European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 07, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Home entertainment j rentals 1 Philadelphia Columbia tristan 2 the Pelican Brief Warner 3 Ace Ventura pet detective Warner 4 Tombstone Hollywood Home video 5 Grumpy old men Warner 6 in the name of the father Mca Universal 7 the getaway Mca Universal 8 sister act 2 Back in the habit Touchstone 9 the piano live Home video 10 reality bites Mca Universal sales 1 Ace Ventura pet detective Jearner 2 the return of Qatar Walt Disney 3 mrs. Doubtfire Fox video 4 Yanni live at the acropolis big 5 Playboy 1994 playmate of the year Jenny Mccarthy uni dist. Corp. 6 Ginger Lynn Allen s lingerie gallery peach Home video t 7 Aladdin Walt Disney 8 Penthouse sexiest Amateur videos a vision entertainment 9 the who 30 years of maximum r4b live Mca Universal 10 Penthouse dream girls a vision entertainment music _.---. 1 live at the acro Pohs Yanni 2 live Ray Stevens Ray Stevens 3 our first video Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen 4 the sign the Home videos Ace of base 5 comedy video classics Ray Steve is 6 zoo to live from Sydney u2 7 live she Binge a purge Metal la 8 the Home video Torii Braxton 9 Indian outlaw Tim Mcgraw r 10 llvln1, lovln1, a Rocklyn that Jukebox Alan Jackson _ _ compiled by billboard. The top 20 stateside to shows of july 25-31, according to the . Nielsen co. Season to Date ranking an n for first time showing an x for one time Only presentation or a u for unavailable is in. Parentheses 1 1 Home improvement 2 6 Grace under fire _ 3 3 Seinfeld 4 7 Frasl Ernic 5 4 Roseanne _ _ 6 2 60 minutes lbs 7 9 coach 8 12 Murphy Brown lbs 9 14 20/20 .10 16 wings 11 10 murder she wrote lbs 12 u Dave s world lbs 13 17 love 4 War lbs 13 20 Northern exposure lbs 15 x movie sworn to vengeance lbs " 15 u sister sister 17 20 full House 17 u Law and order 17 u Nanny lbs 17 x movie darkness before Dawn Shannon Whirry stars in body of evidence which attracts says jag Mundra the voyeuristic Market the erotic videos of India a jag Mundra by Vernon Scott up Hollywood reporter there is a Market out there for erotic videos a genre that Falls somewhere be tween mainstream flicks such As Basic instinct and porno i a Fine distinction. Erotic movies most often Are made for the video Market and Are Given r ratings by the motion Pic Tures producers association. They Are sexy but rarely blatantly explicit. A Case in Point is improper conduct starring Tahnee Welch Steven Bauer Stuart Whitman Lee Anne Beaman and Adrian Zmed. The cast is a typical mix of actors on the Way up or on the Way out. Names and faces Are familiar lend ing erotic videos a certain respectability. It was produced and directed by jag Mundra a native of Bombay who graduated from Michigan and holds a . From Cal state Northridge. He studied filmmaking at Urcla. Mundra has directed 17 pictures Only three of which Rall made in India have reached the big screen. The others have made millions in video sales. Over a pi2za in the san Fernando Valley the other Day Mundra explained the anomaly of an Indian making erotic Hollywood movies that Are banned in his puritanical native land. Sex and nudity Are not allowed in Indian Thea ters Mundra said. Even a kiss is forbidden except for a Brief Peck. It s funny because you go into temples and see explicit sexual positions that were carved in Stone 2,000 years ago. My films Are popular in India even when the sex and nudity Are Cut out for theatrical release. The uncensored videocassettes Are very hot in the Black Market even though the dialogue is All in English. The government is opposed to nudity but the people like it. For instance the end credits of tar Zan were screened Over a scene showing to Derek topless playing with an ape. Audiences sat through the whole film just to see that Mundra s films which he characterizes As erotic thrillers,\nc\ud6theotjherman, Fsopi Calheta wild Cactus goddess the other woman illicit be Havior Legal tender last Call and night eyes. His budgets average $1 million to $1.5 million. His videos sell 25,000 to 50,000 nobody would give me a Chance to direct in hol Lywood so i returned to India. My first three Pic Tures were shown in Heaters now there is enough Money in videos to make my films worthwhile for the studios. For me it is a Means of establishing a reputation As a filmmaker so i can move up to mainstream Hollywood pictures. I can t afford big movie Namet so i rely on to stars like Andrew Stevens Tyillian Katt Sam Jones Rick Rossovich Maryam d Asp Robert Davi Shan non Tweed Tanya Roberts and Chad Everett. I think my stories Are Strong enough to be popu Lar with or without the nudity and sexual elements. They Are embellishments for the video Market. I say my films Are like Hitchcock a full of suspense with the sex thrown in. There is nothing explicit and no More objection Able than 9 a weeks or Sliver. Women enjoy them just As much As / Mundra got his Start in Hollywood with 3 filmmaker Roger Corman. He also directed for Par amount Home video Imperial entertainment Axis films and prism. He recently formed his own com Pany Everest productions to make his own pictures. There Are pictures like fatal attraction and body of evidence that Are released in Heaters for the voyeuristic Market he said. They have big budgets and big name stars. In my opinion i deliver a lot More for a fraction of the Cost. Not just sexual Content alone but for the whole movie. I make them graphic but not porno graphic. I be been Given Anjer. Rating for every film. But there is always an unrated version for video that is somewhat stronger. Even Sliver and crimes of Pas son had unrated big difference with Rhy pictures is i Don t have sex or nudity involved with violence. The threat of violence is there but not executed. I try to make an entertaining product people can enjoy for what it is and still make it a professional looking film. I strive for Quality. Perhaps it won t be too Long before my pictures will be distributed in Heaters and then go to video As mainstream movies Page 16 sunday August 7,1994
