Talking Business

BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Notwithstanding the fact that it is hardly the kind of film that can hold mass appeal, Kamal Haasan’s Hey! Ram took off with a promising start in Mumbai, though that may not be the same elsewhere. At Metro, which is one of the main theatres for the film, the weekend holiday coinciding with the occasion of Shiv Jayanti, proved to be a big advantage for the film’s opening. Metro’s Nester D’Souza has decided to wait for the beginning of the next week, to analyse the course that the film was taking. But, irrespective of the film’s business potential, he appears to be mighty impressed with the technical brilliance and the detailing in the film. “The film is a must see at least once, just for its sets, performances, and the way Kamal Haasan has worked on every small detail to perfection. Such films come only once in a while like a breath of fresh air. For all you know, it may just go a long way,”D’Souza enthuses.

LONG RUN EXPECTED
Manoj Desai, executive director of the Gaiety-Galaxy complex who released the film at the 105-seater Gossip theatre, much to everyone’s surprise, however has his own reservations about the likely business of the film in a theatre of the size of Metro. “The film is essentially a class film meant for the high-gentry audience and it is cut out for stylish theatres like Gossip. Cinemax and Cinestar, with smaller capacities and excellent interiors. It is definitely not ideal for theatres like Metro and Chandan,” Desai says. Incidentally, this is the first time that a big film has been directly released at the 105-seater Gossip theatre. Reportedly, the film was initially planned for release in Gaiety where Pukar was being screened, but the distributors, VIP Enterprises, who have also released Pukar, wanted the film to continue for some more time. At this stage, Shringar Films (who have been booking films for Gossip), reportedly intervened and quickly took the initiative of releasing the film in Gossip and from the way things are going, it appears the film will have a long run in Gossip.

The other two mini-theatres in the complex, Gem and Glamour, are meanwhile raking in very good returns. Last week, the two theatres drew packed audiences when they screened the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough in six shows each on a single day for one whole week, with just one print of the film at their disposal. Needless to add, all the 84 shows of the film recorded houseful collections. For both Rajesh Thadani and Desai, the strategy of screening the latest English films at the two theatres is paying off well. In addition, Desai is eagerly awaiting the release of Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth next week, which will be released at Glamour.

NOVEL PUBLICITY CAMPAIGN
Not all exhibitors are as lucky. Right now, a majority of them are disillusioned with the way the business has been since the beginning of the year, with films not even drawing a proper opening response, apart from the exception of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, which has been the only saving grace so far. The bigger anxiety for exhibitors is the shortage of films they are likely to face in the next few months, especially from April to June until the release of JP Dutta’s Refugee. The only film that the trade is eagerly counting upon is Gordhan Tanwani’s Salman-Karisma starrer Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge scheduled for a March 24-release.

There is also the Sanjay Dutt starrer Khauff which has now been shifted to March 3. In the case of Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge, the film is carrying excellent reports among the exhibitors in the trade. Characteristic of his style of promoting his films in a big way, Tanwani has been working out a detailed publicity campaign for the film since the past few months which will be triggered off in the next few weeks. Among other things, the campaign includes a multi-media CD-Rom giving full details of the film and the concern. Tanwani has also come out with an attractive gift package of the film for everyone in the trade which includes a postcard book and a calendar showing Salman and Karisma in various scenes in the film, apart from a CD of the film. The film’s Mumbai distributor Tolu Bajaj is at peace, knowing that he can well count on Tanwani for doing things only in the best possible way. “He is a totally dependable producer and I don’t think I need worry about anything. He is the kind who’ll go out of his way to compensate a distributor if his film does not do well,” Tolu Bajaj says. Most distributors in the trade have come to respect Tanwani for his dignity and his ethics in conducting business. It may be recalled that Tanwani had chosen to forego the overflow from the business of Ishq after one year, when he converted the business terms with his distributors into an outright basis.

MEHUL KUMAR TO ENTER EXHIBITION
The theatrical business may not appear to be as promising, but every day there are new entrants on the exhibition scene who see a lot of potential in the exhibition sector. The latest news is that producer-director Mehul Kumar is all set to get into exhibition business in Gujarat. Mehul Kumar was reportedly toying with the idea of setting up a theatre in Gujarat, which also happens to be his home state for quite sometime now, but the decision is now finally taking shape. Hopefully, the venue of the multiplex will be finalised in the next one month, after which work will commence very soon.

Manisha Deshpande