I was at lunch yesterday and brought up the topic of Clare. Kit Heredia said that there was an award called The Clare which later became the Filmfare awards. Kit mentioned a name of someone who would know more. I have copied him here to provide Goanet with the contact. Cheers W
Sent from my iPad Wendell Rodricks, Campal, Panjim. GOA 403001. INDIA Off tel: +91-832-2420604, Shop tel: +91-832-2238177 Off email: rns.wend...@gmail.com On 03-Jun-2012, at 5:10 PM, Frederick FN Noronha फ्रेड्रिक नोरोन्या *فريدريك نورونيا <fredericknoro...@gmail.com> wrote: > 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 dm1...@nyu.edu) > 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 f...@goa-india.org > Books from Goa,1556 http://scr.bi/Goa1556Books > Audio recordings (mostly from Goa): http://bit.ly/GoaRecordings
