FilmIndia (1939)

FILMINDIA February 19 The whole affair is too stupid and betrays a lack of unity in thought and action between the different departments of the film industry. It is needless to state that the audience which never knows when the shows will really begin, soon gets tired and disgusted, with the inevitable result of a poor collection at the box-offices. An appeal for commonsense has proved useless in the case of the distributors or the exhibitors of the city. But there is another side to this question, which must recommend itself to the attention of the Government. As a general rule, Indian film programmes take 2i hours for a single show. Some programmes are even longer. This long programme, with the present show timings rubbing against one another, compels the showman to let out the audience of one show by one door while letting in the audience of the next show by the other door. This procedure has been going on for a number of years, even before the Police Commissioner ordered the theatres to close down at 12-45. A visit to the theatres in the city brings to mind one paramount impression, that they have very few things in common with a modern well equipped show house. Some of the theatres, which still enjoy the indulgence of the Police Commissioner's license inspite of protests, are no better than pig sties without ventilation. The average seating capacity of a theatre is 1000 persons. The minimum admission rate is four annas. The Indian film is more popular with the poor masses than with the other classes. The shows overlap o: another with the result that the theatre is nev empty — not even for five minutes— which means th the theatres are continuously occupied for over elevi hours. Hygiene and health are not things known the poor of the city. With these conditions prevailing for years, is any wonder that our city cinema houses provide tl best hothouses for breeding and transferring eve disease? No cinema in the city, with the exception of couple of English picture houses, has installed ai air purifiers. One wonders how this vital problem of publ health has not yet struck the Hon. Dr. M. D. Gildi our Minister ior Health. We find him rushing abo in a sincere panic through the entire province, clo; ing liquor shops, opening hospitals, giving grar speeches on health and hygiene and promising heaven of health to the citizens, when these theatre which are right under his nose, continue the trag work of spreading disease in the city. As a medical man, he will realise the necessil of clearing and purifying the air between two show All over India, we find theatres having two shov per day, with a big interval between the two show But in Bombay, perhaps the most crowded city in tl country, the theatres have three continuous shov' without any intervals in between. The urgent need of the hour is to fix the show, thus as to leave a minimum interval of thirty minuttj between two shows. During this interval, the a: purifiers must work full strength (provided it is mac It is obvious that Mr. Baburao Pai's partnership in Prabhat won the popular vote. When Mr. Jagannath Patel ("Bauer" representative in India) gave a luncheon at the Taj in Mr. Pai's honour, every prominent film personality, barring of course the stars, wielding big business was present — perhaps for the first time in the history of the film industry. Sardar Chandulal Shah presided at the function. 10