FilmIndia (1945)

December, 1945 HLM1NUIA Munnawar Sultana provides sex appeal in "'Naiyya" a social story of Mazhar Khan. to cut out for years all patriotic aspects from their productions. Many a patriotic song has been summarily thrown out and for years our producers have not been allowed to cite Jawaharlal Nehru even as an example to die youth of the country. But now with the war of freedom over and the British promise of Indian freedom in the offing, (no one, however, accepts this British bluff seriously) and with the nation's vote on the election anvil, we expect a little more intelligence and foresight from the Government officials, especially in the censoring of films with topical news value. If the speeches of our national leaders are cut and mutilated to suit the whims of the Censors, ther^ is no sense in the Government maintaining the Indian News Parade, apparently for giving the latest and the best news to the people . It is high time that the bureaucratic officials realise that Indians want news only of their own leaders and people. And only their own leaders make the latest and the best news. U/hat -fize ~Tkey 'Poinj ? Right in the wake of the disastrous fires which broke out in ihe film godowns of Paramount Films of India in Bombay and of Moti Mahal Theatres in Lahore, taking a toll of 31 human lives, comes the news of still another fire which broke out in the film godowns of the Aurora Film Corporation of Calcutta during die month of October. Though, fortunately, no loss of life was reported in the fire at Calcutta, it was described by the newspapers as one of the biggest fires in recent memory causing considerable damage to property and films. The disastrous fire in Bombay, inspite of its tragic toll o. 19 human lives, does not seem to have goaded the Municipal authorities into taking any drastic action. Not even an inquiry committee, to inquire into the causes of such fires, has been appointed. All that the Municipal authorities seem to have done is serving the film storers with a notice asking them for particulars of their stocks. For a fortnight or so after the fire, Municipal inspectors seem to have run about nosing around the film godowns and then suddenly dropped the scent after the usual understanding with the film storers. Nothing is heard nowadays of any official inquiries in the matter and we have tailed to get any authoritative information from the Municipa authorities. All that the idiotic half-starved Municipal staff seems to stammer out is "we don't know anything. 7 May we know who knows anything about this ? It seems that the Municipal Commissioner has failed to whip up his subordinates in the Licensing Department in this vital matter. It is the duty of the Commissioner to get this matter thoroughly investigated and find out ways and means of avoiding such unfortunate accident:, in iuturc. Is he doing Little can be expected from the members of the Corporation. Most of our city fathers are themselves orphans of the present day political storm. They have hardly any peace of mind with hot politics in the air. The members of the Congress Party, inspite of Mr. S. K. Paul's assurance to us, do not seem to have taken official nonce of the tragedy. It is unfortunate that not even a single Gandhi cap was caught in the fire, otherwise for that lonely cap the dead ones would have got a better deal. Like vultures over a dead body, the Congress Members muster strong when they have to remove a black-cap dean ot some college or hospital and put a white-cap one in his place. But for some strange reason thev don't seem to have taken notice of the white shrouds that covered the charred flesh of nineteen human bodies. This unfortunate tragedy is a good example of our Congressmen's sense of responsibility. The usually dynamic S. K. Patil, the leader or' the Congress Party in the Corporation who brings the skies down to hound out the Communisms., turns nights into days to organise the A.I.C.C session in Bombay, seems to have found^ no time to worry about a trngedv which took 10 human lives within a few mmutes. As the lender of the largest party in the Municipal Corporation, it was his sacred duty to move in this matter and insist on appointing a committee to inquire into the causes of the fire and to take adequate steps to avoid such fires in the future. May we know why all the Corporators, white-capped or otherwise, have been paralysed ? 5