An old landmark in the heart of Jamshedpur that people know like the back of their hand will get a new innings.
Basant Cinema, which is a stone's throw from the petrol pump and crowded by a warren of shops, restaurants and fast food joints in one of the busiest commercial hubs of the city, is set to get a makeover as a shopping complex in the near future.
Established on Tata sublease land awarded in 1938 to J.R. Tiwary and B.R. Agarwal, the sprawling property now has three parts - one owned by Tiwary's two sons Vinod Pareek and H.N. Pareek, one owned by the descendants of Agarwal and the third one owned jointly by the Pareek brothers and Agarwals.
Now, the Pareek duo are dismantling their portion of 6,400sqft for the shopping complex on the ground floor. The part owned jointly is rented out to a few shops while the rear part of the cinema hall that belongs to the Agarwals is lying idle.
"Dismantling of the old structure started a fortnight ago. We plan to gift our beloved Jamshedpur a shopping complex with basement parking in tune with the needs of today," said Vinod. "And yes, it will also be called Basant."
He added that there were a lot of Tata sublease and state government rules and regulations to abide by.
"But, we will try out best to give something new and fresh to the city," he said.
Almost every Jamshedpurean born before 2005 has had his or her first big screen outing at Basant Cinema, Sakchi, the 1,015-seater, which enthralled generations of movie buffs from 1943 till it lost the tax battle in December 2005.
Shopping complexes are a dime a dozen in Jamshedpur, but Basant Cinema was unique.
Agreeing whole-heartedly, Vinod said they were keen to set up a 125-seater singleplex in the revamped Basant just for "love of cinema".
"As of now both Payal Cinema and Eylex are in Mango and NH-33. An option in Sakchi should find many takers," he said.
"But, this is an ambitious plan. Let's see how it goes," he added, not wanting to divulge more at this point.
But, it is obvious that both the brothers take pride in the Basant Cinema legacy.
"Basant Cinema brought alive the magic of thespians for decades, from Ashok Kumar to Amitabh Bachchan to Aamir Khan. But, as time went by, almost all standalone movie theatres in the city could not survive the heavy tax burden," he said.
The last ticket rates at Basant were Rs 10, Rs 15 and Rs 23, a fraction of what a movie goer today pays for popcorn and soft drinks, .
Vinod also added an endearing anecdote. "We heard from our elders that Basant Cinema got its name as it started in the spring season," he said. Fittingly, Basant Cinema gave countless Jamshedpureans their tinsel spring.
The steel city started its tryst with public cinema halls in the 1930s. Jamshedpur Talkies in Sakchi opened in 1935, followed by Regal Talkies in Bistupur in 1938 and Star Talkies in Burmamines in 1939. All are shut now.
Do you miss Basant Cinema? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com