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The crucial Night<br/>
Updated On: 18 August, 2009 11:23 AM IST | | Dinesh Raheja
Premieres tell some interesting stories, sometimes even better than the movies being screened
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Premieres tell some interesting stories, sometimes even better than the movies being screened
Premieres are being increasingly held in Delhi nowadays Love Aaj Kal, Teree Sang and now Kaminey. No sweat. Because, by now, I have become kinda blasu00e9, if not totally immune, to the glitter of star-studded premiere nites; and the adrenaline-rush of catching a fresh film on its opening night. Been there, seen that. Fortunately, my colleagues, in the first flush of youth, vie with each other for premiere passes.
In the glint of their eyes, I can recognise myself 27 years ago. The first premiere I attended as a journalist was that of Biddu's Star in 1982. It was a mega-event. Star's hero, Kumar Gaurav, cresting on the success of Love Story was the flavour of the season; and heroine Rati was the It girl after Ek Duuje Ke Liye. A couple of weeks prior to Star's release, I had interviewed Biddu, the music composer-cum-director of the film, and we had got along like a house on fire. Much before the film premiered, I had fallen in love with the songs of Star: Bolo bolo bolo bolo na, Aye dil mere chal re, Boom boom are songs I would like to introduce to my daughter, Nikita. The cream of the crop had to be Yeh dil tere liye hai sung by Nazia Hassan. Her sparkling voice had the quality of crystal-clear water tinkling out of a fluted glass.
At Star's after-premiere party, an elated Biddu was being chaired and taken around the room by friends while Rajendra Kumar, Simi Garewal and Bindiya Goswami watched. Suddenly, Biddu spotted my shining bald pate I had shaved off my hair a la Yul Bryner, in the hope of a better crop of hair and he boomed across the room,
"How did you like the film?" I waved back excitedly and shouted, "I loved the song picturisation but the film..."
My voice trailed off and I spontaneously made a thumbs down gesture. Biddu's mood dipped; and I slipped out of the room, with the acutely uncomfortable realisation that I had goofed.
Premieres, I've learnt, are a time for heightened excitement and honeyed compliments; not for anything glum. It's a night redolent with the blur of flashbulbs, an array of stars, chiffon saris, penguin suits, fake smiles, limp handshakes and air kisses galore. And, above all, the expectant, dilated eyes of the host-filmmaker.
The first premiere I attended was courtesy my dad when I was still a school-going kid. He knew that I adored Sadhana and decided to pamper me by taking me to the premiere of Anita at Liberty Cinema. Anita was the third in director Raj Khosla's suspense trilogy (post Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saaya) starring Sadhana.
As Elvis would put it: 'What a night it was, it really was such a night'. I barely watched the film. Sadhana made her appearance much after the film had started; and along with half the audience, I trailed the beauteous star as she politely pierced her way through the thronging crowds in the foyer. I don't recall Manoj Kumar, the hero, being present at the premiere, but I remember Raaj Kumar, a guest, puffing at a cigar and wearing his patent bemused look. I was a happy child because I had seen Sadhana in flesh and blood.
I also attended the premiere of the Shammi Kapoor-Asha Parekh starrer Teesri Manzil but my oopari manzil has a very misty recollection of the premiere.
I wish I had kept a scrapbook. Now I have only scraps of memories of scores of premieres I have attended. For instance, the only thing I recall of the premiere of the Sanjay Kapoor-Tabu starrer, Prem, is shutterbug Rakesh Shreshta, star aspirant Preity Zinta and me watching the film from the fourth row of Metro cinema and Preity rattling off a running commentary. At the Henna premiere in Metro, Poonam Dhillon, who was in the next seat, conspiratorially whispered to me, "I am told Zeba looks like me. Do you think so?" I escorted veteran Nadira to the premiere of Prem Granth.
While climbing the stairs of Minerva theatre, Nadira got emotional and sniffed into the white lace kerchief she always carried with her. The theatre, she told me, brought back memories of a film, Sipahsilar, that she had done as the heroine of Shammi Kapoor (he had a stake in Minerva).
Today, I grudge going to a premiere that is a stone's throw from my office, but time was when I accompanied press contingents and Amitabh Bachchan to Kolkata, Delhi and Jaipur for the premieres of Agneepath (1990), Hum (1991) and Mrityudaata (1997) respectively. There was no mistaking the craze for Amitabh.
Premieres are being increasingly held in Delhi nowadays Love Aaj Kal, Teree Sang and now Kaminey. No sweat. Because, by now, I have become kinda blasu00e9, if not totally immune, to the glitter of star-studded premiere nites; and the adrenaline-rush of catching a fresh film on its opening night. Been there, seen that. Fortunately, my colleagues, in the first flush of youth, vie with each other for premiere passes.
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Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta at the premiere of Black |
In the glint of their eyes, I can recognise myself 27 years ago. The first premiere I attended as a journalist was that of Biddu's Star in 1982. It was a mega-event. Star's hero, Kumar Gaurav, cresting on the success of Love Story was the flavour of the season; and heroine Rati was the It girl after Ek Duuje Ke Liye. A couple of weeks prior to Star's release, I had interviewed Biddu, the music composer-cum-director of the film, and we had got along like a house on fire. Much before the film premiered, I had fallen in love with the songs of Star: Bolo bolo bolo bolo na, Aye dil mere chal re, Boom boom are songs I would like to introduce to my daughter, Nikita. The cream of the crop had to be Yeh dil tere liye hai sung by Nazia Hassan. Her sparkling voice had the quality of crystal-clear water tinkling out of a fluted glass.
At Star's after-premiere party, an elated Biddu was being chaired and taken around the room by friends while Rajendra Kumar, Simi Garewal and Bindiya Goswami watched. Suddenly, Biddu spotted my shining bald pate I had shaved off my hair a la Yul Bryner, in the hope of a better crop of hair and he boomed across the room,
"How did you like the film?" I waved back excitedly and shouted, "I loved the song picturisation but the film..."
My voice trailed off and I spontaneously made a thumbs down gesture. Biddu's mood dipped; and I slipped out of the room, with the acutely uncomfortable realisation that I had goofed.
Premieres, I've learnt, are a time for heightened excitement and honeyed compliments; not for anything glum. It's a night redolent with the blur of flashbulbs, an array of stars, chiffon saris, penguin suits, fake smiles, limp handshakes and air kisses galore. And, above all, the expectant, dilated eyes of the host-filmmaker.
The first premiere I attended was courtesy my dad when I was still a school-going kid. He knew that I adored Sadhana and decided to pamper me by taking me to the premiere of Anita at Liberty Cinema. Anita was the third in director Raj Khosla's suspense trilogy (post Woh Kaun Thi, Mera Saaya) starring Sadhana.
As Elvis would put it: 'What a night it was, it really was such a night'. I barely watched the film. Sadhana made her appearance much after the film had started; and along with half the audience, I trailed the beauteous star as she politely pierced her way through the thronging crowds in the foyer. I don't recall Manoj Kumar, the hero, being present at the premiere, but I remember Raaj Kumar, a guest, puffing at a cigar and wearing his patent bemused look. I was a happy child because I had seen Sadhana in flesh and blood.
I also attended the premiere of the Shammi Kapoor-Asha Parekh starrer Teesri Manzil but my oopari manzil has a very misty recollection of the premiere.
I wish I had kept a scrapbook. Now I have only scraps of memories of scores of premieres I have attended. For instance, the only thing I recall of the premiere of the Sanjay Kapoor-Tabu starrer, Prem, is shutterbug Rakesh Shreshta, star aspirant Preity Zinta and me watching the film from the fourth row of Metro cinema and Preity rattling off a running commentary. At the Henna premiere in Metro, Poonam Dhillon, who was in the next seat, conspiratorially whispered to me, "I am told Zeba looks like me. Do you think so?" I escorted veteran Nadira to the premiere of Prem Granth.
While climbing the stairs of Minerva theatre, Nadira got emotional and sniffed into the white lace kerchief she always carried with her. The theatre, she told me, brought back memories of a film, Sipahsilar, that she had done as the heroine of Shammi Kapoor (he had a stake in Minerva).
Today, I grudge going to a premiere that is a stone's throw from my office, but time was when I accompanied press contingents and Amitabh Bachchan to Kolkata, Delhi and Jaipur for the premieres of Agneepath (1990), Hum (1991) and Mrityudaata (1997) respectively. There was no mistaking the craze for Amitabh.
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