FilmIndia (May-Dec 1938)

December 1938 FILMINDIA every other girl except his sister was a sweet obsession. Possessed with the idea that all girls should fall for him he passionately desires Sushila, a friend of his own sister Uma. Sushila however hates him and loves Harish. In the jail Vinod and Shishir arrive at a compact to work together when they go out — Shishir to get his motor car and Vinod to win Sushila. Shishir soon becomes an innocent pawn in the hands of the crooked Vinod and through numerous escapades and revolver shots, the drama reaches one grand climax when inspite of a hundred motor cars Shishir accepts Uma without a car. The picture is one continuous fun punctuated at places with crime and thrills. Acting: Kumar as Shishir the postman looks a darling and gives a popular performance. His expression of innocent stupidity suits his face well and a few more roles in this strain may be useful to some producer to put over a boxoffice picture. Maya as Uma Is refreshing. She is lively and dynamic and straightaway wins the sympathy of the audience. Yakub is at his usual best as the villain of the piece. Sankatha, somehow, did not please. One can 'see' when he speaks, the way his mouth helps to assume an ugly face contortion. His dialogues are however well delivered though in a slightly stagy manner. His work is sincere. Harish is a disappointment. Bibbo and Harish were badly mis-cast. Bibbo looks more like Harish's mother than his sweetheart, Bibbo's songs were not pleasing. In fact, Bibbo and Harish were not at all necessarv in the picture, the story could have become better without them. Sunalini Devi has given good work, particularly so in the lunatic asylum. Production: The continuity, especially in the early parts, calls for more care. Several situations cou'd have been made to look more natural if imagination had been exercised a bit. The sound recording is not so satisfactory, particularly of songs sung by Bibbo. Photography is tolerably good though not up to the usual Sagar standard. Some of the camera angles are, however, enterprising and praiseworthy. The tunes were trite and only one song sung by the music director himself is pleasing. The dialogues are pretty good, but the song composition is common. Considering that the picture Is mainly designed for light entertainment, several small errors can be excused. Two juniors have directed this picture and keeping in mind that this is their first attempt, their work should be considered as promising and painstaking. They certainly deserve sormmore chances. Points of Appeal: The motive o* the subject is fresh and the treatment being light, it entertains and keeps on doing so till the end. Kumar's stupidly innocent role and Maya's coy magnetism are features that attract attention. "THE SECRETARY Producers: Ran jit Movietone — Story: Gunvantrai Acharya — Direction: Chaturbbuj Doshi — Photography: G. G. Gogtay — Recording: P. C. Subedar and Thakorbhai Patel — Music: Jnan Dutt — Dialogues: R. S. Ramayye — Songs: Santoshi — Cast: Madhuri, Trilok, Charlie, Begg, Kalyani, Rajkumari. Wahidan and others. Released at: West End Cinema, Bombay. Date of Release: 22nd September 1938. The picture is planned to provide light entertainment. Slapstick and nonsense, two elements of humour are cleverly used, to achieve this end. Had the producers made the tempo faster by some drastic editing in the early reels, the picture would have gathered more interest. Story: Ramila is a modern Europe returned product of a doting old fashioned rich father. The father has an enterprising secretary in Anil. Some humorous situations created by the clash of the old order with the new spirit of the West very soon make the story an interesting proposition. Ramila falls in love with Anil but a crook by the name of Prince Roy creates several complications with the help of Ramila's little dog. In cidents become exciting when Ramila undertakes to manage her father's business. And now the father dies suddenly and Anil who also loves Ramila decides to tame the shrew in her. Conspiring with the family solicitor Anil arranges to cut the girl with the proverbial penny, and Ramila finds herself in exactly a reverse position by becoming the personal secretary to Anil who has apparently inherited the old man's fortune. And now through a riot of humorous situations the story travels to throw Ramila into the arms of Anil. There are numerous small complications woven into the carpet of this screen romance, but they make the picture all the more interesting. Acting: Madhuri as Ramila is excellent. The role suits her very well. Charlie creates many a laugh. Begg did not impress. His poise was unnatural and his performance in this picture hardly gives any promise for the future. Kalyani sings a song well while Wahidan also sings beautifully. Rajkumari is well used. Y. Harroll is hardly useful as a screen artiste. Production: The direction, though not particularly brilliant is still good enough. For a second picture, the effort shows improvement. Gogtay 's photography has improved a lot. The laboratory work was not happy at places. The recording is good. Music proves popular. Dialogues are common while the songs are poor stuff in composition. The inclusion of Anglo-Indian and foreign girls in dances is to be deplored. To encourage these people is to deny to our people the chance of earning a living, however poor. These producers with nationalistic leanings are least expected to encourage this aspect of the industry. Points of Appeal: The slapstick performance of Charlie becomes immediately popular. Good music is another point and there is entertainment;— simple and harmless — with a capital "E". 41