Blast From The Past : 1997 Box Office Report By ScreenIndia
BORDER It is only right that in the golden jubilee of India’s independence the top grosser of the year is a film which resulted in a wave of patriotic fervour across the country. JP Dutta’s Border was, in the director’s own words, “a foray into history” inspired by the heart-rending, eye-witness account of his brother who had been an air-force pilot in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It was an extravagant gamble for a first time producer because war movies in our country are rare. But, always stubborn and uncompromising when it came to box-office dos and don’t, JP went ahead and even paid to see his dream on screen. Real locations were visited, real tanks bursted and real forces deployed to recreate history.
There were the inevitable skirmishes with the censors and a delay of 2-3 weeks. The film was finally released on June 13. Three trade papers (with the exception of Complete Cinema) dismissed the film as a no-no and predicted that it would only add to JP Dutta’s growing list of flops. With all the scams and political turbulence, the general impression was that though we were celebrating 50 years of independence in 1997, patriotism was dead. It wasn’t. It had just been dormant for all these years and Border unleashed a volcano of fiery emotions, the kind Forrest Gump, Independence Day and Air Force 1 had in the USA in the last couple of years.
Friday the 13th proved lucky for JP Dutta. Border got off to a bumper start and its first-day collections surpassed those of Koyla which till June was the film with the biggest initial draw. And despite a headline-grabbing fire in a theatre in Delhi, followed by one in Bhopal and the Belle Vue Cinema, Leeds, and a first time ever ban by video dealers in Pakistan who dubbed the film “anti Pakistan and anti Muslim”, Border continued its extraordinary run in the weeks that followed. Border is an universal hit both in the country and abroad. Sold for Rs 1.50 crore per territory it will do a business of at least Rs 6 crore per territory.
The general impression is that the film scored because it revived patriotic fires. But if that was the only criterion then Yeh Desh, Farishtay and Aakraman also should have been mega money-spinners. Border turned out to be one of the biggest ever hits because it was a slick production made by a techno whiz with powerful performances by Sunny Deol, Sunil Shetty and Akshaye. And JP Dutta proved that you didn’t need girls and glamour to sell a film. His heroines had only two bit roles and one of them, Sapna Bedi, made a fleeting appearance only in the posters. However, Anu Malik’s music contibuted majorly to the success of the film. The 10-minute number, Sandese aate hain was a chart-topper on all the countdown shows and made Roop Kumar Rathod and Sonu Nigam the surprise winners of the year. Those detractors who’d insisted that a film which had 90 per cent dialogue in Punjabi would never be accepted in the South of the Vindhyas were proved wrong. Border crossed all borders.
DIL TO PAGAL HAI Yash Raj Films completed a silver jubilee last year with Aditya Chopra’s debut film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge making history. The ball this year was in papa Yash Chopra’s court. Thevar which became Dil To Pagal Hai, progressed quietly once the second lady had been finalised. Knowing that there would be the inevitable comparisons with Chopra junior who had designed the film, written the dialogue and was the co-producer of the film too, Yash Chopra who was directing a film after four years, shrewdly decided to avoid too much hype. Even the cassette release function was a quiet affair yet Uttam Singh’s music went on to become a record-breaker, selling 40 lakh units in the first week of its release.
Sold for Rs 2 crore per territory, Dil To Pagal Hai got off start on November 7 with hronging the 300 odd cinema halls all over the country. The film got a poor openingThe film has done extraordinary business in Mumbai where it’s expected to gross Rs 7 crore. It also made a record killing abroad at a time when the overseas market is going through a slump, netting in Rs 8 crore for Yash Chopra who decided to distribute his 20th film himself in Mumbai and the UK. In the rest of the country it will do an overall business of Rs 3 crore per territory. However, it’ll only do 40 per cent of the business of Dilwale Dulhaniya...which notched up an astronomical Rs 12 crore in Mumbai and Rs 6-7 crore in other territories.
The film was generally criticised for its weak plot and sketchy characterisation. But like all Yash Chopra films Dil To Pagal Hai is a visual treat. Shiamak Davar and Farah Khan’s innovative choreography, Manmohan Singh’s picturesque cinematography and Uttam Singh’s melodious music are the other plusses. Interestingly, the film’s songs were not played on any countdown show prior to the release with the exception of BPL Oye. Peeved with HMV for their remix number, Mere khwabon mein jo aaye, Yash Chopra insisted that all TV channels approaching him for a jhalak of Dil To Pagal Hai’s very popular numbers sign a contract clearly stating that the song clippings or clippings from any Yash Raj film would not be used for any other programme except the one he had consented to. It was a contract most TV channels desisted from signing. Despite all this Uttam Singh’s numbers today are rated No. 1 on all the countdown shows. The film once again established Karisma's ability to steal a scene effortlessly.
With Dil To Pagal Hai Shah Rukh Khan broke his triumphant hat-trick flops after Trimurti,English Babu Desi Mam, Chahat, Koyla and Yes Boss. This is also his third consecutive hit with the Chopras following Darr and Dilwale Dulhaniya...It ended a lean trot for Madhuri Dixit and was a morale boosting victory for Karisma Kapoor who had taken on a role nixed by Manisha Koirala, Juhi Chawla, Kajol and Urmila Matondkar who dropped out after shooting for a day.
GUPT Not many Indian directors have dared to sink their millions into a Who-dun-it? well knowing that such films don’t usually have a repeat value. But Rajiv Rai has always been an adventurous maker and an ardent admirer of Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma. After the super successful Mohra, he decided it was time he got back to a much neglected genre. Two of his all-time favourite films had been Teesri Manzil and Bees Saal Baad and Gulshan Rai’s enterprising son decided to attempt a super slick murder mystery too.
It was a gamble all the way. Instead of his Mohra stars, Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty, he opted for an untried Bobby Deol who only had an okay-dokey Barsaat behind him. The mast mast Raveena Tandon made way for Manisha Koirala and Kajol and for the first time Rajiv had to do without his favourite, Naseeruddin Shah, who was busy with a play in London. Om Puri efficiently filled in for Naseer.
The film opened to houseful audiences and though collections dropped every week, Gupt which was sold for Rs 1.75 crore per territory will do a business of Rs 4-4.5 crore in Mumbai. In other centres it’s done between Rs 2.5-4.5 crore. In Rajasthan, though, where it was sold for Rs 75 lakh which is pretty steep for that territory, it will just recover costs. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala it has done phenomenally well for a Hindi film and will net Rs 1 crore. Rangeela is the only other Hindi film in the recent past to do a business of almost a crore in these centres.
Gupt’s success is surprising since the murderer’s name was no secret. It was scribbled all over the walls of the theatre toilets and bus stops, yet people went to see the film and enjoyed it for its slick editing, its surprising climax (or should that be anti-climax?) and Viju Shah’s foot-tapping numbers. This was one film which had half a dozen catchy numbers all of which went on to top the charts.
ISHQ Indra Kumar’s love story got off to a rousing start and looks all set for a happy ending marking his fourth consecutive hit after the super successful Dil, Beta and Raja. Ishq is Gordan Tanwani first film as a producer and was sold for Rs 1.75 per territory. In spite of a Rs 2.5-3 crore business, after deducting the cost of prints and publicity, the producer will make a profit of Rs 60 lakh. The film after a hilariously brilliant first half trips after the interval. However, it will ensure that Indra Kumar’s next is a hot proposition. Ishq has already nudged out Venus’ Yes Boss from the top 10 list (sold for Rs 1.25 this Shah Rukh- Aditya - Juhi frothy love triangle will do a business of Rs 1.50 crore) and it’s still only three weeks young.
ZIDDI Though the year began for Sunny with a moderate success, Ajay, he had enough reason to smile by the end of 1997. Ziddi was the only action special which reigned at the box-office. Though it did not get a great opening, collections picked up by the end of the first week following word-of-mouth publicity. A power-packed performance by Sunny Deol and a melodious score by the much under-rated Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen (which included chart-busters like Dil le gayee kammo and the pub favourite Ore Ore) ensured that besides Border this was the only other film which did universally well. Collections remained consistent in subsequent weeks and Ziddi doubled its investment. Sold for Rs 1.25 crore per territory it grossed Rs 3 crore in every territory. Only overseas business, a little lukewarm.
Though the film had a lot of kicks and kills, Ziddi wasn’t a typical maar dhad dhamaka. It was more of a family entertainer because Sunny Deol sets out on his fire-and-fury misson later, when his brother is killed, and he discovers that his brother’s murderer is his brother-in-law. Slickly directed by Guddu Dhanoa, this Sunny starrer was lapped up by largely family.
HERO NO. 1 This was the seventh consecutive hit for the David-Govinda duo and Govinda’s first film to do well overseas. Business was not extraordinary across the seven seas but it was encouraging for a Govinda film. Interestingly, this was the first time that David took his favourite hero on a European tour. And the picturesque locales and Anand-Milind’s Sona sona numbers added to the growing appeal for this Midas team’s entertainers.
Interestingly, the film obviously inspired by Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Bawarchi, didn’t get off to a bumper start like David and Govinda’s earlier hits. One reason could be because it came just two weeks after another David Dhawan film, Judwaa. But it picked up by the end of the second week and proved that the trio of David, Govinda and Karisma was just irrestible for our audiences. Sold for Rs Rs 1.25 all over, it broke even in just five weeks and went on to do a business of over Rs 2.5 crore in most territories. Gujarat was a little slack but Mumbai more than compensated for the moderate collections in its neigbouring state netting as much as Rs 3.5 crore.
JUDWAA A universal hit, this David Dhawan fast-paced, nonsensical entertainer lifted from a Jackie Chan mega movie, pulled in the crowds who’d been advised to leave their brains behind at home. Anu Malik’s naughty numbers like the very hummable Tun tuna tun tun tara added to the appeal of this youthful flick. And David proved that he could give a hit even without his Midas Man Govinda.
Judwaa was promoted as the Christmas treat of ’96 but because of the exhibitors’ strike, the release was delayed by a couple of weeks and cost producer Sajid Khan a cool Rs 50 lakh. But he’s not cribbing. This twin tamasha starring Salman Khan, Karisma Kapoor and Rambha which was sold for a crore will do a business of Rs 2.5 crore all over. Even overseas it’s made a decent collection. It was the first Hindi film with digital sound and the first hit of the year. Another first was that it was Salman’s first double role.
PARDES Producer-director Subhash Ghai’s much awaited Pardes, after an excellent opening dropped marginally suffering no doubt from Ghai’s surprisingly low-key publicity campaign. However, collections zoomed once it was granted a tax exemption. In the first week collections were 91 per cent in Mumbai, in the sixth week they’d jumped to 93 per cent and foxed trade pundits. Not even Ganesh Chaturthi which is considered a slack phase by the trade, could check the rising collections, and like Ghai’s earlier film, Hero which also got off to a slow start, Pardes was on a record-breaking jubilee run.
Nadeem-Shravan’s hummable tunes kept growing on the audience and Ghai’s gamble of shooting the second half of his film entirely in the US and Vancouver (this was the first time he’d crossed the seven seas for a film) after the nightmarish Trimurti paid off. His two new stars, Mahima and Apoorva Agnihotri, also caught the eye and proved that Subhash Ghai had not lost his touch. Sold for Rs 1.75 crore per territory Pardes will do a business of Rs 4.5 crore in Mumbai and 1.50 crore everywhere else.
JUDAAI The Telugu original, Shubhalagnam was a superhit. Yet, no actor wanted to do the Hindi remake. Imagine being sold by your wife to another woman for Rs 2 crore! Even Anil Kapoor admitted he was distinctly uncomfortable with this “different” role but was coaxed into doing it by his father and the film’s producer Surinder Kapoor. The film brought him back into the reckoning and was also a surprise comeback for the new mama Sridevi. It was rangeeli Urmila’s second big grosser in a sober, sacrificing and saree-clad role.
Sold for Rs 1.25 crore per major territory, this unorthodox ladies film was a slow starter. But collections remained steady at a modest 75 per cent at a time when films getting a 100 per cent initial crashed after the first week. This was the only woman’s film of 1997 and obviously it struck a chord specially in commercial centres like Mumbai where, according to a tongue-in-cheek trade analyst, a woman would have no qualms about selling her husband for a TV, micro oven and a new fangled dish washer. Changing your pati parmeshwar was, the liberated Indian miss would probably argue, any day better than a quick divorce. In the North, in places like Delhi and UP, the film did only average business possibly because the society there is still pretty conservative. Even in Mumbai in the more rural Thane belt the film wasn’t much of a crowd-puller. The distributor there will probably have lost a couple of lakhs on his investment but elsewhere in the city, its distributors have had an unexpected bonus. Being a remake it was not a mega hit down South but was a good earner. Overseas, though it had an amazing run probably because Anil Kapoor is a big draw abroad and the film appealed to the NRIs there who are always attracted to a story with a difference.
This will probably be Sridevi’s last film. The lady’s announced her decision to quit show business at the end of the year.
VIRASAT Another surprise hit for Anil Kapoor. Like Judaai, this one too had been written off by the trade magazines who were pretty confident that a “rural” film would never run. But thanks to the eye-catching trailers, Anu Malik’s melodious music, great histrionics from Anil Kapoor (experimenting with another much-applauded Kamal Haasan film, Thevar Magan), National Award winner Tabu and debutant Pooja Batra (whose lines were dubbed by the now- in-hibernation Padmini Kolhapure), the film picked up after the first week.
This Hindi remake of Thevar Magan, interestingly, was the cheapest among top 10 films of the year. Sold for Rs 65 lakh per territory it will do a business of Rs 2.5 crore in Mumbai and a crore and a half all over. In Delhi though, this film couldn’t muster a very encouraging response perhaps because of the unorthodox climax. Why should the hero be punished for killing a man in self-defence? It was illogical and a large section of the audience felt cheated. Perhaps director Priyadarshan had wanted to play safe by staying as faithful to the original as possible but Thevar Magan got away with the unreasonable sacrifice because it was inspired by a true incident. Priyan couldn’t justify the Hindi version on the same grounds because he had changed the tribe from the Thevars of the South to the Thakurs of Rajasthan. Despite this very obvious shortcoming, the price saved the film. Even down South, dubbed in Tamil and Telugu, it was a good earner and Priyadarshan with one average hit after four flops became a much sought after director in Mumbai.
Top Heroes Top Heroines
1. Sunny Deol 1. Karisma Kapoor
2. Shah Rukh Khan 2. Kajol
3. Salman Khan 3. Juhi Chawla
4. Anil Kapoor 4. Madhuri Dixit
5. Govinda 5. Manisha Koirala
Top Hits Top Flops
1. Border 1. Mrityudaata (Fantastic Initial)
2. Dil Toh Pagal Hai 2. Koyla (Fantastic Initial)
3. Gupt 3. Ghulam E Mustafa
4. Ishq 4. Itihaas
5. Ziddi 5. Auzaar (Fantastic Initial)
6. Hero No.1 6. Daud
7. Judwaa 7. Lahoo Ke Do Rang
8. Pardes 8. Daava
9. Judaai 9. Aur Pyar Ho Gaya
10. Deewana Mastana 10. Mohabbat
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DAUD 
LAHOO KE DO RANG
MERE SAPNON KI RANI
MOHABBAT 
RITYUDAATA
MAHAANTA
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