Hundreds of cinema halls across Andhra Pradesh have been demolished. Others await investments, court judgements or government permissions. The B-circuit cinema hall in a major city is a prime candidate for closure. It simply doesn't make sense to sit on prime real estate and show re-runs, soft-porn films or dubbed versions of imported films. In fact, it doesn't make sense to show films at all.
Light House, Hyderabad. Once notorious for screening soft-porn films in English and Indian languages is now closed. The theatre was frequently targetted by anti-campaigners on the left and right. (Photographs by G.L.N. Reddy)
V.V. Mahal, Hyderabad. A theatre in its previous incarnation and a function palace now. (Photograph by G.L.N. Reddy)
Surya twin theatre complex, Hyderabad. In the eighties and nineties the 70mm and 35 mm theatres almost always showed English films, even first releases of Hollywood films. Some of the 'Direct-to-Video' Jean Claude Van Damme films were exhibited here on big screen.
