FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

FILM INDIA February, 1! The wombs that carried the little ones are too weak and poor to scream in protest and when they cry the jingle of the producer's silver stifles the mother's wail and sends it back to the womb to light up another poor flame on the pavements of our city. Why do these little babies die? Here are some of the reasons: 1. The babies that are brought for screen work are children of poverty and as such too ailing and ill-nourished to stand the rigours of film work. 2. The strong electric lights which are required for photographic purposes affect the little ones who have hardly any vitality to endure the strong light. 3. Ailing babies who cry constantly spoil the talkie shots of the producers and are often doped with little opium pills by the mothers who are anxious to earn a few rupees to keep body and soul together. Many babies die of opium poisoning. 4. Film work demands as much effort from a little baby as from an adult and consequently these little mites are handled and manhandled so many times that at the end of the day they are completely exhausted. 5. The film studios are too stuffy and foul to provide healthy environments to a little life which needs fresh air constantly. 6. Neither a nurse nor a doctor is ever kept on the sets to look after the health of the baby. To the poor destinv is the nurse and death their only doctor. Film producers emphasize this tragedy of life by their complete disregard of basic humanitarian responsibilities. 7. Doctors are sometimes called only to certify these babv murders as casual deaths due to natural causes and mothers are compensated for the "accidents" and sent back to their roadside homes with a small load of silver — the price of the dead and dried little faggot of skin and bones. Watch the film babies closely in the future pictures you see and you will often find the babies changing. Whenever you see a change, remember what we have written. And yet film work must have babies if our films are to reflect our home life. In England there is a law which does not permit youngsters under fifteen to act for the screen. This law is more often observed in breach than otherwise and as the Home Office realizes the unavoidable requirements of film producers in baby talent, it has now appointed a committee to investigate the whole question thoroughly and frame suitable rules. A similar law would be a great hardship to the Indian film industry and yet something must be done about these heartless murders of little ones. We cannot allow the producers to go on with this crime any longer. Those little ones must be protected by the State. We have a few suggestions to make: 1. No child under the age of six should be permitted to work in film studios unless a certificate of its physical fitness has been obtained from a qualified doctor and recorded at the local police station by the producer. 2. A qualified doctor or a nurse must at all times be present on the studio set as long as the film work of the child is being taken. 3. The child must be provided with milk and other n nourishment during its working hours under medi supervision. 4. The child must not be kept inside the studio st.i for a period longer than half-an-hour at a stretch must be generally kept outside and taken in only for actual shooting. 5. No narcotics such as opium, cocaine etc. sho be administered to the child to produce stupor or co even by the medical attendant. 6. The child should be kept under the strong elecl lights (a close-up usually requires as much as 10,( candle-power of light and sometimes even more) for minimum amount of time absolutely necessary for f work. A dummy must be used for general lighting p poses and the same replaced by the child only at last moment. Breach or defiance of any of the above conditi should be made a penal offence punishable with im] sonment or fine or both. As our film producers understand only the letter law and nothing less we expect the Government to 1 into this all-important humanitarian question urgentl DR. JAYAKAR WASTED HIS EDUCATION ? "The miracles our saints perform on celluloid a horrible torture to me. Personally, I would pre these saints and mythological figu to be left severely alone. All th venerable old celebrities are prese ed to us as miracle-mongers. Mirac are the least part of their service humanity. It is enough that we r« about these exaggerated fantasies literature. Supernatural powers tributed to them need not be imm talised on celluloid. What we ni for popular education is the spn of rationalism, a faith in hun endeavour to rise to its highest. T is denied to us when it is sought impress our minds with the distance between us, m mortals on the one hand and the saints and mythology heroes on the other. If they are represented as an id( the less distance you create between them and the votes, the greater is the scope for human aspiration... An emotional people need realistic pictures as a cort tive of a national bias. Films must take up their shl to root out superstition, explode miracles and help] promote a rational outlook on life's affairs." The above opinion was expressed bv the Rt. H Dr. M. R. Jayakar, M.A..LL.B.. L.L.D.. D.C.L., Bart* law, Privy Councillor, in the course of an interview "filmindia" way back in April 1942 wherein he demned mythological films and pleaded for a ratid approach to life on the screen. But V. Shantaram and Baburao Pai. two "hm \ educated'' film producers of India seem to think otb wise the way they have vomitted their protest against ban, proposed by the Government of Madras, on fi actors playing the roles of Hindu Gods and the in( criminate featuring of such Gods in mythological film While the Government of Madras feel, and right that the present abuse of Gods and our mythology1 having a degenerating effect on the Hindu religion a Dr. M. R. Jayakar C N