Filmindia (1941)

OUR CRITICISM TADOSr India's Greatest Picture Shantaram's Personal Triumph Jayashree and Jagirdar Reach Heights of Popularity Prabhat's "Padosi" is an event not merely in motion pictures but in the present day life of our country. With India becoming more and more politically minded every day and visualising her ultimate goal of freedom, the one thought of every national minded Indian is to brush away with one sweep the numerous obstacles that stand in the way of that goal. But in the life of a nation, time travels slow and the gains and the losses both in social and political fields come to us after a prolonged struggle which looks almost epic in the present-day fast moving world. Saints and leaders have given the country their service and sacrifice for years but all their messages had to be translated either through the medium of the spoken word or through print. But the word of mouth or the word of print has its limitations in India with millions illiterate. On the other hand the motion picture has penetrated several parts of the country which neither a newspaper nor a public leader would think of exploiting. Seeing a show recently of "Tukaram" in a village of Maharashtra, 40 miles from the nearest railway station, I was surprised to see a crowd of over 1,500 for an open air show in a village of hardly 300 souls. On inquiry I found that though that particular village had a weekly postal service it was still a good centre for collecting crowds from the neighbouring villages. For that show of "Tukaram" people had travelled as many as 30 miles with their wives, children and bullock carts. That is an example of the pulling power of a motion picture which neither the newsprint nor the spoken word can excel. With its soothing message through the eyes and the ears, "Padosi" therefore becomes a human document of great social and political importance with its tremendous power of propaganda harnessed for the future welfare of our country. EFFECTIVE IN ITS APPEAL All motion pictures are propaganda and the more subtle they are. the more effective they become. In this respect "Padosi" is perhaps the most subtle in its presentation and no where have the colourful threads in the design been allowed to break out glaringly from the apparently PADOSI Producers: Prabhat Film Co. Story & Dialogues: Vishravi Bedekar Hindi Translation Pandit And Songs J Sudarshan Photography: V. Avadoot Recording: S. Damle Art Director: S. Fatehlal Music: Krishnarao Cast: Jayshree (Marathi) Date (Marathi) Anis, Jagirdar, Mazhar Khan, etc. Released At: Central Cinema Date of Release: 25th Jan. '41. Direction: V. Shantaram smooth pattern of the motion picture. Taking into consideration the present political impasse In our country and its slowly corroding effect on our social life, "Padosi" has come as a blessing from heaven to show to us the errors of our ways and to point to us a way towards a life of harmony and happmess. But while the picture does this most effectively, its beauty lies m the beautiful cloak of its design and its successful pretence of being purely an entertainment fare with This is Shantaram out even the slightest pretensions to tell or teach any one anything. In its utter modesty the picture seems to cry out from the house tops: "Oh, it is a story of two villagers, two neighbours and their heart beats and heart breaks and for Heaven's sake don't misunderstand and see it from a wrong stand-point." And oecause this modesty is so apparently noticed, that people, though the producers don't desire so, see "Padosi" in the way it should be seen. For, isn't a motion picture a mirror of life in which we so often see things in the dark which are missed in the broad day light? THE NEED OF TO-DAY The momentous question is: Did we need "Padosi"? In answer one has just to look round himself and find seeds of hatred grown into thorny thickets of discontent which scratch and bleed when the parties on either side try to meet or exchange courtesies. Yes, our country never needed this picture more than now. But apart from our country the entire world to-day needs "Padosi." With the civil strife and bloodthirsty aspirations which modern civilization has imposed on the world that immortal message of Jesus Christ "Love Thy NeighbouiAs Thyself" was never more at a discount than to-day when man founds his future on the blood and 62