Travelling Cinema : A lost world

Today the concept of travelling cinema has died a death with introduction of mobiles and digital cinema. Many of my time and older than me will recall there used to be makeshift movie shows on white screens in localities. There used to be evenings of film shows during festivals. Just after Durga Puja in 1986 I remember seeing a bengali Film Dhonni Meye in open air at Tribeni Tissues ground where my father worked. It was 60 Km away from Kolkata, a paper mill with officers quarters, school premises inside. Nearby movie hall was in Tribeni, Bandel or Chinsurah. Most people did not have TV sets those days there. I remember watching that movie in 1986. There was a large gathering sitting on the ground watching Jaya Bhaduri turning from a tomboy to a demure girl in love with Partho Mukherjee, the film's hero. It was entertaining to see the audience laugh, cry and whistle. If they would be happy they will clap or whistle. The seats were first come first served. Those who were late will sit in the opposite side so they watched the film in reverse direction. This kind of shows were quite popular in villages and mofussils those days.

Even I have seen this makeshift movie screens in Manoharpukur, Kalighat in Kolkata in 1980's where I grew up. Every summer vacation there would be a Shitala pujo and for almost a week there will be Jatra shows, jalsha and movie screenings. I recall watching Sholay in 1985 in one such travelling cinema. There used to be reels of films and there will be intervals because those reels needed to be changed. Sometime the cinema technician will go for a smoke and forget that the reel ended which will create a huge furore among the audience who may be now on the edge of very important scene of a film. 

These days such travelling cinema shows are over, you will only be nostalgic about it but you will never see it again. The present generation doesn't even know what simple pleasure we had. Those who have watched Shah Rukh Khan's Swadesh may recall such travelling cinema show inside the film in one scene. Once travelling cinema used to be the only source of big entertainment in villages. But now it has died, nobody shows it again. I will tell my son how it was, he will never see it.