'Should I hike my price?'

Komal Nahta

Stranger things have happened.

But for the moment, Chhupa Rustam has brought back the smile on distributors' lips. At least in Bombay, UP and Bihar.

Nobody expected anything from Madan Mohla's Chhupa Rustam, which took six years to hit the screens. Besides being a stale product, the film stars Sanjay Kapoor (not exactly a craze), Mamta Kulkarni (who has been out of the news for a while now) and Manisha Koirala (whose popularity stakes are low at the BO right now).

So it was a surprise on March 23, when the film raked in a good initial in UP and Bihar. At Raxaul, Bihar, the first show saw a collection of Rs 5,100 against a capacity of Rs 2,600. In Gorakhpur, UP, the film drew full houses on Friday, March 23. This is a feat even big-budget, starcast films have not managed.

A word of caution: This is not, however, to say that Chhupa Rustam is a hit.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Kapoor, who has been flooded with congratulatory calls, jokes, "Should I hike my price, now that Chhupa Rustam has opened so well? But then, no producer has come to sign me! So who do I ask for a hike in remuneration? Perhaps my brother, Boney!"