BENGALURU: On December 31, we won’t just be bidding goodbye to 2018, but also to the iconic Rex Cinema, which is shutting down for good. The property will be demolished to give way to a new mall with a multiplex by the Prestige Group. Kapur Investments Pvt Ltd, which owns Rex, says the design is ready, and that construction will begin early next year.
The theatre is over 80 years old, and despite the burgeoning multiplexes in the area, this lone single-screen remained unaffected. Anil Kapur, joint managing director, said, “It is for better utilisation of the property. The land is of one acre, with the auditorium occupying only a little space. Even if we refurbish it, it will involve major construction work and it doesn’t make any sense.”
He added that the plan was in the offing for long, even before other multiplexes came up, but legal issues delayed the process. The new mall will have four screens and restaurants with basement parking. “With single screens, you can expect 20 per cent occupancy, but with four screens, you can expect 15 to 20 per cent at each screen,” he said.
The old Nilgiris supermarket right next to the theatre, will be refurbished too, and occupy space within the same complex in the upcoming mall, he says. “Staff will be relocated to other theatres or be helped with jobs in other fields if they are interested,” he added.
Bought for Rs 8 lakh in 1960s
A staff member at the theatre, Michael Monteiro, has been working there for 40 years. He recalls only English films being screened at the theatre earlier. “Only after the other single-screens like Galaxy and Plaza shut down, did we start running films of other languages films. I remember, we used to put up a ‘sold out’ board every weekend. We would start advance booking around 10 am, but people would stand in queues from 8 am, as there was no facility for online booking then. We would keep issuing tickets without a break,” said the booking clerk. In the 80s, a ticket would cost Rs 2.35 for a regular seat, Rs 1.50 for front stall and around Rs 5 for balcony seats.
Prasad, deputy manager, has been working at Rex Cinema for over a decade. He said, “College students would come for morning shows. For night shows, mostly those with businesses on Brigade Road would come.”The theatre is running six shows every day now. “Unlike the olden times, there aren’t too many good films being made these days,” said Kapur.
“The theatre gets crowded only on weekends. Only 10 to 12 films a year attract large crowds on weekdays,” said Kapur, adding that he isn’t one to “hold on to fond memories”.
BM Nagaraj, the manager, told us that the theatre started running in the 1930s, and was earlier called Paul’s Rex Cinemas. “A public auction was held in 1962, and Nandlal Kapur, Anil’s great grandfather, got the place for around Rs 8 lakh. The first film we screened after taking over was Disney’s Sleeping Beauty,” he said.
Bengalureans say they are shocked and sad that one of the very few single screens left in the city is being razed. Most plan to catch a movie there for ‘old time’s sake’. Ashish Sen, theatre actor and director, said, “My wife and I have good memories at Rex. Even before we got married, we used to go watch movies there. We should definitely catch a film before it shuts down.”
Ashvin Mathew, actor and stand-up comedian, added, “I studied in a boarding school, and the school would take us there for shows. Rex has been a big part of my childhood. I shared the news of it shutting down with my friends across the world, and they were upset too.”
(With inputs from K Shriya Sharma)