Lake Town: Jaya fire one more blow to city single-screen theatres

KOLKATA: The late-night fire at Jaya Cinema in Lake Town came as a body blow to single-screens in the city that are collectively struggling to stay afloat. Owner Manik Banik, who is bogged down by the worry of the huge losses he has suffered, is even more concerned about single-screen theatres standing the test of times.
With cinemas being shut now as part of Covid-safety restrictions, no show was on and so, a bigger tragedy could be avoided as the fire broke out at Mini Jaya, located on the upper floor of the building.“Everything inside the 442-seater Mini Jaya has been gutted. Only the structure remains. I think my 774-seater Jaya has been spared,” Banik said. The heat inside was “unbearable” and Banik is yet to find the extent of damage. “Our caretaker’s wife has sustained burns. She is under observation at a hospital,” he said.

Earlier on Friday, Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) had written to the chief minister, urging her to consider opening of cinemas. The letter, signed by EIMPA president Piya Sengupta, highlighted the plight of more than a lakh workers, including cinema operators, ushers, lightmen, caretakers, gatekeepers, booking clerks, electricians and sweepers. “Ticket printers, banner artists, poster men are facing huge financial crisis. Just like parlours and gyms, we want the cinemas to reopen, too,” Sengupta said.
Six months ago, Joydeep Mukherjee, who has the lease for Star Theatres, surrendered his lease for another hall — Krishti cinema—to the Memari municipality. “I still want the cinemas to reopen. The day we are allowed to, I will keep Star and Kalyani’s Vidyasagar Mancha open, irrespective of the business they do,” he said.
However, not every person associated with the cine-world in Bengal believes reopening now is the correct step forward. Unlike tourism, Bengal’s exhibition industry did not recover during reopening last year due to low footfalls and absence of Bollywood content. Some exhibitors, who had initially lobbied for saving cinemas by reopening, themselves dilly-dallied to open their doors when the government issued orders.
Sengupta has been flooded with calls from hall owners from the suburbs. “If the halls open, they will be able to earn Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 by playing old movies. When we think of the exhibition industry, we have to consider their plight as well,” she said.
A section, however, still believes in exercising caution. Banik said, “If halls reopen now, those in the suburbs can survive by playing repeat films. But cinemas in Kolkata, including mine, can’t operate unless there is a steady flow of Bollywood content. Only South cinemas can sustain by completely banking on regional content.” Arun Mehra of Bengal Properties Pvt Ltd that runs Paradise is not part of the movement to reopen cinemas now. “We didn’t reopen last year. Some others did and they shut down again. We are not planning to do that. We are being cautious about reopening,” he said. Priya Entertainment has also surrendered the lease of Netaji Subhash Sadan in Baidyabati to the government.