FilmIndia (Jan-Nov 1942)

October 1942 FILM INDIA Producer Kardar has already purchased, from this lot, two stories: "Bahar ' frcm Shanker Deo Mehta, Kutcheri Road, Lucknow for Rs. 1500/-. and "Gopi", from Madhav Rao, M.A., South Parade, Bangalore, for Rs. 1200/-. Kardar promises to go through all the stories carefully but requests people who have sent their stuff not to indulge in unnecessary correspondence. Kardar says that, to maintain ordinary courtesy, he has already exhausted 2000 of his delightfully sweet — and expensive —letter papers. Add to these the postal expense and the time wasted in correspondence and you will realize why the proverbially polite Kardar sulks nowadays when someone mentions "filmindia'". We request cur story-writing readers to give Kardar a little rest: He is bound to pick up a couple of mere stories from the lot he has in hand and we are sure he will pay well for them. In the meanwhile, those who are in a hurry to get gack tr.eir story scripts ought to send Kardar sufficient return postage, otherwise he stands to lose more in this game than he would earn in his pictures. In the meantime, we wculd advise Kardar to look after his nerves a little bit more than before. HULLO, D R. D WADIA! Director Jai Kishen Nanda. who shot into prominence with his Punjabi picture "Kurmai". is once again in the saddle with D. R. D. Productions' "Ishara" going to the sets. The production of "Ishara" is news by itself, because this is the first story of that famous international writer Dewan Sharar to go into production for the Indian Screen. "Ishara" is the adaptation of Dewan Sharar's famous novel "The Gong of Shiva" which proved a good seller and was translated into several Continental languages. Another distinctive feature of this production is the name of its producer Dady Wadia. Dady who. In addition to being a popular clubman of the city, is a phcto and radio enthusiast of international repute and his association with film production is considered an acquisition to our film industry. With his usual bubbling enthusiasm and probably infected by that Punjabi Nanda. Dady has already started talking. The other day at the luncheon which D. R. D. Productions gave in celebration of the Muhurat ceremony, the irrepressible Dady said: 'D.R.D. productions propose to give the public everything original and no imitations from Western films. It is the sacred duty of the producers to educate India's teeming millions to the right way of thinking towards Indian unity. Just because orthodoxy may That is how the ever-popular Mazhar Khan looks in "Uljhan", an Acharya Art Picture. have a box-office appeal, D.R D. Productions is not going to boost orthodoxy. Reason and progress are our aims." These are brave words and only in the light of these words the picture "Ishara'', when it comes, will be reviewed by us. And we hope Dady Wadia remembers his own words throughout his production career. ONCE AGAIN WITH JAMSHED Gentle Jamshed is not a very gentle guy when it comes to business. He is quite aggressive — in business, we say, enterprising. Producer Jamshed Wadia must be all that because again on the quiet, without even the charming but very much interfering Mrs. Wadia knowing, he has produced the first picture in the Sindhl language. The province cf Sindh has only twenty-five and odd stations where there are picture houses, though the Sindhis in the Cricket Club of India show as if they have all come from Yankee land with theatres at every street corner, and it did need a bit of nerve to stak'j several thousands of rupees over such a limited scope. But with gentle Jamshed (don't fall heavily on that word "gentle' ) business logic has reverse values. He does something because the novelty of the thing appeals to him and then he brings down all his deep study of letters to justify his action. 11