Kelvin cinema

Dec. 7: Cinegoers can look forward to an audio-visual delight if a plan to convert Kelvin, the second oldest cinema in the city, into a shopping mall-cum-multiplex is approved by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority.

The project also aims at preserving old and rare Assamese movies at a centre set up on the premises.

Hall owner Shankar Lall Goenka said a detailed project report had been submitted to the GMDA and was hoping to get permission by January.

“The plan to convert Kelvin cinema into a shopping mall-cum-multiplex has been chalked by strictly adhering to the new building bylaws. There would be provision for adequate parking space. We are planning to start construction for the new project by February,” he said on the sidelines of a function.

Kelvin cinema came into existence in the city in 1935 with an audience capacity of 302 persons who could sit on chairs, benches and planks and enjoy the show.

The hall derived its name from the projector, which was of Kelvin brand. It was a kerosene and petrol-run projector made in Germany. A new Philips projector replaced Kelvin in 1956, but the hall retained its name.

Many Assamese films in the fifties and sixties, including Bhupen Hazarika’s Era Bator Sur, were released in the hall.

Historian Dipankar Banerjee said Kelvin had also created a record in Assam by achieving the unique distinction of screening the “single hall golden jubilee movie”.

“Jai Santoshi Maa had a record 53-week uninterrupted run in the hall and it remains unbroken in Assam till today. It was also the first theatre in town to screen an English movie. Now it is going to create another history by becoming the first conventional movie hall to be converted into a multiplex, an integrated and modern entertainment venue and also a place to preserve Assamese movies,” he added.

Goenka said times had changed and cinegoers wanted multiple, modern facilities at cinemas. Multiplex, he added, was the only solution to their demands.

He said the centre dedicated to audio-visual documentation of old and rare Assamese movies would preserve the films for the future generation.