FilmIndia (1939)

January 1939 FILM INDIA success on his shoulders. Aundhker is utterly stagy and fails to convince with his defective and affected accent. Mirza Musharaf is at times a welcome relief as a slapstick comedian. Production: The continuity is a jumble of ideas, and several sequences have been unnecessarily stretched. The direction is painstaking throughout but hardly imaginative. The dialogues being pointed and purposeful provide the high spots of the picture. The picture needs some drastic editing to assemble several scattered thoughts into a thought provoking pleasant theme. The lofty conception of the central theme however covers several minor defects. Points of Appeal: Several industrial problems are treated however with a touch of novelty. The light treatment while providing complete entertainment does not at the same time fail to be forcefully I instructive. Shobhana's performance leaves behind a pleasant memory not to mention the superb backing up given by Prem Adib. "DOUBLE CROSS" Producers: Bhavnani Productions — Story, Scenario and Direction: M. Bhavnani — Music: Badri Prasad — Photography: Berko and Mistry — Recording: Behram Bharucha — Dialogues: Rai Mohan — Processing: V. S. Marathe — Cast: ' Bimla Kumari, S. B. Nayampalli, Fatty Prasad, Amina, David and > others — Released at: Super Tal • kies, Bombay — Date of Release: l 24th November 1938. A detective story fashioned after the Western "Quickies", this pic I ture is essentially meant to meet the box-office demand for such 1 fast pictures which appeal to the lower classes. It is unfortunate that after 25 years of film production, our producers have still to give such pictures to balance their economic existence. There is no other serious motive in this particular picture except that of providing entertainment with some excitement and a bit of laughter in • a. plot familiar to all. The Story: A scientist in Professor Mukerji has struck upon the formula of making artificial diamonds. Sister Romila is overjoyed at this, but the information soon leaks out and Romila's uncle Romesh Chandra, a speculator having a large number of shares in the Orient Diamond Mines is on the brink of ruin owing to the sudden reaction on the stock market caused by the inventor. Romila has to choose Kapur, an ungainly assistant in the Orient Diamond Mines as per prospective husband, to save her uncle and to help her brother. And now the sequences draw in a native state of Panipur and a villain in the shape of Sardar Mulkraj is introduced. He wants to ruin the owner of the Renuka Devi, the star of "Bhabi" a Bombay Talkies picture. diamond mines who is helping the young King of Panipur against the Sardar. The Sardar tries to get the formula from the Professor and in his attempt to get it, the picture becomes a detective yarn. Of course, he ultimately fails and Romila and Kapur are married with everyone happy in the end. Acting: Nayampally as the Sardar gives |his stock performance with a diction that needs two years more to be perfect. Bimla Kumari as Romilla is harshly treated by the camera, but she gives a couple of good songs. Fat ty Prased creates, a few spots of weak laughter in association with Amina, who looks more like a man in a woman's garb. She seems to be perfectly unsuitable for the screen. A. S. Gyani gives a pretty good performance but finds it difficult to get over his Sindhi way of speaking Hindusthani. Production: In a picture of this kind, a bit of crudeness is taken for granted. The photography is rather amateurish and sound recording has numerous defects. The processing is also faulty. The subject hardly calls for any directorial touches, and the director seems to have got rid of his responsibility as quickly as possible. The music however, is good, being popularly tuned. Song No. 2 sung by Bimla is definitely pleasant to hear. The dialogues are common but the song compositions are well rhymed, though they hardly show any flashes of intelligence. Points of Appeal : Bimla Kuma n's good singing is pleasant to hear. The slapstick look of Fatty Prasad may appeal to the children. Though the mystery in the picture is too obvious, yet some peoplo might like the detective trend of the story. The speed of the picture is another selling argument. "BHABI" Producers: Bombay Talkies Ltd., —Screen Play: Saradindu Banerjee — Direction: Franz Osten— Photography: Wirsching & Pareenja: Recording: S. B. Vacha— Music: Saraswati Devi — Dialogues and Songs: J. S. Casshyap; Cast: Renuka Devi, Jairaj, Meera, Maya Devi, M. Nazir, V. H. Desai, Rama Shukal etc., Released at: Roxy Talkies, Bombay.— Date of Release 17th December, 1938. This picture is like a beautiful perfume that does not intrude. Beautiful in conception and neat in execution the story is a masterly blending of soothing pathos and elevating romance. It is a harmonious poem of picturization with every sequence courting amiably with the other. The theme 47