Let’s keep the single-screen cinema alive

This picture has been used for representational purpose

I am fascinated by dates [the historical kind, just to clarify]; and so, little wonder that History happens to be my favourite subject. The lockdown was a time where many of my ilk would organically teleport ourselves to another time with alarming regularity. Others called it nostalgia. But for this small band, it meant rewind time with serious, academic-like focus. Damn the calendars. And, Google Baba. It was this spirit that I found myself travelling back to as recently as last year [January 17, 2020, to be precise]. It was an important date for my learning curve, as a heritage and history nut, but most importantly, as a Bombaywallah, which is why this felt worth sharing with you, dear reader, so it wouldn't remain confined as a footnote in my book of significant timelines. As I jogged my memory to recall the impact of that session, it also led to me to realise what a premonition it turned out to be.

I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion hosted by Art Deco Mumbai Trust on single screen cinemas in India that was followed by a discussion between Professor Mary Woods and filmmaker Vani Subramanian at CSMVS (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya). The discussion included city chronicler Dr Simin Patel as well.

In their talk, invaluable insight came to the fore, based on research around the importance of these single screen cinemas, and in an enlightening segment, how their rise was directly connected with migration in Bombay. With our city, the charm and legacy of its Art Deco architecture made for an added nuance to the single-screen legacy, as the conversation veered towards its design and unique character. Later on, in the session, as the big picture and the little details rolled out, it decoded for all of us [including myself] the many hurdles, both cultural and financial, that these precious foot soldiers of the Indian film industry had experienced and continued to, with the arrival of the big, fat multiplex.

Seated in the audience were family members who owned some of these surviving single screens in the city. It was as good as witnessing a history lesson with the real actors and a true script being played out. The passion with which these stalwarts had ensured that these cinemas continued to survive against the odds was applause-worthy; there was a seeming anxiety that drove home the seriousness of their plight. It was a telling reminder about the rough road that they were riding, minus any shock absorbers.

We all know what happened two months later, and the disruption that it caused. Like with any commercial establishment that relies on footfalls, cinemas, too, bore the brunt. The words that both experts had highlighted during their presentation, around migration, came to mind in a numbing flashback. The very same migrants, who fed off these centres of entertainment and vice versa, were forced to return to their homes. What a drastic, heart wrenching saga that turned out to be, one that we will never fully recover from; at least, not anytime soon. We also witnessed the massive financial fallout of the lockdown. Closures, phasing out, demolitions - we heard about all kinds of debacles that befell some of our beloved institutions. My home suburb's famed single-screen cinema - Deep Mandir - was one of the casualties. There would be others as well, I fear. In fact, a few days after that enlightening session last year, I shared in this very same column, my anxiety of how ‘Bombay' elements like Udipis and Hindu Lunch Homes, and Art Deco single-screen cinemas, faced the ever-looming threat of factors like booming real estate, redevelopment and an ‘unpredictable economy'. How eerily true that last part about the economy turned out to be!

Each time I pass by Regal, Eros, Liberty, Metro, Plaza, Aurora or Edward, I say a little prayer. Will they survive this furious tidal wave of Biblical proportions, one that shows no signs of backing down, as it swallows everything in its path? Will Good Samaritans rise from within Bombay to help resurrect these timeless cine gems, especially now, as we watch iconic parts and elements of the city fall apart or fade away, hastened by a virus and its ugly legacy? Can we afford to dare say - ‘Picture abhi baaki hai'?

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her. She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com