Delhi Diary: Single-Screen Cinemas Face Demise As Multiplexes Rise In India

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, April 4 (Bernama) -- There was no surprise but nostalgia when Delhi's landmark Regal cinema in the Connaught Place area announced its closure last week. The single-screen cinema was struggling for business as multiplexes have become more popular with moviegoers in India's changing entertainment landscape. Because of the variety of shows and amenities they offer, multi-screen venues, mostly located in modern shopping malls, have taken away audiences from single-screen, independent cinema halls across all mega cities in the nation known for its obsession with movies and film stars. Thousands of old cinema halls have closed in the past decade, unable to compete in the new demanding market in which affluent Indians seek fashionable and technologically superior movie experience. In Delhi itself, at least a dozen such cinemas have gone out of business in two years. It is similar in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood, and in Kolkata. Their woes are compounded by advances in digital home entertainment systems. In the pre-Internet days, new Bollywood releases used to be welcomed at single-screen halls with much fanfare. Old cinema halls in big cities are increasingly dependent on lower income groups to keep the show going. Their business suffered a heavy blow late last year when the Indian government banned two high-denomination currency notes, rendering about 85 percent value of all currency in circulation as invalid. The cash crunch caused by the delay in replacement currency notes left many single screen cinemas barely functioning as their customers lacked enough cash for discretionary spending. It's not surprising that Regal, located in the heart of Delhi's main British-era shopping district, has shut down and may open as a multiplex site in the future. The news was greeted with much nostalgia, not only by those who grew up watching movies at Regal but also by Bollywood stars. For more than 80 years, Regal served as a landmark and became part of Delhi's heritage. "I feel sad. My first date during my college days was at the Regal cinema and I vividly remember that the theatre used to have this royal feel to it, with different boxes. There used to be boxes for six people and four people and we had taken the one for four of us. The theatre’s royal feeling will never be forgotten," film actor Shakti Kapoor said in comments reported in the local media. Former Bollywood super star Rishi Kapoor said in a tweet: "Demolish. Adios Regal Theatre, Delhi. A place where all the Kapoor's theatre and cinema work was seen. Had "Bobby" premiered there too! Thank you!" Zofeen Maqsood, a senior journalist who used to cover India's entertainment industry for a leading newspaper, said that generations of Delhi residents have fond memories of Regal as it attracted families and young people. "I am going to miss the memories of the place, spanning decades. I would have loved to go there for nostalgia," she said. Delhi is likely to see more closures of single-screen cinemas in the coming months and years, but it's unlikely they would get a Regal farewell. -- BERNAMA