16th JULY 2015 "STARS OF INDIAN SCREEN" 1952 BY DR. BABURAO VITHAL PATEL AND DR. SUSHILA RANI BABURAO PATEL
Labor of love
It’s Labor Day here in the US and Canada, and let me tell you something: I have really labored for you guys. I recently got my hands on a very fragile and worn copy of Baburao and Sushila Rani Patel’s 1952 book called “Stars of the Indian Screen.” It features 36 actors and actresses, with a short biography of each accompanied by a gorgeous colored plate like the ones above. And though the book is credited as written by Sushila Rani Patel and edited by Baburao, the bios have Baburao’s trademark snark all over them, by which I mean they are awesome.
Some highlights:
Nutan has substantial talent for acting but we would like her to add at least ten pounds more to her personality and come to the screen again a bright, well-upholstered beauty.Santoshi is [Rehana’s] favorite director though she usually does her best whenever she has to appear before the camera.[Meena Shorey] was married to Zahur Raja in 1941, to Al Nasir in 1943 and at present she is Mrs. Roop K. Shorey. Let us hope her little canoe of life has found its last port at last…She cannot resist sweets and chocolates and you see them all over her in terms of weight. She is fond of buying clothes and jewellery but rarely uses them.Suraiya is inclined to be on the buxsome [sic] side. Some of her fans wish that she was more streamlined.[Shekhar] sees English and Indian pictures to inspire him. Inspiration from the latter is however doubtful.[Yakub] is good at lifting fountain pens from friends’ pockets though he never signs even a cheque.Though people in the film industry often joke about Ashok’s absent-mindedness, the shrewd Bengali is never reported to have left behind a wad of currency notes though he had once left behind his wife sitting under a tree and driven away.[On Dev Anand] A good boy that but a bit girlish![Pran] is certainly no villain as far as his wife is concerned, even though he forgets to return home several nights. But then film artistes have to work during night-shifts also.
There is so much more, of course, and being that this is so very rare (and also falling apart) I scanned each and every page (all 75 of them!) for posterity, and am sharing the result here with you. Enjoy this look at Indian cinema history—complete with oodles and oodles of eye candy.
82 Comments to “Labor of love”
Sunday, April 20, 2014
BABU RAO PATEL AND SUSHILA RANI PATEL
Baburao Patel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baburao_Patel
Career[edit]. He was the Editor and Publisher of India's first film trade magazine, Filmindia, whose first edition was published on his 31st birthday. Baburao was click:-http://memsaabstory.com/2010/01/31/the-gunga-din-tamasha/#more-12655http://memsaabstory.com/2010/01/31/the-gunga-din-tamasha/#more-12655
click:-http://memsaabstory.com/tag/baburao-patel/
Baburao Patel - Bobby Talks Cinema.com
bobbytalkscinema.com/recentpost.php?postid=postid051413141437May 12, 2013 - Baburao Patel and his famous wicked pen, featuring in the FILM INDIA magazine of the early era, Nostalgia Series at bobbytalkscinema.com by ...Babu Rao Patel - Do you ever read his excellent magazine ''mother...
https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid...You are Right. But Mother india (Formerly called Film india) by Baburao Patel had one of the most wittiest columns and was a percusser to Star & Style and ...Products - Dr. Baburao Patel's Homoeopathic Remedies
miponline.in/products.htmlResults 1 - 20 of 128 - A remedy that takes you to office with a 'head' next morning. Adds to the success of prohibition and saves the liver. It helps you to enjoy your ..Baburao Patel | Bombay Noir
https://bombaynoir.wordpress.com/tag/baburao-patel/May 16, 2012 - Read some of Baburao Patel's reviews. Very, very, very angry right now. Calling Kalpana Kartik pigeon-chested (?!!?!@$@!$%) is not very nice.Film India - Baburao Patel - Google Groups
https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rec.music.indian.misc/L5c6768HBxsFilm India - Baburao Patel, jamalf...@googlemail.com, 5/8/07 2:23 PM. Hi all,. I have a number of Film India magazines in good condition ranging from 1948 to ...
Baburao Patel - Rediff Pages
pages.rediff.com/baburao-patel/1615601Baburao Patel is on Rediff pages, ,Follow Baburao Patel to get latest updates from Baburao Patel.At The Edge: On Baburao Patel Syndrome
8ate.blogspot.com/2011/04/on-babu-rao-patel-syndrome.htmlApr 29, 2011 - Baburao Patel was known not only for his biting wit but 'let's bite some, any heads' attitude towards what he considered blackheads on Bhart ... Baburao Patel: Latest News, Videos, Photos | Times of India
timesofindia.indiatimes.com › TopicsSee Baburao Patel Latest News, Photos, Biography, Videos and Wallpapers.Baburao Patel profile on Times of India.Sushila Rani Patel - Time Out Mumbai
www.timeoutmumbai.net/music/classical/sushila-rani-patelOct 13, 2011 - If Sushila Rani Patel had not met Baburao Patel, the editor of Filmindia magazine in Mumbai in 1942, she might not have cancelled a teaching ...Baburao Patel - IMDb
www.imdb.com/name/nm0665355/Baburao Patel (1904–1982). Director. Contribute to IMDb. Add a bio, trivia, and more. Update information for Baburao Patel
More gems from Filmindia and the one and only Baburao Patel…
Abhishek Bachchan & Karan Johar with famed dancer Sushila Rani Patel (wife of late Baburao Patel)BABURAO PATEL REMEMBERED
Dr. Sushila Rani Patel welcoming Prasar Bharati Chairman Arun Bhatnagar, and English novel being released in Shiva Sangeetanjali programme
Music is a gift that keeps her young forever | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis
Celebritiy & Credentials
SUSHILA RANI WITH BABU RAO PATEL-CLICK AND SEE MORE PHOTOS
J. Sushila ;,film Alam Ara (1931)FIRST HINDI; Kalidas (1931)FIRST TAMIL/TELGU SOUND FILM .
J. Sushila
J. Sushila is an actress, known for Draupadi (1944), Alam Ara (1931) and Kalidas(1931). See full bio »Actress (12 credits)1944 Draupadi (as Sushila Rani)1940 Sandesha1940 Yaad Rahe1937 Savitri (as Sushila)1937 Qazzak Ki Ladki1933 Hatimtai1932 Bulbule Baghdad1932 Shashi Punhu1931 Farebi Jaal1931 Khuda Ki Shaan (as Sushila)1931 Kalidas
1931 Alam Ara (as Sushila)
===================================================
1944 DraupadiDraupadi (1944)
Film Name Draupadi Release Date 1 Jan 1944 Genre Fantasy Crew
Name Role Baburao Patel Director Cast
Actor Name Character Name David Abraham K.N. Singh Pratima Devi Dixit J. Sushila (as Sushila Rani) Baburao Pendharkar Chandra Mohan Badri Prasad Mazhar Khan Sushila Rani Patel
The nonagenarian singer is keenly aware of her audience
2/2By Aditya Kundalkar on October 13 2011 6.30pmIf Sushila Rani Patel had not met Baburao Patel, the editor of Filmindia magazine in Mumbai in 1942, she might not have cancelled a teaching assignment in Udaipur. If she had not cancelled her trip to Udaipur, Baburao Patel – her future husband – might not have helped her get a recording contract with HMV the same week. If her HMV recordings had not been so successful, she might not have become the noted classical singer that she is today.
The 93-year-old[BORN 1918] vocalist has won 34 awards so far, including a Dadasaheb Phalke Academy award, a Sangeet Natak Akademi award and a Maharashtra Rajya Sanskritik Puraskar. As she has grown older, her concert performances have become much less frequent. However, this fortnight, audiences will have the opportunity to listen to Patel when she takes the stage at an event organised by the music circle Swar Alaap. She will collect her thirty-fifth award, the Swar Alaap award, at the concert which will also feature a conversation with her.
For someone of her age, Patel’s abilities are remarkable. Although her vocal cords aren’t what they used to be, she still has the lung capacity to sing a minute-long taan pattern spanning three octaves without a single gasp. “I took five years to perfect this,” said Patel. “But I have to continue training every day otherwise I will lose it.”Patel’s skill comes from decades of practice under various gurus, including Mogubai Kurdikar, with whom she trained for 20 years. “For the first six or seven years, she wouldn’t let me sing in public,” said Patel. “I could have concerts at home and for friends but she said, ‘When I give the green signal, only then you are ready to sing anywhere.’” It took about half a dozen years of practice – two hours a day, three times a week – before Kurdikar gave her that signal.The singer also trained for seven years under Sundarabai Jadhav, who was one of the most popular exponents of light-classical music in the early part of the twentieth century. “All the songs in my film Gwalan are based on the tunes popularised by Jadhav,” said Patel, who starred in the film and also sang the songs.There was a time when the singer was more famous for being the wife of the notoriously causticFilmindia editor Baburao Patel – he once compared actress Rakhee to a sweet potato. “In those days if you were associated with Baburao Patel, you came to be known by that association,” said film journalist Raju Bharatan, author of a biography of Lata Mangeshkar.“Baburao was very proud of the fact that she was such a good classical singer,” said Bharatan. “He knew the film industry inside out and how it functioned, so he didn’t want her to work with other film producers.”Unfortunately, the only two films that Baburao Patel made featuring his wife in a starring role – Gwalan and Draupadi – didn’t do well. “Gwalan was OK, but Draupadi was a disaster,” recalled Bharatan.That didn’t keep Patel from pursuing music and performing at concerts. “She was always a very forward-looking woman,” said Bharatan. “She did not believe in ritualistic barriers, the sort which kept women from progressing in the 1940s and ’50s.”Patel’s association with the film world has left her with a keen awareness of the audience. “Some classical singers take too much time to warm up,” she said. “People don’t have that kind of patience nowadays.” Musicians must know how to make sure that people will enjoy their music, she said, citing Hindi film music director Naushad as an example. “He used to compose classical tunes but they were packaged very nicely. Even today, when I sing raga Hameer, people enjoy it because that raga has been used in Naushad’s song ‘Madhuban Mein Radhika Nache Re’.”In 1961, Patel and her husband founded the Shiv Sangeetanjali to encourage classical music. She has kept the effort alive long after Baburao Patel passed away in 1982. Over the years, the organisation which is now part of the Sushila Rani Baburao Patel Trust has featured emerging talents and presented early concerts by sarod player Pradip Barot, flautist Ronu Muzumdar, vocalist Dhanashree Pandit-Rai, flautist Nityanand Haldipur and tabla player Sadanand Naimpalli.Patel is also a music teacher. “As a guru, she believes in her students so it has a Pygmalion effect,” said Radhika Sood Nayak, who has been training with Patel for eight years. “The fact that someone like her believes in you makes you feel that you can do it.”Though Patel embraces popularity more readily than some other classical musicians, she doesn’t care much for today’s Hindi films. “I went to see Mausam because I like Sonam Kapoor,” said Patel. “She acts well, she’s very graceful.” But she was disappointed because Kapoor didn’t have “that much to do”. She misses heroes like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.When she spoke about today’s actors, her biting observations had the echo of Baburao Patel about them. “They are dancing all the time and doing stunts,” she said. “They’re more stunt masters than actors.”J. Sushila (actress)
J. Sushila is an actress.- also known as Sushila Rani, Sushila
- profession: Actor
- filmography:
- "Farebi Jaal"
- "Hatimtai"
- "Qazzak Ki Ladki"
- "Alam Ara"
Sushila · Prithviraj Kapoor. Music by, Ferozshah M. Mistri B. Irani ... on the cinema , and raced to complete Alam Ara before several contemporary sound films.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alam_Ara
Actors Zubaida (Alam Ara), Master Vitthal (Adil), J. Sushila (as Sushila), Jillo Bai, Prithviraj Kapoor, Elizer, Wazir Mohammed Khan, Jagdish Sethi and L.V. Prasad
A list of the earliest films produced in the Kollywood Tamil language film ... Sushila Devi, J. Sushila, P. G. Venkatesan, M. S. Santhanalakshmi, L. V. Prasad ...en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Tamil_films_of_the_1930s... L. V. Prasad as Temple Priest; Thevaram Rajambal; J. Sushila;Sushila Devi ... earning the rare distinction of appearing in all three first talkie films of India.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalidas_(film)
film’s hero (Srinivasa Rao) speaks and sings in Telugu and the heroine (T.P. Rajyalakshmi) delivers her dialogue in Tamil and rendered a Thyagaraya krithi in Telugu and L.V. Prasad who played a cameo spoke in HindiList of Bollywood films of 1940. From Wikipedia, the ... A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 1940: ... Sandesha, J. Sushila.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bollywood_films_of_1940A list of films produced by the Bollywood film industry based in Mumbai in 1944: ... Draupadi, Baburao Patel, J. Sushila, Chandra Mohan, Mazhar Khan, Fantasy.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Bollywood_films_of_1944
J. Sushila Stats
Profession
: ActorNicknames
: Sushila Rani, SushilaAppearancesJ. Sushila Films
Farebi Jaal
1931Hatimtai
Qazzak Ki Ladki
1937Alam Ara
Filmography
Actress (12 credits)1944 Draupadi (as Sushila Rani)1940 Sandesha1940 Yaad Rahe1937 Savitri (as Sushila)1937 Qazzak Ki Ladki1933 Hatimtai1932 Bulbule Baghdad1932 Shashi Punhu1931 Farebi Jaal1931 Khuda Ki Shaan (as Sushila)1931 Kalidas1931 Alam Ara (as Sushila)
Baburao Patel | MemsaabStory
memsaabstory.com/tag/baburao-patel/Sep 3, 2012 - Posts tagged 'Baburao Patel' ... I recently got my hands on a very fragile and worn copy of Baburao and Sushila Rani Patel's ... More like a gay cowboy than a gay knight, but what does it matter when he's so so very handsome ...April 10, 2010LOL with Baburao Patel
Made of awesome: Filmindia and Baburao Patel | MemsaabStory
memsaabstory.com/.../made-of-awesome-filmindia-and-baburao-patel/Jun 16, 2009 - And for more bits of Baburao Patel wisdom, don't miss these posts ..... I loveBaburao Patel's wit and went to visit his wife Sushila Rani Patel in ...
Sushila Rani Patel | MemsaabStory
memsaabstory.com/tag/sushila-rani-patel/Sep 3, 2012 - I recently got my hands on a very fragile and worn copy of Baburao and Sushila Rani Patel's 1952 book called “Stars of the Indian Screen.Baburao Patel's Poisonous Pen | MemsaabStory
memsaabstory.com/category/hindi.../baburao-patels-poisonous-pen/Sep 3, 2012 - I recently got my hands on a very fragile and worn copy of Baburao and Sushila Rani Patel's 1952 book called “Stars of the Indian Screen.92-yr-old fights legal battle on pipe leaks - Times Of India
articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com › Collections › BungalowApr 8, 2011 - MUMBAI: Sushilarani Patel, classical music diva and 92-year-old owner of abungalow at Bandra's upscale Pali Hil
l -Bollywood's ... The battle began in 2004 when Patel, widow of Baburao Patel, an MLA from
PATEL, DR. BABURAO, (1904–1982)-address: "Girnar"[BUNGALOW], Pali Hill, Bandra, Bombay—50.Baburao Patel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baburao_PatelCareer[edit]. He was the Editor and Publisher of India's first film trade magazine, Film India, whose first edition was published on his 31st birthday. Baburao was ...Products - Dr. Baburao Patel's Homoeopathic Remedies
miponline.in/productsResults 1 - 20 of 128 - A remedy that takes you to office with a 'head' next morning. Adds to the success of prohibition and saves the liver. It helps you to enjoy your ...Mother India Pharmaceuticals - About Us
www.miponline.in/about-us.htmlDr. Baburao Patel, was not only a brilliant writer but a seeker of knowledage and in the early forties, he mastered the art of healing the sick through ...
Girnar Apartments in Pali Hill.Bandra, Bombay—50.
Girnar bungalowG irnar, the sprawling bungalow at Pali Hill, appears somewhat forlorn and forgotten amidst the surrounding highrises. The once grand main entrance is redundant and locked away. Its Hall, inexhaustible library and erstwhile lawn -- all have been rendered timeless in countless films.
Girnar has only one resident today Sushila Rani Patel who revels in memories of film shoots. The arclights first fell on Girnar in 1952, she tells us, when her husband Baburao started giving out the bungalow to his friends for film shoots as a friendly gesture. He didn't charge anyone a penny. The first shot taken at Girnar was for the film Mayur Pankh in 1954. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi followed all the garage scenes in the film were shot in the bungalow's garage.
Did Patel, a teenager then, find excuses to peep inside and get a glimpse of the shooting or meet the star cast? "I never mustered the courage. Baburao was quite conservative and he didn't want the 'new bride' to mingle with strangers. I went down to the garage only when I was accompanied by him," she remembers. She can't remember the names of all the films that were set in Girnar, but she has countless memories some juicy enough to be great fodder for gossip mags. Bina Rai once admitted to Patel that Madhubala was two-timing Dilip Kumar and Premnath (Rai was in love with Premnath at that time). Patel also recalls the days when a photoshoot took place on her grand old spiral staircase on Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. Gautam Rajadhyaksha was the photographer. Some years later, she was there to see Sunny Deol drop and pick up Kapadia from Girnar, after singing classes. "Their affair was under wraps then," she smiles.
Film shootings were discontinued at the bungalow in the late 70s. However, after Baburao's demise in 1982, Patel needed money to maintain the bungalow or risk losing it. So began her second tryst with film shootings from 1984 onwards. But this time around, her dealings with the industry wasn't the stuff of pleasant memories. Producers often refused to give her the quoted price, sometimes failing to pay altogether. Her bungalow was in chaos as the crew was quite reckless with her belongings.
Patel also couldn't cope with the drastic change of eras and styles of working. During the 1960s, two rooms were set aside for actors. But actors in the 80s refused to share rooms with co-stars. She was shocked when rare books and old dictionaries started disappearing from her library. "I felt violated." In sharp contrast to that, she says were the days Sunil Dutt shot at the bungalow "he was being as careful with my home as he would be with his own."
Patel stopped renting out her bungalow in 1996 and does not regret her decision. "I have seen both the good and the ugly. I could not take on the stress any more at the age of 84."
Filmindia, a scurrilous magazine that disappeared when Filmfare arrived in 1952. Its editor and publisher, Baburao Patel,
A film would get a good review if it was advertised in the magazine, preferably on the cover, and a bad one if it wasn't. As far as Baburao was concerned,
Mehboob Khan could do no wrong.
As for others like Chandulal Shah of Ranjit Movietone and Sohrab Modi of Minerva, he would write terrible things on their personal lives and films.
V. Shantaram's Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje being famously dismissed as "the mental masturbation of a senile mind".
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