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Going flat out
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With several theatres giving way to commercial complexes, the experience of watching a film on the big screen is being missed by many. A day at the movies, seen as a pleasant outing, is today an expensive affair. SYEDA FARIDA reports.
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COMMERCIAL CALL: Dilshad Plaza has been replaced with a complex.
PICTURE THIS. You sit in the apartment at the Royal Plaza, at the corner of Sultan bazaar street and watch a cinema that is being dished out on the cable. The irony is that this was where a popular cinema hall had screened silver and golden jubilee block-busters like Amar Akbar Anthony and Shankarabharanam.
Looking around, one observes that where once numerous cinema halls stood per square kilometre in the city a few years ago, today very few remain. The popular hubs such as Jam Bagh, which had Vikranti, Ashok and Navrang, and Sultan Bazaar with Dilshad and Royal Talkies, no more sport serpentine queues. Time was when the theatre was the only place where one could unwind. Of course there were people taking the film-going habit to the extreme like the man who saw the re-runs of Ashok Kumar-starrer Mahal for weeks, in order to see a particular song. There were others who watched films like Shri 420, Chori Chori, Sholay and Yaarana over a dozen times. Old timers recollect the silent era when artistes on harmonium, tabla and flute provided suitable score for the visuals, the meandering queues where people waited for hours on early winter mornings for the 8:30 show or the separate zenana wing for women.
BUILDING BLOCKS: The once proud Royal Talkies.
But from the twice a week visit to the cinema to a once in a year in the present times, going for a film in the twin cities has been mostly on the decline. "Picture ka trend kam ho gaya hai (the trend of going to film has reduced)," says Umesh, a shop owner at Koti. Cable television dishing out current blockbusters, VCD copies of the new releases that hit the market with the print, the hectic lifestyles and high cost of living are some of the factors that are believed to dampen the spirit of a moviegoer. "Today, a family of five will have to spend a minimum of Rs. 300 to go to the cinema, on the conveyance, parking, tickets, and eatables. On the other hand you can watch a new film on cable with the family by paying Rs. 125 monthly rental to the cable guy. But the experience of watching a film in the theatre is different and a memorable one. But then, so many theatres in the cities have closed down," says Tarun, a trader.
The trend as one sees today in the twin cities is that most of the cinema halls of yesteryear have given way to function halls, shopping complexes and wedding halls. While there are new ones coming up on the outskirts, due to increasing migratory population in these areas thus making cinema halls a viable proposition here, in the city, there has been a reduction from 120 cinema halls to about 85 with a few more likely to close down in the coming months. High tax slab per week irrespective of the full occupancy of the cinema hall, high overheads and meagre recovery have dampened the spirits of the film exhibitors. "The theatres running non-regional films end up paying 24 per cent tax of about 1.25 lakh per week irrespective of not running house full. Even tickets do not cover expenses and tax overheads," explains a theatre owner.
FOR FUNCTIONS ONLY: Basant is now home for occasions.
Added to this, the bombing of multi-starrers -- except for DDLJ and HAHK vis a vis the silver, golden and diamond jubilees that more films did a few decades ago, is considered to be another reason for people not visiting cinema halls. ``Mughal-e-Azam and Sholay ran for one year. We used to have the 100-year celebration for many films then. Also, the films were released in one main theatre and a few secondary theatres," says Prabhat Kumar Malpani, member of the Royal Talkies Family Trust. The numerous cinema halls where the films are released in order to get the distribution returns on investments, and the low collections at the theatres have put the exhibitors in a Catch 22 situation to run or not to run the theatre.
Today Dilshad Plaza represents the popular Dilshad Cinema of yesteryear, while Basant Function Hall nearby, represents the then popular Basant Talkies. "The government should enact legislation so that cinema halls don't give way to a commercial complex. Multiplexes with smaller capacities are solutions to the problem. There is a need for a firm policy to be drafted on multiplexes with tax holidays as available in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh," says S. S. Mishra, Manager, Sangeet Cinema and Secretary Hyderabad Film Exhibitors Association. "Providing good facilities to the audience also helps," adds Purnachandra, Manager, Maheshwari 70 MM. With the novel escalator, striking screen and comfortable chairs, the Maheshwari Theatre had the country mesmerised at the inaugural in 1981.
Several theatres such as Sangeet have been popular with the viewers for the mere experience of being there with the DTS Dolby and Xenon light projection, or the Shanti cinema for the ample space and viewer friendly environment. "Going to a film is an experience in itself. Even if you have seen Spiderman on DVD you tend to go to the theatre for that ambience and experience," says David from a design company who makes it a point to see films at Sangeet regularly. Lagaan, Titanic and Jurassic Park have been some of the films here which have had over 12 weeks of advance booking which goes to prove that there is a market for good films in spite of the cable effect.
MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU: Sangeet theatre, circa 1981
While there is the interest for cinema viewing in the twin cities, there is a no single formula to reverse the present cinema-to-commercial drift. It is felt that lower taxes, State support to the film exhibition sector, creative financial initiatives, such as film based merchandise, and good quality services to woo the public, could turn back the clock to the hey days of cinema in the twin cities.
Photos: Mohd Yousuf
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