FilmIndia (Jan-Nov 1942)

April 1942 FILMINDIA Narendra Nath (Ajniere) Who takes more trouble over Ranjit music: Jnan Dutt or Khemchand Prakash? Sardar Chandulal Shah. Where is Motilal nowadays? He has become a free-lance gipsy and you will soon find him in several pictures — good and bad. Onkar Sinha B. (Khandwa) Who is this beautiful Kaushalya working in "Rai Saheb"? I want her photo. She is a sweet looking girl in early teens — daughter of a dancer called Lachhu. Her role in "Rai Saheb" makes the picture an outstanding social production worth seeing. For her photo, write to: Chhotubhai Desai, Wadia Movietone Studios, Parel, Bombay. R. N. Murthy (Bangalore) What is the actual work done by the assistants of directors, music directors, cameramen and recordists? I had never thought of this problem before. But after receiving your letter I dropped in at a studio casually and observed the following: The director's assistant was struggling with a shooting script he didn't understand. He had a whistle round his neck through which he blew out his emotions every five minutes. The music director's assistant was keeping guard outside the rehearsal room while the music director was giving rehearsals to the heroine inside. From outside I heard some giggles which certainly did not sound like music. The cameraman's assistant I found stretching the tape from the lens right up to the front of a heroine. He was, I was told, trying to get things in focus. The recordist's assistant wobbled between the microphone and the recording cabin and seemed uncertain of his plans. I do not know whether other studios also have similar assistants but those I saw seemed to waste their time in useless things. Miss D. Lakshmi (Waltair) I am anxious to have a copy of Snehaprabha Pradhan's photograph. Please give me her address and ( ther particulars. Write to her c/o Navyug Chitrapat Ltd., Poona. I am afraid I can't give otlier particulars. K. R. Singh (Dhirpura) My father does not allow me to be an actor because it is a profession, he says, for immoral persons. What should I do to change his mind? // he is one of those ancients with an orthodox mind, it is impossible to convert him. You must wait till you are left alone. If, however, he happens to be a man with an open mind bring him over to Bombay and introduce him to our actors like Prithviraj, Jairaj, Motilal, Jagdish and others and let him stand corrected. In the absence of intimate knowledge 1 don't blame your old man for his views, but if my assurance is any good, tell your old man that he is all wrong. How are coloured films produced in India? In India no colour films are produced at present. The coloured Indian films which you see arc hand coloured frame by frame and often they are poor exhibition of art. Uchhabananda Das (Berhampur) I act but no one appreciates; I sing but even dogs avoid me: I write but no one reads; I play the lover but girls laugh at me. Please let me know what I should do? Commit suicide from the topmost tower in your town so that people in your place notice you at least once. Bhishma Singh (Belhar) Do you think that Dewan Sharar is safe when he publishes his stories in "filmindia"? Won't the producers rob the plots? A genius like Dewan Sharar cannot be robbed enough. He is not a storehouse. He is a factory that creates new stories every day for every mood. Dewan is so prolific that producers will have to keep robbing him for years and yet Dewan will have new stories to tell. Maya and Wasti make a hit together in "Awaz", a social story of Saraswati Cinetone. 17