Elphinstone cinema near Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Dec. 24: As new-look Patna draws attention of big theatres and multiplexes, the older screens are preparing to wind up their business in the city.

Failing to match the pace of change, Elphinstone, the oldest theatre in the state, is all set to down curtains on December 30. At present, the theatre, located near Gandhi Maidan, is screening Bhojpuri film Kurukshetra.

K.K. Das, manager of Elphinstone, said: “The theatre will close down on December 30. A cineplex will come up in its place. Single screen theatres cannot survive anymore.”

“Mona or Regent (other theatres in the area) take up all the films with big stars. The crowds prefer these theatres as they have better facilities,” he added.

Elphistone is not an isolated case. In the past six years, a number of theatre have close down, including Apsara and Chanakya on Exhibition Road, Ashok and Pearl at Buddha Marg, Rupak at Bakarganja and Vaishali in Rajendra Nagar.

With the bigger halls drawing maximum crowd, old, single-screen theatres are finding it hard to stay afloat.

At present, there are four theatres running in the city — Mona, Regent, Uma and Veena. While Mona and regent have been revamped and renovated, Uma and Veena are yet to undergo any remodelling.

A.P.N. Singh, the owner of the now closed Ashok Theatre, said: “We have closed the theatre. A multiplex will come up in its place. It was the second oldest theatre in the city. It was constructed in 1947 and was opened for the public in 1949.”

“This theatre has run a record number of films, many of which have celebrated golden and silver jubilees. The big hit Nadiya ka Par ran for almost two years at the theatre. Others like Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram and Shree 420 ran for more than a year in this theatre,” added Singh.

He also said: “Single-screen theatre are no longer profitable. Ticket prices have to be kept low at single screens as not all movies attract the audience. In the case of multiplexes, the owners can screen more movies at a higher price. This is the demand of the time.”

“Audiences do not come only for the movie anymore. They want a complete experience — to eat and relax. Single-screens cannot provide them that,” added Singh.

Audiences agree with Singh. “There are more options at a multiplex. We can go to a multiplex and choose the film we want to see. If we go to a single-screen theatre, there are no options — one has to see the film there. So we would always prefer prefer multiplexes,” said Rohit Sharma, a resident of Gardanibagh. Sharma added going to see a movie was now a complete experience that a single-screen theatre could not provide.

“There is nothing do at the old theatres. But at multiplexes — most of which are in shopping malls — there is a lot that we can do before and after seeing a film. One can window-shop or just hang around,” he added.