KG ROAD:Word has been going around that shows at single-screens Nartaki and Sapna will stop from April as their lease expires on March 31.
Shows are likely to go on at these two as well as another cinema, Santosh, for the next three months at least, lease-holders told City Express.
Arun Kumar, who holds the lease for Nartaki and Sapna, said, “I don’t know who is floating these rumours. How can one decide on the fate of the theatre just because the lease period comes to an end? Considering that Nartaki is one of the main theatres for Kannada films, a process has to be followed prior to shutting shop.”
Whether the theatres will continue running beyond three months depends on a court decision on the plea for the lease to be extended, said Ajay Pal, the lease-holder for Santosh.
“If an extension is given — we can’t be sure of it — then it could be for two or five years. If not, then it’s likely that the main theatre for Kannada films will become Prasanna, Pramod or Veeresh,” he added.
KG Road reality
Another theatre to get the axe is Kapali. With its demolition, the road will be left with Movieland, Menaka, Bhumika, Abhinay, Anupama, Tribhuvan and Kailash. However, producers are sentimental about Santosh and Nartaki.
Distributor K C N Kumar believes that although Kannada films will still find screens on KG Road if these single-screens shut down, other language films might bear the brunt.
He said, “Eight theatres have already been razed, and it looks like three more might come down. We have to screen our films at whatever theatres we find here. But this means that there may be no space for the Hindi and Telugu films that release here.”
He added that films with good content would find an audience, no matter which theatres they run in. “Even now, the Kannada film Om is doing well at Movieland, which usually has other language films. Mungaru Male ran for long in Parimala and Nataraj, and there are films that did not hit Santosh, Nartaki and Sagar at all that did well,” he said, adding that people will not watch bad films even on free passes.
Arun Kumar said the heavy traffic on KG Road is affecting businesses, and people are sceptical about keeping single screens going. “Since it has become a one-way with heavy traffic, there might not be enough parking space. So not many people may stop by here. Perhaps, the Metro can solve the problem,” he speculated.
Multiplexes in Majestic
KG Road was once considered the hub of single-screens, but it soon may become a centre for multiplexes.
According to Pal, a multiplex will come up soon at Sangam but another at Guptha Market will take longer. “There’s a plan of converting Kalpana into a multiplex, but that’s not confirmed yet,” he said, adding that the locality would soon get a facelift. If multiplexes take over, it will benefit films of all languages, Pal opined.
“Everybody will get a screen. It’s great for smaller films, which require a hall with 300 seats. As it is, in the 1,000-seaters, we are not able fill more than 200 seats. It is good for the industry, overall, if multiplexes come up.” With smaller halls, he hopes, every film will run housefull.
Next stop, Okalipuram
Will Okalipuram become the next destination for Kannada cinegoers? It seems that KG Road isn’t the only neighbourhood where multiplexes are mushrooming; according to Ajay Pal, 11-screen, four-screen and six-screen multiplexes are coming in Okalipuram too.
“Right now, Cinepolis is coming up at Binnypet, which will open two to three weeks from now. Kannada films will benefit from the multiplexes in this area because it is just behind the railway station. Many who head to the KG Road theatres come from here,” he said, calling Binnypet the next KG Road.
This way, what are considered the ‘main’ theatres by producers might become de-centralised, he added. “Today, collection at Veeresha and Prasanna is much higher than that at KG Road,” said Pal.