FilmIndia (Jan-Jul 1943)

June 1943 FILM INDIA By Universal: "Eagle Squadron"; "The Saboteur". By Russian Producers: "In the Rear of the Enemy"; "Fortress of Volga"; "Moscow Strikes Back". Does Rai Bahadur Chuni Lall know that all these and many more are purely war propaganda pictures? Does the Rai Bahadur know that all these pictures, without an exception, have been accepted by the distributors all over the world, including India? Can't the Indian producers do what the Hollywood producers have done — business plus national service? So far, we have given facts about the problem of producing propaganda films. Now we propose to give a plan for the future, as briefly as possible. (1) The film industry does not need a subsidy from the Government except the guarantee of a regular supply of raw films, both for propaganda and commercial purposes, and a regular shipment of machinery and spares. (2) As every war propaganda picture can have a human drama, the picture will pay its way and if it is well produced it will show more profits than the average silly social film produced in India. (3) That the Government should straightaway control all the raw film stock imported into the country and not allow it to be sold unless to certified licensed stage owners as also stop the stock from drifting into the Black Market. (4) That the Government should forthwith issue licenses to the 52 sound stages now in active use in the country and stop all unlicensed stages from operating. (5) That the Government should impose a limit of 4 pictures per sound stage per year to be produced both for propaganda and commercial purposes. (6) That a 12i/2% of the total number of pictures produced in India should fce exclusively dedicated to the war effort. (7) That the owner of the sound stage should be made responsible for his annual quota of propaganda films according to his space — whether he himself produces the same or gets them produced by independent producers. (8) That independent producers, distributors and other people should not directly get the supplies of the raw films. Independent producers who wish to produce their own films may attach themselves to one of the licensed sound-stages and take their raw film supplies from the studio owner. (9) That the Government should fix up a maximum limit of 50,000 feet of sound and picture negative each for a single picture and permit just enough positive film to make 25 copies of each picture. Only by planning the future thus can we harness the Indian film industry for doing some useful war pro paganda which we so badly need, seeing that the F.A.B., the Information Films of India, the National War Front and the hundred and odd war publicity committees spread all over the country have failed miserably. We don't expect the Government to follow this plan. The reason being: it is wise. But one day, the Government will realize that we had meant well — as they did in the case of our year-old suggestion to compel exhibitors to show war propaganda shorts. A wise and efficient government is a myth and India is so much a land of mythology. MISSING COPIES When you don't get your copy of 'filmindia', don't blame us because we employ three persons to check the dispatch. Blame the postal and the railway employees, some of whom seem to have taken to pilfering as an additional occupation. We can't even replace the missing copies as no extra copies are printed. Subscriptions are accepted on the clear understanding that we are not responsible for such losses in transit. A role he should have played long before is given to Saigal in "Tansen", a Ranjit picture. 9