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Time was when Govinda had at least one hit a year.
Raja Babu, Saajan Chale Sasural, Coolie No1,
Hero No 1... you name it, they had H-I-T written all over them before they were even released.
Time is when Govinda and failure have become synonymous with each other.

The years 1999 and 2000 have been pretty bad for the hero. For, except Haseena Maan Jayegi (June 1999), Govinda has just not been able to dance his way into cine goers' hearts.

It started with Anari No 1, which failed to toe the line of his earlier No 1 films: Coolie No 1 and Hero No 1. Rajaji fared even worse than Anari No 1.

His last 1999 release -- Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain -- had virtually no one dying to see either him or the film.

The new millennium year must have only depressed the comedy hero further.

All his three releases this year -- Hadh Kar Di Aapne, Joru Ka Ghulam and Kunwara -- could not lift his spirits or, for that matter, his ratings. Consequently, the actor made more headlines for his alleged affairs with a heroine than for his performance on screen.

If Govinda needs Lady Luck to smile on him once again, he must: * Work with more successful directors. * Now concentrate more on his scripts. * Put an upper limit to his film prices. This he can ensure only if he himself restricts his fees to a more realistic level.

What went wrong? Is the Govinda magic fading? Or is it that the actor is simply not signing the right films? Does he need to change the directors he works with? Or are his scriptwriters the culprits?

Actually, it is a combination of all the above. Govinda has done his I'm-crazy-and-I'll-drive-everyone-crazy films to death.

Now, while they were fun for a while, they got downright irritating after a while. Anari No1and Rajaji not only had similar storylines, they also had him starring opposite the same heroine -- Raveena Tandon (Anari No 1 also had Simran as the other leading lady).

Two, three, four years ago, people were happy to see Govinda in films that didn't boast a great storyline. The emphasis in these films lay in Govinda's antics.

And since films of the kind were relatively new, people didn't mind the absence of a cohesive script. After all, Govinda's performance more than made up for the lack of one.

What's more, those films also had hit music. Whether it was A aa ee, (in Raja Babu), or Tujhko mirchi lagi to main kya karoon (from Coolie No 1) or Tu mera hero no 1, (from Hero No 1), the songs were on everybody's lips.

Now compare those with the music of Joru Ka Ghulam, Kunwara or Hadh Kar Di Aapne.

No song worthy of mention, right?

To give its due credit, the last film did have some decent music. Unfortunately, the producers erred in releasing the film before the audio could reach its peak. Being new producers, the makers of Hadh Kar Di Aapne also did not have the acumen to sustain its publicity campaign much after its release.

Tips and Gordhan Tanwani as producers could have -- and would have -- done it. Gordhan Tanwani pulled his Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge to the average mark in some circuits by sheer sustainability of its publicity campaign for months after the film hit the screens.

That also accounts for why Dulhan.. netted about Rs 11 crore to 12 crore while a Hadh Kar Di Aapne couldn't go beyond Rs 8 crore.

Joru Ka Ghulamfared worse than Hadh Kar Di Aapne. It barely managed to net Rs 6 crore.

Tips released Kunwara almost all over India at its own cost. So, although distributors didn't lose money on it, the film netted about Rs 7.5 to Rs 8 crore -- not an impressive figure if one were to assume a notional price at which Kunwara could have been sold to distributors.

Ramesh Taurani of Tips, however, reposes a lot of faith in his hero. He declares, "Govinda is a fine actor. He is among the very few all-round performers in the country today. If the film is good, Govinda's performance adds a great deal to its box office success."

Citing the Kunwara example, he says, "Kunwara did well at the turnstiles only because of Govinda. He carried the film on his shoulders. I am confident that Govinda's films bring back returns. He is a great performer. He has tremendous appeal to pull in the audiences."

Yet, most people in the trade concede the rising film prices as an important reason for Govinda starrers being in the red.

Ergo solo Govinda starrers work only if moderately priced.

As film prices have risen steadily over the last couple of years, it would mean that Govinda and high film prices don't go well together. For example, while Coolie No 1 was sold at Rs 1 crore per circuit, Anari No 1 was priced at Rs 1.25 crore and, at places, even more.

Which brings me to the famed David Dhawan-Govinda lucky combine.

Which also brings us to the fact that it does not seem to be working anymore. It is another matter that David Dhawan's films also seem to be failing at the ticket windows, whether with or without Govinda.

His last three films have all failed to repeat the magic of the 1990s. Chal Mere Bhaiwas a disaster, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge was just about average fare -- it was actually a loser in various circuits. Kunwara, too, just about did average business in parts.

The only reason that emerges for his recent crop of failures is the repetitiveness of his punch lines, even incidents and scenes in his films.

Also, watching Dhawan's films seems to gives the impression that the director was in a hurry to wrap them up.

Earlier, Govinda would depend on David Dhawan for his quota of hits every year. But with the DD-Govinda magic not working now, the talented all rounder seems to have no no surefire hit director to turn to for a salvage exercise.

For, unlike Govinda, who is at least experimenting (witness his negative role in Shikari), DD doesn't seem to be willing to change his coterie of writers who seem to have exhausted all their punch and punch lines.

And that brings me to Govinda. And his punch.

Tomorrow, Friday, October 6, sees Govinda in a negative role for the first time in his career in with Shikari.

Next week, October 13, will see the release of Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai, where he plays a rural simpleton, complete with dhoti and pagdi.

That's not all that's different between the two films. JDMGRH was completed in 35 shifts spread over less than eight months, Shikari has taken many years to complete.

My point is that it is unlikely that the audience will accept the actor in a negative role. After all, this is the audience who has made them laugh all these years.

But what if Shikari fails?

Then Jis Desh Mein is his only hope.

True, today's audiences prefer novelty - whether in subject, presentation or characterisation.

Venus' Josh might not have clicked in many parts of India. But the fact that two top stars of the day -- Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai -- played siblings was accepted, even if only in Bombay, shows that the cine goers today like new ideas.

Several years ago, Anil Kapoor and Meenakshi Seshadri played brother and sister in Inteqaam, but the audience had rejected the relationship along with the film.

Commercially, Jis Desh… has been sold for almost half the price of Shikari. So, the chances of the former fetching returns at the BO might double those of the latter.

Also worth considering is the fact that the Shikari promos have come in for praise.

If both these films click, it will give Govinda's career a much-needed boost.

If, God forbid, none do, it will bring the star down several notches from the already low position he finds himself in today.

But if Vashu Bhagnani is to be believed, "Both Shikari and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai, are carrying good reports and should fare well at the box office".

We hope so, too.