GAJA GAMINI
Dashaka Films Pvt. Ltd.’s Gaja Gamini portrays the journey of a woman called Gaja Gamini — who is suspended in time and space, along with a spectrum of characters taken from art, history, music and poetry.
Gaja Gamini is born from a wall and manifests herself into four different characters — Sangeeta, Shakuntal, Monica and Mona Lisa. All the four characters voice the aesthetics of feminine beauty. Sangeeta, the blind singer, meets four other characters culled from history and fiction. Alongwith these women, she sets out to consolidate the power of womankind in a man’s world.
Shakuntal is yet another symbolic figure, conceived by Kalidas. She yearns for her lover like Shakuntala did for Dushyant. Kalidas is himself a metaphor of illusion. Monica is the woman of the 20th century. She is also in search of existential love, surrounded by a sea of knowledge. Mona Lisa is reincarnated in the form of Madhuri.
All the characters in the film are symbolic and metaphorical. They transcend the barriers of time and so one sees Da Vinci sitting on the ghaats of Banaras and painting the elusive Gaja Gamini. One also sees Kalidas with a cycle, and Kamdev descending on earth to woo her. The entire film oscillates between illusion and reality. Everything is so abstract that viewing the film becomes a painful and terribly tedious exercise.
The film is targeted at the intellectuals. The use of numerous innuendos and metaphors are beyond a common viewer’s comprehension. It would only appeal to people with great poetic inclination or with an artistic bent of mind. The film, punctuated with colours and music, has, obviously, food for thought for the very erudite tribe only. Though it has a message, it is not conveyed in a straightforward manner. Use of poetic language and words make it more difficult to understand the meaning instantly.
Madhuri Dixit, as Gaja Gamini, is grace personified. She is at ease in her performance. As always, she acts ably, dances magnificently and sails smoothly through her role. Shabana Azmi, as Nirmala and later as Lady Malika Bill Grate (chairperson of the Planning Commission), acts convincingly. But her potential has not been exploited to the fullest. Mohan Agashe, Ashish Vidyarthi, Farida Jalal and Shilpa Shirodkar support ably. Inder Kumar, as Kamdev, is not convincing. Naseeruddin Shah is wasted as Leonardo Da Vinci. Raeesa Husain is so-so in her debut performance as Phulwania. Shah Rukh Khan, as himself, plays his part well and enlivens the screen with a spontaneous performance in his characteristic style.
M.F. Husain’s direction couldn’t have been more absurd. Technical aspects are okay. Dialogues are too stagy. Music is very classical-based and so does not appeal at all. Choreography (Saroj Khan and Jojo Khan) is praiseworthy. Camerawork is okay and production values are just about average.
On the whole, Gaja Gamini stands zero chances at the ticket-windows because of its abstract content and dull form. A waste of raw stock, time and money, it will prove to be the disaster of the decade.
Released on 1-12-2000 at Eros (matinee) and 1 more cinema of Bombay thru Yashraj Film Distributors. Publicity: dull. Opening: good.
‘KASHMIR’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA
Mission Kashmir has been granted exemption from payment of entertainment tax in Maharashtra for one year with effect from 25th November. The film is also tax-free in Delhi.
‘HAMARA DIL AAPKE PAAS HAI’ 100 DAYS
Boney Kapoor’s Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai completes 100 days of its run today (Dec. 2) at Dreamland (matinee), Bombay and in other centres of India. Produced by Surinder Kapoor and directed by Satish Kaushik, the film stars Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Sonali Bendre, Anupam Kher, Anang Desai, Johny Lever, Himani Shivpuri and Jaspal Bhatti. Lyrics: Javed Akhtar. Music: Sanjeev Darshan.
RAVI ELECTED CMDA PRESIDENT
Ravi was elected president of the Cine Music Directors’ Association (CMDA) at its annual general meeting on 5th November in Bombay. Ravindra Jain and Khayyam were elected vice presidents, and Raj Sonik, general secretary. S. Madan and Alok Ganguly were elected joint secretaries, and O.P. Sonik, treasurer. The other committee members elected are J.P. Kaushik, Surinder Kohli, Tapan Bhattacharya, Dilip Dutta, Shantanu Kumar, Milind Chitnavis and Dutta Koli.
A two-minute silence was observed in the meeting in memory of Kalyanji Shah (of Kalyanji Anandji) and Kishan Sandhu.
Music director Vishal Bhardwaj was felicitated for winning awards for Godmother.
TROUBLE BREWING IN IMPPA
Trouble seems to be brewing in the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association (IMPPA) once again. The problem arose over the appointment of an additional member, Thakur Tapssvi, to the executive committee soon after the new committee took charge in September. B.S. Shaad, an elected committee member, took objection to Tapssvi’s appointment. Besides him, a few other producers have objected to the appointment on technical grounds. Resultantly, the appointment of additional members, loosely referred to as co-option, will now become the subject matter of legal opinion.
Shaad, in the meantime, has decided to resign from the executive committee if Thakur Tapssvi’s co-option goes through. He has already resigned from the membership and convenorship of various sub-committees of the IMPPA.
While Article 28 of the Articles of Association of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association provides for appointment of additional members in special cases only, Article 29 provides for co-option for special purposes only.
Shaad and the others objecting to the appointment of Tapssvi under Article 28 allege that there was no special case for which he was appointed. They further allege that Thakur Tapssvi’s is a back-door entry for the ensuing tug-of-war when IMPPA president Shakti Samanta will vacate his chair after he attains the age of 75. It is believed that at least one member, eyeing the president’s chair, is keen that Tapssvi is taken as additional member because additional members appointed under Article 28 have voting rights. Besides Tapssvi, the other producer who has been appointed under Article 28 is Mushirbhai.
In the meantime, Vinod Verma, a member of the IMPPA, has written to it to declare all appointments and co-options under Articles 28 (two appointments) and 29 (four co-options) null and void as there was neither any special case before the executive committee nor any special purpose which would warrant the appointment/co-option.
ADLABS’ IPO OF RS. 52.80 CRORE TO OPEN ON 11TH DECEMBER
Bombay-based Adlabs Films Ltd., one of India’s leading film processing laboratories, will soon enter the capital market with an initial public offering of 44 lakh equity shares at Rs. 120 per share aggregating Rs. 52.80 crore. The issue will open on 11th December and close on 16th December. The IPO is being made to facilitate the completion of a 4-cinema multiplex in Bombay, which will also house the IMAX dome theatre, and to upgrade and modernise the existing processing capacity of Adlabs.
Adlabs has an agreement with IMAX Corporation, Canada to bring the IMAX experience to India through a 520-seater state-of-the-art theatre which is under construction at Wadala, Bombay.
At a press conference held on 28th November at The Taj, Bombay, Manmohan Shetty, chairman and managing director of Adlabs Films Ltd., said that the IMAX theatre will be thrown open to the public in April 2001 while the four multiplex cinemas with a total of 1,225 seats will be inaugurated in January 2001.
Talking about the expansion plans, the Adlabs chief said that the lab, founded by him and Vasanji Mamania in 1978, has been regularly adding technologically advanced facilities. The lab created a record this year when it took out in one week at total of a thousand prints for Yash Chopra’s Mohabbatein and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir. This year, Adlabs has processed a record 1,40,000 film rolls! Adlabs, today, commands a 60 to 70% market share in film processing in Western India.
SBI Capital Markets Limited are the lead managers to the public issue.
YOU ASKED IT
There are some anti-piracy organisations which help the police in detecting illegal screenings and piracy of films. Are those organisations authorised by the police?
– No, they are appointed by the producers. They are not entitled to make arrests but they can ask the police to conduct raids.
What should be the right price for the satellite (which is a growing market) and Overseas rights for a star-cast film like, say, Mohabbatein?
– The combined price for satellite and Overseas rights for a set-up like MOHABBATEIN could be Rs. 15 to 20 crore!
Box-office collections in which centres of Maharashtra are particularly affected in the Ramzan period?
– The centres affected are the predominantly Muslim areas of Bombay, Bhiwandi (where 6 and 9 p.m. shows are often abandoned), Pune, Solapur, Malegaon, Islampur, Ichalkaranji etc. The same goes for Muslim-inhabited areas in other circuits.
ANNOUNCMENT AND LAUNCHING
Ajay Devgan, Amisha Starrer To Roll
Bahry Films’ Parwana will go on the floors on Dec. 8 at Natraj Studios with a 10-day stint. The film is being produced and directed by Deepak Bahry and stars Ajay Devgan, Amisha Patel, Gulshan Grover, Paresh Rawal, Sayaji Shinde, Kader Khan and Danny Denzongpa. Story-screenplay: Rajiv Kaul and Praful Parekh. Dialogues: Tanvir Khan. Cinematographer: Damodar Naidu. Music: Sanjeev Darshan. Lyrics: Sameer. Sound: Chhotu Bhai. Action: Veeru Devgan. Editor: Naseer Khan.
T.P. Agarwal Announces Three Films
Producer T.P. Agarwal has announced Star Entertainments Pvt. Ltd.’s Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, to be directed by Osho Raja (formerly Ashok Tyagi), Aur Phir Ek Din, to be directed by Akashdeep, and a Hindi-Tamil bilingual, yet untitled, to be directed by K.S. Atheyaman. The cast and other credits of all the three films are yet to be finalised.
T.P. Agarwal’s Titliyaan, a tele-serial directed by Dayal Nihalani, has completed 31 episodes on Sahara TV. It is telecast every Wednesday at 8 p.m. A cocktail-dinner party was hosted on 26th November to celebrate the success of the serial. Another sitcom of Agarwal, Uff! Yeh Ladkiyaan, being directed and cinematographed by Nadeem Khan and starring Chunkey Panday in the male lead, will be telecast shortly.
Sooraj Barjatya To Direct Hrithik, Kareena, Abhishek
Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor will play the lead pair, and Abhishek Bachchan will make a friendly appearance in Rajshri Productions P. Ltd.’s Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon. It will be directed by Sooraj R. Barjatya who has himself written the story, screenplay and dialogues. Anu Malik has been signed to provide music. Other cast and credits are being finalised. The film will be launched next year.
DO YOU KNOW?
* Jivandas Mohta (Venkatesh Films, Calcutta) has produced a Bengali film, SASURBADI ZINDABAD, which has become a runaway hit. Released before Diwali this year, it is expected to do a business of over 3.5 crore!
* R.B. Choudhary, the well-known Tamil and Telugu film producer, is known for launching new talents in every venture of his. But he has tried a different kind of launching with his PAPPA, a Tamil film. Venkatesh, the top lead man of Telugu films, and Kodi Ramakrishna, the veteran director of Telugu films, will make their debuts in a Tamil venture of R.B. Choudhary. This film is a ‘straight’ (which means, it is not a remake).
* Preeti Jhangiani, one of the young leading ladies of MOHABBATEIN, who was earlier introduced by Rajshri Music in its music video album, YEH HAI PREM, proved herself to be pretty generous when she handed over a cheque for Rs. 1,00,001/- to her secretary, Akash, on his birthday recently. Perhaps, that was Preeti’s way of expressing her thanks to her secretary due to whose efforts she has bagged films opposite Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan and Sunil Shetty.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
Self-Styled Censors
The Pandits of Varanasi seem to be an extra-sensitive lot. Some months back, they hounded out Deepa Mehta from Varanasi even before she could start shooting for her Water. The protesting pandits have now trained their guns on Amitabh Bachchan who, they say, has gone against Hindu tradition by reciting the Gayatri mantra in Mohabbatein with his shoes on. Amitabh lost no time in clarifying that enough care was taken by him to remove his shoes during the filming of the scene which showed him reciting the Gayatri mantra. Even while dubbing for the scene, he had removed his shoes, he said while refuting the charges of the pandits. But that cut no ice with the holier-than-thou pandits. They stormed into Taksal cinema earlier this week and forcibly got the scenes showing Amitabh Bachchan reciting the Gayatri mantra cut. The fundamentalists have also sent a letter to I & B minister Sushma Swaraj, asking her to get the relevant scenes deleted from the film. On the other hand, the Film Producers’ Guild of India has also dashed off a letter to the minister, registering its protest against “the extra-constitutional authorities who barge into cinemas and, with their muscle power, force the cinemas to delete scenes according to their whims… Can we allow hoodlums to hold the world’s largest film industry to ransom?” The Guild has asked the minister to take up the matter of Mohabbatein with the government of Uttar Pradesh.
Like Yash Chopra, so also Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The latter has been asked by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) to tender an apology for projecting the entire Sikh community as cowards in his Mission Kashmir. What has upset the SGPC is an innocuous scene in the film, which showed Sanjay Dutt asking a junior Sikh police officer to take a plunge into the Dal Lake very carefully lest the bomb planted there explodes before he does so. The Sikh officer gets so jittery that he wets his pants. The SGPC has asked Vidhu Vinod Chopra to delete the “objectionable” scene immediately from the film as, according to them, it showed Sikhs as cowards. It has asked the producer-director to express his regrets to the Sikh community.
Surprisingly, the Film Producers’ Guild of India has not made any mention of the Sikhs’ undue demand to cut the scene in Mission Kashmir. Is it because Vinod Chopra is not a member of the executive committee of the Guild?
Khushi In Boney-Sri’s Lives
Boney Kapoor and Sridevi’s second child now has a name. She is called Khushi Kapoor. Born on 5th November at Breach Candy Hospital, Bombay, the girl was christened Khushi on 26th November at Boney’s home. The christening ceremony was followed by lunch and it was attended by Boney’s parents, Anil Kapoor’s wife (Anil was out of station), Ashok Thakeria, Nizam distributor Ravi Machhar and a few other friends of Boney.
Boney and Sri’s first daughter is called Janhvi which was Urmila Matondkar’s name in Boney’s Judaai. Khushi is Sonali Bendre’s name in Boney Kapoor’s Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. Both, Urmila and Sonali, played the second female leads in the respective films.
Kajol’s ‘Friendly Appearance’
It was a party to celebrate an audio release, but with a difference — no audio was formally released. One is talking about the party of Devgan Entertainment & Software Ltd.’s Raju Chacha at Hotel Sun-N-Sand at Juhu, Bombay on 25th November. Generally, at audio release functions of Hindi films, the cassettes and CDs are formally released by a guest of honour chosen by the producer. No such thing took place at the Raju Chacha party… Ajay Devgan, who usually is a mild-mannered person, got agitated with the media people (journalists and TV crews) who rushed to the stage to capture the moment when the lead artistes of the film took their places. To his credit though, he almost immediately regained composure and was his usual polite self within minutes.
Rishi Kapoor, who returns as an actor in the role of a business tycoon in the film, threatened to arrive at the party any moment. The emcee repeatedly announced that the teen idol of yesteryears would arrive at 11 p.m. There was no sign of him till almost after midnight. He probably made it after the guests had left!
The biggest surprise of the party, however, was Kojal’s ‘cameo appearance’. Kajol’s leaving the party within minutes of her arrival raised quite a few eyebrows, especially considering that Raju Chacha is hubby Ajay’s home production in which she plays the female lead. Irrespective of what guests might think of it, Kajol left the party with mom Tanuja and dad Shomu Mukerji.
Raju Chacha will have its world premiere on December 28 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Los Angeles (USA). This will be the first ever Bollywood film to have its world premiere in Hollywood.
SHOOTING COVERAGE
KABHI KHUSHI… ALWAYS FUN!
“Uncle, yes, it was alright,” whispers the director after shouting “Cut”. The shot has been okayed after a couple of takes. Amitabh Bachchan is the uncle, and Karan Johar is the director. There’s “aunty” Jaya Bachchan, too, in the shot that has been canned sans a dialogue. The film being shot is producer Yash Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.
Yes, Karan refers to the Bachchans as “uncle” and “aunty”. The guy has known them as his father and mother’s close friends ever since he was a kid. “I can’t call him Amit-ji, please!” Old habits die hard, we guess!
The two Bachchans have their backs to the camera as they pray to Lord Rama on Diwali day. Their house is lit up, enough to indicate that it is a joyous occasion but also a bit subdued to indicate that there’s something amiss.
The unhappy part of the happy Diwali festival is that Shah Rukh Khan, the older son of the Bachchans, is not a part of the festive celebrations. Younger son Hrithik Roshan, however, imagines Shah Rukh to be around and his face lights up, but only for a split second. Tears well up in his eyes as he realises that his elder brother is not around. This is the next shot that is being canned.
Explains Karan, “This is the interval point in the film.” The title song is playing in the background as Hrithik gives his dramatic shot necessitating several emotions to be seen on his face one after the other and all in barely 30 seconds. Sometimes, it is Hrithik who asks for another take; on a couple of occasions, it is Karan; and if not the two of them, it is cameraman Kiran Deohans who wants a retake. The final take is so wonderful, it brings tears to our eyes too! So, when the film is released, one can expect the intermission to be a tearful one!
That is the gham. But just before the gham shot, there is khushi of a unique kind on the set. Amitabh Bachchan presents a box of laddoos to the cameraman, bowing in front of him. Kiran, a trifle embarrassed, accepts the box. We hastily get up to compliment Amitabh on becoming a grandpa for the second time (daughter Shweta delivered a baby boy on 23rd November), but the actor beams, “Nahin, uski mithai toh do dinon pehle baant di thi.” And then he goes on to explain the reason for his presenting laddoos to Deohans. “Kiran never okays my shot in the first take — never! So I promised him a box of laddoos the day he would okay even one shot of mine in the first take. It happened today, a little while ago, and I, therefore, am thanking him with a box of laddoos! Wow! There are laddoos for everyone on the set as Bachchan has arranged not just for one but several boxes. Bachchan has another ‘complaint’ too. This is revealed by Karan Johar. “Amit uncle tells me that I never praise him on the sets like I do when Shah Rukh or Hrithik give a wonderful shot. But what do I tell him, he is always so good. How does one compliment such a legendary actor?”
Having himself won compliments galore for his debut film, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan is working doubly hard this time. He is sparing no efforts to ensure that his second venture turns out to be a worthy successor to the first one, be it in the department of music, writing or direction. Karan is modest when he says, “I am a much better writer than a director.” For, his involvement on the sets, as a director, is 100%. Note, for example, how Karan ‘s facial expressions are in synch with those of Hrithik’s when the latter is giving the shot. Seated in front of the TV monitor, Karan smiles for a split second before his face falls in exactly the same way as Hrithik is doing in front of the camera.
If there’s one gham Karan has about the film, it is the absence of Waheeda Rehman as a part of the huge star cast. Waheeda had been finalised to play a pivotal role in the film and she even participated in the shooting for a day, but her husband’s sudden illness prompted her to opt out of the project. A few days later, she lost her husband. In the meantime, Karan had finalised another talented veteran, Achla Sachdev, in place of Waheeda Rehman. The star cast is formidable, to say the least — Amitabh, Jaya, Shah Rukh, Kajol, Hrithik, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Achla Sachdev, Sushma Seth and others.
Coming back to the shooting at Filmistan, what is it that follows the intermission point in a film? A break, of course! And so it was time for a break after the interval shot involving Hrithik Roshan was canned. No sooner was the break announced than there was general feasting. If Bachchan had called for laddoos, Hrithik had ordered for two large pizzas. Even while he was gorging on them, Amitabh emerged from his make-up room and was about to pick up a piece when he was told that it was a chicken pizza. “Oh, I’m vegetarian,” he sighed. Karan promptly sent his man for a cheeze pizza for Bachchan. “All this has also been called for by Hrithik?”, queried Amitabh, pointing to the sandwiches and other snacks spread out on the table. “No, yeh unit ka hai,” came a voice, “Oh, toh ye sarkari hai,” joked Bachchan.
Jokes, pizzas and sandwiches apart, the set erected by Sharmishtha Roy was indeed majestic. Producer Yash Johar explained, “All these paintings you see on the walls are very expensive ones. The house has to look like a multi-millionaire’s.” Karan adds, “The temple is actually on the top floor, but it has been shifted down here because it is Diwali.”
Even as the shot is progressing, Karan asks his assistant to arrange for a ring with a single diamond in it. “It is for Shah Rukh’s proposed engagement,” Karan explains. “I’ll be canning that shot tomorrow,” he adds as he gulps down fruits.
Fruits of this labour of love of Karan will be borne only next Diwali which is the time Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham will be released. Till then, Karan is sparing no efforts to translate his beautifully scripted family drama into a movie marvel. Suffice it to say, the film will have ample doses of fun and emotions to capture the hearts of the viewers when released.
– Komal
