Thirty-one years ago, history was created when Jurassic Park became the first Hollywod film to have a wide release in India in English and Hindi (dubbed). Its stupendous success paved the way for other Hollywood films to follow suit and hence began the trend of dubbing foreign films in Hindi and South languages and releasing them on the same day as the original English versions. Today, on 3rd July, history of sorts was created by a film of the same Jurassic Park franchise. For, a grand premiere show of the Hindi dubbed version of Universal Pictures’ Jurassic World: Rebirth was organised this evening by its India distributors, Warner Bros. Pictures, at the majestic Raj Mandir cinema in Jaipur. It was Universal and Warner’s way of acknowledging the value of the Hindi film audience in the success story of Hollywood films in India.
Raj Mandir cinema was decorated beautifully to make it look like the abode of the dinosaurs seen in Jurassic films. Right from the outside façade to the huge lobby, everything about the cinema added to the excitement for the film. The Surana family, which owns Raj Mandir, left no stone unturned to rise to the occasion and make the evening memorable for the invitees.
As for the audience, they were mesmerised — first, by the decoration, and later, by the film itself. One didn’t need to ask the audience for their reaction to the film — neither in the interval nor after the premiere show. For, the excitement among them was palpable — the excitement which cannot be faked, the excitement which comes when you watch an out-and-out entertainer, and the excitement of being witness to a unique premiere in the heartland of India. Even while the film screening was in progress, the loud shrieks and thunderous applause of the viewers in several scenes gave an indication of how much the viewers were into the film. Even after the show, guests refused to return home till they had had their fill of photographs and selfies at all the strategic points in the cinema foyer as well as in the compound, against the backdrop of the decoration.
This is one premiere show which the people of Jaipur as also the guests who were flown in by Universal and Warner are not going to forget soon.
Before the start of the film’s screening in the premiere show, Warner very thoughtfully played an audio visual presentation of dubbing director Ashim Samanta and some of the leading voices who’ve dubbed in Hindi for the film’s Hollywood actors. Ashim Samanta, who runs Aradhana post-production studio in Bombay, has dubbed all the films of Universal Studio since the first (in 1993). The special AV made for the premiere was a fitting tribute to a veritable legend in the world of dubbed Hollywood films.
The Ashim Samanta AV at the premiere was followed by the screening of a short interview with your editor, Komal Nahta, because 31 years ago, it was he who had predicted huge success for Jurassic Park. In its review of the dubbed Hindi version of Jurassic Park in Film Information issue dated 16th April, 1994, Nahta had predicted that it would pay rich dividends at the box-office thereby thrilling the distributors while thrilling the audience. In the same issue, your editor had written a very appropriate Graffiti which went thus:
Q: What did the dinosaur say to the Hindi film stars?
A: “I’m too huge. And that’s my advantage at the box-office. Your price is too huge. And that’s your disadvantage!
Reduce your prices before producers and distributors become extinct like me.”
Besides Hollywood’s Jurassic Park, two Bollywood films were also released on the same day (15th April) 31 years ago. They were Parmaatma and Maha Shaktishaali. While Jurassic Park had opened to bumper houses, the two Bollywood fares started at miserably low levels. To underline the arrival of Hollywood in a big way in India, the same issue also carried the following in our Catchline column:
Hey
Parmaatma
The
Dinosaur
Has
Proved
To
Be
The
Maha
Shaktishaali
Crowd
Puller
