Bharat Shah is one of Venus' most trusted friends. I don't think he has any ambitions of taking over the company.

Ganesh Jain:
Big brother with a difference

Known as the key player amongst the seven brothers who make up the United Seven banner of Venus, Ganesh Jain is the eldest making crucial decisions on behalf of the company. When recent rumours started circulating about Venus being taken over by reputed financier Bharat Shah, Jain calmly handled the situation, astutely managing to dismiss the rumours as "a stupid story."

In the following interview, Jain talks on a range of issues concerning Venus. Excerpts.

Even though the demand for dubbed films has been declining, you have gone for a dubbed film Duniya Dilwalon Ki. Aern't you apprehensive about the film's prospects?

Maybe the response for other dubbed films hasn't been so promising. But that doesn't mean Duniya Dilwalon Ki won't do well. The film's music is already a raging success with Doctor Doctor and Mustafa Mustafa proving to be chart busters. The Telugu version of the film was a super-duper hit. Besides, producer K.T. Kunjumon has an excellent track record of successful films in the past. We tied up with him for this film after the terrific response we got for Humse Hai Muqabla. The film itself is quite interesting. The selling point of the film apart from the music is the way they have portrayed Mumbai. I am sure the Mumbai audience will take a new fascination for the metro after seeing the film.

What do you think went wrong with your last release Aar Ya Paar? Apparently the film inflicted heavy losses on Venus.

Yes it did. We had shot certain portions of the film extensively in Rome, and the film had gone overbudget. It was disheartening when the film did not do well. Thank God, it was only a Venus presentation and not a United Seven banner production. I think the subject and the script went wrong. There were no lighter moments in the murder mystery to relieve the tension. But I have no complaints against Ketan Mehta. He was not responsible for the film's debacle. The story was. In fact, Ketan deserves a pat on his back for the way he had conceived the songs in the film.

Don't you think you have spoiled your relationship with the censor board and its chairman Shakti Samantha, because of Ketan Mehta's tirade against them?

Not at all. Aar Ya Paar was the first film where we had problems with the censors. Otherwise, none of our previous film have had to face the wrath of the CBFC. I do admit that Ketan Mehta was quite upset with the censors. And we did not stop him from going ahead with his battle, because we respected his stand. Creative people are sensitive and they hate the idea of anybody tampering with their work. Maybe the censor board also had its own perspective in this particular case.

What about Miss 420? The film is awaiting release since long. Inspite of reshooting certain parts of the film, there are rumours that you are planning to shelve it.

They are rumours and they will remain so. Miss 420 is complete and is scheduled for an early release. We are releasing the film in Dolby and the first copy of the film is already out. We did reshoot certain sequences in the film since we were not satisfied with the earlier portions. The delay has only improved the look of the film. Sheeba and Baba Sehgal look so good in the film that you have got to see it to believe it.

There are other films too which never went according to the planned schedule. Like Keemat which was reshot and has been considerably delayed.

Keemat will be released on August 15. A few sequences in the film were reshot because they did not go well with the story line. Then we have Yes Boss which is nearing completion and will be released on June 20. Most of the films being produced by Venus are on schedule. Presently, Venus is producing the cream of films including the Shah Rukh-Aishwarya starrer Josh, the Aamir starrer Mela, the Govinda-Manisha starrer Achanak and the Shilpa-Sunil Shetty starrer Dhadkan.

Yes Boss and Keemat will be hitting the screen at a time when most of their stars are not exactly on a high success rating at the box-office.

When Khiladi released, Akshay was going through a bad phase with none of his films succeeding at the box-office. But Khiladi changed his box-office position. In Yes Boss, Shah Rukh Khan has given an exemplary performance. This is Aziz Mirza's second film with Shah Rukh after Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and people are eagerly looking forward to it. These days, people also look at the banner and the director before they decide to see a film.

Admitted the United Seven banner has a reputation for success with its first three films, (Khiladi, Baazigar and Main Khiladi Tu Anari). But recent rumours indicate that Venus is going through a severe financial crunch. It was also rumoured that Bharat Shah was all set to take over the company.

Bharat Shah is one of Venus' most trusted friends. I don't think he has any ambitions of taking over the company. We have tied up with him for the world rights of some of our films and he is also presenting a couple of films. I think he is a nice man whom you can rely upon for business integrity. In any case, I don't understand why he or anyone else would want to take over Venus. Every person who is in business has to go through ups and downs and we are no exemption. But we have been doing fairly well, inspite of all odds. Apart from production, we have been regularly buying the music rights of outside films. Betabi, Tumse Aacha Kaun Hai and Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke are only three of the prominent films. Doesn't that say enough of Venus' financial credibility.