FilmIndia (1940)

April 1940 FILMINDI A [Gontd. from page 6) 6. "The Eternal Triangle". It is a popular phrase with all producers. It is either two men and one girl or two girls and one man. Between these two ends there is the "whole life story of Adam and Eve to be told. Some tell it well — others blunder. Ernst Lubitsch's "Design For Living" fulfills all the demands of this plot for screen purposes. 7. "Reformation of Character". Pictures have come to the screen where a hero who has taken to drinking and gambling in disappointment suddenly reforms and becomes an ideal husband or father. This, "his better self" angle has been too often exploited in our films. It is imossible to depict the full story of a complete regeneration of a human being in two hours, but the reformation must be consistent and must have strong and sufficient motivation to convince the audience. There is a great scope in this plot e.g., a bad woman may become a good mother for her child; a crook may become honest; a "hard nut" may acquire more humanity; a fleecing zamindar may become charitable etc. 8. "Domestic Relations." This section again presents a variety of plots to the writer. This plot pattern is of tremendous interest to the women. Step-mother plots, mother-in-law triangles, joint family squabbles, husband and wife differences, family traditions and status, there are numerous broader and finer aspects of this theme on which screen stories can be written. "Kulvadhu" (Daughter-in-law) was a good example of this plan of plot building. 9. "The Didactic Plot:" Directors like Shantaram and Barua would love to meet a man who wrote a story on this plan. In a didactic plot the author undertakes to depict life as he thinks it should be. And for doing this he makes use of realism very often only to debunk it with his idealism. A marvellous example cf this design for plot is "Admi". Prabhat's recent Award Winner fcr 1939. 10. "Crime Plots:" "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" or "Charlie Chan Goes to the Races" or "The Informer", these are the stories that are produced with crime as a background and punishment as the intention. Our present day crime stories are however all crime and no punishment. 11. "Stories of Phantasy:" This class consists of magic, mythology and folklore. Some of the outstanding successes have been "Maya Machhindra" "King of Ayodhya" "Tukaram," "Tulsidrat" "King of Ayodhya" "Tukaram", "Tulsithe following: devotion, superstition, illusion, loyalty, duty, religion, etc. 12. "Vengeance". The success of "The Count of Monte Cristo" made several producers plan their productions on this design. There are numerous plots to meet this aspect of the human emotions. 13. "Historical". In a country like India, rich in historical traditions, a thousand plots are available to the writer of historical screen plays. The exploits of Shivaji have been so many times shown on the screen, that it would be better for the producers to give Shivaji a little rest. There are other heroes right from Manu to Mahatma Gandhi, who have made history. 14. "Relation to Society". An idealist, or a radical, or an unconventional woman is often the piece-de-resistance of a plot in this sphere. "Chaya" was a good example of this theme. 15. "Revelation of Real Character." This theme offers a wide canvas to paint several de She is the ''goods" and he is a broker in ' Ardhangi" a Huns Picture featuring Baburao Pendharkar and Leela Chitnis. 9