It’s an unfortunate month for the cinema lovers of Kolkata. Curtains have come down on the iconic Elite cinema on SN Banerjee Road since 1 June.
Huge placards of blockbusters from Hollywood and Bollywood together like Gone with the Wind, Sound of Music and My Fair Lady as well as Sholay, Shahenshah, and the serpentine queues to buy tickets to see these films, are all now conspicuous by their absence.
Set up on 2 August 1940, Elite Cinema was once owned by the 20th Century Fox and famous photographic studio Bourne&Shepherd and had its share of silver screen legends like Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to name a few.
Bogged by the huge financial losses emanating from a sharp dip in ticket sales and the inability to cope with competition in the era of Internet and multiplexes, a closure notice was put up on the gates last month informing “permanent and irrevocable closure” with effect from 1 June.
Unlike a few years back when long queues could be seen in front of the cinema located in Esplanade, the area was deserted today with the gates locked and without any employee.
Mr Shambu Kumar Batabyal, manager, said that the auditorium has a total seating capacity of 1228 but for the past few months the occupancy ranged between one to two per cent. In such a situation, the owner found it best to close it down, he said.
All employees have been asked to collect their legal dues, said Mr Batabyal. He, however, did not say whether the single screen would be replaced by a multiplex or not.
According to locals, the bar of Elite Cinema attracted a lot of people and could have earned a good revenue but it too was closed down two months ago.
With its closure, Elite Cinema has joined the list of single screen halls namely Metro, Grace, Lighthouse, Ujjwala, Orient and Purna amidst the increasing attraction of multiplexes.
Director Goutam Ghosh termed it to be an unfortunate event. “In the past, several popular movies were screened here. In the era of neo capital market, money is the most important thing and heritage takes a back seat. According to norm, when one hall closes another has to be set up. But nothing such happens,” said Ghosh.