Until two decades ago, evenings in Madurai meant movies. The entire town would descend on the streets and head to the theatres. Watching films was a ritual in this small town where every lane has a temple and where every turn once had a theatre.
“In the 1990's there were 52 theatres in Madurai city, out of which only 24 are functioning now. Before the 70's, ‘touring talkies' was very popular, in the city as well as the rural areas,” says Rm. M. Annamalai, State President of Tamil Nadu Theatre Owner's Association, “Later talkies became cinemas, benches were replaced with seats and the pole and tents gave way to concrete structures.”
Built in the 1930's, the Imperial Cinema was probably the first theatre to come up in temple town and ironically also the first one to be demolished 15 years ago. “From 1970 to the early nineties, there was spurt in the theatre business. Cinema going was a part of everyday entertainment those days,” recalls Annamalai, “There is a set of thirteen theatres in Madurai that can be called the oldest. Many are either shut down or have been pulled down, but Central, Vellaikannu and Regal are still functioning.”
Trophies and shields celebrating landmarks – ‘Sakala Kala Vallavan 150', ‘Padikkathavan 100' and so on – still decorate the showcase of the Central Cinema. Dusting them with care, D. Sundaram, the proprietor, says, “I feel proud whenever I see these trophies. Central was one of the sought-after theatre among movie buffs. We used to screen only two films per year and now it is two films per week. Films running for 100 or 200 days have become a thing of the past.”
“People run these old-time theatres as it is a prestige issue. Only old films are screened and there are audiences even today who come to watch MGR and Sivaji,” says Annamalai, “MGR hits like “Ayirathil Oruvan”, “Arasilangumari”, “Padakotti” and “Adimai Penn” and Sivaji starrers like “Manohara”, “Parasakthi”, “Vietnam Veedu” and “Vasantha Maligai” are evergreen movies that still draw people to the theatres.”
“MGR continues to be a phenomenon among movie lovers and many acknowledge that Madurai was much instrumental in making him the demigod. Our theatre is alive just because of MGR films” says E.M.G.S. Pothirajan, proprietor of Meenakshi Talkies and Meenakshi Paradise.
“Cinema was a strong tool at that time. Movies played a vital role even in politics. It was because of cinema that the DMK grew during the sixties” says Muthu, an MGR fan and an auto driver.
S. Ramadoss, an operator at Central, says, “Working in a cinema theatre was a matter of pride. I was the operator at Imperial Cinema and now at Central. It has been 35 years and I have seen technology change over the years.” Ramadoss's close association with cinema theatres earned him a short role in the film ‘Subramaniapuram' as an operator. “The scene in “Subramaniapuram” where people are shown fighting for tickets for ‘Murattu Kaalai' is a depiction of real trend that was once prevalent in major theatres in Madurai. It shows the craze people had for movies those days,” adds Ramadoss.
The women of Madurai have been known as movie enthusiasts. On weekend mornings theatres witnessed a huge rush of housewives. Decked in gold and the bests of Kanjivaram, the women dragged along their kids and carried tins full of murukkus, cheedais and athirasams – all to spend those three hours in reel-world. “It was common to watch three to four movies a week. I used to prepare snacks the night before and it was great fun buying tickets in the rush and groping in the dark to locate the seats,” remembers homemaker Dhanalakshimi, now in her sixties. “Finding the seat gave you a sense of thrill and achievement.”
She adds, “Cinema halls were the place where we forgot ourselves. We smiled and cried with MGR and Sivaji, enjoyed songs of M.S. Viswanathan and K.V. Mahadevan, cursed villains like P.S.Veerappa and Nambiar, worshipped K.R.Vijaya and Savithri when they played Goddesses and laughed our hearts out at the comedy of K.R. Ramachandran, A. Karunanidhi, Thangavelu and Nagesh.” Devotional films like ‘Rajakaliamman' and ‘Amman' had a strong following of women and theatres were treated as temples during the screenings.
N.M. Sivanathan, former owner of Chintamani Talkies says, “In olden days, theatre owners enjoyed a personal rapport with the producers and artistes. The trend of demanding a huge sum of money as Minimum Guarantee has left theatre owners in the lurch. Running a cinema hall has become much difficult and less profitable.”
Sivanathan's son Dr. N.M.S. Prabbakar beams, “Madurai was always considered the hot spot for films. Producers and celebrities paid often visits to theatres to gauge the pulse of audience. Chintamani enjoyed numerous such star visits.”
“The discerning Madurai movie-goer was considered difficult to convince and hence the town's response was always taken into consideration to judge a film's success. It was widely believed that if a movie makes it in Madurai, it will definitely be successful in the state,” says Iyyapan, an old-time film enthusiast.
Says Annamalai: “The current trend is mini multiplexes with capacities of 200 to 300. Air-conditioning and advanced facilities like 3D and DTS lure the audience. Only 10 percent of the film-goers continue coming to the regular theatres out of which five percent are choosy both about the films and the facilities provided. People now watch a film only if it is exceptionally good.”
