FilmIndia (Jan-Nov 1942)

October 1942 FILMINDIA K. John (Delhi) I have got a romantic story and I wish to send it to Producer S. Mukherjee of the Bombay Talkies Ltd.? Please don't. Just at present Mukherjee is not In a mood for romance. There is tragedy in his heart and he feels like killing his heroines. Narendra Singh (Jubhulpore) Rama Shukul was my colleague in school and college. I wrote to him personal letters but he never cared to reply. Is it true that people after becoming stars forget their old friends? You have said it. And this Rama of yours is such a lazy guy that he misses all appointments with his male friends. Who is the better artiste: Chandramohan or Motilal? Both are very good in their own fields. Ask any of them and he will tell you that he sleeps with Art every night. Thakur Shishma Singh (Bebhar) Leela Chitnis being the mother of so many children still continues to play the role of a girl in teens. She makes the picture look thoroughly unnatural and one has to pity the director. Why can't you change her mind and remind her of her age? Show me one man in the entire world who has guts enough to remind a woman of her age and get away with it. I am quite a bold chap but don't ask me to do impossible things. Kumari Toola (Sukkur) Where have Iladevi and Rajkumari of "Achhut" gone? Rajkumari, once a N.T. star, is now a married woman. She seems to have retired from the screen. Iladevi is in Lahore, back at her old occupation. She also seems to have left the screen alone. What has happened of Durgesh Nandini of "Pardesi"? She has become Anjali Devi now and is seen in "Bachelor Father" and "Uljhan", two social pictures of Acharya Art Productions. Where is Miss Rose nowadays? Rose has just been taken up by the Prabhat Film Co. and will star in "Nai Kahani'', their new social story. Ramakrishna Dubey (Bilaspur) Is it true that Shantaram is going to start his own film concern? Nothing is true of Shantaram's plans unless they take place. A month back Shantaram was supposed to have purchased the National Studios. He got up on the dais and lectured about having done so to the entire staff. Today, we learn that some one else has taken the studios. Two years back, Shaiitaram was talking about getting the Technicolor process into India. That process is still in Hollywood. Now, Shantaram talks of producing "Shakuntala", that inimitable classic romance of Kalidas. Let us, however, wait till it is on the screen. It is quite likely that Kardar may produce the subject first. Don't hitch your entertainment to these big directors. They change so often. G. H. E. Vanker (Durban) Before introducing "filmindia" to my fiancee she used to call me the "Great ', but now to my surprise she calls you the "Great". May be she has fallen in love with you? Don't be alarmed. I am long way off. You can still hold her. As regards falling in love, don't worry. No one falls in love with me because I am not a very agreeable person. Couple of them committed the mistake and now they are cursing the day they met me. Tell this to your fiancee. Why are the Indian pictures so long? Because our Producers require a long rope to hang themselves with. Will Devika Rani marry again? Why shouldn't she, if Mr. Right comes along. Prof. M. D. Tandon (Aligarh) I am greatly interested in Kabir's life. May I know when "Bhakta Kabir", the picture advertised in your "filmindia" is coming to the screen? I think this picture has already been released In some North Indian stations. It ought to be in Delhi very shortly. See it and let me know what you think of it. Akhauri Baikunth Nath (Ranchi) People always complain about your partiality to Ranjit and Kardar pictures. They say that you are a puppet in the hands of these two big financial concerns. How far is the allegation true? People accuse me of all sorts of things. They have often called me a drunkard but no one has ..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXNNXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX^ USHILA RANI XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.X In the August issue, we had promised our readers an autographed pr.oto of Sushila Rani, expecting a reasonable number of replies. By the end of August, the number of replies, mounted up to several thousands and we decided to distribute 2000 prints to selected readers. This decision has brought upon us the wrath of thousands of other readers, who accused us of favouritism among many other things. The directors of the Filmindia Publications Ltd., have therefore decided to insert a special three colour art plate of Sushila Rani, autographed suitably for the Divali occasion, in the November issue, so that all readers may get a choice photograph of Sushila Rani — something worth framing and keeping. sxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxvxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxv 25