Wanted! Premieres, parties & pomp!

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br />I remember getting caught in a traffic jam. Right outside Minerva theater, at Lamington Road, in the heart of central Mumbai. Me in my a small Maruti, right in the midst of trucks, cabs, premier padminis and a host of grand cars. <br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="1" width="36.8%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/594840.cms" alt="/photo/594840.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-style:="" italic="">Darr </span><span style="" font-size:="">had a gala movie premiere; one where fans waited outside the theatre for a glimpse of the stars.</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">They were all headed to destination Minerva - some to attend a grand premiere, some to get a glimpse of the attendees.It was a veritable mela. But a fun one.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">What excited me most was the old black Dodge on my left, stuck in the jam. Except that there was more of a traffic jam inside the car.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Besides the white-uniformed and capped chauffeur, cramped in the front right-side corner, there must''ve been at least 10 more people in the car. And standing (or should I say seated?) tall amongst them was the pipe-smoking Raaj Kumar. A very young Puru, a young Panini, daughter Vaastavika and a host of family comprised the crew of the Dodge.</span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> </span><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Destination? They were all headed for the grand premiere of </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Saudaagar</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">. And as the stars descended on the lit up and decorated cinema hall, the evening was only just beginning ...Dilip Kumar, Manisha koirala, Vivek Mushran, and a host of industry people landed up to wish Subhash Ghai on his grand premiere. It was not the first such.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="">Even before that, the </span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Ram Lakhan</span><span style="" font-size:="" font-weight:="" bold=""> was an even bigger premiere. It was a simultaneous screening in five South Bombay theatres. And showman Subhash Ghai had hired two huge vans to ferry the cast and the media along. One van had all the stars in it, from Anil, to Madhuri, Dimple, Jackie, Amrish Puri, Raakhee and Ghai himself. The other had the entire press inside. Needless to say, yours truly was in with the stars.</span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br />I remember everyone in the van singing, eating, drinking - making quicksilver appearances at all the theaters to the roar of the cinema going audiences and getting out again. Zooming to the post launch party at a nearby five star hotel.<br /><br />It was the same with Yash Chopra. A grand premiere of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Darr</span> at Metro. And the huge mobs waiting across the road dividers, kept at bay by the cops, let out huge cheers each time a starry car pulled up. Sunny Deol, Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi. Of course they were disappointed when it was ''yours truly'' who stepped out of Juhi''s car first - but hey, they got a second shot at yelling when the chirpy Ms Chawla surfaced from the other side and slunk in before she was mobbed. That I got <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">gaalis</span> from the exasperated fans is another story ...one that I wouldn''t want to tell here!<br /><br />Boney Kapoor''s fancy launches of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Prem</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Roop Ki Rani</span>''. The grand firework-lit display of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gang</span>, the superbly attended RK premieres. And of course, the super premieres of Amitabh Bachchan. They were the stuff that cinema legend is made of, truly.<br /><br />Of late, it was only Aamir Khan''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Lagaan</span>, the Amitabh starrer <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Aks</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span> and Subhash Ghai''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Yaadein</span> - that had grand premieres for the media. But what was missing was the fact that there were hardly any stars not party to the project who had come to grace the occasion. Call it jealousy, call it ''campism'', whatever - but stars hardly attend the ''dos'' of other stars. Strange. <br /><br />Also, today, for a stranger reason, premieres are becoming more and more passé. And then the producers lament that the movies are losing their magic. But they themselves are to blame. Thanks to the extreme cost cutting exercises, a lot that was once associated with our grand theatrics is no more. Lavish <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mahurats</span>, on-location press coverages, huge music launches, and the grand finale - the premiere. I concede that today less is more and being ostentatious is being vulgar. And every penny saved is wise in a film''s budget, but then with so many corporate sponsors today willing to co-harness the yoke with the producer, a premiere isn''t that far cry.<br /><br />Who knows, it just may give that much needed shot in the arm to an ailing industry. After all, isn''t Indian cinema all about pomp and splendour and grand finales?<br /><br />But one thing is for sure ... this time I ain''t getting caught in no traffic jam. I will be there ahead of the game, for sure.<br /><br /><formid=367815></formid=367815></div> </div>