The musical entertainer Taal (1999), directed by Subhash Ghai, completed 25 years on August 13. The film starring Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshaye Khanna is remembered for its great performances, grandeur, dramatic and romantic moments and above all, a legendary soundtrack by A R Rahman. In this special feature, we shall bring some fascinating and unknown trivia about the musical which were published in the various issues of Komal Nahta’s Film Information magazine in 1999.
1 . CBFC woes
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) used to give a hard time to filmmakers even then. The then regional officer (RO) of CBFC, Sanjeevani Kutty, objected to the mention of the word ‘Manikchand’ during the song ‘Kahin Aag Lage’. The said portion was set at the Filmfare Awards and it is common knowledge that in those days, Manikchand was its prime sponsor. Hence, its mention was duly placed on the stage. But the CBFC’s RO asked the makers to delete the word as it might encourage, justify or glamourise consumption of tobacco. Subhash Ghai argued that Manikchand Group is mentioned and that the company manufactures many other products besides pan masala. He also reminded the RO that Doordarshan had aired a film function sponsored by Manikchand Group. Yet, the RO didn’t budge. The report in Film Information stated that the mention of Manikchand was then removed from the film. However, the final print does carry the name of the tobacco company.
2. When a Shah Rukh Khan starrer posed a challenge
In today’s times, a film is out on digital platforms 8 weeks after its release and in some cases, even 4 weeks. But this was a time when it would take more than a year for a movie to premiere on satellite. And even this TV premiere date had to be planned strategically. Keeping this in mind, Star TV decided to air Subhash Ghai’s earlier film Pardes (1997), starring Shah Rukh Khan, on August 14, 1999, that is, a day after Taal’s release. The TV channel intended to cash in on the hype around Taal and also because Pardes had a super-hit patriotic song ('Yeh Mera India'). Hence, it would have been an apt film to release around Independence Day (August 15).
However, Subhash Ghai was not pleased. Komal Nahta wrote in the article, “In cashing in on the publicity of Subhash Ghai’s Taal, the channel would, perhaps, also be cutting into the revenues of the same film because a free Pardes on television could pose a formidable competition to a paid-for Taal. Which means, in effect, Star TV would be using Ghai’s own film, acquired from nobody but Ghai himself, to possibly harm Ghai.”
Not just Subhash Ghai but even the Producers’ Forum raised an objection. As per the article, after the matter became grave, Star TV decided to postpone the telecast of Pardes by 2 weeks.
3. Debut Hindi film in IMAX
Taal was the first Hindi film to be released in IMAX. It was released on September 24 at the IMAX 3D theatre in White River State Park, Indianapolis, USA. The article stated, “The theatre boasts of a 40 ft. high (about 6 storeys tall) and 80 ft. wide screen, a 6-channel digital surround sound system (about 10,000 watts of sound) and the latest equipment in 3-D technology” and also that “The screening of Taal at IMAX-Indianapolis is a joint effort of Eros Entertainment and Shyaam Entertainments (Indianapolis).”
4. Overseas record grosser
Taal did decent business in India but in foreign territories, it was a huge earner. In its first week, it broke all records in the USA by grossing 5,91,289 USD in the first three days from 44 screens. It was also in the 20th position and thus, became the first Bollywood movie to make it to the US Top 20 list.
Even in the UK and Gulf countries, its business was encouraging. As per Film Information, its premiere was held on August 13 at Empire Cinema, Leicester Square, Central London, UK where the tickets, usually priced at 10 pounds, were being sold for 50 pounds!
5. Pan-India phenomenon
The trend of films dubbed in other languages happened even then. Taal was one such film; it was dubbed in Tamil. This dubbed version was called Thaalam. Releasing a Tamil version made sense as both A R Rahman and the film’s lead actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were popular in that market.
6. Tighter edit from Week 2
A week after its release, Subhash Ghai deleted some comic scenes in the climax and halved the song ‘Nahin Saamne’. By doing so, he was able to bring the film’s duration down by 4 ½ minutes.
Also Read: 25 Years of Taal: Here’s how the musical entertainer had a Kajol connection
More Pages: Pardes Box Office Collection
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