Wednesday, September 30, 2009
THE OLD CINEMA HOUSES
11:10 AM | 
Posted by
DJ |
... submitted by Jeffrey Woods
(this is an excerpt from my old Bravenet Forum)
How many readers remember the old cinema houses in Anglo Indian enclaves in India that catered to our Hollywood tastes or should I say 'Americanism'?
I remember, the cinema houses we had in Madras: Roxy, Odeon, Uma, - these cinemas dated back to the 1940's and were frequented even by the foreigners who worked at the various embassies.
Later on came the modern ones in the 1970's - Blue Diamond, Emerald and Sapphire - these cinemas were the investment of a famous Jeweller in Madras. Devi was another cinema that was really ultra-modern in every sense of the word, much like the Village cinemas we have in Oz today.
If you know of any in your home town that had English names or similar please respond.
(this is an excerpt from my old Bravenet Forum)
How many readers remember the old cinema houses in Anglo Indian enclaves in India that catered to our Hollywood tastes or should I say 'Americanism'?
I remember, the cinema houses we had in Madras: Roxy, Odeon, Uma, - these cinemas dated back to the 1940's and were frequented even by the foreigners who worked at the various embassies.
Later on came the modern ones in the 1970's - Blue Diamond, Emerald and Sapphire - these cinemas were the investment of a famous Jeweller in Madras. Devi was another cinema that was really ultra-modern in every sense of the word, much like the Village cinemas we have in Oz today.
If you know of any in your home town that had English names or similar please respond.
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About Me
- DJ
- Logan, Queensland, Australia
I am an Anglo-Indian originally from South India, but now an Australian citizen living in Sunny Queensland (Oz) - beautiful one day, perfect the next!
From the Raj to the Taj
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3 comments:
I remember there were just two picture halls in the town I grew up which showed English movies on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings. The movie halls had balcony seats at the back on top and then three classes in the lower hall, the nearest to the screen was the cheapest and mostly the rickshaw walas and such like sat there whistling and shouting at any love scenes. I grew up in a small town in the north of India. During the intervals the hawkers sold peanuts, spicy chanas, popcorns and all sorts of soft drinks. When the movie was over the floor was always a mess of rubbish litered by the people. I remember watching the movies like. The mating game, GI Blues, Payton Place. From school we went to see the CORONATION OF QUEEN ELEZABETH. My mother loved Hindi films and often she would take me to watch them in the picture halls in the city which was an experience. I could not forget the men lining up against the walls outside to relieve themselves inspite of the fact that there were toilets. Back in Kalimpong near Darjeeling I remember my first picture hall where I went with my mother, it had a tin roof and so when it rained, we could hardly hear any sound as the raindrops made such a noise on the roof! But that was the only picture hall in that town in the 1948-'49, a one big hall with a tin roof. Before that I remember watching the silent movies of Charlie Chaplin, I wonder if anyone else remember watching the silent black and white movies? It was comedy film. I remember just one scene, where Charlie Chaplin was cleaning with a broom and goes off to his dream land imagining he was kissing a beautiful young woman, only to wake up and find himself kissing the broom!And does anyone remember the gramaphone white had to be manually wound to make it play the large black record! We have come a long way from those days of early technological equipments!!
It's amazing how we managed to amuse ourselves without access to any of the modern conveniences such as television and computers like we have today. My earliest recollections of attending the cinema were when I was about eight or nine years old. We grew up in a Customs Colony and we led such a free and innocent life. Let's see there was a gang of about eight of us kids about the same age, 2 Critchell boys, 2 Wilsons, Derek Crowl, Brian Nagle, my brother Gerry and I. Our parents believed in safety in numbers, therefore we could only go to the cinema if at least half of us were present and it had to be a 'matinee' performance (2/3 pm). We would all conspired to bluff our parents into believing that we would sit in the 8 anna seats, so we were given a rupee each....4 annas for bus fare and the balance for the price of the ticket. Well, right off the bat we would save the bus fare by doubling up on our bicycles, one riding with one on the crossbar, sometimes even on the handlebar. Moreover we would save another 4 annas by sneaking into the cheapest seats, know to us as "The Charzies", "char" of course meaning 4. This left us the grand total of 8 annas to buy all manner of junk food during the intermission. Depending upon the film, we always played the role of the hero for days after. Robin Hood meant that we fashioned bows and arrows from bamboo and dressed in green. A war movie or a western gave cause to bring out the old soldier uniforms/rifles etc. or perhaps a six-shooter we may have got as a Christmas or birthday gift. Later on when we were adults, we of course treated our respective girlfriends to a seat in the "Dress Circle" because it was private enough to sneak a quick kiss when the lights went out. I don't know about you guys but a typical movie show commenced with a side show like the Three Stooges or a Loonie Tunes cartoon, followed by The British Gaumont News or The Movietone News. A 15 min. intermission followed, after which there would be a trailer and then the main feature film.
I remember when it was a movie that my mum wanted to see, she would take my brother and I by cab and we would go to Cumper's Cafe Grand after for tea and chocolate éclairs made with pure cream. One thing that always sticks in my memory is, the immense glare when one exited the dark theatre.
What innocent bliss. Life had a completely different meaning then. I honestly feel sorry for the kid of today. They grow up much too soon.
Calcutta has it's share of cinemas houses which were always packed at the weekend - as young adults Saturdays at 9pm the highlight of the week where you were sure to meet the world and his wife. Of course, having booked tickets well in advance to get the choicest seats - normally the very last rows. We would get "togged up" in a new dress each week (wouldn't dream of wearing something old). The Lighthouse,the Metro (MGM) and the Elite were highest on the list, The Minevar though smaller in comparison was not a bad choice since you could rush across the road and get a karti-roll to scoff at the interval. The Globe improved considerable over the years which was refurbished to Cinemascope for the showing of "The Robe". The Tiger got the cast-off's from the Lighthouse and in my childhood days they played all the old western. I remember walking miles with a gang of friends to get the 3pm show on a Sunday afternoon. We would pay 10 annas (butta clouts as they were called) and take up the entire front row, what an enjoyable experience though in later years we wouldn't be seen "dead" in those seats having to sit with the rabble. AND as for the Regal, the flea ridden pit, it was absolutely the very last resort, you had to be desperate to see the movie playing there before you even thought about it. I think but I may be wrong, the Pearl on Dharamtolla St became the Joyti. Originally it showed only Indian movies but was then refurbished completely for Todd-AO and had the first screening of the musical of "South Pacific".
It is an era long long gone my friends and we are so much better off for the memories. One could go on and on....