![]() "The rate at which these cinemas are being demolished, it would possibly mean that in the next 10 years or so, they may not exist at all," says Chaturvedi, the former cinematographer, who has photographed about 650 movie theaters in more than 500 Indian towns and cities since 2019 for a personal project. A seller has set up shop outside one of Imperial Cinema's bolted gates. Mumbai is infamous for its street hawkers, and a lot of goods are sold on the streets clothes, bags, shoes, office supplies, household items, electronics, etc. "I have to show a film, no matter what." What's lost when the cinemas close "If I want to build a bowling alley, for example, I want to build a multipurpose entertainment place or I want to show sports on the screen, it's not allowed," Doshi says. Ticket prices at single-screen cinemas are low - sometimes less than a quarter of what multiplexes charge - and government regulations prevent cinema owners from developing their property to increase revenue, Doshi says. According to a 2018 report by the Producers Guild of India, cinema owners were taxed at a rate of more than 100% in some states. ![]() Until a few years ago, the theatre turned cinema hall, played mostly B- grade Bollywood films.ĭoshi says high taxation, especially in Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is the capital, has also been a burden. It initially started with stage plays, with a total of 509 wooden seats, distributed between three separate levels. But nothing could bring back the glory - or sales - of the theater's heyday.Įdward Theatre's entrance, as seen from the street opened in 1914 in Kalbadevi, and was named after King Edward V, who visited Mumbai the same year. Then he started screening Hollywood movies, dubbed in regional Indian languages. Many owners undertook costly renovations to update their cinemas' technology.įor a few years, Doshi experimented with showing only Marathi-language or Bhojpuri-language films, trying to draw in specialized audiences. Some cinemas resorted to screening erotic films when more family-friendly fare didn't sell enough tickets. Why would you come?" Single-screen cinemas struggle with taxes and regulationsīut he and other cinema owners haven't given up without a fight. "Netflix is there, Amazon Prime is there," says Doshi. Now people watch from the comfort of their couch. The single-screen theaters never recovered after that, Doshi says. And then came the huge multiplexes, offering several movies at a time. The second challenge came in the form of videotapes and VCRs. "When the first TV came, the first slump in the business came," says Doshi. The owners of the cinemas have held onto only a few crucial employees who have been with them for many years. Due to the pandemic, most of the theaters have had to downscale and let go of staff members. ![]() Bottom right: Ganesh Palkar is the caretaker of the Edward Theatre. Bottom left: Jeetendra Rajput is the caretaker of Central Plaza cinema. Top: Anil Vankadkar works at the Capitol cinema's office.
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