Filmindia (1941)

OUR REVIEW 'Shadr Unconuincing Uet Entertaining Khursheed's Charming Performance Motilal Has Little To Do This is one of those 1940-41 Ranjit series of pictures which are primarily produced for entertainment with hardly a pinch of instruction. Looking for logic into these is as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack. We must therefore take these pictures at their surface value and treat them as mere entertainers and quite harmless at that. Looked at from this innocent point of view, "Shadi" becomes an excellent entertainment, more so because of Khursheed's excellent work and Motilal's long-earned popularity. The stoiy which has a thoroughly orthodox blend looks a little improbable. Especially when we are asked to believe that the young college-educated heroine agrees to marry a paralysed man merely because the parents of both had promised them to each other when they were mere children. The Hindu-wife-devotion-angle is presented on the screen with the full traditional vengeance and we find several highly unconvincing and improbable sequences glorifying the torturous existence of the Hindu wife. And yet these scenes, however humorous to the intellectuals, go well with the mass mind tuned to the faith of living in the past. This very aspect of the pictui'e assures its box-office success and to that extent "Shadi" is an eminently successful picture. TWO GIRLS— TWO BOYS— TWO FATHERS This is a story of two girls and two boys with two fathers thrown in. One girl believes, inspite of her college educaton, in the ancient ideals of a devoted Hindu wife projected into life by the affection of the parents, while the other, England returned, believes in shaping her own destiny despite parents traditions and old customs. The girl with the ancient complexion meets, strangely enough for all her devotion and faith, a paralysed mate in life while the cream-and-powder comple<ioned meets one of tlie best types of manhood. Shobha, the present day advertisement of Sati Savitri, nurses her husband back to good health and good fortune. V/ith the broad smile of fortune on his face, Bihari presents a volt3 !(ice and Uirows himself into a riot of vicious gaiety re SHADI Producers: Rajijit Movietone Story: Giinwantrai Acharya Dialogues: Munshi Dil & Pandit Indra Songs: Madhok & Dil Photography: Gogate & Krishna Gopal Audiography: C. K. Trivedi Music: Khemchand Prakash Production Chief: Chhotuhhai Cast: Motilal, Madhuri, Khtirsheed, IsJnvarlal etc. Released at Royal Opera House Date of Release: 12th July '41. Director:— J AYANT DESAI. gardless of his wife's pleadings. The wife is soon driven out of the house and her place is taken by a singit\fi girl who dances to the spirit of the wine that soaks the man's soul. At this stage the cream-andpowder beauty steps in with heistrong and revolutionary ideas. Very .soon thi\\i',s start moving and we soon come to a climax, by, of course, the most unimaginative wav. where the hero, Behari, is taught a le£Son and made to love and respect his wife. For quietly waiting and watching Anil gets the powde>'besuty Neela as a prize for life. THE SARDAR'S LUCK There is nothing in the picture to suggest any exercise of intelligence on the part of either the writer or Khursheed the soul of "Shadi" the director. It is a straight yarn, told in the ancient Ranjit way and in the peculiarly Jayant Desai style. The phenomenal luck of Sardar i^handulal Shah plays the most dynamic part in all Ranjit pictures and covers with its silver blanket a thousand mistakes of the executives some of whom, with sufferoi-jce, can be called pseudo-intellectuals 'The songs, however, are beautiful not only in tunes but also in words KHURSHEED TAKES THE APPLAUSE Khursheed is stunning in her sympathetic role and takes practically all the applause for good work and gool pinging. Motilal gets his share ot applause, but this excellent artiste is very badly "cut" through reels and reels continuously. To sabotage so popular an artiste is a criminal foUy, inexcusable and unreasonable. We commend these remarks to Sardar Chandulal's close attention. There is more in Motilil tor the box-office than several socal'ed •?tars put together. Poor Madhuri! Her sophisticated role only fits her funny coiffure. The language that slips out from her tongue helps to advertise the coiffure— beyond that nothing. Ishwarlal has paled off. He is not his usual best. He is stagy and awkward at places. I wonder whether he is getting a swollen head. Well, see ''Shadi". It is a good entertainer and does not bother you. 62