FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

FT? RFVTFW Kishore Sahu Gives A Technically Attractive Picture! lamlni Kaushal's Sparkling Performance In "Nadiya-Ke-Par"! With the sensitive and impresonable mind which Producerirector Kishore Sahu has, it is not prprising to find in his pictures the est technical bits from different hreign pictures and quite a few atactive situations from many stories tad or seen by him. With his nairal genius for giving such pickIgs his own flavour, Kishore often lakes a familiar subject look differht and that is how "Nadiva-kepr" looks with its modern Dushpnta hunting a tame deer and meethg his Shakuntala in the clo'sters I a forest with a river full of fagedy and tears separating the bvers. And that is whv. perhaps, the icture opens with Hitchcock's techique and ends "Rebecca"-like in Ii3 river. Many a picture and its fe^hnique th"s contribute to make a Lishore Sahu picture an attractive are for the Indian screen. And yet we do not condemn this Irocedure as in picking iin the best rom his impressions, Kishore is est proeres^ing towards a versatile Depression of art wh'ch mav one lay lead him to his ideal picture. LOVE ACROSS THE RIVER Of the three pictures, produced ■y Kishore Sahu for Filmistan recently, "Nad:va-ke-Par" is easilv the >e«st technically. In fact, the latter lalf is superb in technique and as uch easily becomes a praiseworthy andmfirk of the technical progress if our film industry. Th-^ story is an attempt to hrin? cedier two classes of society, ihe iristocrats and the fishermen, on the :ommon grounds of love. The river )etween th° two groups of settlenents therefore becomes a symbolic ;ulf to be crossed over with 'he )ridp of love. But the two vo *ng oving ones never succeed in bridi ng the sulf <md are ultimately Irouned in a whirlpool in the r-idst )f the river leaving hearts on either tide more sore than ever before. N A D I Y A-K E-P A R Producers: Filmistan Ltd. Language: Hindustani Story & Dialogue: Kishore Sahu Lyrics: Moti Sound: M. M Kaka Photography: K. H. Kapadia Cast: Kr.mini Kaushal, Dl'eep Kumar , Sushil Sahu, David, Gulab, Maya Ran nerjee etc. Released At: Roxy, Rombay. Dale of Release loth December 1948 Dire cted By: KISHORE SAHU Kunwar. the college trained young brother of a Zamindar meets Philwa the daughter of Damri, a fisherman who nurses an old feud with the Zamindar. They fall in love and in spite of opposition from the elders carry on their romance. Bala, a young fisherman who took deep breaths at the sight of Phulwa, becomes the evil genius of the plot and uses the ears of both, the Zamindar and Damri, to drop in whispers of mutual hatred. Realizing the need of Phulwa for a husband. Damri decides to hand her over to the man who excels all in a boat race across the river. This race is won by Kunwar dressed as a fisherman and Phulwa is given to him in marriage. But before they could share the common bed of matrimony, Kunwar's disguise is exposed and trouble starts for the lovers. After a number of escapades, we reach the climax in which a grand shooting war takes place between the aristocrats and the fishermen. The lovers try to escape in a boat but right in the midst of the river they are drawn in a whirlpool and drowned. The end is tragic. PICTURESQUE PRESENTATION The picture contains some exceptionally beautiful shots of the river and the boats. The riverside atmosphere is realistically portrayed. The photography is beautiful in parts but the sound recording is rather careless. Most of the dialogue and many of the songs are in a local dialect and therefore pass over the heads of the average filrngo^ri used to straight Hindustani. The tunes are not attractive. With the exception of very few spots, the picture is pretty well directed but always with more emphasis on the camera than on the emotional requirements. From the players, Kamini Kaushal gives a sparkling performance in the role of Phulwa. Coy and coquettish throughout she plays her part beautifully. Dileep Kumar, who plays the hero, gives his stereotyped performance and becomes boring, being seen in too many pictures recently. The boy has no new tricks left, it seems. Gulab who plays a crazy fisherwoman overdoes her pari by giving her screechy laughter too long. David, who plays father and pimp at once, fails to convince in either aspect. Sampson plays Damri in an unnecessarily sta^y manner. Sushil Sahu plays "Bala", the jealous fisherman excellently and in doing so proves that he can do serious roles better than the frivolous ones. Ramesh Gupta plays Sher Singh the pal of the hero and in doing so gives an altogether natural performance. Once he se?s Maya Bannerjee, he assumes a love-struck face and keeps it till the end despite want of inspiration from Maya. In spite of its good mounting and picturesque presentation, the picture, however, does not seem to have appealed to the masses. And some of the reasons may be: the rustic dialect of the songs and the dialogue; the primitive background and costumes of the fisherfolk; the complete absence of comedy and the once-too-often casting of Dileep Kumar. And yet the picture is worth a visit to see Kamini Kaurhal as one sees a little more of her this time than usual. 4)