It’s curtains for Naga Theatre

It’s curtains for Naga Theatre
The Times of India

Bangalore: Yet another cinema theatre in the city will be closed. Naga Theatre on St John’s Road, which for over 30 years screened Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada blockbusters, will no longer entertain movie buffs.
Owners of the theatre which screened movies such as Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna in the recent months have sold the property to a New Delhi-based group. A star hotel is expected to come up on this property measuring around 37,500 square feet located closer to upmarket Commercial street, M G Road and Ulsoor Lake.
The last show was a Telugu movie Stalin starring Chiranjeevi on Monday. With this, Naga joins the list of over 50 theatres which closed down in the city over the last few years. The trend of closing a theatre and putting up a commercial activity started with Alankar theatre (where Alankar Plaza has come up next to Santhosh theatre) on K G Road in Majestic area in the 1980’s.
Naga was built in 1975 by Purushottam, an industrialist, and managed by his children after his death. It was the second biggest theatre in the city with 1,200 seats, next only to Kapali in Majestic area. It used to be the biggest theatre in Cantonment area.
“It was a decent option for the people who lived in eastern parts of the city to watch a new movie. An entire family could drive to this theatre,’’ a movie buff said expressing his disappointment over the closure of the theatre. Naga always screened hit movies in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada unlike several other theatres which restricted movies to a particular language, he added.
At one point of time, the city had over 150 theatres and the number has dwindled to around 80 today. “Running a theatre is no more a profitable business, overhead costs are high. It is better to demolish the theatre and construct a commercial complex which gives more rent in a hassle-free manner,’’ a theatre owner explained the economics involve in running the business.
The days of theatres having a single screen are numbered. Places with multiple screens (like PVR, INOX and Innovative Multiplex) shopping malls, fun and dining alone can survive, he added.
LIST OF SOME THEATRES CLOSED IN THE CITY
Plaza, Galaxy, Puttanna, Lido, K a l p a n a , Alankar, Himalaya, Swagat, Kempe Gowda, New Opera, Sangam, Prabhat, Imperial, Geethanjali, Shanthi, Minerva, Bharat and Central.