MNS needs Phalke’s photo to be in theatres

The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has asked the theatre and multiplex owners to prominently display on their premises the photograph of Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema. In a letter addressed to the owners, the MNS has stated that apart from the photograph, the owne
rs should also pay tributes to him before the screening of every film.

Talking to Hindustan Times, Ameya Khopkar, president of MNS Cine Workers’ Association, said the motive is to highlight the contribution of Phalke, the pioneer of this film industry. “It was Dadasaheb Phalke who started cinema in India and sadly hardly anyone is aware of him,” rued Khopkar. “It is just that the cinema owners should salute him and the youngsters should made aware of this great personality.

He warned that anyone found violating the MNS dictat would face action in MNS style. It was in 1913 that India got its first film Raja Harishchandra, which was produced by Phalke after raising loans from his friends. The award constituted by the Indian government is regarded as one of the most prestigious ones in the film industry.

Abhishek Bachchan-film Rs.6.2 crore in India on its opening

 

Rohan Sippy's Dum Maaro Dum may have been in the news for the wrong reasons, but the Abhishek Bachchan-starrer amassed Rs.6.2 crore in India on its opening day itself. The director is overjoyed with the response especially since the movie faced competition from the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL).

"It's a very good start! We have got an exceptional response from the south, especially from Hyderabad. And of course metro cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore have given a positive feedback and good footfalls too. I am glad amid Sachin and Dhoni ... we have been able to hit one of our own sixes!" Sippy told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

Made at a budget of approximately Rs.20 crore, the film released Friday in 20 countries at 350 international locations and at 1,000 theatres and multiplexes throughout India.

Sippy is confident the movie will bring good returns over the first weekend as it has grossed Rs.11.4 crore across India, US, Britain, UAE and Australia on its opening day itself.

"It is a little early to start predicting figures, but we are sure the movie will get good word of mouth publicity and will continue getting a good audience through Saturday and Sunday. Till then, we are waiting and watching!" he said.

The multi-starrer, which also features Bipasha Basu, Prateik Babbar, Aditya Pancholi and Telugu actor Rana Daggubati, is a thriller which revolves around drugs, sex and violence. The movie garnered a lot of publicity prior to its release, due to objections that it portrays Goa and its people in bad light.

However, neither that, nor the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore Friday deterred the audience from sampling Dum Maaro Dum.

"It was a big match! We heard people still filled in the evening shows and that's a great feeling in this cricket-crazy nation. The opening day figures are a very encouraging sign that the movie may run not just this weekend... but for two to three weeks more," said Sippy, son of veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy.

Junior Sippy credits Bollywood debutant Rana Daggubati, a known name in Hyderabad, for drawing in audiences in the south.

"Rana has a great fan following in Hyderabad, so a lot of local crowd must have come in to watch his performance and support him. But in places like Bangalore and Chennai, people came in for the style of the film and its presentation," he said.

Sachin’s theatre

 

Karthika, daughter of yesteryear South Indian actress Radha, made her debut in the Telugu film Josh with Nag Chaitanya. Then came her Malayalam film Makara Manju on the life of the world renowned painter Raja Ravi Varma, played by ace cinematograoher Santosh Sivan.

The actress will now be seen playing a journlaist in this week's Tamil release Ko , which has been directed by National Award winning cinematographer, K V Anand.

In a chat with A Ganesh Nadar, Karthika talks about her early days and her acting experience in the movies.

Tell us about your early days.

I was born and brought up in Mumbai. After finishing my 10th standard, I got a chance to act in the Telugu film Josh and the Malayalam movie Makara Manju.

After acting in these two movies, I continued with my studies. I am now doing my Bachelors in Business Management from an institute in Mumbai.

MUMBAI: At Sachin Tendulkar's new home in Bandra, Mumbai, work is on at a furious pace. A 15 to 20-seater private theatre is part of the plan. By the time IPL-4 ends and before the Indian cricket team heads off for their West Indies tour, the master blaster could inaugurate the theatre with the other players.

All of them could sit together and catch the latest Bollywood film, possibly first day first show, in the comfort of Sachin's home. That should make the two movie buffs of the team, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, very happy.

Sachin joins the privileged league of stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgan and industrialists and politicians such as Harsh Goenka, Amit Burman and Chhagan Bhujbal who are said to have plush private theatres. All of them are part of an exclusive, by-invite Club X.

The cost of watching the latest flicks could range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh, depending on how the producer wants to price it, says Sanjay Gaikwad, CEO and MD, Valuable Group, which runs Club X. The group also runs the digital cinema business UFO Moviez.

Over the last pew months, Gaikwad and his team have been running a low-key pilot, with around 30 to 40 Club X members enjoying the latest Bollywood films across Mumbai, Delhi and even Hyderabad.

The members have voted Yamla Pagla Deewana, Patiala House, Kings Speech, Tees Maar Khan, Tanu Weds Manu, Dhobhi Ghat, and Guzaarish among their favourites. In fact, some members even ordered Yamla Pagla Deewana five times.

Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Devgan In Pic: Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Devgan
Producers, who have to give the first nod on whether a film can be released to Club X as well as decide the pricing per screening, have been more than willing to provide content. The reasoning is simple: this makes for a good income stream even after revenue-sharing, because Club X charges only service fees.

For now, the numbers are not so big, but Gaikwad plans to take the current 75 to a maximum of 1,000 over the next two years, though strictly by invite. Three years ago, Gaikwad bought the intellectual property rights to MovieBeam, a Disney company.

Disney had invested $200m with Cisco, while Intelcap added another $50m, to take their movies directly to the consumer in the video on demand (VoD) mode. Disney was way ahead of its time, says Gaikwad, explaining that high definition was not prolific then in the US and Hollywood studios would only give their content to MovieBeam six months after its theatrical release, making the initiative unviable.

In 2006, MovieBeam was sold to home video company Movie Gallery. Gaikwad later acquired it "for a song and a dance", as he says, when Movie Gallery went bust. Gaikwad added a few millions and re-engineered it to make it viable.

The focus of Club X is to provide subscribers with the latest films. A member pays Rs 6 lakh to install the system. Members include industrialists Yash Birla, Vinod Goenka, Vijay Darda and Anand Rathi, according to a producer who did not wish to be identified.

Gaikwad does not confirm the list, though, saying most members want to maintain the 'exclusivity' tag and privacy. "Of the current 75 members, I would say 35 are work-in-progress, as they are in the process of upgrading their private theatres to keep up with the stringent rules of Club X," he says.