First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"[first lines] Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see an unforgettable show, a film destined to become immortal, as immortal as the music which will follow, and which will be interpreted through animation. Beginning with his childhood fantasies, the greatest ambition that burns and swells in the soul of every creative animator is to illustrate music, to give visual form and color to its notes. With this film, we have finally succeeded in achieving this union of animation and classical music, a union we are sure is destined to live on throughout the history of film. A new and original film that has even astonished us, the men responsible, the men who, quite modestly speaking, can be called its creators. A film in which – in which – [consults a cue card] A film in which you will see the music and listen to the drawings. You might call it a film of magic, a fantasia. [phone rings. The Presenter answers; the caller is not heard] Hello. Yes. Who's speaking? Who is this? What do you mean, who am I? Who is it you wish to speak to? Eh? California? [to camera] It's Hollywood. [to phone] Hello! Yes! What? You've already – [to phone] Hello! Yes! What? You've already – Look, if this is some joke, I'm in no mood – No, but – No, but – there must be some misunderstanding. You're very ill-mannered... That's right, ill-mannered and a liar! Yes, I said you're a liar! A liar from California [hangs up and speaks to camera] It's nothing. They're mad. Mad as hatters. They insist that our film – this is all so ridiculous –was already made by a certain fellow years ago. A certain someone by the name of Prisney or Grisney. Some American. [picks up phone again] In any case, before you go around opening your big mouth, see the film first!"
"Maurizio Micheli as The Presenter / The Animator"
"Néstor Garay as The Orchestra Master"
"Maurialuisa Giovannini as The Cleaning Girl"
"Osvaldo Salvi as Man in Gorilla costume"
Young though he was, his radiant energy produced such an impression of absolute reliability that Hedgewar made him the first sarkaryavah, or general secretary, of the RSS.
- Gopal Mukund Huddar
Largely because of the influence of communists in London, Huddar's conversion into an enthusiastic supporter of the fight against fascism was quick and smooth. The ease with which he crossed from one worldview to another betrays the fact that he had not properly understood the world he had grown in.
Huddar would have been 101 now had he been alive. But then centenaries are not celebrated only to register how old so and so would have been and when. They are usually celebrated to explore how much poorer our lives are without them. Maharashtrian public life is poorer without him. It is poorer for not having made the effort to recall an extraordinary life.
I regret I was not there to listen to Balaji Huddar's speech [...] No matter how many times you listen to him, his speeches are so delightful that you feel like listening to them again and again.
By the time he came out of Franco's prison, Huddar had relinquished many of his old ideas. He displayed a worldview completely different from that of the RSS, even though he continued to remain deferential to Hedgewar and maintained a personal relationship with him.