Sunday, June 10, 2012

Looking for Vidyapati

a 1937 film starring Kanan Devi, I found this blog  post http://8ate.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/choli-pay-nazariya-jaye.html which led to many other interesting posts in the blog. Here are a few http://8ate.blogspot.com.au/2009/11/iqbal-masuds-dream-merchants.html
http://8ate.blogspot.com.au/2011/02/madhubala-rare-shoot-photographer.html
http://8ate.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/hindu-hollywood-1944.html
The last has an article by Beverley Nicholls written in 1944 which has passages like this:
"And the other reason why Indian films may one day flash brilliantly across the world's screen? I have already indicated it. It is hidden deep in the eyes of Mother India herself; it is written in every wrinkle of her ancient face. Mother India is the world's greatest story-teller; her legends are inexhaustible, and every league of her sun-scarred territory has a tale to tell, of blood or of passion or of sacred fire. And now that at last Mother India is awakening, to all this store of ancient history will be added the thrill of history in the making; the air will be strident with the echo of snapping chains and rending veils. It is for Mother India herself to walk out of her ancient prison, which is so largely of her own making, to breathe the fresh air and think the free thoughts of the new world, and then, to translate them into terms of art.
Can she do so?"
I do not know. I do not see many films only songs and dances.
There are many non-filmi posts as well, for example Rows of Inappropriate Indian Political Cartoons. It seems that I can spend many wintry afternoons in Melbourne reading this blog.



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