FilmIndia (1948)

hrtober, 194« r I L M I N D I A aj Anand, the writer, has excelled imself by giving unforgettable ords to his characters, words which ring angry memories rushing into le mind and in the same breath deiand forgiveness and sympathy for le misguided past. "Ghaddar" is a are piece of dramatic literature hich is at once beautiful and effecve. Dr. Mahomed Ashraf is a Conress worker who completely identies himself with the secular ideals of le Indian .National Congress and arves for himself an enviable repuition as a man of character and •rinciples. Begum, his devoted wife, brills to the mob roar of "Mahomed ishraf Zindabad" and proudly pes;rs Bari Ma, the old and trusted amily maid, with newsy tit-bits of ishraf s achievement. In the town lives Maulana, a poliical chameleon, who twists his tonue to suit the turn of events. He is family friend and so is Saleem, a oung Congress worker, whose blunt nd honest tongue gives ample evilence of his high ideals and sinceity of purpose. The story opens with Dr. Ashraf .nd Saleem facing a conflict with the iritish. Very soon both the patriots re taken to jail. Maulana twists his ongue, changes his cap and becomes . quisling Khan Bahadur. During Vshrafs incarceration. Begum goes hrough the usual pangs of poverty tunctuated by the loyalty of Bari Ma nd Sultan, the t w * » family servants. VICTIM OF PROPAGANDA By the time Ashraf and Saleem ire out of jail, the Muslim League las succeeded in demanding the diision of the country. W ith CanIhiji's painting, reverently displayed ) his home. Ashraf. Saleem and daulana hear of the Congress conenl to the establishment of Pakisan. With overwhelming propaganda lUtside and pressure inside his home. Uhraf becomes a Muslim Leaguer vith the difference thai, unlike •thers. he carries his character and Manciples to the new camp w here he •oon finds himself to be a complete .tranger, even though Ashraf has put innah's painting in place of GanIhiji's. Saleem resents Ashraf s conversion md sticks to his guns in national serice. We are soon taken to the frightening holocaust immediately preceding the partition of India. Saleem is stabbed to death but before dying he makes an eloquent effort to reclaim Ashraf but to no avail. Very soon Ashraf is shown as stabbed and wounded in the Punjab by both the Muslims and the Hindus and we reach the final act in which Maulana arrives wearing a Gandhi cap once again accompanied by one Sharafat Ali, an official who has opted for service in Pakistan. Ashraf gives vent to his outraged sentiments and confesses his mistake charging Jinnah with greed of power that took the toll of thousands of innocent lives. Sharafat Ali, a deep-dyed Pakistani, whips out a revolver and shoots at Ashraf. Before dying Ashraf removes Jinnahs painting and hands it over to Maulana who carries it away saying "La houl vala kuwat". The Muslims know what it mean-. SYMBOLIC CHARACTERS As a stage play on present-day politics "Ghaddar" is almost a perfect presentation of a very important phase of our national life. In Ashrafs character, the writer tells a few hometruths to those misguided by unceasing political propaganda while Saleem is portrayed as a sym Recruit C. R. Rao, of 6738, Laxminikethan, (Deepak), Kiiifjsway, Secunderabad (On.) is 24, 5'-8" educated at Shantiniketan, knows Hindi, Telugu, L'rdu and has acted in amateur dramatics. bol of high ideals, unswerving loyalty and true patriotism. But the character that represents the rank and file of the Pakistanis in India is Maulana, the chameleon of politics, who hides political fanaticism under the safety of his skin and as such must be considered more dangerous than the revolver-loaded Sharafat Alis of Pakistan. In Begum and Bari Ma. the sentimental pattern of Indian home life is faithfully maintained by the author. ZOHRA'S CLASSIC STAGE ART There is very little to choose between the different performances of Prithviraj s team of seasoned players but if a careful analysis is to be made. Zohra Segal in the role of "Bari Ma" gives a classic portrayal as the loyal house-maid who has grown old with the family. We rank her performance as the best. I zra plays "Begum " beautifully and looks very attractive these days. But her voice and hurried diction call for more restraint and training. Her emotional performance, however, is superb. Prithviraj plays "Ashraf" but he has so much of heavy, sensible talk that there is hardly any scope for an emotional moment. His pronunciation of the supposedly U. P. language goes travelling easily to his homeland of Pathans. especially in moments of emphasis. Prem Nath looks and does very well as "Saleem". the idealist. This bo) shows a great promise. He has stage poise and effective diction. Krishen Dhawan who plays "Maulana" give> away the secret that he a younger man than he is supposed to look. His smile is also more youthful than the age he portrays. This role becomes impressive because of the writer's skill and not of the artiste. As Sharafat Ali, Kanwal Kapoor comes to the stage pretty green. His make-up needs less rouge and more age. A judge usually has age and experience not necessarily very old age but he need not look an overgrown teenager, as Kanwal does. All in all "Ghaddar" is a great t national play, thanks to Prithviraj, the producer and Inder Baj Anand, the author.