The broken chairs of a local cinema in Ranchi. Picture by Hardeep Singh

Ranchi, May 31: Forget about plush multiplexes, Dolby systems and large screens. The cinema in Ranchi cannot even boast of proper fire-exits or equipment, or even proper seats.

The Telegraph recently went around some of the city cinemas to witness the state of the city halls. First in line was the Plaza cinema hall on the Hazaribagh Road where chances are one may miss seeing it if one is not careful. Upon entering one finds the seats in the dingy hall are in a poor condition, while the walls are littered with spit. Although the staff boasted of proper fire fighting arrangements, only three extinguishers could be spotted. And there were no fire exits in case of emergencies.

The scene was quite the same at the Sandhya cinema in Purulia Road where there was a stench, greeting everyone who may enter. Though the hall was big enough, the walls here, too, were littered with spit marks. The scene of the bathroom was terrible with broken taps and constantly pouring water.

While the city has altogether seven halls namely, Vishnu, Sandhya, Uphar, Meenaxi, Plaza, Sainik Theatre and Sujata operating, there are many which have been closed down like the Ratan Talkies, Welfare Cinema, Vasundhara and Rupashree .

For the staff and managers of the halls, the blame lies squarely with the government and its strict tax system. They pointed out the tax system puts too much financial pressure on the halls making maintenance a hard task.

While on the other hand the government officials maintained that the process to bring down the taxes have already began in the department and situation would be less harsh in the future.

A senior official of the department pointed out that an application to the commercial taxes department has already been sent for bringing down the taxes. If it is accepted, a reduction may be expected.

?We have to pay a certain amount of tax whether we have any profit or none at all. There is a fixed tax according to the gradation of the halls, which we have to pay either way. On most of the occasions, we have low turnout. But we are paying the same and that is why a large chunk of the money goes away leaving very little for us to maintain the halls with,? said one of the staff of Sandhya cinema.

Many also felt that video piracy played a hand in the dismal situation of the halls. Manager of the Uphar Cinema said: ?When the CDs are available at a cheaper rate than any cinema ticket then people prefer to stay indoors and watch the film in the comforts of home. Nowadays most CDs precede the movie release. Many other managers and staff felt that video piracy has dealt a severe blow to the movie business.?

On the other hand, the urban development department officials acknowledged the fact about the pitiable conditions of the cinema halls but at the same time maintained that the department is also taking steps to ensure low taxes to the cinema owners.