MILLENNIUM EXCLUSIVE
“I want to return to my childhood. Yes, that’s my millennium resolution…”
– SHAH RUKH KHAN
KOMAL NAHTA
For all his superstardom, Shah Rukh Khan is one hell of an easy-going guy who, unlike many other stars, doesn’t pretend to be busy when he is not. Rather, for this interview fixed in one single message left on the voicemail box of his cellphone and a return call precisely 15 minutes later, Shah Rukh pretended to be free when actually he had 20 things on hand and 200 others on his mind. Mind you, he is a producer too now, besides being an actor. With his maiden production venture, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, nearing release, the post-production work, the publicity, the distributors, the premieres, everything needed the star’s attention. Oops, sorry, the superstar’s attention. Because that’s what the name-plate on Shah Rukh Khan’s cabin on the fourth floor of the building belonging to his production company, Dreamz Unlimited, at Khar, Bombay, reads — SUPERSTAR. Modesty be damned! But if such blatant flaunting of one’s status in the film world doesn’t come across as vanity, it is because the actor himself comes across as an honest human being. And quite honestly, isn’t the guy a superstar? If he isn’t, why do the locals in the Carribean Islands line up all through the 35-killometre stretch from the airport to the only good hotel on the island, and cheer the actor, chanting his name, when he goes there for a stage-show? Nearer home, the euphoria is no different.
Information on 28th December met the star who has dominated the acting scene for the last five years of the millennium gone by — and should continue to do so for many more years in the new millennium too. Seated in his office, he spoke about his experiences as a producer, his journey as an actor, and other things. Excerpts limited from the conversation unlimited:
So, how do you look at the new millennium?
– Honestly, I don’t look at it any differently. Four days later, it will be the same thing. It’s just the end of a year and the beginning of another. I see the year 1999 as a year of some great work I’ve done — not in terms of the number of my releases, but great work as an actor.
And as a producer, too…?
– Yes. But for me, it has been a year of good work — more than as a producer and actor, as a worker. It has been a little more hectic than usual. Hopefully, it will be the same next year. Though, as an actor, I’ll have five releases in 2000. So, the whole industry’s future will be hanging by the thread of Shah Rukh’s releases.
When were the pangs of fear greater — when your first film as actor was released or now, when your first production venture is releasing?
– Even as an actor, I’ve never been scared of a release. Frankly, release of a film means that it’s on air. After that, a film is beyond anyone’s control. I really work with this in mind, that I don’t work towards working commercial. I’d like to make a film which I think, I’ll like making and which, I think, people would like to see. When such a film becomes a hit, it feels good. But yes, I’m a little more numb now as a producer than I’ve ever been as an actor. I’ve been taking a keen interest in the film’s post-production work and the publicity. I believe in the American style of lavish publicity. I’m not going to tell the world that it’s the greatest film ever made but I’m surely going to publicise the film as the greatest film.
The production has been completely handled by Yash-ji (Johar), the accounts have been taken care of by Jay Mehta (Juhi Chawla’s husband). I’ve contributed to the creative side which has been Aziz Mirza’s domain, but I contribute to the creative side otherwise also — not to portray myself as an intelligent actor or as a hint of interference, but because of my involvement in the films in which I work. The film’s dubbing got over today. Juhi is handling paper publicity and the media. Aziz is busy with the background music. I’m only hoping that the film I’ve enjoyed making, people enjoy viewing it. I don’t know whether the film we’ve made is commercial or not, whether it’s good or not, but I do know that we’ve made it honestly and that we’ve enjoyed making it. I just hope, it has turned out to be the film we had set out to make. I think, it’s 85% of what we had planned. But I’m sure, our next film will be better. My biggest enemy, incidentally, is my ‘next time’. I’m neither being immodest when I say that my next will be even better nor am I being humble when I say that this is less than what my next film will be. But I must say, we’ve all worked very hard. We’ve never worked so hard in our lives. None of us here has slept properly for the last 40 days!
I only hope, people like us, like myself, Juhi, Aziz, Farah Khan, Karan (Johar) and Adi (Aditya Chopra), Manish Malhotra, my unit members, we keep on making these kinds of films. I also understand that to make these films, the first pre-requisite is that you’ve got to be in a position of choice. Just for that, I hope, this company gets a position of choice. That will happen if Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani succeeds. I would be happy if our production company, Dreamz Unlimited, gets a position of choice like, say, Yash Chopra or the Barjatyas, maybe even 10 notches lower than them.
But, I assure you, I’ll make a better film next time, and a still better film after that.
Despite your busy schedules as an actor, what is it that prompted you to take the plunge into production?
– I’m not a very busy actor. I do only four films a year. And it has been so right from the day I started my career. I’ve had only 27 releases in my nine-year career so far.
This company and this film happened quite simply. I owe a lot to Aziz. I’ve stayed in his house for a whole year after my marriage. I’ve also been great friends with Juhi Chawla, with Salman, Chunkey… And they all have been nice to me when I was a nobody. So they weren’t expecting anything in return from me as I was a nobody then. I still remember how Juhi’s mother used to make a cake for my birthday. Then, a little later in my life, came Yash Chopra, Rajiv Mehra, Rakesh Roshan and Ratan Jain.
Coming back to how I became a producer, it happened just very casually. It all started when I was one day sitting with Ratan Jain. There was a friend of Ratan, who was not connected with the film industry at all. During the course of the conversation, he just mentioned that he wouldn’t mind investing his personal money in producing a film like Yes Boss, starring Juhi and myself and to be directed by Aziz Mirza, because he liked those kinds of films. That is the time I thought, we should start believing in ourselves. I thought, if an outsider can repose so much faith in us, why not we in ourselves. That is the time Aziz decided to start a production company and since he treats me and Juhi as his children and also because, as he said, he was going to earn money on our names, he asked us why we were not becoming his partners. And there we were, together on a mission to make a good, honest film.
The name of the company also simply happened. We were sitting with friends one day. Aziz said, the name had to be something to do with dreams because that’s what we were going to sell. We decided on Dreams itself. Aziz asked, “Dreams Ltd.?” I casually remarked, “Make that ‘Dreamz Unlimited’.” Sanjay Chhel, Raj Dahima, Manoj have all been friends. They all got down to writing a script. That’s how work started. We did reject the first story that emerged because we decided to make a little bigger film than originally planned. But, all the same, the process had started. Aziz, Juhi and myself decided to pool in Rs. 5 lakh each and open a bank account with that money. That was our idea of a company. Yash-ji and Jay then told us, if we were really serious, we should do proper documentation. The two of them set up the company for us formally. Friends like Karan, Manish and Aditya heard the story and gave their inputs. For instance, the title song is the work of Adi and Jatin Lalit, costumes have been taken care of by Karan and Manish.
Sony was wonderful enough to buy the music rights. Then Kishore Lulla was more than wonderful to buy the Overseas rights. Wonderful, not because they paid us a good price but because they gave us the confidence. Frankly, I had never thought that I would ever be a producer. Some day, I may have turned a director all right, but a producer? I hadn’t ever imagined that! Nonetheless, now that we have become producers, I’m glad about that. Maybe, we form a team of the best-looking producers, or, the only pin-up producers in the country! Jokes apart, there’s a lot of goodness in ourselves. The entire unit is quite like a family.
This company has so far quite been like my career. It has had the early success which I enjoyed. I sincerely hope, it also gets the fillip my career got. I’ve worked the hardest in my stint as a producer. We all have worked very hard. But Juhi and I had to also take care of our appearances because after the hard work, we had to face the camera for some other films. I did postpone Adi’s and David’s films for some months because of PBDHH. But the hard work notwithstanding, I’m ready for the next one.
You’ve dabbled into distribution in the past. But while you never got involved in the day-to-day business of distribution, what made you get into the thick of production activity?
– I turned a distributor with Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa because nobody was buying the film. I had Rs. 4 lakh, and the film’s price for Bombay was 12, so Ratan Jain, Vijay Galani and myself brought in 4 each and formed a distribution company in the name of my wife, Gauri. We made money in that film, so we bought other films like Chaahat and Oh Darling Yeh Hai India. But just like in distribution, I didn’t dabble into day-to-day production too. I don’t understand accounts, what will I get in day-to-day production activity?
Whose decision was it to voluntarily reduce the price of your film for C.I. territory? Yours or Yash-ji’s?
– Very clearly, I’m not making this film for making money. If money-making was my aim, I could have done two ad films or shows and earned the same amount of money — probably, more — in just two or four days. Nor am I the highest paid actor, as is generally believed. My whole notion of films is very different. Money has never been so important for me. For me, if my film is beautiful, my price is worth 10 crores. Making money is incidental for me, believe me. Even as an actor, I’ve never been too money-minded. I only want to act in good films. I rarely discuss my price. I tell my producers to pay me a respectable amount commensurate with my standing and their recoveries. No producer can blame me of troubling him for money or even otherwise. My only aim, now that I have a house and all other comfortable things of life, is to earn enough money to be able to buy new equipments, besides the ones we bought for PBDHH, new technology and, some day, make a film of international standard in India. I dream of the day when Shekhar Kapur does not have to go to Hollywood to make his films, he can jolly well make them here. I don’t want to be blamed that I didn’t do enough for the industry which has made me whatever I am today. I’ve told my director-friends that they can use my equipments which are all very good.
I had decided, the price of PBDHH would be less than the price of any other Shah Rukh Khan starrer. I am not greedy. Yes, I wanted to ensure that we didn’t make a loss in the film. We definitely haven’t made a profit of several crores, as is the talk in the industry. After PBDHH, we will have a production office to call our own, the film’s negative, a good working team, the equipments, and, maybe, some respect. I now want to just release my film. By reducing the price, I wanted to tell my distributors that if they make money from our film, they should share the same with us. Beyond that, if Yash-ji has reduced the price, it must be because C.I. territory may be being perceived as not very good for the fun film which PBDHH is. In fact, the Bihar distributor, whom we were negotiating with, often complained that his territory was not good for my kind of films. I told Yash-ji not to negotiate the film with him if he wasn’t interested in releasing it, without any grudge. A person must buy my film only if he feels good about it, not otherwise. I understand that our company has got a great deal of advantage because of my star status. But I keep telling my partners, if you’ve benefitted due to my star image, you are also going to get a lot of brickbats because of the same. Here, let me tell you, PBDHH is not an out-and-out Shah Rukh Khan film.
As an actor, how good has your gut feeling been about the box-office fate of your films?
– I don’t normally comment about my own films. But my judgement of films is excellent, it is better than yours.
A while back, you said, you want to act in good films. How do you assess which is a good film?
– I’ll only be honest if I said, I have no sense of story, no sense of character. In my nine years here, I’ve realised that I have no sense of screenplay. So I work with good people. I have my set of people whom I am comfortable working with, who are honest about their work. One such honest person is David Dhawan. He doesn’t believe me when I say, I like his honesty as a filmmaker. After all, what is a film? It is selling of a dream. We have to tell lies to people, we have to sell them dreams.
Does that mean that besides the people you’ve worked with, there’s an entry barrier for the rest who may be desirous of working with you?
– Nothing of the sort. I’m working with Shashilal Nair, Mansoor Khan, Ahathian, David Dhawan and now, with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I’ve never worked with any of them earlier. But I can’t do more than four films at a time.
There must have been occasions when things which excited you when you signed a film are not as exciting as the film is progressing. How do you cope with such cases?
– Films have never been “not as exciting” for me. I bring excitement on the sets. I’m an exciting actor, overrated, exaggerated. But I’m not an unexciting actor. I excite people. I never let hope be lost. If I feel that a film is going wrong somewhere, I do even better. In at least 10 of the 27 releases I’ve had so far, I knew that they were going wrong. But I’ve given my best to them. I don’t want to feel guilty that I didn’t give it my best shot and maybe, therefore, the film failed. I invariably hope that the star charisma may be able to pull a film through despite the wrong things. But I also know that this is the wrongest thing for an actor to believe — that he can pull a bad film through. However, I do it all the time. If my films have done well, it is not because of me. Dilip Kumar or Amitabh Bachchan could take such credit, not me. My films do well only because they are good, not because of me. Every actor should understand that he can never be greater than his film.
Considering what you’ve just said, isn’t it a paradox that stars are still paid many, many times more than the creators of the film, viz. the writers and the directors?
– This is the dichotomy of the film industry. You don’t have an art form in the industry, which ensures that a thing of art is appreciated even if it does not sell. At the end of the day, a good film is the one which is a hit film. Finally, the commercial aspect is so strong that one has got to market his film, to package his film. As soon as you are going to market a film, you have got to package it. And the packaging has got to be beautiful. Like beauty, stardom too is skin-deep. An Arnold Schwarzenegger will always be better paid than a James Cameron. There are, of course, some directors who also get paid handsomely, but then they are stars in their own right. A film is like any other commercial product, say, a soap. The quality of most of the bars of soap is more or less similar, all of them smell nice, yet people pay more for the one which is beautifully packaged. People get taken in by the marketing. Films are an art form which are sold after packaging, in this commercial world. Otherwise, a film could as well have been sold as starring Salim-Javed or Sanjay Chhel.
Are you insecure about your no. 1 position?
– I would have been if I lived in a shell or in an ivory tower. But I don’t go in a shell, I don’t live in an ivory tower. I’m surrounded by my work. In that respect, I’m quite like Dev (Anand) Saab. Besides, I know that whenever my slide downwards begins, it will take some time, I won’t just fall down from the top position in one day. I don’t spend sleepless nights, I don’t get tense. I sincerely believe that if you are working, it will work for you. Otherwise, you could be shattered. I feel scared when I imagine that people will not recognise me, there’ll be no smiles on the faces of people on the roads when they see me. But I know, that won’t happen because I’m working. There will be smiles always. I am not insecure enough to count the bouquets I receive on my birthday, I don’t assess my popularity by the number of magazine covers I am on, I don’t get worried if my song is on the seventh position on countdown charts.
What does the public expect of a Shah Rukh Khan film?
– I think, they expect openness, upfrontedness, honesty from my films. Honesty in my performance is also what they expect — honesty in that I don’t hold things back. Mahesh Bhatt once told me a lovely thing which I also think, Michael Caines said: ‘As soon as someone has bought a ticket to see your film, he has already treated you as a God, he has put you on a very very high pedestal. So you don’t have to remind him again that you are God. If you do so, he is never going to like you for it.’ I take care not to remind my audience that I am Shah Rukh Khan. The better thing to do is to hold a mirror for them and to tell them, ‘this is you’. If people have liked me in my films, it’s because I could kill like an ordinary man, I could slip on a banana peel, I could hide behind a girl to save my skin from a villain, I could do all that a common man could and would do. Honestly, I don’t mind doing anything on the screen. I believe that you can never be too good for the things you are best at.
People tell me, I’m popular because I am sexy, because of the dimples on my cheeks etc. etc., but I think, they are just labels given by people and the media. I am popular for all that I’ve done on the screen. That is why I’m never ashamed of what I’ve done in front of the camera, nor am I extra-proud of what I’ve done. The other day, a friend of mine was telling me, I should no longer do something I had done in my previous films. I fail to understand why I shouldn’t do it. People liked me for doing it and it is because of the things I’ve done that I am what I am today, then how can I stop doing exactly that? It would be cheating the public.
What lessons have production taught you, which acting did not?
– I’ve always been a producer’s actor. I’ve never overridden a producer. I’m a large-hearted man, I know, but I also realise how difficult it is to put that extra buck anywhere. I don’t, therefore, make fun of my producers. For this film of ours, I’ve spent crazily. I need a team like Juhi and Aziz to control me, which they have done. But yes, as a producer, I’ve realised that films should be made faster. It’s better that way. I promise, my next film will be made with even more large-heartedness.
Are the dreams of Dreamz Unlimited limited to making films or do they transcend other territory too?
– No. Aziz, Juhi and I want to make only films. If our first film goes right, we’ll make a still bigger film next time. If, God forbid, the first one goes wrong, we will make a small film. I also want to do something for theatre, maybe build a theatre.
Any millennium resolution for yourself?
– Yes, to start working out. I need to lose some weight. Really, I’ve got to start looking like a hero. Currently, I’m looking like a producer. I also need to spend a little more time with my family. I’ve learnt all my acting from children, I want to learn a lot more from my son, Aryan. Children are the only people who don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. And yet, if a child actor can make you laugh or cry in a film, he must be the best actor. There’s no method to their acting, no calculation whatsoever. Children are so likeable. Maybe, children are my greatest fans because I learn my acting from kids. I recently asked Aryan to repeat the words, ‘Papa, I love you’, after me. He told me, “Papa, I love you,” but in the same breath, he continued, “See, butterfly, Papa,” pointing out to a butterfly. Isn’t that amazing? And we heroes and heroines take pauses before saying the words, “I love you” and after saying them. The way my son hugs me, there’s so much purity in that. I wish, I could hug my heroines the same way, with the same spontaneity, the exact purity. Kids are the most pure of the human species, they are the closest to God.
I hope, in the new millennium, I can get the rawness I had in Deewana. I know, I danced awkwardly in that film, my costumes were awful, my hairstyle wasn’t good, but still there was a likeable purity and rawness which made me acceptable to the world. I want to recapture all that.
If newcomers are not achieving the status of stars today, it is because they are so methodical. Their dress sense is impeccable, they learn dancing and become experts before their first films, they learn acting, action, their gait is well-rehearsed. All that is perfectly fine, but the audience also knows that these things can all be learnt. If they are to like you, they want to see something that’s typical to you. You must show that little difference, that little something that’s you and only you, it cannot be emulated. In the new millennium, I want to retain what I have, and to recapture and rebuild what I’ve lost. I want to return to my childhood. Yes, that’s my millennium resolution…
LATEST POSITION
JAANWAR has done well in U.P., Bihar, C.P. and C.I. (despite Ramzan) but is poor in major cities like Bombay, Delhi, Hyderabad etc.
Jaanwar 1st week Bombay 44,37,946 (59.19%) from 12 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad (6 days) 7,13,076 from 6 cinemas, Jamnagar 74,962; Solapur 2,85,267 from 2 cinemas; Delhi 40,78,058 (52.76%) from 12 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 3,69,868, Agra 3,48,384, Allahabad 2,46,000, Bareilly (6 days) 1,56,712 (52.39%); Calcutta 22,28,230 from 13 cinemas; Nagpur 6,75,612 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,59,454, Amravati (6 days) 1,93,197, Akola 1,54,450, Raipur (6 days) 1,86,621, Jalgaon (6 days) 2,23,933, Chandrapur 1,93,769, Yavatmal 1,18,748; Indore 3,20,670 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,13,913 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 7,61,264 from 3 cinemas, Bikaner (gross) 3,15,426; Hyderabad (gross) 20,18,310 from 10 cinemas, share about 8 lakh.
Dulhan Banoo Mein Teri 1st week Bombay (7 shows) 1,65,421 (60.63%); discontinued from Delhi after 1 day; Allahabad 16,500; Calcutta 28,163.
…………
Khoobsurat 5th week Bombay 12,64,908 (46.23%) from 6 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad (6 days) 2,71,008 from 3 cinemas; Solapur 71,705; Delhi 5,36,413 from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 97,252, Agra 38,612, 4th week Varanasi 46,048, 5th Allahabad 21,650; Nagpur 77,363, Amravati (6 days) 1,08,214, Akola 54,561, total 4,99,049, Raipur (6 days) 53,232, 2nd week Wardha 63,704, 3rd Yavatmal 31,434 (2nd 45,613); 5th week Indore 59,350, Bhopal 55,500; Jaipur 1,15,889.
Hum Saath-Saath Hain picks up even more fabulously in 8th week in East Punjab, Rajasthan and Nizam. Is very steady in U.P. and C.P. Berar. 8th week Bombay 8,84,186 (47.43%) from 3 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad (6 days) 1,70,334 from 2 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Baroda 1,54,660, Rajkot (14 shows) 73,816, Jamnagar (6 days) 34,445, Bhavnagar 63,198; Solapur 1,59,196; Hubli 98,600, Belgaun 91,971, 1st week Gadag 54,027, 4th week Bijapur 66,495, Nippani 34,542; 8th week Delhi 8,06,357 from 5 cinemas; Kanpur 1,37,566, Lucknow 3,25,366, Agra 1,52,290, Varanasi 1,24,077, Allahabad 1,02,936, Ghaziabad 78,760, Meerut 78,747, Bareilly 63,844 (7th 69,764), Dehradun 1,03,477, Jhansi 62,005, Gorakhpur 73,007, Aligarh 65,142, 4th week Hardwar 53,084, Moradabad 54,287, 1st Mirzapur 63,518; 8th week Amritsar 2,03,300 (7th 1,57,490), Ludhiana 2,97,895 (7th 2,46,049), Jalandhar 1,42,837 (7th 1,29,566), Faridabad 60,466, Chandigarh 1,11,135 (7th 90,432), Jammu (6 days) 74,440, 2nd week Ambala Cantt. 78,403 (1st 77,888), Ambala City (6 days) 35,070 (1st 39,649); 8th week Calcutta 5,25,885 from 5 cinemas; 5th week Guwahati (6 days) 48,541, 1st week Gangtok (Sikkim) 1,36,820; 8th week Nagpur 2,53,461, 5th Balaghat 63,051, 8th Jabalpur 2,97,253 (gross), Amravati 1,63,902, total 19,19,385, Akola 1,13,060, total 13,80,660, Dhule 55,638, Raipur (gross) 2,00,076, Bhilai 61,166, 6th week Durg 50,124, 8th Jalgaon 1,10,095, Bhusawal 85,553, Gondia 73,674, Wardha 35,341, Chandrapur 1,25,163, total 17,51,231, Yavatmal 61,212 (7th 68,018), Khandwa 1,07,166; Indore 1,37,507 (3 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,38,842 (7th 5,95,480), Jodhpur (gross) 3,64,423 (7th 3,08,587), Ajmer 1,05,888 (7th 83,546), Bikaner 99,223 (7th 79,159), Kota 1,24,880 (7th 99,567), Bhilwara 60,942 (7th 53,642); Hyderabad (gross) 6,78,197 from 2 cinemas, Aurangabad 1,51,677; Bangalore 1,94,442 (7th 1,71,393); Madras 1,83,459 (7th 1,50,797).
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ATTEMPT ON LIFE OF MANMOHAN SHETTY
Some unidentified assailants made an abortive bid on the life of Manmohan Shetty, owner of Adlabs, on 29th December. The lab owner was heading towards his office when the assailants tried to open fire. Manmohan Shetty escaped unhurt. Extortion seems to be the motive.
About a fortnight back, a Bombay distributor-exhibitor was also targeted by unknown assailants. The distributor-exhibitor escaped unhurt.
YUSUF LAKDAWALA’S ‘SOUND CITY’
Builder, hotelier, financier and studio-owner Yusuf Lakdawala is setting up yet another sound recording studio — Sound City — in the Empire Studio complex, for his son, Feroz, to look after. For the first time, Amek-Rembrandt Galileo console for recording and DSP Work-Station for dubbing and editing have been installed in Bombay in this state-of-the-art studio. Sound City, scheduled to start shortly, will provide complete post-production facilities.
YOU ASKED IT
Which was the first Hindi film to celebrate a jubilee?
– It was Prabhat Film Company’s AMRIT MANTHAN. It celebrated jubilee in 1934.
What would you wish for the film industry in the year 2000?
– That the first year of the new millennium (is it actually the first year of the new millennium or the last year of the old one?) proves to be a script-healthy year. Healthy scripts of films means a healthy industry.
What is your New Year resolution?
–I’ve resolved to see some great movies in the new year. See, I’m smart — I make a resolution, and filmmakers will have to ensure that I adhere to my resolution.
CENSOR NEWS
Maa Sherawali Productions’ Bulandi was given C.C. (in Madras) No. CIL/1/0569/99 (U) dt. 22-12-’99 ; length 4813.04 metres in 16 reels (with cuts).
Film Kraft’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai was given C.C. No. CIL/2/46/99 (UA) dt. 29-12-’99; length 4730.75 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 9.29 metres).
Surjit Movies’ Shaheed Uddham Singh, applied on 28th and seen on 29th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/2/47/99 (UA) dt. 31-12-’99; length 4705.10 metres in 17 reels (no cut).
REGIONAL FILMS
Mitali Films’ Jivtar (Gujarati) was given C.C. No. CIL/1/75/99 (U) dt. 27-12-’99; length 3830.45 metres in 14 reels (cuts: 0.35 metres).
Headline Films’ Maadi Jaya (Gujarati) was given C.C. No. CIL/1/76/99 (U) dt. 29-12-’99; length 4121.92 metres in 16 reels (cuts: 66.06 metres).
Ajey Madhav Jhankar’s Lekroo (Marathi) was given C.C. No. CIL/1/77/99 (U) dt. 29-12-’99; length 3669.19 metres in 15 reels (cuts: 5.76 metres).
Vaibhav Chitra’s Maherchi Pahuni (Marathi), applied on 27th and seen on 28th, has been issued C.C. No. CIL/1/78/99 (U) dt. 31-12-’99; length 4601.09 metres in 17 reels (some deletions in sound only).
FILM INFORMATION’S BESTS OF 1999
Best Film
Hum Saath-Saath Hain
Best Producer
Kamal Kumar Barjatya
Rajkumar Barjatya
Ajit Kumar Barjatya
(Hum Saath-Saath Hain)
Best Director
Sooraj R. Barjatya
(Hum Saath-Saath Hain)
Best Actor
Aamir Khaan
(Sarfarosh)
Best Actress
Kajol
(Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain)
Best Supporting Actor
Anil Kapoor
(Taal)
Best Supporting Actress
Sushmita Sen
(Biwi No. 1)
Best Villain
Naseeruddin Shah
(Sarfarosh)
Best Comedian
Johny Lever
(Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain)
Best Story
Ahathian
(Sirf Tum)
Best Screenplay
Sooraj R. Barjatya
(Hum Saath-Saath Hain)
Best Dialogues
Hriday Lani & Pathik Vats
(Sarfarosh)
Best Music Director
A.R. Rahman
(Taal)
Best Lyrics
Anand Bakshi
(Taal)
Best Song
Taal Se Taal Mila
(Taal)
Best Playback Singer (Male)
Kay Kay
(Tadap Tadap – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Playback Singer (Female)
Kavita Krishnamoorthy
(Title Song – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Background Score
Sandeep Chowta
(Kaun)
Best Action Director
Tinnu Verma
(Kachche Dhaage)
Best Sound
Dilip Subramaniam
(Kaun)
Best Cinematographer
Anil Mehta
(Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Choreographer
Vaibhavi Merchant & Sanjay Leela Bhansali
(Dholi Taro – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Editor
Jethu Mundul
(Sarfarosh)
Best Art Director
Nitin Desai
(Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Climax
Sirf Tum
Best Scene
Tabu lending helping hand to Mohnish during their marriage
(Hum Saath-Saath Hain)
Best Male Newcomer
Aftab Shivdasani
(Mast)
Best Costumes
Neeta Lulla (for Aishwarya Rai)
(Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best New Director
John Mathew Matthan
(Sarfarosh)
Best New Music Director
Ismail Durbar
(Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
Best Upcoming Playback Singer
Sunidhi Chauhan
(Mast)
Best Promotion
Vashu Bhagnani
(Biwi No. 1)
Best Dubbed Film
The Mummy
CLASSIFICATION: 1999
(Total 154 films, including 42 dubbed films)
AAA (Super-Duper Hit)
–
AA (Super-Hit)
HUM SAATH-SAATH HAIN
(lesser in some circuits, and ‘AAA’ in some)
A1 (Hit)
–
A (Semi-Hit)
BIWI NO. 1 (‘A1’ in Bombay, and losing in Bengal)
HUM AAPKE DIL MEIN REHTE HAIN (‘AA’ in Bombay, and lesser in some circuits)
DAAG – THE FIRE
BB (Overflow)
SARFAROSH (‘AA’ in Bombay & ‘A’ in Delhi-U.P.and C.P. Berar)
SIRF TUM
THE MUMMY (dubbed, ‘AA’ in Andhra)
MUNNIBAI (‘A’ in West Bengal, Bihar & C.I.)
B1 to BB (Commission-Earner to Overflow)
HOGI PYAR KI JEET (‘A’ in West Bengal, ‘AAA’ in Bihar)
KACHCHE DHAAGE
B1 (Commission-Earner)
TAAL (‘A1’ in Overseas, ‘BB’ in few, and losing in few circuits)
HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM (‘AA’ in Bombay, ‘A’ in Overseas, and losing in several circuits)
HASEENA MAAN JAAYEGI (‘BB’ in a few circuits)
VAASTAV (‘A’ in Bombay, West Bengal and C.P. Berar, and losing in some circuits)
JAANBAAZ KHILADI (dubbed)
MAUT KA SAMUDRA (dubbed)
B to B1 (Coverage to Commission-Earner)
TEZ RAFTAAR (dubbed)
ARJUN PANDIT (losing in some circuits)
JAANWAR (‘A’ in Bihar, overflow in some circuits, and losing in some)
B (Coverage)
INTERNATIONAL KHILADI (‘B1’ in some circuits)
HINDUSTAN KI KASAM (‘BB’ in Bihar)
TITANIC (dubbed)
THE REST
…………….
Is The Film Industry Y2K OK?
It’s become a fashion to ask of Y2K compliance. Whether it is the airlines or the bank or even your own computers, you want to know whether Year 2000 will paralyse your life in any way or make it more difficult.
It is not just a fashion statement that we are making when we are thinking aloud about whether the film industry is Y2K compliant. Because the question — if it is or isn’t Y2K okay — is more serious than it may sound or appear to be today.
Are we really prepared for the Year 2000? Is the industry walking into the new millennium with its eyes wide open? The sixth sense tells a different story — that our eyes are wide shut! Need proof? Open your eyes wide and look at the fate of several of the films released in 1999. Analyze this: a number of big-budget films have bombed. Some among them did not even manage a decent initial. The blockbuster of the year, Hum Saath-Saath Hain, also did not do equally gratifying business in all the circuits.
On the one hand, film prices continued to rise in 1999. On the other, business deteriorated, generally speaking. The year 1999 did not boast of a single universal blockbuster. Time was when in 1977, there were not one or two but three mega hits — Amar Akbar Anthony, Dharam-Veer and Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye — in a single year. Time is in 1999 when there’s no film qualifying for the title of ‘universal blockbuster’.
What ails the film industry now? Lack of efforts and sincerity in one aspect — and might we add, the most important one at that — story writing. While filmmakers have woken up to the technological strides in cinema, the backbone of films — script — is being given the royal ignore. Another dangerous tendency among producers is to make films keeping the Overseas territory in mind. The films of such Overseas-conscious filmmakers are tops in style. While style is fine, it cannot be so at the cost of substance. And our makers would do well to remember that modernity and style may be ‘hot’ in the world market but substance can never go out of fashion. In fact, there’s no combination in a film deadlier than content and stylish presentation. So, we cannot hope to leapfrog into the new millennium without being S2A ready — story-to-appeal ready!
The audience the world over is becoming sharper and wiser by the day. Nothing short of excellent cinema will now do if one is to compete in the international as well as the national arena. Let us shed our complacency and usher in the new millennium by infusing dynamism in thoughts and action alike. Let’s now begin a NEW STORY!
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
Kaho Naa… ‘O Shit’ Twice!
Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai has made the CBFC raise its eyebrows over an ‘objectionable’ utterance and an ‘unholy’ act. That is, ‘objectionable’ and ‘unholy’ from the CBFC’s point of view. The objectionable part was Amisha Patel, the film’s heroine, uttering “Oh shit!” twice in one scene in the film. The CBFC relented almost immediately after Rakesh Roshan agreed to cut the part where Amisha says the s-word a second time. Obviously, ‘you can say (sh)it, but say (sh)it only once’, seems to be the CBFC diktat!
Incidentally, the CBFC also objected to another scene from Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, where the hero and heroine are doing an ‘unholy’ act. Guess what? They are drinking champagne! The scene was later okayed when the hero and heroine were shown touching their lips to the champagne bottle rather than drinking from it.
Curiously enough, the CBFC did not find distasteful or objectionable the wind-breaking scenes of Salman Khan and Neeraj Vora in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Hello Brother respectively.
How’s That For A Change?
Here’s one to make you rack your brains for a while.
Why does Waheeda Rehman wear only one saree in the entire Gaata rahe mera dil song of Guide? That is to say, why does she not have a change of costume during the entire song?
Think, think…
Simple — because Dev Anand sings to her:
O mere hamrahi
Meri baanh thame chalna
Badle duniya SAREE
Tum na badalna…
Therefore, no change of SAREE, you see!
