FilmIndia (1946)

This section is the monopoly of "JUDAS" and he writes what he likes and about things which he likes. The rijws txprested here are not necessarily ours, but they carry weight because they are written by a man who knows his job. ARE THE POLICE BRIBED? While all the countries in the world are making plans for post-war reconstruction and progress in all directions, people in the Indian film industry arc finding out new ways and means of making themselves more obnoxious to the public. To quote the instance of our theatres, we find them today worst' maintained than ever before. To mention only one aspect: we find these days more seats being squeezed into boxes which were intended for less. The boxes at the Majestic, the Novelty and the Minerva cinemas in Bombay were evidently constructed for four and six seats. Today we find six and eight seats in them causing a congestion of space and squeezing out all comfort. Very much same is the case with the balcony classes. The idea of making as much money as possible within the shortest space and time is a filthy thought and those theatre-owners who follow such mercenary principles of business cannot be considered good showmen. Apart from higher principles of giving service and providing comfort to the public, we would like to know how these theatre owners manage to persuade the police authorities to sanction increase in seats when the theatre space has not been inert ased during the last 10 years. Ait the police-officers, those in charge of this lepartment, bribed to collaborate with the theatreowners to provide more tortures to a long-suffering public? We would like this subject to be thrashed out. once for all. on higher levels and we appeal to Minister Morarji Desai to direct his anti-corruption squad to look into several theatre scandals and find out whether all the cinemas in the city are strictly observing the police and municipal regulations laid down for them. If conscientious inquiries are made by officers, other, than those in this department at present, wi are sure many a liberty taken at present will soon Disappear. ;\'c are prepared to help the authorities in teaching the theatre-owners to give a little more respect to our rules of health and sanitation in our theatres, where thousands gather every evening evidently for some entertainment and relaxation but become unwilling victims of one infectious disease or other mainly due to the congestion and filth in our present day theatres. CADDISH BEHAVIOUR IN THEATRES. On the eve of our country's freedom, as a people we are fast acquiring very bat! manners. Admitting that politics take a lot of our mind these days, there is no earthly reason why our people, particularly our politically hyper-sensitive students, should take bad manners to our cinema theatres, where people go merely for entertainment and relaxation. Incidents have been reported from the Metro Cinema in Calcutta antl other theatres in the principal cities of India, in which the rowdy elements in the audiences have either cheered or hooted at our public leaders appearing in news reels, according to their different political complexions. In the first week of "Shama", at the Minerva Talkies in Bombay, we were shocked to see the essentially Muslim audience, jeering and spitting dirty epithets at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad when the weekly news parade screened the Maulana's arrival to meet the Cabinet Mission in Delhi. The very Producer-director Zahur Raja is working in his own social picture "Dharkan" and making a good job of it. II