Curtains down on Vijayawada theatre

Vijayawada: Winds of change are gradually sweeping old cinema theatres, which had been the major and only sources of entertainment for the people of Vijayawada, away.

After cinema theatres like Maruthi, Radha, Vijaya, Sheesh Mahal, it is now the turn of Sitara to call it quits.

Sitara theatre was built in 1984 and it has had a successful streak stretching over two decades. The theatre has become a landmark since its inception and the area around it became famous as Sitara Centre. The theatre was in fact closed a year ago but everyone in the area hoped that it will be opened again, perhaps more number of screens.

B. Sandeep Reddy, the owner of Sitara theatre, told DC: “It was established during my grandfather’s time. Business was good for almost 20 years but after that we started losing money. So we gave the theatre on lease to Suresh Movies. The lease ended last year and they are not interested to renew it.”

He said that everyone in his family is settled in America and there is no one to look after the theatre. “So we have decided to shut it down for good,” Mr Reddy said.

Movie buffs, especially old timers, have a special bond with these theatres. Everyone gets nostalgic talking about them. “It was like a celebration when a NTR movie released. We used to go in bullock carts to watch him on the big screen. It used to be a day of fun,” said Veeramachineni Rama Rao, 70.

There are still some theatres like Rama Talkies and Durga Kala Mandir which appear to have been caught in a time warp. They show old classics even today.

These theatres have their own fan following, pulling reasonably good crowds. Most of the old timers visit these theatres.

“Those theatres which have successfully upgraded are still running but those with the old projectors and sound systems have lost their sheen,” said film producer Potluri Satyanarayana.