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February 22, 2000
5 QUESTIONS |
No kamaal at the box office
Kamal Haasan did not heed the advice of Bharat Shah, who financed his ambitious Hey! Ram, to edit the film so that it became crisper. Result: the film which opened to lukewarm response in many parts of India, is being considered too slow and boring by the audience. Since the film did not evoke too much interest among distributors, Shah, who has his regular distributors for all films financed by him, had Hey! Ram distributed on a commission basis in many territories. Under this arrangement, the distributor does not pay any minimum guarantee (MG) price to the producer, but releases the film in the producer's account and charges a fixed (usually 20 per cent) commission on the total net business. The risk, therefore, is the producer's. Since Bharat Shah and Kamal Haasan are equal partners in production, the risk may be 50:50. For Kamal and Shah, the Tamil and Telugu rights of Hey! Ram may have saved the day because the two versions of the film did fetch a good price. In fact, the Telugu version of Hey! Ram became so hot just prior to the release that the Mysore territory distributor of the Hindi version was asked to relinquish his rights (at a profit) because those rights (Hindi version) were to be clubbed with the Telugu version's. The Mysore distributor obliged and today he may be having the last laugh. Incidentally, there was minor tension at Metro cinema in Bombay, which is screening the historical drama, on Sunday, February 20, when a political party asked the management to cover the bow and arrow in the film's logo as those are the symbols of a rival political party! Kaho Naa ...super hit hai
One of the readers of this column has questioned my classifying Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai as a superhit. This item is for that reader, as well as for all those who may have similar queries. First and foremost, this is a business column and the terms 'hit,' 'superhit,' 'flop' etc must be viewed as purely business connotations without subjective bias. Now to the economics of the Hrithik Roshan-starrer that's creating now record at the box office. Kaho Naa... was sold to the distributors at a price of Rs 12.5 million to Rs15 million per major territory. Its business in a major territory like Bombay is expected to be a minimum of Rs 80 million! It has already crossed the Rs 40-million figure. Similarly, in another major territory -- Delhi, UP -- it is expected to do a business of Rs 40 million, at least. In West Bengal, (where it was sold for Rs 4.5 million), it has netted a business of Rs 8.7 million and is poised to cross Rs 15 million. In a city like Bombay, the film collected 99.85 per cent in its first week, 99.67 per cent in the second week, 99.18 per cent in the third, 99.73 per cent in fourth week and -- hold your breath -- 100 per cent in the fifth week! In Indore, a unique thing happened in the fifth week run of Kaho Naa... The film was showing at one of the two cinemas in a complex in Indore. On Sunday, February 13, the crowd at the cinema (Abhinayshri) screening the film was so huge that the exhibitor announced the same film at the other cinema (Devshri) too. Believe it or not, both the cinemas registered 100 per cent collections for the 3pm, 6pm and 9pm shows that Sunday. In Nizam, the film should easily do a business of Rs 20 million against its price of less than Rs 5 million. Now, that's what we call a superhit! Praises galore for Anil
Pukar may not have brought in the moolah from everywhere, but it sure is bringing in praises for leading man, Anil Kapoor. The actor considers Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Mammooty as three of the finest actors India has produced. Anil was thrilled beyond words when all three of them individually complimented him for his performance in Pukar. Thespian Dilip Kumar spoke to Anil for 30 full minutes, lauding him for a sensitive portrayal. Amitabh not only spoke to the Kapoor and lauded him but, as wife Jaya admitted, he has been raving about Anil's performance ever since he saw the film. Malayalam superstar Mammooty took pains to get hold of Anil's telephone number and spoke to him long-distance, showering praises on him. Anil must feel rewarded enough. Now the man is waiting for entertainment tax exemption which several state governments have promised him. It may begin with Madhya Pradesh. Madhuri out of Lajjya
Rajkumar Santoshi may not, after all, make Lajjya with Madhuri Dixit following the unenthusiastic response to his Pukar in many parts of the country. He has already finalised Anil Kapoor and Sunny Deol for the two male leads, but is not sure whether he should sign Karisma Kapoor or Manisha Koirala for the female lead. In the meantime, Shah Rukh Khan has given the green signal to Santoshi for a solo-hero film. The Aamir-Shah Rukh flick, which was to be produced and directed by Santoshi, is on hold since Aamir is busy with his home production, Lagaan. Abhishek off, but Aryan on Salman Khan's home production, Aryan, is still on. The film was to have been made with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead. The project was cancelled even before it could take off. The latest news is that Aryan will soon roll. No, not with Abhishek. Not even with Salman. Then with whom? Keep guessing!
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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