Filmindia (1941)

Producer Uyas Refuses To Be Beaten ! Sink Or Sail But Perseuere Defies Failure And Bad Times Before Vishnu Kumar Vyas came to Bombay some years back, he was an obscure struggling photographer of Ahmedabad. He hardly knew any one except a couple of partners of Messrs. J. K. Pathak & Co. machinery dealers of Ahmedabad, who had an office in Bombay, overlooking the Majestic Cinema. Friends of old still remember the cranky, dreamy-eyed youthful Vyas longingly looking at the crowds that used to visit the Majestic Cinema every week-end. One wonders whether he had a vision then that one day his own pictures would draw larger crowds to the cinemas of the city. Even then, all friends of Vishnu Kumar Vyas would be unanimous in agreemg that Vyas was either half-crank or quarter crank, but crank alright. And now, friends who otherwise disagree, agree on this point readily. A FULL-FLEDGED FILM MAN It was perhaps this very cranky nature of Vyas which has made him lu-day a successful producer. The days of dreaming on the balcony overlooking the Majestic Cinema were soon over as the slogging, never-to-be-refused Vyas managed to get a billet as an assistant director under Mr. Bhogilal Dave, "Boss" of the Sharda Film Co. He soon started moving suspiciously round his first love, the camera, fill he soon moved out of the Sharda Film Co., to become a film cameraman in the Kohinoor Film Company. From now on Vishnu Kumar Vyas became a full-fledged film man. When his old friends from other fields of life met him, didn't Vishnu Kumar talk? He did and nineteen to their dozen. Gradually, he talked himself into production, till his restless spirit founded for him his first production company, the Kumar Movietone. "KUMAR" BECOMES "PRINCE" Talkies after talkies now came out of Kumar Movietone and people al ways wondered: "Where was this guy Vyas getting money from." Several pictures of Vyas proved big box-office hits, several failed even to pay back their cost of raw films. But very soon Vyas was out of Kumar Movietone. He had quarrelled himself out from his financiers and thrown himself into a period of financial worries and physical breakdown. With his devilish energy he made another abortive attempt at production and in place of the Kumar Movietone which he had lost: he gave birth to a Prince Movietone. His Prince Movietone produced a few pictures but one day, the Prince himself was found missing. Once again Vishnu Kumar Vvas was on the rocks. Beaten but not defeated V. M. Vyas was induced to take up some directorial assignments for Tarun Pictures. GIVES MISLEADING HOPES The restless spirit of Vyas which neither gave a quarter to himself nor to his financiers and which always robbed the sleep of both the parties somehow stooped to the compromise of merely directing some pictures for some one else. It was a period of transition for Vyas and he looked quite philosophic about it all. People even said: "Vyas has cooled off and settled down now." As a director he rolled out "Kanya Dan", "Nirali Duniya" and "Prabhat" and the last picture turned out to be a thundering success. With the success of "Prabhat" returned the devil of Vyas's spirit and once again the "cooled off and settled down" Vyas struck out on his own into production under the name of "Sunrise Pictures." The maiden picture of Sunrise was "Ghar-Ki-Laj" which is now drawing such large crowds at the Imperial Cinema, Bombay. He refuses to he beaten — this young man Vishnu Kumar Vyas. HARD TASK MASTER Back again in his previous element Vyas has unleashed his devilish energy which keeps him at the Jyoti Studios from seven in the morning to ten in the night. No one really knows when he eats and what he eats, but everyone knows that he is now producing "Malan", a story written by M. G. Dave featuring Shanta Hublikar and Jagdish. There is not the least doubt that Vishnu Kumar Vyas is a hard-working technician and perhaps the fastest man in the movies, because he produced the full length 14,000feet talkie "Ghar-ki-Laj" in six weeks. But there are times, when the dynamic, versatile Vyas is not an easy person to get along with. His own tireless energy he expects in his artistes and colleagues and he fails to understand why all human beings are not as passionately inspired as himself. Had not Vishnu Kumar Vyas been in the film production line, people would have called Vyas, a mad guy. But in our film industry, with such a fanciful assortment of people, every one looks just natural. (Contributed) 57