Owned by Neeta Nihalani, wife of film director, Pahlaj Nihalani, the theatre now screens only Bhojpuri movies, priced at R 15/18. When we started, there were benches for seating and we have tried getting new furniture from time to time." A Parsi family, who later sold it to the Iqbals, started it.
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Says manager, Javed Qureshi, "Our seating capacity is 668 and tickets are priced at Rs 15 and 20. Started in 1930, the theatre has screened only reruns till date. The backstage gave way to the screen.” With a seating capacity of 600, it barely finds 50 viewers for a two-month old Bollywood movie. Says owner Suli Arya, “By 1930, most theatres in the area started showing movies. Started in 1911, the theatre originally screened documentaries. They would also distribute jaggery and grams to patrons.” Adds Vasava, “In 1974, when it screened Jai Santoshi Maa, women from the adjoining areas would come with a thaali and light diyas in front of the screen. Says manager Sanjay Vasava, “The owners are running it on a no-profit-no-loss basis, thereby making sure their 30 employees don’t lose their livelihoods.”Įdward plays old movies that won’t get a screen in other parts of the city. The theatre is named after King Edward who visited it in 1914.
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With ticket prices not crossing the Rs 25 mark, most of the patrons that frequent these erstwhile cinemas are daily wage labourers or beggars. Though the PVRs, Cinemaxes, and Adlabs rule cinema culture today, south Mumbai still houses some of the earliest known theatres of the city.Įstablished in the early 20th century, almost all of them are now dilapidated and screen only semi-porn, Bhojpuri or old Bollywood films.