mehboob. Dialogues: Sanjay Chhel. Cinematography: S. Kumar. Art: Nitin Desai.

‘Haseena Maan Jayegi’ 8-Day Spell

An 8-day shooting stint of Rahul Productions’ Haseena Maan Jayegi will begin in Bombay on various locations from Jan. 13. Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Kader Khan, Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Aroona Irani, Razzak Khan and Ashish Vidyarthi will participate. The film, being directed by David Dhawan for producer Smita Thackeray, stars Karisma Kapoor and Pooja Batra in the female leads. Other cast: Paresh Rawal, Mohan Joshi, Aasif Sheikh, Pushpa Verma, Asrani and Bindu (in a guest appearance). Story-screenplay: Yunus Sejawal and Imtiaz Patel. Dialogues: Rumi Jafri. Music: Anu Malik. Lyrics: Sameer. Cinematographer: K.S. Prakash Rao. Art: R. Verman. Bharat Shah presents the film.

Chandrachur Starts Dubbing For ‘Silsila Hai Pyar Ka’

Chandrachur Singh commenced his dubbing for N.N. Sippy Productions’ Silsila Hai Pyar Ka yesterday (Jan. 8) at B.R. The film, shooting of which is almost complete, co-stars Karisma Kapoor, Shakti Kapoor, Mishka Khanna, Aroona Irani, Saeed Jaffrey, Nilam Singh, Alok Nath and Danny Denzongpa. It is directed by Shrabani Deodhar for producer N.N. Sippy. Cameraman: Debu Deodhar. Music: Jatin Lalit. Lyrics: Sameer.

SIGNED

Dev Anand Signs New Girl For ‘Censor’

Dev Anand will introduce Mohini Sharma in his new film, Censor. She will play the romantic lead opposite Vinay Anand.

YOU ASKED IT

What, according to you, should have been the correct price of China Gate for a major circuit, taking into consideration its cast and director but not bearing in mind its cost and business?

– The appropriate price would have been Rs. 1 to 1.25 crore per major circuit.

How many releases will Aamir Khan have in 1999?

– Four — SARFAROSH, 1947 (EARTH), MANN and MELA. In all probability, all the four will be released before August.

What price would an ‘A’ grade producer’s Shah Rukh Khan starrer fetch for the Overseas circuit?

– More than 6 crore! Maybe, even 7 to 8 crore.

CENSOR NEWS

Suresh Productions’ Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, seen on 8th in Hyderabad, has been passed with U certificate, without cut.

R.K. Films & Studios’ Aa Ab Laut Chalen (length 4848.05 metres in 19 reels) was applied on 8th.

Jackie Shroff Entertainment Ltd.’s Grahan (length 4276.04 metres in 16 reels), applied on 5th and seen on 6th, has been passed for adults, with cuts.

IMPORTED FILMS

Pam Coats & Buena Vista International’s Mulan was given C.C. No. CFL/1/1/99 (U) dt. 4-1-’99; length 2406.45 metres in 5 reels (no cut). Applicant: Columbia Tristar Films of India Ltd.

D.R.M. Combines’ Mata Hari was seen on 5th.

Columbia Tristar Films of India Ltd.’s Jane Austin’s Mafia was applied on 6th, and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was applied on 7th.

Warner Brothers (F.E.) Inc.’s Blade (revised) was applied on 5th.

Virgo Films’ Snake Lady was applied on 6th.

20th Century Fox India Inc.’s The Siege was applied on 7th.

Koneru Films’ Save Me was applied on 8th.

DO YOU KNOW?

* The video cassettes of Rajshri’s blockbuster, HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..!, were released on 30th December ’98 — that is, more than four years after the film’s theatrical release. Ultra has released the video cassettes with beautiful packaging. Ultra had also released Rajshri’s earlier hit, MAINE PYAR KIYA, on video on the same date nine years earlier — that is, on 30th December, 1989.

* The Bombay distributors of PYAAR TO HONA HI THA have released 25 prints of the film this week in Bombay city and suburbs and Maharashtra to coincide with the film’s silver jubilee. The same distributors (Devgan’s Entertainment) had revived their ISHQ with 50 prints in its golden jubilee week last year.

* A Tamil film — RAJASTHAN — will be released on 14th January in the Overseas circuit with as many as 150 prints! No film, not even a Hindi one, has so far been released in Overseas with such a large number of prints. The film, directed by R.K. Selvamani, stars Sarath Kumar and Vijayashanti and has cost about Rs. 20 crore to make!

* V.N. Films, the Miraj district sub-distributor of KKHH, has sent expensive vinyl boards of the film for display at ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres of Miraj region. This is, perhaps, the first time that such expensive publicity is being displayed in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres like Wadgaon, Shirol, Wai and Gadhinglaj.

* FIRE, which was released in Hardwar at Payal Palace last week without prior publicity, collected only 4,602/- on the opening day but the week closed at 78,565/-. Two shows on the second day were cancelled due to agitation against the film by Bajrang Dal activists, and it collected 1,883/- in the remaining two shows. But collections shot up from third day (due to publicity by cinema management as also the controversy). The collections were: 3rd day 11,870/-, 4th day 12,964/-, 5th day 13,612/-, 6th day 20,926/-, and 7th day 12,708/-.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Bhatti Springs One More

Trust Jaspal Bhatti to come up with something like this. The master satirist thought up a clever gimmick for the premiere release of his Mahaul Theek Hai (Punjabi) at Batra cinema, Chandigarh, a couple of weeks back. On the occasion, Bhatti invited the director general of police of Punjab & Haryana and in his presence, he felicitated three top black marketeers of cinema tickets in Chandigarh. He offered them shawls and coconuts and reasoned, among peals of laughter, that he was doing so simply because it is the black marketeer who has the power to make or break a film.

Line Inspectors Aapke Office Mein Rehte Hain?

Producer D. Rama Naidu has appointed 25 line inspectors to supervise the business transacted by the distributors of his forthcoming, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain. The line inspectors will visit distributors of the various territories and oversee the film’s business in the different circuits. Last heard, the distributors were humming something to the effect of Hum aapke sar pe baith-te hain…!

The Birthday That Never Was

“Happy birthday” and “Many happy returns of the day” read the messages on the numerous bouquets of flowers top financier Bharat Shah received on 2nd January. But it wasn’t his birthday that day. Obviously, some florist, who had sent out a list of birthdays, had goofed up and the result was that Shah had his house full of flowers sent by friends. Incidentally, Bharat Shah is a Leo and his birthday falls on 5th August.

A Hit Film: Reason To Rejoice Or Repent?

It would shock trade people to know that although Bandhan has done and is still doing wonderful business all over India, its producers have not received a single naya paisa as their share of overflow from distributors of most of the circuits. And this when the successful film is celebrating 100 glorious days of its run everywhere today. Glorious? Yes, of course, for the distributors who paid reasonable MG royalties (at places, the ratio was less than a crore) for the film. But there’s nothing glorious about its success for the producers, Shyam Bajaj and Narendra Bajaj. Except, perhaps, the good feeling that they have at long last delivered a hit. Some distributors have not even bothered to send the business statements to the producers, leave alone overflow.

The case of Bandhan is not a lone one. It has often been seen that a producer never gets to share overflow from his film if that film happens to be his first hit, after a line of flops. This could be true even if the hit is distributed by distributors who had nothing to do with his earlier flops. Of course, this is not to say that if the distributor of the hit and the earlier flop/s is the same, he has a right to not submit true accounts of the overflow. When a producer’s film flops, it is a painful experience for him. But if he gets no share from his hit film, the pain is even greater.

Many distributors have this mistaken impression that they are well within their rights to offset their losses of some films against profits of the other films released by them. So what if the producers of the flops and the hits are in no way related or connected! Even a child would say, this practice is unethical, but our distributors have been following it since years. The MG royalty agreements of distribution, under which the distributors are to share overflow with the producer, lose their sanctity in cases like these.

The reasons for the producers of Bandhan not being able to share in its success are a combination of the above. One has heard of aate mein namak jitni (chori) but the case of Bandhan looks like namak mein aata! Why just Bandhan, a distributor of a 25% circuit has just sent about Rs. 20 lakh overflow to the producers of a blockbuster like Raja Hindustani. And about 50% of this has come one whole year after it became due. The actual share of the producers in the overflow would be at least Rs. 50 lakh!

If distributors crib and cry about high film prices and the practice of producers to not show trials of their films to them before their release, why don’t they do something about their dishonest brothers too? Shocked that I refer to them as “dishonest”? Actually, I too am shocked at my usage of the word. Can somebody help me with a more appropriate word which would be at least 10 times harsher than the word “dishonest”? Because that would be the honest description of such…… you know what I mean.

– Komal Nahta

SHAHEED-E-MOHABBAT BOOTA SINGH
(Punjabi)

NFDC’s Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh (Punjabi) is a true story of a young Sikh armyman, Boota Singh. The film depicts events that took place around 1947 when the Hindu-Muslim riots were at their peak. Boota Singh fell in love with a Muslim girl, Zainub. He married her and a girl-child was born to them. Thereafter, India and Pakistan arrived at an agreement under which Muslim and Sikh girls, who were to be evicted, could be repatriated. As a result, Zainub had to return to Pakistan, leaving behind her husband and daughter. Boota Singh had to run from pillar to post to get Zainub back but he failed. He even reached Pakistan and met Zainub’s father to convince him about their marriage. But he beat him up. Boota Singh was then falsely implicated in an immigration case. Upon hearing Boota Singh’s tale, the judge assured him that if Zainub corroborated his story, she would be restored to him. However, Zainub, when brought before the court, refused to recognise him because she had been threatened that her nod in agreement would cost her husband his life. The judge then asked Boota Singh to return to India. Heartbroken, Boota Singh jumped before a running train with his daughter. He died but the daughter had a miraculous escape. Zainub, too, died immediately thereafter. Later, a letter addressed to Zainub revealed Boota Singh’s last wish that he be cremated in Zainub’s village. Overnight, Boota Singh became a martyr in the eyes of the Pakistanis and they decided to fulfil his last wish. They also made a trust in his name to take care of his daughter.

The film, which reminds of Train To Pakistan, is excellent in all respects. The screenplay (Suraj Sanim) is brilliant and the narration, smooth. The first half is gripping and the second half abounds in emotions.

Gurdas Maan is very good as Boota Singh. Divya Dutta lives the role of Zainub and gives an award-winning performance. Her emotional scenes move the viewer to tears. Raghuvir Yadav, as the lunatic, is extraordinary and his last scene when he is killed by the Muslims is both, chilling and shocking. Aroon Bakshi is good as the faquir in the mosque. The rest of the cast is mostly new and performs ably.

Directorially, Manoj Punj deserves all the praise for handling a sensitive love story with aplomb. Cinematography (Pramod Mittal) is par excellence. Technically, it is so good that it does not look like a Punjabi film at all. Amar Haldipur gives a super-hit music score with at least two songs, especially ‘Ishq da Rabba’, being excellent. Late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s renditions will be a big draw. Production and technical values are excellent.

On the whole, Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh will prove to be a hit.

P.N. LAKHANI DEAD

P.N. Lakhani of Lokendra Talkies, Ratlam, and brother of Ramesh and Haresh of Sagar Talkies, Baroda, expired on 27th December in Baroda. The funeral was held in Ratlam. It was attended by many distributors of Indore as well as local trade people of Ratlam.

Both, Lokendra (Ratlam) and Sagar (Baroda), remained closed for four days.

PUNJAB GOVT. HONOURS FOR GURDAS MAAN, PREETI SAPRU

Gurdas Mann and Preeti Sapru will be honoured with the Punjab Ratna by the Punjab government today (2nd January). Ex-prime minister of India, I.K. Gujral will hand over the awards to the Punjabi film actor and actress. Other recipients include Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, ex-finance minister Manmohan Singh and athlete Milkha Singh.

‘FIRE’ SCREENING: CONTEMPT PETITION BEFORE SC

The Supreme Court will hear the contempt petition of Dilip Kumar and others in the matter of Fire screening, on 4th January. The group of persons who had filed a petition in the apex court last month to ensure the screening of Fire in cinemas under secure conditions, has now filed a contempt of court petition. The group has sought to launch contempt proceedings against the Maharashtra government for failing to ensure the film’s release, in violation of the apex court’s order in their earlier petition. A division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice A.S. Anand will hear the petition.

It may be mentioned here that despite the Court’s order, cinemas in Bombay are unwilling to screen the film for fear of violence by Shiv Sena which had objected to the film’s screening in a violent manner.

‘SATYA’ SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATED

Ramgopal Varma and the team of Satya celebrated the silver jubilee of the film on 26th December, 1998 at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Bombay. The celebratory party was attended by Rekha, Raveena Tandon and the entire cast of Satya including Urmila Matondkar and Chakravarthy who flew from Hyderabad specially for the occasion.

The party, which commenced with a song from Varma’s forthcoming project, Mast, was compered in colloquial Bambaiyya Hindi. Varma thanked his entire team for their efforts while addressing them at the party.

YOU ASKED IT

What is your new year resolution?

– To see at least fifteen hit and super-hit Hindi films in 1999. The best part of my resolution is that the industry has to try hard to make me fulfil my resolution!

When will Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai be released?

– In August this year, the month which will also see the release of Subhash Ghai’s TAAL.

Why has the C.P. Berar distributor (Narsingdas Laddha) relinquished the distribution rights of Aa Ab Laut Chalen?

– Because he is planning to close down his distribution office. He keeps very busy with his other business interests.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Even as the Ghapla hai song of Gulzar’s HU TU TU is gaining in popularity day by day, a controversy over its lyrics has arisen. When translated in English, the song amounts to saying that there is a scam in everything these days. One line of the song goes as Bank mein ghapla, LIC mein ghapla. The Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has expressed its displeasure over the lyrics and objected to the song.

* Madanlal Chowdhury, the producer of SOMAWATI AMAVAS, died recently in Bombay. His film has been incomplete since 10 years and during this time, its director, K. Bharti, hero, Sheel Kumar, and music director, Hansraj Bahl, have died. The film’s heroine, Jaya Kaushalya, has since shifted to Switzerland. Another hero of the film, Shahi Kapoor (look-alike of Shashi Kapoor), is into hotel business.

Film Weather: 1998

♦ A total of 138 films were released during the year. Of them, less then 24 proved to be earners for their distributors.

♦ Kuch Kuch Hota Hai proved the most memorable hit of the year and one of the biggest blockbusters to-date. The other universal hits were Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya and Soldier. Ghulam and Satya proved runaway hits in Bombay and Maharashtra.

♦ Disasters of the year included Qila, Jeans (dubbed; the original Tamil version was a success), Prem Aggan, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna and Dil Se...

♦ Four songs — Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan, Aati kya Khandala, Kuch kuch hota hai and O O jaane jaana became veritable anthems of the country due to their hit music and catchy lyrics.

♦ Announcements and launchings of films were few due to the tight money market. A shortage of releases is likely to be felt in 1999.

♦ Many big producers refrained from showing their films to their distributors before release. Distributors were agitated but helpless.

♦ Shah Rukh Khan continued to be the topmost hero despite two flops he had. His Kuch Kuch Hota Hai proved to be a runaway hit. In the Overseas too, Shah Rukh is a phenomenon. A perfume of his name was launched in India to cash in on his popularity. Zeenat Aman is the only other star who had a perfume in her name. Among heroines, Kajol was the undisputed queen and was acclaimed for her memorable performances during the year. Salman Khan was the actor who delivered only hits during the year.

♦ The film industry was granted industry status in May by the BJP government at a national conference on ‘Challenges Before India Cinema’ held in Bombay on 10th May. But beyond the granting of the status, no advantages therefrom have accrued to the industry.

♦ Asha Parekh was appointed chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification for three years. She succeeded Shakti Samanta and is the first lady to occupy the chair. Many in the industry felt that censorship had become difficult under her tenure.

♦ A print of Raghunath Singh’s Gunda was seized by the police on 15th September from a Bombay cinema. The film was allegedly being screened with uncensored portions. The police case is still on.

♦ For the film industry, 1998 was a year of controversies. And most of the controversies centred around censorship. To begin with, Mira Nair’s Kama Sutra – A Tale Of Love was held up at the CBFC last year (1997) and was finally cleared by the Bombay high court in December, ’97 but the CBFC issued a certificate to the film only on 21st January, ’98. The high court held that as per guidelines of the central government, the CBFC cannot censor visuals in dubbed versions of an already censored film. Since the original (English) version of Kama Sutra was censored on 9th October, 1997, the dubbed Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions too had to be cleared without effecting any cut in visuals, but the CBFC offered more cuts in the dubbed versions than in the English version. The Bombay high court clarified that the CBFC action was wrong. Deepa Mehta’s Fire was in the thick of a controversy after its release when Shiv Sena members attacked cinemas screening the film in Bombay and Delhi, claiming that the scenes of lesbianism shown in the film were against Indian culture. The I & B ministry then referred the film to the CBFC for re-examination. The film, however, continued to be screened in other parts of the country. In the meantime, Dilip Kumar, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt and a few others petitioned the Supreme Court to order the film’s safe screening. Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm was cleared after a long censor battle as it dealt with Hindu-Muslim riots. The CBFC chairperson, Asha Parekh, referred the film to the home ministry. Amitabh Bachchan’s Major Saab, which had an army background, got into trouble of a different kind. The chief of the army staff refused to give the film clearance as it was felt, the Indian army had been shown in poor light in the film, and Bachchan had to make changes to suit the army’s demands.

♦ The Bombay film industry downed shutters for a day on 18th August to protest against the state government’s inaction in controlling cable piracy of Hindi films. A procession was taken out from Mehboob Studios to Azad Maidan and the trade-wallahs protested outside the offices of Siticable and In Cable, the two cable TV channels which show new films illegally. The Maharashtra government promised action against wrong-doers but the promises have remained just that.

♦ The Madhya Pradesh film industry also observed a day’s bandh on 1st September and took out a rally in Bhopal to protest against the state government’s apathy towards the film industry. An indefinite closure was planned from 17th September but was ultimately put off.

♦ For producers, satellite rights became such a lucrative territory that some of them minted money by selling the rights for telecasting before the stipulated period of five years from the date of theatrical release of a film. Ghulam, Satya, Gupt and Pardes were among the films which were telecast within months or a couple of years of their premiere release. Distributors of all the circuits raised their voice against this practice which is threatening to become a trend. Several distributors’ associations have proposed levying severe penalties on erring producers.

♦ Musically speaking, the year belonged to Jatin Lalit. Several hits and successful films had their names in the credit titles. Not only did the music director duo compose hit tunes in the biggest blockbuster of the year — Kuch Kuch Hota Hai — but their compositions also contributed in no small measure to the success of such films as Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha and Ghulam. Undoubtedly, they were the music directors of the year.

♦ Salman Khan was arrested in Jodhpur for alleged hunting and killing of endangered black bucks in October. He was granted bail after eight days. While the other artistes viz. Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre and Satish Shah, who were with him when he went hunting, were not put behind bars, a case under the Wildlife Act of 1972 is on against all of them. All the stars were in Jodhpur for the shooting of Rajshri’s Hum Saath Saath Hain.

♦ A cinema reopened in Srinagar on 7th August after almost 10 years. No cinema had been functioning in the Kashmir valley since 10 years due to terrorist activities.

♦ Majestic cinema in Calcutta was gutted in a fire on 3rd November. Fortunately, there were no casualties or else  it would have been as gruesome as Delhi’s Uphaar cinema fire tragedy of 1997.

♦ Three new cinemas — Cinestar, Movie Time and Cine Magic — opened in Bombay. A new cinema, Nupur, opened in Aurangabad.

♦ Entertainment tax in Uttar Pradesh was reduced from 125% to 100% from 14th September. Some other concessions were also granted. Similarly, entertainment tax in Rajasthan was reduced from 100% to 50% on low admission rates only.

♦ Tamil Nadu chief minister agreed to crack down on video pirates and to offer entertainment tax concessions to the tune of Rs. 40 crore.

♦ All production activities in West Bengal were suspended in September on a call given by the EIMPA due to non-cooperation and misbehaviour by a few artistes with some producers. The producers’ bandh lasted for about five weeks.

♦ Vinod Khanna won the Lok Sabha elections from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab. Rajasthani film producer Prabha Thakur won a seat in the Lok Sabha from Ajmer.

♦ Satyajit Ray was posthumously honoured with the Bharat Ratna on 1st March. G.P. Sippy was awarded the National Citizen’s award by president of India K.R. Narayanan. Leading Malayalam film actor Mammootty and veteran actress Zohra Sehgal received the Padma Shri awards. Dilip Kumar received the highest civilian award of the Pakistan government, the Nishan-i-Imtiaz, on 23rd March in Islamabad.

♦ 1998 will go down in box-office history as the year of English films in India. Hollywood blockbuster Titanic did titanic business in the country despite not being dubbed in Hindi. Two more English film made on a small scale — Hyderabad Blues and Bombay Boys — are doing wonderful business in India.

♦ Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya became the Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! of Gujarati cinema. The business of Govindbhai Patel’s maiden directorial venture has crossed 10 crore in Gujarat and Saurashtra and the film is expected to do 3 to 4 crore more. It proved a blockbuster in Overseas too. If Karan Johar was the Hindi film director of the year, Govindbhai was the Gujarati film director of 1998.

♦ Rajshri group entered the music world by starting a music company, Rajshri Music. Its first non-film album, ‘Yeh Hai Prem’, became a hit.

♦ Film Information completed 25 years on 6th October, 1998.

♦ Film Information organised a seminar on ‘Film Insurance — Trends & Prospects’ on 1st July in Bombay. It was attended by all the leading producers. Subhash Ghai, who was already negotiating with an insurance company for insuring his under-production Taal, finally took insurance policies for the film, its cast etc. Taal thereby became the first commercial Hindi film of Bollywood, to be insured.

♦ Pramod Mahajan took charge as the new Union minister for information & broadcasting in December. He succeeded Sushma Swaraj who gave up charge of the ministry when she was appointed chief minister of Delhi.

♦ The 29th International Film Festival of India was inaugurated on 10th January in New Delhi. Spanish director Carlos Saura’s Pajarico was the opening film. There was a competition section in the fete, for Asian directors. Director Wu Tianming’s The King Of Masks (China-Hong Kong) won the Golden Peacock while Morteza Mehranfar’s Paper Airplanes (Iran) bagged the Silver Peacock. Subhash Ghai’s Pardes was the opening film of the mainstream section of the IFFI and it won the jury’s special award.

♦ Yash Chopra’s Dil To Pagal Hai won the National Award for the best film providing wholesome entertainment, and J.P. Dutta’s Border picked up the award for the best film on national integration. Karisma Kapoor bagged the best supporting actress award for the former film and Javed Akhtar, the best lyricist’s award for the latter film. Govind Nihalani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa was adjudged the best Hindi film. Girish Kasaravalli’s Kannada film, Thai Saheb, won the Golden Lotus for the best film. Lyricist Pradeep was given the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

♦ Shekhar Kapur hit the jackpot once again after Bandit Queen, with his second international film, Elizabeth.

♦ Asha Bhosle’s hand prints were embossed in clay for display on the walls of Planet Hollywood, the prestigious theme restaurant run by Hollywood stars.

♦ Rajshri’s Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! had the distinction of being adapted for a stage-play by a foreign producer. The play opened in a London theatre on 11th November.

♦ As if the bad times through which the industry was passing all through the year weren’t enough, the year also snatched away several leading lights of the industry. Among those who expired in 1998 were actors Om Prakash, Lalita Pawar, Ajit, Mazhar Khan, Chaman Puri, Vishnukumar Vyas, Persis Khambatta, Shahid Bijnori, Ruhi Berde, music directors Laxmikant, Shambhu Sen, Raju Naik, music director and playback singer Aparesh Lahiri, lyricist Pradeep, writer-lyricist P.N. Sharma, playback singer Talat Mahmood, writer Agajani Kashmiri, directors Raghunath Jhalani, Ramesh Ahuja, Rajesh Vakil, Shaukat Hussein Rizvi, actor-producer-director Dada Kondke, producer-directors Ram Pahwa, Amarjeet, producers Prem Sethi, Vijay Sippy, writer-director Vishram Bedekar, writer-producer-director Tejnath Zar, action master Akbar Bakshi, cameramen Jaywant Pathare, Ramchandra Das, art director R.K. Handa, sound recordist H.D. Mistry, exhibitors Ram B.C., Sahadev Shah, Madhubhai Patel, Mamasaheb Pimple, distributor-exhibitor Chinubhai Shroff, distributor Ajay Goel and film agent P.D. Shroff.

Film Business In Nepal

Madhuri Dixit’s recent statement that Nepal was a part of India once upon a time, may have had the Nepalis protesting but as far as film circuits go, Nepal is not considered a part of the Overseas circuit; rather, a film is sold for Bihar-Nepal together. The Bihar distributor, in turn, sells the rights for Nepal to local distributors there. Of late, however, several Nepal distributors are keen on dealing directly with producers although the latter still have reservations about selling the Nepal distribution rights before the rights for Bihar are parted with.

OUTRIGHT SALE

The sale for Nepal is generally outright — that is to say, there’s no question of sharing of overflow with the producer if a film clicks in the territory of Nepal.

HINDI LANGUAGE

The country is small with a population of about 20 million only. On three sides, Nepal is surrounded by India and in the north, it has China as its neighbour. Culturally, it resembles Bihar (in India) a lot. The Himalayan snow-capped region constitutes 25% of Nepal, while 35% is covered by mountain ranges. The balance 40% is the terrain region. Except in the Himalayan and interior mountainous regions, Hindi language is not only well understood but it is also spoken by the people. About 70% of cinemas are located in the terrain region.

CINEMAS & CENTRES

Nepal has about 176 cinemas — 119 in towns and cities, and about 57 in villages. These 176 cinemas are spread over about 103 centres. There are 2 ‘AA’ class centres from where business of a hit film can be more than Nepali Rs. 3 lakh. There are about 26 cinemas in these 2 centres in Kathmandu valley. Centres like Birganj, Pokhara, Janakpur and Biratnagar yield shares of over 1 lakh each but less than 3 lakh and can be called ‘A’ class centres. There are in all 7 ‘A’ class centres. ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ class class centres are 17, 31 and 46 respectively and yield shares between Nepali Rs. 30,000 and 1 lakh (‘B’ class), between Nepali Rs. 5,000 and 25,000 (‘C’ class) and less than Nepali Rs. 5,000 (‘D’ class).

SUNDAY RELEASE

It is mainly Nepali and Hindi films which are released in Nepal. On an average, 20 Nepali films are made every year and the business of a hit could cross Nepali Rs. 50 lakh. Bhojpuri films are usually screened in small centres close to the Indian borders. Every year, about 75 to 80 Hindi films are imported into Nepal. Almost all big commercial Hindi films are released in Nepal simultaneously with their all-India release. Except for a handful of releases on Friday, Hindi films generally open there on Sundays which are working days in the country. The weekly off is on Saturday.

THREE SHOWS

Three shows are conducted daily — 12 noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. There are no night shows held. On Saturdays, one extra show is conducted, in which students are charged at concessional rates.

POOR TECHNOLOGY

Surprisingly, technology hasn’t reached the theatres of Nepal. No cinema of the kingdom is equipped with modern sound systems. Why, there are very few cinemas which are even air-cooled!

RATIO

The ratio of Nepal is generally 5 to 6% of the price for Eastern circuit or 12 to 15% of Bihar (which includes one centre of Bihar viz. Raxaul).

A super-hit film can do a business of Nepali Rs. 30 lakh in Nepal. Three to four prints are generally taken out in the case of big films whereas one print suffices in the case of a small film.

HOT FAVOURITES

Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty are the most popular artistes in Nepal. No, the Khans are not as ‘hot’ in the kingdom whose people like simple but fast-paced love stories and action-oriented films.

NO CENTRAL PLACE

Although there are 118 listed distributors of Nepal, the prominent and regular ones number about 15. All the regular distributors are exhibitors too. Hence, exhibitors dominate the trade. There is no distribution centre like Naaz in Bombay, and the various deals are concluded on telephone. Some Indians also distribute films, working under the licence of Nepalese citizenship but of late, even they prefer selling Nepal rights than distributing films themselves.

NO COPYRIGHT LAW

The funny party is that no copyright laws exists in the kingdom to protect the rights of distributors of Hindi films. Any person can distribute the film after paying the customs fees. The government has nothing to do with the legal rights. Of course, there is an association — the Nepal Motion Picture Association — which regulates business more on ethical and moral grounds. The problem of screening of unauthorised prints is rampant there, too. Prints are smuggled from U.P., Delhi or other border areas after a week or two of a film’s theatrical release. The NMPA has three wings — production (Nepali films), distribution and exhibition.

REGISTRATION A MUST

For registration of a film with the NMPA, one has to submit the producer or world rights controller’s registration certificate/letter, the money receipt and the agreement. A film is not allowed to be released in the kingdom unless it is registered. Of course, unregistered films are released unauthorisedly.

DISTRIBUTORS KEEN TO DEAL WITH PRODUCERS

Actually, till two years back, distributors of Nepal used to acquire films from Bihar distributors, but with more and more cases of double-dealing, delayed deliveries and last-minute price hikes by Bihar distributors, Nepal distributors turned to Bombay producers and they prefer buying films directly from them. The current status is one of confusion. While Nepal distributors are keen to deal directly with Bombay producers, the latter feel safer to sell Bihar-Nepal together or, at least, Bihar before Nepal. The NMPA has been requesting producers to deal with Nepal distributors directly and has assured producers that in the case of any problems, it (NMPA) would mediate.

VIDEO & CABLE PIRACY

Because of the absence of copyright laws, illegal videos flood the Nepal market soon after a film’s theatrical release, and the latest films are also shown on cable TV almost immediately. But as in India, distributors watch this misuse of rights helplessly. The only difference is that in India, there are laws which are not implemented to protect one’s rights, while in Nepal, even laws do not exist.

FILM INFORMATION’S BESTS OF 1998

Best Film
KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI

Best Producer
YASH JOHAR
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Director
KARAN JOHAR
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Actor
SHAH RUKH KHAN
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Actress
KAJOL
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Supporting Actor
MANOJ BAJPAI
(Satya)

Best Supporting Actress
RANEE MUKERJI
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Villain
ASHUTOSH RANA
(Dushman)

Best Comedian
JOHNY LEVER
(Jab Pyaar Kisise…)

Best Story
KARAN JOHAR
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Screenplay
KARAN JOHAR
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Dialogue
KAMLESH PANDEY & N. CHANDRA
(Wajood)

Best Music Director
A.R. RAHMAN
(Dil Se..)

Best Lyricist
ANAND BAKSHI
(Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai)

Best Song
CHHAIYYAN CHHAIYYAN
(Dil Se..)
AATI KYA KHANDALA
(Ghulam)

Best Playback Singer (Male)
SUKHWINDER SINGH
(Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan – Dil Se..)

Best Playback Singer (Female)
LATA MANGESHKAR
(Jiya Jale – Dil Se..)

Best Background Score
SANDEEP CHOWTA
(Satya)

Best Action Director
TINNU VERMA
(Salaakhen)

Best Sound
SONA CHOUDHARY
(Satya)

Best Publicity
PYAAR TO HONA HI THA & JAB PYAAR…

Best Cinematographer
ASHOK KUMAR
(Jeans)

Best Choreographer
FARAH KHAN
(Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan – Dil Se..)

Best Editor
APOORVA BHANU
(Satya)

Best Female Newcomer
PREITY ZINTA
(Dil Se.. & Soldier)

Best Child Actor
Master PARZAN DASTUR
(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)

Best Climax
DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA
(Priyadarshan)

Best Scene
Shah Rukh & Kajo’s meeting after 8 years,
at the summer camp in Simla in
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Distributor of the year
G.D. MEHTA
(Bobby Art International, Delhi – Films released:
Kama Sutra, PKTDK, Major Saab, Bandhan, Soldier, Fire)

CLASSIFICATION
(Total 138 films, including 30 dubbed films)

AAA (Super-Duper Hit)

KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI

AA (Hit)

–

A1 (Hit)

PYAAR TO HONA HI THA (‘AA‘ in Bombay)
PYAAR KIYA TO DARNA KYA (‘AA‘ in Bombay)
SOLDIER (‘AA’ in East Punjab)

A (Semi-Hit)

BANDHAN (‘A1’ in several circuits)
DULHE RAJA (‘AA‘ in Bihar)

BB (Overflow)

JAB PYAAR KISISE HOTA HAI
GHULAM (‘AA‘ in Bombay)
BADE MIYAN CHOTE MIYAN
FIRE (dubbed)
MAUT
MURDA
MIYAN BIVI AUR WOH (dubbed)

B1 to BB (Commission-Earner to Overflow)

MAJOR SAAB (‘A’ in Delhi-U.P.)
KAMA SUTRA – A TALE OF LOVE (dubbed)
AUNTY NO. 1
RATREE MILAN (dubbed)

B1 (Commission-Earner)

SATYA (‘AA‘ in Bombay and C.P. Berar and losing in several circuits)
SPEED 2 (Ab Samandar Pe; dubbed)
DO NUMRI

B to B1 (Coverage to Commission-Earner)

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (dubbed)
CHANDAAL

B (Coverage)

GHARWALI BAHARWALI (losing in some circuits)
MARD
SHAITANI AATMA
SHER-E-HINDUSTAN
GUNDA
ARMAGEDDON (dubbed)

THE REST

………..

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Bolder Or Tougher?

For all the CBFC’s claims of becoming more liberal and all that, the facts speak otherwise. A cursory look at the films released last year reveals that 1998 saw an awfully high number of films certified in the ‘A’ and the ‘UA’ categories. Out of the 138 films released in 1998, as many as 64 films (46.38% of the total) were given ‘A’ certificates while 44 (31.88%) were given ‘UA’ certificates. Only 30 films (21.74%) were shown to unrestricted audience. The question that arises is whether our filmmakers are getting bolder or the CBFC is getting tougher?

All For The Item’s Sake

In our industry, the moment someone succeeds in something different, others follow suit. Take the case of Aamir Khan lending his voice to the Aati kya Khandala song in Ghulam. Ever since the song became a rage among the masses, we hve been hearing of several producers and directors trying to ape its success by having their stars to render songs in their voices for their films. So, it doesn’t really come as a surprise that producer-director Vimal Kumar is also planning to have a song recorded in the voices of the artistes of his Rajaji. Govinda, Raveena Tandon and Satish Kaushik will sing for Rajaji a song, penned by Gufi Paintal. The item song has lyrics like Apun ka item (!!) and it will be set to tune by Surya Kamal, who, incidentally, is the son of veteran composer Raj Kamal.

Aa Ab Dub Karen!

While Suman Ranganathan’s dialogues in Rishi Kapoor’s Aa Ab Laut Chalen have finally been dubbed — by TV actress Simone Singh — it would interest readers to know that television VJ Ruby Bhatia (who has an accent as was required for Suman’s character) demanded a few lakhs of rupees to dub for Suman! Actress Neelam, who also has a phoren accent, politely declined to try out her voice, saying that she found dubbing too tiresome.

Andar Baahar

It was a scene straight out of a Hindi film. Four men, armed with revolvers, barged into an office on the 3rd floor of Naaz Building in Bombay on 28th December. The driver of a distributor-exhibitor, who was standing in the lobby, was slapped by one of the group of four gangsters. A lady in the office was pushed and manhandled. A couple of other trade people sitting in the nearby office, were also pushed. The gangsters demanded to know where a particular person, who they identified with a name, was. But the fact is that nobody by that name works in the office into which they entered. As fast as they had come into the office, the foursome went out without any plausible rhyme or reason. Maybe, they realised, they were at the wrong place. Or maybe, they feared, someone may have alerted the police. Or maybe….. well, it could be anything. But the fact is that nothing seriously untoward happened.

Making A Mountain Out Of A Mole-Hill

It is really strange that the Nepali nationals should have taken so much offence at an innocuous mistake committed by Madhuri Dixit. The actress, at a recent press conference in Kathmandu, said that Nepal was a part of India earlier. This statement irked the Nepalis and some of them even took out a procession in protest! Perhaps, what must have prompted Madhuri, a student of science, to err in her history is the fact that Bihar territory in filmi parlance includes Nepal too. Or maybe, it was a plain misconception. Whatever the reason for the mistake, the reaction of the Nepalis seems to be more outrageous than the action of the actress.

Bhaago Bhoot Aaya

Bhoot, Bhootni, Bhoot Raaj, Bhoot Bhootni Aur Shaitan, Bhoot Ki Shaadi, Kunwara Bhoot, Ichhadhari Bhoot… These are only a few of the — hold your breath! — forty-odd Hindi horror films that are being made at present. Even if half of these films manage to find a release this year, we may well have a bonanza of ghost-stories. Quite a ‘horror’scope for the new year, eh? Consider yourself warned…..

Truly Speaking

The perfect way to celebrate the silver jubilee of Satya last Saturday (26th December) at Taj Mahal Hotel would have been to make an underworld don the chief guest. Invitees should not have been greeted with handshakes but rather with swear-words, slaps and fisticuffs. The dinner menu should have had items like Ghoosa (instead of Ghost), Mukka (instead of Makkai), Jhaapat (instead of Jhinga Kadi), Laafa (in place of Lobster), Thappad (in place of Papad) etc. And dessert should have been only Supari. So that Ramgopal Varma could have said: “Maine guests ko supari di hai.”

ZAKHM

Pooja Bhatt Productions’ Zakhm (A) is a sensitive film about one’s love for his mother and motherland. It talks of communal tension in the country and weaves a drama around a Hindu man and his Muslim mistress. The Hindu man is not allowed to marry his beloved because she is a Muslim. She, however, bears two of his children. The elder son loves his mother a great deal and knows her pains. The younger one, unaware of his mother’s unmarried status, is also ignorant about the fact that she is a Muslim. In fact, in the communal battle being fought in the country, the younger son is in the forefront of the anti-Muslim group as he is under the impression that he is a complete Hindu. The elder brother tries to make his younger brother see reason at the time of performing the last rites of their dead mother according to Muslim customs but the latter is blinded by his political affiliation. Ultimately, love for the mother and motherland triumphs over pretty communal differences.

The story is rather unusual and also interesting but the screenplay is slow and is also, at places, dictated by the convenience of the characters. While the portion of the Hindu man, his mother, his Muslim mistress and her rebellious elder son is absorbing and has several emotional scenes, the communal riots etc. don’t go completely with that part of the story. As a result, the film has some brilliant moments but gets boring at some other places. The scene after the man’s death looks over-dramatic and contrived. Songs are so slow that they reduce the pace even further. The drama has a lot of tension and no light scenes at all. Dialogues (Girish Dhamija) are excellent at places but should have been more patriotic and hard-hitting in the climax. Emotions draw tears on more occasions than one.

Ajay Devgan does a wonderful job as the elder son of the mistress. He underplays his role splendidly. Pooja Bhatt is simply fantastic as the Muslim mistress and deserves accolades for her performance. Nagarjuna is fair. Sonali Bendre looks pretty and comes up with a sensitive performance. Even her dubbing is not flat as it tends to be usually. Kunal Khemmu is par excellence, living his role just too brilliantly. Akshay Anand is impressive as Ajay Devgan’s brother. Sharat Saxena gets scope in the climax and shines there. Avtar Gill is beautifully restrained. Ashutosh Rana does an effective job. Saurabh Shukla leaves a mark in the role of the Sikh. Madan Jain is natural. Vishwajeet Pradhan acts effectively. Namrata Dhamija is outstanding. Master Dhananjay is also wonderful. The rest of the artistes support splendidly.

Mahesh Bhatt’s direction is very good but he has narrated the subject in a way which will appeal more to the elite audience. Some abstract scenes will not be appreciated by the masses. Music matches the film’s mood but the songs do bore. Action scenes are alright. Cinematography is first-rate.

On the whole, Zakhm is a film for selected cinemas in cities. Thanks to its Muslim flavour, it should not have been released during Ramzan. The subject of communal harmony, dealt with in the film, deserves to be supported by tax-exemption. Its business in Bombay and South should be better than in the rest of the country.

Released on 25-12-’98 at Novelty and 14 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan’s Entertainment. Publicity & opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was not up to the mark (despite Christmas holiday) in several circuits.

HIMMATWALA

Tina Films International’s Himmatwala (UA) is the story of a married man who, unable to bear the shock of his sister’s murder on her wedding day, becomes mentally retarded and starts behaving like a child. He comes back to his true senses by quirk of fate and is surprised to see that the girl who he has given shelter to alongwith her beloved, in his house, totally resembles his dead sister. The girl and her lover have run away from their homes as the girl’s rich and influential father is against the alliance. To fulfil his desire of getting his sister married off, he takes it upon himself to get her look-alike married to her beloved, notwithstanding the opposition from the girl’s family.

The film’s first half is fairly good but the post-interval portion looks contrived. The climax, when the girl announces that she has turned 18 and is, therefore, entitled to select her life partner, comes as a dull revelation. For, if she had turned 18 on that very day, didn’t her parents know it? Why, a reference to her age is made by her parents themselves in the previous reel itself! So, if they did know her age, what was the need of the legal drama? In fact, so poor is the climax twist that it even spoils, to a large extent, the impact of the first half. The faulty screenplay is, however, complemented by some really good lines of dialogues (Tanveer Khan).

Mithun Chakraborty does quite well but age has started showing on his face. Ayesha Julka is impressive. Rajesh Sharma looks ordinary but acts fairly well. Radhika is reasonably good. Rajiv Verma and Beena create an impact. Dina Pathak also acts ably. Tinnu Anand is okay. Tiku Talsania’s comedy is average. Shakti Kapoor leaves a mark. Reema is effective.

Jayant Gilatar has faltered in the story-writing but he makes a fairly good debut as director. Music (Tabun Sutradhar) is nice. ‘Dil ka raja’ is a mass-appealing song. ‘Main to tere pyar mein’ and ‘Rab jaane’ are also entertaining numbers. Song picturisations, however, are average. Action scenes are okay. Background score is dull. Camerawork is alright.

On the whole, Himmatwala is a loser.

Released on 25-12-’98 at Alankar and 14 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.V. Films. Publicity: fair. Opening: so-so (despite Christmas holiday). …….Also released all over.

LONDON PAYS TRIBUTE TO SHABANA, CONDEMNS ATTACK ON ‘FIRE’ IN INDIA

The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London paid tributes to celebrated actress Shabana Azmi by holding a festival of her films on December 5 and 6. Shabana’s Arth, Khandhar, Mandi and In Custody were screened as a tribute to Shabana who is currently celebrating 25 years of her international career. A short film — The Way I See It — based on an interview with Shabana Azmi, was screened before each film. The event was a joint effort of the ICA and In Focus.

The Londoners at the screenings of the four films signed petitions condemning the Shiv Sena attacks on Deepa Mehta’s Fire, starring Shabana, in Bombay and Delhi.

Shabana Azmi was also present on the occasion for an in-conversation with Dr. Reina Lewis, professor of cultural studies, university of East London. She also took questions from a hugely responsive audience after every screening. On 6th, Dr. Sangeeta Datta gave a talk on Shabana’s iconic career as actor and social activist. In fact, the film festival was entitled ‘From Actor To Activist’.

‘KKHH’ TO INAUGURATE IFFI ’99

Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai will be the inaugural film of the mainstream section of the International Film Festival of India, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from January 10 to 20, 1999. Besides KKHH, the Film Federation of India has selected the following 11 films for screening in the mainstream section: Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen (Tamil), Choodalani Vundhi (Telugu), Tholi Prema (Telugu), Aaraam Thampuran (Malayalam) , A (Kannada), Dahan (Bengali), Sedin Chaitra Mash (Bengali), Joubane Amani Kare (Assamese), Ishq (Hindi), Tu Tithe Mee (Marathi) and Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya (Gujarati).

‘SATYA’ SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

The silver jubilee celebrations of Ramgopal Varma’s Satya will be held today (26th December) at Hotel Taj Mahal, Bombay.

YOU ASKED IT

Does it make sense to keep on submitting memorandum after memorandum of demands to ministers?

– Going by what the central and state governments have done for the film industry, it hardly makes sense. But as the saying goes: Keep trying and trying till you succeed.

How many Mithun starrers were released in 1998, and how many do you expect will be released next year?

– 15 Mithun starrers were released in 1998, and more than 20 may hit the screens in 1999.

Who, according to you, was the star of 1998?

– Undoubtedly, Kajol.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Nadeem Shravan, whose first Hindi film was Mohan Bhakri’s APRADHI KAUN?, made in 1982, have been signed to score the music in Mohan Bhakri’s new film of the same name 18 years later.

* KACHCHE DHAAGE is the first and the last film in which legendary Lata Mangeshkar and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have worked together!

* SOLDIER has created a city record by collecting a total of 11 lakh in 5 weeks at Hari, Jammu. It has also created a city record in Panipat in 5 weeks.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Success Contagious?

Success begets success. After the spectacular success of Tips’ Soldier, it is the next Tips film, Kachche Dhaage, that is becoming ‘hot’ in exhibition circles of Delhi-U.P. Distributor Ajit Singh is demanding and getting handsome MGs for Kachche Dhaage due for release in February. Is it the clicking of Tips’ Soldier or the growing popularity of the film’s music (heard and seen in promotional trailers on television) or the presence of Ajay Devgan (whose second release this will be after the success of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha) or a combination of all the three factors?

Idd Release? “No Chance!”

While at least seven or eight producers have announced that their films will be released in the Idd week (22nd January, 1999), rumours surround almost every film scheduled for release in that week. Of course, most of the rumours about the “real release position” of these Idd releases seem to be baseless. May be, they are being circulated by vested interests. These rumours have it that Aa Ab Laut Chalen will not be able to come on Idd as its dubbing is not yet complete. But the fact is that except for Suman Ranganathan’s dubbing, everybody else has finished his/her dubbing work. Rishi Kapoor is on the lookout for a suitable voice to dub for Suman who plays an Indian settled in America. Despite Time’s Hu Tu Tu already having been seen by the CBFC, rumour mills have it that the film will not win the release race of 22nd January. Why? No reasons are given by the gossip-mongers. D. Rama Naidu’s Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is, perhaps, the only Idd release which is not in the midst of nasty rumours about supposed postponements.

Subsidy Is My Birthright And I Shall Have It?

The Gujarat government has reportedly discontinued its policy of granting subsidy to producers of Gujarati films. It is learnt that a group of Gujarati film producers recently demanded subsidy from the state government and threatened it of dire consequences if their subsidy amounts were not released soon. This behaviour is said to have antagonised the government so much that it forthwith cancelled its subsidy policy. A government official is reported to have told a top Gujarati film producer, “Subsidy is a favour, you can’t demand it. Beggars cannot threaten punitive action if people decide not to give alms.” Point, this!

Raaz Ki Baat? Not Really! Raj Ki Baat? Really!

It’s a really strange coincidence which can have no explanation. Dimple Kapadia made her debut in Bobby which was directed by Raj Kapoor, and her daughter, Twinkle Khanna, entered the industry with Barsaat which was directed by another Raj — Rajkumar Santoshi. Twinkle’s co-star in her debut film had the name of her mother’s first film — Bobby (Deol). Now, Rinke (Twinkle’s younger sister) is also making her debut in acting with a third Raj-directed film. Raj Kaushal is directing Rinke in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. Although dad Rajesh Khanna did not come into films under the direction of any Raj, his first film was called… not Raj, but Raaz.

NASEEB

Vinay Pictures’ Nasseb (UA) is about a man who is not able to marry the girl he loves. He hits the bottle but cannot forget his beloved who has, in the meantime, married another guy. The beloved’s husband is framed for a crime he hasn’t committed and is even jailed. It is the alcoholic who, after a lot of turns and twists in the drama, gets the husband freed from prison. But no sooner does the husband come out of jail than he starts suspecting his wife of infidelity and throws her out of his house on the assumption that she has had physical relations with her ex-lover. Finally, the alcoholic ex-lover proves to the husband that his wife is not unfaithful.

The drama is unconvincing and moves at a slow pace. Two major drawbacks of the film are that the hero (Govinda) is shown in an inebriated state (drunken) almost in the entire film, and secondly, the angle of the husband suspecting his wife looks too contrived. If the story is weak, the screenplay is hardly any better. Dialogues are good at several places, but to no avail.

Thanks to the shoddy script, even the ever-dependable Govinda fails to impress except in some light scenes in the early reels. Mamta Kulkarni is miscast and does an average job. Rahul Roy is poor. Kader Khan is good for the front-benchers. Shakti Kapoor is loud. Sudha Chandran, Saeed Jaffrey, Dinesh Hingoo, Ajit Vachani, Beena, Vikas Anand and the rest lend ordinary support.

Kirti Kumar’s direction is a shade better than the dull script but that isn’t saying much. Music is weak. Even the song picturisations are ordinary. Camerawork is okay. Action scenes are functional.

On the whole, Naseeb is a dull show.

Released on 18-12-’98 at Minerva and 11 other cinemas of Bombay by Pushpa Movies thru Nobel Films Distributors. Publicity: dull. Opening: good. …….Also released all over except in East Punjab and the Eastern circuit. Opening was good in parts of U.P. and Rajasthan but dull in C.P.C.I. 1st day Jaipur 1,07,700/- from 3 cinemas, fair, Jodhpur 59,960/-, good.

SAAWAN KUMAR’S ELECTION TO IMPPA HELD ILLEGAL

The Bombay city civil court on 15th December held Saawan Kumar’s election to the executive committee of the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association illegal. Sultan Ahmed had taken the matter of Saawan Kumar’s election to court, alleging that since he had not attended the required number of meetings (40%) in the previous year, he was not entitled to stand for re-election this year. All the same, Saawan Kumar did contest the elections to the executive committee in September this year, from Shakti Samanta’s group and he was elected to power.

The court’s decision makes Saawan Kumar’s election to the committee null and void. Saawan Kumar may appeal to a higher court within a month.

ARBAAZ KHAN WEDS

Actor Arbaaz Khan got married to model and actress Malaika Arora on 12th December in Bombay.

PATERNITY SUIT AGAINST TAMIL FILM ACTOR

The Kodambakkam police (Madras) earlier this week requested the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) to perform DNA testing on samples provided by Tamil film actor Mansoor Ali Khan in connection with a paternity suit. The actor has been sued by his former employee, Sneha Sharma, who has alleged that the actor had taken her to a five-star hotel where he had sexually exploited her after giving her a drink mixed with intoxicants. She later gave birth to a male child and named him Mehboob Ali Khan after his alleged father, Mansoor Ali Khan. The actor, on his part, has denied any wrong-doing and has contested the claim of the woman. He has also promised full co-operation to the police in carrying out the DNA testing which will ascertain whether he has fathered the child or not.

Earlier, on 11th December, the actor was arrested as he and his fans were attempting to play cricket before the Raj Bhawan in Madras, ostensibly to show their support to a countrywide general strike held that day. He was later ordered to be arrested by the Madras high court in connection with the paternity suit.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Desh Mein Super-Hit, Dada Pardesh Mein Bhi Super-Hit

When it rains, it pours. Govindbhai Patel’s Gujarati film, Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya, has already done a business of 10 crore in Gujarat and Saurashtra. And there are almost 100 centres (including touring centres) where the film has not yet been released! In the meantime, it is bringing in handsome shares even where released in repeat-run. From a city like Surat alone, its share is more than 1.3 crore! From Viramgan, where Govindbhai’s earlier hit, Oonchi Medi Na Ooncha Mol had yielded a share of Rs. 25,000, DRJDPJ has fetched a share of — hold your breath — Rs. 14 lakh. For the USA, Canada and the UK, the film was sold for 36 lakh and has already crossed business of 1 crore. Reportedly, foreigners come to cinemas screening the Gujarati film in Overseas countries, alongwith their Gujarati friends who translate the dialogues in English for them while the screening is on. It is learnt, the foreigners also cry in the emotional songs in the film. Suresh Patel, the Overseas distributor (for USA-Canada-UK) is now contemplating buying rights for other parts of Overseas. D. Rama Naidu, in the meanwhile, has not only bought the Tamil and Telugu remaking rights but also remade the film in Telugu with Nagarjuna and Rambha in the lead. Mukesh Khanna and Ved Khanna had planned to buy its Rajasthani and Punjabi remaking rights but the deal could not be struck as a mutually agreeable price wasn’t finalised. So now, Govindbhai is himself remaking the film — in Rajasthani and Marathi languages.

Sharing The Credit

More often than not, stars love to hog the limelight for a success while blaming the producer or director or anybody else for the failure of their film. But Bobby Deol can be seen giving full credit for the success of his Soldier to the Taurani brothers and the director duo of Abbas-Mustan. Soldier has come like a shot in the arm for Bobby whose career was going almost nowhere, what with Gupt proving to be a partial success (hit in some circuits, commission-earner in a couple of other circuits and losing in some) and …Aur Pyar Ho Gaya and Kareeb bombing at the box-office. With the success of Soldier, Bobby is once again in the reckoning and will surely bag a handful of enviable assignments.

No ‘Shaktimaan’ Came To Their Rescue

In a bizarre incident in Hubli last week, two girls set themselves afire while trying to imitate a scene from the popular TV serial, Shaktimaan. Varsha Kulkarni and Asma Lattepanavar, both 10 years old, were at play in an open field near their houses in Sattur village near Hubli on 13th December. Both were ardent fans of Shaktimaan, the television super-hero, who appears out of thin air to rescue people in distress. In a sudden bout of fancy, both the girls decided to recreate a scene from one of the episodes of the serial, where the super-hero rescues two persons from being burnt and heals them with his magic powers. What transpired later is both, gruesome and tragic. It is reported that Asma ran into her house, brought kerosene, poured it on Varsha and set her on fire. A while later, as Varsha went up in flames, Asma repeated the act on herself. Their cries were heard by people in the vicinity, who quickly reached the spot and doused the fire. While Asma was fortunate to have escaped with minor burns, Varsha was admitted to a Hubli hospital with over 90% burns. The doctors have reportedly termed her condition as critical and fear that her chances of survival are slim.

Goes to show, how powerful the medium of television has become, especially in regard to impressionable minds.

A Fabulous Offer

Randhir and Rishi Kapoor have been offered a fabulous price of Rs. 4.5 crore for the Overseas rights of their Aa Ab Laut Chalen. And did they jump at the offer to clinch the deal? No sir! The Kapoor brothers expect and desire a still higher price. Aa ab wait karen….!

OBITUARY
KAVI PRADEEP (1915-1998)

Chal akela, chal akela, chal akela,
Tera mela peechhe chhoota
Raahi chal akela

Kavi Pradeep, the poet who penned these deeply meaningful yet simple lyrics, passed away in Bombay on December 11, 1998. He was 83. The above lyrics may have been an anachronism when looked at in the light of the fact that Pradeep had seen almost all of his contemporaries, barring Ashok Kumar and Anil Biswas, pass away one by one over the years before his unfortunate death last week.

Born Ramchandra Dwivedi on 6th February, 1915, Kavi Pradeep had already achieved popularity in the Hindi poetry circles by the time he completed his B.A. from Lucknow. He later migrated to Bombay (in 1935) and earned himself a job in Bombay Talkies as a writer and lyricist. From here began his life-long quest to achieve a permanent place for himself in the history of Indian cinema. That he was able to fulfil this quest in a short span of time speaks highly of the greatness of his lyrics and their popularity among the listeners. However, a wide section of his fans still believes that Pradeep never received due recognition for his work. Even the Dadasaheb Phalke award that he received last year came too late for him, they feel — and perhaps, rightly so. Nevertheless, the poet himself was never heard complaining and instead, went on composing one nugget after another, thereby leaving an immensely rich poetic heritage behind for the world to savour.

Having received reasonable success as a singer in Bandhan (1940) early in his film career, Pradeep went on to pen lyrics for some of the immortal songs in films like Jhoola, Kismat, Nastik, Harishchandra Taramati, Bandhan, Jagruti and Jai Santoshi Maa, among others. The first film for which he penned songs, albeit a bit reluctantly, was Kangan.

It is said that Pradeep was forced to add ‘Kavi’ before his name in the ’50s as a lot of his mail used to land up at the then superstar Pradeep Kumar’s doorstep! That aside, Pradeep’s poetic oeuvre ranged from the sentimental Upar gagan vishal (Mashal, 1950) to the nostalgic Ek karz maangta hoon / Bachpan udhaar dey do to the philosophical Dekh tere sansaar ki haalat (Nastik, 1954) to an inspiring Chal chal re naujawan. However, Kavi Pradeep will forever be remembered for the fierce nationalistic fervour expressed in Aao bachchon tumhein dikhayein jhanki Hindustan ki (Jagruti, 1954), Hum laayein hain toofan se (Jagruti), Aaj Himalay ki choti se phir humne lalkara hai and scores of other songs that remain popular till date. Much before the Indo-Pak wars broke out, Pradeep had written Kehni hai ek baat humein iss desh ke peheredaron se / Sambhal ke rehna apne ghar mein chhipe huey gaddaron se (Talaq, 1958), sounding the government of the separatist and partisan forces at play in India. Yet, his crowning achievement was to come a few years later.

Written in the aftermath of the Indo-China war as a tribute to our jawans who laid down their lives for the country, Pradeep’s Ae mere watan ke logon touchingly echoed the feelings of an entire nation grieving in the wake of their sacrifice. Its earthy lyrics, written straight from the heart, continue to strike a chord among listeners even today. History has it that the song had moved the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to tears when it was rendered by Lata Mangeshkar under the baton of music composer C. Ramchandra at a function in Delhi, held soon after the Chinese aggression had ended. History also has it that Kavi Pradeep himself was not invited at what could have easily been the most cherishable occasion of his life. It was only when Pt. Nehru enquired of the lyricist of the song, towards the end of the function, that the organisers realised the grave injustice they had done to the poet. Eventually, Pradeep received an opportunity to recite the song in person to Pt. Nehru, on the latter’s Bombay visit afterwards. He also presented a copy of the song to a sobbing Pt. Nehru on the occasion. This, for a man vowed to a simple life, remained the greatest compensation for his work. It may be apt to remember here that Kavi Pradeep, having dedicated the song to the nation, did not accept any royalty from HMV which released it in an album. Even later, when the song became hugely popular and its royalty ran into lakhs of rupees, Pradeep steadfastly held on to his earlier decision.

Kavi Pradeep had also written a song which was recorded in the voice of Asha Bhosle and composed by C. Ramchandra in the early ’70s. The song, written as a tribute to the widows of jawans who brought India victory in wars while losing their lives, had impressed the then prime minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri, tremendously. However, for some unknown reason, the song was never presented to the public. Had it been released, the song could have scaled the same heights of popularity that Ae mere watan ke logon did, felt Pradeep. The song goes thus –

Kar lo pranaam ae logon
Vey vandaneeya hain behenein
Iss desh ke liye jinhone
Vidhwa ke kapde pehne…..
Ek din samay badal jaayega
Mulk mein aayegi khush-haali
Par sarhad pe bhatakti rahengi
Inki aankhen khaali khaali
Sab kuchh lootakar in behenon ne
Hum sab ka Kashmir bachaaya
Watan yeh zinda rahe iss liye
Apna suhaag sindoor lootaaya

Long live, Kavi Pradeep.

– Raj Vaidya
(with inputs from O.L. Sharma, chief protocol officer,
Konkan Rly. Corpn.)

WAJOOD

N. Chandra Productions’ Wajood (UA) is the story of a guy in search of his own identity in the world of dramatics. He is madly in love with one of his co-artistes who is also his student. His love assumes obsessive proportions while the girl who he is in love with is completely unaware of this. She falls in love with another man but their marriage cannot take place due to circumstances. The obsessed lover, constantly criticised by his father for not earning anything, takes the short-cut to success and becomes a dreaded criminal who loots and even murders. He keeps informing his lady love (who is a journalist) of his future moves in the world of crime and she prints stories based on information supplied by him. When the police still can’t get their hands on him, they seek the journalist-cum-stage actress’ help to nab him.

The thought and story idea of the film, which has shades of Agni Sakshi, is good but its handling is abstract at several places, class-appealing in nature and even dull in parts. But alongside all this, there are moments that are brilliant — some because of the dialogues, some others due to the performances of the artistes and some more because of the originality of thought or all of the above together. Yet, the drama gets so boring and repetitive a few reels after interval that it even becomes irritating. Besides, there’s hardly any comedy or light scenes (except two or three small scenes of Johny Lever) to break the monotony of the tension. The character of the heroine — she becomes a journalist — looks contrived and, therefore, doesn’t go too well with the drama. Besides, the heroine not recognising her secret lover’s voice and even him when he comes in front of her, in disguise, looks unconvincing.

Nana Patekar excels as a performer and essays different roles — of an obsessive lover, of an unsuccessful son, of a mentally retarded man, of a thug etc. — with equal ease. But his style, it must be mentioned, is getting to become quite predictable. His dialogue delivery is splendid, especially the ‘Kaise bataaoon main tumhe’ monologue which is so lengthy, yet so beautifully delivered. Madhuri Dixit is generally good and excels in a couple of dramatic scenes like the one in which she wins the trophy for the best actress, confrontation with her father and showdown with her boss. Her dances are a delight to watch, as usual. Mukul Dev acts freely and naturally but is not too convincing in scenes of high-voltage drama. Ramya Krishnan is likeably subdued. Hemu Adhikari, as Nana’s father, is first-rate. His performance, dialogue delivery and expressions are just too fabulous. Shivaji Satam does an able job. Johny Lever is superb but has a brief role. Rajiv Verma leaves a mark. Jagdeep is quite nice. Tej Sapru is impressive. Gick Grewal, as Jagdeep’s wife, is effective. Kunika, Suhas Joshi, Parikshat Sahni (special appearance), Sanjay Mishra and Rajdutt provide fair support.

N. Chandra’s direction is good but his narration seems to be targetted more at the elite/city audience. Dialogues (Kamlesh Pandey and N. Chandra) are masterly at many places. Of the songs, ‘Ki toot gayee’ is mass-appealing. ‘Sanam tum hum pe marte ho’ is quite good but its lyrics are not easy to understand. Camerawork (W.B. Rao) is effective. Action scenes are well-composed. The film can do with plenty of chopping because of a loose script.

On the whole, Wajood is a city film, mainly for Maharashtra. It will be appreciated by the balcony-class audience. It needs to be heavily edited, though. A loser.

Released on 11-12-’98 at Eros and 18 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity: fair. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was good in Maharashtra but ordinary elsewhere.

KUDRAT

Film Enterprises’ Kudrat (UA) is a love story. At first, the heroine, a rich spoilt girl, looks down upon the hero but the latter ultimately wins her heart. Even the girl’s father agrees to the alliance and, in fact, it is he who asks his daughter to choose the hero as her life partner. But on the day of the engagement, the father insults the hero and his family members, calls off the engagement and cites old enmity as the cause for his action. He makes it clear that he had been playing a wicked game all along. The suspense about the enmity between the two families and what transpired thereafter is revealed later although references to the suspense are made earlier too. Ultimately, the father is made to realise his folly, and the lovers unite.

The love between the hero and heroine looks unreal and even the suspense angle has no shock value whatsoever. The change of face of the hero’s father, by plastic surgery leaves the viewer as uninvolved in the drama as he is throughout the rest of the film because of two reasons — one, the concept is not so common as to be easily appreciated and secondly, such a surgery has been seen in Vishwa Vidhaata earlier. Screenplay is dull and the lesson the heroine’s father is made to learn in the end (about outraging the modesty of a girl) looks fake. Emotions are absent except, maybe, in one scene.

Akshaye Khanna does a fairly good job but doesn’t look very dashing. Urmila Matondkar acts ably and looks pretty but the actress should change her mannerisms and facial expressions as they are tending to become repetitive. Aroona Irani does a fine job. Kader Khan is alright and so is Paresh Rawal. Ravi Kishan, Shalini Kapoor and Ashish Nagpal lend average support. Anant Mahadevan, Maya Alagh, Kiran Kumar, Achyut Potdar, Ghanshyam, Gavin and the rest of the cast fit the bill.

Direction is ordinary. The director has not been able to infuse feelings into the subject. On the music front (Rajesh Roshan), the ‘Chidi ki dukki’, ‘Aaj hoke rahe apna milan’, ‘Deewane do dil mile’, ‘Main hoon akeli’ and ‘Tujhe dene ko mere paas kuchh nahin’ are well-tuned numbers but the only mass-appealing one is the first-mentioned song. Song picturisations are fair. Action scenes are alright. Camerawork is good. Other technical values are okay.

On the whole, Kudrat is a dull fare and will put its distributors to heavy losses.

Released on 11-12-’98 at Dreamland and 10 other cinemas of Bombay by Raj Enterprises thru Shringar Films. Publicity: good. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor almost everywhere.

LATEST POSITION

Except for SOLDIER, none of the new releases has been able to make a mark at the box-office.

Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate has not found acceptance. It is good only in parts of Bombay city, and disastrous elsewhere. 1st week Bombay 29,81,165 (73.11%) from 10 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,22,461 from 3 cinemas; Pune 6,56,618 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 47,818; Belgaum 1,05,267; Delhi 19,13,854 (38.84%) from 10 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,75,963 from 3 cinemas, Lucknow (6 days) 1,40,712, Agra 1,32,000, Allahabad 78,000, Bareilly (6 days) 57,818 (30.17%); Calcutta (6 days) 5,59,248 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 4,26,555 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 70,856, Amravati (6 days) 54,074, Akola 83,768, Raipur (6 days) 89,173; Indore 1,62,184 (3 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,63,044 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur  3,60,629 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 8,55,728 from 4 cinemas.

………

China Gate is steady at some centres. 2nd week Bombay 37,00,420 (75%) from 10 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,42,539 from 7 cinemas, 1st week Padra 1,38,188, 2nd week Rajkot 1,33,730, Jamnagar 1,06,109 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 9,34,205 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,67,278, Solapur 1,31,265; Delhi 24,93,436 from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,52,863 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,64,025, Agra 2,25,000, Varanasi 1,46,281, Allahabad 1,67,411, Bareilly 78,811 (26%); Nagpur 2,89,053 from 2 cinemas, 1st week Jabalpur 1,71,576, 2nd week Amravati (6 days) 1,66,007, Akola 1,15,632, total 3,06,303, Raipur (6 days) 1,09,809, Bhilai 91,956, Gondia (gross) 68,216; Indore 65,275 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,98,733 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,60,234, 1st week Bikaner 2,17,686, Udaipur 2,27,428; 2nd week Hyderabad 8,38,991 from 5 cinemas.

Doli Saja Ke Rakhna 2nd week Bombay 8,28,084 (48.48%) from 5 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Baroda 54,067; Pune 2,14,535 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 90,365; Delhi 2,47,471 from 2 cinemas; Kanpur 54,922, Lucknow 1,07,952, Varanasi 47,252, Allahabad 37,000; Nagpur 52,500, Raipur (6 days) 47,123, Bhilai 44,075, 1st week Chandrapur 1,06,721; Indore 1,29,500 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.), 2nd week Bhopal 54,407; Hyderabad 3,68,081 from 2 cinemas (1 cinema for 4 days).

Soldier proves class A in some circuits and BB in others. In East Punjab, it is AA, equal to KKHH! 3rd week Bombay 22,75,545 (79.46%) from 7 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,15,967 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), 1st week Patan 1,48,142; 3rd week Pune 5,00,354 from 3 cinemas, Kolhapur (16 shows) 55,194, Solapur 98,990; Delhi 16,69,286 from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,00,416 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,44,757, Varanasi 2,59,546, Bareilly (6 days) 1,27,021 (53.94%), Hardwar 48,887; Calcutta (6 days) 2,57,226; Nagpur 2,01,378 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,01,233, total 4,43,516, Amravati (6 days) 77,004, Raipur (6 days) 83,224, Bhilai 39,344, 2nd week Durg (6 days) 54,671, 1st week Chandrapur 2,02,800, 2nd week Yavatmal 73,834; 3rd week Jaipur 4,39,150 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Bikaner 1,61,123, 3rd week Udaipur 1,27,735; Hyderabad 6,37,883 from 2 cinemas, excellent.

Fire (dubbed) has done remarkably well at several places due to the widespread publicity its discontinuance in Bombay and Delhi has got. Collections have shot up remarkably in Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad and Calcutta. 4th week Baroda (matinee) 20,328; Solapur 98,044; 2nd week Kanpur 1,62,743, 4th week Lucknow 1,68,324, Allahabad 58,750; 3rd week Calcutta (6 days) 1,56,961; 4th week Nagpur (17 shows) 78,462; 1st week Jaipur 4,17,719, excellent.

Armageddon (dubbed) 1st week Akola 1,35,893, excellent.

KAVI PRADEEP NO MORE

Noted poet and lyricist Kavi Pradeep died at his residence in Bombay on 11th December due to old age. He was 84 and is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Pradeep had penned several immortal songs for Hindi films, mostly in the ‘forties and ‘fifties. His most famous song was undoubtedly Aye mere watan ke logon sung by Lata Mangeshkar. This song had brought tears to the eyes of Jawaharlal Nehru. Another hit song of his, Chal chal re naujawan from Bandhan, had become the youth march for the army in the 1940s. Aao bachchon tumhe dikhaayen from Jagruti was yet another super-hit penned by the super-genius. The first film for which he wrote songs was Kangan and when he was asked to pen its lyrics, he was hesitant and said, he was a poet and had never written a film song. Pradeep was also a singer and music director, and several of his songs used to have tunes composed by himself. Among the other films for which he wrote songs are Punarmilan, Anjaan, Jhoola, Kismat (Door hathon ae duniya walon, Hindustan hamara hai), Girls School, Baap Beti, Vaman Avtar, Chakradhari etc. The last film for which he penned songs was Aankh Ka Tara. He had written about 1,700 film and non-film songs in six decades.

Kavi Pradeep just this year had been awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

N.C. SIPPY BEREAVED

Mohini Sippy, wife of producer N.C. Sippy and mother of producer Romu Sippy and director Raj N. Sippy, expired on 6th December in Bombay. Marka ceremony was held on 8th at Nij Thanw, Khar, Bombay.

PRAMOD MAHAJAN NEW I & B MINISTER

Pramod Mahajan has been appointed the new Union minister for information and broadcasting. The I & B ministry was being handled by prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee after the earlier I & B minister, Sushma Swaraj, was appointed chief minister of Delhi.

CASE AGAINST MAMTA KULKARNI IN BANGLADESH

Mamta Kulkarni and seven others face a case in a Dhaka court under the sections 500, 501, 502 and 109 of the Bangladesh Penal Code for allegedly speaking for reunification of Bangladesh and West Bengal. An advocate filed the case on 7th December, alleging that the eight offenders, including the editor of a newspaper, had violated the sections by their remarks published in the newspaper.

Mamta was in Dhaka last week for the shooting of a Bengali film, Sesh Bangsadhar, an Indo-Bangladesh co-production.

JOHNY LEVER SENTENCED TO JAIL

The 19th metropolitan magistrate’s court at Esplanade in Bombay on 8th December sentenced comedian Johny Lever to seven days’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 1,000 on him under section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour and Constitution of India Act, 1971.

Actor Johny Lever was arrested by the police immediately after the court order was passed. But since he has already served three days in jail for the offence, he will now be jailed for only four more days.

It may be recalled that the Bombay police had booked Johny Lever soon after receiving video tapes of a party held in Dubai in 1989, which depicted the famed comedian parodying the Indian national anthem in an objectionable manner.

PREMATURE TELECAST OF FILMS ON SATELLITE CHANNELS: CCCA PROPOSES SEVERE FINES

In a meeting to be held on 21st December in Indore, the executive committee of the Central Circuit Cine Association will discuss a proposal to impose severe penalties on producers in the event of premature telecast of their films on satellite and cable television. The CCCA has already initiated action deciding on imposition of a penalty of Rs. 2,50,000 on a producer if his film is prematurely telecast, but the new proposal will impose much higher penalties to duly compensate the distributors for their losses arising out of the telecast. The proposal states:

i) A producer selling the rights for telecast within one year of the film’s release in the circuit shall be made to pay a compensation of Rs. 10,00,000, out of which Rs. 7,50,000 shall be proportionately distributed among the film’s distributors in C.P. Berar, C.I. and Rajasthan, the balance going to the CCCA’s coffers;

ii) A producer selling the rights for telecast between one and two years of the film’s release shall pay Rs. 7,50,000, out of which Rs. 5,50,000 shall go to the distributors;

iii) A producer selling the rights for telecast between two and three years of its release shall be made to pay Rs. 6,00,000, out of which Rs. 4,00,000 shall go to the distributors; and

iv) A producer selling the rights for telecast between three and five years of its release shall pay Rs. 4,00,000, out of which Rs. 2,50,000 shall go to the distributors.

Apart from the above, the distributors shall be entitled to get their claims against business losses registered with the CCCA, irrespective of the forced undertaking given by them to the producers at the time of the agreement or at the time of delivery of prints, the proposal states.

It is also proposed that a dialogue be initiated with the production sector in order to resolve the issue permanently.

Supreme Court To Hear ‘Fire’ Plea On 15th December

The raging Fire controversy refuses to die down. Industry people, including Dilip Kumar, Mahesh Bhatt and the film’s director, Deepa Mehta, as also some lawyers have petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking a direction for restoration of “rule of law and the Constitution before the situation slips into a complete threatened anarchy”. While declining to issue notice on a limited plea for providing security to Deepa Mehta, the director of Fire, the Court fixed 15th December as the date to hear the petition along with an intervention application filed by a Delhi resident. The application seeks an apology from Deepa Mehta for hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus by portraying lesbianism in the film.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice A.S. Anand, Justice M. Srinivasan and Justice M.B. Shah told the counsel for the petitioners to stop talking to the press as the matter was sub judice. The petition has sought a direction to Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi, the Maharashtra government, Shiv Sena and Bal Thackeray to take all steps to provide a sense of security, apart from mere protection so that the film can be exhibited. The petitioners have also requested the Court to issue suitable directions, including the direction by way of continuing mandamus, that those guilty for the acts perpetrated are brought to book and tried in accordance with law.

The film, it may be mentioned here, has been referred by the I & B ministry to the CBFC for re-examination.

Meanwhile, the arguments for and against the film’s screening continue. The Bombay police on 9th December arrested about 30 demonstrators after they assembled outside the city’s New Empire cinema to protest against the Shiv Sena’s call for a ban on the film. Even some lady journalists, who had gone to cover the demonstration for their newspapers, were arrested by the police. It may be mentioned here that the police had not taken any action against Shiv Sena members last week when they disrupted the screening of Fire at New Empire and Cinemax. In the meantime, the Indian Film Directors’ Association has condemned the violent protest against the film. The Film Federation of India has also made formal protests in this regard to Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi as well as to I & B minister of state, M.A. Naqvi.

YOU ASKED IT

Is it true that the Rajshri group has joined hands with some NRI to start an exhibition chain all over India?

– Several NRIs have been contacting the Rajshri people with different proposals but nothing concrete has shaped up so far.

What are the Associations doing to protect distributors’ interests in the event of producers selling satellite rights for telecast soon after theatrical release of films?

– Distributors’ associations all over India have taken a serious note of the new trend, and a policy decision is like to be taken by them on the lines of the decision of the Central Circuit Cine Association. The CCCA is in the process of finalising the steps to be taken by its distributor-members in such an event.

Is it advisable to remake a hit in the same language?

– It is advisable to do so only if the maker is sure, he can better it or if the hit had been released many years ago and it has not been seen by many of today’s audience.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Majrooh Sultanpuri, who had penned the hit Hum to mohabbat karega song of DILLI KA THUG in 1958, will once again be writing the title song of K.P. Singh’s HUM TO MOHABBAT KAREGA. While that song of 40 years ago was picturised on Kishore Kumar and Nutan, the new song will be picturised on Bobby Deol and Karisma Kapoor.

* Bombay distributor Ramesh Sippy is offering a special discount of 40% at Bombay’s Central Plaza cinema in the 3 p.m. show from Mondays through Fridays for DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA. The discount is available only in the stalls and that too for ladies audience.

RHYME TIME

Truth About ‘Jhooth…’

It was touted as a comedy
But for distributors, it has proved a tragedy
This Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate
‘Coz it has caused bade bade ghaate

Playing With Fire

The case of Deepa Mehta’s Fire
Shows how the Sena state-managed public ire
Shouldn’t the Centre in its whimsical fashion
Having sent Fire for re-examination
Now make CBFC, an abbreviation
For Central Board of Farcical Certification?

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Record Of Sorts

With Kunwara to be released in Bombay by Shringar Films, this would be the fifth David Dhawan film starring Govinda to be released by Shringar. The association of Shringar Films with David Dhawan-directed Govinda-starrers began with Swarg. David’s next film to be released by Shringar was Coolie No. 1, followed quickly by Saajan Chale Sasural. Both starred Govinda. Recently, Shringar released David’s fourth film, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, starring Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda. Kunwara also stars Govinda.

Akshaye Khanna’s Producers Panic

The poor opening response to Kudrat this week comes close on the heels of the disastrous initial of Doli Saja Ke Rakhna two weeks back. Besides the fact that both the films have been such poor starters, what is causing concern to producers of Akshaye Khanna starrers is that both, Kudrat and Doli…, are solo Akshaye starrers. Like the producers of his films, distributors of Akshaye’s films are also panicking although everyone is trying hard to hide his panic. After all, people associated with a star’s films should be the last ones to show, they are scared. Or else, how will they inspire the confidence of exhibitors for giving them (distributors) the much-awaited advances?

JHOOTH BOLE KAUWA KAATE

Tristar International’s Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate is a light romantic film with a wafer-thin story-line. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other but cannot get married unless the girl’s father gives his consent. Rather than tell him of their love, the boy adopts the round-and-about method — he comes to the girl’s house as a paying guest and tries to win the approval of the strict father. There are goof-ups galore and the biggest hurdle comes when the girl’s marriage is fixed with her childhood friend. When the father, who had all along been suspecting of something fishy going on, comes to know of the truth, he is livid. Ultimately, he relents.

Although there are entertaining moments in the film, the main drawback, besides the thin story-line, is that problems are created on purpose, to be ultimately solved. The drama drags in the second half due to some repetitive scenes. Further, although it is a love story, romance is sought to be expressed through songs only. Even the songs pop up at situations that look contrived. Dialogues (Z.D. Lari) are witty at places.

Anil Kapoor does a fantastic job and endears himself to the viewer. He is natural to the core. Juhi Chawla looks pretty and she too acts very ably. Amrish Puri, as Juhi’s father, is wonderful. Anupam Kher does a fair job. Reema is effective. Sajid Khan, who is known for his comedy punches on television shows, has unfortunately not been given comic scenes in the film. He does an average job. Harish Patel, Harpal, Renuka Israni and Anang Desai lend adequate support. Satish Kaushik and Nilofer leave a mark in friendly appearances. Shiamak Davar’s appearance in the title song is an attraction.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s direction is good but these type of clean and slow-paced films have very limited market now. Anand Milind’s music score is inspiring. The title song, ‘Dil ye dil’, ‘Aatta hai chawal hai’ and ‘Aankhon mein’ are hummable numbers but their picturisations are too simple. Camerawork (Jal Mistry) is eye-filling.

On the whole, Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate is a film for the ‘class’ audience in a few cities only, that too mostly in Bombay and South. But in the rest of the country, the film will meet with disastrous results.

Released on 4-12-’98 at New Excelsior and 13 other cinemas of Bombay by UTV Motion Pictures thru Shringar Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor in most of the circuits.

LATEST POSITION

While last week’s CHINA GATE did not pick up after a dull start, DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA fared miserably almost all over. This week’s JHOOTH BOLE… has also opened to rather poor houses in most of the circuits.

China Gate has done fair business in Bombay, Maharashtra and Nizam in the first week but is dull or at the most average in the rest of India. It is expected to entail losses to its distributors. 1st week Bombay 47,74,747 (85.60%) from 11 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 13,31,876 from 8 cinemas, Vapi 2,78,508, Rajkot 1,49,640, Jamnagar 1,38,801 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Adipur 1,25,567; Pune 11,23,567 from 5 cinemas, Kolhapur 1,60,000 (1 unrecd.), Solapur 2,65,990 (from 2 cinemas); Delhi 31,91,078 (72.38%) from 10 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,73,196 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,25,816, Varanasi 1,92,226, Allahabad 2,30,585, Meerut 1,98,964, Bareilly 1,42,157; Calcutta 16,15,149 from 12 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Nagpur 3,37,194 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 2,19,001, Raipur (6 days) 1,55,142, Gondia 98,846; Indore 2,40,000 (45.41%) from 2 cinemas (3 on F.H.), Bhopal (6 days) 2,79,186 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 7,07,103 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 26,65,618 from 13 cinemas (1 in noon).

Doli Saja Ke Rakhna is a total loss all over except in Bombay and Maharashtra where it is very slightly better. 1st week Bombay 10,76,991 (63.05%) from 5 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 86,324, Baroda 58,466, Jamnagar 47,566; Pune 2,82,736 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 75,000, Solapur 1,07,406; Hubli 1,27,519, Belgaum 1,12,799 (100%); Delhi 6,84,293 (25.27%) from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 74,321, Lucknow 1,35,053, Varanasi 50,822, Allahabad 50,000, Meerut 50,252, Bareilly 42,250; Nagpur 1,30,406 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 63,261, Raipur (6 days) 61,437; Bhopal (27 shows) 59,890; Jaipur 1,98,722 from 2 cinemas, Jodhpur 1,75,000; Hyderabad 8,30,059 from 6 cinemas.

……….

Soldier has maintained excellent in U.P., East Punjab and Rajasthan. 2nd week Bombay 36,11,823 (81.18%) from 12 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,28,189 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot 1,54,280, Bhuj 75,217 (1st 1,23,000); Pune 8,66,574 from 4 cinemas, Kolhapur 1,39,184, Solapur 1,20,916; Delhi 31,81,029 from 10 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 4,70,912 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,78,155, Varanasi 2,67,133, Allahabad 1,78,164, Meerut (6 days) 1,99,716 (100%), Bareilly 1,68,389, Hardwar 50,175; Calcutta 17,02,016 from 14 cinemas; Jabalpur (6 days) 1,06,188, Amravati (6 days) 1,08,327, Raipur (6 days) 98,781, Durg 69,751, 1st week Yavatmal 1,20,634, Bilaspur 1,46,383 from 2 cinemas (1 cinema for 6 days & the other for 5 days); 2nd week Bhopal (6 days) 1,42,495; Jaipur 5,20,719 from 2 cinemas, Udaipur 1,95,480 (1st 2,67,315); Hyderabad 6,85,582 from 2 cinemas (3 on F.H.); 1st week Vijayawada 3,32,530.

Fire (dubbed) 3rd week Bombay (5 days) 7,22,675 (96.53%) from 2 cinemas, English version (5 days) 2,49,427 (100%) from 2 cinemas; Ahmedabad (7 shows) 32,502; Pune (6 days) 1,84,226; Delhi 2,74,646; 1st week Kanpur 83,000, 3rd Lucknow 57,800, Allahabad 19,600; 2nd week Calcutta 1,61,760; 3rd Nagpur 1,24,352, 1 week Jabalpur (6 days) 46,278, 1st week Raipur 53,300; 3rd week Hyderabad 63,410.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 7th week Bombay 45,59,892 (85.47%) from 11 cinemas (6 on F.H.), 6th week Vasai 1,66,172, 2nd week Panvel (gross) 2,92,781; Ahmedabad 7,76,986 from 3 cinemas, Baroda 1,92,353, Vapi 1,48,702, total 24,41,410, Jamnagar 56,000; Pune 9,82,431 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,80,000, Solapur 1,08,380; Delhi 20,20,645 from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,05,768 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,32,964, Allahabad 90,050, Bareilly (6 days) 40,146, Hardwar 18,211, total 5,96,136; Calcutta 8,90,507 from 3 cinemas; 6th Nagpur 2,70,629 from 2 cinemas, 2nd week Jabalpur 2,27,871, total 4,86,101, 7th week Amravati (6 days) 1,13,036, Dhule 68,590, total 9,52,903, Raipur (6 days) 86,700, Jalgaon 93,119, 3rd week Wardha 90,141, total 3,75,024, 2nd week Yavatmal 1,45,008; 7th week Indore 2,08,904 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 4,65,458, Udaipur 1,10,000; Hyderabad 6,09,195 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon shows); 4 weeks’ Vijayawada total 10,96,908.

STOP PRESS
‘FIRE’ TO BE RE-EXAMINED

Deepa Mehta’s controversial film, Fire, has been referred to the Central Board of Film Certification for re-examination, by the I & B ministry in view of the protests against the film in different parts of the country. It may be mentioned here that the film’s screening was first stopped by Shiv Sena members in Bombay and thereafter in other parts of the country (read details elsewhere in this issue). Some people had even petitioned the Supreme Court to look into the matter.

SANJAY KAPOOR TO WED

Sanjay Kapoor will wed model and actress Maheep Sandhu on 9th December at The Leela Hotel. A party will also be held on 6th at The Club, Andheri, Bombay.

AKSHAYE KHANNA VISITS INDORE CINEMAS

Akshaye Khanna has gone to Indore where his Doli Saja Ke Rakhna opened this week. The actor is making stage appearances in one or two shows at Regal, Alka and Devshri cinemas.

NANDED GURUDWARA DEMANDS JAVED JAFFRI’S APOLOGY

Actor Javed Jaffri’s remarks against the Sikh religion, in a recent interview published in a film glossy, has hurt the sentiments of the Sikhs. Copies of the glossy were burnt in the main gurudwara complex at Nanded, and the chairman of the Sachkhand Gurudwara board demanded Javed’s apology before the Shahi Imam of Delhi, for having made the “derogatory” comments.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain’ Complete

Suresh Productions’ Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is now complete after the picturisation of its last song at  Treasure Island in Hyderabad. Anil Kapoor, Mink and 30 models and dancers from Bombay participated. The film stars Kajol in the female lead and co-stars Parmeet Sethi, Sudha Chandran, Smita Jayakar, Gracy Singh, Adi Irani, Rajoo Shreshtha, Sadhu Meher, Rakesh Bedi, Satish Kaushik and Shakti Kapoor. Producer: D. Rama Naidu. Director: Satish Kaushik. Story-screenplay: Bhupati Raja. Dialogues: Jainendra Jain. Lyrics: Sameer. Music: Anu Malik. Cinematography: Kabir Laal. Dances: Saroj Khan and Chinni Prakash. Action: Raju Master. Editor: Chetan Tanna.

‘Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai’ Unit Returns

The unit of Film Kraft’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai returned from Thailand on Nov. 28 after picturising two songs and scenes on board a cruise and on Krabi island near Phuket. Newcomers Hrithik Roshan and Amisha Patel alongwith Rajesh Tandon, Vrajesh Hirjee, Payal Malhotra and 35 dancers participated. The film also stars Anupam Kher, Mohnish Bahl, Dalip Tahhil, Ashish Vidyarthi, Satish Shah, Farida Jalal and master Abhishek. It is being produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan. Story-screenplay: Ravi Kapoor and Honey Irani. Dialogues: Sagar Sarhadi. Lyrics: Saawan Kumar and Ibrahim Ashq. Music: Rajesh Roshan. Cinematography: Kabir Laal. Art: R. Verman. Action: Tinnu Verma. Sound: Navin Zaveri. Dances: Farah Khan. Editor: Sanjay Verma.

‘Kunwara’ In Hyderabad

Tips Films and Geeta Arts’ Kunwara is being shot from this week in a 12-day stint in Hyderabad. Govinda, Urmila Matondkar, Naghma, Om Puri, Mohan Joshi, Aasif Sheikh, Johny Lever and Kader Khan are participating. The film, being directed by David Dhawan, is based on a story by Mag Babu and screenplay by Yunus Sejawal and Ikram Akhtar. Dialogues: Rumi Jafri. Lyrics: Sameer. Music: Aadesh Shrivastava. Cinematography: Chhota Naidu. Art: R. Verman. Dances: Saroj Khan. Sound: Vinod Poddar. Editor: A. Muthu. Producers: Allu Arvind, Mukesh Udeshi, Kumar S. Taurani and Ramesh S. Taurani.

DO YOU KNOW?

* In a fine humanitarian gesture, Nana Patekar rushed fight master Sham Kaushal to Nanavati Hospital in Bombay immediately after the latter’s appendix burst on 22nd November. Kaushal was successfully operated upon and later discharged on 3rd December. The action director can’t stop singing the star’s praises ever since.

* SOLDIER has created a record in 2nd week at Anand, Lucknow by collecting 3,73,155/-.

* SOLDIER has created theatre records by collecting 2,71,000/- and 1,99,812/- in 2nd week at Kanpur’s Nigar and Natraj cinemas respectively.

* SOLDIER has created a theatre record by collecting 2,68,768/- in 2nd week at Sanjay, Agra.

Who called this ‘Fire’ brigade?

The Fire controversy, that started in Bombay on 2nd December, spread to Delhi on 3rd and is spreading like wild fire in other parts of the country. Shiv Sena activists on 2nd disrupted the screening of Deepa Mehta’s film at New Empire and Cinemax cinemas of Bombay as they felt, the topic of lesbianism dealt with in the film was against Indian culture. The activists, most of who were women, broke glass panes and showcases at New Empire and Cinemax and forced the managements to refund the money to cinegoers. Even the monies collected for other shows by way of sale of tickets in advance had to be refunded.

A Jain organisation had some days back raised its voice against the film starring Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. The Maharashtra government has so far not done anything to restore the film’s screening in Bombay. Of course, about 29 persons were arrested by the Bombay police and those arrested included municipal corporators. In Pune, its screening was withdrawn voluntarily at West End cinema from 3rd, following a call to boycott the film, issued by the Patit Pawan Sanghatana, a militant Hindu organisation. The film has also been discontinued from Ahmedabad.

The Shiv Sainiks’ vandalism became a topic of heated discussion in the Rajya Sabha in Delhi on 3rd and even as allegations and counter-allegations were being freely traded in the Upper House, some Sena activists stormed Regal cinema in the capital city and stopped the screening of Fire. They smashed glass panes of the cinema and tore up posters and billboards of the film. Shabana Azmi and Vinod Khanna, both members of Parliament, condemned the agitation.

The Sena leader in Delhi was arrested on 4th. In the meanwhile, industry veterans like Dilip Kumar, Yash Chopra and Javed Akhtar have written to the Supreme Court about the incidents. According to the film’s Bombay distributor, Balkrishna Shroff, “This is a danger-signal for the film industry. Such a thing has no place in a democratic society like ours. Every satellite channel today shows much more objectionable stuff than what is shown in our films. The point is, once the CBFC has passed the film, it should be left to the audience to decide whether they want to see the film or not. Fire found appreciation in Bombay alone, while in many places all over India, it failed to draw crowds. The protest is unfortunate and unwarranted. We have approached the Film Federation of India to intervene as what has happened to us today could well happen to anybody else tomorrow. The issue must be taken up by the industry with the government in a very serious way.”

It may be mentioned here that the film was doing excellent business in Bombay city before the suspension of its screening. Following its suspension and the nationwide coverage given to the incidents, by television and print media, the collections in the rest of the country where Fire is being screened have shot up. For instance, it opened at Jaipur’s Premprakash cinema on 4th and collected 13,973/- in the morning show on the opening day, and 16,000/- in the noon show. In normal circumstances, the film may not even have collected 10% of the above! So, while the anti-film wave has adversely affected the business of Fire in Bombay, other parts of Maharashtra and in Delhi, it has definitely helped its business in the rest of the country. Why, the Nizam distributor is said to be seriously considering increasing the number of prints in his circuit substantially. Sena activists, in the meanwhile, are said to have given 24 hours’ time to cinemas in a couple of stations of U.P. screening the film on 4th December.

Questions For The Self-Appointed Censors

The anti-Fire activists have been saying that their anger against the film is because it projects lesbian relationship which is against Indian tradition and culture. To stop the screening of the film, these activists resorted to goondaism and vandalism. Is this goondaism a part of Indian culture and tradition?

English films imported from abroad show much more than what is shown in Deepa Mehta’s Fire. Don’t those films corrupt our culture if Deepa Mehta’s film does?

If the government can’t do anything about the anti-Fire agitation, it is a shame. Shouldn’t the central government then abolish the CBFC because now we have bodies that are above the CBFC?

YOU ASKED IT

With Doli Saja Ke Rakhna opening to poor houses last week, do you think, it is the first sign that the audience are now getting tired of the family-based formula films?

– No, it does not mean so. What it definitely means is that music of such family films must become popular before they (films) are released, to ensure a good opening.

How do directors complete films in 10 and 12 days? Are such films economically viable proposals? What are their budgets?

– Such films are generally new star-cast films shot in a single schedule. Their budgets range from 10 to 20 lakh and several of them are commercially viable.

Is Mukesh Bhatt compensating his all-India distributors of Ghulam for having allowed its telecast on a satellite channel so early?

– The IMPDA has already ruled that no film of Bhatt will be permitted to be released until the sub-distributors of GHULAM for Thane etc. are adequately compensated. Likewise, almost every distributors’ association must’ve banned Bhatt’s forthcoming films.

RHYME TIME

Freedom On Pyre

Shiv Sena has targeted its ire
On Deepa Mehta’s Fire
Its “Culture Corruption” claim
Seems to be an excuse lame
And more of a political game
Will Deepa next make a political satire?

Hair Raising!

With Doli…. refusing to pick up
Akshaye’s career is unable to look up
His hopes are now pinned on R.K.’s film and Taal
But the public is more bothered about his failing baal

Not A Golden Rule

Is old really gold?
Not any longer, Santoshi has been told
For, his film with ten men old
Has had the distributors clean-bowled!

Lessons To Learn

The lukewarm — at places, even dull — opening of China Gate last week should teach a lesson to producers, financiers and directors. Don’t over-burden a project with a price that doesn’t match its cast. Or, in other words, spend money on a project according to what its cast deserves.

Rajkumar Santoshi must have had the conviction to make a film with no saleable stars and not even a single young star. Good! But alongwith the conviction, he should have had the concern for the economics. Creativity and business acumen make strange bed-fellows. But if a director decides to turn a producer, he must give equal weightage to both, his creativity and the economics of filmmaking. This, because finally, he has to sell his film. His distributors who’ve bought China Gate were confident of Rajkumar Santoshi, the craftsman, the creative genius and the director. But they did not know that businessman Santoshi would go so wrong in the pricing of his film.They, perhaps, were in awe of his creative talent and thought, it would also translate into economic excellence. That is why, they paid Rs. 1.75 crore to Rs. 2 crore for a non-star cast film. They also assumed that Rajkumar Santoshi was the star, he would attract the audience to the cinema halls. But no, even successful Santoshi did not prove to be a crowd-puller.

If Santoshi did not fix the price, financier Bharat Shah may have. That would mean, Bharat Shah also erred like the distributors of China Gate. He too reposed too much confidence in Santoshi — in his creativity (rightly) and in his economic sense (wrongly). That creativity needs a free hand is true. But every film, after all, is a business proposal and if one were to only concentrate on the creative side, the business aspect would undoubtedly suffer. Santoshi should have made China Gate with the same conviction but with lesser expenses. He should have, at least in this non-star cast film, avoided re-shooting heavily. Anyway, he would do well to keep these lessons in mind for the future.

The makers of Doli Saja Ke Rakhna too must’ve learnt their lesson: a family film should not be released until its music gets time to grow. The songs of DSKR should have been given time to grow on the listeners. It would have definitely given the film a better opening. Secondly, proper/appropriate publicity is also very essential. Merely beaming songs of a film on television is not enough. The audience has to be given a feel of the film, which did not happen in the case of Doli…. Compare this with the publicity of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, another film for the families. Although people had initially felt, the music of KKHH was weak, the makers publicised the music on a grand scale. So much so that the music began to be liked and even loved. This is not to say that the music had no merits and that only its extensive and intensive publicity helped. But the popularising of the film’s songs did go a long way in ensuring a bumper opening for the film despite the dull pre-Diwali days.

– Komal Nahta

Dream Merchant

News of Subhash Ghai and Salman Khan’s fight at Kailash Surendranath’s party last week had shocked me as it did many in the industry. In fact, the hatha-paai between the celebrated filmmaker and the successful actor was the topic of discussion in all filmi circles. And so, I naturally dreamt about the forgettable fight.

I dreamt last night that a producer-director and a star were arguing about the Ghai-Khan fight. The producer-director was taking sides with Subhash Ghai while the actor supported Salman.

The p-d said, “How come no FIR was lodged against Salman Khan for beating up Subhash Ghai? To which the star replied, “Oh, come on, it wasn’t such a crime to warrant an FIR. On several earlier occasions too, stars have resorted to using physical force on people they don’t like. Aditya Pancholi has beaten up several people. Dharmendra had also raised his hand on a journalist.”

“But,”  countered the producer-director, “shouldn’t such behaviour be condemned? Why can’t the police be allowed to act in the matter?”

The star wondered, “What do you mean? When Salman apologised the following day for his behaviour the previous night, where’s the question of the police coming in?”

“If an apology was enough,” said the p-d, “why did Salman have to be presented in court in Jodhpur in October this year when he killed black bucks? Why did the killing become a police case and then a court case?”

“Silly, that’s because the black bucks were killed while Ghai was only beaten,” replied the actor. “Besides, the black bucks are animals but Ghat is a human being.”

“Do you mean to say that one can beat humans without fear of the law?” queried the p-d.

“No, no, that’s not what I mean. But look, the black bucks are an endangered and a rare species and, therefore, protecting them is our duty,” shot back the by-now agitated star.

“Exactly, that’s what I also mean,” remarked the p-d coolly. “Protecting an endangered and a rare species is our bounden duty. And you must know, my dear, that successful directors like Subhash Ghai are also a rare species today. Their existence cannot be further endangered, right?”

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Premiere Show Of His Premiere Film

Rajkumar Santoshi may have made some brilliant films but he has not forgotten his early days when he was a newcomer in the industry and, what’s more, he doesn’t mind sharing his experiences of those days with anybody. In a recent chat with Information, the producer-director recalled how he had got ready on the day of the premiere of his first film, Ghayal. “I was at Metro cinema (Bombay) where the premiere was scheduled to take place, correcting a technical snag till the last moment. Tired and worn out, I finally left the cinema to get ready for the occasion even as guests had begun to flow in. I recognised the celebrities though nobody must’ve recognised me. I had carried my suit with me and I quickly went to the public bathroom near Metro, where I had a quick bath after paying Re. 1 or Rs. 2 to the attendant there. I changed into a formal suit and was back at Metro in 10 minutes.”

Dimaagwale Idea Le Jayenge

For a story-writer, anything can be an inspiration for a story or for a twist in the story. Fazil, who has written Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, got the idea for it from the last scene of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in which Shah Rukh Khan tells Kajol that he cannot marry her because her father does not approve of him as a son-in-law. That’s how Fazil got the idea of a love story in which the boy and the girl decide to sacrifice their love for the sake of their parents. Although this angle of the love story was novel, Doli… did not find acceptance among the public. Yet, its original Malayalam and remade Tamil versions were major hits!

Action Drama

The whole of Bombay film trade was discussing just three things on Saturday last — the dull opening of China Gate, the disastrous start of Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, and the action that took place between Subhash Ghai and Salman Khan on Friday (27th November) at ad filmmaker-turned-director Kailash Surendranath’s party. Following a wordy duel between Ghai and Salman, the latter beat up the former. But Salman, accompanied by dad Salim Khan, went over to Subhash Ghai’s home the following day and apologised to the filmmaker for his bad behaviour. Not only that, Salim Khan also invited Mr. & Mrs. Ghai over for dinner on Sunday at their (Khans’) residence, which Subhash Ghai accepted.

Sena Brigade As Fire Brigade

How intolerant are people getting? It is shocking the way members of Shiv Sena disrupted the screenings of Fire on 2nd December at New Empire and Cinemax cinemas of Bombay because they thought the film was against Indian culture. But then, these custodians of culture should have also known that when the government has appointed a body — the CBFC — to censor films, how can any other body/organisation/political party assume the role of super-censors? And why were the self-styled super-censors so late in extinguishing this Fire of lesbianism? The film was in its third week of screening when the Sena ‘fire brigade’ decided to douse the flames of passion projected in the film!

Culture Vulture

Maharashtra cultural affairs minister Pramod Navalkar must be as far removed from reality as anyone can get. For, the minister has proposed that Rs. 2 from every ticket sold in Maharashtra should be given to the state government. He proposes to use the money collected, for the cultural development of the state. Navalkar is either completely unaware of the dire straits in which the film industry is or he is feigning ignorance. Either way, it doesn’t help. If the minister takes a realistic view of the state of affairs in the industry, he may be forced to decide that the government should be contributing (to the industry) Rs. 2 per ticket sold. One hopes, Navalkar doesn’t prevail upon the government to make it compulsory for cinemas to donate Rs. 2 per ticket to the state treasury in the name of culture. If he does, the film industry would have to call the state government a culture vulture!

Used To Playing With Fire

While the blazing controversy over Deepa Mehta’s Fire refuses to simmer down, its Bombay distributors, Shringar Films, must not be losing too much sleep. After all, it is hardly a new thing for the concern to have one of its films run into hot weather. Here is a list of films, distributed by Shringar, which fired up controversy:

(i) Shahenshah (1987) — police protection had to be provided at cinema halls and Shringar office at the time of release; (ii) Bombay (’95) — police protection provided at cinema halls; (iii) Bandit Queen (’96) — got into censor imbroglio which was ultimately resolved by the Supreme Court; also witnessed strong protest against its screening; and (iv) Kama Sutra (’98) — ran into censor problems, court case before it was eventually released amidst strong protests. Apart from these, another of Shringar’s films, Kshatriya, also witnessed a little trouble though not of the same magnitude as the above four films and the current Fire.

Small Screen Versus Big Screen

While UTV may have carved out a niche for itself in the world of TV software production, its experience in filmland has been far from exciting. Its only production venture, Dil Ke Jharoke Main, bombed at the box-office. Its first distribution enterprise in Bombay — Prem Aggan — was also a damp squib. Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate, which is also being distributed in Bombay by UTV, has not started too well this week except in some good cinemas in a few major cities.

INFORMATION MEETS

“Planning is the key to everything connected with filmmaking. I have always relied on a detailed plan of action, readied much in advance, before beginning a schedule.”

– RAKESH ROSHAN

GAUTAM MUTHA & RAJ VAIDYA

In an industry where one is known (or forgotten) by one’s last work, producer-director Rakesh Roshan holds out on his own. His last film, Koyla, may not have been a success, but his reputation as a quality filmmaker remains intact. He has one of the most enviable records as a producer-director in recent times. Out of his six films as a producer-director, he has to his credit one blockbuster (Karan Arjun), one hit (Khudgarz) and two successes (Kishen Kanhaiya and Khoon Bhari Maang).

Rakesh Roshan is currently in the middle of completing his most lavish project so far, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, which also launches his son, Hrithik, with a new heroine, Amisha Patel. The film, 50% complete already, is slated for September ’99 release and, going by his formidable reputation as a filmmaker who works according to a well thought-out plan, one is sure of the film releasing at the precise time.

We caught up with Rakesh Roshan at his Bombay office, where he seemed to be sandwiched between his return from Thailand and his departure for Mauritius to attend the premiere of Mother ’98 for which he faced the camera after a long gap. During our chat, he narrated one of the most fascinating experiences of his career — shooting aboard a cruiser and on a deserted island in Thailand which involved aerial as well as underwater photography. Excerpts from our chat….

You went through a great deal of trouble in finalising the location for KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI. You went travelling all over the world before deciding on  Thailand. What was the difficulty?
– Well, my story required an important portion to be shot aboard a cruise ship. It so happens in KN…PH that the heroine drags along the hero (who is a struggling singer) on a cruise where both fall in love with each other. Thus, it was vital that this part be shot aboard a cruise ship. I first went to Australia in search of one, but I could not find any that I could use. Then, I went to Singapore and almost finalised a famous cruiser called ‘Sun-Leo’. But I didn’t feel fully satisfied with my choice because ‘Sun-Leo’, even though being a cruiser, looked more like a 5-star hotel in the sea. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that the multi-storeyed structure right in the middle of the ship, marred it of its visual appeal. Some time around then, I happened to come across a photograph of this cruise ship called ‘Star Clipper’ and almost immediately knew that it would be ideal for my film. I traced the ship’s ownership to a company in Miami, USA and corresponded with it, seeking details about the ship and permission to shoot on board. The company replied in the affirmative on the latter and I jumped headlong into the planning of the shooting.

How much importance do you give to pre-production planning, especially considering the fact that you were to embark on the most ambitious shooting schedule of your career?
– Planning is the key to everything connected with filmmaking. I have always relied on a detailed plan of action, readied much in advance, before beginning a schedule. This became all the more important in the present case where we were to shoot for 22 days, including nine days on a ship in the middle of the ocean, and that too, with a unit consisting of 85 people! And this wasn’t all, the shooting required aerial as well as underwater photography, too. Given the logistics involved, only an insane person would embark on such a shooting without due planning. Hence I spent months working out the nitty gritties of the shooting schedule and only when I was certain that nothing could go wrong did I finally begin shooting.

And what were these preparations?
– Firstly, I found out the route of Star Clipper which plied from Miami to Athens, then Colombo, Phuket and onward. My obvious choice was to shoot during the nine-day voyage between Colombo and Phuket, Thailand. Once I had decided on this, I went to Bangkok to arrange equipment and the required permissions for aerial and underwater photography. Next, I went hunting for a suitable island nearby, where I needed to shoot immediately after the schedule on the ship. I decided on Krabi, an exotic island off the coast of Phuket. Having worked out all due formalities, I returned to Bombay.

The entire shooting spell must be an experience of a lifetime for you…
– ….It certainly was. It is the biggest schedule I have ever done, be it in terms of expense or logistics involved or any other. Again, I must emphasise on planning beforehand. And by panning, I do not mean just arranging your requirements for the shooting, but envisaging any trouble that might crop up during the shooting and devising a thorough plan of action to counter it, if the need arose. Let me narrate to you the entire experience, which will help you understand what I mean. After getting permission to shoot aboard Star Clipper between Colombo and Phuket, I felt, it would be nice if I could shoot a few scenes involving people boarding the ship at the Bombay port. I accordingly asked the shipping company if it were possible for the ship to stop by at Bombay port on course to Colombo. The shipping company wrote back to me saying, Star Clipper would stop at Bombay for a maximum of one day. So on 29th October, Star Clipper berthed at Bombay and I took all the shots I required. I also loaded all my equipment on the ship in Bombay itself though I was to begin my actual shooting only after it sailed from Colombo. Luckily for me, it helped solve a very serious problem before it could jeopardise the entire schedule. You see, all the power fixtures fitted on the ship were designed for an electrical supply of 110 volts (which is the standard in the USA) while all our equipment needed 220 volts power supply. Now, this posed a real problem for us because the only option out of it would be to install a generator set on the ship. The ship’s authorities insisted that we use a 50 KW silent generator as the 150 KW gensets — the only kind available in Bombay — were too bulky. Eventually, we had to get a genset custom-made to suit our requirements and instal it on the ship together with other equipment. The ship sailed from Bombay the next day.

A week later, on 6th November, my entire unit and I flew to Colombo and boarded Star Clipper from there. The entire contingent of 82 people, including 35 dancers, could cause quite a commotion, especially if they are shooting. The passengers on the ship began to get a little irritable and understandably so, as they were there on holiday and our activity was robbing some of their pleasure. I had envisaged that something like this might occur and hence had told my dancers to be ready to bail us out if need be. So, on day 2, I asked the ship’s captain to announce a special entertainment programme for the passengers. Our dancers and artistes put up such a wonderful show that our fellow-passengers just couldn’t help having a great time. I even told the captain to serve them liquor on my account. In my own small way, I was asking them to bear with us for a few days and most of the passengers appreciated the gesture. They loved Indian music and dance so much that they requested us for repeat performances on subsequent nights. We obliged and soon found most of the passengers beginning to get really excited about our shooting. They became so co-operative that when it rained a couple of days later and we were forced to shoot indoors in the bar area (one of the most popular spots on the ship), everyone cleared the place for us without even a grumble. Here, I would also like to add a word or two about the ship’s captain who extended all possible help to us during the shooting. At the very outset, he had told me, ‘Rakkkesh, do what you want, just don’t sink the ship!’ I can recall a particular incident when I needed to shoot the side profile of the ship sailing the ocean. These shots could only be taken from another ship sailing alongside Star Clipper. When we got into the sea in a zodiac boat (a small boat kept on ships for emergency), we found it impossible to shoot since the water was rough and kept splashing on to our little boat. Finally, the captain advised us to wait a couple of days till Star Clipper left the Bay of Bengal and entered Andaman Sea as the latter had calmer waters. He turned out to be right and we got our required shots a few days later. In between, we continued canning on-board scenes. While everything else was going smoothly, I still had to can aerial shots of the ship in mid-stream, which would bring out the grandeur of the ship’s beautiful appearance. The logical thing to do would have been to hire a helicopter from Phuket (termination point of our journey) and shoot the ship a little before it reached the port — except that there are no helicopter services available in Phuket! The nearest place which offered helicopters on hire was Bangkok, but it took 5 hours’ flying from there to Phuket. This meant that we would be spending 10 hours commuting in order to shoot for just about half an hour. So, I looked at other options. Now remember, here is where the advance planning came to my rescue once again. On my trip to Bangkok prior to the shooting, I had worked out the problem by locating the small island of Maiton which was situated nearer to Bangkok. I had also surveyed the island and found a suitable place where a helicopter could land in the absence of a helipad. The makeshift landing place was some sort of concretised strip which the islanders probably played baseball on. Having done this much, all that remained to be done was to inform the helicopter crew about the exact time Star Clipper would sail past Maiton, so they could make all preparations for the aerial shooting. I found out from the captain that our ship would pass Maiton at 6 a.m. on 13th November. Accordingly, I instructed the helicopter crew to reach Maiton by 12th evening and start preparing. On the other hand, since I was to be in the helicopter during the shooting, I left detailed instructions for the shots with choreographer Farah Khan who would be handling things during my temporary absence. Come 13th morning and we all had our fingers crossed. With no other communication with the helicopter crew since issuing instructions, we just prayed that everything would go as planned. And sure enough, we spotted our helicopter at the precise hour. Just as Star Clipper neared Maiton, Kabir Laal (cameraman) and I got onto a speed boat and left for the island. When he reached ashore, we found the helicopter crew waiting in all readiness. We quickly got into the helicopter and took off. After gaining the required height, I signalled to Farah Khan that we were ready to take the shot. She positioned everyone as per my prior instructions. One by one, we canned all the required shots in quick succession and landed back on Maiton. Now, we had to get back aboard Star Clipper which had sailed quite a distance past Maiton. We got onto the speed boat again and raced after the ship. It took us nearly four hours to locate Star Clipper and finally, we boarded it again. We reached Phuket the next day.

Next, we had to begin our schedule at the Krabi Island — a deserted place where the hero and the heroine in the film get marooned by a quirk of fate. The shooting here required crane shots — we used the giant Phoenix crane — and a few underwater shots apart from the regular ones. The underwater shots were very tricky in the sense that Hrithik had to remain 30 ft. under the sea for nearly 45 minutes. Before the shots, a trained diving instructor explained the basics on diving to Hrithik — things like how to use the oxygen mask and so on. Fortunately, Hrithik had undergone a scuba diving course in Miami, USA, just for a lark a few months ago. So, he caught on pretty fast. Yet, at the end of the entire underwater sequence, I felt proud of Hrithik. Remaining underwater for so long required a great deal of guts more than anything else as anything could have gone wrong at any time. Anyway, in the next few days, we completed all our work and left for Bombay with an upbeat mood. Our insistence on proper advance planning had paid off — and paid off well.

Phew! That must have been some experience. It must have surely been pretty expensive, too…..
– Let’s just say that it was very expensive. In fact, it was my most expensive schedule ever. But let me tell you that unlike some of our other directors, who claimed to have spent 15 crores on their film, even 50% of which didn’t show in it, in KN…PH, you will be able to see every single penny I have spent on the film. There is absolutely no wastage in my film…..

…Which may justify its high price on the one hand, but couldn’t this also be the very reason why your regular distributors like V.I.P. Enterprises in Bombay shied away from buying the film?
– It is true that Bharatbhai Shah of V.I.P. did not show a keen interest in the film when I first negotiated it with him. In any case, the film will now be released by Yashraj Film Distributors on commission-MG basis for Bombay and Overseas territories. In my opinion, the commission-MG system will soon become the norm of the day.

Coming to music of KN…PH, given your ear to spot hit tunes and the music being integral to the story (Hrithik plays a singer), what are the songs like?
– The music of KH…PH is the best of all my films so far and you can quote me on that. In fact, you can judge it for yourself….(Makes us listen to a brilliant composition rendered in Lucky Ali’s voice, and we must admit that there is a lot of truth in the above claim.) There are altogether seven songs in the film, five of which have already been recorded.

Finally, how would you describe KN…PH?
– Well…..it’s a romantic thriller with Hrithik in a double role. The first half is full or romance, but with an underlying thread of thrills, which takes precedence during the second half. All in all, it is a fresh film with a fresh look.