FilmIndia (Jan-Jul 1943)

FILMINDIA June 1943 not been able to devote as much time to music as he would, thanks to his literary preoccupation. Music was his first love and he hoped to return to it sometime in the future. He told me that some of the songs that he had enjoyed in the Indian cinema were among the best he had ever heard, especially the marching song'in "Sikandar". "But why don't you write down your music as we do?" he. asked, "I think it can be easily done. And if you do so, it will be helpful not only to you, but to foreigners too who want to learn Indian music." He had, in fact taken down the marching song of 'Sikandar' and even offered to play it for me some day. Mr. Nichols had formed such a high opinion about that marching song, that he said, "It deserves to be sung all over the world!" The pictures he had seen had convinced him, he stated, that India could rightly claim a place on the screen map of the world. According to him, the standard of Indian pictures did not in any way yield to that of Western pictures, though one complaint might be made, that they were a bit too long. There was nothing but a bright outlook for Indian films. And it would be worthwhile, he suggested, to produce pictures like "Raj Nartaki" for the international market. Mr. Nichols has no doubt that Indians are artistically inclined. Their art might have gone through a temporary eclipse, he said, but there were already signs that they were trying to make up for lost time. Art was blossoming afresh in the country. And artistes like Uday Shanker and Madame Menaka were making an able effort to revive India's old glory. By the way, Mr. Nichols seems to have great admiration for Menaka, whom he considers to be not only an accomplished dancer, but a highly cultured and pleasant lady. Then the talk turned on India's architecture. He has seen the Taj Mahal and marvelled at the skill that had produced that thing of beauty. But New Delhi, the Gateway of India and the buildings of Bombay gave him a nauseating feeling. New Delhi had an outlandish air about it; the Gateway of India was just a huge pile of stones; and the buildings of Bombay deserved only the unsettling impact of a series of bombs. If he had any power, he would, without delay, set up a Ministry of Fine Arts at Delhi so that in future, at least, such monstrosities might not come into existence . SNATCHES "FILMINDIA" Then Mr. Nichols talked about his books. As I have said before, Mr. Nichols is a keen gardener and he once wrote a whole book about gardening. This book had become popular in Germany, when the Nazis came to power. They at once scrutinized it carefully for objeclionable passages and decided that several paragraphs, especially, those relating to his dog should be cut out, — perhaps because they were subversive! Talking about his plays, Mr. Nichols said that they had not succeeded well in Britain, but on the Continent they were much sought after. Mr. Nichols would have continued in this strain longer, but he felt too fatigued and had to recline on his bed. I felt that it would be unkind to persist any further and secured from him a promise that I would get another interview at some future date. When about to start, I remembered the copies of "filmindia" I had taken with me. Hardly had I taken them out, he snatched them from me saying: "Oh 'filmindia'? I have been wait'n^ to read that magazine for some time. They say it gives the correct insight into the Indian film and art world . " He went through some pages and said, "Beautifully got-up job." Days passed by and I hoped to interview Mr. Nichols again. But, meanwhile, tie waves of controversy had risen so high they seemed about to engulf him. So when I reminded him of his promise, he wrote back, "For the moment I want to lie low and let others cto the talking!" Rather a rough situation from "Nagad Narayan" where Babnrao Pendharkar probably gives his moral suppjrt to a damsel in distress — as usual. 40