Jhoota Hi Sahi..

HOW does it feel to watch a movie sitting next to a tense producer before it comes to the theatre for public viewing? It was the premier of Abbas Tyrewala-directed Jhoota Hi Sahi at one of the popular multiplexes in Kolkata. Sanjiv Goenka, Vice Chairman, RPG Enterprises, which owns Saregama that produced Jhoota Hi Sahi, literally kept his fingers crossed throughout the two and half hour-long movie. And that’s not without reasons.

Celluloid grapevines had it that for Jhoota Hi Sahi (shot entirely in London), John Abraham alone charged more than the entire budget of Saregama’s previous movie — Aparna Sen-directed The Japanese Wife! According to Saregama Films, The Japanese Wife incidentally had a decent opening with a 44 per cent theatre occupancy (Released on only 32 prints) and an 88 per cent initial collection. Producing films is no longer a greenfield activity for Goenka or his company,Saregama. But Goenka in his bright light green T-shirt on the day of the premier, was certainly looking for some brighter shades. After all, Jhoota Hi Sahi is Saregama’s maiden step into mainstream (or shall we say, commercial, Hindi) cinema. Goenka was perhaps apprehending an adverse comment on the zero onscreen chemistry between John Abhraham and Pakhi Tyrewala (Mishka), the director’s wife, script-writer and the female protagonist. The film is not without its bright shades altogether, not at least for people for whom Bengali art, culture, literature and film are yet to become “Bong Culture”! Whenever the camera focuses on “Kagaj Ki Phool” the Indian Bookstore in London run by Sid (played by John) and his four friends, one gets to see a large display board of Bengali alphabets, glances of few Bengali books, covers of either LP Records or CDs carrying photographs of Salil Chowdhury, Hemanta Mukherjee (Hemant Kumar as he was known in Bollywood), Sandhya Mukherjee and Uttam Kumar. No point crosschecking if an outlet in London actually sells them. Who cares? Jhoota Hi Sahi…