MOHABBATEIN

Yash Raj Films’ Mohabbatein is the story of triumph of love over fear. An autocratic disciplinarian (Amitabh Bachchan) is the principal of Gurukul, a prestigious educational institution. Love, fun and frolic have no place in his scheme of things and, resultantly, in his institution. Three boys join the school and dare to fall in love despite their principal’s aversion to anyone falling in love because, according to him, love makes one weak.

The boys are encouraged in their pursuit of love by a maverick music teacher (Shah Rukh Khan) who joins the school. This teacher always tries to bend the strict rules of the institution and also tries to soften the stone-hearted principal. Principles clash — it’s an open war between the principal and the music teacher on matters of principles. Things take a shocking turn when the teacher reveals to the principal that he is none other than the young boy who had been rusticated from Gurukul some years ago by the strict principal. Reason: he had dared to fall in love with the principal’s daughter (Aishwarya Rai). The daughter, unable to take one or the other side, had committed suicide and her beau lived alone, her memories being his best friend. Once the principal learns of the music teacher’s true identity, the war between the principal and the teacher intensifies further.

Ultimately, the principal is forced to soften his stand as the love stories of the three youngsters triumph over his steadfast principles.

Based on the English film, Dead Poets Society, the story is fairly novel and one must commend Aditya Chopra for his narration. The film has a very fresh look, like its story. Showing Aishwarya in flashes reminds of Braveheart. It also gives the film a ‘classy’ touch. Aishwarya’s suicide itself, in the first place, looks a bit far-fetched if only because she is the daughter of such an iron-willed man.

The film’s length is definitely a problem. Some scenes are slow and too verbose for the universal liking of audience today. The three love stories often move in similar directions and, therefore, scenes appear repetitive. The running time of 3 hours and 35 minutes gets on the viewer and the film could do with re-editing. Climax is tear-jerking. Dialogues (Aditya Chopra) are poignant when they are not lengthy and overtly philosophical.

To Aditya’s credit, it must be mentioned that even if the script takes a dip at places, there are incidents at regular intervals, which revive the viewer’s interest. Confrontation scenes between the principal and the teacher are breathtaking, both, in conception and execution.

Amitabh Bachchan plays the autocratic principal with exemplary conviction and grace. He looks every inch the character he portrays and delivers a performance that’s mind-blowing. Matching Bachchan is Shah Rukh Khan who lends immense credibility to his character of the music teacher. The guy’s sense of timing, his light scenes, emotional ones and dramatic encounters are par excellence. In fact, the film’s highs come whenever one or both of these firebrand actors come/s on the screen. Bachchan and Khan make a formidable team and complement each other superbly. Aishwarya Rai looks bewitching and is very natural. But her brief role will disappoint her fans.

Although the three young boys and three girls have acted well, they aren’t the kind to whom one’s heart can go out. Uday Chopra makes an extremely confident debut and is remarkably natural in light scenes. His physique is lovely although he does not have the looks of a conventional hero. Shamita Shetty also makes a confident debut. She has a good figure. Jugal Hansraj is cute but a little more fire can help. Debutante Kim Sharma is quite nice. Jimmy Shergill does well. Preeti Jhangiani is restrained and fairly effective. Anupam Kher and Archna Pooran Singh’s comedy is very enjoyable. Saurah Shukla is wasted and his single scene looks out of place. Helen’s dance is highly entertaining. Shefali Chhaya leaves a mark in the confrontation scene with her father-in-law. Amrish Puri stands out in a brief role. Raman Lamba is alright. Parzan Dastur, Ram Mohan and the others lend superb support.

While Aditya Chopra has gone a bit haywire in his scripting, his direction is sensitive and masterly. To handle four love stories is no mean task, but Aditya does that ably. His shot compositions and execution are extraordinary. But he needs to trim the film by at least 15 minutes.

Jatin Lalit’s music has melody and feel. ‘Kya yehi pyar hai’, ‘Humko humeen se chura lo’, ‘Aankhen khuli ho ya ho bandh’ and the Holi number are the pick of the lot. Choreography (Farah Khan) is wonderful, and the dance steps are refreshingly different. Manmohan Singh’s camerawork is fantastic and so are the locations. Sets (Sharmishtha Roy) are chic. Amitabh’s costumes are elegant. Shah Rukh’s sweater (matching with his shirt) carefully thrown on his back and tied around his neck looks nice. Background score is effective. Production values are grand.

On the whole, Mohabbatein will be loved by the city audiences and more by the classes. Its length is a problem and will mar its business prospects on two counts — audiences will get restless and while cinema rentals of four shows will be charged, the film can be screened in only three shows daily. Looking to its bumper initial, the film will do hit business in Bombay and Maharashtra as well as Overseas and will also keep its other distributors happy.

Released on 27-10-2000 at Liberty and 23 other cinemas of Bombay thru Yash Raj Film Distributors. Publicity:- quality: superb; quantity: excellent. Opening: mind-blowing. …….Also released all over. Opening was bumper everywhere.

MISSION KASHMIR

Vinod Chopra Productions’ Mission Kashmir (UA) is about terrorism in Kashmir. A police officer, in his zeal to wipe out a group of dreaded terrorists, ends up killing an entire family of civilians, except the little son whom he and his wife adopt without telling him that he had murdered the family, albeit in the course of carrying out his duty. The couple had lost their real son due to delayed medical attention, thanks to an edict (fatwa) by the leader of the dreaded terrorists’ group to not give medical assistance to any doctor or his family in the valley. The adopted child, having seen his family being killed right in front of his eyes, remembers clearly the mask-covered face of the police officer and often gets nightmares of the carnage.

One day, he is stunned to find a similar mask in his new home and takes no time in getting convinced that the murderer of his family is none other than his foster-father. Picking up the gun, the child tries to kill the police officer and his wife but is unsuccessful. However, he runs away from his new home and is brought up by a terrorist group. All through his years of growing up, he has this growing desire to avenge his family’s killing by murdering his foster-father. The terrorist group, in the meantime, hatches a heinous conspiracy to kill innocent Muslims and Hindus in the valley. To accomplish this horrendous task, the group chooses this orphan boy who is unaware of the communal angle. For him, it is a golden opportunity to get even with the police officer, as one of the steps in achieving the final mission (unknown to the orphan) is to eliminate the officer. Ultimately, the foster-father exposes the evil designs of the terrorist group to the gullible foster-son who spares his target and, instead, kills the leader of the group. Kashmir is thus saved.

The film starts on an extremely superb note but after barely two reels, the weak story (Abhijat Joshi, Suketu Mehta, Vikram Chandra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra) and the weaker screenplay (the same four) ruin the initial impact. The film takes shape more of a personal vendetta than that of a large cause of combating terrorism. The terrorism angle itself offers no novelty, being similar to that seen in many earlier films. Otherwise too, the Kashmir issue doesn’t interest today’s viewers. Of course, even thereafter, there are flashes of brilliant moments, three very melodious songs and some wonderful blasting scenes and other visuals, but the overall impact leaves the viewer detached and disinterested. And not without reasons…

…For one, the orphan child being convinced that his foster-father is the killer, merely on finding a mask in his drawer, looks unbelievable. More so because the woollen mask is of the kind which thousands and lakhs wear! Whereas the writers should have rather shown the orphan’s growing-up years with the terrorists and his complete love and respect for the terrorist group’s leader, who calls him his “bachcha”, this part is left completely to the imagination of the viewer! Consequently, the sympathy for the orphan, when he grows up and is used as a pawn to serve the ulterior motives of this terrorist leader, is missing — a serious flaw, considering that the orphan is the film’s hero! Portraying the orphan as a dreaded killer on the one hand and a soft romantic on the other confuses the audience although the intention may have been to convince them of how realistic the story was. There’s almost no relief in the second half which also gets boring — especially in the long-winding chase of a convict, to land at the terrorist’s den. Dialogues (Atul Tiwari) are natural. Climax has been well conceived and shot.

Sanjay Dutt does a splendid job as the duty-conscious police officer. He is superb, in both, dramatic and emotional scenes. His emotional breakdown in a scene, days after his son’s death, is tear-jerking. Hrithik Roshan looks fresh and does an able job despite a difficult characterisation. His action scenes are brilliant and his dances, just too graceful. Preity Zinta gets limited scope and is good. Sonali Kulkarni delivers a first-rate performance. Whether in the scenes of agony of a traumatised mother or pain of a childless mother, she is par excellence. Jackie Shroff is fair but his get-up and gait (with head bent forward) are weird. Puru Raajkumar leaves a mark in a brief role. Abhay Chopra, Rajendra Gupta, baby Heena Biswas and the others provide able support.

Vinod Chopra’s shot-takings are, as usual, superb but his scripting and direction — again, as usual — leave plenty to be desired. A weak foundation has been sought to be offset by clever and eye-filling form. Music (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) is very melodious. ‘Bumbro’, ‘Rind posh maal’ and ‘Chupke se sunn’ are beautifully tuned numbers. The sad part is that all these three songs come in the first half in quick succession of one another, leaving no hit song for the tenser second half. Action (Allan Amin) and blast scenes are fantastic. Binod Pradhan’s camerawork is supremely superb. Background score is effective. Technically, of a good standard. Sets (Nitin Desai) are realistic.

On the whole, Mission Kashmir has some good moments and scenes, but in entirety, the impact is dull. Still, the bountiful Diwali period and the outstanding initial the film has taken will see the distributors through. Business in Bombay will be the best.

Released on 27-10-2000 at Metro and 24 other cinemas of Bombay by UTV Motion Pictures thru Shringar Films. Publicity:- quality: fantastic; quantity: wonderful. Opening: absolutely bumper. …….Also released all over. Opening was mind-blowing everywhere.

CINE PLANET 2-SCREEN COMPLEX INAUGURATED

Cine Planet 1 and 2 opened on 27th October with Mohabbatein and Dinosaur (English) respectively at Sion, Bombay. Both the state-of-the-art cinemas are equipped with EX track (CP 650), the latest in digital sound technology. This is the first 2-screen cinema in the country to have installed this sound system. Besides, it has a sophisticated projection system with Xenon lamp. Cine Planet 1 has 327 seats, and Cine Planet 2, 216 seats. The cinemas have a creche for 3- to 10-year-old children, well-equipped with toys and games. The booking hall is spacious.

A day before the inauguration, Rasesh Kanakia and Hiral Kanakia, the cinema owners, took the scribes around the spacious theatres. Some film clips were also screened. On 27th, the cinema was officially inaugurated by Yash Chopra.

The management is also planning to start online booking of tickets. There is ample car parking space. Each car is charged Rs. 10. The baby care unit charges Rs. 20 per child.

‘FIZA’ TAX-FREE IN MAHARASHTRA

The Culture Company’s Fiza has been exempted from entertainment tax by the government of Maharashtra for a period of one year. The exemption came into effect from 21st October.

JAYANTILAL GADA BUYS GIRDHAR MANDIR  CINEMA IN JODHPUR

Girdhar Mandir Cinema of Jodhpur has changed hands. Jayantilal Gada of Popular Entertainment Network (PEN) Ltd. has acquired it from Lakhpat Motiani.

Gada plans to convert the cinema into a multiplex with at least two additional screens. “The multiplex will also house a shopping complex,” informed Jayantilal Gada.

R WORLD MULTIPLEX OPENS IN GANDHINAGAR

Ajay Sinh Chudasama’s posh 3-screen multiplex — R World — was inaugurated on 27th October in Gandhinagar. The multiplex has a huge foyer, bowling alleys, restaurants and food courts, a creche, a play-room for kids, go-karting etc. It is one of its kind not just in Gujarat but the whole of India. 

MOHABBATEIN and MISSION KASHMIR are being screened in one screen each of R World.

Ajay also owns Rajshri and Shalimar cinemas of Gandhinagar, Rajshri, Bhavnagar and Dharam, Rajkot.

FIRST MULTIPLEX IN SAURASHTRTA

A 3-screen multiplex will come up at Gandhidham in Kutch district of Gujarat next year. Construction work is to begin soon after Diwali. This would be the first multiplex in Saurashtra. It is owned by Sanjay Sorathia, Sanjay Jagesia and Arjun Jagesia. All government formalities have been complied with and all clearances, obtained.

The multiplex is likely to have a total of 1,350 seats. M.L. Khakhar is the architect.

YOU ASKED IT

Now that the government has notified film business as industry, do you think, there will be any major change in the production sector in the coming two years? How beneficial will this be for low-budget film producers?

– The benefit, if any, will accrue to big producers. Not much will change for small producers who make films with budgets of Rs. 15 and 20 lakh.

Do you think, festive Diwali is the right time for releasing a film like Mission Kashmir, which is a disturbing tale of terrorism?

– Why not? Don’t you read about murders, rapes, loots and dacoities during Diwali time?

Why do heroines, who flop in the Hindi film industry, make it big in South Indian language films?

– Even they may not be sure of the reasons. Try figuring that out from Khushboo, Simran, Naghma, Jyothika, Komal Mahuvakar, Sakshi Shivanand. 

Multiplexes – A Complex Issue

Beginning Of A Boom

The next two years are going to see a boom in the construction of new cinemas. The process has begun in Gujarat because the Gujarat government has a well-defined policy for cinema multiplexes. While the Maharashtra government is still dilly-dallying with the proposed multiplex policy, several top players have jumped into the game and are already in the process of building multiplexes in Bombay and Pune, among other cities. Rajasthan may have started a tad latter, but the cinema scene in the desert state is no different from Gujarat.

Anupam PVR in Delhi was the first multiplex in India. The four screens at Anupam in the capital city are doing excellent business, and the multiplex has its own clientele. Irrespective of the films being screened at the multiplex, cinegoers throng to it for the sheer experience of watching a film there.

City Pulse in Gandhinagar, the capital city of Gujarat, is a veritable tourist attraction and a picnic spot for locals who don’t mind travelling long distances to view a film there even if cinemas closer home are screening the same film. The scene at City Pulse on weekends is to be seen to be believed. In Gandhinagar itself, a new multiplex — R World — has come up, and it opened yesterday (October 27) with Mohabbatein and Mission Kashmir. This multiplex, like City Pulse, has three screens. It also has food courts, a bowling alley, go-karting, shopping mall etc. — some of which have started and others are to start. Ajay Sinh Chudasama has spent a fortune on the multiplex. There’s one multiplex coming up in Gandhidham, the first in Saurashtra.

In Bombay, the Suranas of the famed Raj Mandir cinema of Jaipur, diamond merchant Kothari and jeweller Padam Sacheti (son-in-law of CCCA president Santosh Singh Jain) have collaborated to build a multiplex in a suburb of the metropolis. Like this one, there are several multiplexes in various stages of construction or planning in Bombay.

The Million-Dollar Question

But the question that arises here is: with so many multiplexes coming up, what is the exhibition scene going to be like in the days to come? Even now, the same City Pulse of Gandhinagar, which experiences a veritable mela of cinegoers on Saturdays and Sundays, has to sometimes suspend shows on weekdays due to lack of audience! If this is the scene now, what will it be after more multiplexes come up? Do we have enough software to sustain the new increased number of cinemas in the country two years hence? Secondly, even if there is production of more software for cinemas, will the run of the software be able to keep all screens occupied?

Shravan Shroff, who diversified his dad Shyam Shroff’s, and uncle Balkrishna Shroff’s Bombay distribution business and began exhibition by taking up the control of cinemas like Cinemax and Cine Star, does not feel, it is necessary to despair over the lack of software. Like water finds its own level, he says, film exhibition, too, will undergo a change and settle at a level in keeping with the new conditions. “Exhibitors have got to come out of their weekly rental routine,” says Shravan, adding, “It has happened in Hollywood and I don’t see why it shouldn’t happen here.” The problem, according to this third-generation Shroff in film business, is that exhibitors have got used to taking their share of the pie irrespective of how a film fares. “The mindset must be changed,” warns the forward-looking 30-year-old Shravan. “Once this is done, distributors will release films in much, much more number of cinemas than they release today.”

What Shravan says is that saturated releases will become the norm. For distributors, this would mean more shares from a greater number of cinemas, while for exhibitors, it will ensure that their cinemas are fed with running programmes.

With people spending more on eatables in cinemas now than, say, a few years ago, revenues from canteens and food courts or restaurants in the multiplexes will also add to the kitty of exhibitors.

In the first year of its operation, Ashok Purohit of City Pulse multiplex recovered 50% of his running expenses from restaurants and snack counters in the cineplex premises alone! Of this, 30% was from just the sale of pop corn and beverages! The balance 20% was from sale of other food items. Multiplexes will have varied sources of revenue-generation for the cinema owner and one has to stop thinking of cinemas in the traditional terminology. No longer now will there be mainly revenue from sale of tickets or an apology of a canteen! Revenue from parking space in cinemas, advertisement revenue from display windows in cinema foyers, revenues from food courts, etc. can contribute substantially to the income stream of multiplexes.

Will The Old Order Change?

But another question that arises here is: will old cinemas be able to withstand the competition offered by state-of-the-art cinemas and multiplexes? It is, perhaps, this fear of being eaten up by multiplexes that’s made old cinema owners in Bombay, the heart of Bollywood, go up in arms against the proposed multiplex policy of the state government. Says Russ Balaporia, who owns Jaihind and other cinemas of Bombay, “The policies governing multiplexes should be linked with the policies governing the existing single-screen cinemas because these cinemas have been paying taxes to the government promptly for so many years.” Balaporia adds, “What we are demanding is only that the government must give the existing cinemas adequate protection. In the alternative, it must allow cinema-owners not wanting to continue their cinemas, to demolish them. Today, we are required to build a mini cinema in place of the existing cinema, if we want to demolish the existing cinema. But that cinema will have to be state-of-the-art if it has to compete with the others. Which means, an investment of at least Rs. 1.50 crore. After that, what is the guarantee that the government will give mini cinemas like ours, protection?” Given the choice, Balaporia feels, many cinema owners in Maharashtra would be willing and glad to down shutters. He is vociferous in concluding that “multiplexes should not be allowed at the cost of single-screen cinemas”.

Nitin Datar of Uday cinema, Ghatkopar, Bombay, is vehemently against the Maharashtra government’s proposal to grant entertainment tax holiday to multiplexes that come up in the state. Asks he, “Have those going in for multiplexes studied the economics of the cinema industry; the amount invested vis-à-vis the returns? There is an equation: 1 seat costs Rs. 10,000; now multiply this with ‘n’ number of seats. Are the big planners even aware of this equation? Forget the equation, let’s just face the fact that even the existing cinemas are facing a crunch these days!” The major factor behind the crunch, of course, is the shortage of good films, as Bombay exhibitor Pranlal Doshi points out. He asserts, “As it is, there are no films to feed the existing cinemas. People are motivated only by the ‘no entertainment tax’ and ‘no sales tax on multiplexes’ hooks dangling in front of them. The government’s policy on multiplexes is yet to be decided.”

On the other hand, leading Bombay distributor Balkrishna Shroff feels that multiplexes are good for the distributors and the audience alike. He is radical — and almost scathing — as he airs his view on the issue. As far as he is concerned, gone are the days when the exhibitor could get away with adding precious little at his cinema for the comfort of his patrons. “They (multiplexes) are the need of the hour and so, everyone must think positively on the issue,” he begins. “If existing cinemas will suffer because of multiplexes, they deserve to. The choice before them is quite plain — refuse to move ahead with the times and suffer… or renovate the cinemas, as many have already done, and survive/prosper,” concludes he.

Countering Shroff’s view, Gujarat exhibitor-distributor D.Y. Pattani warns that the multiplexes picture may not be so rosy after all. He is convinced that multiplexes are marching towards very tough times ahead. He claims, “Multiplexes will close down for want of films within just six months of their opening! Most investors in multiplexes are the kind who are pumping in money earned from other businesses into cinema complexes. They are carried away by the misleading notion that multiplexes yield very high returns. Ultimately, they will realise their folly when they will be pinched by the shortage of films.”

As against the fears of people like Balaporia, Doshi and Datar, there are others, like Maharashtra exhibitor Guru Shenoy, who feel that you cannot fight technology. The old order changeth, yielding place to the new. Guru says, “Whenever a new thing comes, the older one ends up on the losing side.” The argument that multiplexes will adversely affect business of old cinemas cannot be used to throttle the birth of multiplexes. One has got to keep pace with the times, the emerging technologies and has to offer services to cinegoers to lure them to the cinemas. Guru Shenoy is of the opinion that the multiplexes could survive provided due attention is given to creating a gamut of entertainment activities for the patrons within the complex. He suggests, “One could have pubs, games arcade and what have you to attract people to one’s multiplex.” Opines Vinay Choksey, the leading Bombay distributor and exhibitor, “Multiplexes will cater to the interest of big films. Week-days may experience no shows at the multiplexes whereas weekends will see huge crowds there.” But since Choksey is both, a distributor and an exhibitor, he adds quickly, “As a distributor, I’d welcome multiplexes because they will fetch us high shares and at a faster speed. Of course, existing cinemas may face problems with the coming up of multiplexes.”

– KOMAL NAHTA

Diwali To Diwali
(6-11-’99 to 27-10-2000)

RELEASES

A total of 197 films were released between the two festival of lights (52 weeks). Of the films released from last Diwali to this Diwali, 68 were dubbed films accounting for more than a third of the total number of releases. In the corresponding period last year, there were 158 releases, 41 (26%) of them dubbed. The increase in absolute numbers (197 as against 158) was mainly due to the large number of tiny-budget sex and horror films that are being made.

HITS & SUCCESSES

(This week’s releases are not being considered for this section.) Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai is the only blockbuster during the Diwali-to-Diwali period. Rajshri’s Hum Saath-Saath Hain was released last Diwali and it did fantastic business during the period under review. But, besides KN…PH, there was no blockbuster released during the period. Of course, there were films like Jaanwar which did mind-blowing business in circuits like Bihar, West Bengal and some others but not equally exciting in other territories. Kya Kehna!, Badal, Dhadkan, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai were some of the other films which recorded lopsided businesses. With just one blockbuster in a year, it is easily the worst Diwali-to-Diwali period. Big films like Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, Hey! Ram, Chal Mere Bhai, Deewane, Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa and Shikari were among the major shockers.

……..

THREATS TO LIFE

Film industry people continued to live in the shadow of fear as threats to their lives, from extortionists continued. The Overseas, which is a potential money-spinning territory for big and successful films, was eyed by extortionists who demanded the Overseas distribution rights of films. There were attempts on the lives of Rakesh Roshan, Manmohan Shetty and a couple of other industry people.

……..

NATIONAL AWARDS

Hrishikesh Mukherjee received the Dadasaheb Phalke award for 1999. Malayalam film Vanaprastham and Hindi Sarfarosh bagged the Golden Lotus for the ‘best film’ and the ‘best film providing wholesome entertainment’ respectively. The National Awards for the best director, actor and actress went to Buddhadeb Dasgupta (Uttara; Bengali), Mohanlal (Vanaprastham; Malayalam) and Kiron Kher (Bariwali; Bengali) respectively. E. Niwas’ Shool picked up the award for the best Hindi film.

……..

DIWALI SPECIAL

“When I was making KAHO NAA…PYAAR HAI, I never let the thought that I was launching my son affect me. I just wanted to make a good film and that was all.”

– RAKESH ROSHAN

GAJAA

For Rakesh Roshan, the new millennium kicked off very well. Not only did his Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, released in January 2000, become a runaway hit, but his son, Hrithik, whom he introduced in the film, also became a mega star overnight with a fan-following that spans nations and generations. No producer, no director and no daddy could have asked for more.

Unlike some people who change at the slightest hint of success, Rakesh Roshan doesn’t give the slightest hint of any change in himself even after such an enviable track-record of successes as a filmmaker, capped by his most sensational success with Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. Nor has he become unrealistically modest as some successful people are wont to become in this world of make-believe. Everything about Roshan Sr. is the same — his smile has the same warmth, his laughter even today rings the genuineness it did earlier, he loves to laugh at himself even now, he still appreciates another’s film, he even now blushes — only a little redder though! — when you ask him a question that embarrasses him. He still wants to learn and is currently hearing out story ideas from “whoever tells me, he has one”.

Just one thing has changed though! That glint of a tear in his eyes, when you shower a genuine praise on son Hrithik in your conversation with Rakesh Roshan, was never there earlier. Obviously, because the heaps of praises, too, were never there before. It is only now that Hrithik is Hrithik!

Excerpts from a conversation with a producer, a director and a father:

The year 2000 belonged to the Roshans in diverse ways. KN…PH, the birth of star Hrithik Roshan and then, your close brush with death. How would you sum up this experience — of the best and the worst together?

– God has been very kind to me. When I was making Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, I never let the thought that I was launching my son affect me. I just wanted to make a good film and that was all.

So you were not under pressure about your son making his debut as a hero?

– No, I wasn’t. I was just making my film in the most normal manner. There were no fears or negative thoughts in my mind and nor was I being over-cautious with regard to my son’s career. During the course of the film’s making, Hrithik used to sometimes tell his mummy, ‘Tell daddy to put some dramatic scenes.’ But I did not listen to either him or his mother and made the film exactly the way I had thought. However, towards the end, as the release date was nearing, I must admit that my fatherly instincts came to the fore. Like any father, who would pray for his son’s success, I prayed to God very hard, imploring Him to see my son through and to make him acceptable among the public. Then, my film began to matter less to me. It was my son and his career, that kept getting me anxious all the time.

Hrithik has gone on record to say that you are very emotional and nervous and that you used to cry before the release of every film of yours. Did you cry before the release of KN…PH?

– Yes, I cry every time my film is on release! As for Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, I was stiff worried about the opening of the film. It is for this reason that I told my C.P. and C.I. distributors not to hold the 9 a.m. show as they normally do, because 9 a.m. shows are generally weak. Around 1 p.m. when I was sitting at Rahul Nanda’s office for finalising a publicity design of KN…PH, my C.I. distributor, J.P. Chowksey, phoned me on my cellphone to say, ‘Mubarak ho, I  am right now in the cinema hall and enjoying the audience reaction to Hrithik.’ He made me listen to the whistles, and I was convinced that Hrithik had been accepted. Before I knew it, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. Then came C.P. distributor Laloo Kabra’s call, echoing the same sentiments. He told me that people were whistling with excitement and applauding Hrithik in every scene. He even admitted to having conducted shows at 9 a.m. despite my instructions to the contrary, and informed me that the opening response was tremendous. I continued to cry with joy. Then came a Thane exhibitor’s phone call. He also gave me the same kind of reaction. Now, I was convinced that my son had been accepted. That my prayers had been answered! I was crying inconsolaby. Rahul must’ve been taken aback as he told me to control my emotions. But I told him, I was okay and that he should let me be for a few minutes. My tears of joy continued.

I thank God for everything he did for me. It was He who kept working for my film’s success. It was He who gave me a talented music director-brother in Raju (Rajesh Roshan). It was He who gave me Hrithik as a son. It was He who made Hrithik endear himself to people. And, most importantly, it was He who saved my life. Had it not been for the attempt on my life, I would have, perhaps, gone on celebrating the success of the film and may never have known about my heart problem. For, it was during my hospitalisation following the shootout that the doctors detected my heart problem and advised immediate heart surgery. This way, I got a new lease of life! In fact, it was God’s blessing in disguise. For all the things that’ve happened in my life, I am indebted to the one up there.

How do you decide or judge whether a story is good or bad for making into a film?

– Actually, there are no fixed parameters. The moment you hear a subject, it should hit you and generate an excitement in you. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that the end result of an exciting subject would always be positive. Things can go wrong sometimes, like it happened when I made Koyla. The subject of Koyla had excited me just as did the subjects of Karan Arjun and Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. I generally go for subjects of unusual patterns though I decorate them with a lot of commercial values.

Have you analysed what went wrong with KAROBAAR?

– Nothing really, except its delay. Had Karobaar been released just as it was originally scheduled to, its business would have been a different story. The delays during its making took their toll on the film. I also feel, there may have been some kind of a jinx attached to the film. I say this because every time a shooting schedule was planned for the film, some or the other problem used to crop up. Even during the shooting, there used to be some hurdle or the other. Though the film took about eight years in the making, I took only 80 shifts to complete it, which is a very normal number. Nobody wanted to delay the film purposely. But it somehow went on getting delayed.

What is it that works in a film?

– The premise! The premise of a subject should be very strong. If the first five to seven scenes are good enough to make a good impression, the film moves on its own thereafter. But if the premise is not good, no matter howsoever good the subject is, the film will not work.

Producers have a common complaint that there are no writers. But no attempts are being made to train people to become writers. Shouldn’t there be institutes to impart training in film writing?

– No, there cannot be an institute or school to create writing talents. Screen-writing is a very creative job. If someone wants to seriously pursue writing for films, he should watch more and more films and develop his own thoughts… See, our producers and directors are also not very serious about their subjects. They wouldn’t mind carting the entire unit to foreign locations to shoot their songs, but when it comes to scenes, they are not bothered — it is the same Nagi Villa which you’ve seen in a hundred films earlier. They know, it is music which is publicised on TV channels, and it is the audio rights which fetch big money. So all their energies are diverted towards music. What they don’t realise is that a film will run on the strength of its subject. Well, actually, so many are not even bothered about the running of a film, they are only concerned about the delivery of their films.

Our present-day films fare differently in different territories. Why does this happen?

– This is because the mental growth of the younger generation is faster in cities than in the rest of the country. It’s about time we made films with the young generation in mind. To cite an instance, Jaanwar is a bigger hit than even my KN…PH in Bihar. Even Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet is better than my film in Bihar. We need to come out of the past and update ourselves to the changing styles to go with the expectations of the younger generation.

Did Hrithik always yearn to be an actor? Or was he thinking of becoming a film-maker while working with you as an assistant? Can you recall his growing years?

– You see, when he was very young, he wanted to become a scientist. He was very good in studies throughout his academic career. But his inclination to become a scientist waned as he grew. He later showed a fascination for cycles. Whenever I went abroad, he would make only one demand: that I bought for him a BMX — those bicycles used to be such a craze among kids those days! He used to ride throughout Juhu and he would attract people’s attention towards him by trying all kinds of stunts, like riding his bicycle on one wheel and other tricks. He had developed a heroism of his own kind. Like in cycling, Hrithik was a very focussed boy. He had always wanted to be an actor. But much before I could even think about KN…PH, Shekhar Kapur came to me with the subject of Tara Rum Pum Pum. He told me, he wanted to cast Hrithik as the lead man. I agreed too, but Shekhar became busy with his Elizabeth, and the Tara Rum Pum Pum project remained at the idea stage only.

Meanwhile, Hrithik used to sit on the screenplay and even on the editing of my films. He would, during the film’s editing, ask me very probing questions like why a particular scene had been cut in a particular way and why not in another way. In order to make him learn, I used to ask him to cut the way he wanted and then see the result for himself. That way, he learnt the finer points of editing. Why, he also made the promos of Koyla and Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. He has picked up the ropes of direction so well that I am confident, he can direct a film himself. But, of course, he will not try his hand at direction so early. If he wants to, he may after, say, 12 or 15 years.

What kind of a son is Hrithik?

– As a person, he is emotional the way I am. If he is upset about something, he goes into a shell. But I know him so well that he can’t hide his feelings from me. My wife, Pinky, is the link between us. If he wants to convey anything to me, he would rather do it through his mother. He does not conceal anything from us and if he has to decide on anything, he always asks me. When the HMV people had taken him to Calcutta for the inauguration of their showroom, after the release of KN…PH, they wanted to present him a Mercedes car. I was in London then. But before accepting the car, he called me up and asked, “Daddy, they are presenting me a car. Should I take it?” I said, “Of course, you should! Why not?”

From Hrithik, back to Rakesh Roshan the director. How important is it for a director to be a sensitive and emotional person?

– It depends upon every individual and varies from person to person. A director’s emotions are reflected in his films. His scenes in the film show the kind of person he is and how sincere he is to his work. There are some directors who make only comedy films. Does it mean that such directors are not emotional? No! They, too, may be emotional. When I work on a script and get touched by a certain scene, I do get emotional, and my emotions help me to shoot the scene the way I want. Emotions are not restricted only to creative filmmakers. Even an accomplished painter, however excellent his quality of work, cannot put life into his work without the required amount of emotion. Sometimes, we see a painting and we are struck by the depth of, say, the eyes of the person painted. That depth is a result of the painter’s depth of emotions.

As for me, anything good and heartwarming brings tears to my eyes. While I was in London recently, I happened to see The Gladiator. Every dialogue, every scene was so moving and so worthy of appreciation that I could not hold back my tears.

Talking of emotions, the best emotional experience I had was when Hrithik and I were heading towards Eros cinema (Bombay) to check the sound and projection two days prior to the release of Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai. As we were passing by, almost every motorist and cabbie was waving at Hrithik, showing him the thumbs up sign. While on our return journey home, the same thing happened. It was incredible, I tell you! Then, at the signal opposite St. Michael’s church at Mahim, a hijra came to our car which was waiting for the green light, and asked Hrithik to roll down the window. Hrithik was a bit hesitant but I told him, “Don’t worry, just slide down the window, nothing will happen.” The eunuch touched Hrithik’s head and blessed him. I was deeply touched. I told Hrithik that I had never seen such genuine gestures of encouragement from the public, and I knew, it bode well for my son.

What was your experience while making your first ad film for Coke?

– You’ve got to give a lot of your time to make a feature film. And you also get a lot of time to improvise. But in an ad film, you have to say a lot in a given time frame.

Before you took up this product ad of Coca Cola, did you make efforts to study how ad films are made?

– I was watching the ad films on television. I made some mental notes on their editing patterns, the execution of various shots and their cuttings. In an ad film, there need not be any continuity.

So, while you made your son, Hrithik, a star overnight, Hrithik, too, made you a sought-after ad filmmaker!

– We both helped each other. In KN…PH itself, we all helped him only initially. I contributed with my direction. Raju (Rajesh Roshan) helped him with his music. The technicians, too, gave their best. Thereafter, it was Hrithik who helped take the film to the superhit slot.

What was your experience with your distributors when KN…PH became a runaway hit?

– I trust my distributors completely. For none of my films have I written letters to my distributors, questioning their integrity. If they want to be honest, they will be honest. If they don’t want to be honest, they will not be, no matter what and notwithstanding the letters I write. If I want, I can keep a tab of them, but I do not want to. Once you give a film to the distributor, you’ve got to believe in him. This whole business is based on trust.

A few producers, who have tasted big success in their last films, are thinking of opening distribution offices all over India. Are you in favour of such a move?

– Some big producers are already doing it. Some of them may be releasing their film in two or three major territories. I myself got KN…PH distributed in Bombay, Delhi-U.P., Andhra and Overseas in my own account.

How was the Overseas business of KN…PH?

– Overseas is a game of opening. The business is generally restricted to four weeks. The Overseas audience wait for their favourite stars’ release. One week before the release of KN…PH, the Aamir Khan-starrer, Mela, was released. And one week after KN…PH, the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, was released. Since KN…PH had a new star team, it was sandwiched between the two star-studded films. Therefore, KN…PH could not get a bumper initial abroad. It opened with 50%, but then, gradually, week after week, the collections went up unlike what happens with other films. Ultimately, KN…PH celebrated 25 weeks at four cinemas! And it proved a major success in Overseas, too.

How many cassettes and CDs of KN…PH have been sold till now?

– Overseas, 85 lakh cassettes and over 3 lakh CDs. HMV is coming out with a remix version of the music this Diwali in a big way.

That should be some Diwali dhamaka.

– So be it…