Dear Marshall and Joel, Thanks a tonne for the clues that could help to trace out more on Clare Mendonca, the Times of India film critic in the 1930s and 1940s.
http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2012-June/222171.html http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2012-June/222170.html The reason I asked is this: Debashree Mukherjee approached Goanet way back in 2009 for information on this subject. Just the other day, she wrote in again to say: "I had approached Goanet in 2009 for some information on Clare Mendonca, the *Times of India* film critic in the 1930s and 40s. That initial search was stalled for several reasons but has been finally revived again. I am pasting excerpts from her obituary as printed in the *Times of India*, in 1953. I have also attached a photograph published in *Filmindia* magazine..You'll spot Clare easily as she is the only woman in the photo (and a rare woman film journalist in a male-dominated field). I hope you find these interesting. I am currently writing a short piece on Clare and will send it along as soon as it's done. Hope this email finds you well" Just sharing this in case it interests someone else on this network. The photo is here http://www.flickr.com/photos/fn-goa/7326634198/in/photostream Many thanks to Debashree (Phd Candidate (ABD) - Dept of Cinema Studies, Tisch School of the Arts New York University [email protected]) for her interest in the subject, and enlightening us on something most of us (me too) would have not known about. Below is the obit: Obit in TOI, March 15, 1953: One day, in the year 1950, all the film critics in London received on the phone a surprise invitation to a party given by the film critic of the Times of India who was on a short visit to Europe. The film critics responded enthusiastically, and when in the evening they met the hostess, 40 year old Clare Mendonca, they found in her a critic so well-informed that she could tell from memory what any one of those critics had written about the latest releases! The famous British film critic, Dilys Powell, was so impressed that she exclaimed: "what a phenomenal memory Clare has!" Clare Mendonca's death removes from our midst the most distinguished movie critic of the last two decades who made significant contributions to the development of film criticism in this country. She was not only a critic but an institution. Her reviews were not only read by thousands of ardent readers but were respected by movie producers, directors and stars who found in her the proverbial guide, friend and philosopher. Faced Many Odds Many were the odds which Clare Mendonca had to face during the first few years as a film critic. That was a period when the Indian film had just learned to "talk", and the industry was in its infancy. She realized that it was futile to criticize the technical standard of Indian films and to compare them to foreign products. From the year 1931, when she first started writing the film feature in the Evening News of India, to 1935, she devoted herself to the task of making people interested in films, to encourage the growth of the film industry in this country and to make people realise the tremendous potentialities of the screen as the medium of mass education. She was happy when from 1935 onwards New Theatres, Prabhat and other companies began producing inspiring and noble films. But her happiness was short lived. World War II broke out. Came the boom period for motion pictures, and the industry was soon infested with a large number of mushroom producers. The standard of filmmaking deteriorated rapidly. Clare felt herself duty-bound to be a little more critical in her reviews. Trenchant criticism In the post-war period, the conditions worsened, however. The intrinsic values of Indian films touched a new low, and the box office ruled supreme. It was then that Clare Mendonca rose to her full stature as a film critic. For years she had encouraged the film industry. Now she felt the time had come for her to check the fast degeneration in values. She did not mince words nor spared the best of her friends. She lashed out against the vulgar contents of many films. Her trenchant, honest and sincere reviews had instant effect, and they created a furore. Acting on her criticism, the local authorities suspended many films during the course of a successful run. Defamation cases were threatened and filed against her, but neither threats nor bribes could deter her from her path. So she began to wield an influence in film circles which no film critic had ever commanded before. Every film producer sought her on the premiere night to know her opinion about the released film – but in vain. Clare Mendonca preferred to avoid the glitter and glamour of star-studded premiere nights and instead made it a practice to see new films after their release and in a quieter atmosphere when she could view the pictures dispassionately. Original style In 20 years of seeing and reviewing films, Clare Mendonca had developed a curious, yet original style of writing the reviews. But more than her style of writing, it was her basic approach to film criticism that made her pre-eminent among her other contemporaries. Before sitting down to review a film, she would ask herself the following three questions: 1) what is the director trying to say in the film? 2) has he succeeded in his effort? 3) was the effort worthwhile? Only after answering these three questions, she would take into consideration the acting, technique and other aspects of production. In this fundamental approach to the art of movie criticism she was following the pattern set by her favourite foreign critic, Miss CA Lejeune and Samuel Coleridge’s Essay on criticism. Film folks were frequent visitors to her place, and many of them were present at her birthday party three days before her sudden death. Little did they imagine that death would so soon snatch away the doyen of film journalists and one who had become an integral part of the film world in Bombay. Today, when film criticism and film journalism have come into their own, none will forget the contribution of Clare Mendonca who blazed a pioneer’s path and died in harness, loving her work as long as she lived. -H.K.Mehra -- FN +91-832-2409490 or +91-9822122436 [email protected] Books from Goa,1556 http://scr.bi/Goa1556Books Audio recordings (mostly from Goa): http://bit.ly/GoaRecordings
