IT'S A SLOW DAY in Delhi's Connaught Place (CP). The air heaves a scorching sigh, as nature casts away everything old, ushering in the new — season, flowers, leaves and sentiments. On the head of CP’s favourite landmark peep the letters R, E, A and L like lost gemstones on a tiara. The missing letter — G — has failed to withstand the test of time. But that matters less; given the heritage building is prepping up to walk into oblivion.
The end credits for Regal Theatre have started to roll. Come March 31, one of the oldest and probably the only remaining single screen movie theatre in CP will run its last ever show. Next change, it would come revamped a multiplex! Or so they say.
In this age of the multiplex, a single screen is démodé. And yet, here I was, with several other curious film enthusiasts, catching up on the recently-released, Anushka Sharma-starrer Phillauri. While some wished to cash in on the ridiculously-low ticket prices, the majority turned up to soak in the ‘single screen’ experience — probably one last time.
Inside the 85-year-old theatre, twin staircases lead up to a long hallway. Black and white portraits of yesteryear stars adorn the pale, yellow, desquamating walls. Another flight of stairs make way for the mezzanine floor, or the balcony. It reeks inside.
A man in plain clothes walks up with a torch. He holds the ticket against the light and directs people to the seat. In the absence of actual seat numbers and neon-lit floors, it’s hard not to stumble.
Typically, Regal runs vacant. But today, the balcony at least, has been mobbed. The busy usher runs hither and thither, manually leading people to their seats. He has not encountered so many cinema-goers in a long, long time. As one gently pushes the seat behind, it makes a painful sound.
The movie begins, but wait — what’s with the square screen? It’s not the size one is acclimatised to.
Why does the presentation seem odd, the picture grainy? The projection vent (it’s exactly that) is an opening in the wall, with jagged edges glowing faintly. In the absence of a proper acoustic system, the sound reverberates. Oscillating wall fans compensate for the air-conditioning, but drown the dialogues. Behind me, a gentleman huffs. “I cannot hear a thing,” he says.
It's interval already and the customary, low-priced popcorn tastes bland.
The movie nears its end. As both the lovers on screen are reunited in the afterlife, fervent claps are heard somewhere downstairs — in the archetypal single screen fashion. My heart breaks. For me, this is the end of an era.
“My wife and I came here to have the single-screen experience, probably one last time. This culture is dying, and we wanted to live the good old days, once again,” a visibly-excited elderly man, who does not wish to be named, says.
On the ground floor, a man mops away dispassionately. The black and white tiles gear up to welcome the next set of spectators. The next show starts in a few minutes. The man, along with several other employees, is going to lose his job in a few days.
“We know, these are our last few days here. What we do not know, is where we are going after this. The owners are settling our dues; they issued a notice telling us about the shut-down. The building is old, and so is the business. There was a delay in the receipt of NOCs for fire safety, otherwise we would have lost our jobs earlier. But, we all have to move now,” says Ravi Shukla, who has been working in the cafeteria for the last 35 years.
And while the oldest employee, accountant A S Verma — who has been working here since 1977 — closes all accounts, Regal continues to rake in the last collections, before the curtains come down forever. Until next time!
Comments
0 comment