FilmIndia (May-Dec 1938)

F I L M I N D I A August 1938 chased" cameras, lights, sound equipment and other machinery. All luck Behram! You were once the production manager of the old man, now he will be yoursTimes do change. Ratilal's sonin-law should now finance this son-in-law producer. The sudden closing of the Imperial studio though sufficiently tragic has its humorous side also. Here are some of the relishing items presented with humour and sprinkled with pathos. 1. Nearly thirty persons who had not moved out of the studio for seven years, perhaps due to the fear of law, and who had enjoyed home comforts within the fencing, mothered by the Mahomedan hotel keeper, were suddenly thrown out on the streets. When driven out on the road they did not know what turn to take. Poor chaps, they had forgotten their geography of the city. For days, they lingered outside and slept on the footpath oppo site looking longingly at the closed hotel inside. It would be worthwhile investigating where these people have gone and it is strange that a crime wave has not yet broken out in the city with so many suddenly let loose. 2. Director Gidwani had to search lor his own home to lay his tired bones. I wonder whether he has found it yet. 3. Gulam Mahomed has no cabin to keep his clothes in. For the first time perhaps, his people at home iound the trousers wnere they should have been long before. 4. The round seat under the big tree is deserted and misses the affectionate warmth of the formidable Ratan and her retinue of courtiers (Hafisji, Khan, Rele and others). 5 Fram, the cat-eyed secretary of the old Khan Bahadur is asking friends the address of his old home. Some say that he never had one, though Fram seems to remember that he had one. 6. Jehangir Master dressed like a railway guard religiously comes to the gates every morning and discovers every time that the gates are closed. He delivers a lecture to the passersby on mismanagement and passes on. A cruel habit, ehV 7 Behram Shah the "faithful" Pathan who maintained affectionate ties by feeding the old Khan Bahadur with 'pan and beetle' recalls with considerable difficulty that Ardeshar Irani was once the boss. He now feeds Ratilal the mortgagee-in-possession with that magical pan and beetle and gives a double salute. 8. The tall billiard man now tells fairy tales about the wonders of the billiard table at the studio. People in the Majestic cinema anticipate his intentions when he is seen approaching 9. Cursetji Daruwalla, whom cruel fate has unfortunately made In "Gorakh Aya" a Ranjit classic, Rajkumari and Mazhar give marvellous work. The picture is directed by that famous journalist, Mr. Chaturbhuj Doshi. 58