FilmIndia (1948)

ugust, 1948 FILMIND1A e to go to Kulu for a holiday and men don't) . KULU OR KANDIVLI? By giving his story the new and • ;turesque location of Kulu. Kidar \arma saved it from becoming bor :dy familiar. Even the costumes irn by the characters have a certain imatic quality and there is ever ;sent a suggestion of hilly hardi iss which vitalizes the story deve)ment and somewhat justifies the my inconsistencies and incongruis. I Incidentally, the Kulu cosnes did not give Kidar much • ance for exhibiting female ananv — and it is good that it was so ! ) One only wishes, once he had hit ion Kulu for the location of his »'ry, Kidar Sharma had actually (tie there and shot the exteriors jiidst the authentic natural surundings of far-famed Kulu. It ''tild have lent additional colour to I* film. As it is, with all the tricky lv angles that Kidar's cameraman Is tried, one cannot but recognise I: patently obvious pigmy hills of lmbay*s suburbs. It is a glaring consistency that repeatedly hits one i the eye. BEAUTIFUL OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY It is all t he more unfortunate beJjse, otherwise, the exteriors have *n beautifully shot with an eye for Atorial composition. Unusual anI'S, cloud backgrounds, picturesque Irves of land, have all been fully uloited. For this the director and jpieraman must equally share cre|. In this respect Kidar has defilely kept up his artistic reputation. ■Artistic sensibility is also revealed I certain tw ists of the scenario — as I' instance, in the emotional use |.de of the folk song. "Lakhi Bubal mray " which Kamo's father Igs twice in such grimly altered Icumstances ; or, again, the misunIrstanding created in the scene ■ere the two girls, on either side of (Kail that is symbolic, and unknown leach other, listen to the boy's de■ration of love and each reacts acIrdingly. Kidar Sharma's pen does fcasionally give flashes of intelli»ice. But. after the tale is told Id the picture is seen, one asks: To ■ at end? For what purpose? For, Widamentally. the whole thing lacks emotional profundity as much as artistic coherence, psychological insight as much as social significance. INTRODUCING GEETA BALI Y\ hen the booklet of "Sohag Raat" says: ''The company presents Begum Para and Bharat Bhushan and introduces A new Talent Geeta Bali"', it is wrong English but correct statement of fact. Geeta Bali may not BE "a talent" but she definitely HAS talent which even overcomes plain features and a pug nose. More than even talent in this picture she reveals a personality in which naivette, charm and a boyish vivacity are all mixed. That all these qualities were latent in her is true; Kidar Sharma could not have invented them. But it is equally true that by giving her a role that fitted her personality and then providing her appropriate situations, the director-writer has brought out that personality. Those who saw her in extra roles in some obscure Lahoremade pictures are truly and agreeably surprised. It may truly be said that Kidar Sharma has not only discovered but made a star. Not only Geeta Bali herself but the role that she plays — Kamo. the unsophisticated daughter of the hills, who is strong enough to carry an unconscious man on her back but has a soft, loving heart within a rough exterior— is the highlight of the pic ture. The partiality of the director for the artiste as well as the character is fairly obvious and wherever necessary other characters and artistes have been sacrificed to "build up" Kamo — and Geeta Bali! This, unfortunately carried to excess, has made the picture somewhat lop-sided — after all one character alone can seldom carry the entire burden of a story. As a result of the camera emphasis on Geeta, Begum Para has little to do and she does it badly. This reviewer has given up hope of ever seeing genuine emotion on her hard, though undoubtedly beautiful, features. Bharat Bhushan, as the bone of contention, has been given a static role which becomes duller still by his soft, other-worldly look. He keeps one constantly wondering how two attractive girls like Para and Geeta can be so foolish as to bother about him. But then Kidar Sharma. striking his philosophical pose, can retort. "Love is blind". In this case it is! The surprise performance of the picture comes from old-trouper Pessi Patel whom I mistook for Gyani — and that is meant as a compliment. Thanks to Geeta Bali's refreshing debut. '"Sohag Raat" may be a fairly good box-office success. If it had better music, it might have been a hit.