|
In the 1920s a small hall
opposite the Nag Kota Pukhuri in the town’s Panbazararea became the center
of great attraction. Every evening a band party sat in front of the
pukhuri (pond) and played mellifluous tunes, while a tooter announced
from time to time, “Ahok, chabit sachal manuh sai jaok (Come, watch
moving men in pictures).” For the first time in the town a silent movie was
being screened, and history created.
|
The hall had a seating capacity for about sixty people, mostly on benches
and bamboo-rails. Of course there were a few chairs, but they were expensive
at twelve annas for a ticket. Tickets for benches on the other hand
sold for two annas, and one had to part with only an anna for
bamboo rails. The credit of bringing the movie machine – a 16 mm projector
and a 16 ft x 10 ft screen—to town went to an enterprising man called
Chittaranjan Sen.
Unfortunately for Sen, all grandiose plans of making a mark in the
entertainment business turned sour in the face of intense criticism from the
orthodox sections of society. Dejected and frustrated, Sen finally handed
over the business to Rafiqul Islam, then popularly known as Moina Mouzadar
of Lakhtokia.
|
|
The
hall was christened the Kamrup Cinema Company, although it was more
popularly known as Rajur Cinema. And this was not without reason
entirely, since it was a youth called Raju who single-handedly ran all the
shows; he
wasoperator-cum-technician-cum-manager-cum-ticket-seller-cum-whistle man.
The
so-called respectable people of the town assiduously avoided the hall, and
the audience at Rajur Cinema comprised mainly of steamer coolies,
laborers and cart-pullers. However old-timers admit that many students of
Collegiate School and Cotton College did sneak their way into the hall
whenever a matinee show was on.
|
|
In autumn of 1931 a change began to loom on the horizon. For weeks the town’s
residents had been witnessing a decorated bagi (horse-drawn cart)
and a rickshaw winding its way about town with a tooter announcing: “Chabit
sachal manuh etiya kotha koi, gaan gai, badya dhwanir saite nache. Ahok,
darshan karak aru prithibir astam ascharya sai jiwan sarthak karak. (Now
the moving man speaks, sings and dances to the beat of drums. Come and find
fulfillment by watching the eighth wonder of the world).” The intense
advertising campaign had its desired impact. When the “eighth wonder”
finally unfolded at Moina Mouzadar’s ‘Picture House’ in Kamarpatty --
a
godown that had been converted into a cinema hall with a stage -- it
was packed.
|
Some
time later Masoom Ali, a fortune hunter from Delhi, and a resident of
Kamarpatty bought the hall from Moina Mouzadar. Ali was a great entertainer
and to attract people he brought a theatrical party that performed dances,
mimicry and magic before the actual talkie was screened. But this was not to
last long.
The hall
changed hands again, and was renamed Sati Talkies. The first full-length
talkie that was screened in this hall was Rhishir Prem. Thereafter
classics like Harishchandra, Alam Ara and Joydev broke
records.
|
Late
Atul Chandra Banerjee who resided just opposite Sati Talkies was o later
recollect: “The talkies was no doubt a tin-roofed structure, but it did not
have a concrete floor. Benches and chairs were placed on the grassy ground
and mosquito bites was de riguer. It was also common for people to
smoke and spit around. Often the air became so thick with smoke that the
movie became a blur.”
The
first class in the hall consisted of wooden chair for which tickets were
fixed at 12 annas. In the second class tin chairs were provided and
tickets cost eight annas. Cinema lovers in the third class had to pay
four annas and sit on benches.
In the
wake of World War II, recession sprung its ugly head and the hall owner was
beset with financial problems. Two patrons of the arts, Bhuban Chandra
Chowdhury and Tilak Da, now came forward and bought the hall from Ali. They
renovated the hall by building a concrete floor and installing new machines.
The hall was renamed Bijulee Cinema and innovative advertisement techniques
were introduced. During festivals movies were shown on a big screen that was
put up just outside the hall, and until the year 1965 “Ek ticket
me double programme” (Two movies in one ticket) was another attraction. The
first movie that was screened in Bijulee Cinema was Jungle Prince, a
box-office hit. In the 1960s several Assamese movies were released to packed
house. And, of course, it was at this theatre that Raj Kapoor released his
mega movie Sangam in the year 1960.
|
|
|
