Next change

Next change
Our favourite Rex is all set to become a multiplex. Here’s the original story before the remake comes about
MANASI PARESH KUMAR


It’s best you don’t label Anil Kapur a theatre owner or else prepare for a polite rebuke. “I don’t own a theatre, I own a cinema,” he clarifies. It is no surprise that Anil insists on the distinction. As the joint director of Rex, he should know. To Bangaloreans, Rex has been a symbol of many of things. Hip movies, cool hangout
and great popcorn. It has also stood up against the might of the multiplexes and managed to retain its place as among the most loved, single screen cinema houses in the city.
So it comes as a shock when Anil informs that Rex too is going the multiplex way. “It was only a matter of time that the decision had to be taken. Rex could not have stood forever as a single screen cinema. Business requirements dictate that we go the multiplex route.” Then is the city set to lose another landmark? Anil is quick to reassure, “Of course not. Rex is much bigger than all of us to even think of that option. I could never take away a landmark from the city. The only thing that will change is the architecture and the number of screens. Even the new building will have a colonial feel to it to revive the old world charm that was so a part of Bangalore. History should always be celebrated,” he says. “I have all the NOCs in place. But it is not a good time for the market for the change. Though it will happen sooner than later.”
Rex was built during World War II by an English man named Paul. “The cinema was originally called as ‘The Paul’s Rex’ and my great-grand father Rai Bahadur Nand Lal Kapur bought it at an auction in 1963,” says Anil. The movie house originally had two screens. “Besides one that still exists, the other screen was where we now have the dosa stalls. When my father and uncle took over in the ‘60s, they made it into a single screen.” That makes Rex the first multiplex in the city.
But what Anil remembers the most of about Rex is a really a naughty boy’s story. “Before air conditioning came about, Rex used a blower system to maintain cooler temperatures in the hall. So each row of seats had a ventilator on the ground below which ran a fan and there was a huge water tank. When the audience entered the hall for a movie, the fan would be switched on and it would create a strong gust of cool wind. There were a number of Anglo-Indian ladies who came to watch shows here and who favoured wearing skirts. So
when the fan went on, there would be a number of Marilyn Monroes in the crowd that certainly kept my uncle and Dad entertained,”
Though famous for screening master pieces from the west, Rex was also the first to go multilingual. “We have screened Hindi, English and Tamil movies. Very few people know that we screened the Malayalam movie Chattakari and that it enjoyed a silver jubilee run at the cinema. The Hindi version of that was the famous Julie,” he says.
Anil bunked school and tuitions to watch movies. “Since I did not want Dad or uncle to catch me, I’d watch movies from the projector room on a high stool. The Great Escape is an all time favourite.”
SCRIPT ALTERS
But the movies weren’t fun always. At least not the business about them. “When our family got into the business, there were no other forms of entertainment. Then television happened and more importantly, colour television happened. That is when the cinemas faced a real problem. What helped them bounce back were the private channels with film-based shows. “No matter what the argument, the fact remains that you cannot get cheaper entertainment than cinema.” Not if it’s Rs 90 for a popcorn and a soft drink and Rs 150 to 500 for a ticket. “I wouldn’t pay that much because I don’t believe in wasting money. But look at it this way. If you go to a restaurant or a bowling alley or even a coffee shop, you end up spending more than that. A cinema has to also provide you with other facilities which do not come cheap at all,” he argues.
With a view to the city like none other, Anil has been witness to several changes Bangalore has been through. “The audience is certainly more discerning than before, thanks to globalisation. Also, it is easier to get movies to screen today because the distributors don’t have renew their licenses and you can directly source them from the studios. Thanks to multiplexes, audience are also coming back in larger numbers,” says Anil before he turns a tad wistful about the Bangalore that used to be.
SILENT MOVIES
“I come from an era when language was not a matter of fanaticism and you were not an outcast because you spoke English or Hindi. Our ancestral home at Vittal Mallya Road allowed me a view till almost Cash Pharmacy on one end and Haji Circle on the other. I could cycle in the middle of St Mark’s Road when the footpaths were bigger than road itself. You know it was designed on the lines of the Oxford Street in London where only about two cars could ply at one time.
“Till 1980, buses were not allowed on St Mark’s Road because it was a residential area. I think the city has forgotten the concept of a peaceful residential area. I, for one, can’t wait to get away from that house because of all the noise now,” says Anil. “When I am travelling outside India, I introduce myself as a Bangalorean and not an Indian. That is how proud I am of the city.”
END CREDITS

• We have had many dignitaries enjoy movies at Rex. At one point even Governor Dhamarveer dropped by for a movie in the 1960s. I remember it very well because Dad wore a suit to office that day to receive him.

• We were the first to present a proposal for a multiplex in the city about 15 years ago. But the then government did not respond because there were no rules in place.

• We ran three theatres in Bangalore at one point of time, The Imperial on Residency Road, Symphony and Rex.While Imperial was torn down, the government revised rules about Symphony.

• Rex was the first theatre in South India to introduce DTS sound.
I LOVE BANGALORE BECAUSE ...

There are many reasons to love the city. The weather is good, the people are cosmopolitan. Here you meet people from across the nation and this city is very friendly
— SHUVA MANDAL,
MANAGING PARTNER SOUTH INDIA,
FOX MANDAL LITTLE


Bangalore is a global destination. It’s a land of opportunities and there are many developments that have put the city on the global map. Today, it is rubbing shoulders with cities like New York and Hong Kong
—ASHISH JOHN,
ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER,
FITNESSONE


I love Bangalore because my favourite place in the world is just two and a half hours away. That favourite place is a rock on the Cauvery river. Other than this, the city has developed fantastically. There are pockets expressing old history of Bangalore life. The charm of old Bangalore lives on with the buzz of new India seeping in
— SANJOY GUPTA,
DIRECTOR SOUTH,
EURO RSCG ADVERTISING


ANIL KAPUR WITH A WAX MODEL OF AUDREY HEPBURN