FilmIndia (1940)

ROUND TL TOWN GHAZI SALAHUDDIN Producers: Supreme Pictures — Story, Scenario and Direction: I. A. Hafisjee — Dialogues: Hakim Ahmad Shujja — Photography: Kukde — Recording: Arora — Music: Khemchand Prakash — Cast: Ratan Bai, Gulam Mahomed, Mazhar. Lalita Devi, Md. Ishaq, Yakoob, Ishwarlal, W. M. Khan, Bhupatrai — Released at Imperial Cinema — Date of release: 7th January 1940. A glance at Syed Ameer Ali's famous book "Short History of the Saracens" confirms what precious material the story writer of this photoplay has left unexploited. In the history of Islam, Ghazi Salahuddin is one of the rare personalities surrounded by halo and glory. His epic battles with the Crusaders have inspired great writers to wax eloquent on the numerous royal virtues of Salahuddin and his exploits have today become legends of chivalry. And yet the story writer of this photoplay could not find enougli material to immortalize Salahuddin on the screen. What a pity that this glorious chapter from Islamic history has been turned into a shameless cockpit of stinking communalism and the traditional valour of Salahuddin has been traded in for base fanaticism. With every hundred feet of the film rolling, one hears bragging claims for the "Islamic blood In human veins," "its inherent and imaginative obligations," "its terrific speed and rush," "its power to go through any opposition." till one gets sick of the picture and its design. Glorious Islam, as I understand it and know it, never did indulge In such cheap bravado. It always displayed the dignity of faith, the silence of strength and the modesty of conviction. The Story Writer To Blame! That an educated man like Hafis.ie« should lend his intelligence to misrepresent the resplendent traditions of Islamic faith is a matter that needs closer investigation. The tremendous power of the screen has been misused by the producers to make Islam look cheap In the eyes of the world. And thus action amounts to a heinous crime, when a glorious opportunity to clear the prevalent misunderstandings and translate in pictorial terms the immortal message of love and tolerance given by the Prophet Mahomed, has been dissipated and misused to propagate the communal hatred which is mainly responsible for forging the present day shackles of our bondage. This picture is therefore definitely not a contribution to the film industry nor a compliment to our nation. It Never Happened The story begins with the third Crusade, when Richard the Lion* Hearted has come to fight the Muslims in the holy land of Jerusalem. Most of the time, the long footage of the film is utilized in sending peace envoys to and fro between Salahuddin and Richard, and minor side incidents are unnecessarily enlarged and given prominence. Leaving the title role alone, Rihana a small fry in the whole game takes up the screen for a long time making the historically glorious personality of Salahuddin a mere pawn in the game to give Rihana the prominence that the director wanted to give. Was Salahuddin, the noble champion of Islam, born to give Rihana, the poster publicity of an Indian film producer? Someone responsible must answer this question. The picture has no pretence of a plot. The dialogues smell of communal bias and they are flung about with a meaning vengeance, thereby destroying the emotional harmony of the spectators. Ratan Comes Back Forgetting for a moment the faulty design of the picture, one finds a couple of good songs sung by Ratan Bai. This brave girl gives us a welcome glimpse of her now almost forgotten brilliant performance in "Yahudi-Ki-Ladki." For a time she looked like the old Ratan whom the fans once hailed as their new favourite. With an almost perfect diction of Urdu, Ratan puts life into the screen, whenever she makes an appearance. Gulam Mahomed was wrongly cast as the immortal Salahuddin. And yet with very little scope given to him and with numerous handicaps, this old stager puts in a valiant effort to do his best. The most pathetic and ridiculous figure was that of Mazhar Khan, who as Richard the Lion-hearted was even made to laugh like a Prakash iiero unaer me moral support or the Alsatian dog. The lion-hearted Richard whom ine entire Christian world thought to be a symbol of heroism, is turned into a sickling who shivers with fever. The only good performance, without or course any necessity, was Shahu Modak in the title role of "Saint Dnyaneshwar" a Prabhat picture. 43