FilmIndia (1945)

December, 194S FILM INDIA Snapped together on the polling day Sushila Rani and Baburao Patel vote for Freedom (Congress) on the 26th November. They don't seem worried about the Mahasabha stooge, canvassing alongside. A scene between the two stars in an hotel bedroom before they leave for Paris is required to be deleted altogether. A "bawdy house" must, for the Yankee audiences, be clearly established as a gambling house. Since the film reflects these particular aspects of Victorian life in England, these cuts will knock the theme out of this story completely. The British film people have become suspicious of the good intentions of the Hayes Office, remembering some of the Yankee films the Britishers permit to be shown. The cuts in "Fanny By Gaslight" are ridiculous when you remember that the Hayes Office took no objection on moral grounds to "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek", a Hollywood picture in which a girl gets drunk «,iid cannot remember who is the father of her sextuplets. This Anglo-American "co-operation" is something worth the attention of those Indian producers who are anxious to produce pictures for the American market, encouraged by the stupid talk of Hirlekar and others. M. G. M. SOOTHER? Friend A. Rowland-Jones, Managing Director of Metro-Goldwyn Mayer. (India) Ltd., has sent us the news that Loew's Incorporated of America, who control the world distribution rights of all M. G. M. pictures have set up in New York a company called "M. G. M. International Films Corporation." One of the objects of this company will be to acquire all films of unusual merit produced in all countries outside the United States with an idea to obtain for them greater markets and thereby to foster foreign trade, The principal ideological profession behind this scheme is * belief of the organisers of this new company that such exchanges will beuer international relations. As found on paper no one in the world can condemn such a scheme which should promote better lelations between the East and the West, if ail the professions are put into actual practice. Indian producers, however, would do well to insist on certain guaranteed releases in the key cities of America within a specific time before they agree to hand over the pictures to the new company, which is easily one of the most influential concerns in America. It is quite likely, as suspected in the case of the "Court Dancer", that to prevent independent Indian enterprise American film interests may purchase outright some ambitious Indian pictures and store them in their film godowns without even opening the tins on Broadway pavements. That is another American way of stifling any possible competition. The Yankees can afford many expensive luxuries and this is one with profits in the long run. ENTERTAINING OR HURTING ? Editor Baburao Patel has received a letter from His Grace the Archbishop Bombay regarding the unfortunate advertisement ot "Chhamia" which appeared in the "Bombay Sentinel" and about which we had commented in the October issue of "filmindia": Writes His Grace: "I am writing to convey our very grateful thanks for the comments which appeared in the October issue of "filmindia" under the heading "Insulting the Christians". Our attention was drawn to the article and on the strength of that we took the matter up with the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association. They in It is evidently a harem situation from "Bairam Khan" with Mehtab as the piece-de-resistance, I)