FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

Hi in a This section is the monopoly of JUDAS" and he writes what he likes and about things which he likes The views expressed here are not necessarily ours, but still they carry weight because they are written by a man who knows his job. M DEFENCE OF FILM "RAZAKARS" ! The Indian film people have such a bad reputation 1 lat any unclaimed crime or sin can be placed at their oor and no extra emphasis will be needed to persuade I ie world of their guilt. This unenviable reputation is 111 the achievement of the Indian film industry during Ii5 years of its struggle to survive. It is not therefore surprising for Mr. C. A. Kapadia |f Bombay to believe that the vandalism of the idols s nd sculptures of Kllora. which he found smeared with >d paint, was the work of some film producer who lad visited the Kllora cave? to take outdoor locations I sr some picture. Mr. Kapadia was given this information "on inqu} ry. Whatever the source of Mr. Kapadia's ■'inquiry . • e did not require a second look into the affair to believe :ie charge against the Indian film people, with their irrific reputation accumulated during so many years of Im making. But we do not think that any film producer was reslonsible for this vandalism. The Kllora Caves are direcly under the control of the Nizam's Archaelogical Delartment and a state watchman lives very near the Caves. Jnder the rules of this department, which used to be cry strict and arbitrary, no producer can enter the caves aid "shoot" them for a picture without obtaining a written permission from the Archaelogical Department after laying heavy fees which are assessed on daily work. .Vhenever such a permission is granted, an officer ol t fie lepartment visits Kllora daily and in case of any vandaism, the producer has no chance to get out of the Hylerabad State with his men and equipment. Mr. Kapadia is not expected to know (he technical <ide of film making and we do not blame him for placng the crime at the door of a film producer. Oil paint s never used in film work. In the studios, sets are paintid with water paint. Oil paint, besides being unsuitable, is an expensive item and film producers, who are deep in debt*, if they could afford to purchase a tin w»on|d rather use it for their bed rooms than for their sets. Besides, oil paint has a gloss which reflects light and as <uch becomes useless for photographic purpose?. Additionally red oil paint would be completely useless as red lias not a fully actinic value in black and white photography even with a panchromatic film. After this, the only presumption would be that the tilm producer, who indulged in this disgraceful vandalism according to Mr. Kapadia's "inquiry", carried pots of red paint either from Bombay or from Aurangabad — miles away into the jungles of Kllora, merely to smear the idols with red paint. That is rather presumptuous, considering the cost of paint and the waste of time — hoth items which a film producer cannot afford to waste either on outdoor locations or on indoor sets w ith a large troupe of people to feed every minute. No. sir. our film people, bad as they are, are not guilty on this occasion. Our inquiries have, however, revealed an altogether different story. We were reliably informed that the Ellora Caves were used as camping grounds by the Bazakars and in quite a few caves a lot of amunition was stored. Even the old temple of Shiva, a little distance away and opposite the main Caves, was used for this purpose. In the big courtyard facing Kailas the Bazakars were regularly drilled from day to day and some of the idols were turned into targets to give shooting practice to the Bazakars. Is it not likely that red paint which is always used for bull's-eye on a target could have been smeared on the idols to provide a better aim to the fanatic Hazakars? The fanaticism of the Bazakars, which has now become past history in Hyderabad, may have goaded the desperate bigots to be vandals of our art and heritage. \nd with the whole State of Hyderabad al their disposal. This seem? to be a pyramid proposition. She is Moluna in "■Palanffa" produced b> Varma Films. 7