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.

CHINA GATE

Santoshi Productions’ China Gate (UA) is the story of ten honest armymen who were dismissed for an error they had committed. They meet after 17 years of their dismissal and set out on a mission — to rid a village of the clutches of a sadistic dacoit who has made the life of the villagers hell. The story is heavily inspired from Sholay and the Japanese film, Seven Samurai. Yet, the novelty of ten old men on a mission is interesting and even enjoyable in the first half. The drama takes a serious turn after interval and that’s when the film loses grip. The incidents from the personal lives of the oldies don’t have the desired emotional effect. The Hindu-Muslim sentiments also look contrived. The interaction of some of the armymen with the little girl in the village also looks forced and has no impact on the viewer. In short, several portions of the second half look fake. The climax, abounding in action, is once again impressive. Even other than the climax, the film has plenty of action. But it moves on a single track with hardly any interesting diversions. As a result, ladies patronage will be limited. Devoid of star value and romance, the film relies on light moments and gags in the first half and drama in the second. Dialogues are good but only at places.

Performances of almost everybody are wonderful. Naseeruddin Shah does a marvellous job and shines as one of the most important members of the team. Om Puri is also fantastic as the leader of the group. Danny Denzongpa is superbly restrained. Amrish Puri is lovable and deserves kudos for a brilliant job done naturally. Jagdeep’s comedy is very good. Anjan Srivastava is effective. Viju Khote is quite good. Kulbhushan Kharbanda lives his role. Tinnu Anand acts ably. K.D. Chandran gets the least scope but is good. New villain Mukesh Tiwari does well but is definitely not brilliant enough to match the force of the ten-man army. His voice is not up to the mark for the character he plays. He is bound to be compared to Amjad Khan of Sholay and that won’t be good for him. Mamta Kulkarni does fairly well in a brief role. New hero Samir Soni impresses with a confident debut. Paresh Rawal infuses life in the second half with a performance that’s extraordinary. Ila Arun, Harish Patel, Jeetu Verma, Anupam Kher, Shivaji Satam and Girish Karnad (in a special appearance) lend the desired support. Urmila Matondkar’s dance is a highlight.

Rajkumar Santoshi’s shot takings are splendid and he has been able to keep the audience’s interest alive even without stars. His direction is excellent, but the same cannot be said of his choice of the subject. Although the screenplay (Rajkumar Santoshi, Anjum Rajabali and K.K. Raina) is well-written, the heavy inspiration from a classic like Sholay for a big canvas film as this is unpardonable and it will limit the prospects greatly. More so, because the film lacks star power. The expenditure incurred on the film warranted (i) a more promising subject with scope for romance, music etc. and (ii) star value. Besides, the writers have not been able to come up with a single novelty in the entire film!

The theme song is passable but ‘Chhamma Chhamma’ is very well-turned and has a lovely picturisation. The background score is effective. Tinnu Verma deserves high praise for his stunts; the action scenes are fantastic and those involving horses are mind-boggling. Camerawork (Piyush Shah) is fabulous. Production values are grand. Technically, brilliant. The titles in the film are not only novel but they are also beautifully done.

On the whole, China Gate is a well-made action film but suffers on account of its similarity to Sholay. Besides, there’s too heavy a price which doesn’t quite go well with the lack of star names and also a below-the-mark opening. Even if it picks up, its heavy price will spell danger for its distributors. It will prove to be a loser in most circuits, with some chances in Bombay and Maharashtra.

Released on 26-11-’98 at Metro and on 27-11-’98 at 19 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.I.P. Enterprises. Publicity & opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull in some circuits and poor in some others.

DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA

Ram Creations’ Doli Saja Ke Rakhna is a love story with a difference. As in many previous love tales, in this film too, the girl and the boy in love elope because both their families are against the marriage. But, unlike in other romance dramas, the boy and the girl in this case decide (just when they are about to get married) that they would be cheating on their families if they got married against their wishes, and, consequently, they sacrifice their love for each other because of the love for their parents. The families of the two start searching for matches for their respective children, but in the end, they realise that the two lovers are the best match for each other. They then get the two of them married.

The concept of the families uniting the two lovers is novel in thought as well as execution. The whole unity drama has been executed with such aplomb and sensitiveness that it would make people cry. The first half is a bit slow but what makes up for the slow pace is the genuineness of the hero. His character is that of an honest and forthright young boy, something that endears him to the audience instantly. A few reels after interval (the portion involving the fisherfolk of Goa) are boring. But once that chapter of the drama comes to almost its end, the pace picks up and so does the emotional content. The story (Fazil) is new and par excellence, but the screenplay is weak and loose at places. The girl’s family opposing her relationship with the boy does not appeal because the reason for the opposition has not even been attempted to be explained. Further, the Malayalam film remake has too much of a South flavour. In the initial reels, the behaviour of two (Paresh Rawal and Tej Sapru) of the three brothers of the heroine is irritating because their deeds do not befit their social status. Dialogues are appropriate.

Akshaye Khanna endears himself to the audience not only because of his characterisation but also because of his brilliant performance. But the masses will miss his heroism because there is not much scope for heroism in the usual sense of the word. Jyotika Sadanah lacks glamour and considering that the film is a love story, this turns out to be a major drawback; she, however, performs naturally in her maiden venture. Moushumi Chatterjee and Aroona Irani are excellent. Their scene in the climax is fantastic. Anupam Kher also delivers a good performance. Paresh Rawal is impressive in emotional scenes. Tej Sapru also acts well. Mohnish Bahl makes a mark. Innocent’s comedy is ordinary. Amrish Puri is alright but his portion of the drama needs to be edited; the editing will help, and if the producer and director don’t reduce his scenes, distributors/exhibitors are bound to do so. Ninad Kamat and Umesh Shukla, as Akshaye’s friends, are lovable. Suresh Menon is average as the third friend. Mink’s dance is sexy. Viju Khote, Darshan Bagga and Nandu lend the desired support.

Priyadarshan’s direction is good but he does falter at places and has not been able to make the narration racy enough for a love story. In fact, the slow pace is the film’s undoing. A.R. Rahman’s music is a letdown as the love story needed a hit or super-hit score. ‘O kissa hum likhenge’, ‘Chal khewa re khewa’ and ‘Yeh khoya khoya rahta hai’ are fair numbers. The ‘Bol sajni mori sajni’ number needs to be deleted. Song picturisations are a treat for the eyes. Camerawork is masterly. Sabu Cyril’s art direction is terrific. Action scenes are lovely, especially the one in the campus.

On the whole, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna has a slow pace, an unglamorous heroine, ordinary music and a shockingly slow start as its biggest drawbacks, and emotions as the only strong plus point. It will, therefore, entail losses to its distributors. It will do somewhat better in Bombay and Maharashtra.

Released on 27-11-’98 at Central Plaza and 8 other cinemas of Bombay by Mark Films International thru Balaji Enterprises. Publicity: very good. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. The opening was very poor everywhere (in the region of 15%-20%!) except Bombay.

LATEST POSITION

SOLDIER has done pretty well everywhere and is the best in Delhi-U.P., Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan and Nizam.

Soldier 1st week Bombay 48,95,824 (88.55%) from 13 cinemas (10 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 11,44,114 from 5 cinemas, Padra 2,14,206, Rajkot 1,85,205; Pune 12,66,446 from 4 cinemas, Kolhapur  2,37,909, Solapur 3,41,501 from 2 cinemas; Belgaum 1,27,890 (100%); Delhi 61,00,133 (94.39%) from 13 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 7,57,039 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 4,59,368, Agra 3,91,889, Allahabad 2,04,932, Meerut 2,33,002 (100%), Bareilly 2,61,892, Hardwar 1,15,544; Amristar 55,270; Calcutta 27,15,055 from 15 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Nagpur 8,20,453 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,24,865, Amravati (6 days) 1,75,624, Raipur (6 days) 2,22,586, Bhilai 2,68,664 from 2 cinemas, Durg 1,53,299; Indore 2,09,623 (85.90%, 4 on F.H.), Bhopal 4,70,426 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 44,89,210 from 14 cinemas, highest ever.

……………

Mehndi is doing well in C.I. 2nd week Bombay 4,01,538 (65.91%) from 2 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 79,129, Baroda 60,641, Rajkot (matinee) 7,070, Jamnagar 44,985 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 61,610, Solapur (matinee) 21,384; Delhi 2,81,260 from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 72,776, Lucknow 46,530, Allahabad 30,000, Meerut 44,996, Bareilly 23,495; Calcutta 4,42,713 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 37,489, Jabalpur 41,447, total 1,00,345, Amravati 76,996, Dhule 22,195, Raipur 41,410, 1st week Bhilai 41,107, 2nd Bilaspur (6 days) 26,403; Bhopal 45,433; Jaipur 1,93,998 from 2 cinemas, Jodhpur 85,000; Hyderabad 1,37,910.

Fire (dubbed) is excellent in Bombay city. 2nd week Bombay 10,18,882 (97.25%) from 2 cinemas, English version 3,49,197 (100%) from 2 cinemas; Ahmedabad 1,11,245; Pune 2,60,055; Delhi 3,55,361, English version 2,62,624; Lucknow 93,249, Agra 55,000, Allahabad 34,132; Calcutta 1,15,382; Nagpur 1,36,146; Hyderabad 1,39,190 from 2 cinemas.

POOR OPENINGS OF ‘DOLI…’ & ‘CHINA GATE’ SEND SHOCK WAVES IN TRADE

The disastrous opening of this week’s Doli Saja Ke Rakhna has stunned the entire trade. One had expected it to open to ordinary houses but an initial of just 15% to 20% (except in Bombay) was unthinkable. What seem to have gone against the film (for initial) are its weak music, cold title and heroine who is not glamorous. Even hero Akshaye Khanna has yet to prove his mettle in a solo starrer and, therefore, does not, perhaps, have the initial pulling power although he is liked by youngsters.

The dull opening of China Gate has also saddened the trade people. Lack of star value (the film has 10 oldies, one new hero, Mamta Kulkarni, and Urmila Matondkar in a special appearance) is the biggest culprit. Besides, publicity was not up to the mark, in the sense that it was started too late. Just one Chhamma Chhamma cannot do the trick. Nor can 20 hoardings put up hurriedly on the streets of Bombay without matching back-up publicity in the rest of the country ensure a bumper opening to a film with a super-bumper price.

Moral of the story: Don’t under-estimate the power of music and marketing. In their absence, you need at least saleable stars!

JAINS DEMAND BAN ON ‘FIRE’

Members of the Jain Vahini Samiti, an organisation of the Jain community in Bombay, met Maharashtra’s minister of state for cultural affairs and education, Anil Deshmukh, on 25th November and demanded a ban of Deepa Mehta’s Fire, now running in the city. The minister promised to see the film and said that if he found it objectionable, he would recommend the central government to ban it. The Jain Samiti alleged that the film was a blot on traditional Indian values.

INDORE TO HAVE 7 NEW CINEMAS

Seven new cinemas are coming up in Indore and they all should be operational in the next two years. Of these, five will be deluxe cinemas — three in the Geeta Bhawan area and two in the mill area. Two more cinemas are under construction and nearing completion in the west side of the city.

DELEGATION CALLS ON ASHA PAREKH: CBFC GUIDELINES DISCUSSED

A film industry delegation, led by Film Federation of India president Santosh Singh Jain, called on CBFC chairperson Asha Parekh on 25th November and discussed a number of key issues pertaining to censorship of films in India. The delegation comprised producer-distributor N.N. Sippy, FFI vice president K.G. Dossani, FFI general secretary K.D. Shorey, producer Raj Tilak, Marathi film producer Satish Kulkarni, Uday Singh of Columbia Tristar, Blaise Fernandes of Warner Bros., and FFI secretary S. Sen. At the meeting, it was decided that a number of workshops, consisting of representatives of the film industry as well as CBFC members, would be organised to discuss CBFC guidelines with an aim to arrive at a more uniform and logical interpretation of the same. The first workshop would be held some time in late January after the conclusion of the IFFI.

MANOHAR SHETTY’S SONS TO WED

Mohit and Hemant, sons of Manohar Shetty of Quality Cine Labs, will wed Mona (daughter of dubbing co-ordinator Leela Ghosh) and Smita respectively on 13th December at Tutkuk’s Lilac Garden, near Chandan cinema, off Lokhandwala Circle and Juhu bus depot, Juhu, Bombay.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

One Print, Two Cinemas, Three Intervals

How print shuttling can become a bane instead of a boon was brought out on Friday last week when Soldier opened at Satyam cinema alongwith others in Bombay and the rest of the country. The 6 p.m. show at Satyam started around 6.45 p.m. because the print, which was being shuttled between Satyam and Ganesh (Lalbaug), reached Satyam late. Instead of one, there were three intervals — one, the regular interval, another before it and the third, after it. While the regular interval was understandable, what agitated the audience were the other two breaks — one of about 10 minutes, and the other, of nearly 20 minutes. By the time the show got over, it was some minutes past 10 p.m. A couple of people, irritated by the triple intervals, even left before the film got over. One can well imagine when the last show would have started and when it must’ve got over, hopefully without extra intervals. A house-full capacity crowd had been waiting outside the cinema from 9.15 p.m. — waiting to be let in. The cinema management couldn’t let them in for no fault to theirs (cinema management’s) or the audience’s! Distributors need to take care that such lapses do not occur. For, the gain by way of saving on print cost could sometimes be less than the loss due to adverse public reaction and negative publicity.

Govinda, Gags & Gimmicks

As if one needed proof that Govinda’s films run more because of the star’s unique brand of humour than because of a sound story-line! Govinda’s track record in the last five years or so is evidence enough, for, it clearly reveals the fact that the only Govinda-starrers to succeed during the period are the ones which stressed on the typical Govinda gags and gimmicks rather than on a strong story. Each of Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, Deewana Mastana, Hero No. 1, Aunty No. 1, Dulhe Raja and, more recently, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan were a success not because they had great stories, but because they were all made in — what may now be safely called — the true ‘Govinda mould’. On the other hand, during the same period, Govinda-starrers like Achanak, Do Ankhen Barah Haath, Maharaja, Pardesi Babu and some others, which were touted as having strong or, at least, reasonably good stories, fared badly. It seems, the audience wouldn’t care two hoots whether Govinda’s films have stories or not as long as they hold Govinda’s usual brand of comedy (even when dragged to a nonsensical extreme) as a primary ingredient.

It is pertinent to note here that out of the abovementioned eight Govinda successes, as many as six have been directed by David Dhawan! You may draw your own conclusions….

Suranas’ Modern Cinemas

The Suranas of Pushpa Pictures, Bhusawal have the largest chain of cinemas in the Khandesh region — 18, to be precise (6 owned by them and 12 controlled). And they’ve managed such an enviably large chain in a relatively short span of seven-eight years. Thy have cinemas in Dhule (3 cinemas), Amalner (3), Chopda (2), Bhusawal (2), Malkapur (2), Bodhwad (1), Edlabad (1), Khedjigar (1), among others. Of the 18 cinemas, three have been newly constructed while 12 have been fully renovated. Moreover, three more cinemas are already under construction, one each at Edlabad, Bodhwad and Faizpur. Several of these cinemas boast of modern urinals with an automatic handwash, Spartek flooring and cushioned chairs in the balcony class. A highlight of some of these cinemas is their unique music-light systems which enhance the viewing pleasure during song and dance sequences. A single-channel active DTS sound system has been installed at Prabhakar, Dhule (700 seats, minimum admission rate: Rs. 10), Tamboli, Amalner (160 seats, Rs. 6) and Shri Hanuman, Malkapur (700 seats, Rs. 6).

Sleeping His Blues Away

So depressed has the Delhi-U.P. distributor of a recent debacle become after burning his fingers in the disaster that he is seen sleeping most of the time, in his office. One has heard of success going to one’s head. But what do you say to this? Failure taking one to bed?!?

For Your Kind Information

Going by the recent utterances of the minister of state for information and broadcasting, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the film industry must be regretting why it hosted a party in his honour a few months back in Bombay. Naqvi is so disturbed by the portrayal of politicians as vicious men in films that he has threatened to even review the Cinematograph Act in such a way that filmmakers are suitably persuaded to clean up their act and project politicians in a better light. Phew! Should film makers be cleaning up their act or should Naqvi be concerned about having politicians clean up their act? Every Indian knows that politics is the last resort of scoundrels, and the newspapers give enough evidence of what levels politicians these days have stooped down to. Then why does Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi want filmmakers to show politicians and netas as nayaks and not khal-nayaks? The industry has far too often been accused of influencing impressionable minds into doing wrong things. Shouldn’t the I & B minister have the courage to admit that it is real life that has influenced reel life this time? Come on, Naqvi, be a sport — and an honest one at that!

SOLDIER

Tips Films’ Soldier (UA) is a suspense thriller. A conscientious army officer is killed by his colleagues who are traitors in the garb of armymen. Not only that, the murdered officer is also declared a traitor, thanks to the machinations of those who killed him for their personal gains at the cost of the country’s security. How a young lad comes close to the killers, befriends them and finally kills them one by one forms the latter part of the drama. Besides the suspense of the identity of the young lad, there’s also the suspense of the identity of one of the killers. But the suspense, when revealed, is not exciting as suspenses should be. While the revelation of the suspense about the boy’s identity does come as a surprise, that of the killer’s identity is neither surprising nor exciting.

The first half, after the prologue, is light, with emphasis on romance. The freshness in this portion is lent by the picturesque foreign locales and heroine Preity Zinta. Otherwise, there’s no novelty in content. In fact, Shyam Goel’s story is devoid of any freshness and depends a lot on clichéd situations. The ordinary story has, to a great extent, been salvaged by the huge canvas, beautiful locations and popular music. The post-interval portion has some good action as well as sentiments but lacks the flavour of the first half. Dialogues (Javed Siddiqi) are nice.

Bobby Deol does a fair job. He is very good in action though. Preity Zinta looks cute and comes up with a refreshing and lively performance. She also dances well. Dalip Tahhil is pretty impressive. Suresh Oberoi enacts his part effectively. Sharat Saxena is credible and also entertaining. Salim Ghouse is fair. Ashish Vidyarthi is reasonably good. Raakhee and Farida Jalal perform ably and provide the emotions. Pankaj Dheer leaves a mark. Jeetu Verma is alright. Johny Lever’s comedy is entertaining; actually, the mere presence of Johny Lever evokes laughter because of his first scene which is really enjoyable.

Abbas-Mustan have tried to give the film a very slick look and succeed in that but the lack of a worthwhile script to warrant the heavy expenditure is felt all along. The director duo could have done well to concentrate more on the story and screenplay. Anu Malik’s music is of the popular variety. The title song is a hit. ‘Tera rang balle balle’, ‘Mere khwabon mein jo aaye’ and ‘Mehfil mein baar baar’ are also very well-tuned. In fact, the songs come as cute interruptions in the drama. Song picturisations appeal more for the scenic locations on which they’ve been shot. They’ve been choreographed reasonably well. A song or two can, however, be deleted. Action scenes and thrills are beautifully composed. Thomas Xavier’s camerawork is splendid. Technically, of a good standard. Sets are vibrant. Production values are grand and a major plus point of the film.

On the whole, Soldier has hype, style, beautiful locales, racy songs and a fantastic initial value to offset the dull story and ordinary content. This suspense thriller will, therefore, prove an earning fare although it has less sustaining power. Its chances in North India are better.

Released on 20-11-’98 at Maratha Mandir, Metro (matinee) and 21 other cinemas of Bombay by Tips Films P. Ltd. thru R.G. International. Publicity: bumper. Opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was superb everywhere.

LATEST POSITION

The all-India bumper opening of SOLDIER this week has pleasantly surprised the trade.

Pardesi Babu has not done well in most of the circuits. 1st week Bombay 38,57,459 (69.08%) from 13 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 5,81,765 from 5 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Vapi 2,42,186 (1 unrecd.), Jamnagar (matinee) 22,200 (1 in regular unrecd.); Pune 9,65,995 from 6 cinemas, Solapur 2,37,616 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 40,43,568 (54.12%) from 15 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,81,757 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow (6 days) 2,55,947, Agra 2,56,350, Allahabad 1,58,500; Amritsar 46,400; Calcutta 10,21,927 from 12 cinemas; Nagpur 3,89,940 from 4 cinemas, Dhule 1,00,052, Raipur (5 days) 97,291, Bhilai (6 days) 1,09,231; Indore 68,783 (4 on F.H.), Bhopal (6 days) 2,56,114 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 7,06,499 from 4 cinemas; Hyderabad 22,81,648 from 14 cinemas (1 in noon), share 11,00,000.

Mehndi remains on the low side. 1st week Bombay 17,06,749 (61.76%) from 6 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,11,537, Baroda 80,372, Rajkot (matinee) 12,430 (1 in regular unrecd.), Jamnagar 64,473 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 1,21,550, Solapur 43,616 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Belgaum 78,346; Delhi 6,29,091 (35.01%) from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 1,10,467, Lucknow 68,957, Varanasi 81,203, Allahabad 45,000, Meerut 87,771, Bareilly 41,476 (18.55%); Amritsar 18,370; Calcutta 7,96,273 from 7 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Nagpur 1,40,025 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 1,23,628, Akola 57,094, Dhule 36,550, Raipur 75,009; Bhopal 89,076 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 2,87,963 from 2 cinemas, Jodhpur 1,35,000.

Main Phir Aaoongi 1st week Bombay 53,758 (32.31%; 1 unrecd.); Delhi 3,58,343 (28.55%) from 3 cinemas; Kanpur 40,240; Bikaner 67,093.

Fire (dubbed) has done well in pockets only, but is poor at most of the places. 1st week Bombay 10,04,986 (99.13%)  from 2 cinemas, English version 3,49,197 (100%) from 2 cinemas; Ahmedabad 1,93,506 from 2 cinemas, Baroda 60,241; Pune 3,03,698; Delhi 8,57,918 (62.43%) from 3 cinemas (1 on F.H.), English version 7,31,794 (64.19%) from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 1,23,047, Agra 78,431, Allahabad 70,202, Bareilly 36,830; Nagpur 1,39,698, Amravati 56,528, Akola 47,000; Hyderabad 2,51,496, English version 2,44,006.

Prem Aggan 3rd week Bombay 1,77,681 (20.95%); Pune 1,02,725 from 3 cinemas, Solapur 19,692; Delhi 1,20,697; Kanpur 75,436 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,22,440, Agra 22,250, Allahabad 43,500, Bareilly (6 days) 11,860 (4.57%), Hardwar 9,719; Calcutta 79,505; Nagpur 33,517, Amravati 29,309; Hyderabad 2,00,865 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan 5th week Bombay 13,44,625 (76.95%) from 6 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 2,12,046 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.), 1st week Padra 1,12,623, 5th week Jamnagar 56,623, total 4,72,516; Pune 5,63,123 from 5 cinemas, Kolhapur 1,06,086, Solapur 1,25,490, 1st week Barsi (gross) 90,000; Bijapur 1,70,000; 5th week Delhi 2,56,062 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,01,259 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,28,225, Varanasi 1,16,702, Allahabad 88,000, Meerut (6 days) 1,39,740, Bareilly (6 days) 29,241 (16.95%), 1st week Hardwar 1,27,649; 5th week Rohtak 13,212; Calcutta 1,45,917; Nagpur 1,47,605 from 2 cinemas, 4th week Amravati 1,39,503, Akola 1,06,422, Raipur 66,510, Bhilai 33,300, Durg 42,034, Jalgaon 88,598, Wardha 35,586, Chandrapur 94,407, total 6,73,778; 5th week Indore 1,66,000 from 2 cinemas, Bhopal (6 days) 83,985; Jaipur 1,48,953, 3rd week Bikaner 1,03,645; 5th week Hyderabad 4,36,642 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is still drawing heavy crowds and it can now safely be expected to do in the region of 12 crore or even more. 5th week Bombay 62,12,222 (95.33%) from 12 cinemas (5 on F.H.), Vashi 1,99,937, 4th week Vasai (gross) 3,40,732; 5th week Ahmedabad 11,33,188 from 4 cinemas, Baroda 2,24,855 (100%), Vapi 2,83,732, total 20,73,870, Valsad 2,80,251, total 16,98,834, Jamnagar 87,875; Pune 11,56,746 from 4 cinemas, Solapur 1,61,451; Delhi 36,56,766 from 9 cinemas; Kanpur 3,67,697 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow (29 shows) 4,84,270, Agra 2,70,463, Varanasi 1,77,680, Allahabad 1,41,000, Bareilly (6 days) 89,014 (36.61%), Hardwar 52,152, total 5,51,925; Rohtak 20,565; Calcutta 13,17,572 from 6 cinemas; Nagpur 5,37,866 from 2 cinemas, Amravati 2,21,774, total 12,41,931, Dhule 1,06,425, total 8,07,021, Raipur (6 days) 1,34,696, Bhilai (6 days) 1,17,260, Jalgaon 1,35,335, 1st week Wardha 1,52,630; 5th week Indore 3,44,459 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 7,73,665 from 2 cinemas, Ajmer 1,33,759, Bikaner 1,45,756; Hyderabad 7,91,842 from 4 cinemas (2 in noon); 2 weeks’ total from Vijayawada 6,23,018, 1st week Guntur 1,28,866.

CHANDRA BAROT RELEASED ON BAIL

Earlier this week, producer Chandra Barot was released on a bail of Rs. 10,000 alongwith a condition that he would appear before a Patna magistrate shortly. The order was passed by the Bombay city civil & sessions court judge, R.Y. Gahoo.

SALMAN IN ANOTHER POACHING CONTROVERSY

Salman Khan, who has been released on bail in the Jodhpur poaching case, is embroiled in yet another case of a similar nature. It is reported that Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai may soon be summoned to appear before the court in Bhuj, Gujarat, following their alleged participation in illegal hunting of two chinkaras in September this year. Both were in the city then as members of the unit of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. An army officer and some local influential people are also alleged to have been party to the crime.

RAMAN MEHTA DEAD

Raman Mehta of M.K.D. Films, Guwahati, expired on 15th November in Calcutta due to kidney failure. He was 69 years old. He had been in distribution business since more than 35 years. He had also produced 5 Assamese films viz. Bowari, Ghar Sansar, Son Maina, Siraj and Priyajan. Son Maina had bagged the National Award.

His funeral at Guwahati was attended by top government functionaries. His business is now being looked after by his sons, Sunil and Sanjay. Ramanbhai is survived by his wife and the two sons.

Ramanbhai’s death was mourned by the EIMPA at a largely attended meeting. All cinemas and distribution offices of Guwahati remained closed on 16th.

HARIBHAI DAVE DEAD

Haribhai J. Dave, founder of Ganesh Talkies, Calcutta, as well as distributor for Bengal and Bombay, expired on 18th November in Calcutta. He was 93 and is survived by his wife, son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

YOU ASKED IT

To what do you attribute the bumper opening of Soldier all over India?

– To the extraordinary publicity, its music and a certain freshness about the film, thanks to Preity Zinta.

How much business do you think will Kuch Kuch Hota Hai do in Overseas?

– It could cross the 20-crore mark!

How is Bandhan doing in the various circuits, especially in smaller centres?

– The film is doing very well all over India. The ladies-appealing sentiments are drawing crowds to cinemas not only in cities but also in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres.

Sustained Publicity & Music Do The Trick

The Taurani brothers deserve kudos for the fabulous marketing of their Soldier which has resulted in its bumper opening this week all over India — from North to South and East to West. They hammered the songs by playing the promotional trailers on satellite channels. They also spent heavily on all other publicity media including street and press publicity. The results of the SUSTAINED publicity campaign are for all to see.

Like the Tauranis, there are some more producers who realise the worth of publicity. Among these market-savvy producers are relative newcomers like Vashu Bhagnani, Gordhan Tanwani, Sohail Khan and Bunty Walia. These people don’t cut corners in advertising their films and also reap the benefits therefrom. Boney Kapoor is another such producer who goes all out in publicising his films. Feroz Khan spent heavily on his recent release, Prem Aggan, but he was unfortunate to have not even got a respectable initial for his film. Compared to Prem Aggan, films of Vashu, Sohail, Bunty, Gordhan and Tauranis (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Ishq and Soldier) recorded bumper collections on the opening day. Music of their films had an important contribution to make. In fact, the opening of Soldier yesterday is of the kind one would expect on Diwali! After his debut film, Barsaat, and Gupt, Bobby Deol has never had such an opening.

A Very Inconsiderate Act

Mukesh Bhatt’s action in selling the satellite rights of Ghulam is coming in for heavy criticism even by people who aren’t connected with the film. That the film’s distributors are crying tears of blood is understandable because even the film’s first run is not yet complete, and business will definitely be adversely affected after it is telecast today (21st November) on STAR Plus. But the entire distribution and exhibition trade has suddenly woken up to the fact that if Mukesh Bhatt can do it today, any other producer can do it tomorrow. Will Mukesh Bhatt’s inconsiderate action set off a trend? One wonders why no distributor of the film is taking the matter to court. Do the distribution agreements not specify any period during which satellite rights cannot be sold? Or is Mukesh Bhatt planning to compensate his distributors to avoid an ugly situation?

Think Overseas

Overseas has become a huge market today. Producers, especially those making big and A-grade films, would do well to study the foreign markets because sale of Overseas distribution rights in some cases could fetch more than a major circuit in India would. Again, if a film clicks abroad, its business could even be double its super-hit business in a major territory in India.

The Impossible Idd

Every producer, whose film is nearly ready, is claiming that his film will be released on Idd (January 20/22).  But the fact is that of the seven or eight Idd release announcements, only two films — or, at the most, three — will actually hit the screens on the coveted day. Distributors of the other films will find it impossible to get cinema chains — not only in India but also in the Overseas. Didn’t I say, Overseas is no mean territory these days. It can accommodate just two films in a week.

– Komal Nahta

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Bahut Kuch Hota Hai

In a way, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has seen history repeat itself for producer Yash Johar. He had earlier scored a big box-office triumph with the release of his Dostana in 1980. Eighteen years later, his KKHH has multiplied the earlier triumph manifold as KKHH is slated to be one of the biggest blockbusters of India. The coincidence is that while Dostana had opened in 1980 on 17th October, KKHH opened on 16th October this year. Call it Providence or anything else, Yash Johar hasn’t really tasted a decent success ever since he released Dostana — that is till KKHH now.

While on KKHH, another interesting fact has come to light. At almost every screening of the film in London, audience are seen cheering and clapping when the logo of Yash Raj Films appears before the film’s credits. Yash Raj, as everyone knows, is distributing the film Overseas. This is the first time something like this has happened and it goes to show how much faith people there have in the Chopras.

Incidentally, KKHH has already become one of the biggest Indian blockbusters Overseas with its expected business to be in the region of Rs. 20 crore plus.

‘Grahan’ Comes Out Of The Eclipse

The first trial reports of Jackie Shroff’s Grahan have come as a pleasant surprise to the trade which had almost written off the film, largely because of the delay in its completion as well as the repair work that had to be carried out. But the repairing by Subhash Ghai seems to have helped if the ovation the film got at the end of the trial show recently is any indication. The show was seen by several industry people as well as their families. All were unanimous in their opinion that Manisha Koirala would walk away with the accolades once the film was released. Yes, the actress, it is heard, has done a fantastic job in a role that requires an actress to have tremendous range. In the meantime, Jackie is planning to release the film on 29th January or 5th February, ’99.

Cinema Saja Ke Rakhna

Central Plaza at Girgaum, Bombay has been all spruced up and is ready to reopen on 27th November with Doli Saja Ke Rakhna. It may be recalled that the cinema had been closed following a fire less than a year ago. Its reopening comes as a boon, for, the facilities in the cinema have been vastly improved, thereby making it one of the best cinemas in the Lamington Road area in the city. For the first time in India, a Sony Dynamic Digital sound system has been installed at Central Plaza. New luxurious seats and a bigger car-park are a few other attractions. The admission rates are Rs. 50 and Rs. 80 (for balcony, only 250 seats).

The Pen With The Midas Touch

Looks like every film that lyricist Sameer writes for turns into gold. How else can you describe the super-success of so many of his films this year? This talented son of late famous lyricist Anjaan already has the following hits/successes to his credit this year: Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, Ghulam, Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Soldier! Not only this, his foray into the Indi-pop world has also paid rich dividends with the success of Falguni Pathak’s album, ‘Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi’. With the release of another much-hyped film, China Gate, which also has his lyrics, just round the corner, Sameer may already be the most successful lyricist of 1998.

Ten Men And One …..

Quite interestingly, the posters and hoardings of China Gate show absolutely no sign of heroine Mamta Kulkarni. Instead, they depict all the ten heroes (if you may call them so) with Urmila Matondkar, who only features in a dance number in the film. A wag couldn’t help but remark, “The China Gate catchline should now be changed from ‘Ten men and one Mission’ to ‘Ten men and one Special Appearance’!”

In Passing

◘ Question: What happens when you remix Humma Humma with Chhaiyyan Chhaiyyan?
Answer: You get Chhamma Chamma!

◘ Heard one exhibitor telling another:
“Do week baad Doli Saja Ke Rakhna. Par tab tak Mehndi lagaye rakhna”!

INFORMATION MEETS

“In our industry, everyone seems to know what the audience wants and yet, they make flops.”

– VINAY SHUKLA

KOMAL NAHTA

His study is stocked with a number of books on different subjects. There’s also a huge photoframe of Albert Einstein, hanging on a wall of the study. What is the celebrated scientist’s picture doing in a writer’s study, you wonder, and get an answer yourself. For, at the foot of the picture are the words: ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’. So, it is the scientist’s philosophy more than his science that has found a pride of place in the room of Vinay Shukla. One doesn’t need to dwell on how imaginative a script writer has to be to satiate the hunger of the masses spread all over, for entertainment through a film. As if that in itself were not demanding, Vinay Shukla has now also turned a director. His Godmother, which he has scripted and directed for Gramco Films, is ready for release. Actually, Godmother is the second directorial venture of Vinay Shukla, but the first, Sameera, made way back in 1983, was never released commercially due to problems beyond the control of Shukla.

That Godmother does not look like the work of a newcomer speaks for Vinay Shukla’s imaginative skills because he has entered the domain of directors armed with the knowledge of a writer. Didn’t Albert Einstein say, imagination was more important than knowledge? Over to the writer of such films as Virasat, Ram-Jaane, Hum Paanch, Mujrim, Pyari Behna, Thanedaar etc.

And how did Vinay Shukla learn script-writing?
– After Sameera, my sole concern was to learn how to write a film script in a popular format, one which would appeal to the people. Practically every time I used to see a film which did well, I used to come home and rewrite its screenplay. It was through this exercise that I began to understand how real issues are evaded in a film, how false ones can be created, how song situations are created etc. At the FTII, my understanding of cinema was of serious cinema. My entire concern there was to absorb elements of good cinema. There was no thought of my career or future then. When I came out of the FTII, I realised that what I had learnt there was of little practical help to me.

Do you mean to say that your education at the FTII was a waste of time?
– No, it wasn’t a waste of time at all. I’m absolutely indebted to my Alma Mater. I got exposed to the best in world cinema at the FTII. Thanks to that, today, I can analyse films, I can distinguish between good and bad cinema. So, what I learnt at the FTII is helping me a great deal.

How would you distinguish between popular cinema and offbeat cinema?
– Popular Hindi cinema deals with personal emotional issues largely and tries to weave a story around relationships. It does not take into account socio-economic context or the individual mental framework of characters. The structuring of the story is done within accepted parameters so that they become an integral part of your story. Whereas in serious or offbeat cinema, the exposition of whatever theme you take is dealt with in the most natural way. The theme of such a film itself becomes its own parameter. It does not necessarily have to fall in the parameters of popular cinema.

What kind of cinema — popular or offbeat — fascinates you more?
– I am extremely fascinated by popular cinema because it does not essentially deal with any particular time or place, it gives an omnipotent view. One can talk of great issues in a poetic way, one can take large issues and present them in an emotional way. For example, Mother India. Its vigour fascinates me too much. The energy it has is very seductive in nature, it seduces you to watch the film again and again.

What is your film, GODMOTHER — popular cinema or offbeat?
– The story of Godmother has been told in a popular format. It has been told in a real milieu and it has characters which are real. There is no apparent attempt to integrate the elements which are necessary for commercial cinema and yet those elements, like songs and high drama, are there. That is how my training at the FTII and my respect for popular cinema have been integrated.

Did you not think of casting saleable names in GODMOTHER?
– My concern was always with commercial cinema format. But my contention is that the audience wants to see good films whether or not you have saleable stars in them. A shining example is that of Satya which is running without any face value. People just want to see a good film, they want their money’s worth in that sense. Our audience are intelligent, they know what is good and what isn’t. Very often, they’ve not been given their money’s worth. If you give them good cinema, they will see it. But good cinema without a narrative will not involve them.

How did Gramco come into the project?
– I told of my subject to Mala Goenka of Gramco. She liked it and she immediately put me on to Rajat Sengupta. I narrated the story to Rajat who liked it immensely and then we got going. In fact, Gramco was the very first producer I approached with the story. I must add here that working with Gramco has been a wonderful experience. There was absolutely no interference from them on the creative side. I was able to make Godmother the way I had envisioned it. We completed the film in 59 days and I could’ve saved 4-5 days out of that. We had two schedules in Gujarat, one in December ’97 and the other in February ’98. There was a schedule each at Lonavala and in Hyderabad, the latter for a glamorous song picturisaton. And there was one stint in Bombay at Esel and Kamal Amrohi Studios.

How has the response of distributors to the film been?
– Very good. Despite the fact that there are no big names associated with the project or there is no face value, we’ve already struck deals for a couple of circuits while negotiations are on for several others.

Why was there a controversy about censorship of the film vis-à-vis its selection for the Panorama?
– Films entering the Panorama section of the IFFI ’99 had to be censored by 31st August, ’98. Our film was certified on 3rd September although the CBFC was aware of the urgency of the situation. The officers there knew that we were trying to enter the film in the Panorama section. I don’t deny that there are rules for the CBFC’s working and that the body was working within the rules, but the least the CBFC could have done was to appreciate that ours was an emergency case. They could’ve helped if they wanted to, it was not impossible. Government agencies ask film producers to make good films but a government agency like the CBFC does nothing to encourage it. Where’s the government’s commitment to promote good cinema then? Would the same thing have happened if the NFDC had produced Godmother? I don’t think so. It is the government itself which makes a distinction between government films and others, not anybody else.

Now that you’ve directed a film, does it mean that henceforth you would direct all films written by you?
– Although I’d like to make films as a writer-director, I will continue to only write films for friends or if the writing offer is good. I’m currently working on a couple of scripts and I’d like to direct them myself.

Is it because you are not happy with the handling of other directors, of your subjects?
– That would be a complaint of any writer. Obviously, when another person is to realise what you have visualised in imaginary terms, there’s bound to be a difference in interpretation and imagination. That is acceptable. But if a director completely changes what you’ve written, how can you bear it? I also realised that the kind of hours I was giving to writing, I was spending more or less the same time even if I was directing a film, but as a director, I was exercising more control and was more actively involved which meant, more creative satisfaction. Here, I’d like to mention that the kind of respect and money which a writer earns is not commensurate with his efforts. The industry keeps shouting that there are no writers, but what kind of respect and money is a writer getting? When a project starts, the writer is given the feeling that he is the most important in it, but at the end, the writer has to often wonder whether he is at all a part of the project. Luckily, in most of the cases, I’ve not faced humiliation as a writer, but there are many writers who’ve had to face insult. That is why, perhaps, no self-respecting person would want to become a film writer. Have you ever come across a writer who wants to become a film writer? Everyone associated with a project tries to become a writer, whether or not he knows the job. In our industry, everybody seems to be an expert at writing. Everyone seems to know what the audience wants and yet, they make flops. According to me, every director should attempt to write at least one script so that he knows what respect to give to writers.

The lack of respect could also be because our writers often write shoddy scripts.
– Don’t blame the writers alone. In almost every creative sitting, the producer and director also participate. So you can’t say that writers do a shoddy job…….

PARDESI BABU

K.B. Pictures’ Pardesi Babu is a love triangle with the tried and tested turns and twists. A simple and poor village boy falls in love with a rich girl, but the latter’s father asks him to earn a crore of rupees in one year if he wants his daughter’s hand in marriage. The boy takes up the challenge and also succeeds, but he has achieved his target because of an unintentional windfall which has made a girl and her father extremely poor. This girl silently loves the boy who, because of the windfall, feels obliged to marry her instead of the girl he loves. Several misunderstandings later, the boy and his rich girlfriend unite in matrimony.

The story has no novelty and reminds one of a number of love stories like Maine Pyar Kiya. But what is more shocking is the screenplay which is one of utmost convenience and which resorts to too many cinematic liberties. For instance, there is a thief who comes as an important link in the story in the pre-climax. This thief is first seen in Bombay, and in the pre-climax, in Darjeeling. This cinematic liberty is sought to be covered up by showing the thief to be an “all-India chor”! Similarly, the Darjeeling girl, whose father has lost lakhs of rupees he was carrying in a suitcase, has not even bothered to open the suitcase she gets in exchange for their own suitcase, for one full year — not even to try and locate the owner of the exchanged suitcase for a possible clue. Besides the main story, even the incidents are of the kind seen in earlier films.

The romance between the village simpleton and the rich city girl has not been developed properly. Emotions touch the heart only at one place. Comedy is a bit too loud. Dialogues (Aadesh K. Arjun) are good at several places but the sermonising by the hero in the end is a bit boring.

Govinda does a good job but one misses his crazy comedy. Raveena Tandon is fair but looks extra weak. Shilpa Shetty is reasonably good. Satish Kaushik is too loud at many places, but entertains when not loud. Shashikala is ordinary. Rajeev Verma, Mohnish Bahl and Avtar Gill lend fair support. Virendra Saxena is irritating, more because his character is not very convincing if only because what he is doing doesn’t appeal. Asif Sheikh, Deepak Qazir, Gavin, Aroon Bakshi, Charlie and the rest fill the bill.

Debut-making director Manoj Agrawal has faltered in the selection of the story and has not really worked on the script but he seems to be good at the technique of direction. Music (Anand Raaj Anand) is quite entertaining. ‘It happens only in India’, ‘Chingari’ and a couple of other songs are well-tuned. Action scenes are effective. Camerawork is good. Production and other technical values are fair.

On the whole, Pardesi Babu is an ordinary fare.

Released on 13-11-’98 at Minerva and 23 other cinemas of Bombay thru Mahalakshmi Film Distributors. Publicity: very good. Opening: quite good (affected due to Sharjah cricket final). …….Also released all over.

MEHNDI

Aftab Pictures (P.) Ltd.’s Mehndi (UA) is a film on dowry and about a woman’s fight against the curse of dowry. A law graduate gets married only to be ill-treated by her in-laws and husband, for dowry. She bears a lot of humiliation but finally resolves to seek revenge when she is called a prostitute by her in-laws and when her husband files a divorce petition in the court. It is then that she dons the advocate’s robe and pleads her own case. She wins the support of the villagers too.

The first half is ordinary. It shows the bride being tortured for dowry and does not impress very much. The drama becomes lively after interval when she decides to pay back her in-laws for all their torture. Once she sets out on her revenge mission, there are some scenes which entertain and a few which win audience sympathy. Dialogues are good and even clapworthy at places.

Rani Mukerji does a good job as the wronged daughter-in-law. Faraz Khan is wooden and, therefore, does not impress. Shakti Kapoor is fair. Arjun acts ably. Himani Shivpuri is convincing as the wicked mother-in-law. Pramod Moutho is so-so. Joginder entertains a bit. Ushma Rathod, Shashi Sharma, Mahavir Shah, Shagufta Ali, Ashish Nagpal and Mukta provide ordinary support. Shahbaaz Khan leaves a mark in a guest appearance. Other guest artistes — Gulshan Grover, Asrani, Raza Murad and Yunus Perwaiz — pass muster.

Direction is fair. Music should have been much better. Two songs are alright but what was needed was one or two hit tunes. Even the songs which appeal do so more for their lyrical value. Song picturisations are ordinary. Camerawork is okay. Other technical aspects are alright.

On the whole, Mehndi has some appeal for womenfolk and can do well in small centres only.

Released on 13-11-’98 at Dreamland and 10 other cinemas of Bombay thru Friends Movies. Publicity: good. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over.

TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY FEELS IGNORED IN FORTHCOMING IFFI

The Telugu film industry lodged a strong protest with the organising committee of the International Film Festival of India against their ignoring the contribution of versatile actress Bhanumati Ramakrishna and woman director Vijayanirmala.

The 30th IFFI will commence in Hyderabad from 10th January, 1999. The first meeting of the 30th IFFI, held on 11th November with Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in the chair, evoked angry protests from personalities of the Telugu film industry such as Akkineni Nageswara Rao, D.V.S. Raju, U. Visweshwar Rao, Dasari Narayana Rao and T. Subbirami Reddy, who took exception to the organising committee for ignoring the Telugu film actress and director. The issue cropped up when festival director Malati Sahai informed that in honour of the contribution made by women to the film industry, the IFFI had decided to screen five films of Hindi film actress Shabana Azmi to commemorate her completion of 25 years in cinema. It was pointed out that Bhanumati had completed 50 years in Telugu cinema, and Vijayanirmala was the only woman director to have directed over 100 films.

The meeting also expressed displeasure with the organising committee for not providing representation to the Telugu film industry in the various sub-committees constituted by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the I & B ministry to oversee and organise the festival.

Malati Sahai informed that about 75 films from 33 countries, produced in the last two years, would be screened at the festival. Santosh and Sapna cinemas would screen mainstream cinema films.

CENSOR NEWS

Santoshi Productions’ China Gate, seen on 9th, has been passed with UA certificate, with 14 minor cuts.

Ram Creations’ Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (length 4833.24 metres in 17 reels), applied on 9th and seen on 10th, has been passed with U certificate, with minor cuts.

Pali Films’ Bhoot has been refused certificate.

NFDC Ltd.’s Hanste Hasaate (revised) has been passed with U certificate, with cuts.

Bhalla Productions’ Tune Mera Dil Le Liya has been passed for adults, with cuts by the revising committee.

Tension Marks ‘Pardesi Babu’ Deliveries
Release Plans Disturbed

The release of Pardesi Babu on Thursday (12th November) in U.P., Orissa, C.P. Berar, C.I. and Nizam (Aurangabad) had to be cancelled following delivery problems. The film opened all over only on Friday. In some centres, even the first shows of Friday had to be cancelled as the prints could not be reached there on time.

The hassles in the delivery of Pardesi Babu were one of the worst in recent times. The Bihar territory was in dispute since a long time due to double-sale by producer Kulbhushan Gupta. While that matter was resolved in the court in favour of the first distributor (Pawan Dhanuka) and did not result in delay in effecting deliveries, what did cause delays were some developments during the week. Even before that, financier Madan Kapoor of Jalandhar obtained an injunction order from the Jalandhar court, staying the all-India release of Pardesi Babu. The stay order was vacated when Kapoor was paid interest on monies lent by him to Gupta and he agreed to the refund of principal amount at the time of release of Vidroh.

The negative of Pardesi Babu had during its making been transferred in the name of Jumani who had financed the film. It was the recovery of his monies and those of some other financiers alongwith him that was creating a problem. The recoveries from the various distributors fell short of the claims of the financiers and this was brought to light too late in the day. The Overseas delivery was effected as late as on Tuesday (10th November) evening, only after a legal notice was served on the producer by Overseas distributor Mohan Chhabria.

The distributors of Bombay, C.P. Berar, C.I., Rajasthan and Nizam even decided to go to court to get deliveries at the contracted prices. Even while the matter was about to be moved in court, frantic efforts were being made for an out-of-court settlement. Distributors of the various circuits were being prevailed upon by both, Jumani and Kulbhushan Gupta, to agree to price hikes, but most of them were in no mood for it. The West Bengal distributors are said to have even threatened to cancel their release if the producer/financier insisted on a price hike.

Ultimately, it took the intervention of CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain to make the producer, financiers and various distributors as also the laboratory arrive at a settlement. Santosh Singh Jain was in Jaipur and following an SOS message sent to him, he flew to Bombay on Wednesday night. He drove straight from the airport at 9 p.m. on Wednesday to Dharamsi Savla’s (one of the financiers) office where the warring parties had assembled. By the time Jain Sahab stepped in, the concerned parties had spent several sleepless nights and undergone hours and hours of tension and uncertainty. An amicable — if one may use the word — settlement was first arrived at at 5 a.m. on Thursday! Prices were hiked.

Prakash Advani of Shree Bableshwar Films, Indore, sighed after the settlement, “This has been my worst experience ever. The producer was simply not bothered about us and our commitments. On Wednesday night, a day before the film was to have opened in C.I., Mr. Kulbhushan Gupta, instead of being bothered about our deliveries, told me, ‘Why are you so tense? Sab thheek ho jaayega.’ But time was running out. We had already lost Thursday, did he want us to lose Friday too?” According to Advani, had Gupta told the distributors in advance about the price hike, they would’ve come prepared to take delivery. “Mr. Gupta did not even tell us of the price hike, it was Jumani who conveyed the news to us. When we distributors told Jumani that we had dealt with Kulbhushan Gupta and not him, he told us, he was the negative rights holder. We were shocked.”

Kulbhushan Gupta told Information, “We went over-budget because of the many outdoor shooting schedules and the delay in completing the film. We also suffered a loss of about Rs. 50 lakh in just the music rights sale when they were transferred from Big B Music to Super Cassettes.” But couldn’t the last-moment tension have been averted? Replied Gupta, “The accounts revealed a heavy deficit only this week.” He denied rumours that he had burdened Pardesi Babu with the liabilities of his other two under-production films, Vidroh and Shivam.

Many Questions!
Any Answers?

Some pertinent questions arise out of the entire delivery tamasha of Pardesi Babu.

(1) How did Adlabs transfer the film’s negative in Jumani’s name when it had already issued lien letters on various territories to various financiers? If it did so, wasn’t the transfer subject to clearance of the liens?

(2) When negative rights are transferred in a person’s name after liens on various territories have been created, doesn’t the negative rights holder step into the producer’s shoes and become responsible together with the laboratory to clear the liens?

(3) Why were distributors asked to get clearance from the new negative rights holder, Jumani, when they had dealt with producer Kulbhushan Gupta and had not even interacted with Jumani before the time of delivery?

(4) Reportedly, Manmohan Shetty tried to dilly-dally the effecting of deliveries till Jumani’s money was received in full. Can a laboratory owner insist that all distributors take deliveries together? Why couldn’t one distributor take delivery on one day and another on another day?

(5) Why were the distributors asked — or rather, forced — to pay Rs. 10,000 extra per print? This is nothing short of cheating!

(6) There was one financier who had a first-release claim but even his money was not sought to be returned before Jumani’s money. Is this legally correct?

(7) When the Bombay, C.P., C.I., Rajasthan and Nizam distributors had almost knocked the doors of the court to have their deliveries effected as per agreements, why did they retract at the last moment? Why did they opt for out-of-court settlement and thereby agree for hiked prices when the chances of their victory in court were bright?

“This is extortion – my distributors have paid 70 lakh as extortion money,”
Cries SANTOSH SINGH JAIN

Santosh Singh Jain may have succeeded in making the parties to the Pardesi Babu dispute arrive at a settlement, but he is very unhappy with what happened in the case. Information spoke to him and obtained his version.

“It is very sad, the way things are going. We cry about extortion but this arm-twisting at the last moment is nothing short of extortion. The Pardesi Babu distributors have been forced to pay Rs. 70 lakh by way of ‘extortion money’.

“I blame the producer first for not managing his affairs properly. Next to be blamed are the various financiers like Jumani, Pramod Rai (of Hyderabad) etc. who were not prepared to see that the film had simply no strength to bear the burden of their unreasonable interest. They should not have lent money on the project if they were so concerned about its safety. Perhaps, at the time of lending, they were lured only by the high interest rate. I am also very disillusioned by the behaviour of Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs. In the first place, he should have been careful when he realised that the negative was being transferred in another name. Shetty also brought the claim of Kulbhushan Gupta’s earlier film, God And Gun, on Pardesi Babu. My question to him is, ‘Why should the distributors always bear the burden of everything — past, present and future? Why are they made the bakras always?’ I was so agitated at one point during the settlement talks that I told Manmohan Shetty, ‘I have a good mind to complain to the police commissioner about this extortion racket.’ I’ve known Shetty for many years but I’ve never seen him so uncooperative and stubborn.”

MANMOHAN SHETTY:
“It is only when things reach a boiling point that negotiations start.”

Adlabs boss Manmohan Shetty, when contacted, told Information, “Well, the film has released and I’m happy for that.” Explaining why such delivery dramas take place, Shetty said, “Normally, the producer, financier and distributors play the wait-and-watch game to see who will increase/reduce the price/interest. Things reach a boiling point and then they become too hot to handle. Then, negotiations start but it is invariably too late.” When asked to comment on why Santosh Singh Jain was so agitated by his role in the dispute and settlement, Manmohan Shetty replied, “Santosh Singh Jain is not important. He is nobody in the Pardesi Babu case. I had to go by what the film’s financiers, producer and distributors wanted, not by what Jain wanted me to do. If what settlement was arrived at by Santosh Singh Jain was not implemented and remained merely on paper, how am I expected to effect deliveries?”

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

A Fitting Reply

Apropos our survey of distributors a few weeks ago, in which Dreamland was cited as one of the worst-maintained cinemas in Bombay, here comes the clarification from the cinema owner himself. Says Yunusbhai Sopariwala, “Actually, over the past 3-4 months, we have brought in a number of improvements at Dreamland at a cost of over Rs. 35 lakh. We have installed Dobly DTS sound system. Besides, two additional air-conditioning plants have been added to the existing one. Moreover, the entire balcony area has been renovated with new seats and granite flooring while the stalls area is currently under renovation. All these improvements have certainly been appreciated by the family audience. Otherwise, Dulhe Raja, a family film, couldn’t have fetched a share of Rs. 11.35 lakh in its 9-week run at Dreamland.” Distributors may please take note.

Lovely Chhamma Chhamma

Rajkumar Santoshi should thank Bharat Shah and Anu Malik. For, while it was financier Bharatbhai who insisted that there be at least two songs in China Gate, it was Anu Malik who composed those songs. The result is the racy Chhamma Chhamma song which is fast becoming popular and, by the looks of it, seems, it will be the relief-providing item in the action drama. Urmila Matondkar has danced beautifully to the beats of the foot-tapping number. Maybe, now even Rajkumar Santoshi must be thanking his stars for having heeded the request of Bharat Shah. For, had it not been for Bharatbhai, China Gate would have remained a songless film. Incidentally, the film’s promotional trailer screened at the China Gate party held on 12th November at Hotel Centaur, Bombay, gave enough indication of the film’s grandeur. And the excitement of those distributors of the film who’ve seen its trial gives an indication how well it must’ve shaped up. In the meantime, the public is waiting for the China gate to open — on 26th/27th November.

Me Badshah, You Ghulam

As if the telecast of new films on cable TV channels is not bad enough, producers have started selling satellite TV rights of their successful films a bit too soon. Distributors of Mukesh Bhatt’s Ghulam are pretty agitated with Bhatt for having sold the telecasting rights of Ghulam to Star TV, that too when the film was released less than just six months back. The film will be aired on the satellite channel very shortly. This, when even its first run in the various circuits is not as yet complete. It is truly a selfish move on the part of Mukesh Bhatt to be ignoring the interests of his distributors like that. It’s not done, Mr. Bhatt.

FLAVOUR OF THE WEEK

TENSION OF THE WEEK

Deliveries of producer Kulbhushan Gupta’s Pardesi Babu for all-India circuits.

HERO OF THE WEEK

CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain who intervened in the dispute between the producers, financiers and distributors of Pardesi Babu just in time to ensure its release this week.

JOY OF THE WEEK

Excellent trial reports of Xavier Marquis’ Doli Saja Ke Rakhna.

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

The Rajshri website (www.rajshri.com). Rajat Barjatya, with the assistance of Ravi Database, has done a very good job of the site. Net surfers, visit it.

KUDOS OF THE WEEK

To Deepa Mehta, Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das for making/working in a bold film, Fire, with unimaginable conviction.

HOARDING OF THE WEEK

Of Chine Gate, put up at Heera Panna shopping centre, Haji Ali, Bombay. It stands out beautifully.

Not A Bad Bargain

The joy that came along with the runaway success of Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has been short-lived. Although KKHH continues to do roaring business, what has cast a pall of gloom in the industry is the unfortunate failure of Feroz Khan’s dream project, Prem Aggan.

Since Prem Aggan was the launching pad of Khan’s son, Fardeen, distributors put a lot of confidence in the project and the maker. An exceptionally high price of 1.6 to 1.75 crore was paid per major circuit for the film even though both, Fardeen Khan and Meghna Kothari, were newcomers. Nor did the film boast of a formidable supporting cast. But yet, speculation was the name of the game. And speculate the distributors did. In the process, they’ve burnt their fingers rather badly. On an average, every distributor will lose about 75% of his investment in the film.

Couldn’t this catastrophe have been avoided? Although there’s no readymade acid test to prove so, the fact is that it could truly have been averted. If there were script doctors in India, as there are in Hollywood, chances are, there wouldn’t have been such a major bomb. That is not to say that script doctors, who offer expert and objective opinion on a filmmaker’s script, are infallible or can never go wrong, but they at least give the filmmaker a second opinion. More often than not, the producer, director and writer of a film get so involved in the film during its making that, after a point of time, they may lose all objectivity as far as judging the film is concerned. This is what seems to have happened to Feroz Khan because the film has innumerable mistakes. It is not as if Feroz Khan has forgotten filmmaking, it is just that his judgement failed this time. And failed rather badly in several departments.

A salvage operation could have been carried out by a script doctor, but will Bollywood wake up to the need for such an entity? Such experts are necessary, more so today when the stakes in film production and distribution are so high. If fees of a few lakh of rupees to script doctors can save many crores of the producer, is it a bad bargain?

Here, a word of caution to distributors too. It has become the wont of distributors to cry over losses and yet never act with caution. While on the one hand, they keep cribbing about unrealistic and high prices, on the other, it is these very distributors who do not bat an eyelid before paying fancy prices to producers. It is the fear that ‘if I don’t buy the film, someone else will’, which prompts distributors to pay unrealistically heavy prices. As it seems to have happened in the case of Prem Aggan.

Although this wouldn’t have saved the situation, another related comment would not be out of place here. Feroz Khan, too, like Mani Ratnam (Dil Se..), did not show his film to his distributors. It is strange how producers, whose partners-in-business distributors actually are, work in a style which does not take the partners into confidence. This is not a healthy sign at all.

– Komal Nahta

LATEST POSITION

KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI continues to mesmerise the public from North to South and East to West.

Prem Aggan has been totally rejected. It will entail heavy losses to all its distributors. 1st week Bombay 24,31,295 (60.55%) from 8 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,54,600 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 1,18,680, Jamnagar (matinee) 12,600; Pune 6,22,972 from 5 cinemas, Solapur 1,46,334 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 17,24,930 (45.29%) from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 2,25,726 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,04,949, Agra 1,32,000, Varanasi 1,23,211, Hardwar 36,496; Amritsar 51,500; Calcutta 12,32,145 from 15 cinemas; Nagpur 2,07,815 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 66,712, Amravati 80,366, Raipur 78,190, Bhilai 38,489, Yavatmal 52,740; poor in Indore, Bhopal 1,51,167 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 4,34,182 from 3 cinemas; Hyderabad 26,33,918 from 15 cinemas (1 in noon); Vijayawada 1,92,890, Visakhapatnam 1,45,860.

…………..

Hero Hindustani 2nd week Bombay 7,28,422 (41.46%) from 6 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,77,750 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot (matinee) 12,986, Jamnagar (matinee) 8,897; Pune 1,48,878 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 30,664; Delhi 65,978; Kanpur 45,805, Agra 82,000, Varanasi 59,888, 1st week Hardwar 32,886; 2nd week Nagpur 44,471 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 36,955, total 1,27,713, Amravati 64,375, Akola 47,019, total 1,23,775, Raipur 59,923, Bhilai 30,186, total 85,736, 1st week Jalgaon 87,231; 2nd week Bhopal 42,782; Hyderabad 1,91,893 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).

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Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will fetch commission (part or full) in most of the circuits. 3rd week Bombay 28,19,377 (83.56%) from 9 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,16,643 from 5 cinemas, Rajkot 1,52,715, Jamnagar 86,971; Pune 9,13,384 from 4 cinemas, Kolhapur 2,11,448, Solapur 2,05,902; Delhi 24,70,400 from 8 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 3,93,984 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 4,61,808, Varanasi 1,93,644, Meerut (6 days) 2,02,380, Bareilly (6 days) 78,224 (45.34%); Calcutta 9,56,097 from 13 cinemas; Nagpur 4,35,461 from 4 cinemas, 2nd week Jabalpur 2,25,027, total 6,13,574, Amravati 2,40,514, Akola 2,03,879, total 5,05,961, 3rd week 3 days 70,043, 2nd week Raipur 1,13,960, Bhilai 71,377, total 2,44,120, Jalgaon 1,52,054, Wardha 86,728, Chandrapur 1,85,314, total 4,31,398, Yavatmal 1,08,106, 3rd week 3 days 40,920; 3rd week Indore 2,61,000 (63.74%), Bhopal 1,58,378; Jaipur 3,32,642 from 2 cinemas, 1st Bikaner 2,45,181; 3rd week Hyderabad 7,39,864 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon); 1st week Vijayawada 1,15,706.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is par excellence. 3rd week Bombay 55,04,562 (99.70%) from 11 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 13,45,597 from 4 cinemas, Valsad 3,68,140, Baroda 2,24,855 (100%), Padra 2,26,260, Jamnagar 1,40,735, total 4,42,537, Adipur 1,28,726; Pune 12,61,686 from 4 cinemas, Kolhapur 2,34,115 (100%), Solapur 2,25,595 (100%), Malegaon 100%; Delhi 53,22,316 from 11 cinemas; Kanpur 5,35,369 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 5,09,135, Agra 3,88,075, Varanasi 2,55,963, Meerut 2,29,289, Bareilly 1,67,466 (59.03%), Muzaffarnagar 95,012, Saharanpur 1,34,712, Hardwar 1,20,906, total 4,13,980; Calcutta 15,91,627 from 8 cinemas; Nagpur 7,56,079 from 3 cinemas, Amravati 2,46,652, Akola 1,73,963, total 5,45,482, Raipur (6 days) 1,58,267, Bhilai (6 days) 1,91,019, total 6,79,554, Jalgaon 1,60,164, Gondia 1,22,185, total 3,88,888; Indore 4,81,524 (79.32%) from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 8,94,506 from 2 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows) 1,66,380, Bikaner 1,94,425; Hyderabad 11,35,327 from 5 cinemas (2 in noon, 1 on F.H.).

Bandhan 5th week Bombay 3,44,179 (50.73%); Ahmedabad 1,07,045 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 49,087, Jamnagar (matinee) 11,476; Pune 4,80,093 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Kolhapur 1,04,000, Solapur (matinee) 57,679, 3rd week Barsi 30,538, 1st week Miraj 1,09,004; 5th week Delhi 4,01,134 from 3 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,19,559 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 2,00,528, Varanasi 1,14,296, Bareilly 45,435 (21.02%); Calcutta 1,32,739; Nagpur 1,67,855 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,35,471, total 9,22,662, Amravati 92,397, Akola 91,212, total 5,24,100, Raipur 82,951, Bhilai 60,186, Jalgaon 86,809 (4th 90,096), 2nd week Yavatmal 85,466; 5th week Indore 55,000 (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 94,418; Jaipur 1,72,384, 3rd week Jodhpur 90,000, 5th week Bikaner 35,977; Hyderabad 3,22,842 from 3 cinemas (1 in noon).

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MAJESTIC CINEMA OF CALCUTTA GUTTED IN FIRE

Majestic cinema in Calcutta was gutted in a fire on the night of 3rd November. Although the exact cause of the fire is not known, it reportedly started in the ceiling of the cinema, presumably due to a short circuit. Fortunately, no casualties were reported as the fire broke out after the last show ended on 3rd. The entire building was reduced to ashes.

The cinema had recently been purchased by Bengal distributor Nesar Ahmed.

FFI EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO MEET ON 18TH

The seventh meeting of the executive committee of the Film Federation of India (FFI) will be held on 18th November at the IMPPA House, Bombay.

A number of key issues will be addressed and discussed by the committee members. Chief among the items on the agenda are:

(i) consideration of the membership application received from the South Indian Dubbing Film Producers Association, Madras;

(ii) further discussion on the restrictions imposed by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce on the release of non-Kannada films in Karnataka (it may be recalled here that the FFI president and a few other members had discussed the issue with the president and the executive committee members of the KFCC on October 6 and 7 in Bangalore);

(iii) discussion of key issues pertaining to the 30th International Film Festival of India, to be held between January 10 and 20, 1999 in Hyderabad; and

(iv) to initiate the procedure for the adoption of alterations in the Articles of Association of the FFI.

Apart from these main issues, the executive committee will also express its opinion on various items to be considered by the Film Industry Co-ordination Committee, which is likely to meet immediately after the executive committee meeting is over. During the Co-ordination Committee meeting, the selection of the chief guest and films to be included in the mainstream section of the IFFI ’99 will be finalised.

HYDERABAD CINEMA RAIDED FOR SCREENING ‘BITS’

Acting swiftly on a tip-off, the Hyderabad police commissioner’s task force (East zone) raided the Light House cinema at Abids on 2nd November and seized the prints of an English film, Play Nice, and two trailers.The police also arrested manager D. Venkat Rao and projector operator Sardar Khan on the charges of screening obscene films. ‘Bits’ of nude scenes from the film were being screened at the end of every reel, it is reported.

COLUMBIA TO DISTRIBUTE HINDI FILMS

Columbia Tristar has made an application to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking permission to distribute Hindi films in the country. The Board’s approval is awaited. Presumably, distribution of Hindi films is the first step, and the next may well be production of Hindi films.

KUMAR VASUDEV DEAD

P. Kumar Vasudev, the director of India’s first mega TV serial, Humlog, passed away in Pune on 31st October after a protracted illness. He was 60 and is survived by his wife and three daughters.

An alumni of the FTII, Vasudev’s name figured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the maker of the longest TV serial, Humlog (156 episodes). He had assisted Krishna Shah in Shalimar and had directed Ajubey and Kunwari Bahu.

MADANLAL SHAH DEAD

Prominent Gujarat distributor and exhibitor Madanlal T. Shah died on 1st November at Bhuj following a prolonged illness. He was 80.

Madanlal Shah had been a member of the executive committee of the IMPDA for many years. A resolution to condole his death was adopted in the meeting of the executive committee of IMPDA on 5th November.

TARACHAND BHATIA DEAD

Veteran Rajasthan distributor and exhibitor Tarachand Bhatia of Green Light Pictures, Sriganganagar, expired on 1st November at Sriganganagar. He was 83 and had been associated with the film industry for 64 years. He used to mostly distribute Punjabi films and was known for his fair dealings. Tarachand Bhatia was the elder brother of our Sriganganagar representative, R.P. Bhatia.

‘JAB PYAAR KISISE…’ SILVER JUBILEE

Tips Films’ Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai entered 25th week at Dreamland (matinee), Bombay on 6th November.

YOU ASKED IT

Is it true that Hrithik Roshan has been finalised for another film, besides his dad’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai?

– Producer Mohan Kumar has signed Satish Kaushik to direct a film starring Hrithik.

Why are so many horror-sex films being made?

– Distributors consider them safer than other films in the ‘small films’ category. Besides, there’s also scope to add ‘bits’ in such films.

Why has no new film been released this week?

– No reason in particular. It just happened, perhaps. The India-Sri Lanka cricket match played in Sharjah on Friday (6th November) was not the reason for there being no release this week.

DO YOU KNOW?

* It makes news when Mithun Chakraborty gives 16 retakes for a single scene because the actor is known to be averse to giving even three or four retakes. But he did give 16 retakes for a scene for director Jayant Gilatar’s HIMMATWALA. Incidentally, Jayant is directing producer A. Krishnamurthi’s next film also, after HIMMATWALA. It is titled MAWAALI. A heroine, who is turning to production, has also signed Jayant Gilatar to direct her maiden venture.

* Ajay Devgan’s distribution manager, Pinky Badlani, has released ISHQ this week (golden jubilee week) all over Bombay circuit. To match with its golden jubilee, he has released it in 50 cinemas!

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,51,055/- in 1st week, 1,50,747/- in 2nd week, and 1,40,735/- in 3rd week at Galaxy, Jamnagar. Total for 3 weeks: 4,42,537/-.

* KKHH has created theatre records in 3rd week at the following cinemas of Delhi: Chanakya by collecting 9,76,164/-, Batra (5,37,787/-), Vishal (8,26,367/-), Eros (3,49,199/-) and Anupam PVR (5,43,129/-, full).

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 5,09,136/- in 3rd week at Novelty, Lucknow.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 3,51,458/- in 3rd week at Heer Palace, Kanpur. It has also created a theatre record by collecting 1,83,911/- in 3rd week at Anupam, Kanpur.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,29,289/- in 3rd week at Nandan, Meerut.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,67,486/- in 3rd week at Kamal, Bareilly.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,16,224/- in 3rd week at Pawan, Ghaziabad.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,55,964/- in 3rd week at Taksal, Varanasi.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,05,203/- in 3rd week at Gautam, Allahabad.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,43,040/- in 3rd week at Natraj, Dehradun.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,34,713/ in 3rd week at Kalpana, Saharanpur.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,64,042/- in 3rd week at Apsara, Aligarh.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,20,906/- in 3rd week at Shivji Palace, Hardwar.

* KKHH has created theatre records in 3rd week at the following cinemas of Calcutta: Metro by collecting 4,80,218/-, Priya (3,91,923/-, full), Radha (2,21,922/-), Sonali (1,59,141/-), Puspasree-Behala (97,858/-) and Puspasree-Kadamtalla (1,03,897/-).

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,60,164/- in 3rd week at Rajkamal, Jalgaon. It had also created a Jalgaon district record by drawing all 32 shows full in 1st week, and all 28 shows full in the 2nd week. 1st week’s collection: 2,00,323/-. 2nd week: 1,70,271/-.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 2,46,652/- in 3rd week at Chitra, Amravati.

* KKHH has created a theatre record by collecting 1,73,963/- in 3rd week at Vasant, Akola. Total 5,45,482/-.

* KKHH has created a district record by collecting 1,22,185/- in 3rd week at Prabhat, Gondia. Total: 3,88,888/-.

* KKHH has created a city record by collecting 1,66,380/- in 3rd week (29 shows) at Plaza, Ajmer.

COMMENTS

GAFFARBHAI NADIADWALA

It is advisable to keep a 15% margin to cover the cost of the film going up due to unforeseen factors, while preparing the budget of a big film.

VASHU BHAGNANI

I don’t think it matters so much if the film goes over-budget or not. It all depends on how the film eventually fares at the box-office. If a film, which has gone way over-budget, turns out to be a hit, then all is forgotten. But if another, made within the budget, flops at the box-office, you will find its producer crying about how much money he spent on it.

ABDUL MAJEED (Controller of Kalpataru cinema, Jodhpur)

Thanks to cable TV, the business of repeat-run films in cinemas has been wiped out completely. We can’t dream of getting shares from repeat-run films released.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

In All Indian Languages

Looks like the Southern film industry will always be a step ahead of its counterpart here. Over the past many years, the Southern film industry, according to many, has managed to steal a march over our industry simply by showing an exemplary degree of commitment towards work (which should inspire our people) and consistently coming up with bright, new ideas in their films (which actually inspires our people!). Keeping this perspective in mind, it should come as a further proof of the above contention that two of the foremost producers from the South have expressed their individual desires to make at least one film in every single language spoken in India. D. Rama Naidu and Ramesh Prasad (son of the legendary L.V. Prasad) are the two people who are currently (and independent of each other) engaged in making films in various Indian languages. Both, Rama Naidu and Ramesh Prasad — or rather, Prasad Productions set up by his late father — have been veterans with an impressive record in all South Indian languages as well as Hindi films. Moreover, Ramesh Prasad has already completed films in Oriya and Bengali as of present and will soon launch films in Marathi, Gujarati and other languages. For Ramesh Prasad, it is his late father’s unfulfilled desire that is driving him to embark on this untrodden path. D. Rama Naidu, on the other hand, has already made a film in Bengali and is currently making an Oriya film. Once that is completed, he will proceed to make films in other languages including Marathi, Gujarati etc. Whether or not they both succeed in their noble desire, is something only time can tell. On our part, we can only say, hats off and good luck!

Some Good News, Some Bad

Quick on the heels of Dil Se.., Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has also found its way into the Weekly Top 10 films showing in the UK. That the blockbuster achieved this in the very first week of its release there, makes it a no mean feat.

A certain news back home about Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is not very encouraging, however. Following stiff protests from several Sikh organisations, the Delhi and Punjab distributors have had to delete references to the Sikh community in the film. It may be recalled that cute little Parzan Dastur plays a lovable Sikh child in the film and there is no denying that a lot of humour involving him comes from the Sardar stereotype. However, what must be said in Karan Johar’s favour is that all references have been kept at a very subtle level. There is absolutely no overt attempt at creating comedy out of hurting the community. Perhaps, this is also the reason why the censors did not object to the scenes. But then, in India, it is fast becoming evident that the CBFC is not the only body that deals with censorship of films. In fact, each and every community — however small it may be — is fast coming up with its own form of censorship. And if this continues in the future too, making a film would very soon be tougher than walking a tightrope.

Of Ajay — Accident And Accolades

Ajay Devgan recently injured himself while shooting for a pre-climax action sequence for Hindustan Ki Kasam, being produced and directed by his father, Veeru Devgan. The accident, which occurred when a dare-devil stunt was being picturised at a village, resulted in Ajay fracturing his leg. The doctors have advised him bed rest for three weeks.

While his bed-ridden status is the bad news, the good news is that Ajay Devgan is winning accolades for his performance in Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm. His portrayal of Mahesh Bhatt himself in this latter’s autobiographical film has been marked by brilliance, say all those who have been lucky enough to see the film. Lucky, because the last anyone has heard of Zakhm is that it has been referred to the home ministry by the CBFC and it will be a while before it would be passed.

Another ‘Prem’ Bites The Dust

We don’t know whether this may comfort Feroz Khan who is currently recovering from the dismal failure of his Prem Aggan, but there is a definite precedence set by the flopping of 83% of all Hindi films starting with ‘Prem’. As many as 19 out of the total of 23 films made, titles of which began with ‘Prem’, have flopped in the past 36 years. These films are: Prem Patra (1962), Prem Pujari (1970), Prem Ki Ganga (1971), Prem Parbat (1974), Prem Shastra (1974), Prem Kahani (1975), Prem Bandhan (1978), Prem Vivah (1979), Prem Geet (1981), Prem Rahasya (1982), Prem Tapasya (1983), Prem Jyoti (1985), Prem Yudh (1985), Prem Jung (1991), Prem Deewane (1992), Prem Shakti (1994), Premyog (1994), Prem (1995) and Prem Granth (1996). The only exceptions are: Prem Nagar (1974), Prem Rog (1982), Prem Pratigyaa (1989) and Prem Qaidi (1991).

Well, at least Feroz Khan could take solace in the fact that he is not alone — though one is sure, he wouldn’t like to be in such ‘elite’ company either! Incidentally, trade-wallahs are referring to Prem Aggan as Prem Again — that is to say, Boney Kapoor’s Prem again!

Shame Shame!

While the industry should feel sorry about the lakhs and crores of rupees it loses every year due to black-marketing in tickets at cinemas, it is a fact that several cinema managements themselves openly indulge in black-marketing. But Sachinam cinema in Bombay, perhaps, takes the cake — rather, the entire bakery. A letter from the distributor of the film running at the cinema, to deliver some tickets at cost to the holder of the letter, is meaningless if the film is drawing full houses, because the letter adversely affects the revenue (in black, of course!) of the management. Recently, an avid cinegoer, holding such  a letter of the distributor, was in for a rude shock when the management of Sachinam told him that the letter was a worthless piece of paper. Then, changing his mind, the guy told the letter holder: “Since you’ve come with the letter, we will give you a rebate of Rs. 5 per ticket on the black rate which is Rs. 120 per ticket. Please pay at the rate of Rs. 115 per ticket for the 12 tickets you want.” Shame! Incidentally, the cinema keeps its phone off the hook and its fax machine off so that they are not forced to commit tickets to anybody — because that would mean selling the tickets at face value and not in black.

PREM AGGAN

F.K. International’s Prem Aggan (UA) is a love story which doesn’t look like an F.K. banner film. Except for Feroz Khan’s unfailing eye for visuals, there’s no F.K. stamp whatsoever. The romantic tale has the oft-repeated rich versus poor angle, and the incidents in the drama are devoid of excitement. Even the screenplay has flaws. For instance, the heroine promises her father that she will never go back to her beloved, but she breaks her promise without any new development which would warrant a heroine to go back on her word. There is too much of verbosity and the lengthy dialogues between the girl and the guy and between their fathers are terribly boring. Yet another drawback — and a major one at that — is that there’s not a single comedy scene which can make one laugh or even smile (the comedy between Dinesh Hingoo and Rakesh Bedi is so poor, it’s a tragedy!) and not even one tear-jerking scene. Music, which is generally a highlight of Feroz Khan’s films, is not up to his standard this time. The film’s ending is abrupt and it almost appears as if there’s no climax.

Debut-making Fardeen Khan looks good and impresses in action scenes but needs to improve in acting and a great deal in dialogue delivery. Meghna Kothari makes a confident debut but lacks glamour and is very short. Sameer Malhotra, as Meghna’s brother, is okay. Shama Gesawant is fair. Sanjay Bhatia fails to create any mark. Anupam Kher is effective. Raj Babbar’s track (of military) has no relevance to the film; he performs ably. Beena and Smita Jaykar lend reasonable support. Kamal Chopra is average. Satish Shah is okay. Rakesh Bedi and Dinesh Hingoo are irritating. The rest of the cast pass muster.

Feroz Khan’s direction is limited by the poor script. But his penchant for shooting on breathtaking locations is evident in the film. Locales of Australia are fantastic and they’ve been captured marvellously by cameraman Kabir Lal. Anu Malik’s music, though good, does not befit a teenage love story starring newcomers and definitely not a Feroz Khan film. ‘Hardam dam bedam’, ‘Hum tumse mohabbat’, ‘Dekh ke tujhko’, ‘Khaate hain kasam’ and ‘Tere pyar’ are well-tuned. Song picturisations impress for the visual beauty (locations) more than the choreography. Dialogues (Sudarshan Faakir) are very good but only at a handful of places. Action scenes (S. Kammo and Javed Khan) are well composed. Production values are nice and so are the technical aspects.

On the whole, Prem Aggan will spell pain & agony — pain for the audience who’ve seen Feroz Khan’s hits earlier, and agony for the film’s distributors because it will prove to be a non-starter all over except in Bombay and South, where it will drop after taking a fair start. Considering its unduly high price, it will entail heavy losses to all its distributors.

Released on 30-10-’98 at New Excelsior and 14 other cinemas of Bombay by UTV Motion Pictures thru Shringar Films. Publicity: excellent. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was very dull everywhere except in Bombay and South.

VISHRAM BEDEKAR DEAD

Director and story-writer Vishram Bedekar passed away on the morning of 30th October in Pune. He was 93.

He had written the story for Prabhat’s runaway bilingual hit, Padosi (Hindi) and Shejari (Marathi), both directed by V. Shantaram.

Vishram Bedekar had directed three Hindi and six Marathi films viz. Thakiche Lagna Aani Satyache Prayog, Krishna Arjun Yudh, Narad-Naradi, Vasudev Balwant, Chul Ani Mul and Pahila Palna. The Hindi films directed by him were Rustom Sohrab, Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi and Lakha Rani. In the last named film, Guru Dutt assisted Bedekar.

Vishram Bedekar was born on 13th August, 1906 and rose to become a towering personality in the literary and film circles. He is survived by his wife and son.

He was cremated the same day.

‘JEANS’ TO BE SENT FOR OSCARS

Shankar’s Jeans (Tamil) will be India’s entry to the Oscar Awards this year. The film, incidentally, has completed 200 days in Tamil Nadu and is the first Tamil film to run for more than 100 days in Malaysia and Singapore.

Jeans is produced by Ashok Amritraj and Dr. J. Murali Manohar and stars Aishwarya Rai and Prashant. Its music is scored by A.R. Rahman.

SUBHASH GHAI CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF MUKTA ARTS

Subhash Ghai celebrated the completion of 20 years of his Mukta Arts on 24th October at the plush Audeus Studio in Bombay. The well-attended function, which began in the morning with a pooja, was followed by a sumptuous lunch.

The function also marked the wedding anniversary of Mukta and Subhash Ghai.

Among the celebrities who attended the function were Shah Rukh Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Bobby Deol, Aishwarya Rai, Mahima Chaudhry, Amrish Puri, Javed Akhtar, Mita Vashishth, Ramesh Taurani, Ashok Mehta, Ayesha Shroff, Alok Nath, Ila Arun, Naghma, Bharat Shah, Yash Chopra, Manmohan Shetty and Anees Bazmee.

As is his custom, Subhash Ghai announced his next film at the function and said, it would be a multi-starrer. The name of the film and its cast will be announced in January 1999.

‘PYAAR TO HONA HI THA’ 100 DAYS

Baba Films’ Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha completed 100 days on 30th/31st October at Bombay’s Metro and Cinemax cinemas. Written and directed by Anees Bazmee for producer Gordhan Tanwani, the film stars Ajay Devgan and Kajol. Music is scored by Jatin Lalit.

A.P. HIGH COURT FROWNS ON SOUND LEVELS IN CINEMAS

The Andhra Pradesh high court has issued directions which may force cinema owners in the state to tone down, or even turn off, their digital and Dolby sound systems as the decibel levels in the cinemas is affecting the hearing of audience, according to a report filed in by the state Pollution Control Board. The PCB had earlier set up a task force to study the sound intensity levels in selected cinemas in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad following the HC directive during a public litigation filed by one Gopala Krishna Kalanidhi in 1996. The task force, after conducting studies at Devi 70mm, Sudershan 35mm, Odeon Deluxe, Odeon 70mm, Sandhya 70mm, Sandhya 35mm, Maheshwari 70mm, Parmeshwari 35mm and Shanti, observed that in all the cinemas, the noise frequency levels varied between 74.5 and 96 decibels — far in excess of the standard level of 45 decibels set by the Central Pollution Control Board. The PCB also observed that the cinemas opting for sound systems like Dolby, DTS and Surround are creating the highest sound pollution. Following the PCB  report, a division bench of the high court ruled that cinemas be made to adhere to the norms set by the PCB. The court has also directed the PCB to send copies of the report to the Director General of Police as well as to all district collectors. The court has also directed the concerned authorities to ensure that the maximum permissible frequency of sound is incorporated as one of the essential conditions to be followed by exhibitors.

Hum Aapse Hit Chaahte Hain, Naidu Saab

KOMAL NAHTA

Papa, main papa ban gaya/Papa, main papa ban gaya blared the loudspeaker as we entered Rama Naidu Cine Village in Hyderabad last Saturday. On the set, Anil Kapoor was sitting on Anupam Kher’s lap, mouthing the lines playing on the loudspeaker. The set — interior of a house — was decorated with colourful balloons and the party mood was very much in evidence. The lines of the song being picturised said it all. Anil Kapoor was dancing with joy with his dad Anupam Kher. Occasion: Anil’s wife, Kajol, had delivered a child. Or so we thought. Only to be corrected. Kajol had not delivered a child as yet. News had come in that Kajol was expecting Anil’s child. Obviously, we thought, since Kajol was busy delivering hit after hit, where was the time for her to deliver kids?

Jokes and festivities apart, where on earth was Kajol? Why was the mother-to-be not partaking in the celebrations? Producer Suresh Naidu explained that Anil and Kajol are divorced. He continued, “Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is a love story in which the romance begins after the divorce.” A novel concept, don’t you think? It is for a Hindi film, but the story has been seen in Telugu and Tamil. In fact, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is a remake of the Telugu super-hit Pavitra Bandham which was also earlier remade in Tamil. Venkatesh had played the hero in the Telugu version. Its heroine, Soundarya, won the National Award for the best actress for her role in this film.

And if Soundarya won it for the Telugu version, Kajol will surely pick up the National Award for the Hindi version, feels D. Rama Naidu. In fact, so impressed is Rama Naidu with Kajol’s performance that he says, “If Kajol doesn’t win the National Award for the best actress next year for this film, it will mean that the Awards are not impartial.” Saying this, Naidu gets down to relating scenes from the film, almost enacting them one by one. It shows how charged he is about the film. He reveals how he has been moved to tears in every trial show of the film’s rushes. Why, we see Naidu’s eyes moistening even while he is narrating scenes from the film. We’ve covered shootings of Rama Naidu’s earlier films too but we’ve never seen him so excited about any project as he is about Hum Aapke Dil…. And Naidu himself admits to this.

Coming to the long title of the film, Suresh Naidu chuckles, “Dad (Rama Naidu) was against this title. He could barely remember the title and so was adamant that we finalise an alternative title. But Satish Kaushik kept persisting for Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain till dad finally relented.” Papa Naidu smiles, “Today, I think, the title is better than the others we had thought of. It gives a feel of the film.”

Satish Kaushik bagged the film as director, thanks largely to Anil Kapoor. Besides, as Suresh Naidu explained, “It’s our policy at Suresh Productions, to give a chance to unsuccessful directors more than to successful ones.” In that case, Satish should thank Boney Kapoor for having given him a chance to make two disasters! Jokes apart, Anil Kapoor put in a good word and that’s how Naidu was prompted to make Satish Kaushik the captain of the ship. Satish revealed how Anil had broken the news to him at 3 o’clock in the night. “I was abroad for shooting, and one night, I was alarmed when my telephone rang in the middle of the night,” recalled Satish, adding, “It was Anil from India who telephoned me to give me the good news that I would be directing Naidu Sahab’s film.” Satish then revealed how he had felt demoralised after his Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja and Prem had bombed but said that he never gave up hope. He felt, this film would be his ticket to fame as a director. Satish also plays a comic role in the film. The name of his character is German (!) because his father, while returning from Germany, had forgotten to get anything for him and so “he tells me to rename my self ‘German’!”

Whatever the comedy in the film, its mainstay will be emotions. Rakesh Bedi, who also plays an important role in the film, recalled how he had tears in his eyes when he was narrated the story by Satish Kaushik. With such brilliant actors as Anil Kapoor, Kajol and Anupam Kher in its cast, the emotions will be something to wait for, we’re sure!

The Naidus have taken care to not let the remake have any South touch whatsoever. Satish Kaushik, in fact, has given the film a very North Indian flavour. Why, even while this piece is being written, the film is being shot in Delhi. Rama Naidu explained that even the actor, who plays a beggar in the film and appears in just one scene, was brought to Hyderabad (for the shooting) from Bombay, such was the care they had taken to ensure that the film did not have a South Indian flavour.

Contrary to the general belief that Kajol is a difficult actress, the Naidus can only be heard singing the heroine’s praises. Why, Rama Naidu rates Kajol as the best among the 80-odd heroines he has worked with in the 90-plus films produced by him so far in South Indian languages and Hindi! No mean compliment, this. Suresh Naidu revealed how Kajol, at the time of signing the film, had requested them to complete the film fast and not go on with shooting endlessly as she loses interest in projects that take very long. Suresh explained, “This suited us fabulously because we believe in making films fast. Kajol allotted us 62 days and, believe it or not, her work has been completed in exactly 62 days!”

Although the Naidus are known to complete their films fast, this remake has taken “the longest time” — 10 months of shooting, according to Rama Naidu. But with shooting almost complete now and dubbing having begun already, Rama Naidu has plenty of time on hand to be ready for the release date — 22nd January ’99. Earlier, Rama Naidu had decided to release the film on 29th January but the release date has been advanced by a week to take advantage of the Idd festival.

POINT NOTED

* Anil Kapoor’s character in HADMRH has negative shades. As Suresh Naidu puts it, “At interval point, the audience will hate Anil.”

* Kajol wears only sarees and, at times, Punjabi suits in the film.

* Rama Naidu has four more subjects ready to be launched in Hindi. He has recently completed a Bengali film with an eye only on awards. His aim is to make at least one film in every language of India. Soon, he will start an Oriya film, to be followed by a film each in Gujarati, Marathi etc.

* Kajol is not quitting films, as is generally believed. When D. Rama Naidu asked her whether she was quitting acting, she is reported to have told him: “Do you also believe these rumours?” The industry should rejoice that such a talented actress is not bidding goodbye to films.

* If you thought, Rama Naidu is just into film production (soon reaching the 100-film mark), you’re wrong. He devotes a lot of his time now to social work and philanthropic activities. “I want to be remembered as a good human being after I’m dead and gone,” says Naidu, the noble soul. He has built a home for the aged and is ready to donate 5 acres of land each for an orphanage and for a home for the handicapped, and another 10 acres for an educational institution for poor people.

* Anil Kapoor believes in destiny. “I tried my level best to see that Pukaar was released this year. But I couldn’t compete with destiny. It was destined to come next year,” says Anil philosophically. Another thing Anil is convinced about is: “If you’re honest, you are bound to succeed.”