‘FIZA’ SILVER JUBILEE
The Culture Co. (I) P. Ltd. and UTV Motion Pictures’ Fiza entered 25th combined week on 23rd February at Dreamland, Bombay in matinee shows. The film, produced by Pradeep Guha, marks the debut of film critic Khalid Mohamed as director. Khalid has also written its story and screenplay. The main cast comprises Jaya Bachchan, Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Neha, Asha Sachdev, Bikram Saluja, Isha Koppikar and Johny Lever with Manoj Bajpayee and Sushmita Sen in guest appearances. Music is by Anu Malik. Cinematography: Santosh Sivan. Dialogues: Javed Siddiqi. Art: Sharmishtha Roy. Choreography: Saroj Khan, Farah Khan and Ganesh Hegde. Action: Sham Kaushal.
BHIKUBHAI MISTRY NO MORE
Bhikubhai Mistry, owner of Pratap cinema, Baroda, and partner in Aradhana cinema, Baroda, passed away on 17th February in Baroda following a prolonged illness. He was 84.
NARSING CINEMA, NAGPUR CLOSED AFTER FIRE
Narsing cinema, Nagpur has been shut down for repairs, following a fire which broke out at the cinema earlier this week. Caused by a short-circuit in the wiring behind the screen of the cinema, the fire gutted the screen cloth while also damaging equipment including Dolby speakers.
No one was reported hurt during the incident which took place at 7.30 a.m. The cinema will reopen shortly after repairs are carried out.
RANJAN SALVI DEAD
Ranjan Salvi, choreographer of Marathi films, breathed his last on 16th February at his Alandi (Pune) residence, due to a long-standing illness. He was 72 and is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter and grandchildren.
He had choreographed songs in 175 Marathi films between 1950 and 1985. He worked for veteran directors like V. Shantaram, Anant Mane and Raj Dutt for films like Pinjra, Chani, Kela Ishara Jata Jata, Sawal Maza Aika, Sugandhi Katta, Sangu Kashi Mee and Laxmi. Almost all top heroines of Marathi cinema, like Sandhya, Jayashree Gadkar, Usha Chavan and Usha Naik had worked under Ranjan Salvi.
Dance director Subal Sarkar, paying tribute to the late choreographer, said that his contribution to the Marathi film industry was remarkable and the industry should take note of his great art.
HRITHIK MEETS CHILDREN FROM KASHMIR
Seventy-eight children from Srinagar, who were brought on a 10-day picnic to Pune and Bombay by Sarhad, a non-government organisation, met Hrithik Roshan at Filmistan Studios, Bombay on 20th February on the sets of Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. The star gave autographs to all the 78 children, conversed with them and posed for photographs. Most of the kids in the range of age group 7 to 14 were orphans adopted by a Kashmiri Trust. The kids went back carrying happy memories of their meet with the KN…PH star.
BABY GIRL FOR JUHI-JAI
Juhi Chawla delivered a baby girl on 21st February at the Breach Candy Hospital in Bombay. This is Juhi and Jai Mehta’s first child.
Juhi had been admitted to the hospital earlier during the day. The baby weighed seven-and-a-half pounds at the time of birth.
TECHNICOLOR TO BUILD WORLD’S LARGEST FILM LAB
Technicolor this week announced plans to build the world’s largest film laboratory at Mirabel, a suburb of Montreal in Canada. To be built at a cost of US $29 million, the laboratory will employ state-of-the-art technology and computer automation. The film processing and distribution facility, spread over 1,25,000 sq. ft., will be manned by 275 people.
Technicolor, one of the first companies in the world to bring colour to films, is owned by the French electronics giant, Thomson Multimedia. Technicolor’s acquisitions in 2000 include Astraltech, the second-largest video duplicator company in Canada, and Covitec, one of the biggest suppliers of integrated technical services to film, TV and advertising industries.
NANDITA DAS BAGS BEST ACTRESS AWARD
Nandita Das bagged the best actress award at the Santa Monica Film Festival, USA, on 19th February for her outstanding performance in Bawandar (Sandstorm). The film’s director, Dr. Jagmohan Mundhra, and Nandita Das were invited to the awards presentation function held at Fair Mont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. The film has won rave reviews at every foreign film festival it has been screened.
Meanwhile, the film is still awaiting a censor certificate in India. It has been offered four-five cuts by the CBFC, which are not acceptable to the producers. “The cuts they have asked for are not as offensive as the scenes they have passed in Bandit Queen,” says the film’s producer, Gaurang Doshi.
SCRIPT FOR PROTECTION OF COPYRIGHT LAW
Shakti Samanta, president of the IMPPA and the FFI, organised an interactive meeting of producers and office-bears of the Society for Copyright Regulation of Indian Producers for Films and Television (SCRIPT) on 15th February at IMPPA House, Bombay. About 50 producers attended the meeting.
SCRIPT is a non-profit organisation and a society registered and recognised by the government of India under section 33(3) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Former chief of Bombay police, R.D. Tyagi, is its executive president.
Through the interactive meet, an attempt was made by SCRIPT to promote awareness about copyright law and to educate film producers to understand the basic provisions of the copyright laws and protection of copyright of their films. R.D. Tyagi made a presentation on the various provisions of the copyright law to help producers protect their various rights.
The SCRIPT executive president fielded a number of queries from the producers present at the meeting. While Shakti Samanta took it upon himself to make the meeting a success, K.D. Shorey was actively engaged in discussions.
There was general consensus among the producers present that they become members of SCRIPT. A suggestion was made by the producers to reduce the membership fee for ordinary membership of SCRIPT from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 500. It was also suggested that rental rights of films be assigned to SCRIPT for collective administration of copyright. The society has volunteered to provide free legal help to producers by way of vetting and appraising their contracts in order to adequately protect their long-term interests.
Zakhir Thomas, registrar, Copyright Board, New Delhi, and T.C. James, deputy registrar, specially flew to Bombay to participate in the deliberations.
ANIL KAPOOR RELEASES MUSIC OF ‘LITTLE JOHN’
Anil Kapoor formally released the music of Media Dreams Ltd.’s Little John and presented the first audio cassettes to Yukta Mookhey, heroine Jyotika, the film’s writer-director, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, and its debut-making music director, Pravin Mani, at a party held on 23rd February at Hotel Sun-N-Sand, Juhu, Bombay. Three, out of six songs, were screened on the occasion. Among those who were present at the party were Adlabs chief Manmohan Shetty, Balkrishna Shroff, Shravan Shroff and N. Chandra. The music has been brought out on the HMV Sa Re Ga Ma label.
The film is a trilingual, in Hindi, Tamil and English.
ASHOK KUMAR RELEASES BIOGRAPHY EDITION
The second edition of Madhubala’s biography in Marathi, written by well-known Marathi language film biographer Shashikant Kinikar, was released by Ashok Kumar at his residence at Chembur, Bombay on 14th February, the birth anniversary of the glamour queen of the ’50s and ’60s. The book has been published by Ulhas Latkar of Ameiya Prakashan.
The second edition was brought out following a heartening response to the first edition which was released in July 2000 at the hands of then baby Shakuntala who had co-starred with Madhubala in Pardes.
At the release of the second edition of the book, Ashok Kumar, who played the lead man opposite Madhubala in Kamal Amrohi’s Mahal (1949), recalled, “She was comparatively new and this (Mahal) was the first time she was working with me. I found her quick to grasp the modalities of a natural performance. In our latter films together, I was happy to find that success had not gone to her head. She had become a complete professional. How can we ever forget her effervescent laughter and the way she handled the many problems of her life with a smile? In my opinion, the two greatest Indian actresses of Hindi cinema ever are Madhubala and Geeta Bali.”
The function was attended by the publishers, veteran film historian and author Bunny Reuben and a few Marathi journalists.
R.A. JALAN ON CAIRO FILM FESTIVAL JURY
R.A. Jalan, producer of award-winning children’s films Safed Haathi and Aaj Ka Robinhood, has been invited to be a member of the international jury of the 11th Cairo International Film Festival for Children. The fete will be held from 13th March to 20th March. Director Tapan Sinha has also been invited to attend the fete. Jalan’s Anokha Moti, directed by Tapan Sinha, has already been screened and appreciated at four international film fetes.
Earlier, R.A. Jalan was invited to be a member of the international jury of the 8th International Film Festival for Children at Adelaide in Australia.
YOU ASKED IT
When a film goes beyond the overflow mark, till how long will the distributor go on sharing the overflow money with the producer? Till the first-run is completed or till the expiry of the distribution rights?
– Obviously, till the expiry of the distribution rights.
Consider this proposition: a cast of all newcomers in the lead with top-class supporting cast, with hit music and top technicians in the credits. Will this make a viable proposal?
– How can you say that the music will be hit when the proposal is not yet made? Anyway, it all depends on who the top supporting cast includes and who are the top technicians.
How can a producer think of keeping a negative title like Grahan for his film?
– There has been a film made with the same title (GRAHAN), which was released in 1973. It starred Nutan and today’s top maker, Subhash Ghai. Incidentally, Subhash Ghai was also indirectly involved with the new GRAHAN as a friendly advisor.
Isn’t there any producer who is confident enough to title his film Hit No. 1?
– How about BIT NO. 1 for a sex film which boasts of uncensored bits? As for HIT NO. 1, what if the film bombs? The contrast (between the title and the reality) will be too glaring.
3-E
Education-Entertainment-Enlightenment
‘Lagaan’ — Another Long Film?
Take a deep breath, folks! Mohabbatein was not the last lengthy film in recent times. After Aditya Chopra, it’s actor Aamir Khan who has made a very, very lengthy film. Although Aamir’s first production venture, Lagaan, directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, had a running time of 4½ hours, it has been suitably edited so that the final copy will have a running time of 3½ hours. Still, Aamir, who is keen that the film proves to be a profitable venture for its distributors, has decided to keep it of 3½ hours’ duration if and only if his distributors think it worthwhile. Aamir and Adi sure seem to think, length is strength.
While on Aamir’s Lagaan, people, who’ve seen the songs, swear by them. Not just the music (A.R. Rahman) and lyrics (Javed Akhtar) but also the picturisations (Raju Khan).
Not Customary
The customs officials in Bombay have won the ire of film folk. And not without reason. At least three producers, who’ve just returned after shooting their films abroad, have had to pay customs duty on the reels exposed! The shocking part is that no such duty was levied all these years, but some officer in the Bombay customs department has pointed out a provision in the law book, which provides for levy of duty on exposed raw stock!
Resultantly, producer Ketan Desai was poorer by Rs. 3.84 lakh on his return from New Zealand, and Vashu Bhagnani had to shell out Rs. 1 lakh on his return to India from NZ, where he shot his Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai. Producer Boney Kapoor had to shell out Rs. 1 lakh when the unit of his Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe landed in India on 19th February, again from New Zealand.
The strange part is that those coming in from abroad and landing in Madras or Delhi are not being charged the customs duty!
Boney, after paying the Rs. 1 lakh duty, said, “The commissioner of customs, Mr. Yuvaraj Gupta, seems to be a very helpful person. I’ve rarely seen a more receptive and accommodative person at that level than Mr. Gupta. He heard me out and explained to me that there was definitely a grey area. While he is taking up the matter himself with the higher-ups, he has also asked the film industry to pursue the matter from its side.”
Kicking Up a Storm?… Not Quite!
While Bawandar is being screened at international film festivals, it is still to be cleared for release in India. The censors ordered five cuts which were not acceptable to director Jagmohan Mundra who has appealed to the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT). Believe it or not, the FCAT has not viewed Jag’s film even several months after the appeal.
Poor Jag can’t even kick up a storm over his Sandstorm. He’d rather wait for the FCAT to see his film and pass its verdict.
Not Present For The Badhais
The silver jubilee of Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai was celebrated on 20th February on the sets of Anil Kapoor’s Badhai Ho Badhai. And while Anil was obviously there, and Sonali Bendre made it a point to attend the luncheon party, heroine Aishwarya Rai chose to stay away from the celebrations. She was away in Goa and, perhaps, did not think it necessary to attend the jubilee celebration of her own film. Incidentally, the celebratory party was very different from the normal filmland parties held in 5-star hotels. It was a more cosy affair.
Priyanka Chopra Signs Debut Film
If Miss Asia-Pacific Diya Mirza has come, can Miss World Priyanka Chopra be far behind? Producer-director Anil Sharma will launch Priyanka in The Hero, to be made under the banner of Movie World. And who will be the hero opposite Miss World? Sunny Deol. It will be after years that Sunny will be seen with a rank newcomer.
Anil Sharma is currently directing Gadar Ek Prem Katha for Zee. It stars Sunny Deol and Amisha Patel.
Ekta’s ‘K’ Factor
Ekta Kapoor, the illustrious daughter of Jeetendra, can’t forget the day her astrologer told her to title her family soaps on Star Plus with any word/s beginning with a ‘K’. The superstitious Ekta called one soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, and the other, Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii. The soaps became overnight hits and Ekta and Star haven’t stopped smiling since.
Realising that ‘K’ spells success for her, Ekta has decided to change the title of dad Jeetendra’s first feature film too. The Govinda-Sushmita Sen starrer, being directed by David Dhawan, was titled Sajan Re Jhuth Mat Bolo, but Ekta just might opt for another title — Kyunki Main Jhuth Nahin Bolta. Govinda plays a lawyer in the comedy flick. What’s that they say about lawyers being liars?!?
The Lagan To Be Different
What makes Aamir Khan, the producer, different from the rest of his ilk? The urge to do things differently. Like choosing a rustic, period subject for his first venture, Lagaan, at a time when youthful, urbane romances are considered safe bets. Now, having completed the post-production work of the film, Aamir has also chosen to tread a different path in promoting the film. He has released its trailers in cinema halls even before airing its promos on television, as is customary these days. The trailer, featuring a commentary by Amitabh Bachchan, seems to be serving the purpose as people, who have seen it, have been impressed.
SPOT INTERVIEW
“A leading cinema owner of Ratlam told us, he might keep his cinema closed for the whole of March as there’s no worthwhile programme to show.”
– DEEPAK & HARISH JANIANI
KOMAL NAHTA
Deepak and Harish Janiani are two amiable brothers who run their distribution concern, Sunil Enterprises, in Indore. Soft-spoken and very straightforward, the brothers are good conversationalists. They were in Bombay this week when Information met them. Their account of the distribution and exhibition trade in C.I. today was alarming, to say the least.
How is the scene in C.I.?
Terrible! With no electricity, no water and no money with people, film-going has become a distant dream these days. The drought situation in Madhya Pradesh is so bad that film business has become a major casualty. The distributor of Aashiq will lose about Rs. 30 lakh. Even Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega is in minus. Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai is also a loser. Kasoor will do a business of just Rs. 6 or 7 lakh in C.I.!
Are films bad or are people not coming to cinemas?
The scenario prevalent today is a combination of both the above. No film has been faring well at the box-office in the past many weeks. Can you believe it, there was just one single person — we repeat — one single person in the last show on the first day of Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye in the balcony in a cinema at Dabra (a ‘C’ class centre of C.I.). We know it because we released the film.
Television serials today are better than films. Serial makers are paying technicians so well that talent is going to TV. If you see serials like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, you will realise the excellent quality of dialogues, the superb presentation and narration of serials.
In such a scenario, how do you feel inclined to buy distribution rights of films?
We don’t. We only release films on commission basis. Doing business for producers and submitting honest accounts to them is the best thing today. We have the entire lot of Tips’ forthcoming films to release on commission basis and we are happy with that. Ramesh-ji (Taurani) told us, he’ll give us large turnover because of which our commission, even at medium rate, will turn out to be big.
What about other C.I. distributors? How are they coping?
Where are the distributors in C.I.? There are only a handful of them left in the business. A couple of big distributors have simply downed shutters as they have suffered losses to the tune of Rs. 1 to 1.5 crore in the last 4 or 5 years. Since we never pay a price, there’s no question of our losing money. And because we don’t lose money, we don’t offset one film’s profit against another film’s loss. Other distributors may feel like doing so because of the huge losses some films might entail. No distributor is bad, it is the circumstances which make him do wrong.
Believe it or not, distributors of several forthcoming big films are so shaken that they’d rather relinquish their rights than release them. They are waiting for the delivery date to pass so that they can give the notice of relinquishment in the case of delayed films.
What is the way out then?
Producers must realise the plight of distributors and reduce film prices. Makers of star-cast films are recovering their cost from three territories — Overseas, Satellite and Music. They should, therefore, not sell the Indian territorial rights at unduly high prices. They can even give the distribution rights on agency basis by selecting honest distributors in every territory. ‘Live and let live’ should be the motto. For, sometimes, even if a distributor manages to break even, it is at the cost of his exhibitor-brothers who’ve paid fancy terms.
How are the exhibitors managing with such a bad crop of films?
Exhibitors are in no better a position than distributors. A leading cinema owner of Ratlam told us, he might keep his cinema closed for the whole of March as there’s no worthwhile programme to show. He might tell the world outside that the cinema would remain closed for repairs although the fact would be something else. Cinemas are screening films at reduced rates because of poor attendance.
(with inputs by Gautam Mutha)