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Win some, lose some

Nidaan is headed flop-wards, but it still continues to impress the heck out of people in high places.

No less than Atal Bihari Vajpayee suggested the title, we are told. And now, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, after catching a showing of the flick, wrote an appreciative letter to producer R V Pandit. And went further, to attach a cheque for Rs 10 lakh towards rehabilitation of AIDS victims.

Pandit went one better. "I am," he wrote by way of reply, "a giver, not a taker. But I fully appreciate your gesture. To your Rs 10 lakh, I add my own Rs 10 lakh." Attached, was a cheque for Rs 20 lakh, for Naidu to employ towards AIDS rehabilitation in his state.

Moved by Pandit's gesture as well as by the film, Chandrababu Naidu then asked Telugu cinema's reigning superstar, Chiranjeevi, to check out the film. Chiranjeevi obliged, taking mega-producer D Rama Naidu along for company. And was so touched, that he volunteered his time for a series of promo ads on TV, in which he exhorts his fans, and the people of the state, to see the film.

The AP chief minister has also pitched in, getting his government's publicity department to flood various parts of the state with banners similarly appealing to the public to see the film.

Chief ministers of other states are also picking up the cue. A bit of nobility, shown towards a film that was made with noble intentions.

Given the rate at which Kareena Kapoor keeps signing films and abandoning them, she could soon find herself running short of dotted lines to sign on.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was merely the first in a growing list of films Karishma's younger sister first committed to, then abandoned. What is worse, though, is the inquisition she puts the producers and directors to, before signing up for a project. Questions the little lady poses as a matter of course include: What will you shoot first, the songs or the scenes? Who will play my father/mother in the film? Why did you sign so-and-so for that role without asking me?

And so on.

Kareena is talented, sure -- but she needs to remember she is not the only fish in a pond teeming with stars and starlets. And if she needs an example of what happens to upstarts, she doesn't need to look any further than Mahima Chaudhary. The Bengali babe got into a slanging match with Subhash Ghai soon after her maiden release, Pardes. And since then, producers have been very wary of signing her on. And if Kareena keeps going the way she is now, time could come, and that quite soon, when she can join Mahima in the wings, and while away time exchanging hard luck stories.

For a company that recently turned public, Subhash Ghai's Mukta Arts Ltd. is going great guns.

It has just executed an agreement with Mauritius-based William Holdings Ltd. for the sale of Indian satellite rights of all eight films produced by Ghai thus far, for a limited telecast, over a limited time frame, on the B4U channel.

The rights were sold for a mammoth US $3.13 million.

The films falling under the ambit of this agreement are Karz, Hero, Karma, Saudagar, Trimurti, Khalnayak, Pardes and Taal.

Besides doing Ghai's own bottom line some good, the sale also augurs well for the industry as a whole, in terms of greater earning potential for old films.

Show and tell

Trust Boney Kapoor to buck the trend. At a time when producers have begun treating their upcoming films like national secrets, Boney very considerately allowed his distributors an advance peek at the rush print of his Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai.

Producers and distributors have been at loggerheads on this issue for a while now, with the latter insisting that since they are paying huge monies to producers of under-production movies, the least they are entitled to is a look at how the film is shaping. Producers, however, have thus far acted as if they couldn't give a hoot for what the distributors want.

In that context, Boney's act -- and that, earlier, of Rishi Kapoor, who had shown his Aa Ab Laut Chalen to distributors prior to the film's release -- comes as a whiff of fresh air.

Producer-director Mehul Kumar could well be wishing that science could somehow clone him. Never mind that Kohram was an unmitigated disaster, Mehul is busier than most bees, these days. On July 24, for instance, he was at Sunny Super Sound, recording not one, but two, songs for not one, but two different films, both to be launched next month. Thus, music director Anand Raaj Anand was waving his baton on the first floor, while on the third, Sanjeev-Dharshan were busy recording another duet. That makes four singers, three music directors, two songs -- and one man in charge of it all.

Better Pardes, than Uttar Pradesh

Governments will never learn, will they?

On the one hand, the Uttar Pradesh government, and the State Film Development Board, is keen that Hindi producers shoot their films in the state. And on the other hand, the bureaucrats continue to make it as difficult as possible for any producer who is fool enough to actually plan a schedule in the state.

One example is enough to give you a taste of the prevailing level of idiocy -- the UP film board promises film-makers and stars free accomodation in its circuit houses, but there is a codicil which says no VIPs should visit them there.

Huh? Film-makers, and film-stars, by their very nature draw VIP visitors. Assuming one such does land up in the middle of the night, what happens? The circuit house manager, being a 'government servant' and as such, governed more by rules than by sense, will promptly throw the film-maker and his unit out!

Pahlaj Nihlani recently lamented that to get anything done in UP involves so much of running from pillar to post, that only the most foolhardy will even bother to try. But then, why should this surprise us? When writer Kamleshwar was offered the post of chairman of the state film board, he sent off a letter of acceptance. Only, the bearer of the letter couldn't deliver it.

Why? Because the bearer was told by the secretariat peon that unless he paid a bribe, he wouldn't be allowed into the secretariat premises.

Add one more to the lineup of states trying to woo film-makers -- Beena Kak, minister for tourism, Rajasthan, was in Bombay on Saturday last to sweet-talk Bollywood moghuls into heading in increasing numbers to the desert state.

The lady, what is more, impressed all those she met, with her straight, no-nonsense, sensible approach and her seeming seriousness in implementing the suggestions that were put before her. And she even had the courage to say, off her own bat, that politicians were long on promises but short on implementation. Going further, she promised to do all she could to make shooting in the state a pleasurable, hassle-free experience.

The interactive meeting, which was hosted by various industry trade bodies, was attended by the likes of Yash Chopra, the Barjatyas, Ramanand Sagar, Rakesh Roshan, Yash Johar, Shakti Samanta, Surinder Kapoor, Ramesh Taurani, Gordhan Tanwani and others.

Rating for the week ending Monday, July 31
**Ratings based on box office collections and cost of the film**

Rating	Film	Production House	Verdict	Position Last Week	No Of Weeks Since Release
1	Kunwara	Tips Films	Loser	1	2
2	Jungle	Varma Corporation Ltd	Above average	2	3
3	Bichhoo	Bhagwan Chitra Mandir	Above average in north India, average in some circuits	3	4
4	Refugee	J P Films	Above average (Fantastic initial, average in a couple of circuits)	4	5
5	Josh	Venus	Above average in Bombay, south (Average to losing in all other circuits)	5	8
6	Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai	Filmkraft	Superhit	6	29
7	Kya Kehna!	Tips Films	Overflow (Hit in Bombay)	7	11
8	Papa The Great	Super Casette Industries Ltd	Disaster	New	New
9	Nidaan	Pan Pictures	Flop	New	New
10	Hadh Kar Di Aapne	R R Productions	Loser (Average in some circuits)	10	16

Komal Nahta edits the popular trade magazine, Film Information.

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