FilmIndia (Jan-Nov 1942)

Bab lUanneM £poil Ou\ Efniektammetd d Plea For Sensible Behaviour In Theatres By : Mirza Hamid "Manners maketh man" is a truism the importance of which can hardly be exaggerated in present day life. Man is a social animal and as such he has certain obligations towards the other members of the society. His actions have a social significance because they not only affect himself but other members of the human race too. In the case of Robinson Crusoe, living in a forlorn island and leading a detached life, it is meaningless to talk of good manners or etiquette because his doings cannot possibly influence another human being's life. But we who live in an organised society have to observe some code of behaviour so as to "live, and let live". Cinema halls are places of public entertainment and as such every visitor is expected to behave in a decent way so as to allow maximum enjoyment for each of us and therefore for all of us. It is not my intention to give here a list of "dos" and "don'ts" but I will be satisfied in merely recording my observations and experiences gained in the different theatres of different cities so as to bring out. clearly how non-observance of ordinary good manners or lack of etiquette can net only mar the joy of others but sometimes lead to very undesirable consequences. ALMOST SCARED TO DEATH I vividly recall an incident that happened years back in Rangoon, the city of golden pagodas. In one of the first class English theatres situated on the ultra-morlern Sule Page da Road, "Tarzan And His Mate" attracted huge crowds, Like most of the Indian cities, the cosmopolitan public of Rangoon believes in the very effective principle of Might is Right' in obtaining cinema tickets. A big crowd thronged at the booking office struggling desperately to get admission tickets. Suddenly a big push made the entire crowd swing first forward and then backward. A Chinese boy oi 14 or 15 was right in the middle of the crowd. He might have been squeezed to death, but in desperation, he jumped up. The force of his jump combined with the pressure of the push helped this boy to go up vertically till he found himself walking on the heads of ether people. The fate of the poor boy was 'from the frying pan into the fire'. Heavy blows fell on his tender body as he stepped on human heads. This continued for a few seconds till a powerful blow sent him away flying and he lay seated on the ground. The moment he found himself seated cn the ground, he gazed at the crowd In frightened agony, got up instantaneously and ran away as fast as he could. I doubt if this poor boy will ever think of a cinema show again in his life. A more horrible example of human brutality and utter lack of etiquette could not be cited. POT-BELLY PATRONS In this respect, Bombay can rightly feel proud of its queue system and its citizens deserve all admiration for adopting this humane method in buying tickets. But here too some people behave in a way which can hardly be called commendable. It is not very long ago that I stood in a line waiting my turn to buy a ticket so as to be admitted in a first class Indian theatre. Behind me. there happened to be a middle aged man with an unusually big belly. The huge dimensions of his belly were perhaps in direct proportion to the amount of wealth he possessed I was neither interested in the man nor his protruding belly. But when it proved to be a perpetual weight on my spinal chord, I was forced to take interest in it. Every now and then I turned round and looked at the man but he seemed indifferent. 76