Filmindia (1941)

December, 1941 FILMINDIA His drink bills are enormous. in Kolhapur. At Prabhat's he met Director Shantaram who thought he'd make a good actor. At that time Chandramohan did not want to be an actor but when Baburao Pendarkar left Prabhat's he was asked again to join the company. This time he agreed and started playing leading roles immediately. This was in 1934. His first film was "AmritManthan". He was dubbed a villain early in his career because the directors thought he looked villainous. DISAGREED WITH SHANTARAM Chandramohan enjoyed working at Prabhat's and thinks Director Shantaram is one of the best directors he has met. However on one point Chandramohan and Shantaram did not agree. Shantaram was continually saying "Wc are Prabhat. We make or break people '. and things like this which gave all the credit to Prabhat's. Now Chandramohan felt that a fair amount of credit should go to individual actors, and so that same spirit which fought against his guardians' dictatorial attitude, rebelled, and Chandramohan left Prabhat. This was in 1936. In 1937 Chandramohan joined Huns Pictures in Kolhapur. He says "everything there was a racket and I didn't stay long." Then in 1938 he joined the Minerva film company but didn't stay long with them either. You will be thinking by now "this fellow Chandramohan seems a disagreeable sort of chap. He seems to be continually quarrelling with film studios." I thought that too and I asked Chandramohan about it. He said "I'm a very good quiet boy until I'm provoked and then Heaven help the man wno provokes me. Looking at his fierce eyes I resolved not to rouse his anger and then realising I was being stupid I said to myself "You worm, how d'you think you are going to get an interesting interview if you are too scared to ask impertinent questions?" AFRAID OF A WIFE So I roused myself and said, "Mr. Chandramohan, tell me why you haven't married", and in quite a docile manner he replied "I haven't married because if I did I would lose my individuality and I wouldn't be able to take chances. I am very ambitious and adventurous, but if I had a wife she would be a responsibility and she would cramp my style. If I marry a quiet retiring home-girl she will suffer in silence while I continue to live in my haphazard fashion but her very silence will make my conscience prick and irritate me. If I marry a modern go-ahead girl she will nag at me because my main interest will be my work and I will have very little time for her. Now if there's anything I can't bear, it's a nagging woman. No thank you — this man is not going to marry — ever!" All you pathetic bachelor ladies who dream fondly of this flashingeyed villain at night, had better let matrimony drop out of your dreams. HIS THUNDERING EGO This nomad Chandramohan who wanders from one film company to the other is now free-lancing. He is one, (if not the Best) of the best character actors in India and loves his work. He says "I never work for money (that rolls in automatically) but only to satisfy the artist in me." If our money rolled in automatically and in large sums we would not work for money either! Chandramohan is idealist enough not to work at all when he cannot work for work alone. He has practically directed some of his films and all these films have been successes. He says "No picture I have acted in has been a failure because of me, and many pictures have succeeded because I have acted in them. I like to be able to express my own ideas about how I should play a scene. A director must say what he wants to say to the public through the artiste, but the artiste must have some say in the matter. If directors could act they would not need to have artistes to put over their films, but as long as they can't act they must allow actors more scope for interpreting the role in the way they think is best." Chandi-amohan spoke so feelingly on this subject that I was almost tempted to ask him if he'd like to get all his grievances off his massive chest. I changed the subject and asked Chandramohan to tell me more about his life. This is what I drew out of Dislikes men who pretend to be very goody-goody .... 29