Table Of ContentTHE INDIAN FILM
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PANNA ~HAH
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GREENWOOD PRESS, PUBLISHERS
WESTPORT. CONNEC T ICUT
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55;;). 71\'\ftbrary of Congres1 Cai.loglng In Publication Dai.
,qz'
Shah, Penna.
The Indian film.
Reprint. Originally published: Bomb~ : Motion Pic
ture Society of India, 1950.
Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral
-Bombay University) under title: A social study of the
cinema in Bombay.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Moving-picture industry-India-Bomba.y-. I. Title.
PN1993-5.I8S5 1981 384 1 .8 10954 81-6268
ISBN 0-8371-3144-8 (lib. bdg.) AACR2
Published in November 1950 by I. K. Menon for the
Motion Picture Society of India.
Reprinted from an original copy in the collection of the
Library, State Univenity College at Purchase, New York
Reprinted in 1981 by Greenwood Press
A division of Congressional Information Service, Inc.
88 Post Road West, Westport, Connecticut 06881
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To
MY FATHER
who, br, hi, encounzgmaent,
critici1m afld labou", ha.a con.
tributed ,o much t.o this book.
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FOREWORD
It is very seldom indeed that one comes acrom a
11niversity in India which encourages a research student
to take up the study of the motion picture industry. It
is in the fitness of things that this was done by the Uni
versity of Bombay the birthplace of the film industry
in India.
The present publication is the concise version of a
thesis prepared by Miss Panna Shah for which she was
awarded a doctor's degree by the Bombay University.
The book gives a historical, sociological and economic
survey of the industry, particularly in Bombay. It is a
11nique work of its kind in our country and I am sure it
will prove to be of great help to any one who wants to
know something about the growth of our Industry.
The Motion Picture Society of India has undertaken
the publication of this book in the confident hope that it
will seive to meet one of the long-felt needs of the
Industry.
I congratulate Dr. Miss Panna Shah for the hard
work she has put in for bringing out this book and J am
sure her services will be thankfully acknowledged by
every one in our Industcy·.
CHUNILALL
PTeBident, M.P.S.l.
Bombay,
August, 1950.
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CONTENTS
Page
Preface
•
XI
• • • • • • ••
1.
Tm: CINBIIA
PLACE OF IN SoaETY 1
• •
2.
THE AIIUJCAJf Fu.II 1896-1949
8
••
3. THE OO>Wf S11.ENT Fil.II 1913-28
19
• •
4.
To IJmLUf F11.11 1931-49 4,7
• • • •
5.
F11,115 AND FILIIC('US 102
• • • •
6.
THE Soail S1cmnCANa F1U1 STABS
oF 137
7.
THE INFLUENGB OF fu115 159
• • • •
8. THE Fn,11
FACTUAL 200
• • • •
9. CINEMA CBNSOasmP
AMD 227
• • • •
10.
TeE FUTUaE OF TBE FIL11
• • • •
Appendices
269
• • • • ••
Bibliography
279
• • • • • •
Index
282
•• • • • • • •
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PREFACE
I N modern, civilized and machine-dominated society,
man's leisure has been eommercialized and the pro
vision of entertainment for spare time hours has be
come a large scale b1isiness. In that business the film
industry plays a major role, for the primary aim of the
cinema, no matter what its critics say, is to entertain.
And yet, the film is not only a leviathan in the sphere of
entertainment; it has become the most potent single
factor in modem life. Its influence, though largely un
measured, is enormous.
Though the power of the film as a medium of crea
tive expression, education and social significance is ad
mitted, it is curious that so little should have been done
to investigate its problems and capabilities. Hundreds of
pictures are made every year, tons of newsprint com
mend them and millions of people see and are moved
or thrilled by them. But there, in a way, the whole thing
ends, for the films quickly disappear from sight and
very little thought is given to this powerful but transient
medi11m. One of the reasons for the dearth of significant
literature is that films fade into the past with rapidity
and are to be viewed again, if at all, with the greatest
difficulty. Moreover, till recently, there was virtually no
means of informing ourselves about this medium of ex
pression which appeals to the greatest 1111mber of people.
The moving picture world is for ever changing and
tends to cast into oblivion the things that it leaves be
hind. The investigator has to deal with the most
evanescent form of expression, which is due not merely
to the change of interest and taste on the part of the
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-udience but aJeo to the change in technique of produc
tion which renden the most important films of the past
antiquated and incapable of conveying their full message
to succeeding generations.
In spite of these diliculties. in Western countries
some social inv-estigations have been carried out. But
these efforts, however good in themselves, are far from
complete. They have only just touched the fringe of the
problem while the core yet remains to be probed.
Strange though it may seem, this industry of such gigan
tic dimensions-it rcanks as the fifth largest in the U .S.A.
and as eighth in lndia-lmowa little about itself and has
done little systematic research on its product and the
acceptance of that product by the public. To questions
such as ''What is the nature of the impact of the content
of motion pictures on the audience?" or ''What are the
pqchological needs of the audience?" and "Why do they
go to pictures?", there is little in the way of tested and
reliable a:aswers. DiviciK and often contradictory viewa
are held, based on a variety of assumptions about human
nature and the reactions of man to duferent social situa
tions.
Even in matters of reliable statistical information,
there is a sad dearth of authoritative factual data. More
fiction than fact bas found its way into the domain of
films resulting in much erroneous information being
spread. More often than uot, this information is based
on nothing more then common talk or mere guesswork,
and given out with the hope that in the absence of proof,
it would not be easily challenged.
Today, in Western countries, this factual deficiency
is slowly but surely being remedied. The industry bas
realized the value of sound data, and steps have been
taken to compile reliable and unbiased statistics. Yet
there is ample scope for future research. The economic
stature of the industry, an intelligent analysis of the pro
duct, the weekly attendance of the audience, their
psychological needs and the cinema's influence on them,
especially on the younger generation, and the scope for
non-theatrical films, all these factors and their problems
can be better solved with the help of reliable factual
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