FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

broary, 1949 frILMINDt A 'imes of India 4th Jan. 19481 fori 17.700 square feet office accommodation, one sound stage for film pronation 50 ft x 100 ft. one dubbing theatre 24 ft. x 50 ft. .e projection theatre 25 ft x 50 ft. and 12 film vaults ft. x 9 ft. If all these items are still required by the Films vision of the Ministry of Information, what the hell e we paying Rs. 7000 a month to Ambalal for? Because Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is at the head of 5 Ministry, must we call all this waste of public jnev a virtue of necessity? Due to his long life of self-denial and self-imposed nury if Sardar Vallabhbhai has forgotten the art of iking the rupee go a long way. he can certainly take a w tips from his own son Dahyabhai who is a leading mmercial magnate and knows well the intricate econocs of the rupee market. Considering the present mess in the Films Division the Ministry, the first year's budget of Rs. 33 lakhs actically threatens to be a total loss, unless some of I; equipment so far purchased and the skill acquired Badami and Bhavnani in conducting brown-coloured rrespondence with New Delhi secretaries can be recked as an addition to our national assets. It is really amusing to observe that Indians who uld find a million faults with the bureaucratic ineffipncy during the British regime cannot see their own jits now and seem satisfied in keeping alive the doubtI heritage of the British mess with the same tangled I-tape with clumsy white-capism as an additional disction of our new freedom. We all venerate the services of Sardar Vallabhbhai tel to the nation. In him we have our greatest statesin of the day. But if he is too old and ill to be tied wn to a desk which needs twelve hours of hard and icient work, can t we name him as Bhishma, the triarch of our nation, and run to him in our hour of jd for advice and guidance? Vt e are a nation of poor people and we cannot aff ord waste even a single rupee for in doing so we deprive neone of his two hungry meals. Even Sardar Vallabhai Patel, with all our veneration for him. cannot be owed to waste our money on inefficiency, indecision or imsy management. Whether Sardar Vallabhbhai likes it or not, let us .nkly tell him that the Films Division in Bombay is ng run in an inefficient, indecisive and clumsy manner Ji the result that almost all the public funds spent so ■ have been wasted. By next March the bill will mount to 33 lakhs. It is common knowledge that our popular leaders not like criticism. It is also known that in their selfhteous wisdom, many of them do not even like suggesns. Nevertheless, we risk their displeasure, in our ing nation's interest, and give below some suggestions: 1. The producers of documentaries and newsreels, dami and Bhavnani or whoever else in future, should given wide discretion to produce subjects without inference from the chair bugs in New Delhi. These pro \\ ell-jiroonied and dignified, Parveen gives a good portrayal in "Chandni Raat" produced by Taj Mahal Productions. ducers should be made to do active production work and not tied down to the desk to shoot out brown-coloured correspondence. 2. To get round the Finance Department's clumsy and ever delaying red-tape, a duly authorized finance officer should be attached to the Films Division with powers to sanction day to day production expenses so that the producers do not have to run for petty sanctions every minute and waste valuable time for which the people are paying. 3. A comprehensive policy of the Films Division of the Ministry should be once for all decided on high ministerial level and a written document of directives mentioning all items of production, distribution and exhibition should be in the hands of the producers and the administrator. 4. The exhibition of newsreels and documentaries produced by the Films Division should be immediately made compulsory all over India and their tariff of weekly hires fixed in proportion to their cost of production. The exhibitors, who have made blackmarket millions, must be made to contribute their bit to the nation's educational effort. There is no other choice in a free country. 5. As the films Division is going to be a permanent feature of our Ministry, there is no sense in hiring out Ambalal Patel's premises at Rs. 7,000r per month without even full facilities and wasting people's money to 5