The document summarizes Asokamitran's experiences working at the Gemini film studio in Chennai in the 1950s. It describes the various departments at the studio, including the makeup department headed by people from different parts of India. It also profiles some of the notable people Asokamitran encountered, including the office boy who wanted to be an actor or director, and Kothamanglam Subbu who was a talented actor and poet. It discusses how the studio hosted visitors promoting anti-communism, including a group from the Moral Re-Armament Army and an unexpected visit by editor Stephen Spender that Asokamitran later learned more about.

2. POETS AND PANCAKES
BY ASOKAMITRAN

3. GEMINI STUDIOS
Gemini Studios was an Indian film studio
based in Chennai(Madras)

4. PANCAKES
Pancake was the brand name of the make-up
material that Gemini Studios bought in truck
loads.

5. GRETA GARBO

6. MISS GOHAR

7. VYJAYANTIMALA

8. MAKE-UP DEPARTMENT
• The make –up department was in the upstairs
of the Gemini Studios which was believed to
have been Robert Clive’s stables.
• It was like a hair cutting salon with lights at all
angles around half a dozen large mirrors.

9. MAKE-UP DEPARTMENT

10. • These lights were of fierce misery of those subjected
to make-up.
• The make-up department was first headed by a
Bengali.
• He was succeeded by a Maharashtrian who was
assisted by an Andhra Dharwar Kannadiga, a Madras
Indian Christian, an Anglo-Burmese and local Tamils.
MAKE-UP DEPARTMENT

11. NATIONAL INTEGRATION

12. ASOKAMITRAN
Protagonist of the story

13. ASOKAMITRAN’S VIEWS ON MAKE-UP
• Those nationally integrated make-up men could turn
any decent looking person into a hideous crimson
monster with the help of Pancakes.
• A strict hierarchy was maintained in the department.
For instance the chief make-up man made the chief
actors and actresses ‘ugly’; his senior assistant the
second hero and heroine, the junior assistant the
main comedian and so forth
BEFORE AFTER

14. THE OFFICE BOY
• In the make-up department the players who played the
crowd were the responsibility of the ‘office boy’.
• On the days of crowd shooting, one could see him
mixing the paint in a giant vessel and slapping it on the
crowd players.
• The idea was to hide all the marks on the faces in the
process of applying make-up.
• This is the ironical part that he was not really a ‘boy’; he
was a middle aged man in his forties. He had entered
the studio in the hope of becoming a star actor, screen
writer, director or lyricist. He was a bit of a poet also.

15. ASOKAMITRAN’S JOB
• He worked in a cubicle. His duty was to cut newspapers
clippings and store them in files.
• Everybody thought that he did ‘nothing’. So whenever they
were in frustration, they used to scold and give
Asokamitran a lecture.
• Even the office boy would come and recite his poems to
him. He believed that his great talent was being wasted in
such a studio.

16. No Work at all!

17. RECAP
• Pancake – A make-up brand bought by Gemini Studio
• Asokamitran- Protagonist of the story
- Believes that make-up makes a decent man ‘ugly’.
- Works in the cubicle by collecting newspaper clippings on
different subjects
• Make-up department – Was like a hair cutting salon.
- Various people worked (Shows national integration)
• Office Boy – Served the crowd players
- Wanted to become an actor, director, lyricist or poet

18. KOTHAMANGLAM SUBBU

19. KOTHAMANGLAM SUBBU
• He was called ‘number two’ of the Gemini Studio
• He was not much educated as compared to the
Office Boy. But had the privilege of being a
Brahman.
• He was optimistic, cheerful in every situation, he
came across.
• He was tailor-made for films and an extremely
talented actor who came up with various
alternatives to perform one scene.

20. • He was a good poet too and also wrote a novel
‘Thillana Mohanambal’.
• He did act as a subsidiary role and performed better
than the main actors.
• He was loyal, charitable and had a genuine love for
everyone. His house always had visitors who were
his far relatives and acquaintances.
• Despite his good nature, he had many enemies in
the studio who were jealous of him as he was very
close with The Boss. Subbu worked in the story
department comprising of legal advisers, writers and
poets.
KOTHAMANGLAM SUBBU

21. THE LEGAL ADVISOR
• He was the one responsible to bring end to
an actress’s acting career.
• Everybody referred to him as opposite to his
name.
• He was a member of Story Department,
• He always wore pants and a tie and
sometimes even a coat which was opposite
to the dress of other members of the Story
Department who wore Khadi Dhoti and shirt

22. “NEUTRAL MAN IN THE ASSEMBLY OF GHANDIITES AND
KHADIITES”

23. THE LEGAL ADVISOR
• This legal advisor was very close to The
Boss.
• He was therefore allowed to produce films.
Though a lot of raw stock and pancake were
used in the film, it could not earn much.
• But when The Boss closed the Story
Department, the legal advisor lost his job.
• Thus, it can be said that the lawyer lost his
job because the poets were asked to go
home.

24. GEMINI STUDIO AND POETS
• Gemini Studios was one of the favourite places of the poets.
• Many poets like S.D.S. Yogiar, Sangu Subramanyam, Krishna
Sastry, and Harindranath Chattopadhyaya met over a cup of
coffee at the studio
• Here they could have a nice cup of coffee from the mess and a
good discussion.
• In those days when Congress rule meant Prohibition, meeting
over a cup of coffee was quite entertaining.
• Barring the office boy and clerks, they had a good time for
leisure.

25. COMMUNISM

26. COMMUNISM
• A communist was a godless man- No filial (family) or conjugal
love.
• They did not have any hesitation about killing their own parents
or son.
• Notions of communism floated in South India at that time.

27. FRANK BUCHMAN’S MORAL RE-ARMAMENT
ARMY
• This was a team of two hundred people who visited Madras in
1952.
• They were hosted by Gemini Studios and were a team of
international circus.
• Though they were not good performers and were not good at
controlling animals, they presented two plays in a professional
manner.

28. JOTHAM VALLEY

29. THE FORGOTTEN FACTOR

30. FRANK BUCHMAN’S MORAL RE-ARMAMENT ARMY
• The Tamil plays were highly influenced by
their plays and had a scene of sunrise or
sunset as in the ‘Jotham Valley’ and a bare
stage with a white background curtain and
a tune on the flute.
• Later it was known that the MRA was a kind
of counter-movement to communism and
big bosses of Madras like Mr. Vasan played
into their hand.
• Whatever it was, the staff of Gemini
Studios had a nice time hosting two
hundred people of different nationalities.

31. THE TELEPHONE CALL
• Months later, an unexpected telephone call announced the arrival of
another visitor
• A poet was supposed to come from England. The staff at Gemini
Studios was confused. They had known Wordsworth, Tennyson, Keats,
Shelly etc., but were wondering who this poet could be?
• Later they come to know that he was an editor. The Boss, himself an
editor of an Tamil weekly ‘Anand Vikatan’ was willing to give that visitor
a big reception.
• As the top men of ‘The Hindu’ were taking the initiative, this person was
supposed to be the editor of a daily except ‘The Manchester Guardian’
or ‘The London Times’

32. THE GUEST ARRIVES
• At around four in the afternoon the guest arrived at the
studios.
• He was a tall and serious Englishman. The Boss had a
speech and invited the guest to deliver a speech.
• The Boss talked on general concepts like ‘freedom’ and
‘democracy’
• But when the guest spoke, no one could understand him
because of his accent.
• After half an hour the poet left. The poet remained baffled
while his visit.
• His visit remained a mystery for Asokamitran.

33. ASOKAMITRAN AND WRITING
• He believed that prose writers must be patient,
persistent, persevering and must have a solid heart.
• Once ‘The Hindu’ had published a tiny announcement
regarding a short story writing contest organized by
the British periodical ‘The Encounter’
• As Asokamitran didn’t know anything about ‘The
Encounter’, he went to the British Council Library to
find the copy of the periodical ‘The Encounter’
• He found the periodical lying there untouched by
readers. But as he read the editor’s name, he was
shocked.

34. STEPHEN SPENDER
• He was the editor of ‘The Encounter’. He had visited the Gemini
Studio that day.
• Asokamitran felt as he had found a lost brother when he sealed
the envelop and wrote his address.
• He felt that he would also have the same feeling when he would
open the letter.

35. FINALLY…
• Years later when Asokamitran left the Gemini studio, he had
much time but no money. So, anything at a discount attracted
him.
• On the footpath of the Madras Mount Road Post Office, there
was a pile of brand new books for fifty paise each.
• He was quite surprised by the cost. He came to know that they
were copies of the American origin book ‘The God that Failed’.
• They were low priced on account of the 50th Anniversary of the
Russian Revolution
• Asokamitran went ahead and read the names of the authors.

36. 1. ANDRE GIDE

37. 2. RICHARD WRIGHT

38. 3. IGNAZIO SILONE

39. 4. ARTHUR KOESTLER

40. 5. LOUIS FISCHER

41. 6. STEPHEN SPENDER

42. CONCLUSION
• When Asokamitran read the sixth name he was very surprised. It
was Stephen Spender.
• The book suddenly gained utmost importance. The mystery of
the unexpected visit was solved
• The Boss of the Gemini Studios had nothing to do with
Stephen’s poetry.
• But he had called him to demote the God that Failed that is
‘Communism’ So Gemini Studios had a group of people against
communism.

43. THANK YOU!
HAVE A NICE DAY!
BY:-
MANPREET KAUR
PGT ENGLISH
KV NTPC DADRI