HADH KAR DI AAPNE

R.R. Productions’ Hadh Kar Di Aapne is a comedy film which relies more on funny incidents and situations than a cohesive or logical story to further the drama. A young detective goes to Europe to keep an eye on his friend’s wife and, while doing so, falls in love with a pretty girl. As it turns out to be, this girl is impersonating the friend’s wife and, after the detective falls in love with her, he is informed, to his dismay, by his friend that she is his (friend’s) wife (because neither the detective nor the friend is aware of the impersonation). Confusion is confounded when the pretty girl also falls in love with the detective but is wrongly informed by her friend that he is actually her (friend’s) husband. The husband and wife are playing this somewhat crazy hide-n-seek game because they want a divorce, initiated by two unscrupulous lawyers to make fast money! In the end, all the misunderstandings are cleared and the detective and his beloved unite in matrimony after being convinced of each other’s single status.

The film rests on a thin story-line and even thinner logic in screenplay. The subject is convoluted, to say the least. For instance, the detective is madly in love with the girl who is his co-traveller in the Europe tour but he is not even aware of her identity and name (she and her friend whom she is impersonating share the same name). On the other hand, although the two ladies are great friends, the impersonator is shown to have never seen what her friend’s husband looks like — the reason for the confusion to be confounded. The coincidences in the film are cooked up to further the story and they, therefore, keep reminding the viewer of the contrived nature of the drama. How and why the unrelenting girl starts liking the detective is not explained.

But this is not to say that the weak foundation, on which the story and screenplay rest, is such a sore point that there’s noting enjoyable in the drama. Rather, two to three scenes are absolutely hilarious. The best and most entertaining scene is the one involving the detective and an acquaintance (Satish Kaushik) when the latter tries to sneak into the girl’s room. Another hilarious scene is the one in which Govinda appears in various get-ups on television. Besides the entertaining scenes, the film boasts of a very racy music score and excellent foreign locations.

Govinda, as the detective, is excellent as usual, in an out-and-out comedy role. His dances are just too fantastic and an exercise in graceful body moments. But there’s no impact of his six get-ups in the same scene because the six characters he plays have nothing to do with the story. Nevertheless, the conception of the scene, Govinda’s make-up and performance are very good. Rani Mukerji dances ably. Her acting, however, is average. Johny Lever is good only at places. He plays a double role; the older Johny Lever hardly impresses and, in fact, irritates after a point. Satish Kaushik is the best performer, besides Govinda. The guy’s sense of timing and facial expressions are marvellous. Paresh Rawal is also entertaining but gets very limited scope. Ritu Shivpuri, as the divorce-seeking wife, looks attractive and does a fair job. Nirmal Pandey, as Ritu’s husband, is not impressive at all. Helen Brodie, Tanaaz Currim and Navneet Nishan provide good support. Tinnu Anand, Viju Khote, Bharat Kapoor, Avtar Gill, Himani Shivpuri, Smita Jayakar, Gavin Packard, Padmini Kapila, Babban, Charlie, Rakesh Bedi (friendly appearance) and the rest are all average.

Manoj Agrawal’s direction is limited by the ordinary story (Satish Jain) and inconsistent screenplay (Rajiv Kaul and Praful Parekh). Dialogues (Anwar Khan) are witty at places. Anand Raaj Anand’s music, as mentioned above, is an asset. The title song, ‘Beqarar main beqarar dil’, ‘Kudi kunwari’ and ‘Mujhe kuchh tumse hai kehna’ are wonderful numbers. Song picturisations are all beautiful, and the locations on which they’ve been shot are just too eye-filling. Cinematography (Nirmal Jani) is slick and superb. Action stunts are good.

On the whole, Hadh Kar Di Aapne has fun but not consistently hilarious fun. Since its story and screenplay are weak, it will have to depend on its comedy, songs, performances and photography to win over the audience. It can hope to score in Bombay and Maharashtra but will remain average elsewhere, thanks to a good start and the holiday period. Business will be better in ‘A’ class centres and will keep on declining as the centres become smaller.

Released on 14-4-2000 at New Excelsior and 15 other cinemas of Bombay thru Govinda Yashwardhan No. 1 Distributors. Publicity: good. Opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was very good in several circuits due to Ambedkar Jayanti holiday on Friday. 1st day (5 shows) Jaipur 1,22,887 from 3 cinemas.

GANG

Azhar Azaan Cinema Company’s Gang (A) is a gang-war drama. Four unemployed friends form a gang unintentionally, and include in petty crimes while harbouring illusions of making it big through their unethical but small-time criminal acts. But they step into the big league when a one-eyed don is eliminated by one of the four friends. They are protected by another don, a good Samaritan. But falling to the tempting offer from another underworld kingpin, they detach from the good Samaritan gangster. This is resented by the principled one among the four friends. He wants to detach himself from his friends but is later arrested by the police for killing the one-eyed don. While he is in jail, his three friends take care of his mother. In the intervening period, the other friends make enough money to lead a luxurious life just as they had once dreamt of. Thereafter, the film highlights the perils that come in with all the easy luxuries. The end depicts the futility of the whole exercise of establishing supremacy in the underworld. Those who live by the gun, die by the gun. This is the moral that is sought to be implied in the end.

The film’s subject runs on one main track — the rise and fall of gangsterism — at times, touching on the sentiments of a mother, a foster-sister and wives of two gang members. The drama is heavy throughout. There are just a few light moments here and there but they don’t come as any relief.

Jackie Shroff has essayed his character in the most natural manner. Nana Patekar, as the angry man, scores with the expression of anger in his eyes and through his deep baritone voice. Kumar Gaurav as fair while Jaaved Jaffrey does not look like the one who would wield a gun. Juhi Chawla has a very brief role but she makes her presence felt in the opening song-dance number. Shagufta Ali has a more important role than Juhi, as the foster-sister of the four friends; she has done very well. Imtiaz Khan, Gulshan Grover, Tinnu Anand, Dinesh Anand, Raza Murad, Girija Shankar, Ekta, Usha Nadkarni and Siddharth Ray are fair. Mukesh Khanna and Dalip Tahhil have done well.

As director, Mazhar Khan has executed some of the shots in style but could not infuse life in the drama. The gang-war shots have been well-taken but shots of this kind have been seen earlier too. The climax action scenes, though well co-ordinated, are too lengthy and tedious. Musically, only one song, ‘Chhan chhan chhanana’ is tuneful. Other songs are well-tuned but don’t go down at all with the demands of today’s audience. Background score is effective. Other technical aspects and production values are okay. The long time-lag in production is also obvious and glaring at many places.

On the whole, Gang is a stale, heavy and tension-ridden gruesome violent drama which will hold appeal only for a minor segment of the audience. It may prove average in Bombay and Maharashtra but faces bleak prospects elsewhere.

Released on 14-4-2000 at Maratha Mandir, New Empire and 18 other cinemas of Bombay thru VIP Enterprises. Publicity: fair. Opening: good. …….Also released all over. Opening was poor in several circuits despite the Ambedkar Jayanti holiday.

LATEST POSITION

The extra holiday on Ram Navmi (12th April) gave a boost to collections. This week is full of holidays.

Baaghi is dismal. 1st week Bombay 39,32,971 (54.70%) from 15 cinemas (9 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,36,664 from 5 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,48,985 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Jamnagar 1,07,855; Pune 5,02,888 from 6 cinemas, Solapur 2,50,678 from 3 cinemas (1 in matinee); Hubli 1,64,649; Delhi 15,08,433 (31.12%) from 10 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Lucknow 2,10,630, Agra 2,50,000, Varanasi 1,64,814, Bareilly 71,622; Calcutta (6 days) 10,41,306 from 9 cinemas; Nagpur 4,73,185 from 5 cinemas, Jabalpur (5 days) 67,589, Amravati (6 days) 1,64,262, Raipur (5 days) 70,594; Indore 1,31,066 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,84,906 from 3 cinemas; Jaipur 4,21,652 (24.71%) from 4 cinemas, Ajmer (29 shows, gross) 1,43,827, Bikaner 1,02,518; Hyderabad (gross) 16,54,599 from 8 cinemas (3 on F.H.).

Kharidaar 1 week Jaipur (29 shows) 67,457 (17.12%).

Hera Pheri is pretty steady in Bombay and Maharashtra and quite good in Delhi city and Nizam. 2nd week Bombay (6 days) 40,98,304 (78.57%) from 10 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 8,11,368 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 1,65,540; Pune 10,61,009 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,82,430 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 26,51,893 from 11 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 2,86,314, Agra 1,10,000, Varanasi 82,941, Bareilly 43,590, Hardwar 30,000; Calcutta (6 days) 3,42,089 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 1,43,227, Jabalpur (6 days) 30,876, Amravati (6 days) 1,41,904, Akola 1,22,106, total 2,96,612, Raipur (gross, 6 days) 1,55,557, Jalgaon (6 days) 1,03,449; Indore 1,46,104 from 2 cinemas (1 on F.H.), Bhopal 80,570; Jaipur 2,17,049, Ajmer (28 shows, gross) 70,200, Bikaner 54,236; Hyderabad (gross) 7,76,504 from 5 cinemas (2 in noon).

Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge continues to do well in Maharashtra. 3rd week Bombay 34,69,962 (80.07%) from 10 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 9,92,528 from 6 cinemas, Rajkot 1,33,000, Jamnagar 60,838; Pune 10,06,560 from 7 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,85,075; Delhi 28,21,463 from 9 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow (24 shows) 2,79,126, Agra 1,75,000, Bareilly (6 days) 73,160, Hardwar 35,000; Calcutta (6 days) 5,15,310 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 2,09,138 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,21,759, Amravati (6 days) 1,11,535, Akola 1,00,500, total 4,50,450, Raipur (6 days) 70,716, Wardha (6 days) 31,972, Chandrapur 74,664, total 3,35,046, 2nd Yavatmal (gross) 90,341, total 2,72,538, share 1,48,538; 3rd Jaipur 5,91,340, Ajmer (28 shows) 60,964, Bikaner 1,71,110; Hyderabad (gross) 9,84,961 from 4 cinemas (1 in noon, 1 on F.H.).

Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai 13th week Bombay (6 days) 19,34,440 (65.17%) from 8 cinemas (5 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 6,28,726 from 6 cinemas, Baroda 2,00,003; Pune 7,24,941 from 4 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,55,426 (12th 1,45,387); Delhi 4,75,049 from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Lucknow 1,95,821, Agra 56,000, Varanasi 95,593, Bareilly (6 days) 30,000; Nagpur 1,79,875 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 67,476, Amravati (6 days) 86,433, Akola 1,06,241, Raipur (6 days) 63,841, 9th week Wardha 38,235, 12th week Chandrapur 88,038, 11th Yavatmal 73,344; 13th Bhopal 1,23,036; Jaipur 1,24,167; Hyderabad (gross) 4,97,934 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).

________

Dalda Leedha Chori Raj (G., TF) 1st week Ahmedabad 3,29,618 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 64,555.

ANAND BROTHERS REMANDED TO JUDICIAL CUSTODY

Vivek Anand and producer-director Ketan Anand, sons of late filmmaker Chetan Anand, have been remanded to judicial custody till April 27 along with maid-servant Mala Choudhary and her accomplice, Ashok, for their alleged involvement in the murder of actress Priya Rajvansh on 27th March. The remand order was passed by metropolitan magistrate V.A. Pokle on April 13 after assistant public prosecutor Pradeep Rane urged for police custody of the accused on the ground that additional material had to be collected by the police to prove the involvement of the accused in the crime.

Defence lawyer Satish Maneshinde urged that the accused be granted bail. The magistrate said that he had no powers to enlarge the accused in a case of murder. Maneshinde will file a bail petition on behalf of Ketan and Vivek in the sessions court on Monday, April 17.

RENU SALUJA SERIOUS

Accomplished film editor Renu Saluja, now wife of director Sudhir Mishra, is in a serious condition at Bombay Hospital where she was admitted for treatment of cancer.

TIPS TO GO PUBLIC: IPO OF 125 CRORE PLANNED

Tips Industries Limited is entering the capital market with an initial public offering of 30,00,000 equity shares of face value of Rs. 10/- each. The issue includes book-building portion of 27,00,000 equity shares and fixed price portion of 3,00,000 equity shares. Anand Rathi Securities is the lead book runner and the lead manager to the IPO. The shares are proposed to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. The public dilution will be 25% and the promoters will hold 75% of the post-issue capital.

Tips, as is known, manufactures and markets pre-recorded audio cassettes, blank audio cassettes and replicated CDs. The company markets its products under the registered trademark of Tips. It has a plant in Silvassa with a capacity to manufacture 21 lakh blank audio cassettes per annum and facilities for the recording of 387.15 lakh pre-recorded cassettes per annum at Silvassa and Palghar.

Tips, promoted by the Taurani family with Kumar Taurani as the chairman and managing director, has on its board of directors Boney Kaproor, David Dhawan, Ramesh Taurani, Shiv Abhichandani and Shyam Lakhani.

The company, as part of a major expansion plan, is expanding the present cassette manufacturing facilities, and is setting up a CD manufacturing plant and a studio for recording music. It plans to increase its market share through acquisitions of more audio rights, and also plans to forge alliance with overseas companies for distribution and marketing its music in international markets. Another venture is the setting up of a music academy. This academy will provide opportunities to young artistes.

Tips has a library of over 8,000 music albums. This library contributes approximately 50% to the revenues of the company.

Besides, the company is expected to acquire 52 audio rights of films which are under different stages of production, for which the company has already paid around Rs. 25.59 crores.

GUL ACHRA’S SON COMMITS SUICIDE

Anand, the 22-year-old son of Bombay exhibitor-distributor Gul Achra, committed suicide on 10th April at his father’s cinema, Shriram Plaza, at Ulhasnagar, a distant Bombay suburb. Anand poured petrol on himself and set himself ablaze in full public view at 3.30 p.m. in the premises of the cinema. Some people tried to stop him, but to no avail. The young boy breathed his last at Central Hospital at Ulhasnagar the same day.

Gul Achra and three of his employees had a few weeks back been arrested by the Kalyan anti-extortion cell for screening obscene films at Shriram Plaza.

BALASAHEB SARPOTDAR PASSES AWAY

Veteran Marathi film producer and distributor Vishwas Narhar alias Balasaheb Sarpotdar passed away on 13th April at 7 a.m. in Pune at Joshi Hospital. He was 68 and is survived by his wife, a son, three daughters, a daughter-in-law, sons-in-law and grandchildren.

Balasaheb Sarpotdar was suffering from cancer since last some days and he had undergone surgery for the same. While he was being treated for his malady, he had a mild heart attack and later breathed his last.

Sarpotdar, who was the president of the Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal consecutively for the last ten years, had produced a number of films, notable among them being Lakshmi, Pahuni, Heech Khari Daulat and Z.P.. He had also acted in some Marathi films as a guest artiste, mostly in the role of a senior police officer.

Sarpotdar, as distributor, pioneered the screening of English films in Pune and was very knowledgeable about foreign films. As the president of Marathi Chitrapat Mahamandal, Sarpotdar was instrumental in getting tax-exemption and subsidies for Marathi films.

YOU ASKED IT

What do you think of the Arthur Andersen report on the entertainment industry, presented at the recent FICCI conference on the industry?

– It is a well-researched report but one that gives a somewhat exaggerated picture of things to come.

Is it true that a top actor has started directing his choreographers instead of following their instructions?

– Not just choreographers, he also refuses to follow the instructions of his directors. He does what suits him, with scant regard for what his directors want from him. But, by the way, why do you choose to not name the star? Maybe, you are right. Our readers can well guess who you are asking about and we are talking about — after seeing the star’s recent release.

Will Abhishek Bachchan prove to be as good as Hrithik Roshan?

– Did you know before the release of KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI that Hrithik would be so good?

DO YOU KNOW?

* GANG, which was launched on 12th January, 1989, took 11 years in its making, completion and release (this week)! The release has been made possible, thanks only to the efforts of Bharat Shah.

* Bobby Deol is now in the midst of stage shows being performed in the USA and Canada. So far, he has presented six programmes and in every show, he is made to also perform to the songs of HUM TO MOHABBAT KAREGA which have caught the fancy of Indians there, thanks to the film’s music promotional trailers. The shows are arranged by the Moranis.

DOUBLE HAT-TRICK!

* It has never happened before. And it might not, in the years to come. Two promising newcomers having three releases each, in the same debut year! Hrithik Roshan, who made his debut this year in KN…PH, and Abhishek Bachchan, who will make his debut in REFUGEE, to be released in June, will both be seen in two more films each. Hrithik’s other releases this year will be FIZA and MISSION KASHMIR. Abhishek will be seen in TERA JADOO CHAL GAYAA and DHAAI AKSHAR PREM KE before the year 2000 ends. Three cheers to that!

MIX MASALA

‘KUCHH’ KEHNA HAI

With Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai proving a super-hit, people in our industry were doubly convinced that Kuch is the right spelling for Kuchh. Even Vashu Bhagnani has used Kuch (as in KKHH) for his next film, Mujhe Kuch Kehnaa Hai, when actually it should have been Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai. In fact, there is an extra ‘a’ in Kehnaa instead of an extra ‘h’ in Kuch. Numerologically, Mujhe Kuch Kehnaa Hai comes to 9, considered to be a lucky number. With the correct spelling (Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai), it works out to 5, which has also proved lucky for Vashu in the past. Yes, Biwi No. 1 added up to 5, numerologically. Kuchh bhi chalega, yaar!

First Quarter Of 2000

Eventful But Unexciting

What happened in the first quarter of the new millennium? Nothing much, you would say, except for KN…PH which proved the most ‘happening’ film. But there are many notable things that have happened. A recapitulation of the quarter ended 31st March, 2000:

• Of the 46 films released in the first three months of 2000, there was just one film — Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai — which hit the bull’s eye. At least 35 films proved disastrous in almost every circuit in which they were released. Badal was the best among the films which did well but not universally so. It scored in North, Bengal and Bihar. Pukar, which did well in South, was salvaged due to tax-exemption in states like Maharashtra, U.P., M.P. and Delhi. Mela, Hera Pheri and Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge were the other films which did/are doing fairly well in one or two circuits.

• Hum Saath-Saath Hain entered the new year while already running in its 9th week. It continued to create records.

• January 14 (Makar Sankranti) proved the most auspicious release date. KN…PH and Govindbhai Patel’s Gujarati film, Gaam Ma Piyaryu Ne Gaam Ma Sasaryu, released on this date, proved to be super-hits.

• The International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2000) was inaugurated on 10th January in Delhi.

• While Hrithik Roshan shot to stardom with KN…PH, dad and producer-director Rakesh Roshan was shot at by then unknown assailants, on the evening of 21st January just when KN…PH completed its first week. The incident created panic in the industry. Roshan underwent an emergency by-pass surgery of the heart on 26th January. The alleged assailants of Rakesh Roshan were apprehended by the police on the night of March 29 in Bombay.

• Producer-director Subhash Ghai presented a print of his Taal as a jubilee gift to Ashok Purohit, the owner of the beautiful City Pulse cineplex in Gandhinagar. A grand function to celebrate the film’s silver jubilee was held on 30th January at City Pulse.

• Deepa Mehta, who was to start the shooting of Water on 30th January, found herself in troubled waters. Despite an okay from prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Hindu hardliners in Varanasi, where the shooting was scheduled, forced the unit to leave the holy city because of the controversial subject of the film. Deepa explored the possibility of shooting in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal (where she got embroiled in another controversy, this time over the originality of her film’s script). Much water has flowed down the Ganges since then, but Deepa’s Water stands still.

• Producer D. Rama Naidu proved the world’s most prolific filmmaker and made it to the hallowed pages of the Guinness Book of World Records in March. He has, in the last 36 years, produced the maximum number of films (103) and in languages as varied as Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali and other Indian languages.

• President K.R. Narayanan presented B.R. Chopra with the Dadasaheb Phalke award for his life-long contribution to cinema, at the 46th National Film Awards in New Delhi on 15th February.

• The film industry welcomed the Union Budget proposals for granting some concessions and reliefs viz. abolition of countervailing duty on colour positive and colour negative film; reduction in the basic customs duty on colour positive jumbo rolls and colour negative film; reduction in customs duty on cinematographic cameras and other film equipment; and extension of income-tax benefits under section 80HHF of the Income-Tax Act to all film exporters.

• In March, Dilip Kumar and producer-director Dasari Narayana Rao were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh respectively.

• A sea-change is in sight in the production sector of the Hindi film industry with several top production houses and music companies having decided to go public.

• Subhash Ghai opened Audeus Telecine Studio, a division of his Mukta Arts, in association with Adlabs, at Adlabs (Film City) in March.

• The decision of the Rajasthan state government to compound entertainment tax in the state sent shivers down the spines of Rajasthan exhibitors. Tax evasion by cinemas is said to have prompted the introduction of the system. The scheme came into force on 1st April. And this was no April Fool joke! However, the government seems to have heeded the industry representation and may reconsider.

• Karnataka CM and finance minister S.M. Krishna hiked entertainment tax on non-Kannada films from 70% to 100% in the state. Kannada films will continue to be tax-free, as before. This comes as an April Fool ‘present’ for the producers and distributors of Hindi films. Surely, an unjust, unwarranted, anti-Hindi and retrograde policy. Hey Krishna!

• Andhra Pradesh exhibitors downed shutters on April 1 as a one-day token strike. The closure was partial. The strike was to demand, among other things, abolition of entertainment tax and reduction of the exorbitant power tariffs in the state.

• The compound tax facility, which was to be discontinued for cinemas in Gujarat in towns having a population between 1 lakh and 3 lakh, has been retained. The government subsidy of Rs. 5 lakh to Gujarati films will also continue. However, the tax-free service charge on cinema tickets has been reduced from Rs. 2 to Re. 1 per ticket and this is likely to hit the exhibitors badly.

• The 2-day FICCI seminar on the entertainment industry, held on March 30 and 31 in Bombay, was an experience to cherish for those who attended it. The international conference on the business of Entertainment: India – Opportunities in the 21st Century’ discussed wide-ranging topics — finance and capital market, intellectual property rights, the content aspect, film music, webcasting and the Indian film industry. Sadly though, active filmmakers were mostly conspicuous by their absence.

• Sahara India launched its satellite channel on March 28 with a star-studded show.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Dream Merchants In Nightmarish Light

It hasn’t been a very encouraging fortnight for the film industry. On more occasions than one, the industry in the last 15 days has been shown in bad light. While the stories involving film people are unconfirmed, they, nevertheless, are of a very serious nature. Ketan and Vivek Anand, sons of late filmmaker Chetan Anand, were arrested earlier this month for allegedly master-minding the murder of actress Priya Rajvansh. Kishan Kumar, actor and brother of slain music magnate Gulshan Kumar, has found himself embroiled in the shocking cricket match-fixing controversy involving South African captain Hansie Cronje. Bombay exhibitor-distributor Gul Achra’s son, Anand, committed suicide earlier this week and it is believed, he did so because he was unhappy about his father screening obscene films at their cinemas.

Vashu’s Generation Next

After introducing star-son Abhishek Bachchan in Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa, Vashu Bhagnani is now introducing another star-son, Tushar Kapoor (son of Jeetendra), opposite Kareena Kapoor, in his next which will be launched on 21st April. The film, titled Mujhe Kuch Kehnaa Hai, is a remake of the Telugu super-hit, Tholi Prema, which starred Pawan Kalyan (brother of Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi) and Kirti Reddy, who made her debut in a Hindi film with Vashu (Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa). It is interesting to note here that Pawan Kalyan’s first Telugu film as a hero was a big flop. But Tholi Prema greatly resurrected his career as the film ran for more than 40 weeks and, when it was revived after six months, it again ran to packed houses. Jeetendra, when shown the film, was moved to tears by its emotional content. The dancing hero, who was to launch his son after two years, agreed to let Vashu introduce him because the role was so powerful. So, coming back to Mujhe Kuch Kehnaa Hai, the film, to be directed by Satish Kaushik, will be a quickie which will be completed in 5/6 months. Anu Malik will score its music.

Daily Pot Shots On Film Industry

It is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Dainik Bhaskar newspaper group, which has been illegally screening Hindi films on cable channels owned by it in Bhopal and Jaipur and which, therefore, has been ‘banned’ by the CCCA, has published a report in its Indore edition (13th April) alleging that film producers, distributors and exhibitors are evading payment of entertainment tax. The paper points out that the distributors manipulate the accounts and present false statements. The paper has also alleged the complicity of the income-tax officials in this exercise. In another report on the film industry’s “misdeeds”, published on 14th April, the paper has published the names of leading distributors of C.P., C.I. and Rajasthan as defaulters. The daily, it seems, is set to paint the film industry black, with a vengeance. All this, in reaction to the CCCA’s ban on Dainik Bhaskar group.