Komal Nahta

Let's begin this column by taking a look what the Bollywood stars were up to in 1999. The following table should help...

Star	Films released	Fate at the box office
Aamir Khan	Sarfarosh Mann 1947 Earth	Hit at places Flop Flop
Aishwarya Rai	Aa Ab Laut Chalen Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Taal	Flop Commission earner Commission earner
Ajay Devgan	Kachche Dhaage Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Hindustan Ki Kasam Dil Kya Kare Gair Thakshak	Commission earner Commission earner Commission earner Average Flop Flop Flop
Akshaye Khanna	Lawaaris Kudrat Aa Ab Laut Chale Taal Dahek	Flop Flop Flop Commission earner Flop
Amitabh Bachchan	Hindustan Ki Kasam Lal Baadshah Sooryavansham Kohraam	Average Flop Flop Flop
Anil Kapoor	Biwi No 1 Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain Mann Taal	Semi-hit Semi-hit Flop Commission earner
Bobby Deol	Dillagi	Flop
Govinda	Anari No 1 Rajaji Haseena Maan Jaayegi Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain	Flop Flop Commission earner Flop
Juhi Chawla	Safari Arjun Pandit	Flop Average
Kajol	Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya Dil Kya Kare	Semi-hit Flop Flop
Karisma Kapoor	Silsila Hai Pyar Ka Biwi No 1 Haseena Maan Jaayegi Hum Saath-Saath Hain	Flop Semi-hit Commission earner Super-hit
Mahima Chaudhary	Daag -- The Fire Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin Dil Kya Kare	Semi-hit Flop Flop
Manisha Koirala	Kachche Dhaage Lal Baadshah Laawaris Jaihind Kartoos Mann Hindustan Ki Kasam	Commission earner Flop Flop Flop Flop Flop Average
Raveena Tandon	Anari No 1 Jaihind Rajaji Shool Gair	Flop Flop Flop Flop Flop
Salman Khan	Jaanam Samjha Karo Biwi No 1 Sirf Tum (special appearance) Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Hello Brother Hum Saath-Saath Hain	Flop Semi-hit Overflow Commission earner Flop Super-hit
Sanjay Dutt	Daag -- The Fire Kartoos Safari Haseena Maan Jaayegi Vaastav Khoobsurat	Semi-hit Flop Flop Commission earner Commission earner Flop
Shah Rukh Khan	Baadshah	Flop
Sonali Bendre	Sarfarosh Hum Saath-Saath Hain Dahek	Overflow Super-hit Flop
Sunil Shetty	Hu Tu Tu Bade Dilwala Kaala Samrajya	Flop Flop Flop
Sunny Deol	Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin Arjun Pandit Dillagi	Flop Average Flop
Sushmita Sen	Biwi No 1 Sirf Tum Hindustan Ki Kasam	Semi-hit Overflow Average
Tabu	Hu Tu Tu Biwi No 1 Kohraam Hum Saath-Saath Hain Thakshak	Flop Semi-hit Flop Super-hit Flop
Urmila Matondkar	Kaun Jaanam Samjha Karo Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain Mast Dillagi Khoobsurat	Flop Flop Flop Flop Flop Flop

As you can see, the year 1999 has not been any different from the other years of the past decade, except that the films that did not run made losses that were huge enough to be back-breaking. What was also quite unusual was the fact that not a single film could qualify as the universal blockbuster of the year.

There was, of course, Hum Saath-Saath Hain, but it has not done the same kind of business all over India. That is to say, its business in circuits like Bombay, east Punjab, Bihar, C P Berar, C I, Rajasthan and Nizam are strong enough to give it the title of blockbuster, but its collections in Delhi and Bengal don’t merit the coveted title. For those who do not know what C P Berar and C I stand for, the former (Central Province) covers parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while C I (Central India) covers places like Indore, Ratlam, Bhopal, Ujjain -- in short, the other parts of Madhya Pradesh.

All the same, Hum Saath-Saath Hai is the biggest hit of 1999. While films like Sarfarosh, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Daag -The Fire and Sirf Tum, which qualify as universal successes, are not blockbusters.

At the other extreme are films like Dillagi, Thakshak, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Mast, etc. These films did not live up to the banners which produced them, the cast which they boasted of and the hype that was generated around them. More importantly, they failed to recover the money that had been invested in making them.

In some cases, the producer may have succeeded in earning a handsome profit by selling his film, but Strade pundits will still term the film as loser/flop/disaster if the distributors don't recover their investment. For instance, Taal and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were profitable propositions for their respective producers. Some distributors also made money on these two films, but there were others who did not.

For instance, Taal and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were losers in Rajasthan, C P Berar, Bihar, etc. Incidentally, both these films did extremely well overseas. So did Hum Saath-Saath Hain.

There were a total of 154 releases in 1999 -- 112 original Hindi films and 42 dubbed ones (either Hollywood films or Indian, mostly Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam). Of the 154, only 20 managed to earn something for their distributors (and we are not necessarily talking of all the distributors for one particular film here). Another three broke even, while distributors of the remaining 131 faced losses. Therefore, the ratio of successful films was just about 15 per cent! In fact, in the last few years, this ratio has only been shuttling between 15 to 22 per cent.

What follows is a list of the films released in 1999. They have been graded according to their box-office performance. I'd like to add that this grading has nothing to do with personal likes or dislikes; it is as objective as can be because there is only one criterion -- the amount of money a film has made. I am making this very clear because I have been accused of been partisan. For example, there is a gentleman who has sent me a mail accusing me of being unfair to Sunny Deol and Dillagi.

Others may also have similar doubts when they like a film that has not done well at the box office. Or vice versa. So I would like to reiterate that the ratings in this column are a summary of the box office collections, which are a true barometer of general public opinion.

So here is the list of releases of this year and their status at the ticket-windows:

SUPER-HIT -- CLASS ‘AA' (films which earn three times their cost or more that in the box office): Hum Saath-Saath Hain

HIT -- CLASS ‘A1’ (films which earn more than twice their cost, but less than three times their cost): None

SEMI-HIT -- CLASS ‘A’ (films which earn twice their cost): Biwi No 1, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Daag -- The Fire

OVERFLOW -- CLASS ‘BB’ (films which earn more than 125% of their investment): Sarfarosh, Sirf Tum, Munnibai (this one is a very, very small-budget film which did good business in small towns and moffusil areas on the strength of its sex scenes), The Mummy (dubbed)

COMMISSION EARNERS -- CLASS ‘B1’ (films which cover at least 20% over and above their investment): Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet, Kachche Dhaage, Taal (losing in some circuits but did very well in Bombay, south India and overseas), Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (losing in several circuits but a hit in Bombay and Gujarat as well as in overseas), Haseena Maan Jaayegi, Vaastav (losing in parts of India but did very well in Maharashtra), Jaanbaaz Khiladi (dubbed), Maut Ka Samudra (dubbed)

AVERAGE -- CLASS ‘B’ (films that earned back their investment): Arjun Pandit, Jaanwar, International Khiladi, Tez Raftaar (dubbed), Hindustan Ki Kasam, Titanic (dubbed)

FLOPS: Sikandar Sadak Ka, Loh Purush, Lo Main Aa Gayaa, Jahan Tum Le Chalo, Aa Ab Laut Chalen (it did well in Bombay), Hu Tu Tu, Bade Dilwala, Khooni Aahat (dubbed), Shera, Chalo America, Bombay Boys (dubbed; overflow in Bombay), Gupt Sandesh (dubbed), Krantipath, Qatil Chandalini, Kaun (did well in Bombay), Zameen Ke Neeche, Lal Baadshah (did well in Uttar Pradesh), Laawaris, Aag Hi Aag, Kaala Samrajya, Aarzoo, Kahani Kismat Ki, Jaanam Samjha Karo (did well in Bombay), Putlibai, Purnasatya, Bhoot Ka Darr, Avaidh Sambandh (dubbed), Anari No 1 (overflow in Bombay), Tan Aggan, Zulmi, Silsila Hai Pyar Ka, Tower House, Shaitaani Khazana (dubbed), King Kong (dubbed), Jaihind, Gehri Saazish (dubbed), Main Hoon Baazigar (dubbed), Beauty Palace (dubbed), Lafdaa, Hello Doctor (dubbed), Kartoos, Phool Aur Aag, Khooni Ilaaka -- The Prohibited Area, Main Tere Pyaar Mein Pagal (dubbed), Sooryavansham (semi-hit in West Bengal, overflow in Bihar and C P Berar), Rajaji, Ganga Ki Kasam, Safari, Dracula, Zimbo, Anyay Hi Anyay, Nyaydaata, Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi.., The Terrorist (dubbed), Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya, Benaam, Khaufnaak Raat (dubbed), Mann (commission earner in Bengal), Mahashaktimaan (dubbed), Seven Nights (dubbed), Shakti Aur Shaitan (dubbed), Dada (did very well in Delhi-UP), Chudail No 1, Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin, Khopdi -- The Skull, Murda Ghar, Egypt Ka Rajkumar (dubbed), Trishakti, Captain Bhavani (dubbed), Bhayanak Raatein (dubbed), Kohraam, Tu Hi Meri Ganga, Gorilla (dubbed), Baadshah (did well in Nizam), Aaya Toofan, Prem Shastra, Sangharsh (fair in some circuits), Godmother, Aaya Yauwan Jhoom Ke, Inteqam Aurat Ka, Manchali Ladkiyan (dubbed), Parai Aurat (dubbed), Hello Brother, 1947 Earth, Shaitanon Ka Honeymoon (dubbed), Virus (dubbed), Dil Kya Kare, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Dulhan Bani Daayan, Kama Tantra (dubbed), Sanyasi Mera Naam, Chambal Ki Kasam (Barood Ke Sholay), Dragon (dubbed), Sar Kati Laash, Phool Bani Phoolan, Mast, Sar Ankhon Par, Haveli Ke Peeche, Shaitan Tantrik, Shaitaan No 1 (dubbed), Mother, Heeralal Pannalal, Aadhi Raat, Khoonkhar Darinde, Star Wars: Pahla Bhag - Andekha Khatra (dubbed), Madam Don, Dil Ka Sauda, Shool, Maa Kasam, Shaitan Khopdi (dubbed), Pati Ya Premi (dubbed), Gair, Jurm Ka Vinashak (dubbed), Dillagi, Murdon Ki Kahani Ek Bachche Ki Zubaani (dubbed), Khoobsurat (overflow in Bombay and C P Berar), School Girl, Himalaya Ki Rani (dubbed), Kamini Aur Kaamdev (dubbed), Thakshak, Sautela, Kaam-Vasna, Chamunda, Bhopal Express, Poonam Ki Raat, Dahek, Tabaahi -- The Destroyer, Bahke Kadam, Vishwa Sainik (dubbed), Dulhan Banoo Mein Teri, The Real Fire - Agan (dubbed), King Cobra (dubbed)

TOP 10 HITS: Hum Saath-Saath Hain, Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain, Biwi No 1, Daag -- The Fire, Sarfarosh, Sirf Tum, The Mummy (dubbed), Munnibai, Hogi Pyar Ki Jeet, Kachche Dhaage

TOP 10 FLOPS: Dillagi, Hu Tu Tu, Dil Kya Kare, Thakshak, Mast, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Dahek, Hote Hote Pyaar Ho Gaya, Bade Dilwala, Mother