Filmindia (1941)

R ^Snob s' Reply To R ^Hlere Rctress^ Make Art The Hand Maid Of A Home A Retort To Miss Pradhan By : Sindhu Gadgil Yes, my dear girl, yours is a thankless job. I sympathise with you. We, the so-called snobs do keep you at a distance, just as we do with fire, you who have made it your life's work to keep the masses entertained and amused and it is extremely ungrateful on our part, I admit. But Madam, we have our reasons. Only the other day I was talking to a friend of mine, when I remarked, "Oh that Miss X, what a talented artist she is? She is earning a four figure sum I hear." That friend of mine nodded her head knowingly and replied, "Oh, there is nothing much to boast about in that. When once a person leaves all considerations of decency and morality aside that four figure sum is not far off TTzf.i cST^r qRf '^f^??, i^5r f^^*^ vrV'f In vain I argued that exceptional abilities and talent are necessary for a person to aspire for film fame and that it was not within the reach of an average person like you and me. But she would not be convinced. As the last remark was a little too much for me I challenged her to find a place for herself in the industry by trying for years. But in my saner moments I found a certain amount of justification in the words of that snob of snobs. The society has certain expectations from you — you who boast of your education, culture and high parentage. We expect you to behave differently than the others of your profession. The film industry has already got a bad reputation. Howsoever much we may admire a film artiste and take delight on seeing her on the silver screen, we certainly do not like to associate with her in real life. This we, so far, argued was due to the lack of culture and education on the part of the film artistes. A star became a star more because of the producer's or the director's personal interest in her than because of her ability to be so. The old uneducated film siar came from a low class. She had no home to care for, nobody's honour to guard, no one's future to worry -ibout. Nor did the society expect any better behaviour from her. But today the industry is in a new era. The film profession is increasingly becoming an attraction, a new opening for the elite of the society. The society girl looks upon Ihe line as a new career, a new opening for her talent. She sees in it immense possibilities for the newcomer. She wishes to walk triumphantly on the untrodden path and 'hus satisfy the cravings of her adventurous spirit. Madam, what an enviable position you hold — you and such like you who are fortunate enough to get into the line in these days of the new social awakening. You should be the pioneer in the line, a guiding star for the new spirit, a pilot ship on the stormy seas for others to follow. With what interest do we watch your colourful career? Madam, just think of it! But alas! we stand severely disappointed. We see you — you who had once been one of us, in whose company we passed some of our best hours of life — laliing into just the same ditches, in which our less fortunate sisters once fell and for whom we never cared. With a pang we observe you stumbling over the same obstacles which ycu should have been able to get over, armed as you are with your culture, education and upbringing, so much so that eminent journalists like Mr. Patel have to "cry halt" — just as he did to 'Surekha Patankar' — and the newcomer has to pause and think before taking the leap into the unknown. WE ARE DISAPPOINTED Madam, you and such like you have entirely failed in setting an example for the newcomers and Sindhu Gadgil, beautiful and talented, is herself a future hope of the screen. have disappointed the society bitterly. What should the snobs think of a charming school teacher who comes fresh from a training class and starts drawing a four figure salary the next day. May be that she can dance, swim and sing and do what not. Such feats of success are not achieved merely by accomplishments. Who knows that there may be hundreds accomplished like her who may not have a shadow of a chance in the industry just because they do not want to get a producer interested in them? Where is the "snob" wrong if she calls a girl — who straightaway walks on to the sets and gets a four figure cheque by coquettishly playing with the tie of a director — a "mere actress?" Such thundering successes as are being accomplished by some of our educated stars cannot be achieved so easily. A person does not become a star of the first magnitude overnight. It needs years and years of painstaking labour and patience. How can a "snob" feel at home in the company of an educated girl who has become a "mere actress" when he sees the spectacles of broken homes, sorrowing husbands and neglected children raising a warning finger. Today an educated star divorces her husband, shamelessly deserts her children and marries 41