Since the days of yore, Delhi has witnessed a world of transformation. Shedding its colonial legacy and donning the new-age metropolitan look. And central to this transformation are its glorious single-screen cinema halls that are now past their prime and fading away to oblivion.
A deep introspection of India’s rich and vivid cinematic history reveals the fact that it remains incomplete without single-screen cinema halls that attracted audiences and special patrons even before Independence. With the advent and boom in multiplexes and OTT platforms, these ‘once a wonders’ are hurriedly in rush to find a place in history books before their last breadth or are transforming into modern multiplexes.
Take a stroll around Old Delhi and the famed circles of Connaught Place, you are sure to bump into these old cinematic landmarks reminiscent of a glorious past. Landmarks that are an ode to the cinema-loving mass of India. Much before India attained independence, these historic gems were the primary source of cine and entertainment back then. As more and more people flocked out here, they also stood tall as a catalyst for social discussions and change. Each and every cinema hall was abuzz with the changing political and social climate and landscapes.
Today, these iconic single screen cinema halls are part of heritage structures today. Some of these theatres were established way back in 1930s as city’s prime entertainment hunts. These cinema halls were Ritz, Jagat, Novelty, Majestic Jubliee, Kumar, Moti, Minerva, Sheela, Excelsior, New Amar, Westend and Filmistan. They touched their peak periods of glory between 1950s and 1970s. Till the 1960s Delhi boasted of around 65 single screen theatres. Unfortunately, the numbers shrank drastically and many cinema halls shut down. Around 20 single screen theatres have shut in last past few years. With the taste of cinema goers changing and these cinema halls not revamping themselves in sync with the modern-day needs, multiplexes and online movie streaming platforms have only sounded death knell for these once imperious cinema halls.
Unlike the generic nature of the multiplex that dominates cinema viewing today, single-screens exuded character and were much loved. Sadly, the advent of the multiplex sounded the death knell of these cinemas, many of which have become a part of local histories. Needless to say, their rich, varied and unmatched legacy in India’s cinema history will be etched in bright, golden letters. To quote the words of the famous Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, “Nothing is permanent except change.”
