27 February 2009

Elgin Talkies

********For those who didnt know what/where Elgin Talkies is; I did this story for you. What/Where : Elgin Talkies. The oldest cinema theatre nestled in a busy street in Shivaji Nagar, Bangalore. I had first read about this theatre one lazy afternoon in a local magazine, and i instantly knew what my next story was going to be. A few days later, i found myself listening to the story of how a drama stage established in 1896 by Veerabadra Mudaliar survived the years to become the Eligin Talkies of today. "In 1915, we used to play silent movies. And then, in 1932, we showed the first Indian talking-movie, Alam Ara. Elgin Theatre became Elgin Talkies" said Mr. A. S. Krishnamoorthy, the current propreitor of the theatre and a descendant of Veerabadra Mudaliar. A. S Krishnamoorthy showing me some relics from the past (at his office). "When i took over the business in the 1980s, i upgraded the chairs to cushion chairs. One day i saw someone with a bag made out of the rexin material i had used for the cushions in the theatre. Quite predictably, the cushions were all torn in a months time." - A.S. Krishnamoorthy Narayana at his daily morning chores. He has been working at the talkies as a young boy. Bheja fry available here! 'New Star' Beef hotel opposite the talkies. Munna (operator) - Started working at Elgin Talkies as a 12yr old boy. Ramakrishna (operator) - Had been working at the talkies for 25 yrs. Rafeeq (helper) making little green pea packets for the snack shop. Meet Mr. Khan - The Manager

8 comments:

  1. thanks maadi.. im editing the rest now.. will post them soon with the story

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  3. super super super story.

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  4. hey..its a great series u ve made..i ve been in blore for abt 2 yrs and never knew such a talkies existed..good stuff..cheers

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  5. @ Sreekanth

    That was one of the main reasons i did the story. You should go for a movie sometime. The tickets are cheap and the movie will be complete fun. Imagine going for Mithun Da's 'Nambari Aadmi' with your friends.. It would be hilarious!! Worth much more than the 200-250 bucks worth tickets at the multiplexes..

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