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March 28, 2000
5 QUESTIONS |
It's all in the starsKomal Nahta
Even Dhawan and Jafri saw the first copy only because they happened to be there at the laboratory in Madras at the time. But in no sense could it be called a trial show. And why was no preview held? Because of the stars! No, no, not Salman Khan and Karisma Kapoor! We are talking of celestial bodies here. Tanwani's guru had told him the stars would bode well if no private or public show of the film was held before 9.32 am, Friday (March 24). As a result, the film did not open anywhere on Thursday. Normally, films open in some territories on Thursdays, a day before the all-India release. Even on Friday, the customary 6 am show in CP and CI was simply not held. But the adverse reaction to the film makes one wonder what would have happened had the guru not warned Tanwani! Changing tunes Hats off to Ramesh Sippy (not Sholay's director), the sub-distributor of Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge for Gujarat. When he paid the heavy price of Rs 11 million for the rights of the film, those in the trade wondered if he was doing the right thing. But Sippy's sharp business acumen, coupled with the craze for the film, saw him almost recover his money on the first day itself. All those who raised eyebrows over his "brash" buying are today singing his praises! Briefly speaking Producers are going the whole hog to be different in whatever they do these days. Audio cassettes come in sexy packages, invites for premieres and launches are getting more and more novel. Like the briefcases sent out by Deepak Bahry last week. It was so brief, you could envelop it in your palm. And what did this briefcase contain? A three-page invitation for the song recording-cum-launch of his Ajay Devgan-Amisha Patel starrer, Parwana. Earlier, the audio cassettes of Ramesh Sharma's Baaghi landed on our table in an aesthetically-packed, designer, see-through bag stuffed with chocolates and confetti. Ek se badkar ek! Producer Vashu Bhagnani had brought out special diaries of Biwi No 1 when the film was released last year. They were beautiful, to say the least. But even those sexy diaries would be put to shame if one were to see the diary of his new film, Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa. Equally superb are the photo showcards of the film. In fact, those who've seen the diaries and the showcards feel that Vashu's jadoo will indeed work! What remains to be seen is if Abhishek Bachchan can replicate that! Dilip Kumar's Aag Ka Dariya
But, as the pandits say, fire and water don't go together (Deepa Mehta will testify to this belief, as of now!). And the film's title, Aag Ka Dariya (Sea Of Fire), once again proves the same. Well, what was a hot proposal in those days stalled as just as it was nearing completion when its producer, R Venkatraman, ran into problems. It was through the intervention of Dilip Kumar that the film was finally completed. According to Venkatraman, Dilip Kumar stood by him through all the difficult years. He even raised the finance for the completion of the remaining shooting, background music recording and mixing. The film is now being presented by Dilip Kumar. What does the thespian actor think of the staleness that might have set in due to the delay in production? According to him, if a film has merit, the time lag would not make any difference. He cited the examples of Pakeezah and Mughal-E-Azam which, he said, were completed years after their commencement and yet proved big hits. He conceded that it was for the people to decide the fate of the film. Directed by S V Rajendra Singh, the film has now received the Censor certificate and is due for release in May. That is, if it manages to get buyers. One can only wish the film smooth sailing. Two times lucky
Dulhan...'s special offer Gordhan Tanwani's deals with his all-India distributors reminds one of the good old days when distributors used to be given quota prints by the producer. Tanwani may have taken a bomb by way of MG royalties (Rs 30 million per major territory) from his distributors, but one must not forget he has borne the cost of both the prints and the publicity. So, if one were to calculate the savings on costs of prints and publicity for the distributors, the price is not really a bomb. And then there's Tanwani's track-record -- Ishq and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha -- to justify the price. Poore pachaas din For all those readers who read this column and complained I was not being fair to Boney Kapoor's Pukar, here's a bit of good news. On March 24, the film completed 50 days at about 125 cinemas in the country. Of course, the 50 days' run has only been possible because of the tax-exemption benefit provided by the state governments of Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Producer Yash Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, directed by debutant Karan Johar, also completed 75 weeks of its run in Bombay last week. Ramu dragged to court Two years ago, a still photographer sued Ramgopal Varma's company for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 90,000. Apparently, they had hired him to to shoot the stills of Daud in 1997. They made an initial payment of Rs 1,05,000 and issued two cheques for the remaining amount of Rs 90,000, both of which were dishonoured, alleged the photographer in his plaint. The court has sentenced an officer of the company to six months' jail and fined Varma Rs 5,000 for the bounced cheque.
A look at the week
Komal Nahta edits the popular trade magazine, Film Information. Do tell us what you think of this column
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There were no preview shows of Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge. Except for director David Dhawan and writer Rumi Jafri, no one connected with the film saw it before its theatrical release. Not even producer Gordhan Tanwani himself.
Remember Aag Ka Dariya, starring Dilip Kumar, Rekha, Padmini Kolhapure, Rajiv Kapoor, Amrita Singh and Amrish Puri? A film launched over a decade ago? Had the film been made and released according to scheduled, it would have almost been time today to sell its re-issue rights.
Producer Babloo (N R) Pachisia (Arjun Pandit) must surely be a visionary. Even before Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai was released, he had signed on Hrithik Roshan. Similarly, he finalised director Mahesh Manjrekar for another film even before Vaastav had hit the screens. But, with both Hrithik and Mahesh becoming so busy, it remains to be seen when they can give Babloo their dates.