Showing posts with label Regal Cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Regal Cinema. Show all posts
Raj Khosla’s legacy to be celebrated on his centenary through screenings, panel discussion
8:56 AM
To mark director Raj Khosla’s birth centenary, Film Heritage Foundation to screen his hits, and host panel discussion with Asha Parekh and Mahesh Bhatt tomorrow
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; May 30, 2025)
Ask cinephiles their favourite Raj Khosla movie, and the answers will widely vary — some will choose the noir CID (1956), others, the mystery drama Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), and some others, Dostana (1980). The one thing they will agree on, however, is that the director was a master across genres. It is this mastery that Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) aims to celebrate with the retrospective, Raj Khosla 100 — Bambai Ka Babu, at Regal Cinema in Mumbai tomorrow.
Marking the filmmaker’s birth centenary, the day-long celebration will feature a panel discussion with veteran actor Asha Parekh, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, and Amborish Roychoudhury, author of Khosla’s biography. Not just that, his classics — including CID, Bombai Ka Babu (1960), and Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971) — will be screened.
Parekh, who had worked with the late director on several films, remembers him as one who put his leading ladies at the centre of the narrative, at a time when they were largely sidelined. “Do Badan [1966], Chirag [1969], Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki [1978], and Mera Gaon Mera Desh are among my favourite films. Before [working] with Raj Khosla, I was known more for my dancing and glamorous roles. Do Badan changed people’s perception of me as an actor who could perform serious roles. He was a fine filmmaker,” she reminisces.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, FHF, notes that Khosla successfully dabbled in many genres in his three-decade career. “I’d describe him as the Howard Hawks of Indian cinema for his ability to successfully make films in every genre. He excelled in song picturisation, and was known for having strong female characters in his films.”
Naseeruddin Shah said if you’re a great director, then make Jackie Shroff act-Vidhu Vinod Chopra
8:00 AM
Vidhu Vinod Chopra gave some interesting insights into his movies during a session at IFFI
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; November 25, 2024)
Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently spoke about his zero moments (low points) that became turning points in his career. During a conversation with Shantanu Moitra at the ongoing 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, he said that he was a very, very angry young man. Chopra described his relationship with stars as “not good.” When asked how, as a director, he trusts other directors when he becomes a producer, he explained, “I don’t trust directors. I only trust a human being.”
‘I REMEMBER HOW EVERYBODY LOVED KHAMOSH, BUT NOBODY BOUGHT IT’
Recounting the time when he decided to make films, he said, “Of course, I couldn’t tell my father because when I did, he was very angry. His whole idea was, ‘Tu doctor banega toh Kashmir mein sab tere ko Doctor Chopra bolenge’. But the only dream I had was to assist Vijay Anand and to somehow reach him.”
Chopra says, “A relative promised me that he will send me a letter from Vijay Anand. Every day after school, I used to run to the little letterbox we had at 35-A Wazir Bagh, waiting for that letter that never came. That was my zero moment — I never got the letter.”
Chopra shared that everybody loved Khamosh (1986), but nobody bought it. He said, “NFDC had financed it and given me Rs. 8 lakhs. In 8 lakhs, we made that film, and the rule with NFDC, which is a fair rule, was that unless you paid back the loan, you wouldn’t get another loan. So unless I paid that, my career as a filmmaker was dead.”
He shared that everyone praised the film, but nobody bought it. He then showed it to the owner of Regal Cinema, who liked it. “He gave me his theatre for two weeks at a 50% profit-sharing agreement,” Chopra revealed.
“On the first day, for the 3 pm show, the theatre was empty! After the show ended, a man (who turned out to be a black marketeer) told me, ‘Tension kyun leta hai? Tera night show housefull hai.’ They had bought the whole hall and started selling tickets in black after putting up a housefull board. The hall was empty, but with a housefull board. That was the marketing of that time. That’s a zero se restart moment,” he said.
‘DIDN’T CHANGE THE ENDING OF PARINDA’
Talking about his film Parinda (1989), he shared, “In the film, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit die, and distributors had told me, ‘Sir, aisa mat kijiye. Jackie Shroff ko maar dijiye, hero-heroine ko maarenge toh picture nahi chalegi.’ They offered me Rs. 10 lakh to change the ending. But I said, what I’m trying to say in the film is that violence begets violence. It was also self-therapy because, at that time, I was a violent man, too. I didn’t change the ending.”
‘JACKIE WENT ON TO WIN THE BEST ACTOR AWARD FOR PARINDA’
Narrating Jackie Shroff’s zero to restart moment, he said, “Everybody called him a wooden actor. Naseeruddin Shah was supposed to be in Parinda, but we had a fight. He said, ‘I won’t do it’ and I said, ‘Okay.’ He said, ‘If you’re a great director, then make Jackie Shroff act.’ I was young and angry, and I said, ‘You watch, I will make him do it.’ Jackie read the script and told me, ‘Bhidu, tu sambhal lena. Mere ko acting nahi aata hai.’”
Chopra shared that Jackie’s biggest problem was hitting his mark (the spots where actors are supposed to stand in a scene). So he decided to remove the marks entirely. Jackie got angry, said a few things, and left the set when he found out there were no marks. He returned 20 minutes later.
Chopra said, “Jackie thought for a moment and then told me, ‘Main yeh scene window se shuru karega kyunki yeh mera dream hai, toh main dream dekh raha hoon bhai ka. This was the beginning of Jackie Shroff, who went on to win the best actor award for Parinda.”
Two Mumbai film projectionists among nine shortlisted for prestigious prize organized by Film Heritage Foundation
8:36 AM
Mohammed Aslam Fakih, 75
Two City Technicians Among Nine Shortlisted For Prestigious Prize
Sharmila Ganesan (THE TIMES OF INDIA; July 23, 2023)
In place of a recent Tom Cruise, a not-so-recent Abhishek Bachchan is strutting towards us. Two hours before the day's first show of 'Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning', the sole screen at Regal Cinema is playing a grainy trailer of the 2012 action flick 'Players'. It's the only thing Mohammed Aslam Fakih has on 35mm that makes Simplex X-L whirr to life. Like a vintage car, the tall, retired six-decade-old analogue projector makes a comforting old sound each time its 75-year-old "mechanic" Aslam Fakih loops the film reel through its top and bottom rollers, animating the gears, soundhead and other parts whose names he didn't know when he first entered Regal's flip-switch-filled projection room as an apprentice on Independence Day in 1970.
"I miss using my limbs," smiles the analogue-watch-sporting projectionist even as both man and machine gear up for a special evening in the push-button digital age.
On July 26, just before Simplex X-L projects legendary director Kamal Amrohi's 1949 spine-tingler 'Mahal' on to Regal's screen part of Film Heritage Foundation's (FHF) film projection in practice workshop, the spotlight would be trained on Aslam Fakih instead of the other way around. The 75-year-old SSC pass Richard Burton fanboy -- who has spent half a century spanning Alfred Hitchcock to Christopher Nolan working at Regal -- is among nine faceless projectionists from across the country who have been nominated for a unique lifetime achievement award. Organized by FHF to honour the unsung technicians who have wound, rewound, oiled and toiled behind rays of light in cinemas for decades, the first-of-its-kind ceremony--which will see chief guest Naseeruddin Shah presenting a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each to three long-haul projectionists -- includes names such as Tardeo's 62-year-old Dara Mistry, the long-defunct New Empire's happy-go-lucky former projectionist, and Kolkata's Sukumar Ghosh.
The idea came from Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of FHF who would keep looking over his shoulder at the rays of light coming from the projection room as a child while bingeing back-to-back movies with his grandma, Usha Rani, in the stalls of a Patna cinema hall. Much like the young protagonist of the Italian classic 'Cinema Paradiso', Dungarpur was spellbound watching the projectionist at work during curiosity-induced interval-time trips to the projector room where he would sometimes see a man rushing in to grab a few cans of print and race off with them to another cinema on his bicycle.
"Till the early 2000s, you couldn’t screen a film on celluloid without a projectionist," says Dungarpur, who will never forget Khogse, a projectionist at Pune's FTII whose "projection was perfect when he was drunk" and M K Bangarappa aka Bangari who had screened films like Bergman’s 'Persona' and Kurosawa’s 'Rashomon' for the villagers in Karnataka's remote Heggodu village.
Keen to give them their due, FHF ran a social media campaign calling for nominations from around the country. Those who wished to nominate a projectionist had to download a form, fill in the details of the projectionist, how long and where he had worked and why they were nominating him. FHF then set up a selection committee comprising cinematographer and photographer Hemant Chaturvedi who has been travelling all over India for the last few years photographing single screen cinemas, acclaimed filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia and Roosi Modi, the owner of close to 70 cinemas across India including Mumbai's Strand, Excelsior and New Empire who started as a projectionist himself. Spanning Kolkata to Kerala, the shortlisted nominees include National Film Archive of India's P A Salam and Lakhan Lal Yadav of Raipur's Raj Talkies who have spent five decades projecting celluloid.
For 62-year-old nominee Dara Mistry - a Girgaon bachelor whose earthy tongue pronounces Sean Connery as Shane Connery - the evening will mark his first time inside a single screen since Parsi New Year of 2014. Half an hour past that March midnight before Navroz, the gates that this doorkeeper-turned-projectionist used to open for a living had closed permanently. Mistry stepped out of Fort's New Empire theatre after the last show of 'The Pirates Of The Caribbean' to a notice announcing the closure of the century-old cinema inside which he had operated a projector called Century for 33 years. "That was 'the end'," laughs Mistry, now a Rs 12000-a-month-earning catering shop hand who sometimes watches old Dharmendra or Dileep Kumar starrers on his touchscreen phone after retiring to his projector-room-sized rental home.
"I can't afford to catch movies outside anymore," says Mistry, who became an office boy following the shutdown of New Empire.
"I had no experience in electricals. I learnt to check the fuse on the job," says Mistry.
Dara Mistry, 62
If the film reel got stuck, the audience would do bomabom, says Regal's projectionist Mohammed Aslam Fakih
8:01 AM
Nominated for a lifetime achievement award, 75-year-old projectionist Mohammed Aslam Fakih has been serving movie-goers at Regal Cinema for the last five decades. And he is not ready to hang up his boots yet
Arpika Bhosale (MID-DAY; July 17, 2023)
The Australian cockatiel is the first thing we notice when we visit Mohammed Aslam Fakih’s tiny one-room tenement at Tapia Mansion in Bhuleshwar. Perched inside a cage, the grey-crowned bird begins to chirp relentlessly, until we acknowledge its presence.
“He loves the attention,” 75-year-old Fakih says. The bird, he tells us, just turned up on the window sill of the home one day, and has “refused to leave”. Unlike his pet bird, Fakih who is a film projectionist with Regal Cinema, is self-effacing.
Working at the iconic Colaba theatre for the last 53 years, he prefers to reply in monosyllables. The only time he seems animated is when we mention movie reels. Fakih joined Regal as part of an apprenticeship on August 15, 1970.
“They were playing Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz at the time,” he remembers. “Back then, Regal would hardly screen any Hindi movies. People would only come to watch the latest Hollywood release.”
Working at the iconic Colaba theatre for the last 53 years, he prefers to reply in monosyllables. The only time he seems animated is when we mention movie reels. Fakih joined Regal as part of an apprenticeship on August 15, 1970.
“They were playing Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz at the time,” he remembers. “Back then, Regal would hardly screen any Hindi movies. People would only come to watch the latest Hollywood release.”
Fakih has helmed the projector ever since. His commitment to the movies has landed him a Lifetime Achievement Award nomination for Cinema Projection. The award has been instituted by the Film Heritage Foundation, and the winner will be announced at a function on July 26. The foundation works to conserve classic films and conducts workshops on the same.
Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, who helms Film Heritage Foundation, says that he introduced the award because he believes that the role of the projectionist is key to experiencing cinema. “My understanding of the craft of projecting comes from my childhood visits to my grandfather’s place; he employed one Chandi Mistry who would project films for us, so that we could watch them together as a family,” he tells us over a call,
“During my time at FTII [Film and Television Institute of India], I met another projectionist called Kokze... I think the wisdom he imparted has been invaluable.”
According to Dungarpur, the projectionist is always “this mystical creature”. “In the earlier days, we would look up at the projector in the movie theatre, but we’d never know of the man handling it. I felt it’s high time that we introduce these men to the people... they are truly the unsung heroes of cinema.”
Fakih, who is one of the two nominees from Mumbai, is a heavyweight in his own right because of his years of experience, as well as his mastery over projecting both, 35 and 70 mm reels.
“After six months of training, I was taken on as full time staff. I was ecstatic,” recalls Fakih. The first movie he projected solo was Good Evening, Ms Campbell, featuring Gina Lollobrigida, an Italian actor known for her comic timing. “The film is one of my all-time favourites,” he smiles.
He can’t remember the actor who played the lead. We Google him up for Fakih. When we mention Telly Savalas, the name immediately registers.
Savalas, he says, was one the most famed villains in the Bond movies, playing Ernst Stavro Blofeld in On Her Majesty’s Service.
The 1973 martial arts film Enter The Dragon was the longest running movie under Fakih’s reign as a projectionist. “It ran for 35 weeks!” he says. “People were crazy about Bruce Lee. There were no empty seats and the line for the tickets would spill over into the main Causeway market.”
Movie goers, at the time, were notorious for their “bomabom”. “If the film reel would get stuck... the audience would swear at us and create a ruckus. Today, people are a lot calmer and more subdued,” he thinks.
Though age is catching up with him, Fakih’s romance with the movies has far from ended. His shift, on the day we visit, was to begin at 3 pm; he will stay till the last show that ends post midnight. “As long my hands and legs are moving, I will continue doing what I love.”
Fakih was one of the projectionists, when Regal Cinema ran the cult classic Enter the Dragon in 1973
Single screen theatres across India struggle due to the pandemic
8:11 AM
Liberty Cinema in Marine Lines
On its last legs even before the pandemic swept through India, single-screen theatres and its owners from Patiala to Purnea, ghosted by the government and Bollywood, say their era is as good as gone
Jane Borges (MID-DAY; May 9, 2021)
It's been 14 months since the box office at Colaba’s 88-year-old Regal Cinema last opened to the public. Once bursting with a sea of people, hovering around its narrow passageway, snaking into the screening hall, it now sits like an abandoned artefact on Causeway, used only by cops on Coronavirus bandobast duty to catch some shade.
Even when theatre owners were given the green signal to run shows with 50 per cent occupancy in November last year, Regal remained shut. The hope was to start sometime in the new year, when the pandemic had settled. Nothing settled. Not the pandemic, nor the movie business. Saleem Ahmadullah, director of Globe Theatres Pvt Ltd, the company that runs the single-screen theatre along with Capitol at CST, feels that the golden days of the cinema experience, are as good as gone.
The iconic Art Deco building designed by famed British architect Charles Stevens, was India’s first air conditioned theatre. Over the decades, it saw itself through several disruptions—the coming in of cable television, and later, competition from the fancier and technologically-advanced multiplexes. But, nothing put them out of business like the pandemic has. “There is absolutely no hope for Regal now,” says Ahmadullah, the dejection evident in his voice.
When India was in the throes of the first Coronavirus wave in September 2020, Nitin Datar, president of the Theatre Owners Association, in an interview to The Quint, had given a “modest estimate” of 100 single-screen cinemas across India, folding up due to COVID-19. Of these, Dattar had predicted that 25 would be from Mumbai alone. Photographer-cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, who visited 655 single-screen theatres across 11 states between 2019 and 2020, travelling in the middle of the lockdown, for a first-of-its-kind documentation of the last remain vestiges of India’s cinematic glory, has a grimmer forecast. In 2019, when Chaturvedi began his passion project, there were 6,300 single-screens in India. When compared with 20,000-odd single-screens in early 2000 and 9,710 in 2009, this number, he says, was alarming. He fears that half of these may bite the bullet sooner than expected. The lockdown, he thinks, has only hastened the inevitable collapse. “With people being incarcerated in their homes for nearly a year, and probably indefinitely ahead [due to the pandemic], everyone has found cheaper alternative ways to access content. My personal opinion is that the cinema halls are not going to exist after two years. They cannot recover [from this].”
While it is assumed that COVID-19 protocols can be followed in large single theatres—where people can easily sit one or two seats apart, as stipulated by the government—what doesn’t work in the favour of any cinema hall, is that it’s a closed space, says Ahmadullah. “Having a large number of people, even if the theatre is just filled to half capacity, in a closed atmosphere, it’s worrisome. It would make anyone uncomfortable.”
Another problem is the lack of recreational spaces within the premises. “Multiplexes are usually located inside a building or mall, which is designed like an entertainment centre. You have shopping stores, restaurants, etc, and so, people end up spending a lot of time there,” he says. Single-screen theatres like Regal, he says, were built with the idea of maximising the auditorium space. “And that’s why the lobbies and passages are narrow—just enough for people to walk in and out.” This also means that if there’s a large crowd inside the premises, it would be hard to follow physical distancing during entry and exit.
Mrunalini Gole, wife of late Nazir Hoosein, owner of another grand Mumbai single-screen, Liberty Cinema at Marine Lines, says that even before the pandemic, the theatre was struggling to make ends meet. “Things were going fine till about 2017. We had a tie-up with Carnival [Cinemas], which was supplying movies to us, and that ensured a minimum income for us, for a couple of years. But, unfortunately, things didn’t work out, and since 2018, we’ve not been doing too well. [The pandemic in] 2020 was the final nail in the coffin.”
Maintaining a structure like Liberty, which not only boasts of a 1,200-seater auditorium, but is an architectural marvel to behold, with opulently designed geometrical ceilings, grandly-lit carpeted stairways and mirrored walls, comes at a huge cost. Chaturvedi remembers when he got permission to shoot inside Liberty, the only request that was made, was to not waste too much time shooting the auditorium. “And that’s because they have 40,000 incandescent bulbs [lighting up the space], and one can only imagine the amount of electricity being consumed. To keep it running even for an hour would cost a lot of money,” he says.
Gole says this is why Liberty decided against opening up, when the lockdown was lifted last year. “There were no big releases [between November and March] that would attract large crowds. Today, keeping Liberty shut is a better option.”
Paying the staff has been another challenge. Most of them lived away from the work address, and were in no position to come to work, since the local trains weren’t open to public until February this year. “We held on to our staff for the longest time, paying only 25 per cent of their [original] salary. Only last month, finally, we let two of them go. If this continues, we may have to retrench a few more,” Gole admits.
In August last year, Central Plaza in Girgaum, formerly known as Central Cinema, shut its doors for good, after a near 57-year run. Gole feels that a similar fate awaits other theatres. “It hurts like hell. Because we are a heritage structure, the government should be helping us nurture and maintain it. There is absolutely no support coming in. If the government doesn’t have any pride in its heritage, then why stick us with such a label. How long can we keep digging into our own pockets?” she asks.
In Bihar’s Purnea district, Vishek Chauhan says he managed to keep his single-screen theatre, Roopbani Cinema, running due to sheer luck. Roopbani, originally built in 1960, is the oldest theatre in Purnea. Vishek, who is the fourth generation, running the family business, took over in 2009. “When I returned to my hometown 12 years ago, there were 60 theatres in the area. Today, there are four or five. I only survived because my competitors dwindled,” says Chauhan, in a telephonic interview to mid-day.
Chauhan renovated Roopbani to give it a multiplex-feel, investing in a Rs 35 lakh 2K projector, and redoing the interiors. But over time, Bollywood has switched to making more elitist content, which hurt single-screens. “Only about five, or maximum 10 films in a year, are universal— the kind of cinema that will be accepted pan-India. Otherwise, Bollywood is a fairly metro phenomenon, catering to the ultra-rich, urban resident. This also explains why they have been co-opted so seamlessly by OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon. In the process, they have alienated a majority of India’s viewers,” he says, adding, “You need content to run a cinema hall, and if you don’t get the kind of content that your audience wants to watch, how will you run a theatre?”
That most Bollywood heroes are also shunning their stardom for what they call meaty acting roles—with the exception of Salman Khan, who can still spin box office magic with his mass entertainers—means most single-screens in the small towns of northern India no longer draw crowds. “They were already a dying breed, but the pandemic has unfortunately, broken their back. Everyone here is looking for opportunities to get out of the cinema business,” he says. To add to their woes are the distributors, demanding a lion’s share of the box office revenue. Chauhan says that during the pandemic, at least 60 theatres shut down in Bihar alone. “We have had to let go of most of our staff. How can we keep them, when we haven’t made a single penny? Fortunately, I have other business interests, and that’s how we’ve managed to pull through.”
Raghav Gupta, who runs Phul Cinema in Patiala, understands Chauhan’s despondency. The Art Deco structure, built right after Independence, was originally designed by W M Namjoshi, the architect behind Liberty and New Empire in Mumbai, Raj Mandir in Jaipur, and Golcha in Delhi. The building was restored to its original glory in October 2018, after a year-long renovation project, which cost him nearly Rs 5 crore. He had barely broken even, when the lockdown was imposed in March 2020. “We opened twice after that. Once, in November for the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and then, for a Punjabi film. Both met with disastrous results. Due to the fear of contracting the Coronavirus, most people didn’t dare to enter the theatre,” he says.
Gupta had pinned his hopes on the Salman Khan-starrer Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, scheduled to release on May 13. It would have been a sure shot crowd-puller, if not for the second wave that gripped the country. The film will hit the theatres and ZEE5’s pay per view platform ZeePlex simultaneously. The release model hasn’t gone down well with many film exhibitors. “With this kind of release, we are challenging the basic fundamentals of the business. There is a huge question mark over the existence of cinemas,” he says.
Down south, where the movie industry continues to be star-driven, single-screen theatres have not had to face the kind of hopelessness felt in the rest of India. Unlike Bollywood, the south industry didn’t shy away from releasing their big ticket films during the pandemic. In January, Tamil-language action thriller Master, starring Vijay, released globally. Despite COVID restrictions and 50 per cent occupancy in theatres, it passed the Rs. 200 crore-mark at the box office. Ruban Mathivanan, owner of GK Cinemas in Chennai, which started out as a single-screen hall in 1974 and was converted into a two-screen multiplex in 2016, says that while they managed to cover up their losses with a few-odd releases during the pandemic, it has been the most difficult time to be in the business. “We have had to pay our staff through the lockdown. The government also continued to take property tax and charged us for electricity. There was absolutely no relief. It’s such a shame,” he says.
Mathivanan says that hadn’t it been for Master, and Bakkiyaraj Kannan’s film Sulthan that released in April, theatres in Tamil Nadu would have suffered the same fate as their northern counterparts. The theatres in Chennai shut shop last week, after cases peaked in the city. “We don’t know when we are going to open again. Even when we do, we will have to wait for a big release to help see us through. It’s going to be the same cycle again.”
While many theatres have stopped operations permanently during the lockdown, state laws have prevented many cinema owners from converting their properties into other businesses.
Chaturvedi says that according to the law, a plot that is originally designated as cinema property must have a theatre with 33 per cent occupancy of the original hall, on the premises, even if it is redeveloped. “There are of course, people who have managed to subvert the rule, and demolish the cinema to build a mall,” he says.
“Places like Regal and Capitol come under the heritage tag, and they cannot be demolished.” In smaller towns, many theatre owners have now converted their properties into godowns.
Chaturvedi feels that the one way in which single-screen theatres can overcome this calamity, is by reinventing themselves. “When some of these theatre owners reached out to me, asking for suggestions, I told them that one of the things that they could do, was to repurpose the cinema hall into a pay per view space, where they can make three of four smaller theatres of 30 to 50 seats each inside the venue, and tie-up with some of the leading content providers. So, if a bunch of friends want to binge watch Game Of Thrones on the big screen, with Dolby Digital theatre sound, you can host them,” says Chaturvedi. “The truth is that movies were made for the big screen and not for television. I still remember going to watch Mughal-e-Azam [in 2004], when it re-released in colour, at Gaiety Galaxy [in Bandra]. What was fascinating was that irrespective of the age and gender of the audience, they knew every moment and dialogue from the film. When Madhubala’s Anarkali says, ‘Kaaton ko murjhane ka khauf nahin hota’, and you hear 900 people say it together with her… it is like listening to a Greek theatre chorus.” This, he says, cannot be replicated ever again.
Photographer Hemant Chaturvedi, who has been documenting the last surviving cinemas of India, shares that single screens are down from 20,000 in early 2000s to 6,300 in 2019. “Most will be finished in another two years. They cannot recover from this.” Pic/Suresh Karkera
Vishek Chauhan (in white), says his theatre, Roopbani Cinema in Purnea, Bihar, has survived, because his competitors disappeared. They are already crippled by Bollywood’s new elitist content failing to attract crowds in smaller towns
Raghav Gupta, owner of Phul Cinema in Patiala, renovated the Art Deco structure in 2018 at a cost of Rs 5 crore. They had just broken even, when the pandemic hit. It has only opened twice since March 2020. PIC courtesy/Hemant Chaturvedi
Check out Hemant Chaturvedi's stunning pictures of Mumbai's single screen cinemas
8:36 AM
Hemant Chaturvedi backgrounded by Capitol`s antique wrought iron and wood balcony. Pic/Suresh Karkera
The silence in an abandoned theatre is louder than any film soundtrack, says Hemant Chaturvedi, on the Bombay leg of a photo journey shooting remains of India's single-screen cinemas
Meher Marfatia (MID-DAY; January 17, 2021)
He must be the only person on the planet who went to the movies throughout lockdown. In a year redefining the phrase annus horribilis, Hemant Chaturvedi trained his Olympus OMD and Pen-F cameras on "beautiful ruins" of single-screen theatres in remote reaches of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, UP, MP, Goa and Kashmir.
The result: 55,000 frames from which he will cull the cream for a seminal book and series of exhibitions. Steering his sturdy Force Motors Jeep across 32,000 kilometres, he has uncovered 655 theatres, scouring the country's length and breadth on this remarkable quest.
About 9,710 single screens in 2009 dwindled to 6,300 in 2019. Visiting 500 towns, Hemant discovered each theatre, depending on size and location, had a similar ecosystem, scaled higher or lower by the social demographic encircling it. Ubiquitous chai and juice stalls, paan and cigarette shops touts sidled up to hissing black-market ticket prices were common features.
Interconnected livelihoods sank with shrinking footfall in halls. A teashop owner revealed an 1,100-seater theatre opposite him ran four to six House Full screenings a day, to which crowds of 4,000-6,000 thronged. Even a quarter of them purchasing a cup averaged 1,000-1,500 cups at showtime. Ordering 100 litres of milk daily, the chaiwala currently buys barely five.
From the 1980s-'90s, the slide gradually gutted cinemas in major metros and smaller tier towns alike. While multiplexes brought steep taxes and distributor rates, the shift from celluloid to digital content finally throttled struggling theatres. Seemingly spared halls gasp for survival with B- to C-grade flicks serving erotica, horror, or a steamy soup of both.
"For a book on multiplexes, I wouldn't have wandered but told the story of one multiplex. They're identical," says Hemant. The magic of the movies smote him young, at six, watching an I S Johar film in a makeshift spot in Assam where his Air Force officer father was posted. They squatted on Dalda ghee tins, the reel burnt halfway, the misadventure ended.
The 1980s St Xavier's collegian remembers films at nearby Capitol with enthusiastic, often tipsy, men lolled on wooden benches in a haze of beedi smoke and whirring fans. Describing "the elegance of Regal, the hyperbole of Liberty, the proximity of Metro, the warmth of New Empire", he grades certain differences. "New Empire has an intimacy and calm elegance less stressful on the eye than opulent Liberty."
His is an exacting passion. "Revisiting theatres, I checked my favourite seats: Balcony first row centre, A-24/25/26, gave uninterrupted viewing and as a budding audiophile I thought the sound best in that position. I saw countless movies on chairs with these numbers, skipping shows without seats of my choice."
The Bombay leg is a curious one, says the cinematographer of Company, Maqbool, Ishaqzaade and Kubaan, dedicated today to visual conservation. Rolling from January 2019 in ancestral Allahabad, his efforts to shoot Bombay cinemas were thwarted by apathy and evasiveness of proprietors and managing staff. "Dashing around for a month, I managed three: Mayur in Borivli, Nishat and New Roshan on Grant Road."
Leaving to photograph cinemas in 11 states, he recently resumed the Bombay tryst. "Serendipitously, I found the number of a college friend, Kamal Sidhwa Taraporevala (from the family owning Regal). She led me to her cousin Daisy Sidhwa, who forwarded a mail explaining my project to Saleem Ahmadullah of Globe Theatres. He orchestrated permissions for Capitol and Regal, and Liberty and New Empire from their proprietors. This in a swift hour after 22 months of perseverance. Maxie Cooper of New Empire got me to Fred Poonawala of Edward. Suddenly, I had five iconic theatres in my kitty. In another glorious turn, Sharad Doshi of Central Plaza introduced Ashish Doshi of Royal Opera House."
Bombay's matinee-mad beating heart attracted the cosmopolitan attention this city's cinema scene would expect. Yet, Parsi theatre owners and exhibitors like the Sidhwa, Kuka, Bhavnagri, Dubash, Mody and Bharucha patriarchs stood out as trade pioneers.
Unique to Bombay, halls opened in the late 1800s and early 1900s as proscenium theatres for musical and dramatic performances. Edward, Capitol, Royal Opera House, New Roshan and Nishat are living examples, with classic circular balconies extending close to the edge of the stage and private boxes for affluent patrons.
Theatres with the grand-scale brilliance of Liberty and Royal Opera House are rare. "There was no era-specific architecture after crossing Dadar. Lotus and complexes like Satyam-Sundaram-Sachinam at Worli, and Gaiety-Galaxy-Gemini in Bandra, represent the '70s utilitarian concrete aesthetic. The further from South Bombay, the simpler the structures."
Besides vanishing facades and interiors, Hemant captures stunning details of memorabilia that dodged being sold by weight. Lovingly salvaged are hand-stitched screens, tattered posters, smeared spittoons, brass ashtrays in halls like Liberty's preview theatre and over 400 tickets.
Some cinemas offered free two samosas and two besan laddoos with tickets bought on the first day of a new release. Burning with film fever, audiences hung off balconies, piled impossibly on each other's laps, gyrated boisterously in the aisle and exercised a strange control when songs flashed—"They believed the film flopped if anyone left to pee during a song sequence. Holding it in ensured a hit!" With scatological whimsy are also pasted prints of stars on theatre toilet doors as signage, Tabu and Jayaprada among images announcing the Ladies loo and actors of Sanjeev Kumar's vintage the Gents.
Quirky anecdotes abound. Many ushers flung Coca Cola bottle caps at the screen when popular songs appeared, to incite audiences into thinking these were coins to throw likewise. Post-show, the staff divided the tinkling metal cascade. Then there's the projectionist confessing he misses being roundly abused by irate filmgoers ("Ab toh gaali bhi nahi padti, hum gaali khaane ke liye taras rahe hai")—operating digital projectors means no disruptive film break or flickering screen.
In Gujarat, Nataraj Talkies, from the 1920s in princely Wadhwan, is shut, unsafe from the 2003 earthquake. Its proprietor Bhawani Singh graciously allowed Hemant photos before taking him for a drive. Halting at a stone wall, they stared at the enigmatic entrance and "booking office" of a nameless open-air cinema, circa 1906.
Apparently, the Maharaja of Wadhwan was at Watson's Esplanade Hotel in Bombay on the fateful July 1886 day, when the Lumiere Brothers debuted their Cinematographe in India. Spellbound, the royal ordered the projector. By the time the siblings sailed back to France, the piece was manufactured and shipped, it was 1906. This is the wooden ticket window of the theatre the ruler built to regale his people with silent films.
More movie mania is fanned at The Charlie Circle, started in Adipur, Kutch, by Dr Ashok Aswani. The Chaplin impersonator's appreciation club celebrates their hero's birthday every April 16 with wonderful affection and mixed ethnic gusto. Dressed up with the comedian's typical moustache, top hat and stick, excited kids travel in trucks doing the garba, cut cake and watch a Chaplin flick. Charlie Doctor, as Aswani is dubbed, prescribes anxious patients "Rx: See twice daily, Modern Times/The Tramp". The homeopath was irrevocably Chaplin-smitten in the '70s at a Gandhidham theatre called Oslo—acquainted with the Swedish king and queen, its proprietor had their ambassador inaugurate his cinema.
From Vinay Kumar Chumble, of Vijayanand Theatre in Nasik (Government of India-recognised as the longest running cinema, 1916-2021) came quite a story. On the plot of now extinct Damodar Theatre, Dadasaheb Phalke trundled projector and reels on a handcart, strung a white dhoti between two trees and screened movies. Suspecting him of sorcery, locals ripped the cloth and smashed the equipment. Nasik police intervened, convincing them this signalled modern technology.
Necessity breeds ingenuity. An owner in Maharashtra, gone beyond budget erecting Asha Talkies in the 1940s, was stuck with a single projector. He tided over the minutes to change reels for a restless audience, hiring Lavani dancers. Backgrounded by a halogen spotlight and colourful spinning wheel, they exited stage as that light switched off.
"Every theatre, especially an original structure with minimal renovation, is equally important," asserts Hemant. "Denied access saddens me. All I want are a few photographs. Unimaginably important to Bombay are Maratha Mandir, Naaz, Alfred, Royal, Palace, Central Plaza, Super, Gulshan, Imperial and Deepak. Maratha Mandir is designed by the genius architect W M Namjoshi. I've photographed five of his theatres. Phul in Patiala, Golcha in Delhi, Raj Mandir in Jaipur, the Liberty and New Empire interiors here. Maratha Mandir is critical to the parallel Namjoshi retrospective."
Bharat Mata and Moti are almost done. Hoping to catch scattered remnants of impenetrable properties still high on his Bombay wish-list, Hemant pleads, "I need just an hour for pictures. These buildings will fall. The book is forever, a chance at immortality for theatres."
Nasir Mulla, of Manek Talkies in Akola, cheers the level secularism of shared-screen cinema, telling Hemant: "Other than the seats you can afford, irrespective of caste, creed, race or religion, once the lights dim, everyone is equal. With the same goal—to be entertained. There's no space in the world more socially unifying than a theatre."
Any better reason for the show to go on?
Lockdown Effect: Single screen theatres to fold by year end?
8:22 AM
Four months into the lockdown, and with cinemas unlikely to open before October, owners and trade pundits fear single screens may fold by year-end
Mohar Basu, Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; June 22, 2020)
Cinemas across Europe and the US may be opening their doors again, but a big-screen date with their favourite star remains elusive for the Indian audience. Even as the government is easing the restrictions in phases, reopening of theatres is likely to be among the last steps in the 'Unlock India' plan. The theatre business, currently in its fourth month of shutdown, has suffered a blow, with the single screens being the worst hit. Three landmark movie halls — Shanthala and Padma in Mysuru, and Maharani in Chennai — have bitten the dust in the past three months.'
With trade circles suggesting that cinemas will not re-open before October, exhibitor Akshaye Rathi worries that "about 250 to 300 single screens may be wiped out". He rues, "There's no support from any quarter, be it from the film industry or the government. By October, the number of theatres downing its shutters may touch 1000-plus."
Rathi adds that problems will continue to plague the humble single screens even after they resume operations. "The initial expenditure will be way higher than the revenue coming in," says Rathi, adding that they will witness high footfalls only when big-ticket offerings hit the marquee.
With rent, maintenance charges and staff salaries, the theatre owners' expenses have been rising with no revenue to offset them. Manoj Desai, executive director, Gaiety-Galaxy, notes that the government has offered little relief. "The government should do away with GST. We are paying the property tax, BMC tax and electricity charges. Ideally, these should be excused for the moment."
mid-day reached out to Regal Cinema owner Kamal Sidhwa Taraporewala, who declined to comment on the losses incurred due to the lockdown. Since 2018, rumours have been abuzz about the Colaba theatre struggling to stay afloat.
Gurmeet Singh Seble, MD, Seble Cinemas in Delhi, adds, "The Shaheen Bagh protests continued from December to February, and the lockdown came into effect in March. So, single screens here were affected even before the Coronavirus pandemic."
In Urdu, ‘awara’ means ‘khushboo’ and even today, the ‘fragrance’ of Raj Kapoor fills our senses-Manoj Kumar
8:22 AM
Manoj Kumar with wife Shashi and Raj Kapoor at a suburban hotel, celebrating his National Award win for Shaheed; with Rishi Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker (below; right)
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 3, 2020)
I knew about the Joker long before Joaquin Phoenix brought him home to me. And unlike his trigger-happy Arthur Fleck or Pennywise the Dancing Clown of It, my funnyman with the painted smile and cherry nose did not give me the shakes; he made me smile, sigh and sing, “Jeena Yahaan, Marna Yahaan, Iske Siva Jaana Kahaan.” On Raj Kapoor’s 32nd death anniversary on June 2, I decided to rewind to the film closest to his heart, Mera Naam Joker, with the man, who, though on screen for a short time as David who woos Mary away from an adolescent Raju, had a major role to play in this 224-minute story.Let’s start with Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420, which released in the Capital’s Regal cinema. Among those who queued up for tickets, first day, first show, was a young boy fondly called Ghulu. He entered the auditorium, took a corner seat and, as the lights dimmed, gave himself up to the story of Raj, Vidya, Maya and a life gone astray. Suddenly, when the song, “Shaam Gayi, Raat Aayi Ki Balam Aaja” came on, a group of men stood up, started to whistle and create a commotion.
“In a flash, a man dressed in white raced past me towards the stage. As he went up on the dais, the lights came on and I saw an enraged Raj saab calling the men, hired by rival distributors to run down the film, ‘bhaade ke tattu’. He told them that he’d made the film with heart and honesty and God would reward him. Pointing to the door, he told them to get out and shame-faced, the men complied,” Ghulu, who grew up to become Manoj Kumar, reminisces, adding that at night, when his naani wondered why he couldn’t sleep, he told her all that had transpired and asked her who was this man who could talk so fearlessly. “‘He’s a karmayogi—one who connects with God through actions’—she told me, and the words stayed with me.”
A decade later, Manoj saab was shooting for Raj Khosla’s Anita at Mehboob Studio when he got a call from Raj saab, who wanted to come over and meet him. He offered to drop by himself and a couple of days later, was at RK Cottage at 2 pm, where Raj saab requested that he oblige him by doing a cameo in Mera Naam Joker. “I immediately agreed. We decided to shoot after I’d released my Upkar,” he narrates.
Soon after, while he was away in Delhi or maybe Kolkata, Raj saab tried calling him and was brusquely told he had got the wrong number. On his return, Manoj saab was surprised when singer Mukesh relayed this to him, saying Raj saab was upset, thinking that he was being avoided as Manoj saab didn’t want to do Mera Naam Joker. Almost immediately, Manoj saab called Raj saab and asked to see him.
“We met at 4 pm at (composer) Jaikishan’s residence, where I assured Raj saab that neither I nor my wife Shashi would dare discomfit him. I told him I was looking forward to working with not the showman but a karmayogi and went on to tell him about the earlier incident at Regal. Raj saab quietly heard me out, then, put his head in my lap and started crying,” he recounts.
Soon after, Manoj saab flew down for the shoot in Ooty where, while narrating a scene that they were to shoot the following day, Raj saab stopped abruptly, alerted by the expression on his face that he didn’t agree with something. When prodded, Manoj saab pointed to a certain dialogue which made a reference to Gandhi ji’s assassination. He pointed out that since Raju was an adolescent then, the Father of the Nation would have been alive. Taken aback, Raj saab retreated to his room on the first floor, but after half an hour, came down, telling Shashi ji to persuade Manoj saab to re-write the scene for him. “When I demurred, pointing out that (K A) Abbas saab (who had penned the story and screenplay) was a senior writer, he made me speak to him on the phone and he gave me his permission,” the writer-actor-filmmaker reveals.
Raj saab was so impressed with his dialogue, particularly one where, in response to young Raju’s query about who’s the biggest joker till date, David points his thumb towards the sky and reacting to Raju’s “Bhagwan” reasons that God, like the joker, does everything for others, apne liye kuchh nahin. “Appreciating that dialogue, Raj saab called (DoP) Radhu Karmakar and a few others to listen to me as I narrated what I’d written, pointing out that I had encapsulated the philosophy of the joker in these lines,” Manoj saab recalls, adding, “The first story in this three-story film was reworked by me, but I didn’t do it for name, fame or money. I paid for my travel expenses and hotel stay and refused to take credit as writer. Mera Naam Joker was my tribute to karmayogi Raj Kapoor. In Urdu, ‘awara’ means ‘khushboo’ and even today, the ‘fragrance’ of Raj Kapoor fills our senses.”
Regal, Eros: Will single screen theatres in Mumbai be a thing of the past?
7:58 AM
Eros, Regal and many other iconic single screen theatres in the city are slowly grinding towards shutting shop or being sold to multiplex chains
Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; December 12, 2018)
It has been almost two years since Eros Cinema, located at a busy intersection near Churchgate railway station in Mumbai, has halted operations. For many months, it has been in the news, with a question mark on what the future holds for this iconic cinema hall in Mumbai. Reportedly, even Regal, once considered the pinnacle of South Mumbai’s cinematic dreams, is struggling to sell tickets. A solo-screen in a theatre just does not cut it anymore, not in a business model where multiplexes can run dozens of shows across half-a-dozen screens at the same time.
A visit to the Eros building had revealed that it had been shut for repairs and maintenance, although there was nothing evident on the ground floor visible from the gate. Enquiries around the property suggested that talks were going on with a multiplex giant and a London-based realtor for either turning the cinema into a multiplex or a shopping complex, but neither seems to have moved forward in the last year or so.
Actor Randhir Kapoor remembers watching films at Eros. He believes that it is indeed difficult for the industry, especially the senior frat, to imagine Mumbai without its iconic cinemas in their original form. “I used to study around the corner where Eros is located. I have great memories of watching films like My Fair Lady (1964) and The Young Ones (1961) at Eros. It was one place that so many youngsters those days frequented for their fill of English films. The place also hosted censor previews. I’m sure it’s the lack of business that has forced its owners to let Eros change hands. I will miss the Eros of yore…” he sighs.
YOUR HERITAGE, YOU PROTECT
Eros is not the first, and sadly, may not be the last of its kind in Mumbai. The city roughly has close to a 100 single screen cinemas struggling for survival, most with dismal businesses. Tickets at most single screens are still sold at marginal rates as compared to the cushy multiplexes. They also have huge seating capacities and not every film they run is a sell-out.
In the midst of the mushrooming slick multi-screen culture, people have somewhat forgotten what a rustic cinema hall feels like. Unfortunately, some of the old single screen theatres are in absolutely dilapidated and stained conditions. For proof, one could walk out of Grant Road towards Bhuleshwar. The tainted lanes house several cinemas which are probably breathing their last. Screenings of even C-grade films have not been helping them much. Some of them even resort to soft-porn and Bhojpuri movies for making ends meet, which occasionally works. In the pre-internet, satellite TV and download days, going to a nearby cinema hall was one of the prime forms of family entertainment but not today.
Cinemas had large-sized screens with space to seat 600 to sometimes 1,100 people. In the last decade, single screens have fallen on hard times. Multiplexes not only have four to five screens where several movies are shown simultaneously, but also have restaurants, bars and shopping arcades, which lure more people. In the last five years alone, several medium and big-sized single screens have downed shutters or been through a supposed face-lift. However, the city continues to have bus stops that are named after cinema halls, some of which do not even exist anymore.
Historian Deepak Rao recalls, “Watching a movie on the first weekend was a norm for many Mumbaikars. First day, first show had such importance in our lives but that charm is lost now. Stall, balcony, dress circle, box… I mean even booking a ticket had its own beauty and fun.” He also adds, “The halls were decorated with chandeliers, mirrors, paintings and carpeted staircases. Maratha Mandir was a 1,000-seater and it has hosted some of the grandest of film premieres of the bygone era. South Mumbai was a thriving hub of cinema halls. It had so many that some of the lanes and junctions were known by the theatre located there. Regal, Metro… these exist even today but they don’t exude the same beauty.”
He goes to the extent of saying that it won’t surprise him if single screens are completely wiped out from the face of the city. “Single screens may work in smaller cities but even there, they won’t survive for long. Mumbai itself has fewer examples of single screens, which have survived the test of time. Deepak Cinema in Lower Parel for example. It’s in an area where there aren’t too many options for people to watch a movie,” says Deepak Rao, adding, “The government will not do anything for the upkeep of Eros or another place like that because for them, this is not a heritage structure that they can spend on. Your heritage, you protect.”
SAVE SINGLE SCREENS, NOW
With time, and increasing competition from plexes, single-screens are barely surviving with loyal patrons and people seeking cheap movie tickets on a weekday or a weekend. Most owners feel pricing the tickets right is the only way to get footfalls.
Nitin Datar of the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India was shocked to read about the current condition of Eros and Regal. He believes, “There are single screens that have turned into multiplexes and I’m not sure if they are fully satisfied with the results. For the current state of iconic single screens, I can’t blame Mumbaikars. While they preserve their cultural heritage, the generation of patrons visiting single screens doesn’t quite exist now.”
He adds, “Around 55 cinemas have closed down due to heavy taxes and no relief or support from the Central and State Government. Film piracy has also crippled their business. Distributors often have unfair demands from single screens as compared to the terms they set while dealing with multiplexes. Service providers of content are increasing their rates which has become unaffordable not only to single screens but also to producers and distributors at large. In India, out of 15000 cinemas, 8500 are running in Maharashtra. In comparison, China, in 2007 had only 3527 cinemas, but after policy changes in 2015, there now have 31,627 cinemas. Their industry has benefitted. So, unless some drastic steps are taken by the government bodies, single screens will be wiped out with 20 to 30 percent screens shutting down in the next few years.”Siddharth Roy Kapur, who heads the producers’ guild, had a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too. He, along with a couple of industry representatives, met the PM to discuss why Bollywood deserves an industry status. When we asked him what filmmakers could do to help single screens survive the test of time, he told us, “In the larger scheme of things, there’s an urgent need for cinema to be exempted from the GST. There are many hurdles for anyone who is trying to build infrastructure that enables cinema watching. Double taxation is also hurting the industry at large. Having said that, every business has its own model and it’s way of functioning, making it viable in its construct. What the guild can do at this point is to put forth a word about the taxation structure, requesting it to be made viable for single screens to function. China has multiplied their screen capacity by a mile. With some policy changes, we, can do it, too.”
An analysis of the reasonably priced and delicious snacks sold in single screen theatres of Mumbai
2:14 PM
As a salute to the Mumbai's last surviving single screen theatres, we relish the simple and delicious snacks sold at their counters
Suman Mahfuz Quazi (MID-DAY; December 1, 2018)
The posters are peeling, the walls are leaking and the curtains may come undone. The counters are half-empty, the food aplenty, but we're all flocking to over-priced nachos anyway. Welcome to this stupid world.
City historian Deepak Rao is as unhappy as us. "We'd make sure to carry extra pocket money for the chicken rolls at Old Excelsior when we went to watch films as college students," he reminisces, adding, "Watching movies used to be an experience." And we attempted to relive it.
As Eros cinema remains shut behind large doors and Regal, a glittering hoarding in Colaba's iconic skyline, sits on the cusp of an uncertain future, we take a look at the humble and wholesome fare sold at near abandoned food counters of the city's single-screen theatres, before they disappear like the brightness from the Diwali lights you forgot to take down.
Hotel filmistan
In 1992, when Khuda Gawah, a Bachchan-starrer Bollywood drama, premiered in the now-ageing Maratha Mandir at Mumbai Central, actor Poonam Dhillon had brought along a box of pedhas. The staff ate it up when Dhillon wasn't looking and she let it go with a laugh. Umar Rasool Sunasra (right), 52, food and beverage manager at the theatre, tells us many stories while looking back at his 35 years of service."Dilip Kumar was also here. I served him tea," he recalls. Incidentally, the film's co-producer, Manoj Desai, is also the executive director of the movie hall. The canteen is as relevant to their patrons as the box office. And their in-house vegetable sandwich (Rs 20), a humble snack made with bread, tomato, cucumber and green chutney continues to be a favourite. Young moviegoers who are there to watch Rajnikant and Akshay Kumar's new offering, 2.0, flock to the counter for hot and crispy samosa (Rs 30), chips and sandwiches.
Popular among Mumbaikars for screening a daily show of the 1995 blockbuster Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge even today, the cinema hall continues to serve wafers at Rs 10. "If the ticket is Rs 20, the food has to be cheaper, right?" he reasons. And if you ask him what he thinks of multiplex fare, he shakes his head disapprovingly. "Galat baat hai. Nuksaan na humara na customer ka hona chahiye. Tab hi toh woh laut ke ayenge," he says even as he reminisces the golden days of packed shows and surging sales.AT M M Marg, RBI Staff Colony.
CALL 23070119
En route Pune
Subhash Bhatia (right), F&B manager at Chitra Cinema on Ambedkar Road, remembers Pune-bound city slickers stopping by to hoard affordable-but-hygienic wafers, sandwiches, and softies, which were a hit during summers in the '50s and '60s, when air-conditioned cars were still a distant dream. Located in a prime location, they still get a decent footfall, but have had to add new snacks like burgers.The mela-like popcorn machines are a new addition and they have brought on board a different distributor for sandwiches, who serves variants like Russian salad and cheese chutney (Rs 80 each). "The problem is, if it isn't a good film that's playing, customers don't show up, but with a multiplex, they can simply watch another film. Our generation was happy with very little. It's not the same anymore," he shares.
AT Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Road, Dadar East.
CALL 24182264
A galaxy for cinephiles
"Yahan sab gareeb log aatein hai, madam," Babu Shaikh (right), food counter manager at Bandra's Gaiety-Galaxy Complex points out, speaking about why they continue to sell affordable eats, despite a decline in footfall. Their samosa, sourced from Sion's popular street food joint Guru Kripa (who, along with A1, caters to seven single-screens including the ones mentioned here), were once selling like hot cakes. Now, Babu says, "It's hard to sell even 50."He thinks allowing patrons to bring their own food has lent itself considerably to the fall in sales. Even so, he stands by keeping costs low. "Poor people should have a place they can go to, to enjoy films as well," he argues. At one end of the movie hall's expansive cafeteria, an ice cream counter continues to sell Pastonji's chocolate ice cream (Rs 30) served in old-school wafer cones.
AT Swami Vivekanand Marg, Bandra West.
CALL 26558285
A forgotten landmark
Ganpati Eesan (right) has been working as the F&B manager at Regal Cinema's counter for 15 years. In a little corner behind the counter, he has set-up a table where he makes the theatre's popular sandwiches. "Back in the day, customers would purchase a ticket only to try the veg exotic sandwich [capsicum, tomato, cucumber and mayo]. We discontinued it three years ago because the ingredients became costlier but we couldn't hike our prices."Now, they serve only cheese and chutney sandwiches (Rs 70). Looking back at some of the weirdest moments from his time behind the counter, Eesan recalls, "Once a foreigner brought urchins inside for a movie and raided our counter. We thought it was sweet, but didn't know how to respond."
As the PVRs and Cinepolises of the world took over, Regal relegated to the background, forgotten in all its vintage Art Deco splendour.
AT Colaba Causeway, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road.
CALL 22021017
Mumbai's Regal cinema stares at shutdown as losses mount
8:12 AM
The cinema has been racking up a loss of Rs 1 cr annually; talks with a multiplex chain to add at least two more screens and a food court have been unsuccessful so far
Khalid Mohamed (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 7, 2018)
Regal, one of the city’s oldest single screen cinemas as well as its first air-conditioned theatre, is on its last breath. “It’s just a matter of time. Regal could close down any day,” rues Kamal Sidhwa Taraporevala, granddaughter of Framji Sidhwa who founded the cinema 85 years ago.
In recent years, the cinema has been posting a loss of Rs 1 crore annually. The average occupancy rate has dwindled to around 15-20 per cent of the 1,160 stand-alone seater. Ticket sales have nosedived drastically since the proliferation of multiplexes at the turn of the millennium.
Compared to the hefty rates of multiplexes spiralling between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 a pop, the tickets are moderately priced between Rs 150 and Rs 250. For potential blockbuster Bollywood movies produced by the top banners, the rates are hiked at the market strategy of the distributors who take away the lion’s share of the revenue.
Run by a board of directors of Globe Theatres, Regal—like one of its other cinema properties, the Capitol right opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj terminus—is more than likely to fall into a state of neglect. The Capitol closed down 11years ago.
Both Kamal and her cousin Jal Tata, who is on the board of directors, point out that while retaining its heritage status, Regal could be redesigned to include at least two more screens and a food court. Negotiations with a multiplex conglomerate, however, have been fruitless so far.
Faramji, who started out as an usher-cum-projectionist in a horse-stable-turned-cinema in Rangoon, had partnered with businessman and philanthropist Kaikhushroo Kooka to lease the land at Colaba Causeway since it was just a stroll away from the naval base and a luxury hotel patronised by international travellers.
The two-storey Art Deco structure and its interiors were assigned to the British architect Charles Stevens and the Czech artist Karl Schara, respectively.
Regal opened its doors on October 4, 1933, with the Laurel and Hardy feature The Devil’s Brother. The comic duo had sent a telegram of congratulations to the Regal management.
Following Framji’s death, his son Dhunji nurtured the cinema, upgrading it with a 70 mm screen and Dolby sound system, after acquiring a degree in sound and motion picture engineering from the New York University.
Jal Tata, a virtual encyclopaedia of movie lore, recalls that Filmfare Award functions were held at the cinema for four years in the 1950s. Music concerts by the legendary violinst and conductor Yehudi Menuhin and singer Marian Anderson were hosted there to packed houses. Among the top international movies which scored the longest runs at the cinema are The Sound of Music (38 weeks), Enter The Dragon (31 weeks), The Ten Commandments (31 weeks), Titanic (30 weeks) and Gandhi (26 weeks). Every James Bond movie would generally score a run of 20 weeks.
Once, the Regal foyers used to be adorned with original Hollywood studio portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Lewis, Cary Grant and Charlton Heston. With time, though, these have vanished with the wind. Perhaps, they faded and were shredded.
However, the cinema largely still retains its Art Deco ambience, like the tall mirror panel embossed with Uncle Oscar, the trophy presented at the Academy Awards ceremonies.
Kamal recalls that during his last years, her father Dhunji was depressed. She adds: “His last words to us were to preserve Regal but convert it into a multi-screener. The family has always been emotionally attached to the legacy but unless we are practical, we would be fighting for a lost cause.”
Is the imminent closure of Regal absolutely final, then? Kamal’s despondent response: “Yes, unless there’s a miracle.”
Can patrons bring food inside the Mumbai multiplexes? Mumbai Mirror does a check in five cinema halls
8:33 AM
Of the five big multiplexes, only two allowed Mirror reporters to bring food from outside.
By Team Mumbai Mirror (August 8, 2018)
MIRROR TEST DRIVE: Multiplexes across the city hide behind the ‘lack of clarity’ excuse to defy the govt order that allows moviegoers to carry food from outside.
Almost a month after the state government clarified that beginning August 1, moviegoers were free to carry food to multiplexes and there should be no difference in the MRP of food items sold outside and inside multiplexes, there is still no clarity, resulting in each multiplex in the city framing its own rules on the matter.
This was revealed during a test drive conducted by this newspaper over the past two days, during which three of the city’s biggest multiplexes did not allow Mirror reporters to carry food to the cinema halls.
This, after Ravindra Chavan, minister of state for food and civil supplies, told the legislative assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session that the multiplex owners have been instructed to allow outside food on their premises. The minister further said the multiplexes have also been instructed to not charge exorbitant amount of money for food items.
Chavan’s statement came in the wake of the Bombay High Court pulling up the state government and the multiplexes based on a public interest litigation that people were forced to pay for food items as per the rates fixed by the multiplexes. Several multiplexes in Mumbai charge around Rs 300 for a bucket of popcorns, nearly Rs 100 for a cup of tea, and around Rs 200 for two pieces of sandwich when the same items are available for less than half the rate outside.
The Mirror test drive that covered Sterling Cineplex at Fort, Metro Inox Cinemas at Marine Lines, Regal Cinema at Colaba, PVR Odeon at Ghatkopar, and Cinemax at Borivali revealed the patrons continued to be at the mercy of the multiplex owners.
At Sterling, our reporters were told to tuck in the chips and biscuits inside lunchboxes as the multiplex only allowed “ghar ka khaana” inside. At Metro, we were told that the food we had bought cannot be carried inside the theatre; we were given a choice of consuming it within the confines of the lobby. At PVR Odeon, the manager offered to keep our food in the refrigerator and “warm it for free” once the show got over.
At Cinemax in Borivali, there was a board at the entrance saying outside food will not be allowed but there was no problem. The guards checking our bags stuffed with a cheeseburger and fries didn’t even bat an eyelid.
They told us outside food has been allowed at the multiplex for the past three days; it helped that the employees’ union at this multiplex is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes overcharging the patrons.
Similarly, there was no problem at Regal, where our reporter was told that the security has been instructed to allow patrons to bring food from outside.
Lekhraj Kundhaliya, the food and beverages manager at Sterling Cineplex, told this newspaper that they started allowing “homemade food” since July 15. “Even when people have brought outside food packed in lunchboxes, we have allowed (them inside). There’s a lot of confusion regarding the matter so every multiplex’s management is free to interpret the government instructions as per its convenience,” Kundhaliya said.
MNS THREATENS ACTION
The MNS said it will soon conduct its own test drive and “teach a lesson” to those multiplexes that are refusing to fall in line. “The food and civil supplies minister has said there is no need for a special Government Resolution in this matter. Many multiplexes are still not allowing moviegoers to bring food from outside and continue to charge exorbitant prices for food items sold inside. We will conduct a check and take action MNS-style,” senior MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PVR Odeon, Ghatkopar
‘We’ll keep the food in our fridge’
MONDAY 10.35 PM SHOW
As we were making our way inside, we were warned that the boxes containing sandwiches will not be allowed. Sure enough, the guards at the first floor told us we’ll have to leave the food outside. When we protested and told the guards about the government instruction, they called up the multiplex manager, who identified himself as Tarun Devnani. “There’s still no clarity,” Devnani claimed, “we have slashed the prices of food items at our multiplex but we are not allowing outside food till there is complete clarity on the matter.” He then offered to keep the sandwiches in the refrigerator, and as a bonus, warm those once the show got over.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn buckets: Rs 150, Rs 170, Rs 250, nachos: Rs 220, cold coffee: Rs 120, tea and coffee (hot): Rs 100 per cup, cold beverages (large cup): Rs 150. —Yogesh Naik
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regal Cinema, Colaba
‘A Regal experience’
TUESDAY 7 PM SHOW
While rummaging through our bag as part of the security check, the guards did not seem to even notice the bags of chips and biscuits. When we pointed out to the outside food we were carrying, a theatre official said it was no problem at all.
“Following the government instructions, we have told all our guards to not stop anyone carrying outside food. We also took down the signs where it said outside eatables not allowed,” the theatre official said.
Regal Cinema is also one of the most reasonable when it comes to in-house pricing of food times: A bucket of popcorns: Rs 70, sandwich: Rs 70, samosa: Rs 60, a packet of chips for Rs 50, coffee: Rs 40. —Mitaksh Jain
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sterling Cineplex, Fort
‘Pack your chips in a lunchbox’
TUESDAY 4.10 PM SHOW
The guard at the entrance wouldn’t let us in because we were carrying packets of chips and biscuits. “Not allowed,” he said. When he didn’t budge, we demanded to speak to his supervisor, after which three men trooped out. When we told them about the government clarification issued last month that it was “illegal” for multiplexes to now allow outside food, one of them said there was “no clarity on the matter”. He hastily added that only “ghar ka khaana” was allowed inside the movie halls.
We asked him whether we will be stopped if we simply put our chips and biscuits in a tiffin box and he said we can do that. “We don’t check tiffin boxes and patrons can bring in whatever they want, provided it is packed in lunchboxes. We don’t allow packaged food,” he said.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Sterling Cineplex has leased out its ground floor to various food chains and outlets. —Linah Baliga and Payal Gwalani
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cinemax, Borivali
‘Outside food is welcome here’
MONDAY 10.50 PM SHOW
We were allowed to bring in food and a water bottle from outside, even though there’s a board at the entrance saying it’s banned. Our bags were checked at the entrance, and the security officials did not even mention anything about outside food not allowed in the multiplex. When we asked the multiplex officials about the policy regarding outside food, one of them said it is being allowed for the past three days.
The multiplex has an employees’ union which is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes charging exorbitantly for food and beverages.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn buckets: Rs 220, Rs 240, Rs 269, water bottles: Rs 40 and Rs 60, tea (small cup): Rs 70, other food items in the range of Rs 140 to Rs 230. —Rahi Gaikwad
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metro Inox Cinemas, Marine Lines
‘Eat in the lobby, not inside the halls’
TUESDAY 11.10 PM SHOW
Wwere not allowed to bring in food from outside. We told the multiplex officials that the state government has clearly said patrons must be allowed to bring in food to multiplexes, an official politely told us to consume the food in the lobby.
“We have been told a court hearing on the matter is scheduled on August 8. Until we get complete clarity on the matter, we request our patrons to not bring food from outside,” the Metro Inox official said.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn bucket: Rs 220, sandwich: Rs 120 onwards, a samosa packet: Rs 80, coffee: Rs 90 for a small cup. —Lata Mishra
By Team Mumbai Mirror (August 8, 2018)
MIRROR TEST DRIVE: Multiplexes across the city hide behind the ‘lack of clarity’ excuse to defy the govt order that allows moviegoers to carry food from outside.
Almost a month after the state government clarified that beginning August 1, moviegoers were free to carry food to multiplexes and there should be no difference in the MRP of food items sold outside and inside multiplexes, there is still no clarity, resulting in each multiplex in the city framing its own rules on the matter.
This was revealed during a test drive conducted by this newspaper over the past two days, during which three of the city’s biggest multiplexes did not allow Mirror reporters to carry food to the cinema halls.
This, after Ravindra Chavan, minister of state for food and civil supplies, told the legislative assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session that the multiplex owners have been instructed to allow outside food on their premises. The minister further said the multiplexes have also been instructed to not charge exorbitant amount of money for food items.
Chavan’s statement came in the wake of the Bombay High Court pulling up the state government and the multiplexes based on a public interest litigation that people were forced to pay for food items as per the rates fixed by the multiplexes. Several multiplexes in Mumbai charge around Rs 300 for a bucket of popcorns, nearly Rs 100 for a cup of tea, and around Rs 200 for two pieces of sandwich when the same items are available for less than half the rate outside.
The Mirror test drive that covered Sterling Cineplex at Fort, Metro Inox Cinemas at Marine Lines, Regal Cinema at Colaba, PVR Odeon at Ghatkopar, and Cinemax at Borivali revealed the patrons continued to be at the mercy of the multiplex owners.
At Sterling, our reporters were told to tuck in the chips and biscuits inside lunchboxes as the multiplex only allowed “ghar ka khaana” inside. At Metro, we were told that the food we had bought cannot be carried inside the theatre; we were given a choice of consuming it within the confines of the lobby. At PVR Odeon, the manager offered to keep our food in the refrigerator and “warm it for free” once the show got over.
At Cinemax in Borivali, there was a board at the entrance saying outside food will not be allowed but there was no problem. The guards checking our bags stuffed with a cheeseburger and fries didn’t even bat an eyelid.
They told us outside food has been allowed at the multiplex for the past three days; it helped that the employees’ union at this multiplex is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes overcharging the patrons.
Similarly, there was no problem at Regal, where our reporter was told that the security has been instructed to allow patrons to bring food from outside.
Lekhraj Kundhaliya, the food and beverages manager at Sterling Cineplex, told this newspaper that they started allowing “homemade food” since July 15. “Even when people have brought outside food packed in lunchboxes, we have allowed (them inside). There’s a lot of confusion regarding the matter so every multiplex’s management is free to interpret the government instructions as per its convenience,” Kundhaliya said.
MNS THREATENS ACTION
The MNS said it will soon conduct its own test drive and “teach a lesson” to those multiplexes that are refusing to fall in line. “The food and civil supplies minister has said there is no need for a special Government Resolution in this matter. Many multiplexes are still not allowing moviegoers to bring food from outside and continue to charge exorbitant prices for food items sold inside. We will conduct a check and take action MNS-style,” senior MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PVR Odeon, Ghatkopar
‘We’ll keep the food in our fridge’
MONDAY 10.35 PM SHOW
As we were making our way inside, we were warned that the boxes containing sandwiches will not be allowed. Sure enough, the guards at the first floor told us we’ll have to leave the food outside. When we protested and told the guards about the government instruction, they called up the multiplex manager, who identified himself as Tarun Devnani. “There’s still no clarity,” Devnani claimed, “we have slashed the prices of food items at our multiplex but we are not allowing outside food till there is complete clarity on the matter.” He then offered to keep the sandwiches in the refrigerator, and as a bonus, warm those once the show got over.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn buckets: Rs 150, Rs 170, Rs 250, nachos: Rs 220, cold coffee: Rs 120, tea and coffee (hot): Rs 100 per cup, cold beverages (large cup): Rs 150. —Yogesh Naik
PHOTO BY RAJU SHELAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regal Cinema, Colaba
‘A Regal experience’
TUESDAY 7 PM SHOW
While rummaging through our bag as part of the security check, the guards did not seem to even notice the bags of chips and biscuits. When we pointed out to the outside food we were carrying, a theatre official said it was no problem at all.
“Following the government instructions, we have told all our guards to not stop anyone carrying outside food. We also took down the signs where it said outside eatables not allowed,” the theatre official said.
Regal Cinema is also one of the most reasonable when it comes to in-house pricing of food times: A bucket of popcorns: Rs 70, sandwich: Rs 70, samosa: Rs 60, a packet of chips for Rs 50, coffee: Rs 40. —Mitaksh Jain
PHOTO BY SACHIN HARALKAR
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sterling Cineplex, Fort
‘Pack your chips in a lunchbox’
TUESDAY 4.10 PM SHOW
The guard at the entrance wouldn’t let us in because we were carrying packets of chips and biscuits. “Not allowed,” he said. When he didn’t budge, we demanded to speak to his supervisor, after which three men trooped out. When we told them about the government clarification issued last month that it was “illegal” for multiplexes to now allow outside food, one of them said there was “no clarity on the matter”. He hastily added that only “ghar ka khaana” was allowed inside the movie halls.
We asked him whether we will be stopped if we simply put our chips and biscuits in a tiffin box and he said we can do that. “We don’t check tiffin boxes and patrons can bring in whatever they want, provided it is packed in lunchboxes. We don’t allow packaged food,” he said.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Sterling Cineplex has leased out its ground floor to various food chains and outlets. —Linah Baliga and Payal Gwalani
Sterling Cineplex, Fort
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cinemax, Borivali
‘Outside food is welcome here’
MONDAY 10.50 PM SHOW
We were allowed to bring in food and a water bottle from outside, even though there’s a board at the entrance saying it’s banned. Our bags were checked at the entrance, and the security officials did not even mention anything about outside food not allowed in the multiplex. When we asked the multiplex officials about the policy regarding outside food, one of them said it is being allowed for the past three days.
The multiplex has an employees’ union which is affiliated to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which is at the forefront of the fight against multiplexes charging exorbitantly for food and beverages.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn buckets: Rs 220, Rs 240, Rs 269, water bottles: Rs 40 and Rs 60, tea (small cup): Rs 70, other food items in the range of Rs 140 to Rs 230. —Rahi Gaikwad
PHOTO BY SATISH MALAVADE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Metro Inox Cinemas, Marine Lines
‘Eat in the lobby, not inside the halls’
TUESDAY 11.10 PM SHOW
Wwere not allowed to bring in food from outside. We told the multiplex officials that the state government has clearly said patrons must be allowed to bring in food to multiplexes, an official politely told us to consume the food in the lobby.
“We have been told a court hearing on the matter is scheduled on August 8. Until we get complete clarity on the matter, we request our patrons to not bring food from outside,” the Metro Inox official said.
Food prices inside the multiplex: Popcorn bucket: Rs 220, sandwich: Rs 120 onwards, a samosa packet: Rs 80, coffee: Rs 90 for a small cup. —Lata Mishra
PHOTO BY SACHIN HARALKAR
Mumbai's iconic Regal Cinema is struggling to stay afloat; sends SOS to regular patrons
8:15 AM
Colaba's struggling single-screen theatre, Regal Cinema sends out SOS to regular patrons in a bid to stay afloat in difficult times
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 27, 2018)
Yesterday, Mumbaikars woke up to the realisation that yet another SoBo institution - Colaba's Regal Cinema - is struggling to stay afloat. Early in the day, a message started making the rounds on Facebook: "Mission Impossible 6 at the Regal Cinema. Please patronise the Regal, one of the last single-screen cinemas left in Mumbai!" A matter-of-fact text that struck a chord with several cinephiles who grew up watching their favourite films in the South Bombay heritage building.
mid-day reached out to Kamal Sidhva Taraporevala, the third-generation owner who still resides in the Regal building. When quizzed why she sent out that message, she said, "The footfall is heartbreakingly low. It's a 1,100-seater cinema, and we sometimes struggle to fill 150. We have advance bookings, but the sales drops are unimaginable. I don't even want to get into the statistics, but you can imagine what it's like from the figure I gave you."
"In the 1990s, we used to run full houses. And now, we see 100-200 people on good days. It's a family business, and I sent that message out to friends who prefer to watch English movies. Distributors have stopped giving enough movies to single-screen cinemas; they prefer multiplexes. We have no control or choice over what movies we can show."
Bittersweet nostalgia
The empty seats at Regal are a stark contrast from the theatre's glory days back in the '70s and '80s, when films ran for 13 to 15 months at a stretch. "I remember that Gandhi had run for months and months, and the queue would snake right around the block. Before that, Enter The Dragon, had run for 13 months. I remember times when the challenge was to fight black market ticketing. For as long as I can remember, the cinema was always full, and look now..."
The cinema was started by her grandfather in 1933, and the building's history is part of the charm of watching movies there. But its heritage status has also made things difficult for the owner. "The business is not generating enough money for us to take on the extra expenditure of redoing it into something else, for instance a multiplex. That will be a major gamble. There is also the issue that the government won't allow us to convert it for any other business (say a restaurant). If it's a cinema, it has to be used as a cinema. This is why so many single screens are lying vacant," Kamal explained.
Picture abhi baaki hai
The challenges of running Regal are abundant, Kamal added. "Just switching the electricity on for 100 people is making it impossible to run. But even at this point, we are hopeful. We haven't considered selling out yet."
She added that a little empathy from the authorities would go a long way in protecting single-screen theatres. "There is a huge gap in protecting the interests of the single screens. Anything we need to do to keep it running has to be done privately, including generating the funds."
The queen is secure; Padmaavat opens without any incident in Mumbai
4:18 AM
Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat opens without incident; despite a slow start is expected to pull crowds over long weekend
Avinash Lohana, Natasha Coutinho, Nishi Tiwari, Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 26, 2018)
While the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period-drama Padmaavat on Thursday was marked by sporadic violence in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, Mumbai witnessed an incident-free opening largely due to heavy police bandobast.
On Wednesday, the 6 pm paid previews at Thane’s Korum and Viviana malls were cancelled owing to security concerns after which the police sprang into action to facilitate the 7 pm show, which began on time and ran without glitch. “Checks were in place and there was no damage to property. The 6 pm show was cancelled due to threats,” an employee informed Mirror while a cop at the venue added that security will continue through the threeday weekend.
On Thursday, the pre-emptive move proved effective as the law and order situation appeared to be more streamlined than in other cities. In Chembur’s K Star mall which houses the Fun Republic multiplex on its fourth floor, Padmaavat opened to a 60 per cent turnout, with college students constituting the majority of the morning footfall. However, turnout at the neighbouring Movietime was abysmal amidst unprecedented security at both theatres. “In the RCF (area) an extra 15–20 policemen have been brought in from nearby stations to ensure there is no trouble. We have been on duty since the Wednesday show but there was no trouble whatsoever,” a cop told Mirror even as a particularly inquisitive gent enquired if his gun was loaded.
Despite its A-list star cast and the hype generated by the raging controversy, the film has got off to a slow start. A staff member at a Santa Cruz multiplex on conditions of anonymity — “we have branches in Rajasthan and Gujarat and don’t wish to cause trouble there” — revealed that 102 bookings were made for the 9.30 am show on Thursday and 148 for the 12.45 pm slot. With five screenings a day, the 420-seater theatre clocked in a little over 507 bookings on the first day.
Chandan Cinema in Juhu which has given Padmaavat four shows, wore a deserted look. Viewers were scant at the adjacent PVR theatre, which is screening 20 shows a day (the only other notable film at the multiplex currently is Steven Spielberg’s Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks-starrer The Post), with 2D and 3D versions alternating every 45 minutes. “The first show at 8 am on Thursday saw 32 per cent occupancy which swelled to 86–90 per cent for shows after 5 pm,” a PVR Communications official informs, adding that the slow start was to be attributed to the fact that the film had opened on a weekday and not to the controversy. “It will pick up significantly as indicated by advance bookings for the weekend. We didn’t ask for extra protection but given the multiplex’s prime location, the Mumbai police have deployed security. On our part, we have removed queue managers inside the premises as they are often used to break glass during agitations,” the source informs.
Shoeb Shaikh, duty manager at PVR ECX, Andheri, is even more optimistic. The first show at 8.15 am at his multiplex witnessed 80 per cent occupancy and an overall footfall of 60–65 per cent. The neighbouring Cinepolis multiplex however opened to just 35 per cent occupancy. The central suburbs clocked in lesser bookings as compared to its western counterpart. The first show at Carnival Cinema in Bhandup was cancelled due to zero turnout, while Cinepolis saw 23-30 per cent occupancy. However, the slow start hasn’t dampened spirits in the area. The staff is confident that the cash registers will ring over the next three days. Unlike the suburban theatres, most South Mumbai screens refrained from displaying posters and hoardings of the film. Regal was an exception but Sterling didn’t even put out show timings. INOX, Nariman Point announced the film only on the BO ticker.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra offers a more
holistic view of the situation, pointing out that Padmaavat is bound to
lose 30 per cent of its collections as it has not released in four
states, but is quick to add that the unwarranted attention to the film’s
story has only fuelled the moviegoers’ curiosity. “The only problem is
the mixed response from the audience, which ranges from good to boring.
The 3D format has backfired because it renders the film dark while
moviegoers want historicals to look vibrant. But the film will be
unstoppable over the long weekend with highly priced tickets. The
official verdict though will be determined only on Monday,” he says.
He is expecting the film to rake in between Rs 100–150 crore over the next three days. “If it crashes on Monday, it will only manage to recover costs, but the satellite deal can be renegotiated and that should help it bring in profits,” he signs off on an optimistic note.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh follow suit
Padmaavat release was glitchfree in West Bengal too, with the exception of Asansol district’s Kumarpur, where members of the Viswa Hindu Parishad and Rajput Kalyan Samiti burnt an effigy of Bhansali in front of Manoj movie hall. The situation was quickly brought under control.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also witnessed a largely peaceful first day save for a token protest at Tivoli theatre last Sunday. BJP MLA from Goshamahal Raja Singh, also did a U-turn on his call to damage the theatres, asking people to watch the movie and protest only if they find anything objectionable.
— Jatari Nag and P Pavan
While the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period-drama Padmaavat on Thursday was marked by sporadic violence in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, Mumbai witnessed an incident-free opening largely due to heavy police bandobast.
On Wednesday, the 6 pm paid previews at Thane’s Korum and Viviana malls were cancelled owing to security concerns after which the police sprang into action to facilitate the 7 pm show, which began on time and ran without glitch. “Checks were in place and there was no damage to property. The 6 pm show was cancelled due to threats,” an employee informed Mirror while a cop at the venue added that security will continue through the threeday weekend.
On Thursday, the pre-emptive move proved effective as the law and order situation appeared to be more streamlined than in other cities. In Chembur’s K Star mall which houses the Fun Republic multiplex on its fourth floor, Padmaavat opened to a 60 per cent turnout, with college students constituting the majority of the morning footfall. However, turnout at the neighbouring Movietime was abysmal amidst unprecedented security at both theatres. “In the RCF (area) an extra 15–20 policemen have been brought in from nearby stations to ensure there is no trouble. We have been on duty since the Wednesday show but there was no trouble whatsoever,” a cop told Mirror even as a particularly inquisitive gent enquired if his gun was loaded.
Despite its A-list star cast and the hype generated by the raging controversy, the film has got off to a slow start. A staff member at a Santa Cruz multiplex on conditions of anonymity — “we have branches in Rajasthan and Gujarat and don’t wish to cause trouble there” — revealed that 102 bookings were made for the 9.30 am show on Thursday and 148 for the 12.45 pm slot. With five screenings a day, the 420-seater theatre clocked in a little over 507 bookings on the first day.
Chandan Cinema in Juhu which has given Padmaavat four shows, wore a deserted look. Viewers were scant at the adjacent PVR theatre, which is screening 20 shows a day (the only other notable film at the multiplex currently is Steven Spielberg’s Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks-starrer The Post), with 2D and 3D versions alternating every 45 minutes. “The first show at 8 am on Thursday saw 32 per cent occupancy which swelled to 86–90 per cent for shows after 5 pm,” a PVR Communications official informs, adding that the slow start was to be attributed to the fact that the film had opened on a weekday and not to the controversy. “It will pick up significantly as indicated by advance bookings for the weekend. We didn’t ask for extra protection but given the multiplex’s prime location, the Mumbai police have deployed security. On our part, we have removed queue managers inside the premises as they are often used to break glass during agitations,” the source informs.
Shoeb Shaikh, duty manager at PVR ECX, Andheri, is even more optimistic. The first show at 8.15 am at his multiplex witnessed 80 per cent occupancy and an overall footfall of 60–65 per cent. The neighbouring Cinepolis multiplex however opened to just 35 per cent occupancy. The central suburbs clocked in lesser bookings as compared to its western counterpart. The first show at Carnival Cinema in Bhandup was cancelled due to zero turnout, while Cinepolis saw 23-30 per cent occupancy. However, the slow start hasn’t dampened spirits in the area. The staff is confident that the cash registers will ring over the next three days. Unlike the suburban theatres, most South Mumbai screens refrained from displaying posters and hoardings of the film. Regal was an exception but Sterling didn’t even put out show timings. INOX, Nariman Point announced the film only on the BO ticker.
Trade analyst Amod Mehra offers a more
holistic view of the situation, pointing out that Padmaavat is bound to
lose 30 per cent of its collections as it has not released in four
states, but is quick to add that the unwarranted attention to the film’s
story has only fuelled the moviegoers’ curiosity. “The only problem is
the mixed response from the audience, which ranges from good to boring.
The 3D format has backfired because it renders the film dark while
moviegoers want historicals to look vibrant. But the film will be
unstoppable over the long weekend with highly priced tickets. The
official verdict though will be determined only on Monday,” he says.He is expecting the film to rake in between Rs 100–150 crore over the next three days. “If it crashes on Monday, it will only manage to recover costs, but the satellite deal can be renegotiated and that should help it bring in profits,” he signs off on an optimistic note.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh follow suit
Padmaavat release was glitchfree in West Bengal too, with the exception of Asansol district’s Kumarpur, where members of the Viswa Hindu Parishad and Rajput Kalyan Samiti burnt an effigy of Bhansali in front of Manoj movie hall. The situation was quickly brought under control.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also witnessed a largely peaceful first day save for a token protest at Tivoli theatre last Sunday. BJP MLA from Goshamahal Raja Singh, also did a U-turn on his call to damage the theatres, asking people to watch the movie and protest only if they find anything objectionable.
— Jatari Nag and P Pavan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)