KOCHI: The closure of several theatres in the city has proved to be a dampener for movie buffs, as they are left with very few choices and have to travel long distances for watching their favourite movies.
MG Road, the city’s main artery as well as shopping area, and its nearby areas which once housed many prominent theatres in the city, are left with just a couple of movie halls now. Among the theatres which were closed in recent years are Cinepolis and Shenoys. Another movie complex, Mymoon-Lulu on Chittoor Road, has not been functional for almost a decade.
Cinepolis, which was very popular among local moviegoers, had 11 screens including three VIP screens. It was closed recently after the Kerala High Court upheld the decision of the Fire and Rescue Services Department to deny the final no-objection certificate to the mall for running theatres from floors six to eight. Shenoys and Little Shenoys have been closed for renovation for some time now. Only Kavitha and Padma theatres are operational on MG Road. Other theatres operational in the city include Saritha, Savitha and Sangeetha on Banerjee Road.
“I live near MG Road. So, I used to watch movies in nearby theatres. But with the closure of theatres, I have almost stopped watching movies. Unlike in the past, I could not watch a single Onam release this year,” said Sandeep Xavier, who works in the hospitality industry. Moviegoers who frequented theatres to watch English and Hindi films have been affected the worst. With many theatres closing, Sreedhar theatre, which used to screen Hindi and English movies earlier, has now switched over to screening Malayalam movies.
“After the theatres on MG Road downed shutters, people living in the main city area do not have many options. Travelling to other theatres, especially multiplexes, is difficult due to the traffic. In addition, we are hardly able to watch Hindi and English movies now as the remaining theatres screen only Malayalam movies,” said Dr Govind Satheesh, who works in a city hospital.
MG Road, which had witnessed a lull in business and wore a deserted look when the Kochi Metro work began between the Palarivattom-Maharaja's Ground stretch, had been limping back to normalcy after the work was completed. The decrease in the number of theatres has also concerned traders who have set up shop along the stretch.They fear it might affect their business. Many of them were expecting good business once Metro operations were launched between the stretch from October 3. But they now feel people may continue to avoid MG Road due to lack of entertainment opportunities in the area.