FilmIndia (1945)

October, 1945. FILMINDI A started by Mr. Mehboob should be derailed by removing "fish plates", before any mischief is done to the film industry, which is a real Temple of Art." KARACHI. Miss Duru Advani. BUT NOT THE LIVING ' Whenever a good picture is in the town huge eager crowd assemble near the theatre to witness the show. The booking office of '5 and 10 annas class' of the local theatre 'Paradise' is situated in such a way that people have to stand in queue for hours on end to get their tickets under a scorching sun and in heavy rains in monsoon as no shade is provided. The management does not care for the poor people, who cannot afford to pay more for the tickets. The theatre has become a real 'Paradise' for the rich and 'Hell' for the poor. How long do they want to play with the lives of the poor? Is it not the function of the government, who are taking 25°/ as entertainment tax, to order the management to provide some shade ? Mr. Baburao Patel, your vo'ce is heard even in eraves. can you not wake the management and the government from their deep slumber?" KARACHI. T. K. Advani. NEVER! NEVER! "Whenever I see a Ranjit picture, I am forcibly reminded of your observation that Ranjit is, "a desert where art refuses to grow." The more I see Ranjit pictures, the more I become convinced of the aptness of this remark. "The other day I chanced to see "Mumtaz Mahal" — a Ranjit brand. The whole thing was sickening and positively disgusting from the beginning to the end. Ever since the phenomenal success of Minerva's "Pukar" many of our producers and directors seem to develop the craze of producing historical films and seem to vie with each other to bring out historical box-office hits but their attempts have met with signal failures so far. Even the chap who acted the role of Jehangir in "Pukar" has failed miserably in portraying realistically the role of the great son of the great Emperor of India quite convincingly. There is no realistic touch in his acting at all. Throughout he faces the camera like a lunatic and in the last scene, he defhrtely looks like an op'um-eater. Khurshid is thoroughly a misfit as Queen Mumtas Even the Emperor's love for his queen or rather his infatuation fcr her, has not been fully brought out. Both of them act together as if under some spell. In Ranjit's "Mumtaz Mahal", history has been mercilessly murdered, facts have been deliberately distorted, the story is crudely conceived and the acting and even the music is intensely boring. Historical records reveal that it was during Shah Jehan's time that the Moghal empire was at its height of power. ■'When will our producers and other big guns of the Indian Film Industry put art before Mammon worship? And when will your ceaseless tirade against these criminals (which to them is what a red rag is to a bull) bear fruit? When oh! when?" MADRAS. Md. Ameenuddin. TOO LATE "My friends strongly recommended me' to see "Kismet" during its 3rd or 4th visit here and even blamed me for not seeing it till 1945. It was with much expectation I entered the crowded house. What a bad luck for me! I can't but pity my friends who make the cinema houses so crowded. Why? Our producers are not to be blamed. They do really deserve appreciation in finding out that this is a 'Paeli Duniya* where our Mumtaz Shantis and others will continue to sMne! !" BANGALORE. M. N. Krishna Nair. THE ONE & ONLY J a M IJ M fl RICH SENTIMENT in EMOTION ACTION DIRECTOR P. C. BARUA'S GREAT BID FOR 1945's DIRECTORIAL HONOURS— STARRING. BARUA # JAMUNA MAYA BANNERJEE ft INDU MUKHERJEE AHINDRA CHAUDHARY ft SH YAM SAHA ROBIN MAJUMDAR ft SAILEN CHAUDHARY PHANI ROY AND A NEW FIND ANJAL1 ROY. Producer : K. TULSHAN M USIC : KAMALDAS GUPTA Territorial Rights With KAPURCHAND P. SETH 34, EZRA STREET, CALCUTTA. 43