The beginning of the end of single screen theaters

- Which was an important contribution to the rise of Bollywood

- Even big banner movies don't run in single screen theaters for more than two weeks. Some owners have continued the theater simply for emotional reasons or because they have no other business.

While Bollywood blockbusters are making a splash on multiplex screens after the lifting of the Kovid-inspired ban, single screen theaters like the bustling Girgaum Central Plaza in Mumbai are still waiting for viewers. The single screen theaters that have been the favorite of wealthy audiences in South Mumbai for nine decades have not survived the epidemic and are now likely to be partially converted into residential complexes.

These single screen theaters were booming despite the multiplex opening. But the Kovid epidemic overwhelmed them. Earlier, single screen theaters had to endure the onslaught of VCR, cable and satellite TV. After that, single screen cinema also had to face multiplex and OTT stage. But now, after the Corona epidemic, a new generation of single-screen theater owners does not want to fall into this ever-declining business.

According to the Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India (COEAI), before the advent of multiplexes, there were about 15 single screen theaters in Mumbai with a total seating capacity of 3,000. But now that number has dwindled to 3,000, with 90 per cent of theaters still unable to open despite the lockdown. The reasons are OTT, old theater houses, rising ticket prices and declining number of spectators. However, cinema owners believe that the government's ruthless policy has hit the industry hard.

The president of COEAI said that it has become impossible to run a single screen theater these days. Even before the lockdown, the average occupancy was 9 to 12 percent. Very few theaters will continue to operate in the near future due to rising losses, taxes, maintenance costs, electricity bills, salaries and covid.

The vice-president of COEAI said that due to the policies of the state government, single screen theater owners have become a loss-making business. Single screen theater owners said that most of the shows had to be canceled due to low occupancy. Some single screen theaters even charge Rs. As many as 50 are kept because the spectators are not found in the higher priced tickets. He further said that even big banner films do not run in single screen theaters for more than two weeks. Some owners have continued the theater only for emotional reasons or because they have no other business. One theater owner said he had a good collection for only six weeks throughout the year. Thus the theater owners are running a loss-making business.

He said the government's policy allows theater owners to redevelop their property but includes the condition that one-third of the theater continue. Due to lack of space in most theaters, it is impossible for the government to follow this policy.

Also most of these theaters are located on the main road. They do not have special car parking spaces or boundaries. It is therefore impossible for them to redevelop the property on government terms.

Theater owners informed that if the owner of 500 screen single screen cinema wants to convert his theater into four theaters of 500 seats without changing the structure, it is not allowed. One screen is considered the old screen and the other three screens are considered the new screen so the new rules apply which is impossible to apply to the old property. Owners of cinema houses that have been the mainstay of the film industry since the thirties are frustrated. He recalls how, nine decades ago, 13 cinema theaters sprang up on Grant Road alone, including New Roshan Talkies, Nishat Cinema, Novelty Cinema, Royal Cinema, Imperial Cinema, Alfred Cinema, Daulat Talkies and Taj Talkies. . This was no accident. Being close to Red Light Area, Cotton Mills, Parsi Colony, Chinatown, they would get ready viewers. Here no one was asked about their religion, caste, but people were getting rest.

Almost every theater was owned by a Parsi or Vohra and each theater had its own uniqueness. The Capitol Cinema's sound system was designed to quell the cries of children, tea-samosas were a metro day, and most of the movie halls had cemeteries in the neighborhood. The once luxurious cinema houses with high screens, grand steps and rich lobbies are now in a dilapidated condition with broken seats, vacant projector rooms and shattered glass booths. Cinema owners regret why film makers and Indian cinema hubs living in this city neglect their own history. According to him, a lot can be achieved if a group is formed to make these cinemas heritage places.