Through these years the company has cultivated a great rapport with several banners, new and old, some of which were reigning supreme once upon a time. Three such banners were Padmalya, AVM and Gemini, which had a veritable following in South India. At one stage, Mehta tied up with these banners when the focus of the overseas market shifted from action to musical and social dramas and released a record number of Jeetendra starrers (20-25), which found an excellent response overseas.
Mehta also has the rare distinction of releasing the maximum number of Madhuri Dixit starrers. In fact, one of the turning point in the company's success story was the Anil Kapoor- Madhuri Dixit starrer, TEZAAB, which brought the company a new standing in the overseas market.
The period after saw Mehta release almost every Madhuri starrer, some of which did great business overseas. Indra Kumar's Aamir-Madhuri starrer, DIL was one such film, which set new records in the overseas business.
The Sunny Deol starrer GHAYAL, which portrayed the pent-up emotions of a suppressed and wronged individual, was another film that set unprecedented records and reflected the changing tastes of the overseas audiences.
Not many people are aware that Mehta was among the earliest exporters to introduce Shah Rukh Khan to the overseas market, when he released the Khan starrer, DEEWANE.
At one stage, when the market for Govinda starrers was fairly encouraging, Mehta took the clue and exploited more than 20 Govinda starrers, right from the earliest ILZAAM. During this period, he also built a close rapport with producer Pahlaj Nihalani, who is currently the president of the Film Exporters' Association.
When the price structure in the market went awry, a new set of distributors entered the scene, who were prepared to offer unheard of prices for the rights of films. Mehta took the wise decision of not entering the rat race and decided to abstain from buying any major films, apart from a handful few, which made sense vis-à-vis their pricing and potential. One such film was the Akshay-Sunil starrer, HERA PHERI, directed by Priyadarshan, which yielded rich dividends.
More recently, C.A. Corporation was back with a bang with the release of Gaurang Doshi's superhit film, AANKHEN, which set new records both in India and abroad. |