FilmIndia (1946)

FILMINDI A June, 1946 they cannot execute with the same facility and felicity. I have sometimes wondered how a young girl could have acquired all that musical art which must be the envy of grey-haired musicians. What heroic and superhuman effort must have been applied by Sushila Rani to smooth articulation of some of the seemingly easy touches! And what Veena-like voice to give expression to all that art! You may well ask then why Sujshila Rani hasn't become all the rage among Indian masses., why her songs are not on the lips of street-singers. Why, in short, is she not the Kanan of to-day? The answer is simple enough. Sushila Rani has not as yet sung any tunes composed by Boral or Kamal Das Gupta. In "Draupadi" the theme demanded more or less classical songs, and as such they were not what could catch the fancy of street-singers and the lower stalls. For mass-appeal fast "Dadras" and "Kaharvas" are just the things, not slow-treading "Tin-Tal" or "Ek-Tal". And in addition, simple catchy melodies, not solemn Ragas. How, for instance, could an average picturegoer take to a song like "Suno Ab Shyam Behari" (Draupadi)? This song is in Tin-Tal and is a mixture of Puriya, Basant and Marva, all solemn Ragas of notes unfamiliar to the ordinary ear. It is true that the particular situation in "Draupadi" required a sombre pathetic song, and the song in question is that. Take another of Sushila Rani's songs of "Draupadi", "Chamkat Hai Ung-Ung". This is Dadra and the Rag is Desh. All sweet and nice, classically speaking! But the Dadra here moves slowly and the Desh is not quite popularly composed, besides the words are more Brijbhasha than Hindustani. All this is singularly appropriate in the picture, but is not quite the thing to make the masses go wild. It is for this reason that Sushila Rani hasn't become the craze of general picture-goers for her songs. But let me assert with all the emphasis at my command that Sushila Rani is a greater Kanan and directly she sings on the screen some light swingy songs of lyrical appeal, she is going to sky-rocket to the height of popularity not yet achieved by any star. Let us hope she gets such romantic songs in "Gvalan". Her greatest advantage is that her voice not only caresses the soul and kisses away the tears with a sweetness all its own, but it is far more facile than other voices, having been trained to perfection by execution of classical complexities and subtleties. It is an irrefutable fact that a classical singer when he or she sings a light song will always sing it more beautifully and movingly than a singer of light music. Punkaj Mullick and K. C. Dey are clear instances. For a song is nothing but notes and rhythm which the classical singer has already mastered. As for the power of a great voice to express the dimmest and minutest shades of emotion, the radio-drama demonstrates how without the help of face and eyes, feelings can be conveyed by ordinary voices. What wonders then are within the reach of a superb cultivated voice like that of Sushila Rani! She has a voice that ranges through the whole spect rum of human emotions, and in perfect alignment with it she has a most mobile face responding to the lightest ripple of feeling. What is more, her beautiful face is like a diamond with many brilliant facets, always charming in every phase. EDUCATION AND CULTURE Mobility of face may be a gift from heaven but the ability of experiencing finer shades of feeling (as a great star should) comes from breadth of sympathy and width of imagination. All Art whether that of a poet or a sculptor in its last analysis is imaginative sympathy, and an actor's art more so. An actor has to sympathise so much with his role, and imagine himself to be one with it to the extent that he becomes another person. Unless he or she has the power of understanding the subtle gradations of character and niceties of sentiment, all that is well-nigh impossible. For the histrionic art, therefore, education and culture are indispensably needed. These alone can make an actor probe to the depths of an individuality, enter into its very spirit, sympathise with its idiosyncracies and faults, and per "Gvalan", the picture produced and directed by Mr. Baburao Patel, has some interesting dances led by Sushila Rani. The picture is a musical entertainment. 44