Mumbai: 70-year-old iconic Chitra cinema in Dadar veils its operation

Curtains came down at the iconic Chitra Cinema in Dadar on Thursday, seven decades after it was opened. The last show at the theatre was of Tiger Shroff-starrer "Student of the Year 2" at 9.30 pm on May 16.

"We thought after hearing that the last show is on Thursday people might come but it did not turn out that way. The occupancy was very low. "It is the legacy of my grandfather that I have carried forward. It hurts to see it is closed," owner of the cinema hall, Dara Phiroz Mehta told PTI.

The prime reason to shut down the single screen theatre was the poor business. "We have shut down because it is not feasible to continue. Single screen theatres are closing down anyways across the country. Single screens are getting affected because there is competition from the multiplexes.

"The number of people wanting to see a film in the single screen is very less today. And we have been watching this trend since past few years," Mehta added. Recently, Chandan Cinema in Juhu was also shut down.

"There are about nine to ten single-screen theatres that have shut down their operations. And this is really a sad situation," Mehta said. He said he does not have any plans to open the theatre again in the near future.

(With inputs from agencies.)