FilmIndia (1940)

1L EDITOR'S mniii © [In this section, the editor himself replies to queries from the readers. As thou i i ? $ sands of letters are received every month — some anxious and several frivolous — it $ f is neither possible nor convenient to attend to all. Selected letters are usually 4 4 x x treated in an informative and humorous strain and no offence is meant to anyone.] f I i Ravi Venkatapa Rao (Mopidevi) Have we any women as music directors? Yes! We have one, Miss Homji, known to the screen as Saraswati Devi. She works with the Bombay Talkies Ltd. Miss Saral K. Mehra (Ajmer) Who is this "Judas" who writes "Bombay Calling"? He is a competent journalist whose close association with certain film studios in Bombay forbid me from divulging his identity. In any case, do you like what he writes? Y. Kumar (Meerut) I write film stories with dialogues. How can I sell them? If the stories are good they won't need much effort to sell. Why not make short summaries of the subjects and send them to different producers? Every producer needs good stories. Miss V. Alamelu (Dindigul) What is the name of Miss Vasanti's father? Where does he live? His name is Mr. Vinayakrao Ghorpade. He is a lawyer and lives at Vincent Road, Dadar, Bombay. Like Shirley Temple's father he is also very popular and much in demand. Who is the better singer: Saigal or Shanta Apte.' Of course, Saigal. T. S. Prakash (Madras) What about Franz Osten and other German technicians working in the Indian film industry? They have been sent to the concentration camp at Ahmednagar. They had however given an efficient training to their Indian pupils and the studios concerned, while completely sympathizing with the German technicians, did not suffer much inconvenience. It is a pity that honest workers like these German technicians have to be the victims of their leader's political ambitions for no fault of their num. How is the scarcity of Agfa raw films being met during the war? Long before Agfa came into the field, Kodak raw stock was sold in the market... Now in addition to Kodak, we have Gevaert, Dupont, Ferrania and Fuji films. All these manufacturers provide a wide range of selection to our producers, and I do not think, there would be any shortage. S. B. Singh c o Abdul Rahim, Munro St., Anantapur There is a young, charming, fair and slim college girl in this town. She sings and dances and is anxious to work in the films. Her father also likes the idea. Do you think any studio would take her? You bet, many will if all that you say is true. And to put them in direct contact with you, I am giving your full address.. .So don't be surprised if you find a producer at your door one early morning. S. P. S. S. Srivastava (Arrah) Can you tell me something about Kishor Sahu? He is now associated in organising a producing company called "India Artistes Ltd.," and their first picture "Bahurani" is likely to be on the screen in the next four months. K. M. A. Saleem (Hyderabad, Deccan) Many film fans fall desperately in love with one or other film stars. I have also done so. Do you also love some one? If so, who is she? Yes, I do. But you must tell me the name of the one you love and if she happens to be the one I do I shall tell you another name. V. Bansod (Cawnpore) What are the present activities of the National Studios Ltd.? Built on the old memories of two studios, the Sagar and General Films Ltd.. the National has started functioning by taking up two social subjects "Aurat" under Director Mehboob and "Sanskar" under Director Virendra. It will be long before the pictures will be ready, but in the meanwhile let us all wish them success, as the industry needs more pictures during 1940. K. R. K. Murthy (Guntur) I want to invest a couple of thousand rupees in a film company. What is your advice? / would suggest your buying some shares of Navayug Chitrapat Ltd., under the management of Huns Pictures. It is a progressive concern and comparatively your investment would be safe. Their address is "Commonwealth Building," Laxmi 15