FilmIndia (1939)

FILMINDIA February 193! imagine one more insipid and pasyears of the existence of the Indian film industry, barely 15 years' progress is seen on the screen. In comparison with "Poornima", the previous release of Prakash, this picture is a great disappointment from all sides. The Story: It is a crime-cumdetection yarn based on nonsense. But even nonsense must have some school or some continuity. This story contains nonsense that neither tickles nor convinces. At stages it becomes tiresome. Surendra and Hemlata are friends. They are young and promising. Hemlata is educated while Surendra is a poet. They silently love each other, but before they could give that love any concrete expression, Prem a young lawyer steps in and marries Hemlata. Surendra tries his hand at suicide, but fails and is hurt in consequences. A villain in Harish steps in for no earthly reason. In fact one fails to understand why this character is at all put in. The story would have been better off without him. However Harish creates a few weak moments of excitement by his villaneous plans and escapades. Prem and Hemlata are happy till the arrival of a son in the family, but then suspicion takes its turn in the plan of things and Prem turns out his wife suspecting his wife's relations with Surendra. The story gradually travels to a climax which finds its setting in a courtroom, wherein Hemlata is hauled up on a charge of murder of Harish. Prem arrives and explains things and everything is O.K. thereafter. Even the little boy Jagdish shakes hands with the judge. Acting: Ratan Bai as Hemlata is supposed to be the piece de resistance of the affair. That she does not prove to be so in reality is the misfortune of the audience. Ratan Bai looks ill and haggard. Her make up is careless — particularly on the eyelids. She however sings two songs pretty well, but the indifferent recording does not permit us to enjoy them. Jayant as Prem tried to do something, but he was hardly given a chance. I have seen poets in life, but I can hardly sive than Surendra played by Ranjit. Even his poetry — we call them songs in our picturessounds dead. H. Shivdasani asi Harish is unnecessary and so is his work. Indurani as Radha the sister of the villain looks more like a cartoon. Laloobhai as Munshi seemes to think that the screen is just another stage for his senseless and nauseating frolics. The little good work we find in this picture, is done by little Anant Marathe. He beats the senior bri-l gade hollow. Production: The entire technical work is full of defects anq errors. The sound is c areless and so is the photography. Khosla's direction provides the best piece of misdirection of every aspect of film production. The dialogues are absolutely commonplace while the songs are very poor. Prakash should try some thing better and more ambitious in future. They have enough experience to back them up, if they undertook to produce social pictures with thought provoking themes. 44 A shot from "Street Singer" now running to crowded houses at the Minerva Talkies.