This is interesting article from deccan chronicle.
Bal Thackeray is much sought after by producers
As an industry that thrives on spinning dreams and fantasies which enthrall the entire nation, Bollywood is not surprisingly a very, very superstitious place. From superstitions about a muhurat location to auspicious letters of the alphabet, Bollywood’s long-standing obsession with such irrational beliefs and practices is a serious one..
A film is never ever launched on the 13th day of any month nor is it launched during the Shraddh period in the Hindu calendar as it is considered highly inauspicious.
Even the time and place are of extreme importance. Many filmmakers believe a film will flop badly if the muhurat is conducted at Filmistan Studios. “Many films have flopped or haven’t been completed when the muhurat was done there.
Barsaat was completed after five years, and it almost ruined Twinkle Khanna’s career,” says an industry insider. “On the other hand a muhurat conducted at the Hotel Leela Kempinski or Sun ‘n’ Sand always does well,” says another source. “A rather bad film like Agnisakshi was hot because the muhurat was at Leela.
Even if the place and time is right, the person giving the muhurat clap is still the most important element of a successful muhurat. “My producers have always avoided calling Amitabh Bachchan to give the clap. He’s very unlucky for producers…” adds the same PRO.
Other producers agree with this. “Amitabh has been very unlucky,” says a leading producer, “but Dharmendra has proved quite lucky for me. If Dharmendra gives the clap even for a small budget film, it will definitely recover its money. The best thing about Dharamji is that he’s very accessible.”
The filmi fraternity is convinced that this applies to magazines too. When Amitabh appeared on the cover of a new TV magazine, a PRO asked a concerned staff member why they had put the bad omen on the first issue. It was inauspicious, he had said. And he looked pretty smug when the magazine closed down in less than a year.
Madhuri Dixit would perhaps scoff at such things, but she can’t do without her secretary and mentor Rikku at every muhurat. There is a fondly repeated anecdote about how Rikku wasn’t in Bombay once when the muhurat of Parinda was scheduled. Madhuri asked the producer to postpone the muhurat.
Among those considered fortunate and those who aren’t, the presence of Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, and Dev Anand are deemed as unlucky while Dharmendra, Bal Thackeray, Rajendra Kumar and Sunil Shetty are much sought after.
Besides muhurat locations, the locations where scenes are shot have directors and producers getting very finicky. Many action directors like Guddu Dhanoa and Kuku Kohli are particular about shooting their climax scenes at Mukesh Mills.
Kuku Kohli says, “Not only is it a great place to shoot your action scenes but it is also pretty lucky. I shot the climax of Phool Aur Kaante there and, after that, I’ve consistently shot
my climax scenes there. I even shot the climax of Haqeeqat there though it was not necessary for me to get India into the picture. I’d already shot abroad for a major portion of the film.” However, no one dares to conduct any shooting at night at this place.
They believe there’s a ghost there who ensures that the film doesn’t do well. But Sajjd Nadiadwala shot here for Jeet at night and the film was a big hit. “I always pray before giving my first shot. That’s the only thing I am superstitious about,” says Milind Gunaji.
Nana Patekar always reverently touches the stage and brings his hands to his eyes, not just as a mark of respect but also because he is very superstitious about it.
Anandji of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo makes sure he has coffee during a recording, but he does it with a difference. Producer Ratan Kumar says, “I’ve observed him for so many years. The duo did the music for my film, Madari. Thirty-six years back, he used to start off with this glass of coffee. He used to drink half of it and wait for the other half to become cold and then drink it.”
Govinda used to eat ‘prasad’ given by his mother before shooting every day. The same rule applies to Akshay Kumar. In fact, Akshay Kumar only eats cooked food by his mother. “When I am abroad, I try and eat only fruits and fruit juices.
I believe my mother is very lucky for me,” Akki once said. Now he puts it down to health reasons. And to end with, here’s an interesting tidbit about the nation’s current heartthrob, Hrithik Roshan.
When he was born, his proud father had wanted his name to start with ‘R’ just like the rest of the family. However, a family astrologer said it would be extremely fortunate for the child if his name were to begin with the letter ‘H’.
Faced with a dilemma, Rakesh Roshan decided to combine the two lucky letters and came up with ‘Hrithik’, which when spoken begins with an R sound but is written with an ‘H’. Judging from the more than lucky streak that characterises Hrithik’s life, this name certainly made all the difference!