Owners of the iconic twin theatres resume demolition after BMC’s notice warning of a mishap during the monsoon; it has been on the list of dilapidated buildings since 2008
Yogesh Naik (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 15, 2020)

The owners of the Ganga Jamuna Talkies in Tardeo resumed its demolition on Friday. Shut for the past 18 years, the iconic twin theatres have been on the BMC’s list of dilapidated buildings since 2008. The demolition of the building began in December 2019 but was discontinued twice due to a shortage of labour. It restarted in March but had to be halted due to the lockdown.

Assistant commissioner of D-Ward Prashant Gaikwad confirmed that the dilapidated structure was declared dangerous last year. “We reissued the notice in July as the structure is in extremely bad condition. We have told the owners to demolish it within a month and said they would be responsible in case of a mishap,” he said.

The owner of the theatres, Gul Achhra said the building was to be demolished and redeveloped into a multiplex in 2008. He said, “We were asked to make an eight-storeyed building with mini theatres and basement parking as per the development control rules, but we don’t want to construct a theatre again.”

A famous landmark, the Ganga Jamuna Talkies have seen many superstars on the red carpet for the premieres of classic Hindi films such as Ganga Ki Saugandh, Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye, Kaalia, Don, Mr Natwarlal and Hero.

Acchra said while Ganga had around 1,000 seats, Jamuna had 850 seats. “There was a time when standalone cinemas did good business. However, with the rise of digital media, there is hardly any scope. The world is moving fast. Within years, we have moved from cable television to movies on smartphones,” said Acchra, adding that he hasn’t decided if he would construct a commercial or a residential complex here. He said the theatres will be razed by November-end and hopes that they will remain a part of living memory.

A junior engineer from D-Ward said the owners were issued several notices. “Now pieces of plaster had started falling down. It was being viewed as dangerous due to the recent heavy rainfall. We told them that action would be initiated if demolition didn’t start soon,” he said.

Jitendra Narvekar, a resident of Goa who spent his childhood in Mumbai, remembers watching films like Don, Mr Natwarlal, Suhaag and Chashme Baddor at Ganga Jamuna. “We used to stand in a queue on Monday to book a ticket for the first show on Friday. I used to pay Rs 1.10 for the lower stall or Rs 2.20 for the per upper stall. The balcony ticket cost Rs 3.30 and the dress circle used to cost Rs 4.40 in the late 1970s and the early 1980s,” said Narvekar, feeling sad hearing about the demolition.

Over the years, several single screen cinemas in the city have downed their shutters due to a steady drop in footfall. While some like Chitra in Dadar is being redeveloped as a mini multiplex, others like Sharada Cinema, a property of Mumbai Granth Sangrahalya, has been in disrepair for many years now.
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That ’70s Show

THE TIMES OF INDIA (August 17, 2020)

Ganga-Jamuna, the twin single-screen theatre complex at Tardeo, which is currently being demolished, was once a landmark cinema house and an important cultural destination, especially for those who grew up in this neighbourhood. In the 1970s and ’80s, some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters were first released here, including many of superstar Amitabh Bachchan’s hits. The matinee shows were extremely popular too, where at times Soviet films with subtitles were screened. Imran Furniturewala, whose grandfather Zakaria Aghadi built Ganga-Jamuna, says the complex was inaugurated in 1971 in the presence of the then Maharashtra governor Ali Yavar Jung. On that day, the movie ‘Dushman’ premiered at the theatre.

Imran writes: “It was my grandfather’s system to hold a premiere of a big film and invite the main actors. In those days, actors didn’t have the visibility among the public as they do today, so they used to happily come.” The premieres were attended by superstars such as Mumtaz, Dilip Kumar and Rajesh Khanna. Ganga-Jamuna shut almost 20 years ago when single-screen theatres became financially unviable. The iconic Diana theatre at Tardeo and Minerva at Grant Road were among the many others that shut. Gul Achhra, the current owner of the Ganga-Jamuna property, says the complex is being razed since the BMC recently declared it as dilapidated.

The twin cinemas that ran to full houses once, have been shut since 2006 and now with the BMC declaring the building dilapidated, they are expected to be razed within a month
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 20, 2019)

On Monday afternoon, the only people on the premises of Ganga Jamuna, the once-bustling twin theatres in Tardeo, are two watchmen. They are clueless about the future of the property they are guarding so zealously. Ganga downed shutters in 2000, followed by Jamuna six years later. Now, they are in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) list of dilapidated buildings and the owner, Gul Achhra, admits he is expecting the building to be demolished in a month’s time.

A businessman from Ulhasnagar, Achhra bought the property in 1988 and the first film screened at Ganga was the Govinda and Neelam Kothari-starrer Ghar Mein Ram Gali Mein Shyam, a remake of the Tollywood film, Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya featuring Chiranjeevi. “When I bought the theatres from the original owners, they were both shut. I renovated them, installed air-conditioning, bought new fans, got pushback seats which were a new concept back then and changed the colour scheme,” Achhra informs.

In its heydays, Ganga Jamuna had screened films like Amitabh Bachchan’s Kaalia and Ganga Ki Saugandh with houseful shows, while Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye had celebrated a 75-week run there. With TV and digital platforms not on the scene then, the theatre was a popular haunt.

“But once single screens made way for multiplexes with the government offering tax relief, our business was badly affected,” sighs Achhra, admitting that he too had tried to convert the two theatres into a four-screen multiplex. “But it was a long-drawn process and didn’t pan out.”

Simultaneously, the land on which Ganga Jamuna stood was sold by the landlord to another builder, while Achhra was also attempting to buy the land from them. “After some back and forth, the builders approached me in December 2006, offering 50 per cent ownership and a plan to turn the basement and first floor into a shopping mall, the second floor would have two screens and the remaining floors would have offices of multi-national companies. The plan was passed two years later, but after that zilch,” rues the 65-year-old theatre owner. “In 2017, they told me to look for another collaborator but since I am neither a developer nor a property trader, I’m stuck. I’ve been talking to a few developers. Meanwhile, we have got the orders from the BMC to demolish the theatre.”

The self-confessed cinephile, Achchra signs off despondently, “The current situation is not a happy one and I’m really hurt.”