KOLKATA: Malancha, the prominent south Kolkata theatre, is now up for sale. The seats and the projector have already been sold. The owners are now in talks with buyers who are either realtors or associated with retail chains to sell off the theatre along with the adjoining four-storey building. Records state that Malancha had opened its doors on October 26, 1979, with a Bengali mythological movie.
Old-timers remember the screening of Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Sharaabi’ and ‘Akhree Rasta’ at the theatre. Uttam Kumar’s ‘Ogo Bodhu Sundari’ too had done well there. Subsequently, other Hindi films including ‘Mohabbatein’ and ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ drew a good crowd.
It was among the four single screens, including Mahua, Bunty and Madhuban, that drew a lot of viewers in the stretch between Garia and Tollygunge. All of them shut down some years back. The first to close was Bunty. Madhudan and Mahua followed. In early 2000, Malancha was shut for a year due to renovation work. After running Kamal Haasan’s ‘Vishwaroopam 2’, it closed down on August 15, 2018, only to reopen on August 31. The cinema shut down for good in November that year.
Survival of single screens has been a big challenge for Tollywood. There were some 18 single screens in Kolkata that had kept their doors open before the government stalled exhibition this year due to the pandemic. According to Mausumi Guha Roy, who is a co-owner of the cinema, “My father, Subodh Roy Chowdhury, was the founder of the cinema. He died in 2010. My mother passed away three months later. My sister and I had wanted to keep the cinema running. We tried a lot to do so but were forced to close it in 2018 since we didn’t get the necessary cooperation. Since the cinema has been shut for long, both my sister and I have agreed with our uncle to sell it off.”
Her uncle, Amar Roy Chowdhury, who is another co-owner, attributed the low footfall as one of the prime reasons for shutting down the theatre. “With limited visitors, running the theatre was not commercially viable. We will not give it out on lease but sell it outright. Negotiations are on with buyers,” Roy Chowdhury said.
Apart from the cinema hall, the premises also has a four storey-building adjacent to it. “The total area measures 18 cottahs and 10 chattaks. The building adjacent to the cinema houses two banks and another office. There are a few shops too. The entire property will be sold off,” he added. On being asked if there is a chance of a new buyer reopening it as a cinema hall, he said, “The structure remains. But the seats, speakers and the projector have already been sold off. The buyer will take a call on what to do with the property,” he added.
