FilmIndia (1945)

October. 1945. FlLMINDlA His brain seems to work in spasms. He has not yet given a good and consistent story for the screen. S. E. SIVANANJAPPA (Rangaiore) Is it possible to attain freedom through strict nonviolence ? In theory, yes. In practical life, no. Even a small crowd of intellectuals can't remain non-violent for long. Why talk of the masses ? Who is your beloved leader in India ? For day-dreams, Mahatmaji. For practical bread-politics, Jawaharlal Nehru. I respect both and hate both according to circumstances. Will the film industry gain anything by the formation of a national government ? No. It will be an assembly of white and red caps, shadowed by a Western hat. The caps will be too busy struggling for political monopoly and the film industry will only get scant attention. DHAIRYASHIL PA WAR (Bombay) I have attended so many premieres of pictures but I have never seen you on such occasions even once. Why? I don't like a free show and I hate the professional crowd at the premieres. Their hungry looks remind me of Communists. I purchase my entertainment and like to see pictures quietly without producers standing behind me with tea cups in hand. MISS SNEHA CHOPRA (Deolali) Which is the best feature in a woman which attracts Ailmirnbhj Replaces Pure (fltee DELICIOUS <&■ TASTY -HAND BRAND VEGETABLE PRODUCT Digestible €f Health Giving VEGETABLE PRODUCT DEPOT 14, Gujar Street, Bhendy Bazar, Bombay 3. Tel. 42238. SOLE DISTRIBUTORS Ms. A.M1 PATCL OrUN-NUS, Sir Pherozesha Mehtn Road, Near FILMINDJA Office Fort BOMBAY. Tel.: 33422 DALDA DEPOT Laheri Manzil Sandhurst Road, Bhendy Bazar, Bombay 3. Tel: 42238 the greatest attention ? Sex. And sex includes good looks, grace, poise, figure, complexion and intelligence. SATYENDRA NATH (Lahore) Does a coloured picture attract more people than the ordinary black and white? Not the coloured version doled out by the bearded Bohris of Bombay. But a technicolour picture is certainly a greater attraction than the ordinary one. B. RAMNUM (Natal, S. Africa) Which is the best brothel in India, as I may be paying a visit to India and may call around there? Regret we have none at present. The one we had, we shifted years back to 41, Wooley Street, Port Shepstone, Natal, S. Africa, from where this letter has come. Let me know how the show is running these days. MISS ASHA DEVI (Mhow, In case of a conflict between a man's wife and his mother* to whom should the man stick, wife or mother? To the wife. The mother is a sentiment of the past while the wife is the hope of the future. To the man, the future is more important than the past. If he looks back every minute at the past, he cannot step into the future with a buoyant step. Mothers are often unreasonable to their daughters-in-law and sometimes it is the other way round also. Whatever that be, a woman with a record in the past should not struggle with the woman having a career in the future. The past should always help the future in its journey. A tactful man, however, should make a happy link between the two ends and it is always a duty of the mother, as the elder and the more experienced one, to make sacrifices and grant concessions to the younger woman. If old age cannot teach a woman some sense, she does not deserve even a son's sympathy. Life is a hard practical fact and not a sobbing sentiment. VITHALDAS L. BHATIA (Bombay) Many people leave the theatres at the interval having seen half the picture and then express their views as follows: "There is no stuff in it. It is a headache." Do you think it is right to do so without seeing the picture completely ? There is nothing wrong in the spectators expressing their opinion if they have not been entertained through the full half of a picture. They pay for the entertainment and they would like to get it, every minute of their stay in the theatre. Seeing a picture through, good or bad, is an obligation on the professional critic. The lay filmgoer is under no such obligation. If a producer has failed to wake up the interest of the audience during the first five thousand and odd feet, you can be pretty sure that he has failed to do so in the remaining footage. SURESH KUMAR NAKUL (New Delhi) Is there any scope for a man with spectacles in the film line ? 25