CHENNAI: There’s a scattered group of about 30 people standing under a splendidly coloured poster of a 1980 Rajinikanth starrer, Billa, at Basha Theatre in Broadway, waiting for the evening show to begin. Some sit expectantly on the concrete benches inside the theatre compound. Others queue up at the ticket counters. Two women, one in a grubby but striking red sari and the other in a salwar kameez, are also standing at the ticket counter, as there is no separate counter for either sex. As you gaze at the theatre, the rusted iron gates seem uninviting, the tattered walls look pale and unappealing, the flight of stairs — running on both sides of the theatre — that guides one to the hall are broken and the verandah, which has stalls serving tea and coffee for `2, is vacant with empty benches. Built in 1942, this compact structure is one of the oldest theatres in Chennai, a defiant stance against multiplexes in the city’s cinematic landscape. Previously, it was called Minarva Theatre and was run by Vibin Shah. Later, when the theatre saw empty chairs, struggling to survive, Basha, a TV artiste, took over the management. Though the collections are abysmal, the theatre is still running to safeguard the property and to maintain the livelihood of old staff employed there. Old timers, who come to this theatre, can still remember the long queues and mad rush for a ticket to watch one of the biggest Kollywood hits, Billa, which now runs to empty houses. Forty years ago, the theatre allowed only those who wore ankle-length trousers, but now you will see mostly lungi-clad film lovers dominating the cinema hall.Basha Theatre provides an old school cinema experience that has slipped through the cracks and miraculously survived. Now, it screens popular old MGR films such as Enga Veetu Pillai, Nadodi manan, and a lot of Rajini hits for the working class in the surrounding neighbourhood. This 290-seater hall has also had movie buffs such as Sivaji, Anna Durai, and our former CM, Karunanidhi, frequenting the place once in a week. Besides being the first air-conditioned theatre in Chennai, Basha Theatre was the first to screen English films in 1940s. But now, they have stopped screening English films, and air-condition facilities have been done away with. Though the wooden benches have been replaced with push-back seats, the old reel box, with no hi-tech technology of today’s, is still being used to screen movies. The theatre has no concrete plans for any renovation at the moment, because they have had a lot of positive reactions from people who had never been to a theatre before and from those who believe this is an important part of the city’s history that needs to be supported.
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