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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coastaldigest.com news network
June 21,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 21: As many as 453 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Sunday including 196 in Bengaluru alone, taking the total number of infections in Karnataka to 9,150, the Health Department said.

Five more deaths took the toll due to COVID-19 in the state to 137, a bulletin issued by the department said.

An assistant sub-inspector posted in a traffic police station died due to coronavirus on Saturday night taking the number of policemen succumbing to the contagion to three, police said.

The entire police station has been sealed for sanitisation and 25 people including five primary contacts of the deceased have been quarantined at the designated hospitals.

The total number of COVID-19 cases include 5,618 discharges, 3,391 active cases, 137 deaths, four deaths due to non-COVID causes and 77 patients admitted in Intensive Care Units.

The 196 cases confirmed in Bengaluru today is the highest single-day spike ever since the outbreak of the pandemic.

With 64 deaths so far, the city's share in the total fatalities in the state due to COVID is 47 per cent.

The five deaths reported on Sunday included three in Bengaluru.

"Yes. It is a major single day spike in Bengaluru," a health department official told P T I.

Of the total cases reported in Bengaluru, 101 are Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and 68 are those whose contact tracing is underway.

Apart from 196 in Bengaluru, 40 cases were reported in Ballari, 39 cases each in Kalaburagi and Vijayapura, 18 each in Mysuru and Gadag, 15 in Dharwad, 14 in Bagalkote, 13 in Bidar, eight each in Davangere, Uttara Kannada and Kolar.

The five deaths reported on Sunday consisted of four men and a woman.

In view of the rising cases in Bengaluru, the Chief Secretary on Saturday formed three teams.

According to an order, Principal Secretary in Cooperative department Tushar Girinath will head the team that will ensure shifting the patients from their houses or the institutional quarantine facilities to the designated hospital.

The second team headed by the Karnataka Public Service Commission secretary G Sathyavathi will monitor the containment zone and carry out extensive surveys of people with COVID-19.

The third team is headed by Karnataka State Mineral Development Corporation managing director Naveen Raj Singh and Additional Commissioner of police Hemant Nimbalkar who will ensure social distancing at public places.

These three teams will have senior bureaucrats and top police officers as members.

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News Network
June 12,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 12: A pregnant woman who returned from Maharashtra and tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, gave birth to a child at the Wenlock COVID-19 hospital in Mangaluru. After she experienced labour pain, a team of expert doctors performed the delivery through the caesarean section on Thursday.

Both the woman and the new born are safe, hospital sources said. The woman, who belongs to Kinnigoli in Dakshina Kannada district, had arrived in the city on Monday. She was in an advanced stage of pregnancy and was taken to another hospital the next day after she complained of weakness.

As she came from Maharashtra, she was shifted to a separate ward at the Wenlock hospital and quarantined. Her throat swab samples tested positive on Wednesday. A COVID-19 test will be done on the baby after a few days, district health officer Ramachandra Bairy said.

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News Network
July 8,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 8: 15 police personnel from Bangalore's Whitefield division tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Out of these, 12 are from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) police station, sources said.

A total of 27 police staff of the Whitefield division have tested positive so far and five have been discharged. The HAL police station closed on June 27 after one police staff tested COVID positive. All personnel of the police station were tested in the following days and 12 tests returned positive.

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