Police allay fears over occupation of Puttana Theatre

BMP has a lead role in revival of theatre

The shifting of the Jayanagar Traffic Police Station to the theatre premises has raised fears among citizens, however, police say it is temporary as the present police station is under renovation.

Deccan Herald

The fortunes of Puttana Chitramandira located in the Jayanagar Shopping complex, and named after one of Kannada cinema’s stalwarts, have been fluctuating. It has seen more downs than ups in the 24 years of its existence.

Recently cinema enthusiasts from Jayanagar and its surrounding areas were appalled when they came to know that the Jayanagar Traffic Police Station has been “shifted” to the theatre premises.

The shifting has been done lock, stock and barrel. The quadrangle at the main entrance is now filled with seized vehicles on one side. On the other side, near the entrance to the basement, “No Parking” sign boards along with poles and iron barricades lie along the pavement and passage to the side entrance of the theatre.

However, Jayanagar Police Inspector Shankaraiah allayed all fears saying that the shift was only temporary (for about two months) as the present police station is under renovation with sponsorship from the GMR Group.

He said that the police station had been shifted to the theatre because it was conveniently located for the people, besides, the station had occupied only the passage of the theatre and not the entire theatre which is also in the process of being renovated.

The theatre is a skeleton of its former self. The basement is used for parking vehicles and there is also a canteen there.

For the theatre it has never been smooth sailing. With 857 seats, it was one of the most popular cinema houses when it commenced operations in 1980, and was leased to a private operator who named it ‘Poonam’ and screened films according to market demands. Operations, however, were wound up after a couple of years.

Lease agreement

According to sources, the State-owned Karnataka Film Industry Development Corporation (KFIDC) entered into a lease agreement to run the theatre from November 1985 on a (monthly) rent of Rs 24,000. Run on lease on a no-profit, no-loss basis, Puttanna Theatre, whose fate was intricately wedded to the fluctuating fortunes of the KFIDC, had to face the similar fate of its parent organisation whose closure was effected through a government order in November last.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to run the theatre with the hike in lease charges by the City Corporation which raised it from Rs 38,000 per month to Rs 72,000 per month. Consequently, the theatre, on its part, had to hike its exhibitor rentals from a nominal Rs 55,000 per week to Rs 65,000 per week as also the price of the tickets to the nearest higher rate. In May this year a decision was taken to close the theatre even as Koodavalli Chandrashekar’s ‘Poorvapara’ which enjoyed a successful stint at the theatre was bringing back serious cinema viewers.

Tenders

The fate of the theatre now rests with the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) which has undertaken to renovate the theatre. According to BMP sources, tenders for renovation work will be called through the Technical Consultancy Services of Karnataka (Tecsok). A detailed project report by experts is expected to be submitted soon.