FilmIndia (1946)

SUBSCRIPTION RATES: The annual subscription, far 12 issues of "f;lmindn", from any month i>: INLAND FOREIGN: Rs. 24 ■ Shllllnii SO • Subscription Is accepted only for a collective period of 12 months and not for a small period. Subscription money should be remitted only by Money Order or by Postal Order but not by cheques. V.P.P.s will not be sent. filmindia FILMINDIA PUBLICATIONS LTD. 55. SIR PHIROZE5HAH MEHTA ROAD, FORT. BOMBAY Telephone i 26752 Editor: BABURAO PATEL Vol. XII. JANUARY 1946 No. I. ADVERTISEMENT RATES: The advertisement rata are at follows: Per Insertion full Pa«e Inside Rs. 400 Half Pate Inside Rs 210 t Pace Inside Rs. 120 h Pate Inside Rs. 150 2nd & 3rd Cover Rs 500 4th Cover Rs 600 1st Cover Rs. 1.000 The cost of the advertisement should be submitted In advance with th* order. The advertisement will be subject to the terms and conditions of our usual contract. Producer Kishore Sahu has made news — not so much by producing "Veer Kunal" but by persuading Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the Strong Man of India, to inaugurate the picture in Bombay and incidentally by provoking him to give the official verdict on the future industrial policy of the Indian National Congress in Free India. While thanking Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for gracing the occasion, Kishore Sahu made a splendid use of his opportunity in the presence of the Congress Strong Man by reciting the numerous handicaps through which the Indian film industry has been struggling for the last thirty years of its precarious existence. Producer Kishore Sahu referred to the growing foreign competition that is fast making headway in the country in a'l the sections of the film industry — production, distribution and exhibition — at the expense of the Indian film industry. He accused the Government of criminal apathy towards the Indian film industry and charged them of being agents of some foreign film interests who are trying to acquire a stake in the Indian film trade. Producer Sahu appealed to Sardar Patel and other national leaders to take serious notice of these alien activities and sought their support and protection for the Indian film industry. Rep'ying, Sardar Patel, as is charae'eristic of him, did not mince matters. Said the Sardar: "Political bondage of India is not only affecting the film industry but all the industries of the country. As fish cannot live without water, no industry can survive without political freedom. It is not surprising to see that after thir'y years of its existence, the Indian film jndustry is still in its present pi'iable state. Only the freedom of our country can cure this circumstance. "We are nearing the end of our great struggle. The National Congress has already warned the present alien Government that Free India will not endorse or consider herself bound bv any commitment the present alien Government may choose to make with any foreign interests. The National Government of India would see to it that all Indian indus'ry shall be completely national in all respects. With India free, it is only a matter of an hour to remove all the obstacles in the way cf the progress of our industries. But till then I appeal to my countrymen to see only Indian films whether good or bad and encourage an industry which provides a living to thousands of our poor people." In those significant words of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, there is a warning which all would-be foreign exploiters of India must heed in their own interest. These are not the words of a soap-box orator in Hyde Park nor the pseudo-religious mutterings of a Salvation Army missionary round a street corner. Those are the words of India's Strong Man No. I backed by a nation of 400 million souls. Behind these words is the spiritual stature of Mahatma Gandhi, the fiery spirit of Jawaharlal Nehru and the indisputable authority of the Indian National Congress. These are words of a man who has rudely shaken tne very foundations of the British Empire many a time in Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel arrives at the Novelty to inaugurate "Veer Kunal" 3