JUNG

Satish Tandon Productions’ Jung (A) is an uncommon story, though not exceptionally unusual. On the one side, it tells the story of a battle for life and on the other, a battle with law.

A brave and law-abiding high-ranking police office (Jackie Shroff) is under tremendous mental pressure to save the life of his seven-year-old son who is suffering from blood cancer. He pleads with a dreaded criminal (Sanjay Dutt), who is behind bars, to donate his bone marrow to save his son (as the criminal’s bone marrow matches that of the police officer’s son who has a rare blood group). The criminal agrees, but only after the police officer’s wife (Raveena Tandon) fervently appeals to him. However, after agreeing to donate the bone marrow, he escapes from the hospital without donating it as he has to recover money that is owed to him by an erstwhile associate. In comes another police officer, who is stern and known to eliminate criminals because he does not believe in giving them another chance. In the confrontation between the escaped criminal and the stern cop, the former kills the latter and returns to the hospital to donate his bone marrow in time. He thereby makes his beloved (Shilpa Shetty) happy.

Till the interval, the drama is replete with tense scenes between Jackie Shroff and Sanjay Dutt in the jail. Jackie’s tough character then suffers a setback (after he pleads with Sanjay Dutt) and from thereon, the drama loses grip and it moves on a different track — showing the criminal’s escapades, his romance with a dancer and his friendship and enmity with his partners. The scenes showing the child’s illness trauma become too sombre after a while. However, the entry of the criminal’s beloved provides relief after more than an hour of serious viewing. The song (‘Aaila re’) comes after the interval; it would have been prudent to have the song preceding the interval and then repeating the same even after the interval. Two songs could easily be deleted to maintain the momentum of the drama. Dialogues are in keeping with the situations. The tension in the climax (whether to operate the criminal or not for removal of the bullet) looks too forced because the impending threat to the criminal’s life is there, whether or not the bullet is removed from his injured body.

Sanjay Dutt has done extremely well. His character is negative throughout the film except in the end when he does the good act of donating his bone marrow. Jackie Shroff looks lifeless after an initial good showing. Raveena Tandon is convincing in emotional scenes. Shilpa Shetty charms with her sensual movements in the ‘Aaila re’ dance number and in romantic scenes. Aditya Pancholi is good. Navin Nischol lives his role. Saurabh Shukla gives able support. Neeraj Vora fails to evoke laughter. Master Yash is tolerable. Sachin Khedekar is quite good.

Direction is good in parts and weak in other parts; the scenes showing tough drama are good, but the emotional scenes are very dull. Action scenes are executed in the style of Hollywood films. Musically, two songs, ‘Aaila re’ and ‘Balli di galli’, are extremely well-tuned, the former being the best attraction where its picturisation is concerned. Other songs are also good but their picturisation on Jackie Shroff are a sore point because he is a bad dancer. Besides, some of the songs come up abruptly. Cinematography and other technical aspects are of standard.

On the whole, Jung will face a hard battle at the box-office due to lack of entertainment and very little relief. A loser for all concerned, except, maybe in Delhi-U.P.

Released on 12-5-2000 at Novelty and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd. Publicity: fairly good. Opening: fair. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull at many places, but good in Delhi and U.P.

LATEST POSITION

It was a normal week and the collections were, therefore, low as usual.

Chal Mere Bhai has not been appreciated. 1st week collections, however, are impressive at places. 1st week Bombay 56,08,357 (93.81%) from 11 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 28,33,823 from 8 cinemas, Vapi 4,69,833, Padra 1,94,666, Rajkot 2,94,817 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar (matinee) 24,151 (1 in regular unrecd.), Adipur 1,20,726, Bhuj 97,382; Pune 14,97,581 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,22,178 (100%), Satara 2,20,640 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli (noon) 69,385 (1 in regular unrecd.), Bijapur 88,242; Delhi 48,38,360 (77.71%) from 9 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Lucknow 59,29,385, Agra 4,66,000, Varanasi 2,56,590, Allahabad 1,68,731, Bareilly (6 days) 1,72,937, Hardwar 90,000; Calcutta 16,93,740 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 9,06,250 from 4 cinemas, Amravati 2,73,396, Akola 2,05,607 (95%), Raipur (6 days, gross) 3,47,264, Durg 1,21,727, Jalgaon 2,18,796, Wardha 94,250, Bilaspur 1,74,202; Jaipur 8,17,464 from 4 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows, gross) 2,39,767; did fair in Hyderabad.

Dahshat is dismal. 1st week Bombay 5,82,396 (24%) from 5 cinemas; Pune 45,000; did poor in Calcutta.

Dacait Queens did poor in 1st week in East Punjab.

The Destroyer (dubbed) did ordinary in 1st week in Hyderabad.

Chote Miyan (dubbed) drops. 2nd week Bombay 2,81,846 (40.55%); Ahmedabad 3,64,112 from 2 cinemas; Pune 26,792; Delhi 3,76,257 from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 1,90,000.

Hadh Kar Di Aapne faces a steep fall. 4th week Bombay 12,26,171 (38.45%) from 6 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,11,923 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot (matinee) 19,250; Pune 2,13,574 from 2 cinemas, Solapur (matinee) 68,060; 2nd week Bijapur 32,240 (1st 1,19,000); 4th week Delhi 9,21,132 from 7 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,90,586, Agra 97,000, Varanasi 1,09,298, Allahabad 90,183, Bareilly (6 days) 57,524, Hardwar 20,000; Calcutta 1,49,319; Nagpur 1,14,755 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 85,168, Amravati (6 days) 84,396, Akola 66,194, total 4,36,614, Raipur (6 days) 64,386, 2nd week Jalgaon 1,34,034; 4th week Indore 1,65,000 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,21,617, Bikaner 74,797; Hyderabad (gross) 4,30,989 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

Hera Pheri 6th week Bombay 23,26,152 (58.92%) from 9 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 3,56,275 from 3 cinemas, Rajkot 70,000 (1 unrecd.); Pune 4,07,088 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur (matinee) 35,951; Delhi 6,00,161 from 4 cinemas; Lucknow 53,486, Agra 29,500, Varanasi 34,012; Calcutta 86,229; Nagpur 74,653 from 2 cinemas, Amravati (6 days) 79,579, Akola 47,577; Bhopal 34,000; Hyderabad (gross) 1,74,740 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.)

Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge is doing well in small centres of C.I. due to hit music. 7th week Bombay 6,31,211 (41.30%) from 2 cinemas (7 on F.H., 5 unrecd.); Ahmedabad 55,303; Pune 1,15,328 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,23,579, Satara (matinee) 23,965; Delhi 1,99,606 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,65,234, Agra, 84,000, Allahabad 63,000, Bareilly (6 days) 23,356; Calcutta 1,02,532; Nagpur 49,997 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 97,835, Amravati (6 days) 62,266, Akola 42,500, total 6,81,160, 3rd week Kamptee 38,146, total 1,48,674, 7th week Raipur (6 days) 38,257; Bhopal 55,200; Jaipur 5,84,447; Hyderabad (gross) 4,52,954 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.).

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 17th week Bombay 8,48,700 (55.45%) from 4 cinemas (4 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 4,51,541 from 3 cinemas, Baroda 1,91,712; Pune 4,09,824 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,30,593, Satara (matinee) 52,270; 4th week Bijapur 73,614, total 5,93,201, share 3,94,450; 17th week Delhi 6,03,318 from 3 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,70,477, 16th week Agra 86,000, 17th week Allahabad 53,000, Varanasi 96,978, Bareilly (6 days) 33,444; Calcutta 3,27,159 from 5 cinemas; Nagpur 1,39,886 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 92,394, total 21,84,061, Amravati 93,121, Akola 89,023, total 20,96,406, Raipur 80,426, total 21,29,915, Jalgaon 71,038, 12th week Wardha 37,382, 16th week Chandrapur 81,310, total 21,87,166, 3rd week Sagar 68,522, 1st week Khandwa (2nd run) 1,02,270, excellent; 17th week Bhopal 97,917; Jaipur 1,34,240 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad (gross) 4,77,743 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

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Mota Ghar Ni Laaj (Gujarati; TF) is not good. 2nd week Ahmedabad 2,70,302 from 3 cinemas.

Manvi Tara Monghera Mol (Gujarati; TF) 1st week Baroda 37,671, poor.

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Stuart Little (E.) is quite good. 2nd week Bombay 8,07,992 (79.97%) from 2 cinemas; Pune 1,05,127; Delhi 13,07,256 from 3 cinemas; Calcutta 3,01,216; 2 weeks Vijayawada 2,50,938.

POSH NEW CINEMA IN SURAT

A new cinema — Rajhans Prime Cinema — will open in Surat on Friday, May 19, with Kya Kehna!. A grand get-together will be held on 18th May in Surat. Many exhibitors and distributors from Bombay are expected to attend the opening.

Rajhans is reported to be an excellently done-up cinema. Central air-conditioning system, fibre lighting on the floor, comfortable seats and beautiful decor are some of the salient features of the cinema. It is owned by the famous Rajhans Oil group.

NIGAR SULTANA FADES AWAY

Mughal-E-Azam made her, Mughal-E-Azam unmade her. For, it was well nigh impossible for an actress, however gifted, to emulate the inspired performance put in by Nigar Sultana as Anarkali’s rival in her husband’s epoch-making saga. Indeed, her scenes with Dilip Kumar were a rare blend of poignancy and piquancy. Nigar breathed life into the saying, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned!’ It came as no surprise then that this was to be her last screen appearance.

Before marrying K. Asif, Nigar was married to noted director S.M. Yusuf who migrated to Pakistan after completing Pak Daman (1957). One-time screen heroine and later character artiste Heena Kauser is her daughter. Nigar shot to instant fame and had the audience empathising with her as she wailed Bahaaren phir bhi aayengi magar hum tum juda honge in dulcet notes only Lata and composer Shyam Sunder could touch, in Bazaar, directed by K. Amarnath.

In a brief but brilliant career, Nigar co-starred with actors like Raj Kapoor (Aag), Dilip Kumar (Yahudi, Mughal-E-Azam), Dev Anand (Khel), Motilal (Mastana), Sohrab Modi (Sheesh Mahal), Bharat Bhooshan (Mirza Ghalib) and Nazir Khan (Saaya). Just as it is said of generals that they never die but simply fade away, so also can it be said of screen legends. Nigar Sultana is another one of this privileged lot. She has not died, she simply faded away when she breathed her last at Jaslok Hospital last week. She was suffering from leukemia. She is survived by three children.

YOU ASKED IT

Since a good number of films are being processed at Adlabs which is at Film City, Bombay, it becomes inconvenient for distributors to take delivery of their prints from a place which is considered far-off. Will it not be possible for Adlabs to deliver the prints at a centrally-located place in Bombay.

– Inconvenience in a city like Bombay? You must be joking!

Why do stars turn distributors?

– Because the grass is always greener on the other side.

Has ‘feeding’ ever helped a sagging film?

– Not really! A film has to have merits to run. ‘Feeding’ can help to a minor extent only. By the way, the system of ‘feeding’ exists mostly in Bombay.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Jaaneman jaaneman, a song of KN…PH, which is there in the film’s music album, will be incorporated in the film when it enters the 19th week on 19th May.

* For the first time, the Surat cinegoers got to see a Gujarati film — MAA BAAP NE BHULSHO NAHIN — in an air-conditioned cinema, Raj Palace, which provides a good ambience. And this has resulted in ascending collections week after week. While the 1st week registered 64,569/-, its 2nd week was 82,165/-, 3rd week 82,793/-, 4th week 90,739/- and 5th week 92,484/-. This, despite the film having been released at Raj Palace after a 10-week run at the nearby Alankar cinema in Surat. A case of cool cinema and ‘hot’ collections.

* For the first time in Jalgaon (or, may be in the country), a film has been shifted to the same cinema in which it was the opening attraction, after being shifted to two other cinemas. The film is DULHAN HUM LE JAYENGE. It was the opening attraction at the new Mohan Chitra Mandir in Jalgaon, where it ran for 5 weeks. It was then shifted to two other cinemas (Natwar and Natraj) where it ran for one week each. It has now been shifted back to Mohan (from 12th May), as if to suggest, Dulhan hum phir se le aayenge!

* Producers Thakur Bherwani and Kumar Manwani are getting a lot of enquiries from the Overseas buyers for their Sindhi film, DIL DIJE DIL WAARAN KHE. It has already been sold for Spain at a price almost equal to that of a Shah Rukh Khan starrer. This is the first Sindhi film made after a gap of nearly two decades.

AIFPC’S LETTER TO ARUN JAITLEY

APPPOINT INDUSTRY MAN AS NFDC CHAIRMAN

Pahlaj Nihalani, president of the All India Film Producers Council (AIFPC), in a letter (dated 9th May, 2000) to Union I & B minister Arun Jaitley has pointed out the “sorry state of affairs” in the functioning of the NFDC due to non-constitution of the board of directors. He has demanded that the majority representation on the NFDC board be given to the film industry, and the chairman of the NFDC be appointed from the film industry.

The letter has also pointed out that the NFDC made “significant progress and produced excellent films like Gandhi and achieved fantastic results only when a person from the film industry, like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, D.V.S. Raju and B.K. Karanjia, was the chairman.”

The AIFPC president also pointed out that the NFDC was required to be managed by a board of directors consisting of a maximum of 15 and a minimum of five members. This position was, however, maintained only till 31st January, 1993. Thereafter, the full board of the Corporation had never been constituted, and the truncated board with four or five directors had been managing the affairs of the NFDC. Even the important posts had been lying vacant as a result of which the performance of the NFDC had been badly affected and the consistent profitability of more than 20 years had taken a severe beating in 1998-99 and ended up with a colossal loss of Rs. 15 crore, the letter points out.

The AIFPC has also asked for the important posts of regional officer and assistant regional officer of the CBFC, Bombay region, which are lying vacant, to be filled up at the earliest by preferably appointing experienced persons from the film industry.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

London Fan Is Falling Down… Falling Down…

…And the Hrithik mania continues. While in London, the current heartthrob of millions made an appearance at a couple of cinemas screening his debut film, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. The crowd, as expected, went wild with excitement. Kisses came by Hrithik’s way like the blowing wind dashing against a speeding car. Excited girls tore off Hrithik’s coat; bodyguards who were escorting Hrithik, were flung onto the ground. One over-excited girl even fell off a balcony and broke a leg. But she refused to be taken to the hospital till she had kissed Hrithik, the pain notwithstanding! Such adulation — pleasure or pain?!?

Kuchh Na Kaho… Hrithik

Pepsi may be good. But the new Pepsi ad is very bad. Pepsi may leave a good taste in the mouth. But the new Pepsi ad leaves a bad taste in the mouth. This is what Hrithik Roshan must have angrily thought before dashing off letters to Pepsi, its ad filmmaker, Prahlad Kakkar, and Shah Rukh Khan who modelled for the new Pepsi ad and, in the process, made a jibe at Hrithik through a Hrithik look-alike. The story behind this ‘bad-mad-sad’ Pepsi ad has its genesis in the Pepsi-Coke cola war. With Hrithik becoming a heartthrob among youngsters, both, Pepsi and Coke, wanted him to model for their product. Hrithik chose Coke and, therefore, Pepsi chose to poke fun at Hrithik through a look-alike they discovered.

One fails to understand the rationale behind Hrithik’s ire. Hrithik has had the marvellous fortune of generating mass adulation for his great performance in his papa, Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. According to Rakesh Roshan, “Such an ad would be detrimental to his (Hrithik’s) image.” Does Rakesh Roshan really think so?! Will a small ad of Pepsi really affect Hrithik Roshan? Even if Hrithik had not reacted angrily, his fans would have dismissed the ad as being in bad taste, for humiliating their idol. Or, for that matter, even Coke might have come out with an equally naughty ad. Carry on, Hrithik, without sulking. For, a sulky image may be more detrimental!

Size Does Matter

In some scenes of Jung, Jackie Shroff, who plays a top police officer, appears a little too flabby. But in others, he is his usual fit self. Obviously, the stocky Jackie makes it clear that the film has taken time in the making, during which Jackie put on weight and then lost weight. The continuity jerk is sought to be circumvented with a dialogue in a scene in which Jackie’s senior remarks on the size of his body (“Aaj kal tum bahut mote ho gaye ho”). Did someone say, “Size does matter”?!