- News
- Ghost Images
This story is from November 19, 2006
Ghost Images
Many of Mumbai"s Grant Road theatres were built around dargahs. Even today, moviegoers can pop in for a quick prayer, before catching the latest C-grade movie or Mithun Chakravarty rerun.
Shahid Datawala has spent a long time waiting for felicitous moments, and it shows.
'Dress Circle", his exhibition of black-and-white photographs taken in and around Delhi"s old-world cinema theatres (now showing at the NCPA, Mumbai, as part of photography initiative Tasveer), often catches an instant in which spontaneity provides the final touch for the story.
In one, a respectable-looking, suited businessman with a neat white beard walks oblivious past a hand-painted film poster depicting a busty woman. The cinema sign in neon, Regal, provides the picture"s title: 'Regal Man".
The exhibition comments on the near-forgotten glory of these old theatres, some of which, as with many of Mumbai"s cinemas in the Grant Road area, began life in the 19th century and early 20th century as playhouses where live theatre was staged.
Several of his photographs use the device of a slow exposure with the camera mounted on a tripod, so that ghostly, blurred figures are seen as though fading through elegant Art Deco corridors. One picture of a staircase towards the dress circle speaks eloquently of the crowds that used to rush up to their seats.
In Mumbai, many of the older cinemas were originally theatres that staged the once fabulously popular Parsi melodramas (one of the most popular, says film historian Feroze Rangoonwala, was called Baap Nu Shraap-the curtain fell on the shocking last scene in which a father cursed his son).
Parsi plays, in their turn, were Gujarati adaptations of Victorian melodramas originally staged with elaborate scenery and music in London. History repeats itself, for Hindi films also took their starting point from the Parsi theatre.
Another layer comes with the presence, in many of the Grant Road cinemas, of small dargahs or 'nazars" (saints" tombs) within the theatres.
These predated the theatres, which had to be built around them. Moviegoers today can still pop in for a quick prayer to the dargah, before catching a C-grade movie or a 1980s Mithun Chakravarty rerun.
The 32-year-old Datawala, who grew up in Kolkata and left home after leaving school to work in Delhi doing various jobs that led him to design and photography, says he has "two lives"". One is as a designer of thoroughly contemporary furniture.
That is his bread-and-butter occupation; the jam comes with the photography. He plans, in the next five years, to work on the old cinemas of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and, with the Delhi photos, compile a book on the subject.
'Dress Circle", his exhibition of black-and-white photographs taken in and around Delhi"s old-world cinema theatres (now showing at the NCPA, Mumbai, as part of photography initiative Tasveer), often catches an instant in which spontaneity provides the final touch for the story.
In one, a respectable-looking, suited businessman with a neat white beard walks oblivious past a hand-painted film poster depicting a busty woman. The cinema sign in neon, Regal, provides the picture"s title: 'Regal Man".
The exhibition comments on the near-forgotten glory of these old theatres, some of which, as with many of Mumbai"s cinemas in the Grant Road area, began life in the 19th century and early 20th century as playhouses where live theatre was staged.
(The Grant Road area in Mumbai consequently bears another name: Pilahaus, from 'playhouse".) Datawala, who has worked as a freelance photographer from 1995 onwards, has a strong sympathy for these theatres, in which the ghosts of former grandeur flit past.
Several of his photographs use the device of a slow exposure with the camera mounted on a tripod, so that ghostly, blurred figures are seen as though fading through elegant Art Deco corridors. One picture of a staircase towards the dress circle speaks eloquently of the crowds that used to rush up to their seats.
In Mumbai, many of the older cinemas were originally theatres that staged the once fabulously popular Parsi melodramas (one of the most popular, says film historian Feroze Rangoonwala, was called Baap Nu Shraap-the curtain fell on the shocking last scene in which a father cursed his son).
Parsi plays, in their turn, were Gujarati adaptations of Victorian melodramas originally staged with elaborate scenery and music in London. History repeats itself, for Hindi films also took their starting point from the Parsi theatre.
Another layer comes with the presence, in many of the Grant Road cinemas, of small dargahs or 'nazars" (saints" tombs) within the theatres.
These predated the theatres, which had to be built around them. Moviegoers today can still pop in for a quick prayer to the dargah, before catching a C-grade movie or a 1980s Mithun Chakravarty rerun.
The 32-year-old Datawala, who grew up in Kolkata and left home after leaving school to work in Delhi doing various jobs that led him to design and photography, says he has "two lives"". One is as a designer of thoroughly contemporary furniture.
That is his bread-and-butter occupation; the jam comes with the photography. He plans, in the next five years, to work on the old cinemas of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and, with the Delhi photos, compile a book on the subject.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Hot Picks
TOP TRENDING
Trending Stories
In Section
Entire Website
- Breathtaking cosmic catwalk! SpaceX makes history with first-ever private spacewalk
- 2 Army officers thrashed, their female friend gang-raped in Madhya Pradesh
- Bangladesh announce Test squad for India tour
- Top fastest trains in the world: From China's CR Harmony to Germany's ICE
- Amid Shannon Sharpe Viral Video, Former ESPN Host Michelle Beadle Reacts Claiming It Was Not Her
- Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme expanded to cover elderly above 70
- 'Will be demolished if... ': Himachal minister's assurance amid Shimla mosque row
- Mumbai's Haji Ali and Mahim dargahs cancel Eid shamiana
- Garena Free Fire MAX redeem codes for September 11, 2024: Win free room cards, skins, diamonds, pet skins, and more rewards today
- GK for students: Top 8 Largest Mammals in the World
- Bulldozer justice like bulldozing laws of land: Supreme Court
- No ‘Padmar ilish’ in Kolkata this Puja as B’desh stops Hasina’s ‘hilsa diplomacy’
- Why you should not be fooled by ‘20-year SIP crorepati’ dream
- India, China to work urgently for disengagement in Ladakh
- Virat & Rohit's successors: India cricketer picks these two 'special players'
- Pakistan stand-off over cops seeking army exit from restive province drags on
- Your cousin’s poo can now cure your chronic stomach problems
- Planning to buy iPhone 16? How much Apple will give for iPhone 12 & others
- Karthik predicts India's dominance despite B'desh's success against Pak
- Govt to develop Mausam GPT in 5 years to share weather information
Popular Categories
Hot on the Web
Top Trends
Trending Topics
Alia BhattMalaika Arora Father DeathArbaaz KhanNatasa StankovicMr Bachchan OTT ReleaseNational Parks In IndiaSelena GomezGOAT CollectionVikas Sethi DeathMalayalam ProducersIndia's Best Dancer 4Simi GarewalDilli BabuIndian National ParksLaung BenefitsVikas SethiiPhone 16Microsoft 365 OutageCsir Ugc Net 2024Wordle Answer
Living and entertainment
Latest News
India successfully flight tests surface-to-air missileFintech Moneyview turns unicorn, 6th one this yearDigest this: Unhealthy gut may be linked to Parkinson’s diseaseCSIR UGC NET 2024 result declared: Steps to download scorecards at csirnet.nta.ac.inWhat are lucid dreams? Exploring the science, benefits, and techniquesWho was Illia 'Golem' Yefimchyk, the Belarusian bodybuilder who consumed 2.5 kg of meat and 108 sushi pieces daily before his death at 36?Vijay Varma reveals he was DROPPED from 'Sacred Games' at the last minuteWWE Star Discusses Why Sid Vicious Deserves a Hall of Fame SpotFriendly nations helped Pakistan meet IMF bailout conditions, says PM Shehbaz SharifCatching up with sports stars in DelhiSalman Khan surrounded by bodyguards as he arrives at Malaika Arora's mother's house to offer his condolences - WATCHCMF Buds Pro 2 by Nothing review: Big delivery on a budgetMallika Sherawat makes big screen comeback in Rajkummar Rao's 'Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video'; director reveals why he cast herArbaaz Khan spotted outside Malaika Arora's house along with police after the tragic news of her father's demise by alleged suicide - WATCH VIDEOHarvey Weinstein charged with additional crimes during hearing on rape chargesMitchell Schwartz's Cryptic Tweet Stirs Debate About Mahomes' ContractSiddhant Chaturvedi reveals he rejected Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan starrer Brahmastra after father’s advice: 'He asked me, ‘Tujhe kaun dekhega?''EcoR unloads 100 million tons of goods in just 160 days
Copyright © 2024 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service