Sri Padmanabha Theatre, located in the heart of the city at East Fort, has been an integral part of the thriving cinema culture in Kerala. After a break, the completely renovated theatre opened on April 7 with Ganesh Raj’s Pookkalam. Shaakuntalam, headlined by actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu, released on April 14 in this theatre.
Simple start
An integral part of the thriving cinema culture in the city, the theatre was opened in 1936 by visionary P Subramaniam, who also established Merryland Studio in Thiruvananthapuram.
Subramaniam’s grandson Girish Chandran, who now runs the theatre, says the theatre has been periodically upgraded to keep up with the changing times. “We now have a 3D Clarus XC 220 curvature screen from Harkness Screens. The screen size has been increased to 44 feet. We had to take away three rows of seats from the front to facilitate the upgradation,” explains Girish.
He says that as a result, the viewing quality will remain unchanged no matter where a viewer sits. Recliner seats have been added to the balcony by removing two rows. All this without increasing the price of the tickets. “Viewers can expect a premium viewing experience at economical rates; the recliner seats cost ₹350 per person. The seats towards the front cost ₹140. We want everyone to enjoy cinema without spending exorbitant amounts,” asserts Girish.
An old photo of the vintage Sri Padmanabha theatre in Thiruvananthapuram | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
He goes down memory lane to recall the early days of the theatre. In those days, it was a ‘tent cinema hall’; a tent that could seat around between 500 to 1,500 people was erected on the open ground, almost in front of Chala market. Sand from the beach was spread on the floor for people to sit on. Behind that were benches and then chairs arranged on a wooden platform. “That was the dress circle and it cost 50 paise for one. The tickets right in front were known as ‘thara tickets’ (ground tickets) and cost 10 paise. The tent could be enlarged or compressed depending on the number of people watching a show. There were three intervals to accommodate the change in a reel,” recounts Girish.
Changes over time
The first upgradation was to make it a ‘cinema kottaka’, a semi-permanent building with a partially thatched roof and a tin roof. The thatched roof eventually made way for a tin roof. The first major change was in 1972 when Girish’s father, S Chandran, took over the reins of the theatre from his father.
“That was when the present building was constructed. We opened on February 11 with the Tamil film Agastyar. Since then, several blockbuster films — in Malayalam. Tamil, HIndi and English — had their release in Sri Padmanabha Theatre,” says Girish.
In 1997, Girish took over the running of the theatre; he also overhauled the sound system and Dolby was introduced.
In 2010, the facilities were again upgraded and it was one of the three theatres in Kerala where Avatar was screened. “Again, I went in for a complete facelift in 2011. In 2013, one more screen was added and that became the compact Devipriya,” says Girish.
Over the years, it was a prime space for screening films during the International Film Festival of Kerala and the theatre won several awards in different categories for the facilities offered for viewing movies.
In 2018, a fire devastated the theatre but within six months, Sri Padmanabha reopened with a new look. At present, Sri Padmanabha has 400 seats and Devipriya has 190.
“My aim is to give the best cinematic experience to viewers at affordable rates,” says Girish.
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