Filmindia was perhaps the first and most popular film magazine started in 1935 by Baburao Patel, who was known for its film reviews & cruel words that sharply cut through films, actors, directors and didn’t seem to spare anyone. Dev Anand once said “He made and unmade stars. He established or destroyed a film with just a stroke of his pen.
On reviewing 'Jwar Bhata', the debut film of Dilip Kumar, it described Dilip Kumar as “the new anemic hero”. His appearance on the screen creates both laughter and disappointment. His acting effort in this picture amounts to nil.” Who would have thought Dilip Kumar would have ever faced such withering criticism?
Reviewing Navketan's first film Afsar(1950), Patel wrote “Avoid Afsar ( Dev Anand movie) on health grounds”, Dev Anand’s 1956 noir film CID was described as an “unpleasant but stupid crime tale” where “Dev Anand fails to look like an inspector even for a single second”,
The magazine was immensely sought-after and Patel’s reviews carried a lot of weight. Habib Tanvir was the first assistant editor of the magazine and Manto also used to write for this magazine.
The magazine reading target was the "elite readership", including college-going youth.It used to be a status symbol to carry the magazine in their own hand, Dev Anand once said about the magazine that in his Lahore college days, "boys in the campus used to carry copies of film India along with their textbooks. It was their Bible".
Baburao Patel was born on 4 April 1904, The young Baburao did not do well and left school without completing his matriculation. The lack of formal education always bothered him, and he had great respect for intellectuals and scholars, but it did not stop him from his pursuit of knowledge.
in 1926 Baburao joined a newly started Hindi & Urdu film magazine, Cinema Samachar. In 1935, Baburao joined hands with DN Parker, who owned New Jack Printing Press... The magazine, called Filmindia, was launched as a monthly in April 1935, at a price of 4 annas (One-fourth of a rupee)
Before starting his own publication, he made five films in the period between 1929-'35, beginning with Kismet (1929), Sati Mahananda (1933), then Maharani and Bala Joban (1935), and Chand ka Tukda (1933-'35).
Along with the review section, the magazine’s Editor’s Mail section which often ran up to five pages was about how its readers followed the magazine and the witty answers written by Baburao himself to the questions of his readers. It also had a Pictures in Making section where analyses of movies that were currently in production were provided. There was also a Bombay Calling gossip column written under the pseudonym of Judas (which many believed was Patel himself) served as gossip about everyone in the Hindi movie industry.
Baburao Patel also had an interest in politics, along with The Bombay Chronicle‘s Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, launched a nationwide campaign against “anti-Indian” films in 1938 including “empire films” like The Drum (1938) and Gunga Din (1939), which reinforced imperialist stereotypes of the “racially inferior” and “weak” colonized subjects. Filmindia slowly became a more political publication, its pages echoing with the strident sentiments of Baburao’s commentaries. Finally, in July 1960, Baburao announced that since his magazine no longer dealt exclusively with film-related content, it would need to be renamed: Mother India was born two months later.
He fought elections, lost and won, and eventually, became a member of Parliament. His political allegiances veered as time went on, but nothing dimmed his fondness for broadcasting his opinion, however, slanted it was.He lost the 1957 Lok Sabha elections but winning the 1967 elections and becoming an MP. Although the Emergency dimmed his lustre and he died a shaken man in 1982,
Even after Baburao’s death in 1982, Sushila, his wife continued to publish the magazine until its 50th anniversary in 1985.
Here are some reviews from the Filmindia
Baazi (1951) - “And if you forget the unholy mess the director (Guru Dutt) and those two new girls (Roopa Verman and Kalpana Kartik) make, Baazi can be seen for its beautiful bits.”
Devdas (1955) - Vyjayanthimala was assessed as having made an emotional mess of the role
Shree 420 (1955) - It is a pathetic piece of confusion, a sight of an empty vessel making the most noise, a spectacle of half-baked knowledge emitting odious odor. In the concluding remark, it said “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
Awaaz (1956) - Rajendra Kumar looks stupid and acts stupid. The reasons? He looks stupid because he tries to look like Dilip Kumar and acts stupid because he tries to act like Dilip Kumar.
Kaagaz ke Phool (1959) - Guru Dutt Films’ Kaagaz Ke Phool is a dismal incoherent funeral-,paced picture that has hardly anything more remarkable about it than that it is the first Indian picture to be made in cinemascope
Navrang (1959) - Navrang is a colourless affair. It tells a story, of a sort, but conveys no theme. In his concluding remarks, it said "Mental Masturbation of a Senile Soul!"
Another area of close scrutiny in Filmindia was the female anatomy
Noor Jehan, her face was described as looking aged, having seen two World Wars.
Suraiya called one of the Hindi screen’s ugly ducklings besides being told her nostrils were repulsive
Kalpana Kartik was referred to as a pigeon-chested heroine.
Mala Sinha called for her ‘potato face.
