Now, art films at Lower Parel's Deepak Cinema

Matterden Centre

Lower Parel, the erstwhile mill precinct has come a long way by lately becoming a hub for glitzy malls and hulking skyscrapers. Changing with the times, the 87-year-old Deepak Cinema is now too embracing ‘younger ideas' as the third-generation owner of the place, Punit Shah teams up with Pranan Asher and Varun Verma - the brains behind the Enlighten Film Society to announce the launch of Matterden Centre for Films and Creation (MCFC), in the city.

The renovated Deepak Talkies at Lower Parel. Pic/Emmanual Karbhari

Varun Verma, now the director of the Centre, shares, "We have been wanting to launch a common space for creative minds to come together and participate in activities. Usually one goes to theatre places to consume cinema, but here the idea is to create cinemas through discussion and debate" as the MCFC will invite directors to discuss their work once in a while. Verma is emphatic that the MCFC is conceived to create a "sense of belonging" unlike others in the city.

Poster of the film, Bicycle Thief

Unlike multiplexes in the city, Deepak Cinema that has just been revamped a few months ago is intent in looking forward to newer pastures as opposed to the earlier '30 to '50 ticketing bracket that it had come to be known for. In the past, the iconic Edward Theatre in Kalbadevi, built in the mid 1800s, had also started showcasing films like Wolfgang Becker's Good bye, Lenin! and Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless as part of Majlis' City Narratives project.

Matterden Centre for Films and Creation will be launched tomorrow

With a seating capacity of 500 (quite similar to Edward Theatre), every week one art house film beginning with Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves will be screened, come this Friday. Limited to the evening slot, patrons are expected to pay '100 for the ticket or sign up for an annual membership. Lined up for the premises' DCI compliance projector are William Wyler's Roman Holiday and Buster Keaton's The General. Amongst Indian film screenings, Jammu-born Amit Dutta's Nainsukh is part of the programme.