FilmIndia (1940)

April 1940 FILMINDIA ment columns of the "Times of India" the very next day with the caption declaring that the luncheon was "given in honour of Mr. B. N. Sircar, Managing Director of New Theatres, Calcutta, and Miss Shanta Apte, the popular Maharashtrian film star." In other words over a hundred guests including Mr. Sircar were deliberately fooled and made a cat's paw for the purpose of boosting a star! JOURNALISTS' AWARD FOR "WILL" 3. "Cine Critics Vote For Will." This was the headline in big types that stared me in the face one morning from the advertisement columns of my own paper. For a moment I was inclined to believe that like Rip Van Winkle I had overslept myself and, meanwhile, the Journalists' Award had been given to this particular picture. No. It was only some copy-writer's .idea of clever publicity! The publicity done for this picture abound'; in instances of gross exaggeration and misrepresentation — e.g., the persistent claim that Eruch Tarapore has been 'honoured with the title CHA..CHA' by Cine Critics! 4. The producers of "Ghazi Salahuddin"' have been advertising that the "Islamic Culture Society" has awarded a medal for their picture. One should like to know more about this Society, its origin, activities, achievements and officebearers. I doubt if any such institution existed before the release of "Ghazi Salahuddin." By the way, I hope no one tries to confuse this "Islamic Culture Society" with the "Islamic Culture Board" of Hyderabad (Dn.) which, under the presidentship of Sir Akbar Hydari, publishes the world-famous quarterly review, "Islamic Culture!" 5. Talking about awards and medals, who is this Professor Ohanian who has selected Mr. Sohrab Modi as "the best film director for 1939" (only in India or in the whole world?) and what is this Institute of Motion Pictures of Asia on whose behalf the said Professor is said to operate in India? It is believed that the headquarters of this "Institute of Motion Pictures" are in Iran — where no motion pictures arc produced! STAGE-MANAGED TRIUMPH? 6. At about the time that Minerva's "The Will" was released, all the Bombay papers carried long reports of Mr. Sohrab Modi's Hanmant Rao in "Dharma Fatni" a Famous Film. "triumphant tour." That these newspapers became aware of this great event weeks after the tour had concluded and that rival papers published identical reports was explained by the fact that what looked like reports were really advertisements either paid for or put in return for large advertising space. According to these reports Mr. Modi went to Hyderabad in response to an invitation "extended to him by a Committee of Hosts comprising of Nawab Sir Amin Jung Bahadur and leaders of Hyderabad Society to visit the State and to give them an opportunity to appreciate the services rendered by him not only to the screen world but to the classical representation of Urdu at the height of its grandeur". Further we were told that "an address on behalf of the citizens of Hyderabad enclosed in a beautiful silver casket was read out and presented to Mr. Modi." According to this report: — "Mr. Sohrab Modi appeared here in various roles, as an educationist inspecting the mighty piles of the Osmania University and the great educational institutions of Mysore, Bangalore and Madras; he appeared before the "mike" as a radio star and spoke on the greatness of the Urdu language; he played the role of a platform orator and pronounced his opinion on the role of stud Master Ycshwant as Dnyaneshwar in "Sant Dnyaneshwar" a socio religious picture of Prabhat. 41