FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

inn* 1949 FILM INDIA That this unexpected swing-over to Socialism by ilm producers was due, they say, to the promise given >y the Socialists to scrap prohibition and censorship no ooner they step into power. That is a pointer to Aiiniser Morarji Desai if he wants the film people to vote or Congress in the next election. That now Ranjit stories will all be turned to Sociaism with Asoka Mehta thinking of writing screen stories or Chandulal. Purshottam who is quite a good amaeur poet, may also write songs for Chandulal. That with the big Socialist bosses in Chandulal's ompetent hands, little fellows like Thakur and Kohit )ave have lost control of the Film Mazdoor Union and .e mustn't be shocked if Chandulal is elected as the ext president of the Workers' Lnion. That the only producer whose car did not rush to ie relief of the Socialists was Chuni Lall of Filmistan. )nly recently he had changed his party ticket and he idn't fancy another change so quickly. That Chandulal Shah, with his partner Miss Gohar cting as his secretary, was only last year sent as one ( f our official delegates to the Geneva Conference on eedom of news etc. We, however, admire the way handulal has cut ort this old string that had tied him > the Congress. That the film people had always liked the Sociasts was evident from the big purse they had once given » Jayaprakash .Narayan and chandulal had contriDuted tvishly to this purse under the persuasion of a sweet ujarati girl who mo\es in both quarters — the Congress id the Socialists. That these Socialist girls are marvellous salesomen. lh<_y take the halo of power Irom prominent ongress ministers and with it make up the shortage of niua in the Socialist Party, lhat is how probably Prolcer Kishore Sahu and film actress Kamini Kaushal ere once talked into giving a special show lor the be;fit of the Socialist Party. That with the Congress making so many mistakes, is no wonder to see people veering towards the Socia bts. It is time the Congress surprises its rivals by turng socialist itself and the film people expect it to do j by scrapping prohibition. Prohibition is the first f tide of heresy with the film folks. That Minister Morarji Desai recently revealed a jmily secret that he had studied under a municipal rap post. That explains Morarji's peculiar approach life. \ou know how these municipal lamps work — |ey make darkness more visible. That in future film producers dare not use the mimical lamp posts for lovers to lean on and sing love ties. It is now a milestone in the graduation of minisj s. Let us hope lhat the street dogs understand this • Terence and treat the lamp posts differently. That multi-millionaire K. M. Modi, our theatre magjte, has returned all-wise from America. He is reading Poornima lias a pleasant face for the screen and promises a good future in "Thes", a social story directed by Kidar Sliarma. speeches all over the town these days and expecting a big congregation, he had the temerity to read a long boring speech recently at the Blavatsky Lodge in Bombay. That contrary to his expectations, hardly 40 persons assembled at the Blavatsky Lodge, twenty-five out of whom were his own employees and the rest were publicity boys. \v.o'i!dn't it have been less boring to pass the speech to the press straightaway instead of holding the Blavatsky floor for an hour unnecessarily? That theatre and studio magnate K. M. Modi is so popular a man these days that he can hardly get good pictures for his two theatres, Minerva and Central, in Bombay and hardly any producer to shoot at his Central Studio — though of course all other th?atres are in demand and all other studio floors in the city and suburbs are jammed with free-lance producers. That with little Keki Modi talking tall these days, the big Sohrab is lying quiet with his "Munnas" and "Davvlats" not clicking at the box-office. That brings the family total of sound-stages to let to six. And the Government of India want Ambalal Patel to build new sound stages and waste some more building material unnecessarily. That the Metro Cinema of Bombay still seeing to imagine itself to be a part of America the wav it nuns the newsreels produced by our Ministry of Infcrjiation and Broadcasting. Rather than show these 1 s, the 15