FilmIndia (Feb-Dec 1949)

SUBSCRIPTION RATES The annual subscription, for J issues of "filmindia", from ly month is : INLAND Rs. 24| FOREIGN: Shillings 50| Subscription is accepted only r a collective period of 12 onths and not for a smaller nriod. Subscription money should be mitted only by Money Order by Postal Order but not by eques. V.P.P.e will not be filmindia PROPRIETORS FILMINDIA PUBLICATIONS LTD 5S, SIR PHIROZE5HAH MEHTA ROAD. FORT. BOMBAY. Telephone : 26752 Editor: BABURAO PATEL Vol. XV. JUNE 1949 No. 6. ADVERTISEMENT RATES ! The advertisement rates are as follows : Per Insertion Full Page Inside Rs. 400 Half Page Inside Rs. 210 i Page Inside Rs. 120 1|3 Page Inside Rs. 150 2nd & 3rd Cover Rs. 500 4th Cover Rs. 600 1st Cover Rs. 1,000 Plus 6i % Tax The cost of the advertisement should be submitted in advance with the order. The advertisement will be subject to the terms and conditions of our usual contract. People'* (jovetnmenU SJndeed / peaking on the Railways (Transport of Goods) dment Bill in the Indian Parliament on the 23rd i 1949, Mr. K. Santhanam, Minister of State for ays and Transport, stated that famine conditions jarat and other national exigencies necessitated the nation of control and priority for hooking of Ir. Santhanam frankly admitted that there was a il scarcity of waggons for the transport of goods lat all waggons avai lable on the R.B. & C.I. Rail ave been diverted to transport food. ^ little earlier Mr. Jairamdas Doulatram, our Food ter. had stated that though as many as 800 waggons oromised to one province to transport materials for ig 6000 wells only ten waggons could be supplied, loth these admissions of inefficiency came on top reports that there was a severe famine in Gujarat housands of cattle were dying for want of water idder while hundreds of human beings were dying uit of food. /hile men and cattle tossed about and died in an of hunger and Gujarati girls ran about the town lect funds for famine relief. Suraiva. the film actpaid Rs. 5715! to the R.B. & C.I. Railway and led from Mr. Rees. the Deputy Traffic Superintena special saloon to go to Delhi and Ajmer with a of twelve persons including courtiers, jesters, ians and the usual paraphernalia of film actresses, 'his film actress had worked hard for two years and i lakhs of rupees and needed a holiday de luxe, r. Recs gave her a special saloon for 8 days from it April 1949 to the 8th April 1949 and attaching the Meerut Express sent her holidaying to Delhi ler retinue. "Jo, Suraiva was not ill or indisposed. She was just of making monev everv dav for two years and she ke taking 8 days off. And the R.R. & C.I. Railway. has no waggons to take food to the dying, gave ya a special saloon for a holiday de luxe. vTiat the hell did Mr. Rees care what Mr. Santhahad said about the shortage of waggons in the l Parliament? And why the hell should he worry Mr. Jairamdas' problem of carrying food to the e-stricken ? Vnd what did Mr. Rees care if the wrong type of | ges like saloons and tourists' cars caused conn in traffic and threw food waggons off the rails? lere was a young film actress like Suraiva asking for a royal holidav after two years of hard work and could any nice man refuse a nice girl? Surely not! Mr. Rees would have been more than right in doing so before 15th August 1947, when the British rulers wanted the railways to pay back as much money as possible and as quickly as possible. But since that fateful day for the British, times have changed a lot in India. Railways have a different function to perform now besides carrying American tourists, governors and film actresses in special saloons. They cannot sell their rolling stock to the highest bidder these days and cause unnecessary traffic congestion with millions all over the country waiting anxiously for their next meal. Railways have a greater social purpose to fulfil these days rather than merely meet the demands of luxury travel. The Congress ministers have sworn to run this government for the people — to feed them, to clothe them and to find them work. Every day the different ministers are giving us new promises on the different assembly floors. The Food and the Transport Ministers are complaining of waggon shortage in the Indian Parliament while millions are starving all over the country. And yet. Mr. Rees -ould find a special saloon for a film actress to give her a holiday de luxe for 8 full davs. Had food been dumped into that saloon and rushed to Gujarat, a couple of hundred human lives would have been saved. Rut this film actress had to be given her holiday in a saloon. First class travel, commonly available in the country, was not good enough for her. Is this a people's government — by the people and for the people? If this is it. we -hout and say DAM\ IT. ■Qnothet Tax Jacket I Running a province needs as much efficiency and intelligence as running a business does if solvency of the organization is the aim in view. Unfortunately almost all our provinces present us with an insolvent's budget from year to year and beg. borrow or steal money from us under one pretext or other to balance these budgets. One of the causes of our increasing misfortunes is the utter lack of intelligence, imagination and efficiency in some of our so-called popular ministers and their ministries. Some of these ministers have no previous administrative experience either in running a government or a 3