Women have liked Mohabbatein a great deal. Elite audiences find it boring in parts, but the masses don't seem to mind the unconventional length. On the other hand, the public seems not to like Mission Kashmir. The Sanjay Dutt-Hrithik Roshan starrer is doing very well in Bombay, though.

Aditya Chopra has broken several norms in his second film and managed to deliver a success. For one, the film's length. Instead of the usual 2 hours and 30/45 minutes, Mohabbatein has a running time of 3 hours, 35 minutes. As a natural corollary to this, only three shows are held at a cinema instead of the usual four shows. Of course, the more courageous cinemas in smaller Indian towns have been conducting four shows daily of Mohabbatein; the first show starts as early as 9 am!

Why has the film done better overseas than in India? Perhaps, because we in India know a Gurukul like the one shown in the film does not exist. Audiences abroad assume that the Gurukul is a reality. The atmosphere at the Gurukul has been adored abroad, while cinegoers in India continue to question the feasibility of such a school and an atmosphere of strict discipline.

Mission Kashmir is being dubbed as a personal vendetta film that has been given the Kashmir label to give it the aura of a nationalist film. As someone remarked, "The film could as well have been made without the backdrop of Kashmir. It would have made no difference. It could then have been titled Missing Kashmir!"

What has the success of Mohabbatein meant for those associated with the movie? And what has the non-success of Mission Kashmir meant for those associated with that film?

For Amitabh Bachchan, who critics predicted had killed his career on the big screen by agreeing to host a game show on the small screen, Aditya Chopra's film should silence those prophecies of doom.

For Shah Rukh Khan, the timing of Mohabbatein could not have been better. It has clicked at the turnstiles in direct opposition to a Hrithik starrer. For 10 months now, Shah Rukh's critics have written off the superstar after Roshan Jr's arrival on the scene. Mohabbatein should silence all those carpers. Money, after all, is perhaps the only objective measure of a film's success and failure.

For the three newcomers in Mohabbatein, I don't think the film's success means much for their careers. People have liked Bachchan and Khan much much more than they did the six lovebirds.

For Aditya Chopra, Mohabbatein has proved that his debut Dilwale Dulhan Le Jayenge was no flash in the pan.

Success eludes Hrithik. Fiza was not a hit. Nor is Mission Kashmir. Both films opened superbly at the box office, thanks to the young star. His draw at the BO hasn't declined one bit, but he needs to improve his ratio of hits.

For director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, I don't think anything has changed much. That man is born lucky. After the Kareeb debacle, the movie trade felt no distributor would touch his next film with a barge pole. Undeterred, he started Mission Kashmir with a newcomer called Hrithik Roshan who no one knew would become a phenomenon post-Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai.

No sooner was KN...PH released, Mission Kashmir became one of the hottest films around. The rest, as they say, is history. Vinod Chopra has made a table profit from Mission Kashmir of about Rs 15 to Rs 18 crores.

Fate plays strange games sometimes. Mission Kashmir originally was to have been made with Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. I don't know why they were not cast, but a film starring the duo, Mohabbatein, was released in direct opposition to Mission Kashmir.

How the movies fared at the box office last week

**Ratings based on box office collections and cost of the film**

Rating	Film	Production House	Verdict	Position Last Week	No Of Weeks Since Release
1	Mohabbatein	Yash Raj Films	Above Average to Hit (Super-Hit in Overseas)	2	2
2	Mission Kashmir	Vinod Chopra Productions	Average (Above average in Bombay)	1	2
3	Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai	Quest Films	Flop (fair in Bengal)	3	4
4	Shikari	Kavita Pictures	Disaster	4	5
5	Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke	Inderjeet Films Combine	Disaster	5	6
6	Fiza	The Culture Co. & UTV Motion Pictures	Above average in Bombay; average to losing in most other circuits (initial was overwhelming)	7	9
7	Aaghaaz	Suresh Productions	Flop	6	5
8	Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai	S.K. Films Enterprises	Above average in Bombay, hit in Gujarat but losing to average in the rest of the country	8	11
9	Dhadkan	Venus Records & Tapes Ltd.	Good in Bombay and Maharashtra	7	11
10	Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega	Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment	Average in some circuits and Above Average in some	10	14

Komal Nahta edits the popular trade magazine, Film Information.

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