FilmIndia (1946)

Woe* & £ch 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. 51Letters should be signed and marked "Woes And Echoes". Photographs of the readers will be published along with theit letters, if convenient. — The Editor.) SUGGESTING THE IMPOSSIBLE i "Seeing his recent successive failures as a music director, I would request Ghulam Haider very kindly to retire from the industry even though it might mean to him a premature retirement. I am afraid he would outlive his fame and popularity if he ventures to make any more such contributions to the film industry. Making money is no art worth the name. He can sing to himself one or two songs daily to keep his art alive and pulsating." ALLAHABAD. Shafqat Ullah. AND DEAF TOO "I am really tired of seeing the hackneyed theme of the despoticfather commanding the docile and unwilling daughter to marry a man of his own choice on the screen in almost every picture and very recently in Prabhat's "Chand". I wonder how stone-blind our producers are to the fact that modern girls are emancipated j and marry men of their choice only ' and that they are repeatedlv portravi ing only a bygone age. When will their eyes open to the realities of ■ present-day life and make them hold a mirror up to the realities of life?" BANGALORE. A.N. Narayana Rao THANKS "Editor Patel, thank you for saving my one and a half rupee which, I had i made up my mind to spend in seeing "Piya Milan". In fact the title is so I sweet that every one would like to , see it. But now, when I have read the I review in "filmindia" I will not only see it, but ask my friends too to miss I it, even though they may be given a 1 free pass plus a packet of Aspro." M. Lai D. Butani. 1 HYDERABAD SIND. INDEED, WHEN? j "After "Hamrahi's" brilliant success it is plain even to the illiterate that new faces, whether they are ' beautiful or not, bring variety to the , audience than the same old Motilals and Ishvarlals. Can't our producers take this hint and select some of ! those handsome faces, appearing in "filmindia" and use them to advantage? When will our producers get some commonsense, Mr. Patel? V. K. Fazlur Rahman. BANGALORE. CONGRATULATIONS "'Vauhini Pictures of Madras, true to their excellent tradition of producing the best picture of the year, have given us another delightful entertainer. "Swarga Seema" is not only the best picture produced in South India, but it is also one of the three best pictures produced in India in 1945." BANGALORE. N. K. Swamy. FOR POLICE CHIEF "Last evening I went to see the picture 'Piya Milan' of Wadia Movietone in Nigar, the local cinema house which is being run under the management of Messrs. General Talkies Ltd., Delhi. I found there no rush in the first show but the tickets were being sold in black market before the Policemen. I noted the numbers of the policemen. 1101 and 539 were the numbers on their belts. Will Mr. Patel take anv action?" CAWNPORE. K. P. Shukla. Recruit R. D. Dhoble of Kazi Sayed Str. Mandvi, Bombay, can sing and dance well and lias had acting experience. THE GREAT SHANTARAM "V. Shantaram's "Dr. Kotnis" is a third class picture with all its glaring defects including the flat face of the hero. Jayashree never appears like a Chinese. Why has the director chosen himself and his out-and-out Maharashtrian wife for these roles? Does the art of a director lie in choosing appropriate faces for the roles or in making anv damn face suit the role' POONA. Y. G. Joshi B.A . (Hons) TRAVELLING THUGS "Have you ever been to a "Touring Cinema", Mr. Editor? I hope you have not been; otherwise, this "disgraceful business" would have got its condemnation from your powerful pen. "We have a lot of them in South India and barring a couple of big towns in every district, the rural folks entirely depend on these for their "entertainment." Unscrupulous businessmen, who control this form of "Cinemas" go to the rural areas in the summer, pitch tents and with the aid of 'broken machines' and "rotten pictures" carry a lot of money from the poor people. Suffice it to say, they create a very bad impression among our people about this deserving industry. "It is time that this "business" is stopped." BANGALORE. N. S. V Chalam NO REMEDY "It is a common habit even among refined people to spit on the floor in the cinema theatre and speak vulgar things while the show is on. Don't you think it is most disappointing to a cultured man who goes to the theatre for relaxation? Can you suggest a remedy for this? H. S. Guruswamy. BANGALORE CITY IDIOTIC, EH? "After my three years rigorous imprisonment at Singapore in Jap prisons, which was full of torture, irony and callous treatment, I returned to India last month, and the first picture that I saw after my return was 'P. P. A. Dera'. I was under the 63