AKS
AB Corp and Flicks Motion Picture Company’s Aks (A) tackles, in a modern way, the abstract topic of good and evil being the two ends of a spectrum. Made as a thriller, this film about bhoot-pret and aatma anything but thrills. Although the Indian audience is superstitious and lends a lot of credence to spirits, Aks fails to exploit that sentiment if only because it tests the audience’s patience from the word ‘go’.
Inspired by the English film, Fallen (1998), it is the story of an upright police officer who kills the dreaded assassin of the defence minister and others. While dying, the assassin transfers his spirit into the body of the police officer who, from then on, oftentimes behaves, walks, talks and even kills like the dead assassin. It is the spirit of the assassin in the body of the upright police officer. How the police officer frees himself of the spirit is what the latter part of the film is all about.
If the story (Renzil D’Silva and Rakesh Mehra) is appealing, the screenplay is of the kind which the audience will soon tire of. The pace is so slow, it could get on anybody’s nerves. Repetition is the name of the game, whether it is dialogues or scenes.
Debut director Rakesh Mehra has tried to marry ancient philosophy with modern technical wizardry. In the process, the Indianness of the belief in spirits is lost. In India, spirits are either revered or held in awe but Aks fails to exploit that emotional appeal of a spirit. That is the film’s biggest undoing. Aks, which deals with spirits, therefore, does not appeal to an audience brought up on stories about spirits and ghosts. The emotional aspect of the beliefs is totally missing. In short, the marriage between philosophy and technique fails miserably.
The portion of the spirit raping the police officer’s wife through the officer’s body is too bizarre to find acceptance or to even appeal. Similarly, the assassin’s girlfriend lusting after his embodied spirit in the police officer’s body appears ridiculous, to say the least. The Ramlila song is too abstract and deserves to be chopped off completely.
Amitabh Bachchan does an excellent job as the police officer in the first half and the possessed victim after interval. Manoj Bajpai is also superb as the assassin with tantrik powers but his character tends to irritate often. Raveena Tandon looks very glamorous and acts ably. Nandita Das does a natural job. K.K. Raina is effective as Manoj Bajpai’s brother. Kamal Chopra leaves a mark. Tanvi Azmi is cute. Vineet Kumar is ferocious. Pramod Moutho is effective. Salim Ghouse is appropriate. Vijay Raaz impresses a lot. Abhimanyu Shekhar Singh looks handsome and makes an impressive debut as Amitabh’s assistant. Gargi Vegi Raju is good. Vrajesh Hirjee, Dr. Mohan Agashe, Virendra Saxena, Raju Sunderam, Amol Palekar, Aditya Surte, Gajraj Rao and Mithilesh Chaturvedi lend able support.
Rakesh Omprakash Mehra’s debut direction is flawed just as his story and screenplay are. Kamlesh Pandey’s script only makes matters worse. Rakesh Mehra has made the narration so tedious that it becomes difficult to enjoy the film after some time. The second half, especially, is very boring.
Anu Malik’s music has good class-appeal but songs crop up abruptly, diluting their impact. Several songs have similar picturisations (in the club), thereby further reducing their appeal. ‘Rabba Rabba’, the best number, is picturised in the club but the main club dancer, Raveena Tandon, is conspicuous by her absence in it. ‘Yeh raat’, ‘Aaja gufaaon mein aa’, ‘Raat aati hai’ and ‘Banda yeh bindaas hai’ are quite appealing. Cinematography (Kiran Deohans) is superb. Computer animation and special effects (the scene in which Amitabh and Manoj Bajpai leap from a height against the backdrop of waterfalls) are fantastic. Sets (Samir Chanda) are good. Action (Allan Amin) is stylised. Background score (Ranjit Barot) matches the film’s mood. Editing should have been far, far crisper. Climax is too class-appealing.
On the whole, Aks may have taken a good start but the dry subject, boring narration and undue length will see collections come crashing down very soon. Despite the reasonable price, it will entail losses to its distributors as it has some chance in only a handful of good cinemas in the country. Discerning audience, looking for technique more than content, will find some appeal in the film and that’s about all.
Released on 13-7-2001 at Novelty, New Empire and 20 other cinemas of Bombay thru UTV-Shringar Films. Publicity & opening: excellent. …….Also released all over. Opening was impressive everywhere.
TUM BIN…
Super Cassettes Industries Ltd. and Anubhav Sinha Productions Pvt. Ltd.’s Tum Bin… is the story of a girl in whose life come three men. The first man is her beloved but he dies in a road accident. The second comes to her to help her out of a near-helpless situation created due to her beloved’s death. He succeeds and, in the process, falls in love with her. The third, a business associate, wants to marry her. How she comes out of the tangle she has created for herself is what the climax is all about.
The film has a fairly good story but one that required mature actors. However, Tum Bin… has newcomers in its main cast. Screenplay is not consistently good. There are emotional moments in the drama, which touch the heart, but there is unnecessary sermonising and philosophical drama which slacken the pace and, therefore, bore. The extremely short role of the heroine’s beloved dilutes the emotional strength of their characters, something which could have been used to advantage to draw tears in the second half. The film, in its story idea, reminds of Dushmun.
The drama, revolving only around business empires, makes it class-appealing. Romance is missing in the romantic story. Yet, the presentation is neat and the film’s look is very pretty. The foreign locations are an eyeful and they’ve been captured excellently by cameraman Vijay Arora. A couple of songs are very melodious and add to the drama. Dialogues (Anubhav Sinha) are very good at several places. The comedy track is splendid and there should’ve been more of it.
Newcomer Priyanshu, as the guy who helps the heroine, does a fine job. He is very natural. Himanshu is fair. He needs to shed some weight because he has the looks and some latent talent. Both, Priyanshu and Himanshu, however, dance awkwardly. Raakesh, as the beloved who dies in an accident, looks cute and acts ably in a brief role. Sandali does a fair job of a businesswoman torn between two guys and the memories of a third. Navneet Nishan is fantastic. Rajendra Gupta also acts with élan. Vrajesh Hirjee evokes laughter. Rajesh Khera plays Priyanshu’s Sardar-friend ably. Vikram Gokhale leaves a mark. Dina Pathak, Manoj Pahwa, Sudheer Bahl and the others lend good support.
Debut-making director Anubhav Sinha does a good job. He deserves credit for making with newcomers a believable film which actually demanded mature artistes. Although his story may not be very good or original, his direction is praiseworthy. Nikhil Vinay, Ravi Pawar and T.S. Jarnail’s music is an asset. ‘Chhoti chhoti raatein’, ‘O Saanjana’, ‘Iss dil ne’, ‘Dekhte hi dekhte’, ‘Tumhare siva’ and ‘Meri duniya mein’ are appealing songs, the first two being hit numbers. Song picturisations are simple but the outdoor songs look rich due to the picturesque locales.
Production values are rich. Technical aspects are of a good standard.
On the whole, Tum Bin… is a fair entertainer for ladies and families in cities and will keep distributors in those circuits happy where the film has been sold very reasonably.
Released on 13-7-2001 at Central Plaza and 6 other cinemas of Bombay thru Anugraha Entertainment. Publicity: excellent. Opening: good. …….Also released all over except in West Bengal and C.I. Opening was good in C.P. Berar but dull in Rajasthan.
LATEST POSITION
GADAR continues its victory march from North to South and East to West, and becomes a universal blockbuster.
Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai… is poor. 1st week Bombay 22,84,285 (46.95%) from 12 cinemas (8 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 1,96,471 from 2 cinemas, Rajkot 1,12,500 (1 in matinee unrecd.), Jamnagar (matinee) 11,203; Pune 6,78,905 from 5 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 1,48,440 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 90,407 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Bijapur 90,130; Delhi 16,94,262 (40.54%) from 7 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur 2,26,382 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 1,91,283, Agra 1,70,000, Varanasi 1,54,390, Bareilly 75,430; Calcutta 7,44,897 from 8 cinemas (2 in noon); Nagpur 1,91,759 from 2 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,26,979, Amravati 95,283, Akola 85,241, Bilaspur 56,322; Jaipur 2,28,011 (29.57%) from 2 cinemas, Bikaner 55,865; Hyderabad (gross) 15,19,287 from 8 cinemas. Total 92,27,732 from 64 cinemas.
…………..
Lagaan (21 shows all over) is extraordinary in Bombay city and South. 4th week Bombay 62,93,550 (86.24%) from 13 cinemas (7 on F.H.), total for 4 weeks 2,72,77,766; Ahmedabad 1,42,609 (4 unrecd.), Rajkot 86,546; Pune 12,60,371 from 3 cinemas, Solapur 95,941, Satara (14 shows, gross) 51,785; Bijapur 54,514; Delhi 40,67,330 from 8 cinemas (1 on F.H.), total for 4 weeks 2,72,04,003; Kanpur 1,94,357 from 3 cinemas, Lucknow 3,70,712, Agra 1,82,000, Bareilly (6 days) 28,927, Jaunpur 7,000, total 87,000; Calcutta 12,07,510 from 7 cinemas (1 in noon); Nagpur 4,91,557 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,16,464, Amravati 1,21,223, Akola 60,722, total 4,34,060, Raipur (6 days) 98,389, Jalgaon 92,685, Wardha 44,500, Chandrapur 1,07,080, 2nd Yavatmal 73,410 (1st 1,15,662); 4th week Indore 1,66,246 from 2 cinemas (2 unrecd.); Jaipur 3,92,900 (66.16%), Ajmer 62,498; Hyderabad (gross) 16,31,844 from 5 cinemas (1 in noon); 1st week Davangere 2,13,637. Total of 4th week 1,77,16,307 from 64 cinemas.
Gadar Ek Prem Katha 4th week Bombay 71,23,485 (86.60%) from 15 cinemas (10 on F.H.), total for 4 weeks 3,11,85,825; Ahmedabad 19,74,863 from 8 cinemas, 1st week Padra 4,29,612, 4th week Jamnagar 1,49,169 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 21,85,590 from 8 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 5,66,504 from 3 cinemas, Satara 1,01,438 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Nasik 3,66,122, Nasik Road 1,51,163; Delhi 83,37,701 from 17 cinemas (3 on F.H.), total for 4 weeks 3,71,16,931; Kanpur (6 days) 2,29,364 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 9,69,227 from 2 cinemas, Agra 5,25,000, Bareilly (6 days) 1,36,730, Dehradun 2,93,901, Jaunpur 80,000, total 6,05,000; 3rd week Calcutta 20,68,679 from 14 cinemas; 4th week Nagpur 6,89,217 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 2,53,682, 2nd week Balaghat 1,26,644, 4th Amravati 2,39,097, Akola 2,07,958, Dhule 1,76,157, Raipur 2,14,665, Jalgaon 1,43,878, Wardha 1,22,659, Rajnandgaon (6 days) about 74,000, Yavatmal 1,31,868, Sagar 67,000; Indore 2,45,513 (2 on F.H.), Bhopal 2,46,000 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 14,76,684 (82.50%) from 3 cinemas, Ajmer (gross) 3,67,722, Bikaner 3,30,891; Hyderabad (gross) 15,80,235 from 5 cinemas; 2nd week Mangalore 1,33,958, Davangere 1,87,968; Vijayawada 1,18,989, 3rd week Visakhapatnam 1,76,577. Total of 4th week 3,29,99,960 from 110 cinemas.
QATEEL SHIFAI DEAD
Qateel Shifai (real name, Aurangzeb Khan), the famous Pakistani lyricist who wrote memorable, haunting numbers for films like Sir, Naraaz, Naajayaz and Bewafa Sanam, died on 11th July at Lahore in Pakistan. He was 82. He is survived by his wife and five children.
KAILASH CHURI NO MORE
Kailash Churi, director of Hawas Ki Raat, expired on 7th July in Bombay due to a heart attack. Two Gujarati films — Mandu Mange Preet and Ek Aur Khabri — directed by him are ready for release. He is survived by his mother and three sisters.
‘GADAR’ VCDs, DVDs TO BE RELEASED SOON
Zee has decided to shortly release the VCDs and DVDs of Gadar Ek Prem Katha in order to tackle piracy of the film. According to Nittin Keni of Zee, the decision to release the film on video soon was taken as it was felt that the pirated VCDs and DVDs, broadcast by cable operators, were “killing the impact of the film” because of their sub-standard quality. Zee is also stepping up its anti-piracy drive, he said.
SURINDER SINGH PHOOL NO MORE
Surinder Singh Phool, director of National award-winning Punjabi film, Mahri Da Diva, passed away on 11th July in Pune. He was 60 and is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.
An FTII graduate, he had directed numerous Punjabi films like Mutiar, Reshma, Udikaan Saundiyan, Dharti Saadi Maa and Saal Solwan Chadya, several of them thought-provoking. Mahri Da Diva was a joint production venture of NFDC and Doordarshan.
DAMAYANTI PURI DEAD
Noted stage, film and TV actress Damayanti Puri passed away in Delhi on 11th July. She was 67 and is survived by a daughter and two sons.
Damayanti Puri had acted in several Hindi films including Faasle, Silsila and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. She had also acted in scores of Punjabi films and Hindi plays in a career spaning over 50 years.
‘GADAR’ CLAIMS TWO LIVES
Clashes in a cinema of Sangamner (district Nasik) over the trailer of Gadar resulted in the death of a young boy. The boy was injured when a small section of the audience objected to the trailer and went on the rampage. He was admitted to hospital but died earlier this week.
In another unrelated incident, a young lady committed suicide in Nasik when her husband did not keep his promise to show her Gadar.
ONE CAUGHT IN AJIT DEWANI MURDER CASE
The Bombay police on 11th July arrested one Ayub Patel in connection with the murder of producer Ajit Dewani on 30th June. The police has claimed that Patel was the key conspirator who hatched the plot alongwith three others. Patel, an accused in the Bombay bomb blasts case, has also been charged with the murder of actor Dinesh Anand in February this year.
Meanwhile, extortion threats to prominent film personalities from the underworld are continuing unabated. Reportedly, the underworld recently issued threats to at least 12 film artistes, including Amrish Puri, for an extortion amount exceeding Rs. 10 crore.
Meanwhile, the Bombay police has declared war against underworld don Abu Salem for targeting film personalities.
YOU ASKED IT
To what do you attribute the good opening of Aks?
– To its stylish promotional trailers. And, of course, to Amitabh Bachchan!
Which was the first film laboratory in India?
– Imperial Film Company, which was started by Ardeshir Irani in 1937.
Is it true that Lajja is divided into episodes?
– Yes, it is divided into episodes. Characters of one episode in the film don’t meet the characters of the other episodes. Manisha Koirala is the common thread through all the episodes.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
A Great Dialogue Sacrificed
If you thought the dialogues of Gadar Ek Prem Katha are as good as they can get, you are wrong. There’s one dialogue which was supposed to be a part of the film but which, for reasons of extreme caution, is not in the film. In fact, that gem of a dialogue, written by Shaktimaan, had inspired Sunny Deol so much that he said ‘yes’ to the film at once. The scene in which that inspirational dialogue was to come is the one in which Sunny pleads in Pakistan with his father-in-law, Amrish Puri, to let him take wife Amisha Patel back to India. While the first part of the dialogue still exists in the film, it is the second part which has been chopped off. Had it been shot, the pleading would have been interspersed with a threat to Amrish Puri. For, Sunny was supposed to have thundered:
Baap ban-ke beti ko vida kar de
Nahin to saare Lahore ko dahej mein lekar jaaoonga
Claps, whistles, thunderous applause….. That’s what the scene in cinemas would’ve been had the second part of the dialogue been uttered. But the makers decided to not use it for fear of inviting the wrath of a minority community and also for fear of it sounding pro-dowry.
Sunny A Jat, Not Sikh, In ‘Gadar’
There’s a question about Sunny Deol’s appearance in Gadar, which is haunting many a cinegoer. Although he wears a turban, he is shown with short hair. Again, while he is shown sporting a beard in some scenes, he is clean-shaven in others. But Sikh religion doesn’t permit the use of scissors and razors. Nittin Keni, the executive producer of the film, clarifies this. “Sunny is not a Sikh in the film, he is a Jat. Jats are allowed to shave and they do not have long hair,” explains Keni, adding, “In fact, there are at least two scenes in the film, in which Sunny is referred to as a Jat — once by himself and the other time, by Amrish Puri.” Remind Nittin Keni that Sunny, while adorning Amisha Patel’s maang with his blood to save her from the blood-hungry Sikhs, shouts, “Lae, ab Sikhni ho gayee,” he admits, “Yes, that is the only place where we project Sunny as a Sikh. The dialogue should have actually been, ‘Lae, ab Hindni ho gayee’. But since Hindni would’ve been a coinage, we let ‘Sikhni’ go.”
Supersition? What’s That?!?
Friday the 13th is considered a bad omen for anything, the world ever. Superstition, you might say. But Amitabh Bachchan and Rakesh Mehra, who’ve made a film, Aks, on spirits and Godmen, overlooked the ominous side of their release date. Aks was released all over yesterday, which was Friday the 13th.
Taking Different Roads
Rumours are rife in the industry that the release of Deepak Shivdasani’s Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke will be postponed. They stem from a dispute between Deepak and his hero-cum-distributor for Bombay, Ajay Devgan. Reportedly, the film was with Ajay’s distribution concern on commission basis, but Deepak is now insisting on an MG. So says the Devgan office. The matter has reached IMPDA because Ajay doesn’t want to give any MG. Trade-wallahs feel, the dispute will take a while to be settled, hence the postponement. But that may not be true. The scheduled date of release — August 10 — is almost a month away and that’s good enough time for settling a little dispute like this one. After all, yeh raaste nahin hain nafrat ke!
What’s Hot, What’s Not?
Subhash Ghai’s Yaadein may be generating a lot of excitement in the trade, but among the public, the craze is not what it should have been by now, considering that it is a Subhash Ghai film, starring Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. People feel, enough heat is not being generated due to the television trailers which aren’t very alluring. Ghai had better take note and air new promos, more lively and more promising. The theatrical trailer of the film has, however, created an impact in Baroda where the crowds are greeting it with applause.
The television trailers of Lajja have succeeded in creating the right kind of talk about the film. In Delhi-U.P., the multi-starrer, directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, is attracting fancy terms from exhibitors.
Dil Chahta Hai is getting a lot of mileage in Bombay and South due to the different look of its three heroes. Aamir Khan’s presence, of course, makes all the difference post-Lagaan. Likewise, Sunny Deol’s special appearance in Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke has made this film hotter than it was before the release of Sunny’s Gadar.
Rajiv Rai’s Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat is yet to make it to cinegoers’ hearts. The silver lining is, there’s still time.
SHOOTING COVERAGE
‘ALL THE BEST’: STANDING TALL
Vinod Doshi’s All The Best should actually be titled All The A’s. For, it stars heroes whose names begins with the alphabet ‘A’ viz. Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Aditya Pancholi. “Another similarity is that all of them are tall,” says the tall son of Doshi and producer of All The Best, Gaurang.
Gaurang is a go-getter. “It is he who has put the entire project together,” informs Vinod Doshi, adding, “I would’ve never been able to produce this film. We belong to the old guard. Things have undergone a drastic change today. Therefore, I don’t come to the sets very often. When I do, I leave after having some tasty lunch!”
Considering the formidable cast (there are Sushmita Sen and Paresh Rawal too, both of who, incidentally, are pretty tall), a rank newcomer calling the shots is quite surprising. However, one soon learns that Vipul Shah may be making his debut in Hindi films but he has directed Gujarati films, stage plays and Hindi television serials too. All The Best is an adaptation of his own Gujarati play, Aandhalo Pato (Blind Man’s Buff). The play as also the film are written by Aatish Kapadia.
Amitabh Bachchan plays a negative role throughout the film. Vipul and Aatish explain, “It’s a negative role totally; the character doesn’t become positive even in the end.” Sushmita Sen is Arjun’s heroine. Bipasha Basu is being considered for a special appearance to play Akshay Kumar’s leading lady. Amitabh has no heroine opposite him. Bad men don’t get pretty girls.
A sprawling and pretty set of the exterior and interior of a house, put up at Film City, is where the action is. The current shooting schedule is long and will go on upto 20th August, after which only three songs will remain to be picturised. The scene being shot on the day we are on the sets has Akshay, Arjun and Paresh Rawal posing as blind men. All of them have the red-and-while walking stick in their hands. The intention, it seems, is to fool Amitabh Bachchan.
But Gaurang Doshi is serious when he reveals that the film’s title may be changed. All The Best reportedly has not found favour with some distributors of the film. Gaurang informs that except for a small sub-territory, his film is closed for all-India. Impressive, considering that this is Vipul Shah’s maiden Hindi film.
Although the film will be complete by October this year, the makers have decided to release it only early next year. Especially because Bahchan’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is due for release in December.