FilmIndia (1948)

"ex-ember, 1948 FILMINDIA lip and Chuni Lall turned round and said. "I don't give krns. My picture Shaheed has beaten all records at 'elhi. You know His Excellency the Governor-General of idia saw it etc.. etc." He didn't, however, mention that ajaji asked for water after the show. That since the ban on "Jugnu" all the "Chands". Lalls' and 'Bhais' of our film industry have been holdig secret meetings with the result that Minister Morarji •esai had to double his escort. It is, however, an unne;ssary precaution as our film people "kill" with words -and what words! That Director Kedar Sharma is now playing the bro opposite Gita Bali C'Kamu" of "Sohag Raat") in us new picture "Xeki Aur Badi". It is a dress rehearsal, loming events cast their shadows before. That Sardar Ghandulal Shah has these days become [devotee of the monkey-god Hanuman. Even Taimur. the it Parsi boy, shouts these days "Jai Hanuman'" when/er Chandulal enters the studio. That is giving Chanduil a tail. That Manu Subedars "Liberty" cinema still remains symbol of the liberties he is getting from our democrac government. No one asks him where he got all the eel and cement to build his palatial theatre. Evidently, ur ministers are scared of Manu s magic at .New Delhi. That the producers appointed long-nosed Keki Modi 5 their representative on the Gensor Board to counter;t Shantaram's activities and now Keki has left the prolicers in the lurch by Hying off to America. Too bad! That Indians have no money to buy dollars from the ird currency areas but Keki Modi, of course, has enough lOney to do so. They say he is worth a little over two •ores. Add to this another two crores of Sohrab Modi id his "Mera Munna" and you have a neat total of five •ores in the Modi family alone. That's some monev. Oh »y! Oh boy! That Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan, in private life) ilieves in even love being Islamic. We wonder what his sroine Kamini Kaushal thinks of it? That people from La I bang. Parel and Matunga know lese days that some picture is being made at the Shri Dund Studios, the way the world around them is conantly in a tremor. It is Director Nando at his "Singhar". locking the hell out of those poor artistes and without hisky too. That to avoid bloodshed in a non-violent studio the fo brothers. Hajnikant and ( .handrakant. are t'temlves keeping \anda all-time con pany and Nanda touts that they are co-operating. As if they are! That the Socialist leader. Jayaprakash \arayan, is owly infiltering into film studios these days and will on organize film labour and present an ultimatum to e producers. The picture that he recently set rolling at e M. & T. Studios is called "Aahuti". That the Governor of Bombay and his gracious ladv iw "The Man Eater of Kumaon" and have now gone search of the village in India where boys dress like ibu. What about calling the Governor for "mv picture *aheed" ? That Director R. S. Chovvdhary goes to bed tarly these days and gets strange political dreams which wake up others in the dead of the night. Some dreamy politics those! We suggest cutting off that last glass of adulterated soda before retiring. That Muslim film stars are going to fast one day in protest the way they find Prince Aly Khan going on a holiday with the Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth. Thev should lead a deputation to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the biggest Islamic state, and ask him to stop such misuse of Islamic energy. That the Delhi "Friends" of the Soviet Union went one better than their Bombay comrades in picketting "Iron Curtain" and landed themselves in police custody. That s some love for Bolshevism! That filmindia's roving correspondent who recentlyvisited Pandharpur. the holy of holies, had the rare treat of hearing some of the pujaris of the temple recite "Meri Jan Sunday etc'" and threatened to produce many more if dared. That is Hinduism with a film rhythm. That at this rate the Hindu pujaris will forget our marriage mantras and future marriages will have to be solemnized with some Madhokian tune like "Ankhiyan milake jiya bharmake chale nahi jana". Any way the parties to the marriage will always understand that better than the mysterious Sanskrit slokas recited at present. That Ghuni Lall's "Shehnai" with its "Meri Jan" song knocked the spots out of Shantaram's "Ram Joshi" in Pandharpur. With the pujaris singing "Meri Jan", what do you expect the devotees to do? It is a marvel the stone gods haven't caught the infection vet! Some mercy that ! Sweet and wistful as usual Naseem comes to the screen once again in "Chandni Raat". a social story of Taj Mahal Pictures directed by Mr. M. Klisan. 17