Kolkata’s cine-lovers get another top-class government-owned theatre
At a festival celebrating Satyajit Ray’s centenary year, there couldn’t have been a better gift for Bengal’s film fraternity—which has wanted the state to come up with more top-class venues like Nandan and Nazrul Tirtha—to cater to the audience in Kolkata.
As promised by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the Kolkata International Film Festival, the theatre, Radha Studio, at the Chalachchitra Shatabarsha Bhawan (CSB) in Tollygunge, opened for public screening on Friday, May 6. And the tickets for the inaugural film, Kishmish were priced at just Rs 30. The government hall intends to keep the prices low but provide top facilities, like it does at Nandan and Nazrul Tirtha (in New Town).
The plot where CSB stands is the place that once housed the famous Radha Studio, and hence the theatre at CSB has been named the same by the chief minister to connect with that heritage.
Radha Studio was where countless films from both the silent and talkie era were shot, including Tinkari Chakraborty’s Geeta (1931), Prafulla Ray’s Sandigddho (1932), Prafulla Ghosh’s Sree Gouranga (1933), Dakshayagna (1934), Manmoyee Girls School (1935), Janaknandini (1939) and Badsha (1963).
The Bengal government had acquired the original Radha Studio premises a few decades back and set up its publicity censor office and film vault.
