FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

ril, 1949 FILMINDIA \ OROSKAR (Rombay) W hat do you mean by " Quislings "? People who allow themselves to be hired for dubbing foreign pictures in Hindustani and thus help the foreigners to rob a poor country. Jk Isn't producer-director Shantaram fast losing his V? Losing? He has left it behind in Poona in safp keeping with Syed Fateh Lai. ft hat has Shantaram to do with art these days? SS G. L. PUSHPA (Bolarum Dn.) Define Nehru's government? A band of honest patriots presiding over a croud of dishonest ivorkers and leading a nation of 370 million undisciplined people. N. NAGARKAR (Mangalore) W hy don't you come down to the south? And see " Demon Land "? Why does Vijayalakshmi Pandit insist on wearing eveles? blouses even during cold weather in Europe? It is probably a concession to the cloth shortage in India. What is your opinion about Pandit Nehru's oft reated threats of resignation of his office as the Prime nister of India? / call it blackmail. A man who has dedicated his life to the service of his people has no right to threaten. A. K. TAJI (Ambarnath) Which are three front rank producers through uom we can expect pictures of high standard? Kishore Sahu, Raj Kapoor and J. K. Nanda. But expectations often abort. Will you please tell us about the journey of the mmon mans money from the booking office to the rious sections, i.e., cinema proprietor, distributor, proicer, etc. 33i% of your admission price — and sometime < more — goes to the Government as Entertainment Tax. From the rest usually is taken by the cinema owner. After deducting the cinema owner s share, the distributor takes 20cfc and hands over the rest to the producer. The producer therefore gets about 26 c/c of your original admission price provided he doesnt have to pay anything more in royalties, interest and black money to some financier. What percentage of our film producers are able to pt according to the changed political atmosphere of our )untry ? All acted well on the 26th of November last. They prostrated before Minister Morarji Desai. B \MANUJAN (Guntakal) What made Shantaram produce a Tamil picture? To save the South Indians from Jasans tortures. 1 N. KUTTIKRISHNAN (Tricluir) What is an actor without ego? An egg without a shell. Raj Kapoor and Rehana make a new team of lovers in " Snnliere Din produced by Jagat Pictures. With such a wide circulation of "filmindia" in foreign countries, don't you think that your reviews of our films as 'stupid', "boring', 'waste of celluloid', etc. will create an altogether bad impression upon the minds of foreign readers about the Indian film industry in general? In fact, many daily papers and periodicals in America and other foreign countries regularly reproduce what I write every month. To quote an instance, even the headlines on the reviews were recently reproduced by the Magazine Digest (Feb. 49, page 94). A bad thing must be called bad. To call it otherwise would be hypocrisy. The Indian film industry is bad and it can make only a bad impression both in India and overseas. ['. V RAMACHANDRA (Mysore) Y\ hich is the cheapest jew el that a husband can offer to his wife? Himself. Nothing can be cheaper than that. HANS KUMAR JAIN (New Delhi) What would you think of a Muslim greeting you with " Namastey instead of his usual " adab arz "? / would greet him with " adab arz ". That would be meeting each other half way. H. GOV1NDA RAM (Shimoga) What would be the conditions of capitalists like Birla and Dalmia in India if in the next election the Socialists succeed in the Central Assembly? Socialists won't succeed and Birlus and Dalmias will proceed, 29