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No longer in the movie business

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

Curtains come down on Anandha theatre complex after 25 years

OLD CHARM: A view of the Anandha Theatre. — Photo: T. Singaravelou

PUDUCHERRY: The next time Subba Avadani comes to Puducherry, he will miss watching the night shows — a pleasure he has enjoyed for over six years now — with his friend Kondalvannan at Anandha complex.

"It would be two movies per week with him. And we used to frequent theatres, including Anandha complex, Ajantha and Raman. But of these three, only Raman remains," he rues.

The curtains came down on two 25-year-old theatres — the Anandha theatre complex — recently.

Convention centre

The theatres — Anandha and Bala Anandha — with a combined capacity of 1,467 seats have now given way to a convention centre.

`Parattai' and `Mozhi' were the last films screened here. Air conditioners came in on February 7, 1982, with Sivaji Ganesan starrers, one of them being `Vaa Kanna Vaa'.

Actors, including Prabhu, Bhagyaraj, Partiban, Sarathbabu, Sarathkumar, Vikram and Trisha, have graced the theatre.

"We were planning to close in February itself. But we were waiting for Rajinikanth's `Sivaji'. Now that the release has got delayed, we decided to close down. We were the first in Puducherry to bring in the Cube digital system, the latest technology. But pirated VCDs, increasing maintenance costs, minimum guarantee payment to distributors, low cost of tickets and high entertainment tax (27 per cent) have forced us out of business," said Rajarajan, executive director, Anandha Theatres.

"The VCD menace is the biggest headache for theatre owners. By the time the second show is on, the CDs are out. The government cannot be blamed as they are trying their level best, " he said.

The convention centre, spread across a 40,000 sq.ft area, will house five banquet halls, a coffee shop with live kitchen and parking facilities for 40 cars in the basement, among others.

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