5 QUESTIONS
BILLBOARD
MAKING WAVES
MEMORIES
MOVIES CHAT
QUOTE MARTIAL
REVIEWS
ROUGH CUTS
SHORT TAKES
SOUTHERN SPICE
WISH THE STARS
ARCHIVES
                       

Everyone's happy with Refugee

Rank newcomers did the trick. And Refugee took a magnificent start, one that surprised everyone. Of course, that is not to belittle the promotion by J P Dutta and the melodious music that grew on the listener.

The film had become so sought-after among exhibitors that the east Punjab distributor managed to secure his entire minimum guarantee price plus prints cost and the cost of publicity, totalling Rs 1.05 crores in the first week itself. At the end of the first week, the distributor will have done a business of Rs 1.10 crores!

The Delhi-UP distributor, whose total investment in the film is Rs 2.65 crores, will have earned Rs 1.75 crores in the first week itself.

The Bombay distributor, actor Ajay Devgan, spent a fortune on the film's publicity, something the actor hasn't done for his own films or own starrers. But even he will be safe to the extent of almost Rs 3 crores at the end of the first week, as against his investment of Rs 3.65 crores.

Cut to size

J P Dutta's Refugee has turned out to be rather lengthy (the censored film had a running time of three hours and 29 minutes, which Dutta cut so that the final released version had a running time of three hours, 17 minutes). So much so, some of the film's enterprising distributors effected cuts from the second and third show on the first day itself! This, because Dutta refused to bow to public demand and use his scissors.

Finally, on Sunday, Dutta himself edited the film by another 12 minutes. Reminds one of Border, Dutta's previous release. That film too was very lengthy. He was forced to re-edited it after a lot of fuss, about four days into its release! Guess some things and some people never change.

Tera Jadoo... readies for release

With Abhishek Bachchan earning laurels from all those who have seen Refugee, there is one producer who is more than happy for Abhishek. For he is the one who will reap the immediate benefits of Refugee's extraordinary opening and Abhishek's universal acceptance.

Vashu Bhagnani, whose Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya stars Bachchan Jr, will hit the screens on August 18. Meanwhile, the promotional trailers of TJCG are being much appreciated. This film, by the way, will feature Abhishek in total contrast to his character in Refugee.

Where's the music?

The promotional trailers of Boney Kapoor's Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai are airing on television since Sunday. This, despite the fact that the film's music is yet to be released. Nothing wrong with that! Except for the fact that the film is due to release on August 11.

Usually, a film's music cassettes are released at least a month-and-a-half before its theatrical release. Two months is also a reasonably good time to let the music grow. But, with the audio of Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai not due to flood the markets this week at least, it would leave just a few days over one month for the music to be popularised. And that can happen only if the songs are in the market early next week.

But, as Boney is frank enough to admit, "Anil Kapoor's films usually don't take a flying start as he is not an initialwala hero. So I am not putting too much emphasis on the music of the film. Music, after all, is important for ensuring a good initial, among other things. The second reason for not releasing the music too much in advance is that the music moves with the story. If the film clicks, the music will grow on the public."

Bobby-Rani try their luck again

Guddu Dhanoa's Bichhoo is generating much heat in north India. And why not? Its music has already caught on in a big way. And the Bobby-Rani pair, which has ticked with Badal, is generating greater curiosity with Bichhoo.

Raza's punch-bag

From the gag-bag of Raza Murad, enjoy this one:

Whenever people telephoned Amitabh Bachchan's residence and enquired, "Is Amitji there?," the reply at the other end used to be, "He has gone for shooting."

Now, with Bachchan making it to the hallowed house of wax, one might be told, "Amitji has gone for 'wax'ing."

A look at the week

**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	Refugee	J P Films	Above average (Fantastic initial, average in a couple of circuits)	New	New
2	Josh	Venus	Above average in Bombay, south (Average to losing in all other circuits)	1	4
3	Tarkieb	Jay Movies	Loser (Average in Bombay, Delhi-UP)	2	2
4	Joru Ka Ghulam	Noorani Film Corporation	Average to losing (Above average in Maharashtra)	3	3
5	Kya Kehna!	Tips Films	Overflow (Hit in Bombay)	4	7
6	Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai	Filmkraft	Superhit	5	25
7	Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge	Baba Films	Average (Losing in some circuits)	6	15
8	Hadh Kar Di Aapne	R R Productions	Loser (Average in some circuits)	7	12
9	Hera Pheri	A G Films Pvt Ltd	Loser (Overflow in Bombay, south)	8	14
10	Jung	Satish Tandon Productions	Losing (Average in Delhi-UP, commission earner in Punjab)	10	8

Komal Nahta edits the popular trade magazine, Film Information.

Earlier column                          

Do tell us what you think of this column