In 2002, Bollywood was banned. In 2018, not just cinema halls but cinema itself is dying in Manipur

Makhonmani Mongsaba is a national award-winning filmmaker from Manipur. Yet, in the early 2000s, when he wanted his films Yenning Amadi Likla and Nangna Kappa Pakchade to be screened in his home State, the producers struggled to find one cinema hall in Manipur with a 35mm projector to show the films.

Shankar Talkies, with 1,160 seats, of which 460 were in the balcony, was once the pride of Imphal. There was a sprawling garden around it, and people thronged its restaurants and shops. These are all long gone, the streets are empty, and the hall lies unused, its seats broken. Rarely, producers hire the hall, and bring their own projector and plastic chairs. Its twin hall, Mini Shankar with 500 seats, is today a church with a service every Sunday.

Fall season

A century ago, cinema was thriving in Manipur. Within a 1 km radius of Imphal, there was Usha Cinema, Friends Talkies, Pratap Talkies, Victory Cinema, Mini Friends and Imphal Talkies. The theatres — often adorned with huge, painstakingly painted posters — screened Manipuri, Bollywood and Hollywood movies. Across Manipur, there were at least 50 halls where films like Lamja Parashuram,Baiju Bawra, Guide, and Sholay drew full houses for weeks.

The first show would begin a little after noon and the last show would run till midnight. On Sundays, moviegoers, often dressed

The rundown insides of Shankar Talkies | Photo Credit: Meghachandra Kongbam

for the occasion, would flock from all over. The queues were serpentine, there was a thriving black market for tickets, and hawkers did good business on the sidelines.

Asha Cinema-Jina Cinema and Shankar Talkies-Mini Shankar came up in the 80s, with 70mm screens. And in 1972, Manipuri cinema was born, with Debkumar Bose’s Matamgi Manipur, the start of a rich regional-flavoured fare.

Within the next decade, however, things unravelled dramatically. Today, only two halls survive in Imphal, Usha Cinema and Friends Talkies. And, according to Manipur Film Forum, an apex body of 12 different organisations across Manipur, around 11 halls run two or three shows a day, while the remaining 26 run only a night show.

The fall began in the late 80s and early 90s, when cable TV and video dealt a blow to theatres worldwide. Unlike other States, the Manipur government did little to counter this by way of renovating halls or improving the theatre experience. Instead, theatres were given over to X-rated Hindi and English films.

Ban on Bollywood

Then, in 2002, the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) imposed an indefinite ban on screening Hindi films. The RPF was protesting the death of one of its cadre while in the custody of Assam Rifles, the paramilitary outfit deployed in Manipur. The ban was soon extended to Hindi television serials as well. In 2014, when the Hindi film Mary Kom, on the Manipuri boxing champion, was released, it could be viewed in Manipur only on DVD.

The ban is still in force. Without popular films to draw in audiences, cinema itself is slowly dying in Manipur. The 37 cinema halls now largely show Manipuri films, and that too only in grainy video format, which goes against the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Worse, there is no digital or celluloid technology in any hall.

Celluloid loss

When Lallasi Pal, a popular Manipuri film made with a budget of ₹1 lakh, was officially released in video format at Friends

Crowds flock to Azad Cinema in its heyday | Photo Credit: Makhonmani Mongsaba

Talkies in 2002, it was a great shock to Manipuri filmmakers. Eminent producer-director Moirangthem Nilamani said, “Celluloid and video films are two different streams which cannot, under any circumstances, be combined together.” He had warned even then that neglecting celluloid would ultimately kill Manipuri cinema.

Even 15 years ago, at least seven Manipuri films were produced each year. In the 15 years from 2003 to 2018, only seven films have been produced altogether.

Laishram Sanatomba is the owner of Friends Talkies and president of United Cine Exhibitors’ Association. He says, “I run the theatre only because of my passion for cinema.” He too screens only Manipuri video films, with tickets at the 826-seater hall ranging from ₹20 to ₹40. “I sell 50 to 60 tickets per show. How can it be a profitable business?” he asks.

In 2016, the State government circulated a draft Cine Policy, but it has remained on paper. There is no practical plan to revive extinct cinema halls, improve existing ones, or develop multiplexes. There is no comprehensive vision for subsidy schemes to encourage Manipuri film producers or technical support in terms of equipment.

The closure of halls has lost the government crores of rupees in revenue. Between 1995 and 1997, amusement tax revenues exceeded ₹1 crore. Subsequently, as R.K. Khurkishor, Joint Commissioner of Taxes, Manipur, quotes from the departmental five-year record: In 2012-13, it was ₹5.46 lakh, in 2013-14 it was ₹69,000, 2014-15 and 2015-16 were blank, and it was ₹15,000 in 2016-17.

Culturally, too, it is a severe loss. R.K. Nimai Singh, the former Commissioner of Art & Culture, Manipur, says, “The closure of cinema halls has not only hurt Manipur’s fledging film industry, it has hampered the propagation of our composite culture.”

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh agrees the ban must be removed but isn’t sure when. “Let me move forward,” he says.

Right now, a policy fast-forward might be just what Manipuri cinema needs.

The writer, Advisor of Film Forum Manipur and President of Film Society of Manipur, was awarded Best Film Critic in 2015.