Rejuvenating old Movie theatres of Madurai
When it comes to movies, Madurai used to have a special place. Actors usually get a large fan base here. It was said that every actor worth his name in tamil filmdom will have a fan club in Madurai!
With such a dubious distinction, film going in Madurai used to be a rough experience. Ticket booths used to be heavily barricaded & private guards stand around ticket booth to ward off storming youths. These youths were storming ticket booths not to capture it, but only to buy tickets!!
Well, those days are gone! Theatres now wear a desolate look, except for a few inaugural shows of established stars. Even acclaimed films do not draw a full house after first week. So theatre owners have the option of either converting the vital land for better usage .. or .. pamper the visitors with better experience.
Second rung theatres like Jeyaraj (near LadyDoak College) & Pandian (near Vilangudi) were converted into an Apartment-cum-Shopping complex.
Some other theatres were opting to pamper the visitors. Ganesh & Sundaram (kk nagar) theatres were taken over by Reliance’s Big cinemas, and these were now on par with other Big cinema theatres all over the country. The famed Regal theatre was revamped & now draw crowds mainly due to the facilities there.
An individual theatre on the outskirts – the Mani Impala (near Tirunagar) is now converted into a multiplex of 3 theatres and said to be on par with Big cinema group or Satyam multiplex.
Of the previous multiple theatres (not multiplexes), the Priya theatre complex seem to have the potential of becoming a multiplex, but it shows no sign of improvement.
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I wonder whats the scene with Mapillai Vinayagar ! That used to be a favourite haunt for many years.
Reading this post got me nostalgic. For i have frequented all the theatres that you mention here !
Madurai, unlike other parts of TN, has a discerning audience. Yet, nowadays, movies couldn’t pull the audience to theaters.
Yes, many theaters have been pulled down. Chintamani, I have watched more than 50 movies in this theater. I think its now being changed into shopping mall or something.
Hi Pradeep,
Heard that Chintamani was bought by RajMahal, the silk saree showroom that was a defacto standard until Pothys arrived. Will post an update on more movie theatres soon.
Visited Thangaregal theater for Vettaikaran and liked the the theater makeover & maintainance (though can’t say the same about the movie!;-)