Karthik Maralabhavi on his directorial debut Thugs in Ramaghada
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The Kannada film features Ashwin Hassan and Chandan Raj in lead roles
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The Kannada film features Ashwin Hassan and Chandan Raj in lead roles
North Karnataka appears to be a popular destination for film shoots. Earlier, directors found it hard to shoot at the terrain, given the weather conditions, but now they are up for it.
“The idea for our film is to capture the place and emotion. As in, what we have seen is what we have captured on screen,” states Karthik Maralabhavi, a scriptwriter, who is making his directorial debut with the film
Looking back, it was fortunate that Hemant Chaturvedi cut his visit short to the Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu festival and pilgrimage, in the north Indian city of Prayagraj (earlier known as Allahabad) in January 2019.
Bored by the ostentatious spectacle, a marked difference from simpler celebrations he had attended in the past, he left to explore Allahabad University, an architectural landmark from the 1800s. On the way, he remembered Lakshmi Talkies, an old, single-screen cinema in the area. He took a detour to the site, which had been closed since 1999, piles of rubbish around it adding to the air of neglect. The 1940s’ Art Deco structure was soon to be demolished and replaced by a mall. Saddened by the destruction of physical heritage, he decided to photograph it.
The Changing Scenario of Cinemas in Gaya ‘We welcome people with grace’
“I as a manager had to lock myself inside the room, because I had been told that the people outside who do not have tickets want to get one by hook or crook,” recalls Rafi Ahmad Khan, the 60 year old manager of Prem Talkies.
One of the oldest single screen cinema halls in Gaya city, founded by Prem Kumar Khandelwal and carried forward by his son Sandeep, Prem Talkies is now a dilapidated and tumbledown cinema, but it survives. Like Devdas in Paro’s lap, it may be taking its last breath as the countrywide economic distress worsens.