WALKOUT IN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OVER ‘GADAR’
The Shiv Sena-BJP-led opposition staged a walkout, during a heated debate on Gadar, from the Maharashtra legislative council. The opposition was demanding the declaration of the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) a terrorist organisation and a total ban on its activities in Maharashtra. They blamed the SIMI for Gadar-related violence in the state.
Stating that there was a deeper conspiracy, a Congressman sought the ministry’s statement on the involvement of Taliban in the violent incidents in at least seven cinemas of Maharashtra, where Gadar was screened. Replying to the issue, the minister of state for home (rural), Manikrao Thakre informed the Upper House that eleven cases had been registered and 68 persons, including SIMI activists, had been arrested after the violence in cinemas.
LATEST POSITION
With AKS failing to draw the crowds, it was still the GADAR wave that swept the nation.
Aks proves a disaster. After a good start, collections came tumbling down everywhere. 1st week Bombay 47,13,793 (75.15%) from 11 cinemas (11 on F.H.); Ahmedabad 24,17,374 from 6 cinemas, Rajkot 1,50,600, Jamnagar 1,05,000 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 18,39,458 from 6 cinemas, Solapur 1,94,039 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 1,00,729; Bijapur 1,43,000; Delhi 68,35,918 (64.29%) from 15 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Kanpur (6 days) 4,46,134 from 3 cinemas, Lucknow 5,10,797, Agra 2,10,000, Allahabad 2,16,691, Bareilly (6 days) 1,49,364; Calcutta 24,95,581 from 10 cinemas; Nagpur 6,72,467 from 4 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,78,583, Amravati 1,79,762, Akola 1,34,753, Raipur (6 days) 1,45,051, Bhilai (6 days) 1,15,248, Jalgaon 1,21,175, Wardha 91,818, Yavatmal 89,084, Bilaspur 85,409; Indore 1,72,000 (2 on F.H.); Jaipur 6,67,111 (43.64%) from 3 cinemas, Jodhpur 6,55,406 from 2 cinemas (1 in 5 shows only), Ajmer (29 shows) 85,463; Hyderabad (gross) 28,11,471 from 11 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Vijayawada (gross) 3,59,454, Visakhapatnam (gross) 1,96,562. Total 2,72,89,295 from 95 cinemas.
Tum Bin… is fair. Dropped after 4-5 days. Its low price is the biggest saviour. 1st week Bombay 9,76,555 (64.07%) from 5 cinemas (2 on F.H.); Pune 1,93,768 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 95,211; Delhi 9,34,233 (67.67%) from 2 cinemas; Lucknow 2,71,633, Agra 1,74,000, Varanasi 1,31,100, Allahabad 1,37,865; Nagpur 1,08,603, Jabalpur (5 days) 92,076, Raipur (6 days) 45,823; Jaipur (29 shows) 1,68,747 (33.24%); Hyderabad (gross) 3,99,084 (100%).
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Lagaan (21 shows all over) is still outstanding in Bombay city, South and Overseas. 5th week Bombay 55,78,442 (82.64%) from 12 cinemas (10 on F.H.), total for 5 weeks 3,28,56,208; Ahmedabad 6,27,225 from 4 cinemas, Rajkot 86,800; Pune 12,59,803 from 4 cinemas, Solapur (14 shows) 48,223, Satara (7 shows) 47,051; Delhi 18,31,178 from 4 cinemas (1 on F.H.); Kanpur 1,40,478 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 3,18,211, Agra 1,40,000, Varanasi 91,604, Allahabad 61,201, Bareilly (6 days) 25,501; Calcutta 7,60,485 from 3 cinemas; Nagpur 2,64,442 from 2 cinemas, 4th week Jabalpur (6 days) 59,960, 5th week Amravati 1,12,475, Akola 50,774, total 4,84,233, Raipur (6 days) 78,371, Bhilai (6 days) 44,059, Jalgaon 77,195 (4th 92,685), Wardha 37,437, Chandrapur 1,02,389, total 7,14,119, 3rd week Yavatmal 59,026; 5th week Indore 92,000 (4th 55,000); Jaipur 3,39,165 (57.11%), Jodhpur (16 shows) 1,71,617, total 15,42,687, Ajmer 45,397; Hyderabad (gross) 9,52,821 from 5 cinemas (3 in noon). Total of 5th week 1,35,03,330 from 57 cinemas.
Gadar Ek Prem Katha is mind-boggling even now! 5th week Bombay 59,21,438 (80.86%) from 14 cinemas (9 on F.H.), total for 5 weeks 3,71,07,263; Ahmedabad 16,00,020 from 7 cinemas (1 unrecd.), 2nd week Padra (gross) 3,84,615, 1st week Umreth (gross) 2,23,830, 5th Jamnagar 1,27,500 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Pune 18,08,653 from 8 cinemas (1 in matinee), Solapur 2,77,783 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee), Satara 95,871 from 2 cinemas (1 in matinee); Delhi 66,31,938 from 14 cinemas (3 on F.H.); Kanpur 5,02,001 from 2 cinemas, Lucknow 7,93,825 from 2 cinemas, Varanasi 3,62,024, Allahabad 2,15,000, Bareilly (6 days) 1,20,158; Calcutta 10,54,027 from 6 cinemas; Nagpur 6,10,110 from 3 cinemas, Jabalpur (6 days) 1,99,808, Amravati 2,15,628, Akola 1,87,353 (82%), total 10,99,071, Raipur (6 days) 1,47,540, Bhilai (6 days) 97,016, Jalgaon 2,16,143 (4th 2,43,878), 1st week Gondia (6 days, gross) 1,72,617, 5th week Wardha 91,635, total 7,50,951, Rajnandgaon 64,000, Yavatmal 1,06,183, total 7,61,779, share 6,36,779; Indore 2,05,764 (2 unrecd.), Bhopal 2,11,773 (1 unrecd.); Jaipur 10,94,989 (76.47%) from 2 cinemas, Ajmer 3,06,094, Bikaner 2,54,843; Hyderabad (gross) 15,20,160 from 4 cinemas. Total of 5th week 2,58,20,339 from 87 cinemas.
‘YAADEIN…’ SHOWS
Subhash Ghai will have a charity premiere of Yaadein… for the Bombay police on 27th July. On 28th and 29th, there will be premiere shows in the UK and USA. Ghai and his stars will return to India around 2nd August. On 5th, there will be shows in Lucknow and Kanpur, which will be attended by the unit. On 12th August, there will be another star-studded show in Delhi.
‘LAGAAN’ TAX-FREE IN DELHI
Aamir Khan’s Lagaan has been granted exemption from payment of entertainment tax in Delhi for a period of three months.
‘AKS’ RE-EDITED
Following the unanimous feeling among audience that Aks was slow and boring, its makers have re-edited the film. The new version is about 15 minutes shorter after deletion of some scenes and the Ram Leela song. The interval point has also been changed.
ANOTHER AWARD FOR ‘BAWANDAR’
Jagmohan Mundhra’s Bawandar (Sandstorm) on 14th July won the Golden Dhow award for the best feature film at the Zanzibar International Festival. The film fete was sponsored by Ford Foundation. This was the fifth international award for the film.
‘AKS’, ‘LAGAAN’, ‘GADAR’ PIRATED VCDs SEIZED
The Gumanpura police in Kota (Rajasthan) on 16th July raided two local video libraries, Aashirwad Video and Hindustan Videos. They recovered pirated VCDs of Aks, Lagaan, Gadar Ek Prem Katha and other new releases. The police also confiscated VCDs of pornographic films. The seizure was totally valued at about Rs. 1 lakh. The complaint against the libraries had been lodged by the oldest representative of Kota.
COMMITTEE FORMED TO IMPROVE MARATHI FILMS
The government of Maharashtra has set up an eight-member committee to recommend suggestions to improve the quality of Marathi films. The committee, headed by Maharashtra’s cultural secretary, Govind Swarup, has as its members NCP leader Ramdas Phutane, Amol Palekar, writer Vijaya Rajadhyaksha, producer Bhaskar Jadhav, director Vinay Niwalkar and music directors Ashok Hande and Bhaskar Chandavarkar.
The government is also considering reserving one screen in every multiplex in the state for Marathi films only. At present, 30 multiplex proposals are awaiting the approval of the state government.
HYDERABAD POLICE CRACK DOWN ON VIDEO PIRATES
In a massive anti-piracy drive in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the Commissioner’s Task Force on 18th July raided 10 local video parlours and seized pirated VCDs and VHS cassettes of Hindi films. The cops cracked down on a video parlour at Paradise Circle and seized 47 VCDs of Lagaan, 53 VCDs of Gadar Ek Prem Katha, and 29 cassettes of pornographic films. Owner Taj Khan was arrested on the spot. In another raid, the police seized 62 VCDs of Lagaan, 180 VCDs of Aks, and 127 VCDs of Gadar Ek Prem Katha from a video parlour at M.J. Market. The police arrested the parlour’s owner, Mohammed Aslam.
According to the police, an organised racket was involved in manufacturing and distribution of pirated VCDs. Reportedly, the VCDs were being smuggled in from Bombay. The pirates travelled to various cities and sold the VCDs to agents who, in turn, supplied them to the local video parlours. The video parlours bought the VCDs at low prices and either sold them or rented them out to individual customers.
CABLE PIRATE ARRESTED
Acting on a tip-off by Feature Films Copyright, the Chembur (Bombay) police conducted a raid at Lucky Cable Vision at Chembur, Bombay on 15th July and recovered pirated VCDs of Lagaan as well as cable broadcasting equipment. The police have booked one Venugopal Gondalapalli under the Copyright Act, in connection with cable piracy.
BHARAT SHAH ALLOWED TO MEET RELATIVES
Film financier Bharat Shah was this week allowed by the court to be examined at the private Lilavati Hospital in Bombay due to lack of facilities at the government-owned J.J. Hospital. Bharatbhai, who was arrested under the MCOCA six months ago, has been unwell for the past few weeks. Doctors at Lilavati Hospital have expressed serious concern over his condition, mainly over his weight loss. The financier is said to have lost about 17 kgs. in six months.
The court has also allowed his relatives to meet Bharat Shah in the hospital as, according to it, this would not prejudice the investigations.
INDIAN TELEVISION ACADEMY LAUNCHED
The Indian Television Academy was inaugurated by Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra, at The Taj, Bombay on 18th July. The Academy has been set up primarily to develop and promote the Indian television industry in all possible ways. It also aims to give awards for excellence in television.
The advisory board of the Academy comprises eminent personalities from the entertainment industry viz. Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt, Manmohan Shetty, Neena Gupta, Prem Kishen, Rajat Sharma, Ravi Chopra, Shashi Ranjan, Shatrughan Sinha, Shekhar Suman, Siddharth Kak, Tavleen Singh and Anu Ranjan. Anu Ranjan, wife of Shashi Ranjan, is also the president of the Academy.
RAJU TENDULKAR DEAD
Cameraman Raju Tendulkar, brother of Priya Tendulkar and son of writer Vijay Tendulkar, passed away suddenly on 14th July in Bombay. He was in his late thirties. Baithak was held on 16th.
Raju was an extremely popular cameraman for television serials and game shows.
Something Different? Bachchan Beware!
What’s it about experimenting with new roles or different cinema that doesn’t go well with as great and accomplished a star as Amitabh Bachchan? Whenever the superstar has tried his hand at something different, he has burnt his fingers. If not he as an actor, his producers or the distributors of those different films have suffered losses.
In Ajooba and Toofan, Amitabh played characters who were endowed with supernatural powers. Superstar being aided by the supernatural?! The audience, which hold Amitabh as nothing short of God, didn’t like the idea of him having to resort to supernatural powers to take him ahead — as also the films. Bachchan experimented with his voice in Agneepath. The hoarse voice was one of the reasons that came in the way of a smooth run for the film at the box-office although Amitabh did win a National Award for the role. Main Azaad Hoon, the Indian version of Meet John Doe, did little to free Bachchan from playing the stereotypical hero. The experimental film bombed miserably. Much earlier, Amitabh played a mute guy in Reshma Aur Shera which, too, proved a resounding disaster. Of course, Amitabh was not the hero of Reshma Aur Shera which starred Sunil Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Raakhee in leading roles.
The latest in the list is Aks. Bachchan plays a negative role in the post-interval portion, the character going to the extent of raping his wife. Once again, the audience have been unforgiving. Like the earlier experiments, Aks, too, has failed.
Interesting to note that as an actor, Amitabh has delivered brilliantly in all of the above films. But the audience have not appreciated the films despite the exceptional performances.
YOU ASKED IT
Does the failure of Aks affect the future of AB Corp?
– To an extent, yes. But if the next project of AB Corp is exciting enough, distributors would queue up to pick up its rights. Each film is viewed independently unless a production house has a history of delivering flops. That’s not the case with AB Corp.
Which hero holds the distinction of having worked with the maximum number of heroines?
– Malayalam film hero Prem Nazir, who has been paired opposite 85 heroines in a career spanning 60 years. He also holds the record for being paired with the same heroine (Sheila) in lead roles in 110 films!
What is the average cost of making a Gujarati film today?
– About 30 to 35 lakh. If the film clicks, it can do a business of up to a crore. If it is a huge hit, the business can be far, far more.
DO YOU KNOW?
* After the unnecessary brouhaha over GADAR being a provocative film and some leaders of a section of the minority community calling for a ban on it, members of the same community are now patronising the film in a big way! The laymen of the community are finding the film totally fair and not at all provocative, and are wondering what prompted some leaders to give a call for its ban.
* An audio cassette of TUM BIN…, priced at Rs. 55, was distributed free with every Maharaja class ticket of Rs. 50 on the first day’s (July 20) morning show at New Kohinoor Lower cinema in Jodhpur. The gimmick evoked bumper response as the show became full. Police had to be called in to control the surging crowds which created a traffic jam.
* Delh-U.P. distributors Ginni Arts are constructing multiplexes in Lucknow, NOIDA and near Mohannagar (in U.P.).
* Call it a coincidence or a fancy for Madhuri starrers, Delhi-U.P. distributors, Ginni Arts, hold the distribution rights of three forthcoming films starring Madhuri Dixit, viz. YEH RAASTE HAIN PYAAR KE, LAJJA and DEVDAS. Last month, they released the blockbuster GADAR.
* TUM BIN… has created a record by drawing all 28 shows full in 1st week at Venkataramana 70mm, Hyderabad.
* GADAR has created a city record by collecting 80% in 4th week at Jaihind, Islampur (Maharashtra).
* GADAR has created history by collecting 2,40,298/- in 5th week at Payal, Dehradun. Total: 16,90,576/-.
* GADAR has created a city record by collecting 1,87,353/- (82%) in 5th week at Vasant, Akola. Total: 10,99,071/-.
* GADAR has created a city record by collecting 1,06,183/- in 5th week at Shyam, Yavatmal. Total: 7,61,779/-. Share: 6,36,779/-.
* GADAR has created yet another city record at Wardha by collecting 91,635/- in 5th week at Arati. Total for 5 weeks: 7,50,951/-, city record.
* GADAR has created a district record by collecting 1,72,617/- in 1st week (6 days) at Prabhat, Gondia.
* GADAR has created history by collecting 1,59,058/- in 1st week at Jagatdarshan, Guna (C.I.). It was screened simultaneously at Ramsmriti, Guna for 1 week. The previous city record was held by RAJA HINDUSTANI which had collected 1,34,896/- at Jagatdarshan.
* GADAR has created city records in 1st week at Jhankar, Rewa (despite heavy rains) and Dayamandir, Mandsaur. At both these centres of C.I., RAJA HINDUSTANI held the previous records.
* GADAR has created a theatre record by collecting 2,11,773/- in 5th week at Lily, Bhopal. It was also screened at Sangam, Bhopal.
* After running for 4 weeks at Swarg and Sunderam cinemas of Ujjain, GADAR had to be discontinued from Swarg to make way for AKS. After a week’s run, AKS is out of Swarg, and GADAR is back there also.
* GADAR has created yet another city record by collecting 2,54,843/- in 5th week at Minerva, Bikaner.
* GADAR has created a city record by collecting 3,06,094/- (full) in 5th week at Majestic, Ajmer.
* MUJHE KUCCH KEHNA HAI has created a city record by drawing all 21 shows full in 1st week at Mahalaxmi, Wadgaon (district Kolhapur). This is the first film in the last 7 to 8 years to have collected 100%!
* MUJHE KUCCH KEHNA HAI has created a theatre record by collecting a total of 11,29,680/- in 8 weeks at Uday, Akola. Share: 8,31,103/-.
* THE MUMMY RETURNS (dubbed) has created a record by collecting 1,32,188/- in 2nd week at Manek, Akola. Total: 4,28,952/-.
* Venus has not one but two releases lined up for 3rd August. While one is the Fardeen starrer, HUM HO GAYE AAP KE, the other is the Gujarati film which it is presenting, MARUN GHAR KYAN CHHE?. The second film will open in Gujarat and Saurashtra.
* GADAR created theatre records in 3rd and 4th weeks at Kamal, Burhanpur. In its 2nd week, it had created a city record.
* LAGAAN is exploited abroad by Sony in crossover cinemas too. It was released last week in cinemas which are predominantly English-films screening houses. The non-Asian audience’s response, according to a Sony spokesman, was fantastic.
* The only circuit in which GADAR is not doing too well is Mysore. Strange but true!
* Pratap Oza, an 81-year-old Gujarati stage artiste, plays the role of Tusshar’s grandfather in Padmalaya’s KYAA DIL NE KAHAA.
* Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia are likely to act in a play titled Family Album.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
The 100-Crore Game
Never has so much money of the industry been at stake together. The next 40 days will see more than Rs. 100 crore of the film industry being put at stake at the speculative box-office. The big-budget films due for early release, from next week onwards, are Yaadein…, Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat, Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, Dil Chahta Hai, Nayak and Lajja. Most of the above films have been sold at ratios of over Rs. 2 crore, some even at Rs. 2.5 and 3 crore!
Postponement Rumours
Rumours were rife in trade circles on 19th and 20th July that the release of Deepak Shivdasani’s Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke had been postponed. Although the dispute between Shivdasani and his hero-cum-distributor for Bombay, Ajay Devgan, was settled before 19th, the rumours had the trade in panic due to the uncertainty. Reportedly, the stories emanated from one of the distributors of the film. Like all other distributors of this as well as other films, this particular distributor does not have a proper chain of cinemas for releasing YRHPK on 10th August. This has led him to ask Shivdasani to postpone the release, but the latter does not seem to be in a mood to do so. In the meantime, the distributor in question is quite sure, he won’t be able to release the film on 10th August.
Incidentally, the dispute between Ajay Devgan and Deepak Shivdasani had a happy ending. Devgan will now distribute the film only in Bombay city and suburbs. Shringar Films has bought the distribution rights for the rest of the circuit (except Bombay-Karnataka which had been sold by Ajay Devgan).
Competition From Home?
Sunny Deol’s Indian may finally be released in September. Last week, one heard murmurs that it would come in October. But Deol now seems to have made up his mind to come on 21st September. If Venus’ Ajnabee, starring Akshay Kumar and Bobby Deol, also hits the screens the same day, as it is scheduled to, it would mean the clash of the Deol brothers. So then what?
Daringly Different Dixit
Madhuri Dixit is playing challenging roles in both her forthcoming films. In Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, she plays a mentally imbalanced wife. In Lajja, which is a woman-oriented subject, Madhuri has a role to die for — a bindaas girl who gets pregnant before marriage, who is as unsophisticated as to eat paan and spit the juice all over.