Badshah, Sultan and the Shahenshah… (The beginning…)

Rishte Mai to Hum Tumhare Baap Lagte Hai. Naam hai.. Shahenshah

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Bade Bade Deshon Main Choti Choti Bate Hoti Raheti Hai…

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Eb bar joh maine commitment kar di… uske baad to main khud kee bhi nahi sunta…

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Some iconic dialogues with some iconic stars… Trust me, 9 out 10 times you would have read this in their style. If not then do read it again and believe me you will awaken your hidden actor. .

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Welcome to the Sapno kee Duniya.. apna own Bollywood…

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The term Bollywood is a portmateau of “Bombay” and “Hollywood” and combined with Tollywood, Kollywood and others makes up the Indian film Industry as one of the biggest in the world.

Valued at over Rs180billion in the year 2019 and the industry is growing at a CAGR of more than 10percent.

Movies form an integral part of our social life. Its a breakway from our routine and somewhat mundane life and it virtually fulfills our dreams.

Films are the most advanced version of  art which in addition to visuals involves sound and movement. But for this art to evolve, science has to play its part…

The idea/concept of the film takes birth in the mind of a story writer. The same is scripted on paper with characters. A script is than rendered into a screenplay which is visualized by the director to be put in the frame. While all these guys put their creative minds together, the producer puts in the money, and alongwith the distributors ensure that we are able to watch the film in theatres.. be it a single screen, a multiplex or the OTT platform.

The entire process is not as simple as explained above. To realize the dream on the gigantic 70 mm platform is a cumbersome process yet it is Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment.

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My love for films traverses long back.

I was movie-buff even before I was born. . Though the first movie I saw was at 5yrs or so… Mr.Natwarlal… in the neighborhood cinema hall…
There were two of them (Picture Palace and Ashoka) near our home in Udaipur. Heard stories from Dad and Uncle that they could hear Madhu bala/Meena Kumari singing from their terrace…

I used to go my Nanhiyal every vacation. Bombay, the Mecca of films. My Mama and my eldest Masa made sure that I saw every nook and corner of the city including every single theatre.

Be it the famous Gaiety, Galaxy and Gemini in Bandra, Ambar,Oscar in Andheri… or the famous Liberty at the Churchgate… Hmm.. I feel so nostalgic just thinking about them.

Many a times I feel that I am God gifted since I can watch films of any genre.

Flashback – The Jubliee years.

1950s-60s era was the emerging area of Indian films and is truely called the Golden era which belonged to these  actors.

  Raj Saheb,
  Dilip Saheb and
  Dev Saheb
  Guru Dutt

…. The legends…The heartthrobs…

The era also belonged to actress like

Madhu bala
Nargis Dutt
Waheeda Rehman…
Meena Kumari
Surayia
Nimmi

…who set the stage on fire by just pure emotions. Meena Kumari was christened as the tragedy queen of that era.

Amongst them there was one star who was a known as the Jubilee star… Yes, Rajendra Jubliee Kumar…

It is believed that every film of his entered the Golden Jubilee ie 50th week of its release in theatres. As heard from sources, he would not work without the legendary music director duo, Shankar Jaikishan.

Some of the most amazing work was done in this Era. From Awara to Guide or the 1957 magnum opus Mother India. There was a gradual transition from Black and White to Color in this era.

While “Content” was/is the king, “the viewing experience” had to be the queen.

Bombay along with some other metro cities had some best cinema theatres at that time.

REGAL/ EROS/ STRAND/ LIBERTY
ADVERD/ ROXSY/ IMPERIAL/ NAAZ/ MINVERVA/ KOHINOOR / NOVELTY/MARATHA MANDIR/ LIGHTHOUSE (CALCUTTA)/ EVEREST (BANGLORE)/ SHEILA (DELHI) /POLO VICTORY (JAIPUR) /SANGEET (HYDERABAD)

The above lists some iconic single screen theaters who were also known as Talkies, these were/are definitely the remiscant of that era.

The dynamics of film making was different during those time including the economics involved.

Mughal E Azam, directed by K. Asif was actually shot thrice, (Hindi, Tamil and English). While the Hindi version of super-duper hit, Tamil flopped. And the English version did not see the light of the day.
It took more than 10  years to shoot the film. Made with a budget of Rs 10-15 million, its box office collection then was around Rs 6 crore on release which if adjusted against inflation amounts to staggering Rs 1300 crore as on today. .

The average price of a ticket was just between Rs 3 to Rs 6 in this era. 

The 1970s- The Angry Young Man era…

The late 60s and the early 70s was predominately Rajesh Khanna era. (1966 – 1975). He was the heartthrob of millions of young beautiful girls, including my mom . My Dad figured it out pretty early and actually introduced himself as Rajesh on their first date… (I am just kidding, and yes its a pun).

1973 was the year when 4 people created history. Salim-Javed teamed up with Prakash Mehra and delivered Zanjeer… The angry young man was born. Yes, the living legend Amitabh Bachchan. It not only gave India the super star but also helped the dilapidated old Imperial theatre to be born again in new aavatar.  Zanjeer crossed 50 weeks here.

There was no stopping from here, to his credit Amitji churned out hit after hit.

Shahenshah had arrived…

The 1975 blockbuster Sholay had many firsts to its credit. From Gabbar Singh to the stereophonic soundtrack, 70 mm wide screen format. Till then all films were shot in 35 mm format.

Sholay grossed Rs 350 million after its slow start, about 100 million tickets were sold. Minerva, hosted Sholay for 5 years which was a record till DDLJ was released.

Trivia 1 : Did you know Sholay had an alternate ending where Thakur kills Gabbar. The censor board chopped it off as it depicted too much violence.

Trivia 2: Also the team thought of reshooting  Jai’s character to keep him alive as the film did not pick up at the box office initially. But when it did, they decided against it.

Infact, in 1970s the craze for movies was at its peak.

Bunking classes and standing in lines for movie tickets was trendy.  The colorful tickets were black marketed. People were crazy and would pride in seeing the first day  first show.

The decade saw highest numbers of films produced. So people had choices.
In Bombay the density of theatres in a 3 km area from Opera house to Marine lines was the highest. So if one theatre was full you could just walk in to another. And if you had nothing to do you could watch 4 different films in a day.

Chalti hai kya 9 se 12…

Unfortunately movie buffs thronged in cinema halls for Jais’ and Anthonys’ and not for Jennis‘ and Basantis’ in that era.

Though the 1975 release  Jai Santoshi Ma was an exception to the above statement.

The term Bollywood was coined in this era and conventions of commercial cinema were established.

The 80s- Action, Romance and VCR.

80s was a mix of action and romance… Well it had to be as I was just born and had seen my first movie… 

Jokes apart, 80s gave the audience a mix of meaningful and commercial hits. Starting with Karz and Umaro Jaan, it raised the bar… From Arth to Arthsatya… and  one of the cult movies , Jaane Bhi to Yaro… it gave us  the perfect receipe for a Gujarti Thali…But one that I favouritize is Shekhar Kapoors “Mr India”. (Year 1987).
I still remember its craze and was so eager to see in the newly opened theatre Paras. So when I finally saw, it was like

Vibhav… err…Mogambo Khush Hua…

The VCRs (Video Cassette Recorder) and VCPs (player) thronged the Indian market in the early 80s and yes it affected the business of single screen theatre. They brought the Bollywood stars right in the living room of the house.

Back home in Udaipur, we were lucky to have one in 1984, courtesy my aunt Kiki Bhua .
VCR was everywhere, in hotels, houses, hospitals  and even buses were renamed video coaches. Whilst travelling from Udaipur to Bombay the excitement was doubled in anticipation of seeing a Bollywood movie.  The cassette of a film was available on rent a mere price of Rs 10. Video piracy began almost at the same time.

In my subsequent visits to Bombay, going to a single screen to watch a Hindi movie was on a decline.

In one such visit to my Nanhiyal, my Mama rented out a VCR for a night and alongwith my cousins we had seen Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) at home.

The cute Mr.Perfectionist had arrived.

Though I remember a visit to Eros theatre to watch Superman II with Dad. It was a spectacular treat to the eyes. South Mumbai theatres specially in Coloba and Churchgate were known for its English pictures…

Back home we were enjoying some great English movies on the VCR including

My name is Bond… James Bond.

And just few days before the 90s

Sultan marked his presence with “Maine Pyar Kiya”

Though the beginning of the end of single screen theaters had started and with the multiplexes arriving in the 90s the end was not far…

To know more, why and how  multiplexes killed the single screen theatre, watch this space for

Badshah, Sultan and Shahenshah
(The Conclusion).

Till then continue watching movies…