BENGALURU : Siddlingeswara Theatre
Run by the third-generation owners now, this theatre has seen many popular Kannada actors, including Challenging Star Darshan and Hatrick hero Shivarajkumar, watching films with the audience. Started in the year 1983 by now 94-year-old Shivanna, the theatre in JP Nagar went through an upgrade in 2017. Lohit U remembers his grandfather’s stories about massive crowds who would gather outside the theatre to get a glimpse of their favourite actors.
“I was very young then, but I remember my grandfather mentioning that Dr Vishnuvardhan’s Halunda Thavaru was screened in the theatre for around 175 days.” He goes on to add, “Now, we play movies of all south Indian languages, but primarily Kannada. Sometimes we play popular English movies too. Currently, we are playing three shows of Termitor:
Dark fate, two of them are dubbed versions.
Uma Theatre
One foot into Uma theatre in Chamrajpet and you are sure to be teleported to the 70s, with colourful, larger-than-life movie hoardings that will will greet you. This theatre, which came into existence in 1972, has seen the screening of Kannada movies such as Anand (1986), and Amrithadhare(2005) which ran for 25 weeks. S Janardhan, manager of the theatre, recalls the fanfare that accompanied yesteryear actor Rajkumar who frequented the theatre. In fact, it continues to this day when the Rajkumar clan troops in during releases.
“During major releases, quarrels used to frequently break out between people for breaching queues,” says Janardhan who started working at Uma theatre three weeks after it started off. During the initial days, the balcony seats were priced at `2.30, middle rows at `1.75 and ‘Gandhi class seats’ at 0.75 paise. Sixty-six-year-old Janardhan tells us the theatre would have had a different fate with the lease of the building having come to a close in 2016. But thanks to a long-running court case, the building is still untouched. The theatre primarily shows Kannada movies but sometimes also Telugu ones.
Lavanya Theatre
One of the oldest theatres in Bengaluru, Lavanya Theatre on St John’s Road has been a favourite among those living in the Cantonment area. Now, temporarily closed for renovation, Lavanya theatre has been in currency since 1969. Ramnath, theatre manager, says it’s not the first renovation that the theatre is going through. “We are going to remain a single screen theatre, but want to keep with the times and renovate it to advanced technologies,” says Ramnath.Along with Kannada movies, the theatre used to play Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English movies. During its hayday, some Hindi and Tamil movies saw a 25-week run. The owners are still finalising the extent of renovation, but promise it will wear a brand new look soon.
Sampige Theatre
Situated in Malleswaram, Sampige theatre was constructed in 1973. Around one-and-half years ago, the theatre underwent renovation. It has seen many visiting actors but no event is close to actor Rajinikanth’s visit. Ramesh NV, one of the partners who owns the theatre, says, “These days movies run for not more than two-three weeks. There was a time when Sampige used to be house full with one Kannada movie which used to run for three-six months.”
The 57-year-old fondly remembers the release of Nammoora Mandara Hoove in 1997, which saw a 100-day run. While they only played Kannada movies, owing to popular demand, Tamil movies are also screened now. Despite stiff competition from multiplexes, the owners claim they have got their own set of loyal patrons.
Santosh Theatre
At any time of year, Santosh theatre is always decked for major movie releases. Situated in the bustling part of Chickpet, this theatre hit the 50-year mark last month. Many movies have had a long run at this theatre, but the last one was yesteryear Kannada superstar Dr Vishnuvardhan’s Apthamitra which ran for a whopping one year. Manager of the theatre Ganesh AW points out that the theatre has seen packed audience not just for South Indian movies, but also for Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna releases.
“I remember Hum Aapke Hain Kaun in 1994 playing in our theatre for one year,” says Ganesh, who has been working there for last 25 years. Now, Santosh theatre hardly plays any Hindi movies and prefers to stick to Kannada and Telugu movies. If you want an old-world experience, watch a movie at this theatre which has not gone through anymajor renovation.
Urvashi Theatre
You will hardly find anyone in the city who hasn’t watched a movie at Urvashi during their college days. Situated on Siddaiah road, near MTR hotel, the theatre was started in 1976. It went through a complete makeover in 2014 which can give you an experience of a multiplex. Venkateswar Rao, who has been a projectionist at the theatre for past 20 years says, “Right from seats to all the technical details, everything has been changed.
We put up a 3D screen, 4k projector, and upgraded sound systems. When I started working here, we used reels for the projector, but now all of that has changed in the digital era.” Their longest running movie was Baahubali, which was screened for five weeks. In 2018, Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar and actor Bhavana visited the theatre on the day of release of their movie, Tagaru. And imaginably so, the theatre was packed.