Jamshedpur: The first talkies in the steel city and once a dazzling landmark will now turn into a students' creative corner.
Jamshedpur Talkies, Sakchi, which debuted in 1936 to offer big-screen entertainment to denizens of a new, growing city, but closed in 2000 over dwindling footfall in TV-obsessed times, is now being revamped as a centre of literature, cinema and theatre for students of Karim City College.
With the permission of the trustee Syed Ashfaque Karim of Karimia Trust, which owns both the talkies and the college, the heritage Jamshedpur Talkies hall will from June be used for education and artistic activities of students.
Mohammad Zakaria, principal of Karim City College, said both the buildings being adjacent to each other made the project simple. With only finishing touches left, the college would inaugurate the hub next month, he confirmed.
"The college is grateful to the trustee to allow us to use the space. We lacked an auditorium and most activities took place in the college portico but now they will be shifted here," principal Zakaria said.
Elaborating on the benefits of the 800-seater hall, he said it would now be turned into an 800-seater auditorium with state-of-the-art acoustics. A stage for theatre activities and a 16x12 feet movie screen will help students of mass communication-video production where film studies is one the subjects.
Film festivals and regular theatre activities will be the priority along with cultural activities that includes performing arts and literary festivals hosted by the college.
This is not all. Two gyms each for men and women will also come up on the talkies premises, but meant only for students, staff and alumni members. A badminton and a basketball court will also come up in the extra space. The college is spending around Rs 50 lakh in the renovation.
"We will also shift all students' clubs to this premises, making more room for the academic building. We also plan to revive the theatre culture in the city with the college dramatic association presenting one play a month. Unless we showcase art forms, the young generation won't know its importance," said senior faculty member of Karim City College, Yahiya Ibrahim.
The talkies were once a rage as movies on big screen were a dazzling mode of visual entertainment. Jamshedpur Talkies apart, the city had many single screen theatres such as Regal (1938), Star (1939), Basant Talkies (1942), GT Cinema (1952), Karim Talkies (1957) and Natraj Talkies (1975), the most luxurious of them all. In the eighties, there came Payal Cinema (1984) and Shyam Talkies (1986). Except Payal Cinema, all closed one by one owing to heavy taxes and empty seats.
