FilmIndia (1945)

OUR REVIEW "Chand Tara" Charlie's Stupid Time-Killer ! Picture Produced For Fools ! To those students of the Indian film industry who are not yet convinced of the fact that our producers produce pictures for fools, "Chand Tara" provides one more proof. From the beginning to the end it is a picture designed eminently for prize fools. And fools react marvellously to this stuff remembering our experience of a navy rating, next to us during the show, sitting constantly on the edge of a chair and shouting, "Shabash Dost", whenever Charlie did something infernally stupid. One cannot deny that there is a market for such stuff and producers who are never anxious to acquire any intellectual status — their only purpose being money — pander by giving the people such cheap and demoralizing stuff putting aside high ideals and social purpose which critics usually try to associate with the profession of film production. CHAND TARA Producers : Language : Story : Dialogues : Songs : Photography : Asiatic Pictures Hindustani Narayan Patel Pandit Indra Swami Ramanand Fali Mistry Audiography : Romesh Desai Music : Gyan Duti Cast . Charlie, Suvarnalata, Jagdish Sethi, Indira etc. Released At : Capitol, Bombay. Date of Release : 21st Sept. '45 Directed By : MANIBHAI VYAS A FARCICAL STORY As "Chand Tara" is a picture tor fools, the story is stupid. It is about a village boy Raju who is shown as learning in a college and failing con Veteran Chanda Bai always gives a good performance. Here she is again in "Dhanna Bhagat", a devotional subject of Ranjit. stantly. He returns home a failure and tries to bluff his people. He is soon exposed by the villagers. He has a sweetheart in Ratan, the daughter of the well-to-do village chief. Raju's father is in debt as usual. Raju is both ambitious and needy. Very soon everyone is against him. He decides to trek out of the village in search of adventure. Taking a companion he acts a prince and gets into a neighbouring mismanaged state. There he impose* special toll-tax on one and all vehicles and collects money with impunity. This farce goes on for sometime, till Ratan comes in search of Raju who is found with the Dewan's daughter. Usual complications now bring the climax in which Raju is condemned to be run over a motor car. At the last minute the king, with his eyes opened by Ratan, saves Raju and ends the story romantically. From the first foot to the last the whole affair is humbug — pure and simple. From the story-writer down to the artiste everyone seems to have treated the stuff in a farcical manner. Technically, the production values are not so bad. Photography is pleasant in parts, while the director ha^ also shot the picture rather neatly in parts. The sound recording is a bit indifferent. Music can be called both snappy and frivolous. The song compositions are stupid at best and the dialogues insipid and useless. The story, as presented on the screen, did not require any direction and Manibhai has not been generous with it. CHARLIE'S USUAL ANTICS Charlie, if you make peace with the clownish expression of his role, gives the usual slick performance. It is a pity that this talented artiste has to earn his living by giving slapstick work from picture to picture. Suvarnalata does pretty well throughout the picture but looks hideous and ugly — especially when she gives a la Vasanti movements in the first song which she sings with the village costume. Indira has also done well as the Dewan's daughter. We hope to see a little more of this girl as she seems to have some talent for acting. Whatever fools think of "Chand Tara", we found the picture disgusting without even a single moment of intelligent relief. It is not a picture for the readers of "filmindia". 65