MAJOR SAAB
Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Ltd.’s Major Saab (UA) is a love story set against the army backdrop. Although the romantic tale has nothing to do with the military backdrop, the two main characters in the film are armymen. Thus, although the title gives the impression that the film is about the army, it actually turns out to be like any other love story. The title may, in this sense only, be construed to be less appropriate, but it is this very military background of the film which distinguishes it from other romantic dramas and lends freshness to an otherwise routine subject. Further, because of the two characters being in the army, the writers have been able to pack in a handful of truly nationalist dialogues with a lot of patriotic flavour, something which the audiences are bound to appreciate and even applaud.
Amitabh Bachchan plays the title role, incharge of a group of cadets whom he is imparting training to. One of the cadets is Ajay Devgan who is forced to join the army but has no intentions of remaining there. In fact, he keeps breaking the strict rules of the army, much to the annoyance of the major who is a strict disciplinarian. But gradually, the soft inside of the tough major wins over the disobedient cadet and he promises to follow in the footsteps of the major. On his part, the major helps the cadet (whom he starts treating like his son) free his beloved from the clutches of her devious brother and another evil don. For this, the major himself flouts the army rules.
The first half is slow and dull, and belongs to Ajay Devgan who, with his pranks, keeps the interest alive to some extent. The second half belongs to Amitabh Bachchan and, although lengthy and repetitive, this part is better. The ‘Sona Sona’ song in the pre-climax is the best thing in the film and it rejuvenates the audience to participate in the drama in the form of thunderous applause, whistles, cheers and even dancing with Bachchan. Credit for this goes as much to the music (Aadesh Shrivastava) as to the picturisation and Amitabh’s fabulous dance. Climax has plenty of action but is average. Dialogues (Santosh Saroj) in praise of Indians and the Indian jawans are brilliantly worded. Emotions are almost absent although there was much scope for them in the scenes between Amitabh and Ajay and between Ajay and Nafisa Ali (Amitabh’s wife). Robin Bhatt and Santosh Saroj’s screenplay has several flaws and is not even smooth. For instance, Ajay promises to become another Amitabh but the promise is not even sought to be fulfilled. Sonali’s change of mind (about marriage) and her brother’s change of heart appear ridiculous.
Amitabh Bachchan looks superb in the get-up of a major. His performance is even more superb. He plays his role to perfection, using his voice, expressions and body language fabulously. His dance, as said above, is the best (most superb) thing in the film and, in fact, the song and dance (choreographed by Ganesh) alone are enough to see the distributors of the film through. Ajay Devgan also acts very ably. If he is very good in action scenes, he is even better in the scenes which require him to perform. Sonali Bendre does an average job. Nafeesa Ali looks pretty and acts reasonably well, but her dialogue delivery is not good. Mohan Joshi performs well. Ashish Vidyarthi is also good as Sonali’s brother. But his character changes a bit too often. Mushtaq Khan leaves a mark. Navin Nischol and Siddharth provide good support. Kulbhushan Kharbanda is wasted. Shahbaaz Khan, Vikas Anand, Dinesh Hingoo and the others lend fair support.
Tinnu Anand’s (Verinder Raj Anand’s) direction is quite alright but his sense of editing leaves a lot to be desired. On the music side, the ‘Sona Sona’ song is a rage. Of the other numbers (Anand Raaj Anand), a couple of them are good but their picturisations are dull. Ravi K. Chandran’s camerawork is excellent and the same can be said about Sabu Cyril’s art direction. Action scenes (Bhiku Verma) are well composed. Editing is loose, and the film’s merits will improve if it is further edited by about 10 minutes.
On the whole, Major Saab will not get any critical acclaim or appreciation and may not have a long run, but it will definitely keep its distributors smiling due to four main reasons — ‘Sona Sona’ song and dance; Amitabh Bachchan’s performance; the bumper opening it has taken; and its reasonable price. These four factors outweigh the minus factors, namely, ordinary script and loose editing. Business in North India and Bihar should be better.
Released on 25-6-’98 at Metro and on 26-6-’98 at 19 other cinemas of Bombay by AB Corp. thru Shringar Films. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: simply astounding. …….Also released all over. Opening was cinema-shattering everywhere except (surprisingly) in Jaipur.
LATEST POSITION
MAJOR SAAB has taken a bumper start. This, coupled with the success of last week’s release, GHULAM, has improved the generally dull first half of 1998.
Ghulam, as predicted, is the best in Bombay, Maharashtra and South (A1) and has done well in all the other circuits. It dropped quite badly in Gujarat and Saurashtra from mid-week. 1st week Bombay 59,26,533 (99.99%) from 14 cinemas (7 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 14,29,544 from 7 cinemas, Padra 1,94,192, Rajkot 1,59,346, Jamnagar (matinee) 38,763; Solapur 2,17,038 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Belgaum 1,42,653 (100%); Delhi 33,75,118 (86.84%) from 8 cinemas; Kanpur 4,69,447 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,62,029, Agra 2,75,726, Allahabad 1,68,500, Meerut 1,78,271; Calcutta 27,73,744 from 21 cinemas (other cinemas were on F.H.); Nagpur 8,53,514 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur 2,48,933 (100%), Amravati 2,66,661, Akola 1,86,308, Raipur 2,04,840 (73.62%), Chandrapur (29 shows) 2,15,765; Indore 3,99,000 from 2 cinemas (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 3,56,387 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 7,82,318 from 3 cinemas; Hyderabad 31,38,710 from 12 cinemas (1 in noon), share 17,19,432.
Maut Ke Saudagar (dubbed) 1st week Agra 85,145; Jaipur 1,46,169.
Gharwali Baharwali 2nd week Bombay 24,74,620 (60.47%) from 8 cinemas (6 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,28,389 (2 unrecd.), Rajkot 1,70,085, Jamnagar 1,31,493 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Adipur 2 weeks’ total 2,00,199; Solapur 1,30,603 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 22,12,143 from 9 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,88,787 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,26,348, Agra 98,747, Allahabad 94,500, Bareilly 59,506 (26.63%), Hardwar 26,000; Calcutta 4,89,017 from 5 cinemas; Nagpur 1,89,651 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur 1,21,628, total 2,86,771, Amravati 1,45,455, Akola 1,34,994, total 3,03,765, Raipur 1,24,610, Durg 77,596, Yavatmal 95,774; Indore 1,26,628 (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 1,94,939 from 2 cinemas; Jaipur 1,87,010, Jodhpur 1,90,000, Ajmer 89,624; Hyderabad 3,40,472.
Achanak 2nd week Bombay 8,59,243 (47.54%) from 6 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,59,468 from 3 cinemas (1 unrecd.), Rajkot (matinee) 7,773; Solapur 91,850; Delhi 7,39,616 from 5 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,19,588 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,77,788, Allahabad 48,000, Meerut 90,400, Bareilly 46,051 (21.31%); Calcutta 2,66,241 from 2 cinemas; Nagpur 1,08,277 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur 37,783, Amravati 70,629, Raipur 50,272, 1st week Jalgaon 1,33,240; 2nd week Indore 45,000, Bhopal 82,338; Jaipur 2,58,810 from 2 cinemas; Hyderabad 1,81,349 from 2 cinemas (1 in noon).
Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai 5th week Bombay 14, 25,593 (67.17%) from 5 cinemas (3 on F.H.), good; Ahmedabad 47,189, Jamnagar 50,208; Solapur 54,630, 1st week Barsi 36,254; 5th week Belgaum 83,967; Delhi 23,98,043 from 6 cinemas, very good; Kanpur 93,815, Lucknow 1,03,245, Agra 95,671, Allahabad 39,109, Bareilly (6 days) 46,820 (24.27%), 1st week Hardwar 56,098; 5th week Calcutta 3,84,718 from 4 cinemas; Nagpur 1,47,781, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,04,066, Akola 50,954, total 3,68,074, 4th week Raipur 57,348, 5th week Jalgaon (6 days) 38,665, Chandrapur 80,298, total 5,76,524, 3rd week Yavatmal (6 days) 22,644, 4th week Bilaspur 32,643; 5th week Bhopal 1,66,466, excellent; Jaipur 2,80,987, very good, 4th week Bikaner 96,375; 5th week Hyderabad 4,14,710 from 3 cinemas (2 in noon).
ASHA PAREKH APPOINTED CBFC CHAIRPERSON
Asha Parekh has been appointed chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification. She is the first lady to be appointed to chair the organisation and she succeeds Shakti Samanta.
Asha Parekh’s term is for a period of three years.
YOU ASKED IT
Why was Major Saab sold at a reasonable price to its distributors? Were they not willing to buy it for more than 1.25 to 1.5 crore?
– AB Corp. compensated its distributors for the losses of MRITYUDAATA and SAAT RANG KE SAPNE by keeping the price of MAJOR SAAB reasonable.
It is true that Ghulam has not done well in the USA?
– Yes, it is a shocking fact!
What is the title of the new Assamese film which has hit the bull’s eye?
– Ashok Kumar Bishaya’s JOUBAND AMANI KARE (which means JAWANI DEEWANI in Hindi). It is the biggest blockbuster in Assamese.
PEOPLE
Are talking about
** The brilliant opening of Major Saab all over the country. Amitabh Bachchan has not lost his charisma, that’s the general opinion.
** The wonderful gesture of producer-director K.C. Bokadia who gave Amitabh Bachchan the super-hit Sona Sona song for Major Saab. The song was recorded (by Aadesh Shrivastava) for Bokaddia’s Lal Baadshah but Amitabh liked it so much when he heard it that he jumped to pick up the song when Bokadia announced that there was no situation for it in Lal Baadshah. By the way, a super-hit number like Sona Sona needs no situation.
PEOPLE
Are happy about
** The return of the good times. Major Saab has taken a flying start, Ghulam has clicked, Gharwali Baharwali will fetch commission in some circuits, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai is steady at medium collections since several weeks.
** Asha Parekh being appointed chairperson of the CBFC.
PEOPLE
Are scared about
** Two love stories, namely Kareeb and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, scheduled for release one after the other. The former is due on 17th July while the latter will come on 24th July.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
Delivery Problem Of A Different Kind
Major Saab had yet another hiccup — this time due to a technical snag — just before the preparation of the film’s final prints. There was reportedly a technical problem in the film’s sound negative. The rectifications took some time and, as a result, the sound negative could not be delivered to Adlabs in time for the preparation of the final prints. Much to its credit though, Adlabs successfully managed to deliver all the final prints of the film, as scheduled. But there was virtual maara-maari for the prints, among the various distributors. In the meantime, Delhi-U.P. distributor G.D. Mehta raised his order of prints by 5 at the eleventh hour (thanks to the last-minute booking in some stations). With these extra prints, G.D. Mehta’s tally has gone up to 45 prints. The total number of prints of Major Saab has crossed 280.
Top Distributors, Petty Rivalries
The scene in Delhi-U.P. exhibition trade is rather sad. Distributors of this circuit go to court against exhibitors, at the drop of a hat. This court-going practice is born out of the jealousies among some leading distributors of the territory. Reportedly, the distributors adopt dog-in-the-manger policy and try to block cinemas with their films so that the other distributor/s cannot get a good chain of cinemas for his/their releases. The professional enmity between some of the distributors is so bitter that a distributor would prefer paying deficit to a cinema rather than discontinuing his film to make way for his rival’s film. The classic case was a recent one in which a distributor knocked the doors of the court against an exhibitor who threatened to discontinue his film to accommodate another distributor’s film. So keen was a third distributor (not in any way connected with the film showing at the said cinema or with the film trying to be accommodated) to see that the new film should not be able to bag the cinema that he even told the complainant-distributor to not just go to court but also take some 10 thousand rupees from him towards the cost of litigation! All because this third distributor may have had an axe to grind with the second distributor. A case of dushman ka dushman, dost! All this pettiness among top distributors also affects exhibitors who often find themselves unnecessarily dragged into controversies. Obviously, the exhibitors can’t take sides because they have to deal with all the distributors. Incidentally, this cut-throat competition among distributors has prompted them to become cinema controllers too.
Titanic Rumours
Rumours are rife in the industry that two films are simultaneously being made, each based on the Hollywood blockbuster, Titanic. The two films being talked about are Indra Kumar’s Mann and Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. In reality, there is no truth in the rumours as both the films have different stories from each other as well as from the Hollywood blockbuster. The only similarity among them is that each of these films is to be shot aboard a ship — a fact which may well have sparked off the rumours. Last heard, Rakesh Roshan was planning a trip to Greece to find a suitable ship for his film while Indra Kumar has already found his ship in Singapore.
Asha Parekh In A New Role
Asha Parekh is the first lady to be appointed chairperson of the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC). She takes over from Shakti Samanta whose 7-year stint (the longest ever in the CBFC) ended on 24th June, 1998. Asha Parekh may be the first lady to be appointed chairperson of the CBFC, but, technically, she is not the first woman to occupy that chair. That distinction is already reserved for Aparna Mohile who was the acting chairperson of the CBFC in 1982 and ’83 — from 11th August, ’82 to 14th March, ’83. She is presently the Postmaster General, Maharashtra. Asha Parekh is officially the 21st chairperson of the CBFC, but since two earlier chairmen were reappointed on two separate occasions (B.D. Mirchandani — 15-6-’54 to 9-6-’55, re-appointed from 25-3-’60 to 1-11-’60; and D.L. Kothari — 22-11-’59 to 24-3-’60, reappointed from 2-11-’60 to 22-4-’65), she becomes the 19th person to hold the office since CBFC’s inception in 1951.