Karnataka:Curtains down for single-screen theatres
Whether is a Rajinikanth latest or a new spiderman movie, whistles or loud cheers are mandatory when the hero appears on the screen.
Watching a movie in a single-screen theatre is more than an experience, it is a community event. Unlike the multiplexes where a conversation is frowned upon, at the single screens, it is all about claps and cheers.
Whether is a Rajinikanth latest or a new spiderman movie, whistles or loud cheers are mandatory when the hero appears on the screen.
A single-screen devotee, Krishne Gowda, who runs a textile store in Gandhi Nagar, is quick to list out his favourites, including Majestic, Tribhuvan, Geetha, Kempegowda, Himalaya, Kalpana, Alankar, Prabhat and Geeta Sagar, Kapali.
But all these movie theatres, which were located in Bengaluru’s Majestic area vanished over the years. The Kempe Gowda Road-Gandhi Nagar stretch in the heart of Bengaluru was considered ‘Broadway’ for Kannada movies. The area had over 20 single-screen theatres, only four of them remain now.
The latest to shut down is Everest theatre in Frazer Town. Following the second wave of Covid-19, a “for sale” board appeared before the theatre. This landmark was built in the late 1930s by civil contractor Maistry Chowriappa. Thirty years later, it was bought by Madanlal Kshatriya and his family had been running the theatre since.
Cooke Town resident Peter Rozario, still has fond memories of the theatre well, particularly the balcony. “It had an enclosure in the balcony area, which means you get some privacy. We used to save to buy the expensive balcony ticket,” he says with a laugh. “I have seen some of the best Tamil, Hindi and English movies of my time in this theatre. It is sad to see the theatre shut down, but its understandable due to the situation of the owners,” he added.
The inconspicuous death of the single screen theatres in Bengaluru began way before the pandemic and with the arrival of multiplexes in the late 2000s. In 2002, Galaxy Theatre was shut down to make way for a commercial space, Plaza was razed in 2005 for the metro rail, Symphony is now Fame Shankarnag, a multiplex, and Lido has become INOX.
Rex Theatre, which was a landmark on Brigade Road was bought by a business group to build a multiplex. In 2016, Kapali Theatre, the largest single-screen theatre in Asia with 1,400 seats, closed its operations, leaving behind a 49-year-old legacy of entertaining Bengaluru. The theatre was not able to make ends meet with the screening alone and agreed to bring down the building to construct a multiplex in a joint venture.
It was a similar story in Mysuru, which had 21 single-screen theatres at one point and now less than eight remain. “They were struggling for 10 years, and corona accelerated the problem. There has been zero income during the lockdown,” said Rajaram, Karnataka Film Exhibitors’ Federation vice-president.
With no new movies available, the theatre owners in Bengaluru are a concerned lot despite the state government allowing them to operate at 50% capacity.
“The government’s decision to reopen theatres was a relief but we have not received any word from the producers,” said Karnataka Film Exhibitors’ Association president KV Chandrasekhar. “The single-screen theatres here depend a lot on Kannada movies but there has been no movie announcements for next few weeks. So, many theatres still remain shut,” he said.
According to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Karnataka has around 630 single-screen theatres and around 260 multiplex theatres. Over 12 lakh employees work at these establishments.
Chandrashekar said most of the theatres have been paying their employees half salaries during the lockdown. “The minimum salary of an employee at a single screen theatre is around ₹13,000 to ₹14,000. With no movies running and without a clear picture about when the big movies will release, these theatre owners are running into losses,” he said.
An office-bearer of the Kannada Film Producers Association (KFPA), pleading anonymity, said the film producers were facing their own problems. “We are still unsure if people will come to theatres amid the fear of third wave. From an exhibitor’s view, if people don’t come to theatres, they won’t make any money either,” said the official.
