FilmIndia (Jan-Nov 1942)

March 1942 effort by an all-cut programme of production, let him get out of the Board. We want men who can make the rusty wheels of democracy move a bit faster. If Shantaram has already failed, let us try another man hoping that he will succeed better. But let us not wait and watch the war being lost. Let us fight and win it. hullo: health officer Sometime back we wrote about the scarcity of lavatories at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay. We understand that the authorities took up the matter temporarily and as usual made some inquiries and probably because of persuasion from the cinema owners dropped the affair. But the nuisance continues as of old and nearU i eight hundred cine-goers are compelled to wait and take their turn at the four-seat lavatory obtained at the theatre. In addition to this agonising inconvenience, for ! which the theatre-owner does not seem to care a fig. the lavatory is kept in a scandalously unhygienic conl dition, being constantly filthy. We wonder what Dr. Das Gupta the new health officer of the Bombay Municipality is doing? Surely, ho ' is not persuaded so soon'.' The hygienic conditions generally obtained in theat tres where Indian pictures run are really a shame in the first city in India. Cannot something be done to teach these theatre-owners a lesson? On making inquiries at the theatre we are told that I the Municipal authorities do not find it possible to sanci tion the construction of new lavatories. This is a ; strange position, if it is true. We refuse to believe that the Municipal authorities | are so short-sighted as to refuse co-operation to a I theatre-owner who is anxious to provide better hygienic conditions to his patrons. RATIONING 'FILMINDIA" Every postal delivery brings us pressing requests ; from our agents all over the country for more copies I of "filmindia". "I was sold out in a day". '"The students rushed and bought all the copies in two hours." "For heaven's sake send mere copies". "We can double our sales if you only supply". Such frantic requests have become the order of the day. Our standard reply is that we cannot afford to print more copies than we are doing at present owing to the excessive cost of paper. Friends remind us in unfriendly ways of the increased price of twelve annas per copy. Here is the trade secret, for all it is worth: The actual production cost of the February issue per copy was fifteen annas. Though the reader pays' twelve annas per copy, after ; allowing a commission of 25% to the agent we get in FILMINDIA hand nine annas per copy. Over this we spend one anna in postage per copy. That leaves us a nett return of eight annas per copy. Which means that over every ccpy sold we lose seven annas. These seven annas are covered with the greatest difficulty by the advertising revenue. Add to this our office and staff maintenance expenses and for heaven's sake realize our position as publishers. We do not want profits in these times, but we have no pocket to lose money on the business of publishing "filmindia". The extreme popularity of "filmindia" is very flattering, but in these times, we do not even want praise but we crave for a little rest from threatening demands, lawyer's notices, and vivid descriptions of the clamour created by the readers at the agents' shops. It is sheer waste of words to ask for more copies. We are doing our best and we cannot do better. The only way to solve the present problem is for the readers to share their copies with friends. If they do so, it will be a favour and a help to India's most popular film mag. FILMINDIA" MYSTERY r After every monthly despatch we get a large crop of complaints from subscribers and agents that they have either not received their copies or that they have received some copies short. These complaints have now become chronic and we are led to suspect that "filmindia" is becoming stealthily popular with the delivery postmen and the transport officials of the railways. Immediately on receipt of such complaints, we write either to the Post Master General, Bombay or to the Station Superintendent. Victoria Terminus. Jaydish. our popular character actor, acts the stern man with Kausaiya in "Rai Saheb" a social story of Janak Pictures. 13