FilmIndia (1946)

January, 1943 frlLM INDIA Taking the regulations enforced in the United States as their starting point, the Municipal authorities have made some changes to suit local conditions and have circulated a number of draft regulations for the storage and handling of all films in the city of Bombay. These proposed regulations are very elaborate and good enough to prevent future fires, as all the possible preventive measures are embodied in the said regulations. The only thing that is now left is to enforce these regulations verv strictly after brushing aside all the object ions of the people concerned. While hearing these objections, it will be proper for the authorities to remember the number of human lives lost as a result of their oast negligence. Another aspect of this problem, very important to all. is that all regulations are good onlv if they are put into execution. MAGISTRATE RUNS AMUCK. "The cinema is one of the curses of this age", obser ved Mr. S. M. Hasan, Chief Presidency Magistrate, at the Egmore Court. Madras, in the course ot an order sentencing L. Ananta Iyer, Editor of "Hindu N'esan" to pay a fine of Rs. 400! on charges of having published in the issues of his paper matter of obscene nature in regard to certain cinema stars. In the course of his judgment the learned Magistrate observed "Apart from the age of the accused and the fact that the obscene portions occur only in stray cases, I also take into consideration the fact that the role of the accused in disseminating obscenity is only a minor one when compared to the institution of cinema itself. The cinema is one of the curses of this age. It has turned thousands of girls of respectable families into dancing girls and boys into buffoons and robbed both of the virtue of modesty and dignity. Whatever little educative or moral value is claimed on behalf of it, is a cloak to conceal its hideous nature. The film producers are not concerned primarilv with social and moral reform. Their chief objective is to earn money and this accused has tried to pick up some erumbs from their table." It is strange that within a few months of the sweep ing remarks made by Mr. Oscar Brown, the Chief Presidency Magistrate of Bombay, another Chief Presidencv Magistrate should be induced to condemn the cinema as an evil.. The only relieving feature of this condemnation is that judicial officers who were considered rather exclusive till now have started taking a lively interest in the film and its influence on the people. It is a bit amusing to find that a judicial officer who spends the major part of his life in administering law and order should suddenly pass a sweeping judgment on a subject of which he knows precious little. Let us inform the learned Magistrate that we do not have in the film industry, "thousands of girls of respectable families" who have turned into dancing girls nor as many boys who have become buffoons. Not even Hollywood has got thousands of girls. It is clear therefore that the exaggeration by the learned Magistrate is an outcome of Ins prejudiced mind due probably to his orthodox approach to modern life. We would like to take the learned Magistrate round and introduce him to a number of respectable girls who are working in the industry at present, who are being labelled as dancing girls "robbed both of the virtue of modesty and dignity." If Magistrate Hasan chooses to meet these people and talk to them for an hour he will quickly realise how far from the truth his condemnation has been. These Magistrates who usually stick to their court rooms and see very little of the world outside are hardly justified in making such sweeping remarks about a subject which is utterly foreign to them. As regards the point whether the film is "one of the curses of this age", let us quote what His Excellency Sir Arthur Hope the Governor of Madras said on the very same day as the learned Magistrate, while declaring open the Sixth Madras Salon of Photography: Commending the art of photography His Excellency said: "that photography was still in its preliminary stages but it has been growing. Colour photographs and colour cinemas have added a great deal to human happiness". His Excellency wished both the arts of photography and cinematography a very happy future because these arts are intended to give "great joy and pleasure to a very large number of people." It does sound funny that the Head of the province differs 50 diametricaliv with the Magistrate of his princi pal city. \o More. 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