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Rajasthan’s biggest single screen theatre, The Gem Cinema, to reopen after 13 years
The Gem, built in 1964 by jeweller late LK Kasliwal, who incidentally never sat through any film, was shut in August 2005 when multiplexes took over, forcing single screen halls in metro and other major cities all over the country out of business.
Rajasthan’s biggest single screen cinema hall, The Gem Cinema, will open to public after 13 years this Sunday — with the epic historical drama Mughal-e-Azam, the black and white film that was first released in 1960 and then digitally coloured for a second outing in 2004.
The Gem, built in 1964 by jeweller late LK Kasliwal, who incidentally never sat through any film, was shut in August 2005 when multiplexes took over, forcing single screen halls in metro and other major cities all over the country out of business.
The founder’s son Sudhir Kasliwal decided to reopen it to the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF), which begins on Friday. JIFF founder Hanu Roj approached Mughal-e-Azam’s distributor Nandu Jhalani for a print of the film.
Kasliwal then got in touch with operator Bhawani Singh, 83, who was associated with the cinema hall ever since the German reel projector was first installed, to run the machine. “The machine was up and running within five minutes. We had been looking after it even after the cinema hall was shut,” said Kasliwal.
“The cinema hall, which has a seating capacity of 1,145, was not only the biggest in Rajasthan but also one of the most beautiful ones. It was so popular that some of the films that didn’t do well nationally would have good box office collections when they ran here,” Kasliwal said.
Film historian MD Soni said The Gem was the first in Rajasthan to have 70mm projection and stereophonic sound. “The cinema was popular for its light and sound and the sitting capacity.”
The hall opened on July 4, 1964, with Ashok Kumar, Mala Sinha and Dharmendra starrer Pooja Ke Phool, recalls Kasliwal. He said Prakash Mehra’s 1978 drama, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, saw the longest run — 45 weeks.
The Gem Cinema also screened several Hollywood films, and even had fixed slots for them — Sunday morning and Thursday evening, Kasliwal said.
Meanwhile, Rajasthan art and culture minister BD Kalla will inaugurate the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) 2019 at The GEM Cinema in Jaipur on Friday. Twenty-five film-makers from as many countries will be present at the opening ceremony of one of the biggest competitive film festivals of the world. Bangladeshi film, Sincerely Yours, Dhaka, will be the opening film of JIFF 2019, said the organizers.
JIFF founder Hanu Roj said the 11th edition will screen 232 films from 64 countries. Sons and Fathers from Sri Lanka and Moving Parts from Trinidad and Tobago will be screened on the closing day. Roj said there will be workshops, seminars and chat sessions during the festival.
Bollywood writer Robin Bhatt will be felicitated with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The organisers said films during the festival can be seen in four shows beginning at 10am, 12.30pm, 3.30pm and 6.30pm.
The 10am and 12.30pm shows will be dedicatedly for school students, they added.
