FilmIndia (1946)

M/oe* & Sick OQ5 ( This is the reader's forum— as and when space permits. From the producer to the lay film-goer, every one can write to the Editor and ventilate his grievance. For every letter published in these columns, the publishers will pay Rs. SiLetters should be signed and marked "Hoes And Echoes". Photographs of the readers will be published along with theit letters, if convenient. — The Editor.) MATTER OF BRAINS "It was recently that I saw both the pictures, "Dragon-Seed" and "Ghu ami." To be just, "Ghulami" is only the Hindi version of "DragonSeed". The tragedy is that "Ghulami" is not even one-tenth as good as "Dragon-Seed," although both the pictures have the same theme. Such was the case with "Dassi" and "Random Harvest" too. I am at a loss to understand as to why these fndian producers do not get their own stories for picture production." LUCKNOW. G. N. Govel TELLING ME? "Two days ago I had the misfortune to see "Lakharani" at Nagpur. From the very start the thin audience was surprised at this Prabhat's latest. "Well, in the end I was thoroughly disappointed. There is nothing except some spectacle and dancing. The story is unconvincing and clum sily put. The picture is a disgrace i< the name of Prabhat. whose trumpet is becoming weaker day by day to the great disappointment of tbtir vast well-wishers." GONDIA. r. P. Bhargava. SORRY. "Film critics (?) as a general rule do more harm to the Industry by attributing insipid adjectives to the names of film stars. Words such as lotus-eyed, glamorous, bewitching, mysterious etc., when attributed to persons least deserving them, only tend to make these stars have a wrong notion of themselves. "And Mr. Patel, I am very sorry to state that in this respect you are no better than these so called 'critics.' "How can you justify yourself in calling Kishore a 'genius" and Jayant Desai "a box office wizard." "Surely, you don't wish to lose our faith in you for frank and fearless opinion about men anil matters in movieland." ROMRAY. G. Ramasubramanian SAVE ME, FRIEND. "The valuable service that is be ing done by "filmindia" is not goin;: home to many of the South Indian film stars or the film public as they are not very proficient in the Eng lish language. Why not start a South Indian edition of "filmindia" in Te'ugu or Tamil language devoting mainly to the improvement of the present rotten state of South Indian film industry?" CUTTACK. Pattapou' MYTHICAL ALRIGHT "After seeing some of the current mythological films, I have come to the conclusion that instead of giving entertainment, these films are calculated to affect one's pat'ence and mental tranquility. A dangerous ground for plot building has often been used bv producers in the too familiar garb of mytho'ogy. Rv itse'f, mythological storv is a good motion picture subiect with a number of melodramatic incidents which though mythical are essenMally entertaining. But unfortunately the story, as it is presented on the screen, however, becomes a terrib'y nerve-racking experience because it is handled w;th utter lack of imagination bv the director." PATNA. Satvendra Prasad Jamuar. AND YET — "Hind Pictures' 'Laila Mninu' depicts a reckless waste of celluloid to us who are living in an atombomb age. The old order should change yielding place to new, but it is incomnrehensib'c why producers should slide towards retrogression. How can an antiquated fable appeal to the twentieth century men? We clamour for pictures which shou'd make a fresh approach to the variegated activities of our people from a new angle. #We yearn for pictures which should pave the wav for improving our social life, infuse in us a spirit of nationality and inculcate in us a sence of appreciating the hopes and fears of humanity at large. Gone are the days %vhen maniacal lovers died for the sake of a woman's love." DELHI. Miss Rajindra Kaur. PAID FOR IT! "Jamshed Wadia's 'Piya Milan' is easily the worst picture of 1945. It is a sad illustration of bow precious ce'luloid can become mere trash unless producers use intelligence and foresight." BANGALORE. N. S. V. Chalam WHY ME? "We do not want to live in the past any more. Draupadis, Meerabais, Savitris, Seetas and Shakuntalas were undoubtedly great women in their times. Today they are only legendary figures. We have had enough of them in our homes, schoo's, colleges and on the screen as well. "We are tired of the modern rocial hits which are more often than not failures. "There is the beautiful backgroun 1 of Burma, Ma'aya and Assam. Will it be too much to ask of you. an intelligent fearless critic, to give us the achievements of the Jhansi Regiment? We are politically awakened now. Fearless though vou are will you fear the censor, who will live on °.ur s°,'' as ]°ng as Rritish Imperialism V1LLE PARLE. Miss Tula. NOTHING NEW "I join hands with Mr. R. J A Somjee in deprecating the ' blackmarketing in cinema tickets. If I arn not mistaken. Calcutta with a populaUon of over 40 lacs, must be leading in this respect. Barring a few cinema houses, everywhere this blackmarketing is thriving in broad day hght and in the full knowledge of the respective managers. Sometimes 1 he tickets are sold at 200 to 300 per cent premium. I remember a Bengali family who had covered a distance of two and odd miles and had paid RS. 3!. to the Gharriwalla. and had to pay RS. 4| for each ^ rf Ks. 1 Jo to see "Udayar Pathev " CALCUTTA. P. N. Sharma PREJUDICED, ARE YOU! In response to an advertisement in the "Bombay Chronicle," I presented myself at the office of Harischandra Pictures today exactly at five minutes before 12 o'clock. I was asked to wait as the time given for interview in the advertisement was 12-30 p.m. and I had committed a great offence by calling there half an hour earl:er So I took the only chair in the room and sat down. As the time for the interview drew nearer "new faces" began to arrive. At the prospect of every new comer I strained my ears to catch the tinkle of bangles, the 69