FilmIndia (1945)

November, 1945 FILM1NDIA A.I.C.C. session, the show became a Shantaram-Jayshree affair. At least that is what Shantaram believed after hearing Dewan Sharar say, "Everyone is looking at you and Baby". (Dewan Saheb*s 'Baby' is Shantaram's Jayshree.) That the Indian National Congress, India's largest democratic institution, seems to be believing in the charity of individuals, seeing that it took a free gate from V. Shantaram and free loud speakers from Nanak Motwane of Chicago. At this rate, we shall have freedom also as a charity. That Kedar Sharma has returned to India after a cup of tea with Cecil B. de Mille in Hollywood and now all Ranjit pictures in future will have the Hollywood finish in sex and spectacle. That 'Expert' Hirlekar will bring into the country the remaining stock of Hollywood germs till our whole industry will be completely germinated with Hollywood Art. That Sardar Chandulal Shah has decided to close down the Ranjit studios for three months to enable the entire staff to hear Kedar Sharma's yarns from overseas delivered now in an internationally sexy voice. That Walli-a-la-Mumtaz, H. M. V. Chaturbhuj and Marwari Indra have not a dog's chance now, for a period of three months, to catch the Sardar's ear, as both the ears will be held tight by the little Kedar. That the Sardar should not be surprised to hear that there is not one like Kedar Sharma in the whole of Hollywood. How can you get that size and that voice together? That Walt Disney was so fed up with his Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck that he was on the verge of suicide when the Indian 'Experts' visited him. Seeing Hirlekar he decided to live again and now we shall get Disney Cartoons of Hirlekar in place of Mickey Mouse and Kedar will officiate for Donald Duck. That Walt Disney was so thrilled with the strange phenomenon of a man having a woman's voice that he asked Kedar Sharma to stay back in Hollywood and sell his voice to Snow White. That Devika Rani, the new Queen of Moscow, threatens to return to Bombay, of course after her honeymoon with Red Roerich, to start a Film Academy to teach our society girls how to act. It should be a three-year course: Film acting in the first year; Controlling Production and shoe-worshipping second year; marrying a Red and running away to the Himalayas in the third year. What about the broken hearts left behind ? That Protima Dasgupta is reported to have secured a *arge plot of land with a hill in the centre for her new nudio at Chembur. On the top of the hill she will build her P. P. A. Dera and spot Baburao Pai sneaking round *he studio with contracts for Begum Para. That Chembur threatens to become the Jollywood of India with many a producer completing his postwar plans there. At this rate. Chembur will have to be soon declared out of bounds as a leper area. That Baburao Pai is reported to have donated a lakh of rupees for a maternity hospital, probably inspired by the experience that abortions are more painful and risky than normal confinements. That though the hospital is primarily for Saraswats, the devotees of the Goddess of Learning, occasional exceptions will be made for would-be film stars, the devotees of Art. This is certainly better use of money than the Film Academy started by V. Shantaram of Rajkamal and Jayshree. , That Sushila Rani who is writing a book about Baburao Patel and his writings, is wondering how to print so many unprintable items of the hefty Editor's life. In any case what Sushila Rani ultimately writes about Editor Patel will be still sensational. That Sohrab Modi has at last completed his, "Ek Din Ka Sultan"' and is now preparing for another called, "Ek Raat Ki Sultana" but not till he has taken Mehtab and others for an all-India tour of premieres. That Kapurchand ( not to forget the other two midgets Kevalchand and Zaverchand) is the biggest box-office star of the film industry. When Kapurchand buys a picture it runs on silver wheels to make world records. Kapurchand is now offering 50% less to the producers for their pictures to secure the Kapurchand 'touch.' That the only pictures which defied the Kapurchand touch' were "P. P. A. Dera'' and "Mali" which had too much of the Shantaram 'touch.' That Kapurchand Brothers propose to donate 30 lakhs from their huge film iortune to build an Indian Film Academy to manufacture more producers to feed the House of Kapurchands. That remarkably successful Bengali director Sailajananda Mukherjee is reported to have been thrown out of the Eastern Talkies with his "New Wife" (Nutan Bow). Mukherjee is reported to have offered his "New Wife" to Takvar, who wanted the Hindustani "Bibi" instead of the Bengali "Bow". That Melvyn Douglas, the Yankee star is reported to be "advising' that slum picture "Ameeree" with long-distance instructions from Hollywood. This 'advising' looks like a Yankee hoax. Nila Nagini is one of the many artistes Kishore Sahu is exploiting in "Veer Kunal". a story of olden times. 21