Right opposite the complex which houses three single screens in Majestic — Santhosh, Narthaki, and Sapna — a shopping mall is under construction. The mall is set to have a multiplex, perhaps a perfect reflection of the changing times. Once called the ‘Broadway of cinema, ’ the Majestic area in Bengaluru is a pale shadow of its glorious past.
Back then, people liked to marvel at the huge complex out of sheer curiosity by standing in front of it. Old-timers recount returning disappointed after not securing tickets to films of their favourite stars. There are also stories of well-known filmmakers and actors catching a Rajkumar or a Puttanna Kanagal film at Santosh or Nartaki. Today, a deathly silence prevails outside the premises of these single screens.
Plenty of factors led to Majestic fading away as the hub of films. The ever-growing traffic in the city has remained one of the reasons, felt Venkatesh, a senior exhibitor who owns the Mukunda theatre in Maruthi Seva Nagar. “People also faced parking challenges in the area,” he said, adding that these issues led to people looking out for theatres closer to their homes.
From 22 theatres (perhaps a world record) at one point, only 7 single screens (Santosh, Narthaki, Sapna, Triveni, Anupama, Bhoomika, and Abhinay) remain in the area. “Majestic had a huge floating population, thanks to the Kempegowda Bus Station. It benefited the theatres as they were the one-stop point for travellers. But with the construction of other big bus terminals, such as Mysore Road Satellite Bus Stop and Shanthi Nagar Bus Station, the film-watching crowd just bifurcated,” Mr. Venkatesh pointed out.
M.R. Rajaram, Vice President of Karnataka Film Exhibitors’ Federation, said the poor revenue-sharing model triggered the downfall of single screens in the State. “Several theatres would have survived had the producers/distributors agreed to a percentage system over fixed screening charges. Post the pandemic, the old revenue model dented the prospects of single screens,” he said.
“For instance, Nartaki was paid a fixed weekly amount of ₹3 lakh. So, for four weeks, it would sum up to ₹12 lakh. However, considering the size of the theatre, around ₹3 lakh would be required for its maintenance,” he explained. A request from the exhibitors to get a 35% share from the houseful net was dismissed by the distributors/producers.
The lucrative property rates have convinced theatre owners to sell their land. After Sagar, which made way for a retail store, and Thribhuvan, which got razed for the construction of a shopping mall, industry insiders say the owners of the Santosh complex might also follow suit. The complex was shut down briefly in 2022 due to a legal hurdle.
K.G. Road is no longer the fortress of Kannada cinema, with Telugu films acquiring several shows. During the Sankranti week, Allu Arjun’s blockbusters ‘Pushpa 2, ’ ‘Sankrathiki Vasthunam,’ and ‘Daku Maharaj, ’ starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, were screened in three theatres in Majestic.
When ‘Pushpa 2’ hit the screens, three versions of the film (Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada) were screened in Majestic. Exhibitors call it the demand and supply scenario, urging Kannada stars to do more than one film every year.
Kumar, manager of Abhinay Theatre at K.G. Road, which majorly screens Hindi films, felt there are very few crowd pullers like in the 2000s. “The Hindi industry is almost dead. When did we have a string of box office hits? I don’t remember,” he lamented, saying Shah Rukh Khan’s 2013 action-comedy Chennai Express was the last film that drew huge crowds to the theatre, which is said to be the first building in the city to have an escalator.
Ananth, the owner of Triveni, blamed the dismal situation of single screens on the rise of streaming platforms. “The internet is available for cheap, and people are hooked to Instagram reels. They prefer watching films at home,” he said, stressing that there is no guarantee of revival for the traditional movie-watching experience.
As the Karnataka Budget for 2025-26 has announced plans for the redevelopment of the Kempegowda Bus Stand in Majestic, in a six-part series, The Hindu will explore the various facets of the Pete – Majestic area.This is the third story in the series.
Published – March 12, 2025 07:57 am IST
