Single screen theatres struggle for survival as multiplexes thrive in Mangaluru

Sumedha V & Shivani Rao
September 5, 2017

Since the advent of multiplexes there has been a paradigm shift of cinemagoers, thereby decreasing the crowd at single screen talkies. “We do not see college students rushing into theatres the way they did before. We do not have luxurious facilities that multiplexes provide and hence cannot attract the youth these days. Having a single screen is another limitation,” says Ravi Shankar Rai the manager of Jyothi talkies. 

One among the oldest surviving landmarks happens to be Jyothi Talkies. Beginning under the franchise of Karnataka Theatres ltd (KTL), in 1946 Jyothi Talkies became a hub for leisure and family time. Other talkies started under KTL, in Udupi, Kasargod and Karkala have now been closed down leaving this the only surviving one. It has even made its name to platforms like ‘BookMyShow’. Located in one of the most popular areas of the city, Jyothi has given its name to the bus-stop near it.  

“There were times when people used to crowd near the gates whenever movies starring popular Sandalwood actors like Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan used to be screened. Tickets used to even get sold in black. It isn’t the same anymore. The audience now depends upon the movie and ticket prices,” said Ramanath Bhandary, the part-time manager. Even if Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam and few famous English and Hindi movies are screened, those that gain a full house are usually Tulu and Kannada movies, he said. “Some movies are popularly demanded by the audience. We had to screen Ondu Motteya Kathe again on demand most recently,” he added. Ravi Shankar said that there was a proposal to convert the theatre into a multiplex. In order to keep the name alive it is planned not to re-christen it.

Other cinemas in Mangaluru, like Roopavani and Ramakanthi are also not doing very well. Ramakanthi was started in 1952 as one among the partnership businesses, along with the New Chitra talkies (then Hindustan talkies) and Central talkies (then Krishna talkies). “Back in the day, when we screened movies like The Ten Commandments and Maine Pyar Kiya, every show was houseful. In fact, Maine Pyar Kiya saw a historical record in our collection. Now we are struggling to survive. There is no use in any further investment on renovation or getting better technology. There is no competing with multiplexes,” said the manager of Ramakanthi for the last 30 years, R Vasanth Rao. The last English film the talkies screened was Titanic, as people don’t watch English movies here, he said. He added that now people come to watch only movies of Darshan and Sudeep, and that Kannada and Tulu movies run for 2-3 weeks sometimes. 

Now most of the audience of all these talkies comprise of labour class and those who cannot afford multiplexes. The coming of GST has proved to be yet another botheration to talkies. 18% tax on movie tickets (costing less than Rs. 100) means the costs have to go higher, which means they could lose more audience. 

Although the transition has taken place from reels to digitalisation, they still do not have facilities like 2K, 4K and 3D. The theatres feature wood-wool covered ceilings and walls for sound proofing, this in no way compares to modern sound systems of multiplexes. Not just this, the buildings are also very old and lack the glamorous look of malls.

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News Network
January 11,2020

Mysuru, Jan 11: Accusing the Congress and other opposition parties of pursuing “vote bank politics” on the Citizenship (Amendment ) Act (CAA), Kannada littérateur and Saraswathi Samman awardee S L Byrappa accused the party of misleading the people on the issue.

Speaking to media persons here on Friday, Mr Bhyrappa said that Congress was adopting the divide and rule policy of the British, who had created a rift between the Hindus and the Muslims to break their unity during the freedom struggle.

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News Network
March 24,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 24: Seven people were arrested on Tuesday for violating prohibitory orders imposed under Section 144 of CrPC in Mangaluru during the lockdown in Karnataka, Commissioner of Police PS Harsha said.
Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday had announced a complete lockdown in the state till April 1.
"In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the entire state will be locked down from 12 am of March 23 to April 1. People are requested to strictly follow it to contain the coronavirus spread," he said.
Earlier, the state government had ordered the suspending of all public and private transport services.
According to the data compiled by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of the infection-related death toll in the country rose to nine on Tuesday, while the total number of active cases reached 482.

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News Network
July 13,2020

Bengaluru, July 13: The results of the recently concluded II PUC examinations in Karnataka will be announced tomorrow, Tuesday, July 14, at 11:30 am.

The results, according to Primary and Secondary Education minister S Suresh Kumar, will be sent in the form of SMS-es to the registered mobile numbers of the students by 11:30 am.

Over 6.5 lakh students had appeared for the II PUC exams. 

Even though examinations for most of the subjects was completed in March, students had to wait close to three months, due to nationwide lockdown, to appear for the last exam -- for English -- which was held on 18th June.

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