Filmindia (1941)

Has Shantaram Blundered? What Price F.R.B. dob? By: M.A. HAMID "Filmindia" is an old crusader and a very successful one too. Till recently it launched a vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Alexander Shaw as the Producer for the Film Advisory Board. The subsequent events proved the sanity of this crusade against the white-skinned standard bearers and even the Government of India who previously kept on dodging the issue of an Indian's appointment by telling a daring lie that "There are no Indian experts in this particular branch of film production" found it necessary to submit to the pressure of persistent agitation. "FILMINDIA" SCORES To-day Mr. Alexander Shaw is no more in the Film Advisory Board. The Government of India have now filled up the post with an Indian and that Indian is no other than Mr. V. Shantaram — India's greatest director. 'Filmindia' has every reason to feel proud of its achievement and every right-thinking Indian shares this pride as a matter of national honour. But while "Filmindia" can be jubilant over its triumph and the Government of India can rightly boast of making the best possible choice, one doubts the decision of Mr. Shantaram in accepting the post. Indeed, the question that at present agitates the minds of thousand.'' o£ Shantaram fans is: Has Shantaram blundered? SACRIFICE OR SOMETHING ELSE? We are solemnly told — and our authority is no less a person than "JUDAS" — that it is a big sacrifice on the part of Prabhat to spare iis ace director Mr. Shantaram for other work in these days of severe competition. Sacrifice! A very big sacrifice!! But is it so? If we take stock of the last few months' events in Prabhat, we smell a dead rat in the whole affair. And "JUDAS" himself lets the cat out of bag. He virtually explodes this myth of sacrifice by saying: "For a year now we have been hearing rumours and reports of quarrels between the different partners of Prabhat and we are told that some of the partners do not even speak to one another and one does not even see the others. The fact that Shantaram has been inactive for nearly a year after completing "Padosi" lends belief to these reports." This statement is self-explanatory. Its authenticity can hard.y be doubted for it is from the pen of a person who is in the know of things and who in his own words has been a member of the Prabhat family foi years. However, JUDAS' threat "For the present I am just touching this subject to show the partners how I feel about the whole affair. But one day I may dynamite the dam of silence." throws further light on the subject and makes us suspect the altruistic motives that prompted Prabhat lo spare (?) their best man. BETWEEN THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA As a Calcutta Weekly puts it: "It seems that the partnership knot of Prabhat cannot sustain a pull from Cupid. Years back, Mr. K. Dhaiber made an exit from the fold of Prabhat under similar circumstances. His marriage with an artiste of Prabhat was considered a sufticieni reason for expulsion. History repeats itself. To-day Mr. Shantaram marries a Prabhat artiste and he virtually leaves Prabhat. Is it a mere coincidence?" We can fairly accurately draw a picture in our own minds as to what may have happened behind the four walls of Prabhat. After the trouble brewed up and it took serious dimensions, Mr. Shantaram found himself facing two alternatives, i.e., either to remain inactive as a passive partner or to step out and carry on work of film-production independently. Mr. Mirza Hamid is a journalist of Rangoon, who is now in Bombay. The first alternative would have meant a death blow to the activities of one of the most creative directors of the Indian screen. It would have tantamounted to sapping the life of a man who is not only full of life himself but a'.so possesses the art of injecting life into the teemmg millions of India by giving his pictures a human touch and life-spark. The second alternative was nothing short of undoing the achievemsnt of h's life-time. Could Mr. Shantaram imagine for a moment causing the £am2 edifice crumble to p ecss which he took years to bu Id up and whose every brick bears his stamp? Thus, for a number of months Mr. Shantaram found himself between the horns of a dilemma till an offer came from the Government of India which he accepted almost without any hesitation finding it an excellent via media to avoid both the undesirable extremes. NATION versus GOVERNMENT But while Mr. Shantaram escaped the horns of a dilemma by grabbing the timely opportunity and perhaps smoothened the admonitions of his inner voice by the suasions of his. intellect, I for one doubt if by his' latest move he put the nation or the Indian Film Industry under any obligation. On the other hand, he forsook both of them in their hour of dire need and preferred to produce pictures for the Film Advisory Board. 53