ZAKHM

Pooja Bhatt Productions’ Zakhm (A) is a sensitive film about one’s love for his mother and motherland. It talks of communal tension in the country and weaves a drama around a Hindu man and his Muslim mistress. The Hindu man is not allowed to marry his beloved because she is a Muslim. She, however, bears two of his children. The elder son loves his mother a great deal and knows her pains. The younger one, unaware of his mother’s unmarried status, is also ignorant about the fact that she is a Muslim. In fact, in the communal battle being fought in the country, the younger son is in the forefront of the anti-Muslim group as he is under the impression that he is a complete Hindu. The elder brother tries to make his younger brother see reason at the time of performing the last rites of their dead mother according to Muslim customs but the latter is blinded by his political affiliation. Ultimately, love for the mother and motherland triumphs over pretty communal differences.

The story is rather unusual and also interesting but the screenplay is slow and is also, at places, dictated by the convenience of the characters. While the portion of the Hindu man, his mother, his Muslim mistress and her rebellious elder son is absorbing and has several emotional scenes, the communal riots etc. don’t go completely with that part of the story. As a result, the film has some brilliant moments but gets boring at some other places. The scene after the man’s death looks over-dramatic and contrived. Songs are so slow that they reduce the pace even further. The drama has a lot of tension and no light scenes at all. Dialogues (Girish Dhamija) are excellent at places but should have been more patriotic and hard-hitting in the climax. Emotions draw tears on more occasions than one.

Ajay Devgan does a wonderful job as the elder son of the mistress. He underplays his role splendidly. Pooja Bhatt is simply fantastic as the Muslim mistress and deserves accolades for her performance. Nagarjuna is fair. Sonali Bendre looks pretty and comes up with a sensitive performance. Even her dubbing is not flat as it tends to be usually. Kunal Khemmu is par excellence, living his role just too brilliantly. Akshay Anand is impressive as Ajay Devgan’s brother. Sharat Saxena gets scope in the climax and shines there. Avtar Gill is beautifully restrained. Ashutosh Rana does an effective job. Saurabh Shukla leaves a mark in the role of the Sikh. Madan Jain is natural. Vishwajeet Pradhan acts effectively. Namrata Dhamija is outstanding. Master Dhananjay is also wonderful. The rest of the artistes support splendidly.

Mahesh Bhatt’s direction is very good but he has narrated the subject in a way which will appeal more to the elite audience. Some abstract scenes will not be appreciated by the masses. Music matches the film’s mood but the songs do bore. Action scenes are alright. Cinematography is first-rate.

On the whole, Zakhm is a film for selected cinemas in cities. Thanks to its Muslim flavour, it should not have been released during Ramzan. The subject of communal harmony, dealt with in the film, deserves to be supported by tax-exemption. Its business in Bombay and South should be better than in the rest of the country.

Released on 25-12-’98 at Novelty and 14 other cinemas of Bombay thru Devgan’s Entertainment. Publicity & opening: very good. …….Also released all over. Opening was not up to the mark (despite Christmas holiday) in several circuits.

HIMMATWALA

Tina Films International’s Himmatwala (UA) is the story of a married man who, unable to bear the shock of his sister’s murder on her wedding day, becomes mentally retarded and starts behaving like a child. He comes back to his true senses by quirk of fate and is surprised to see that the girl who he has given shelter to alongwith her beloved, in his house, totally resembles his dead sister. The girl and her lover have run away from their homes as the girl’s rich and influential father is against the alliance. To fulfil his desire of getting his sister married off, he takes it upon himself to get her look-alike married to her beloved, notwithstanding the opposition from the girl’s family.

The film’s first half is fairly good but the post-interval portion looks contrived. The climax, when the girl announces that she has turned 18 and is, therefore, entitled to select her life partner, comes as a dull revelation. For, if she had turned 18 on that very day, didn’t her parents know it? Why, a reference to her age is made by her parents themselves in the previous reel itself! So, if they did know her age, what was the need of the legal drama? In fact, so poor is the climax twist that it even spoils, to a large extent, the impact of the first half. The faulty screenplay is, however, complemented by some really good lines of dialogues (Tanveer Khan).

Mithun Chakraborty does quite well but age has started showing on his face. Ayesha Julka is impressive. Rajesh Sharma looks ordinary but acts fairly well. Radhika is reasonably good. Rajiv Verma and Beena create an impact. Dina Pathak also acts ably. Tinnu Anand is okay. Tiku Talsania’s comedy is average. Shakti Kapoor leaves a mark. Reema is effective.

Jayant Gilatar has faltered in the story-writing but he makes a fairly good debut as director. Music (Tabun Sutradhar) is nice. ‘Dil ka raja’ is a mass-appealing song. ‘Main to tere pyar mein’ and ‘Rab jaane’ are also entertaining numbers. Song picturisations, however, are average. Action scenes are okay. Background score is dull. Camerawork is alright.

On the whole, Himmatwala is a loser.

Released on 25-12-’98 at Alankar and 14 other cinemas of Bombay thru V.V. Films. Publicity: fair. Opening: so-so (despite Christmas holiday). …….Also released all over.

LONDON PAYS TRIBUTE TO SHABANA, CONDEMNS ATTACK ON ‘FIRE’ IN INDIA

The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London paid tributes to celebrated actress Shabana Azmi by holding a festival of her films on December 5 and 6. Shabana’s Arth, Khandhar, Mandi and In Custody were screened as a tribute to Shabana who is currently celebrating 25 years of her international career. A short film — The Way I See It — based on an interview with Shabana Azmi, was screened before each film. The event was a joint effort of the ICA and In Focus.

The Londoners at the screenings of the four films signed petitions condemning the Shiv Sena attacks on Deepa Mehta’s Fire, starring Shabana, in Bombay and Delhi.

Shabana Azmi was also present on the occasion for an in-conversation with Dr. Reina Lewis, professor of cultural studies, university of East London. She also took questions from a hugely responsive audience after every screening. On 6th, Dr. Sangeeta Datta gave a talk on Shabana’s iconic career as actor and social activist. In fact, the film festival was entitled ‘From Actor To Activist’.

‘KKHH’ TO INAUGURATE IFFI ’99

Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai will be the inaugural film of the mainstream section of the International Film Festival of India, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from January 10 to 20, 1999. Besides KKHH, the Film Federation of India has selected the following 11 films for screening in the mainstream section: Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen (Tamil), Choodalani Vundhi (Telugu), Tholi Prema (Telugu), Aaraam Thampuran (Malayalam) , A (Kannada), Dahan (Bengali), Sedin Chaitra Mash (Bengali), Joubane Amani Kare (Assamese), Ishq (Hindi), Tu Tithe Mee (Marathi) and Desh Re Joya Dada Pardesh Joya (Gujarati).

‘SATYA’ SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS

The silver jubilee celebrations of Ramgopal Varma’s Satya will be held today (26th December) at Hotel Taj Mahal, Bombay.

YOU ASKED IT

Does it make sense to keep on submitting memorandum after memorandum of demands to ministers?

– Going by what the central and state governments have done for the film industry, it hardly makes sense. But as the saying goes: Keep trying and trying till you succeed.

How many Mithun starrers were released in 1998, and how many do you expect will be released next year?

– 15 Mithun starrers were released in 1998, and more than 20 may hit the screens in 1999.

Who, according to you, was the star of 1998?

– Undoubtedly, Kajol.

DO YOU KNOW?

* Nadeem Shravan, whose first Hindi film was Mohan Bhakri’s APRADHI KAUN?, made in 1982, have been signed to score the music in Mohan Bhakri’s new film of the same name 18 years later.

* KACHCHE DHAAGE is the first and the last film in which legendary Lata Mangeshkar and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have worked together!

* SOLDIER has created a city record by collecting a total of 11 lakh in 5 weeks at Hari, Jammu. It has also created a city record in Panipat in 5 weeks.

3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment

Success Contagious?

Success begets success. After the spectacular success of Tips’ Soldier, it is the next Tips film, Kachche Dhaage, that is becoming ‘hot’ in exhibition circles of Delhi-U.P. Distributor Ajit Singh is demanding and getting handsome MGs for Kachche Dhaage due for release in February. Is it the clicking of Tips’ Soldier or the growing popularity of the film’s music (heard and seen in promotional trailers on television) or the presence of Ajay Devgan (whose second release this will be after the success of Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha) or a combination of all the three factors?

Idd Release? “No Chance!”

While at least seven or eight producers have announced that their films will be released in the Idd week (22nd January, 1999), rumours surround almost every film scheduled for release in that week. Of course, most of the rumours about the “real release position” of these Idd releases seem to be baseless. May be, they are being circulated by vested interests. These rumours have it that Aa Ab Laut Chalen will not be able to come on Idd as its dubbing is not yet complete. But the fact is that except for Suman Ranganathan’s dubbing, everybody else has finished his/her dubbing work. Rishi Kapoor is on the lookout for a suitable voice to dub for Suman who plays an Indian settled in America. Despite Time’s Hu Tu Tu already having been seen by the CBFC, rumour mills have it that the film will not win the release race of 22nd January. Why? No reasons are given by the gossip-mongers. D. Rama Naidu’s Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain is, perhaps, the only Idd release which is not in the midst of nasty rumours about supposed postponements.

Subsidy Is My Birthright And I Shall Have It?

The Gujarat government has reportedly discontinued its policy of granting subsidy to producers of Gujarati films. It is learnt that a group of Gujarati film producers recently demanded subsidy from the state government and threatened it of dire consequences if their subsidy amounts were not released soon. This behaviour is said to have antagonised the government so much that it forthwith cancelled its subsidy policy. A government official is reported to have told a top Gujarati film producer, “Subsidy is a favour, you can’t demand it. Beggars cannot threaten punitive action if people decide not to give alms.” Point, this!

Raaz Ki Baat? Not Really! Raj Ki Baat? Really!

It’s a really strange coincidence which can have no explanation. Dimple Kapadia made her debut in Bobby which was directed by Raj Kapoor, and her daughter, Twinkle Khanna, entered the industry with Barsaat which was directed by another Raj — Rajkumar Santoshi. Twinkle’s co-star in her debut film had the name of her mother’s first film — Bobby (Deol). Now, Rinke (Twinkle’s younger sister) is also making her debut in acting with a third Raj-directed film. Raj Kaushal is directing Rinke in Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. Although dad Rajesh Khanna did not come into films under the direction of any Raj, his first film was called… not Raj, but Raaz.