News from Bollywood.

By Fuad Omar.

Aks Reflected Off Screen?

Rakesh Mehra's recently released Amitabh starrer Aks (Reflection) has found itself in the middle of a controversy that is creating a greater stir by the day. In a case of society reflects art, a die-hard fan of Amitabh Bachchan, who had planned to set up a temple dedicated to the megastar, is in police custody for alleged involvement in the gunning down of Municipality Chairman Sailen Das.

S P Kamath, Secretary of Amitabh Bachchan Fan Club (ABFC), who had recently been granted an audience by Bachchan for the release of his movie Aks, was arrested by police in connection with the August 13 killing. The police seized eight life-size pictures of Bachchan from his house and the man has admitted this was a contract killing for which he had been paid Rs 1.10 lakh "to eliminate Das", not too far off from the bad man the Big B plays in Aks. Kamath had made news earlier in July when he announced he was going to build a temple for Amitabh who he considers god-like. Amitabh is embarrassed by the whole temple issue and has been constantly saying this was not right. When he met Kamath for a special screening of Aks he even told him "arre bhai, kyon ye sab pagalpan karte ho" but Kamath was determined he build a place where people could worship his hero.

This brings to light the argument that was highlighted in 1993 when Baazigar had 'inspired' someone to throw their girlfriend off a terrace, an argument which has been recently resurrected. It's being said some think this was 'inspired' by the social activist by day and devil by night role in Aks assayed by Amitabh. Some Hollywood filmmakers have justified some of their disturbing films by quoting how what we see on screen is not real and is only reflecting what's happening in real life, but we learn that responsibility must be taken when making films for an entertainment medium because it could end up with society imitating the images from films.

As an excuse for disturbing images and horrific scenes we continue to hear "art reflects society" and "what we show on screen is not real", yet if you watch a scene that disturbs you, you can call to mind the exact scene in complete graphic detail, and so it is embedded in your mind as it has affected you. You will usually carry these so-called "unreal" creations around with you for a good many years if not for the rest of your life. These images are now a part of your being. In the name of recreation these people in fact are re-creating these images in their own lives. Society then reflects art.

This is not to say Aks is a bad film nor that it has any direct link between the killing that took place, but is merely meant to highlight that as the people who are creating these films for entertainment on the big screen for people of varied backgrounds and dispositions, responsibility and thought must go into what they create. The same way a journalist has a responsibility to tell the truth, a filmmaker has a responsibility to remain true to his profession and not create something in the name of entertainment that would have a negative effect on those watching.

Dil Chahta Hai and other releases.

Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke gets a head start over Dil Chahta Hai in the UK What Exactly is going on at the Bollywood Box Office?

A lot of confusion arose when certain trade circles began announcing certain films they wanted to do well as doing fantastic business and others they weren't too keen on as 'flopped' but we bring you the facts behind today's hottest films.

Yaadein DID do well. It opened to full cinemas the world over, especially in the UK and US where the opening weekend was historic, and it packed houses even in India, despite its mixed initial responses from the media. Ghai's deal of Yaadein ensured it has recovered it's money even before it leaves the big screen, but the opening draw has not sustained. Immediately after the initial hype surrounding the film died down, the Indian audiences gave the film a thumbs down and stayed away from the cinemas. Yaadein has divided the audience and lost Ghai many followers, and in its second week the drop was a 48% decline in the UK and 73% drop in North America (from over $650,000 collected the first week to under $180,000 the second).

The next two big releases were Aamir's Dil Chahta Hai and Madhuri's Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, with both carrying promising initial reports (although Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke mostly carried good reports about Madhuri rather than the film). Dil Chahta Hai is the one most were waiting for and was being enjoyed by almost everyone from the Indian public and critics to Bobby Deol, and Yeh Raaste.. was dismissed soon by some circles.

However in it's opening weekend Yeh Raaste has outdone Dil Chahta Hai in the UK and done £12,000 more business at the box office than Farhan Akhtar's debut venture. It could be the Madhuri Magic or just that British Asians are easily drawn towards family sagas and especially when the film deals with marriage but whereas the families are going to see Yeh Raaste, the youth are dancing to Dil Chahta Hai.

Dil Chahta Hai was released with less prints in the UK than Yeh Raaste.., while Dil Chahta Hai made on average £58,000 on 17 screens, Yeh Raaste raked in just under £70,000 on 21 screens, for an almost equal per screen average. The release of these two movies has ceremoniously dropped Yaadein into fewer screens and less people are going to see it. Yeh Raaste has also seen a drop and Dil Chahta Hai a rise with the spread of word of mouth. And there you have the facts. So don't believe all you read elsewhere, the truth is out there..on the big screen.

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gaana

Karan Johar's Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gam has had it's teaser cassette released last week(week commencing 27th Aug 2001). The four track audio has the title track only in its original and sad forms, as well as an instrumental entitled "the Soul of K3G" appealing to collectors and generating interest around Karan's next venture after Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. This is the first publicity type of its kind in Bollywood as samplers don't usually exist or are not usually made available, but given the scale of this movie it's sure to be the song everyone's singing soon. The movie is being readied for a December 14th release worldwide and is sure to be the worth the wait with its unique casting coup of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. The full soundtrack will be released on October 16th.