SILSILA HAI PYAR KA

N.N. Sippy Productions’ Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (UA) is a love story with a routine script. The boss of a huge industrial empire is worried about his good-for-nothing son whose only passion in life is to flirt and womanise. To mend the ways of his wayward son, the father appoints a secretary for his son. The idea is that the secretary, with her simplicity, will bring a change in the boy’s life. Although the girl does manage to bring about a change in the boy, she can do so only after shedding her simplicity and instead becoming a glamour doll. The girl’s mission, though, she realises, is only half-complete. For, while the boy starts taking interest in his father’s business, he yet treats girls as playthings. This infuriates the secretary with whom the boy tries to act fresh. Meanwhile, there’s a business tycoon who lures the boy and his secretary to participate in a business venture with him. His aim is to get married to the sexy secretary. How the boss and her secretary escape from the clutches of the tycoon forms the climax. Ultimately, the boy realises that he loves his secretary, and the two of them are united in matrimony by their happy families.

The film meanders from here to there and appears directionless at several places. It is a sad mistake on the part of the writers (Shrabani Deodhar, Robin Bhatt and Akash Khurana) that the very simplicity of the girl, which is given so much importance to by the father, proves futile to improve the son. Again, the secretary seems to be working in two directions — one, in fulfilling her duties as a secretary, and secondly, in trying to win over the boss’ heart because she loves him since college days. Although not wrong, this does dilute the virtues of the secretary. Had she been shown as single-mindedly fulfilling her professional duties only, the audience would have been able to sympathise with her character. The track of the business tycoon does not go well with the rest of the story and seems to have been incorporated only to add some drama to a simple plot. The climax (with Johny Lever) is truly pathetic. Emotions fail to touch the heart. On the plus side are a couple of songs, beautiful foreign locations and, to some extent, the comedy track of Shakti Kapoor and Tiku Talsania. K.K. Singh’s dialogues are very good when he doesn’t resort to clichés.

Karisma Kapoor does extremely well. Although she looks very good in the glamorous role, she evokes sympathy with a sincere performance in the role of a simpleton. Chandrachur Singh has not been able to handle the roles of a playboy and a boss with ease. He is good at times but not up to the mark at other times. Danny Denzongpa performs ably but his character adds nothing worthwhile to the story. Aroona Irani is fair in a small role. Shakti Kapoor is entertaining. Tiku Talsania is really good. Alok Nath, as the hero’s father, is natural to the core. Johny Lever has been wasted; he has not been able to evoke much laughter in a role that is ill-defined. Mishkaa Khanna makes an average debut and so does Neelam Singh. Dina Pathak, Babban Yadav and the rest pass muster.

Shrabani Deodhar’s story relies too much on clichés and offers nothing new whatsoever to the viewer. Her direction is just about fair. Jatin Lalit’s music is good. The title song, ‘Dil to pagal hai’, ‘Padosan ke ghar’ and ‘Suno suno ladkiyon’ are appealing numbers. While the songs have been picturised on heavenly outdoor locations or rich sets, choreography could have been far better. Debu Deodhar captures the visual beauty of foreign landscapes ably. Editing is weak. Art direction (R. Verman) and production values are very good. Technically, okay. Action scenes are average.

On the whole, Silsila Hai Pyar Ka is a weak fare. Having taken a slow start, it cannot be expected to pick up as it has no novelty. However, it should do a bit better in Bombay.

Released on 16-4-’99 at Liberty and 12 other cinemas of Bombay thru Janata Film Distributors. Publicity: very good. Opening: ordinary. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull everywhere.

ZULMI

Chaudhry Enterprises’ Zulmi (A) is a vendetta drama. An honest thakur is gunned down by an underworld don, but before dying, the thakur asks his trusted lieutenant to take care of his grandson, the only living member of the family. The grandson grows under the guardianship of his grandfather’s trusted man. He (grandson) is a no-gooder and indulges in womanising. He once forces a girl to kill herself when she cannot escape his advances to rape her. The dead girl’s brother (hero) naturally is waiting for an opportunity to seek revenge. So is the grandfather’s lieutenant waiting to avenge his master’s death. By quirk of fate, the hero is picked up by the lieutenant. But once the hero realises that the one whom he wants to kill is the grandson, all hell breaks loose. Simultaneously, the grandfather’s killers join forces with the evil grandson to kill his own guardian. Ultimately, the grandson has a change of heart and sacrifices his life to save the hero’s. The hero then gets married to his beloved, the lieutenant’s daughter.

The story is replete with oft-repeated incidents, and the turns and twists in the drama barely manage to engage the viewers’ attention. The lieutenant shielding his ward only because he had given his word to the dying master to take care of him looks unjustified — more so because the ward is a rapist and a murderer. The hero sermonising (in the climax) about why he would not kill the grandson looks totally unjustified.

Screenplay is quite shoddy. Dialogues are good but only at places. Climax is not very believable. In fact, the entire second half is dull.

Akshay Kumar acts reasonably well. He excels in stunts. Twinkle Khanna looks pretty and does an average job. Amrish Puri is so-so. Milind Gunaji is not impressive. Dalip Tahhil does a fair job. Aroona Irani does not get much scope but acts well. Rakhee Malhotra leaves a mark. Ghanshyam is good. Dara Singh, Deep Dhillon, Aroon Bakshi and the rest lend fair support.

Kuku Kohli’s direction is hardly any better than his story. He takes recourse to clichés in both, writing and narration. Music is quite a letdown and song picturisations are dull. Only a couple of songs have hummable tunes but even they are not of the hit variety. Action scenes (Kala Singh) have been very well composed. There is a good dose of action for front-benchers. Camerawork is ordinary and so are the other technical and production values.

On the whole, Zulmi is a dull fare with not much of an initial value.

Released on 16-4-’99 at Dreamland and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru Metro Films. Publicity & opening: so-so. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor everywhere.

BANK FINANCE FOR FILMS ON ANVIL?

A decision to finance film production has reportedly been taken by a committee of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), headed by Bank of Baroda chairman K. Kannan. The committee was constituted a year back expressly to examine the issues connected with film financing. The BJP government, it may be recalled, had granted industry status to film business in May ’98 and bank finance for films was assumed to be a natural corollary to the industry status.

It is expected that banks would finance film projects at a premium of 3% over their prime lending rates (PLR). Since the existing PLR of most commercial banks is 12%, it would mean that banks would lend to film projects at 15% p.a.

The final draft of the IBA committee’s report is expected to be submitted to the IBA once the committee members endorse it. The committee’s terms of reference cover the current status of the industry, including its present funding arrangements, the risk factors, bankability of filmmaking with reference to credibility of the borrower, viability of operations, security aspects and safeguards to be taken to insulate the banks from a high risk level. The committee, it is learnt, has also looked into the issue of collateral at length.

RAMESH PATEL DEAD

Laboratory owner Ramesh Patel passed away on 14th April in Bombay. He was 63 and had been ailing since some time. A bypass surgery of the heart on 26th March at Bombay Hospital in Bombay led to several severe complications. He underwent yet another major surgery on 12th April and finally died on the morning of 14th. His only son was in London when Ramesh Patel died. His funeral was held on 15th morning. He was cremated at the Chandanwadi electric crematorium. He is survived by his wife, a son, a daughter and other family members.

Ramesh Ambalal Patel, alongwith brothers late Kantilal and Shashikant and Indukumar, looked after Filmcenter, one of the premier film laboratories of the country, started by his father. He was the chairman and managing director of Filmcenter.

A genial gentleman, Ramesh Patel was very co-operative and helpful, too. It is an irony that the man who toiled so hard to establish Filmcenter should have passed away in the year in which the laboratory was celebrating its golden jubilee.

Ramesh Patel was also a director in PolyGram India Ltd. and Patel India Pvt. Ltd. He was a partner in Cine Film Distributors, the agency for Fuji color negative, and Recording Center.

Filmcenter remained closed on 14th and 15th. Besana will be held today (17th April) between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. at Filmcenter.

YOU ASKED IT

How much business has the Gujarati blockbuster Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya done in Bombay city?

– It has done over 9 lakh in Bombay city-suburbs and Thane. In fact, looking to its huge success in Bombay, another Gujarati film, LAKHTAR NI LAADI NE VILAYAT NO VAR, will be released in Bombay city next week.

Like our films, even our cricket team is faring badly. What would you say to that?

– In filmi style, let me put it this way: Without INTERNATIONAL KHILADI (Sachin Tendulkar), the Indian cricket team is ANARI NO. 1!

Why are veteran filmmakers failing these days? And what is the reason for several young directors, too, not making successful films?

– Veterans have the experience but many of them are out of synch with today’s generation and their requirements. The youngsters, on the other hand, may be in tune with the times but often, they lack experience.

PRODUCTION NEWS

‘Sooryavansham’ Towards First Copy

Padmalaya Combines’ Sooryavansham, presented by Krishna, is now in the mixing stage at Media Arts, Madras. The first copy is expected to be out by April 25. Produced by G.A. Seshagiri Rao and directed by E.V.V. Satyanarayana, the film stars Amitabh Bachchan (as father and son), Soundarya, Anupam Kher, Bindu, Shivaji Satam, Jaya Kapoor, Rachna Banerjee, Mukesh Rishi, master Anandvardhan and Kader Khan. Music: Anu Malik. Lyrics: Sameer. Story: Vikraman. Dialogues: Aadesh K. Arjun. Cinematography: S. Gopal Reddy. Choreography: Chinni Prakash and Saroj Khan.

‘Chal Mere Bhai’ In Bangalore

An 8-day shooting schedule of Neha Arts’ Chal Mere Bhai will commence in Bangalore on April 23. The entire cast, including Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor, Dalip Tahhil, Sushma Seth, Shakti Kapoor, Himani Shivpuri, Satish Kaushik, Asrani, Javed Khan, Ghanshyam, Suresh Bhagwat and Rajoo Shreshtha, will participate. Being produced by Nitin Manmohan and directed by David Dhawan, the film is based on a story by Ikram Akhtar and screenplay written jointly by Ikram Akhtar and Yunus Sejawal. Dialogues: Rumi Jafri. Music: Anand Milind. Lyrics: Sameer. Cinematography: Harmeet Singh. Art: R. Verman. Choreography: Ganesh Acharya. Editing: A. Muthu. Gaurav Digital presents the film.

MIX MASALA

GOOD ACTOR, GOOD PRANKSTER

Television actor Anup Soni’s answering machine on his telephone has a cute message. It first says: “Hello!” Then, after a small pause, the voice says, “Yes”. After another small pause, the same voice asks, “Who’s this?” Again a second’s pause. And then in Hindi: “Kaun?” And then, after yet another pause, the voice, amidst mild laughter, says, “Come on yaar, this is just an answering machine,” followed by the usual “leave your name and telephone number” etc. etc. Since the message doesn’t sound like a taped message, the more gullible caller (say, Rajesh) is likely to fill the pauses thus:
Tring Tring
Answering machine: “Hello!”
Rajesh: “Hello. Anup?”
AM: “Yes.”
Rajesh: “Anup, Rajesh here.”
AM: “Who’s this?”
Rajesh: “Rajesh, Rajesh”
AM: “Kaun?”
Rajesh: “Arre, Rajesh.”
AM: “Come on yaar, ……”

Try it out. But since you’ve been forewarned, don’t fall prey to Anup’s prank. And yes, his telephone no. is 632-8083. And yes again, the guy, besides being a good prankster, is also a good actor. But proof of that comes on the small screen, not on the small telephone or the smaller answering machine.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

No Male Chauvinism, This

Although it has been said umpteen times, it wouldn’t be out of place to repeat it here. That heroines rarely, if ever, command an initial. However popular may be the heroine of a film, she cannot ensure an opening to a film. For a housefull initial, the audience must see the name of a saleable/popular hero in the film’s cast. Otherwise, a film cannot hope to get a decent opening. As happened this week in the case of N.N. Sippy’s Silsila Hai Pyar Ka. With Chandrachur Singh’s career today being as exciting as the prospect of a teetotaller being offered a glass of whisky, there’s no hero figure in SHPK to lure the first-day audience. Therefore, despite two songs of the film being reasonably popular and in spite of the fact that the film’s heroine, Karisma Kapoor, has had a release after more than a year, the film has opened to houses ranging from dull to average. Silsila hai male figure ka, wot?

Publicity, Not Akshay, Does The Trick

If Silsila Hai Pyar Ka did not take a happy start, similar was the case of Zulmi. After the bumper opening of Akshay starrer International Khiladi, many in the trade were expecting Akshay’s Zulmi too to open very well. But what such people forgot to appreciate was that International Khiladi took a flying start not because of Akshay but rather because of the bumper publicity of the film. The stunts, glimpses of which were shown in the film’s promotional trailers, had created a pretty good impression on the audience and that ensured that International Khiladi opened to swell houses.

Dancing Hero Caught On Wrong Foot

The dancing hero has done it this time. Not satisfied with the collections of his recently released film, he resorted to, what in filmi parlance is called, ‘feeding’. That is to say, he had unsold tickets in several cinemas of Bombay city on the 5th, 6th and 7th days of the first week, torn. The irony is that the film was, even without the ‘feeding’, behaving well in Bombay and the rest of Maharashtra. The alarming drop in collections came in other parts of the country, particularly in East Punjab, Rajasthan, Bengal and Bihar, besides other circuits. But our dancing hero, obviously, couldn’t ‘feed’ there. Perhaps, he is under the impression that producers only see the collections of Bombay city and suburbs before deciding on a hero’s market price. Maybe, the dancing hero is in a mood to jack up his price and so this feeding. Or maybe, the hero simply wants to fan his ego by reading inflated collections of his film, in trade papers. But not all trade papers can fall prey to this feeding trick, what say Hero No. 1?

Release Postponed

Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai will not make it to the cinemas in August or September (as planned) because the shooting schedule in New Zealand this month has been cancelled. Rakesh Roshan reached New Zealand and was disappointed to see that the flowers he had expected to see in full bloom at the locations, which were finalised, weren’t there. Rather than shoot on the locations without the flowers, Rakesh preferred cancelling the stint. Obviously, therefore, the film’s completion has been postponed and, so, its release too. It will now be released in November.

Enough Of Prateeksha: Bank Now Wants ‘Prateeksha’

Rumours are rife that Canara Bank may attach the famous Prateeksha bungalow of Amitabh Bachchan at Juhu, Bombay. The bank has moved the Bombay high court, seeking permission to attach the bungalow to recover its dues. The bungalow is said to be worth Rs. 12 crore. The bank has charged AB Corp chairman Amitabh Bachchan and vice chairperson Jaya Bachchan for the non-payment of bank advances to the tune of Rs. 14 crore. The two of them had stood guarantee for the borrowing by ABCL. But Amitabh has told the Bombay high court that his bungalow is mortgaged to Sahara India. It may be pointed out here that the bank swung into action as AB Corp was referred to the Board for Industrial & Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) on 22nd March this year. Once a company is in the BIFR fold, it need not pay back the owed funds to banks and financial institutions until the BIFR comes up with a rehabilitation package and this may take years to materialise. AB Corp is also said to be owing money to a host of other banks.

300 Films In 365 Days

Kishore Talkies, Burhanpur, may have set a record of sorts by exhibiting as many as 300 films in 1998. Sometimes, two films were screened at the cinema in a single day. Variety is the spice of life, after all!

Canteen Competition

Patrons of Novelty cinema in Bombay are getting the best bargain in intervals. Snacks, cold drinks and mineral water bottles are all available at very reasonable rates. This is so because the cinema has two canteens — one, run by the contractor, and the second, run by the cinema management itself. The management is keen to have a monopoly and is, therefore, desirous of cancelling the contract with the contractor. But the latter is in no mood to leave Novelty. To drive the contractor out of business, the canteen run by the management sells refreshments at truly reasonable rates. So while the management and the contractor fight it out, the cinegoer is happy about the low rates — that is, only if he reaches the right canteen!