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July 11, 2000
5 QUESTIONS |
Another K from Rakesh RoshanKomal Nahta
Dhadkan, Hamara Dil... play musical chairs Boney Kapoor has decided to postpone the release of Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai from August 11 to August 25 or, maybe, September 1. In doing so, he saved himself from committing a Himalayan blunder. The music cassettes of the film are due to be released around July 20. That means the gap between the audio release and the film's release would barely be 21 days! As it is, Anil Kapoor starrers normally don't take good initials. Distributors and exhibitors shuddered at the thought of what would happen if the music was not properly promoted!
The interesting part is that although the three are action heroes, the films are love stories. Dhadkan has two heroes fighting over one heroine (Shilpa Shetty), Deewane has two girls (Urmila Matondkar and Mahima Chaudhary) fighting over one hero. Anyway, let's wait for the D-day to see how they fare. Sandeep Chowta: New and revamped
Now, he has come up with an unusual background score for Varma's Jungle, which is due to release this week. Chowta, who prefers to talk less and work more, told us in Hyderabad recently that he had tried something very different in Jungle. Tutu's generosity Producer Tutu Sharma sure knows how to reward talent. Vijay Maurya, one of the five heroes in Paanch, will never forget the night when, in a split second, Tutu made the actor's long-cherished dream a reality. It was late night when Tutu and his team saw the rushes of about 80 per cent of Paanch. Tutu was thrilled with the rushes and with the work of new director Anurag Kashyap, heroine Tejaswini Kolhapure and all his five heroes. Vijay's performance, in particular, left Tutu stunned. Outside the preview theatre, Tutu asked Vijay, a resident of Moradabad, what his dream was. The newcomer was hesitant; Tutu had to prod him to answer. He replied, a little apprehensively, "Sir, nobody in the three generations of my family has ever possessed a car. I want to earn enough money some day to own a car." Tutu took Vijay outside to where his Maruti Zen was parked and handed over the keys, "Here, this car is yours. I had bought it three months ago, but I think you deserve it." Vijay, but naturally, couldn't believe his ears. The story did not end there. The next morning, Tutu nervously broke the news to his wife, actress Padmini Kolhapure. Who put just one question to her husband, "Are you happy about having made Vijay happy?" Tutu replied, "I'm very happy." Padmini said, "I'm happy if you are happy." Gaddar faces violent times
Some time back, there were protests and threats against the shooting at Imambara in Lucknow. During the recent shooting at Amritsar railway station, a part of the huge crowd of locals gathered on day one indulged in stone-throwing. The local police had to resort to a lathi-charge. However, the situation was brought under control with the help of policemen and the railway authorities and the shooting was completed over the next three days. A steam engine was brought all the way from Delhi railway museum and the Amritsar railway station was repainted to bring back the ambience of 1947 and the Partition, following which migration took place from both the sides of the border. The whole situation was aggravated because of the presence of popular stars like Sunny Deol, Amrish Puri and Amisha Patel. Secondly, it is after over a decade that a film was being shot in Punjab. It is being shot since the last one month at Ferozpur, Amritsar, Dunera, Dalhousie and Pathankot. According to Nitin Keni, who is producing the film for Zee, "The inspiration behind the shooting in Punjab was Vinod Khanna, the MP from Gurdaspur. Full co-operation was extended by all his associates and campaign managers, who helped the unit at every stage." The film is being directed by Anil Sharma. Leela Chitnis abandoned This story would sadden many a heart. Character actress Shashikala, who was on a holiday in the United States and Canada recently, returned to Bombay with a heavy heart and sad memories. While on her holiday, she met a grocer in Connecticut, who informed her of the pathetic condition which a yesteryears' superstar was living in. Shashikala immediately went to see her. There, at a nursing home for the aged, she found Leela Chitnis! The lady who, till not long ago, was playing the doting mother's roles, was lying all alone, abandoned by her family and friends and without a cent to her name. Only a kindly nurse was looking after her daily needs. Leela did not recognise Shashikala when she went to meet her. In fact, she is not in a condition to recognise anyone. It makes one wonder why her loved ones have abandoned her!! A cut in time...
There have been several cases of directors delaying the re-editing of their films. Subhash Ghai refused to cut Pardes, but had to budge from his stand on the second day of release itself. Indra Kumar wouldn't hear a thing about picking up the scissors after the release of Mann, but he had to reconsider and re-edit it after five days of the release. Why, J P Dutta himself re-edited his previous film, Border, after it hit the screens. As for Refugee, the two newcomers -- Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor -- had found such universal acceptance that the audience was willing to overlook the boring parts of the film. Now that J P's re-edited it by about 12 minutes -- and the distributors and exhibitors have cut it by another eight to 10 minutes -- the pace has become faster. There is, therefore, no doubt whatsoever that the film will not be a loser in any circuit despite very mixed reports. Also, the bumper initial was a boon. In most territories, Refugee should fetch commission for its distributors. The Bombay distributor's billing in the first week itself -- including minimum guarantees and fixed hires -- is about 75 to 80 per cent of the investment. Ditto the Delhi-U P distributor. The east Punjab distributor has covered his entire investment in the first week. The C I distributor has earned a share equivalent to 65 per cent of his M G royalty. The C P Berar distributor has recovered 60 per cent of his M G royalty in seven days. With such impressive figures, it shouldn't be a surprise even if a couple of distributors share some of the overflow with J P Dutta. Who, on his part, should keep the publicity and promotion of the film in full gear. In fact, Refugee's television promotion needs to be stepped up. Collections have dropped at most of the places, but the drop in 90 per cent of the cases is not continuous. Sustained publicity can steady the collections even further.
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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Rakesh Roshan, as everyone knows, sticks to the K word when it comes to titling his films. What is not well-known is that Karobaar, directed by him and starring Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla will be released on July 21. The day witnesses the release of three more K films -- Kunwara, Kothewali and Kaala Mandir. And Karobaar, which has been in the making for a while, is not generating much curiosity, despite being Rakesh Roshan's first release after Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.
Now, since Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai has been postponed, Venus has preponed the release of Dhadkan from August 18 to August 11. Which means the three action heroes will come together on August 11. Deewane, which stars Ajay Devgan, is also due on August 11. Dhadkan, of course, stars Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty.
Trust the talented Sandeep Chowta to try something new. And trust Ramgopal Varma, who loves to experiment as much as he loves to make films, to give Chowta a free hand. Remember the background score of Satya, Kaun or the musical score of Mast, especially the Ruki ruki thi zindagi song?
Zee's Gaddar -- A Love Story is a period film about love in the midst of violence. And the film's unit has encountered violence wherever the film has been shot.
J P Dutta bowed to public demand and re-edited his Refugee mid-week. The film was found by the audience to be too lengthy and boring in parts.