Video parlour in Dharavi, the biggest slum of Mumbai. Video parlours are growing where the single movie theatres are closing. The ticket is the cheapest: 1-5 rupees. Screened genres are Action , Karate , Horror and old Hindi movies
Maratha Mandir, one of the most famous cinema theatre, situated in the heart of Mumbai. The venue has become known because “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ), has been playing there since its release in October 1995. Everyday at noon
A man rests during the projection in the historic cinema theatre: Edward. Edward Theatre is located in Kalbadevi area, one of the busiest areas during peak hours. The area has mostly traders in watches, bicycles and steel utensils. Here some workers come to take a break and usually a nap. The ticket is very cheap: 15-20 rupees
This is the basement of the Edward Theatre. In the 70’s and 80’s manager’s family and cinema employees used to live in the same building of the cinema theatre. It was a large community. Now most of the roooms are empty, the basement is used only by 1 employee during the week
A family inside Metro Big Cinemas on Friday night. Metro is a beautiful Art Deco cinema opened on 5 June 1938, it became one of the Bollywood’s most famous red-carpet theatre. Despite such achievements, Metro could not stand up to the multiplex invasion. The promoters decided to transform the old cinema into a multiplex. People prefer to watch movies in a multiplex; it has the best seating and sound arrangement, plus the prices are slightly high, so a certain class doesn’t go there
Portrait of a boy in New Roshan cinema theatre. New Roshan is one is the most famous single screen theatres in the south of Mumbai. People continue to go there also during the mornings, it is one of the last. There were a lot of theatres until 2004: the Novelty Cinema (now apartments), Super Cinema, Apsara, Jamuna, Minerva, Royal Talkies, Nishat Cinema, Imperial Cinema, Alfred Theatre and Shalimar Cinema
Helper of the Edward Cinema who is paying attention to some odd sounds coming from the balcony. Some pigeons entered again the space. When I interviewed Edward’s manager, Sanjay said: “If you want a place to work only for cinema you will not be able to run. So there’s no future for this place, I’m very sorry, I feel very very bad that today, the current condition of the cinema is worse. Not only this cinema, all the cinemas in Mumbai. To survive you have to upgrade. Once you upgrade the whole charm is lost. Forever.”
Helper in Bharatmata Cinema, since childhood he's part of the community there
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Bollywood Talkies
Copyright
Vanessa Vettorello
2024
Updated Mar 2022
Topics
Bollywood, Cinema, India, Mumbai, Slum, Spotlight, Video parlors
The historic single screen cinemas are experiencing a deep identity and economic crisis, leading them to a fast disappearance. Simultaneously, multiple modern screen centers are growing, as well as the entire Indian film industry. The videos parlour instead - big rooms without any comfort and equipped only with a projector - were born in provincial areas where the old cinemas were closing down, trying to keep alive the traditional movie theaters market in a cheaper way. But today, due to growing piracy, the spread of new technologies (smartphones, tablets, laptops) and, last but not least, because of their intrinsic illegality (very few video rooms are fully licensed) they are experiencing themselves also a major crisis. Thus in a few years the world of cinemas in the country could change radically. Even in India then, in rural areas as in large cities, small theaters are being replaced constantly by more video centers. Today these three types of theaters - video parlour, single screen halls and modern multiplex - are still attended by different kind of people in a very exclusive way: each one in fact has its own typical goer that identifies it under a social and economic category. Today they represent a perfect picture of India social complexity to be studied and considered under a light-blue Bollywood twilight.
