Introduction
The popularity of cinema has been constantly in creasing in India and the world for the last two or three decades, No body would deny that it is a powerful formative influence on human life. It is now looked upon as the commonest from of amusement. It has became a part and parcel of the life of many a young man and woman today. From the most accomplished restaurants to the ordinary huts and cottages, the cinema is the topic of a social conversation. The person who is not well informed about Hollywood studios, film stars and their achievements is sometimes laughed at and criticized as a backward citizen in spite of his or her scholarship in literature and philosophy. No wonder if this unfailing appeal of cinema shapes the character and life of the people in the modern world.
The cinema and the adolescents
India is facing numberless problems these days. But the most important problem is that of Indian adolescents. The thinking persons of India are very much worried about the future of India because the present generation, which is passing through the stage of adolescence is misguided and baffled. The youngsters have come under the evil influence of the cinema. Unluckily, the cinema in the entire world leaving Russia, is largely a business proposition. Film production is merely a commercial concern. The persons who are at the helm of affairs in this line are materialistic in outlook and have no belief in spiritual or moral values. Their sole aim is to make easy money by exploiting the delicate sentiments of young men and women. The result is that the general standard of film pictures is objectionably low. The majority of films are inhumanly sexy and even erotic. In the form of human love, they represent vulgar and sentimentally passionate love in all its varieties. Fliration and conqueror are considered as praiseworthy and desirable in these films. It is the climax of moral love corruption. Such pictures have very degrading and demoralizing effect on innocent minds who try to imitate the acts in their own life which they see on the screen. Another type of representation which is highly objectionable is that of melodramatic stories. The villains and robbers shown in the films provide excitement and thrill to the audience. Deeds of savagery and horror are served in place of real tragedy. Thus every attempt is made to exploit the lower tastes and passions of public.
The standard of the cinema is low in India
In India, the standard of the cinema is very low. Most pictures are a production of hurried and inefficient direction. There has been a mushroom growth of film companies in India. Many of them are found wanting in setting, back ground, costumes, photography and music owing to the dearth of funds. In this respect, English and American pictures are superior. The condition of the modern India films is deplorably bad. They have polluted and defiled our youngmen and women who have gone mad after this perverted recreation. Pollution in the young generation of India has gone so far that it seems difficult to put a check on its increasing trend. The cinema has begun to dominate our thinking and acting in all respects with the result that India one time a land of simple living and high thinking, has become a land of showy living and crooked thinking Our boys and girls are seen roaming about the streets like Romeo and Juliet creating scenes of immortality putting on drain trousers and skin-tight clothes. This is all due to the influence of the cinema. Obscene posters and advertising pictures have become very common. In a country where a person was known by his or her character, such obscene posters are highly objectionable and should be banned with one stroke of pen. Acharya Vinoba Bhave has been agitating for a long time against these posters but to no effect. It is the height of our moral bankruptcy and mental perversion. Acts of indiscipline in schools and colleges, disobedience to parents insobriety in temperament, showiness in living and molestation of girls by boys are due to the popularity of the cinema in India.
Censorship of film and films as means of education
It is necessary to introduce a strong and incorruptible censorship of films so that it may not defile the character of our nation any more. The Government should set up certain moral and artistic standard which all films must maintain necessarily. This will stop the production of sexy and cheap films. The social reformers must combine to start and India-wide agitation to make the general public conscious of the evils of the cinema. The press should lend a helping hand to the Government and the social reformers by condemning bad films and praising good films. The complexion of Indian films can be changed by selecting themes of real adventure and heroism, first rate stories from classical mythology, historical subjects and plots from Indian literary masterpieces. Films like Sardar Bhagat Singh should be produced in a good number. The cinema should be employed as a means of education. Short films on scientific, literary, commercial and historical subjects ought to be produced in large numbers for school-going children. Besides, these films dealing with problems such as agriculture, hygiene and sanitation will be immensely useful for the common man in India. There should be pictures dealing with current affairs. The practice of showing newsreels and documentary films is very healthy and profitable.
Conclusion
Pictures with sexiness must be prohibited for adolescents without delay in India. The cinema should be properly controlled and organized with a view to combine recreation with education. The young generation in India is going astray being nursed in the cradle of the cinema. The intellectuals of India should come out of their ivory tower and should pay head to the evil effect of the cinema and should lend support to the great saint Acharya Vinoba Bhave in order to create atmosphere of morality and spirituality in India.