FilmIndia (1948)

OUR REVIEW "Doli", An Emotional And Touching Story ! Jay ant Gives A Delightful Performance! The story of this picture hardly deserves the name "Doli". There is nothing of "doli" in it, beyond a couple of stray shots carrying a bride. This is the story of a good man who essentially believes in the true values of life and acquits himself honourably whatever the vicissitudes he has to go through. Roshan looks an over-si~cd young man because Wasti plays the role. He sees the girl he loved married to another and moves out to Bombay. There he saves Rani, a young, blind beggar girl from being run over by a ear. He takes her home and soon becomes her dream hero. Rani is young and good-looking and Roshan begins to love her. Very soon Roshan comes across Dr. Kailash an eye specialist and ■Bairns that Rani's eyesight can be restored with an operation which would cost two thousand rupees. Recruit K. M. Thomas of Kinalur Estate, Balusseri P. O. via Quilandy, North Malabar, wants to get away from that awful address and join the screen as an actor. f While worrying about this impossible monetary problem, he meets a delightfully eccentric eharacter in Rai Saheb, a rich, happy-, go-lucky drunkard who befriends people in his drunken mood, takes them home and treats them like his own long lost brothers but chases them out next morning when sober, completely forgetting the previous night's friendship. It is a pity that this delightful character was not developed more. It would have added plenty of natural comedy to the story. During one of his nightly generous moods, Rai Saheb gives Roshan two thousand rupees and Roshan gives it to Dr. Kailash for Rani's eye operation. But a little later Roshan is arrested for theft and despite his protests clapped into jail for two years. Rani is being treated by Dr. Kailash who himself gets an heart affection from her. On the day of removing her bandage Roshan tries to escape from the jail but is caught and given three years more. When Rani's eyesight is restored she does not see her benefactor though her heart yearns for him. During the five years of Roshan's jail life, Rani is married to Dr. Kailash and gets a son. Five years later Roshan, once again on the road in search of Rani, saves Rani's little son from an accident through the usual filmic coincidence and cornea face to face with her. She doesn't recognize him but her hu.-band does. Now comes an emotional battle within the man. Roshan triumphs and goes his way blessing the new found happiness of Rani. The story had very nice basic material which could have become a very great human drama had it been developed by someone DOLI Producers: All India Pictures Language: Hindustani Story: M. Sadiq Songs: N. Panipat & M. Sultanpuri Music: Ghulam Mohd. Photography: Sailen Bose Audiography: Sitaram Kadam Cast: Wasti, Sulochana Chatterjee, Sushil Kumar, Madhuri, Amar, Pratima Devi, Jayant etc. Released At: Krishna, Bombay Date of Release: 24th October 1947. Directed By: S K OJHA with great imagination and intelligence. However, considering the stuff we usually get on the Indian screen, "Doli" could be said to have a good story. JAYANTS DELIGHTFUL PERFORMANCE The production values are quite good generally except in the music score of the picture. The songs and their tunes arc very poor. The direction of Ojha is unite good considering this picture to be his maiden effort. Wasti plays "Roshan" and though he looks big made and clumsy, he gives a good performance throughout — his first we have liked. Sulochana Chatterjee plays Rani pretty well though she looks too polished to be a blind beggar. From the rest Shashikala, a new girl, looks quite sweet, charming and precocious. She has a promising future. But we mustn't forget Jayant with the delightfully eccentric characterisation portrayed so superbly by him in the role of Rai Saheb. the warm friend of the evening and the cold aristocrat of the morning. It was delightful to hear his Sindi accent of the drunken dialogue. As Indian pictures go "Do'i" must be called a good picture and one worth seeing. 43