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SHAREHOLDERS TAKE NOTE
In the letter "... And they deserve the flak" (Screen, January 19) K Raghunath hits the nail on the head when he talks of the "obscene" sums paid by Zee TV for the star power and charisma of Anupam Kher and Manisha Koirala. Neither of them had any star power or charisma when they were picked to host Sawal Dus Crore Ka. It is incomprehensible why such faded stars have been paid so much -- Rs 4 to 5 crore apiece according to press reports. If Doordarshan had paid such ridiculous sums to has beens, questions would have been asked in Parliament and a CBI enquiry demanded. Zee executives who put this deal through should thank their stars they are not public servants. No doubt shareholders of Zee Telefilms Ltd will ask some inconvenient questions at the next AGM.
RK Sarma
RA Puram, Chennai

PIOUS NONSENSE
Apropos the special feature "Romantic Regressions and Gene Revisions" (Screen, January 12). I had a hearty laugh at the absurd intellectualisation of Hindi cinema by Maithili Rao. It is hilarious (unintentionally, no doubt)) in its pomposity. I wonder if Rao really believes all that rubbish. Imagine a light-hearted, harmless entertainer like Hum Aapke Hain Kaun being accused of having a subtext of "political resurgence of Hindutva, the ideology of a triumphalist Hindu right wing." I think Rao should be told to peddle her ware to some politically-motivated journals which welcome such pretensions nonsense. Screen is better off with writers who love cinema for its own sake and who bring some common sense to this criticism of films, rather then those who have a definite political agenda and who use cinema as just another stick with which to beat ideological opponents.
V Srinivas
Ashok Nagar, Chennai

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Missionary Zeal
I read the item in Signature, "Sexual Harassment Is About Power" (Screen, January 2). With the film Bawandar by Jagmohan Mundra, Nandita Das has once again proved her mettle by portraying the role of the raped low caste woman. Nandita’s choice of films makes it amply clear that she has taken her acting career with a missionary zeal, and wishes to portray the various facets of the problems our women face. No doubt, in the process she has labelled herself as an artist of off-beat films.
Jyotiranjan Biswal
Durgapur, Orissa

THE WRONG CHOICE
I think the choice for the Screen-Videocon Award for best actor was very biased, this time. Shah Rukh Khan, if you ask me, came up with award-worthy performances in both Mohabbatein and Josh. He ought to have won the award, for he deserved it more than Hrithik.
Mitali Swain,
Bhubaneshwar, Orissa

ACTION VS ROMANCE
Khiladi 420 does seem to have turned out a dud, going by the collections provided in your Box-Office column. However I found the film engrossing, at least in the first half and passable fare even in the second. A staunch Akshay Kumar fan, I should admit I am partial. But of late, worse films than Khiladi 420 have made money at the box-office. What is it, one wonders, that makes some of the so-called "romantic" movies click? Is it the Mohabbat theme, the oft-repeated cliches, or, the sheer media publicity?
TV Nair
Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram

HAT TRICK FOR THE LEGEND
Congratulations to Anand Bakshi, the legendary lyricist of Indian Cinema for getting the prestigious SCREEN best lyricist award for the third consecutive year. He has won the award for Zakhm (1998), Taal (1999) and now, Mohabbatein. Bakshi Saheb has enriched Hindi music with his great songs for the last forty-five years. It is no surprise that the legend has the world record for writing more than 6000 songs. One wonders how the septuagenarian continues to pen romantic poetry even at his age.
Vinod Chandran
Kollam, Kerala