FilmIndia (May-Dec 1938)

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September 1938 FILMINDIA cals I have seen. Pragati used to be once a "head office" of Jaishree. That is when Keshavrao Dhaiber, Jaishree's erstwhile proprietor needed money he ran up to Pragati. In business, Pragati and Jaishree were entirely different companies. Jaishree is no longer living, while Pragati will be producing pictures very soon. From: K. Srinivasa Row (Masulipatam). Where shall I get a big size photo of Shantaram and Shanta Apte? Write to them or cut them out from some old issues of "filmindia". From: Mahavir Prasad, Advocate (Santa Cruz). From the list of Marathi and Hindi dialogue writers given how would you rate them and why: Atre, Khandekar, Pandit Indra, Betab, Kashyap, Kedar, Zia? Dialogue writers like race horses strike or lose form. Betab was once a great writer, but with age he is now a tired man and does not give a very intelligent work. To form an opinion, therefore, I must consider recent performances. Consistency of all round good work will however be my criterion of rating. I consider Kashyap to be the best man available to-day from your list. He gives enterprising music and thought provoking dialogues more often than the others. Second in rank is Kedar Sharma. His work is clean and high pitched in intelligence. He is a classic by himself. Third in rank is Pandit Indra. His dialogues are not easily understood though they are good and very good sometimes, but this man bids bold for the third place by virtue of his excellent musical compositions. His songs are to-day the most popular. Betab comes next. His recent work in "Prithvi Putra" was good in parts and gave glimpses of the old master that he once was at this game. Khandekar would rank next in the intellectual conception of dialogue writing. But his views being too morbid the dialogues stink in memory like gasses from a coated tongue. Zia is the Urdu version of the Hindusthani language. His dialogues lack logic and reason. But sometimes he gives brilliant flashes which fact induces me to place him second last. Intelligence is not a feature of Atre's dialogue writing. Colloquialism and slapstick and cheap humour do not need much study or any deep intelligence. Divorced from any intense emotion or sentiment, most of the dialogues are mere dew drops — good as long as they last. I put him last in the list. And after all said and done, any of these writers are capable of giving very good or very bad work if not well supervised in any individual picture inspite of what they may have achieved in the past. You see, they lose form. And all of them are not 'horses'. Some of them are just 'mules'. From: P. V. Krishnan (Matunga). Was glamorous Sulochana a short-hand typist before she took to films? No! 'glamorous' Sulochana was a telephone girl in the Bombay Telephone Co. From: P. S. Joshi (Rajpipla). Who is the best in looks among the following actors: Saigal, Pahari, Ashok Kumar, Motilal, Surendra and Ishwarlal? What do you mean by the word "looks"? Well in mere "looks" Ashok Kumar is well off and so is a statue in the Queen's Gardens in Bombay. A film actor must have a personality which asset is even more important than mere "looks". Judged that way, I place them in the following order: 1. Motilal, 2. Saigal, 3. Pahari, 4. Surendra, 5. Ishwarlal, 6. Ashok Kumar. From: J. Venkateswar (Masulipatam). Can I get any calendar with the photos of all film stars printed on it? You might get a calendar like that if you try but what use is it if you don't get any 'dates'. (1) Is Shanta Apte married? (1) No. From: Premnath (Margao-Goa). Which are the five very good Indian pictures in the last year and who are the five very good directors? You are asking too much. We never produced five very good pictures in one year and to complete five very good directors one director is still to be born. From: Pandit Indra (Bombay). Why don't the donors of the Gohar Gold Medals not award medals for distinction to the following: 1. Song and dialogue writers, 2. Cameraman, 3. Recording Engineers, 4. Setting makers, 5. Editors of films. This will create a competitive spirit and encourage new talent. I would go one better and suggest a double weighted gold medal for film journalists for the best services rendered during the year. But to get gold from the Gohar Gold Medal Committee, one has to get it out of Chandulal Shah. And that is where the rub is. Old Chandulal is not so easy a person to tackle and I don't think he thinks much of what we think in the way of giving away gold — particularly his gold. Originally to commemorate Gohar's unique success, he only wanted to give the medal to the actress who gave the best performance in the year. But to clothe his chivalry, he had to take in other awards. To add more now, would amount to robbing him. From: V. U. Patel (Bombay). Is it dangerous for any human being to join the film line? 21