Dear Reader, Guru answers readers questions in Filmfare Options

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Filmfare had introduced a new feature “Dear Reader” on 4th July 1958 and its first part can be read at http://kishore-kumar.com/?p=193.
The first cine artist invited, was Kishore Kumar ! Earlier all the stars that gave interviews, never answered in a question-answer format. If they answered, it was only on a specific topic like Health/Problems/etc. But never ever in a “general” interaction with the readers ( would like to be corrected ).
Kishore was already a topmost selling artist in the tinsel town. The most wanted man ! Who else could a media powerhouse like Filmare, invite !! A person with a witty mind that had no bounds.
Some of the points that he made were very interesting. Some outright funny. Some of them were too much stuffed with human psychology. Some of them make us think and "possibly" give us those missing links in his personal and professional life.
Come , let us enjoy this issue. Let us ask imaginary questions ! I have one more from Filmfare 1958 ( one from Madhuri magazine was posted at http://kishore-kumar.com/?p=42 ) and might post it some other time.

Dear Reader ...2 ( 18th July 1958 )

In this issue Kishore Kumar again replies to readers' questions in his inimitable witty style.

D. B. Joglekar, Sirsi.
WHO is the tallest among Nutan, Waheeda Rehman, Shyama and Madhubala?
* The one who never gives her leading men the impression that she is looking down upon them.

Ravinder Mathur, Delhi.
WHAT is the difference between Ashok, Anoop and Kishore Kumar?
* They differ in age and bank balance.

Lopsang Lama, Kalimpong.
WHAT does Kishore Kumar do in his personal life?
* What every star does-try to keep his personal life private.

K. Anand, Bangalore.
WERE you really serious when you declared in an article in "Filmfare" some time ago your intention to stop being a clown and take up more serious roles?
* If I convinced you about it, then I succeeded in bringing off my biggest joke.

P. A. Simithararatchy, Ratnapura.
WHAT has happened to Raj Kapoor's "Ajanta" which he intended to shoot in Ceylon and Japan?
* It is still gestating.

S. M. Mapara, Rangoon.
TO what part of the country does Kishore Kumar belong?
* Being a clown, he belongs everywhere.

K. Deijendra, Muzaffarpur.
WHO in your opinion is the best comedian of Indian screen?
* He who gives the most subtle expression in his work to the saying: "Life is a comedy to one who thinks, and a tragedy to one who feels."

N. R. Maladkar, Bombay.
ARE Padmini, Ragini and Vyjayanthimala sisters?
* The first two are sisters by birth-but all three are sisters in the art of Bharat Natyam.

Miss P. N. Johnson, A.P.
ARE you a very serious person in real life?
* Not at all-life and I keep laughing at each other all the time.

T. S. N. Sastry, Bombay.
WILL you allow me to watch the shooting of one of your pictures?
* Yes-when I'm not present. Otherwise, you will shed your illusions about me.

Tej Singh, Faizabad.
WHO is your favourite heroine?
* The actress whose favourite hero is Kishore Kumar.

Mohd. Hussain, Kurnool.
WHAT will be the fate of the stars if the film industry is natonalised?
* They will be idolised.

M. I. Calcuttawala, Karachi.
I WANT to become an actor. What qualifications should I have?


"Every star tries to keep his personal life private," says Kishore (left) to Reader Lopsang Lama and lays on another stripe of paint on the rustic gate outside his home.

* An immense desire to make good, pluck, imagination, sensitivity-and a thick skin.
WHO is the least learned and the most learned star of the Indian screen?
* Kishore Kumar-he learnt a little but knows a lit.

R. V. Seshadri, Kurnool.
MOST of your roles are in comedies. Do you like such roles?
* Haven't you heard the saying: "Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone"? If I preferred you sitting alone in a cinema-hall weeping with me, rather than a theatre-full of people laughing with me, producer's wouldn't sign me up!
ARE you happy or unhappy?
* Happiness and unhappiness are states of mind constantly interchangeable but one never knows until it is too late.

M. L. Mahajan, Patiala.
WHO taught you your topsy-turvy acting?
* The topsy-turvy box office.

C. P. Malgi, Hubli.
WHAT is more important than sex in modern films?
* The censor, who nips it in the bud.
WHO is happier, the producer or the director of a film?
* When a film is a success, nobody is happy except the producer; when it is a failure, everybody is happy except the producer.

V. S. Pathak, Bareilly.
WRITING about yourself sometime ago, you said you were very shy as a student. How did you get rid of your shyness?
* It was the other way about! Shyness got rid of me!
WHAT is your advice to college students? They are becoming very indisciplined and parents hold film stars morally responsible for it.
* It is the fashion these days to blame everything on the film stars. If college students are indisciplined, the only people to blame are the students themselves. There's no use giving advice which is not taken.

Nimal L. Wijewardena, Kurnegla.
WHO is your favourite Hollywood actor?
* Certainly not Jerry Lewis.

D. M. Mehta, Bombay.
WHY do you sing playback only for Dev Anand and not for other stars?
* It is purely coincidental.

J. Gopal Krishna, Kerala.
CAN an Indian picture be made without women, songs and dances in it?
* Can a human being live with the heart, backbone and limbs missing?
WHO is the oldest actress who plays the leading roles of young girls in Indian films?
* It will be unkind to answer this question. It is best to accept all actresses playing the roles of young girls as young girls-on the screen.

S. Sadhukhan, Darbhanga.
WHAT books would you recommend to a young aspirant to an acting career?
* How To Win Friends And Influence People" when he begins, and "Income Tax and Super Tax Laws" when he reaches the top. I wish I'd read them.

Narendra Shukla, Kanpur.
WHO is the richest and the poorest actor in the Indian film industry?
* Kishore Kumar. He has everything-and nothing.

P. Megharajan, Mysore.
A FRIEND of mine is very interested in joining films. What suggestions can you make to him?
* The suggestion he will not accept-tell him not to waste his time in films. There's too much competition already.
NOWADAYS, most tunes in Indian films are based on rock 'n' roll. Why?
* Supply depends on demand.
WHAT is your greatest desire in your career?
* To be remembered when I am gone.

Mohamed Husain, Guntur.
WHICH in your opinion is your best song?
* It has yet to be sung.

K. Panduranga Vittal, Guntakal.
IN which film has your acting reached the "heights" of expression?
* I like the "heights" just beyond my reach, so that I can keep on trying.
HAVE you ever teamed with Screen Goddess Nirupa Roy?
* Never opposite her. But we did appear together in "Bhai Bhai," in which she played opposite Ashok Kumar.

S. R. Kulkarni, Bangalore.
IN my opinion you acted very well in Mohan Segal's "New Delhi". Do you agree?
* Certainly.
IN your New Year Resolutions you said, "I resolve never to tease actresses, to stop imitating producers with my pranks on the set and off it," and many other things. The year is now half gone. Have you put into practice any of those resolutions?
* Don't you know New Year resolutions are made only to be broken?

M. A. Padmasani, Maduranatakam.
WOULD you adopt the policy of "dynamic neutrality" of you ever become the Prime Minister of India?
* I certainly don't wish ever to become Prime Minister-God help the country the day your wish comes true!

A. Mohamed Ebrahim, Andhra.
IS Kishore Kumar a brother of Ashok Kumar?
In which film did he make his debut?
* You have certainly pricked my ego! Everyone knows that Ashok Kumar is my elder brother. Honestly, I don't remember in which film I made my debut.

Birinder Kathuria, Dehra Dun.
WHAT is the difference between smartness, handsomeness and personality?
* The same as the difference between Pradeep Kumar, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar.

G. Raghuvir, Trivandrum.
ARE there kind-hearted persons in the Indian film industry who understand ordinary human beings?
* If they didn't understand human beings and human nature, do you think they can put over good performances on the screen?
DO you ever have nightmares?
* Yes. In a recurring one I see film stars' contracts being signed by the Income Tax Department, and their remunerations collected by the Income Tax man!

S. Abdul Sattar, Novnepalli.
HOW is your "Adhura Geet" going?
* It has not gone on the floor yet.

S. S. Vejai, Ranchi.
WHERE is Raj Kapoor's "Joker" ?
* Still in the pack of cards.

G. Kumar Rai, Sikkim.
WHEN is Madhubala going to be married?
* The only person competent to answer your question is Madhubala herself.

S. K. Rayal, Vishakapatnam.
IS it a fact that film actors have more than one wife?
* Of course not! The laws of the land apply to film stars too.

M. Kassam, Sar-es-Salam.
WHY don't Indian film producers come for location shooting to East Africa, which is a favourite of American and British producers?
* Probably because Africa, as presented in American and British films, scares them.

Filmfare - Dear Reader Part 1 can be read at http://kishore-kumar.com/?p=193
Madhuri - Q/A's can be read at http://kishore-kumar.com/?p=42

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Last part

http://kishore-kumar.com/?p=370

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Last part

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Very entertaining indeed.