The demise of yet another cinema

Lahore's famous Ratan cinema to be auctioned on January 26.

LAHORE: It was a peaceful night when people from different cities settled at the premises of Ratan Cinema in Lahore and spent the night there in 1952.

While many may think the settlement came as a result of an emergency, it was a sense of urgency that brought an audience together at the Ratan Cinema for the first screening of the movie, Aan. The veteran film stars actors such as Deleep Kumar, Premnath, Nimmi and Nadira, was directed by the legendary director Mehboob Khan. The film was the first of its kind to earn a gross total of more than Rs15 million. Aan will always be available on recorded DVD’s, the cinema that first featured the film in Pakistan will now only leave reminiscent memories of the pioneering theatre.

So many viewers have their best memories attached to Ratan Cinema but much to their misfortune the cinema will become another component of history. An auction for the cinema house will be held on January 26 and the bid for the 12 canal plot will start at Rs550 million.

Ratan Cinema served as one of the main sources of entertainment to those who migrated from India to Pakistan and for those who felt the need to vent in the depressing times of early partition. The theatres prime location on McLeod Road toiled an accessible field for locals and outsiders alike with a spacious parking lot.

In the words of the veteran film director Aslam Dar, “Ratan Cinema was one of the most modern cinemas in 1947”. Recalling his memories of this cinema, Dar told The Express Tribune that Shah Jehan was the first film that was screened in this cinema after partition in 1947. “The movie was directed by AR Kardar and starred Kanwar, Nasreen and Ragni while the music leads were given by Noshad. People watched the film with great enthusiasm,” Dar maintained.

“Aan, Babul, Anokhi Ada, Chaman and many other famous movies were released first at Ratan Cinema. They did excellent business,” he said. Aan was one of those films that set new standards and completed its golden jubilee at Ratan Cinema.

Umrao Jaan Ada is another film that did wonders at the box office with its initiation at Ratan Cinema. Other films including Nokar, Data, Choti Begum and Gharasti are the few films that were first released in this cinema.

“The golden age of Ratan Cinema continued till 1980. At that time 80 per cent of the people from the film industry would come and watch films here. You name an artiste or filmmaker and he or she would be there. This used to be a beautiful cinema,” added Dar.

Ratan Cinema was initially owned by Chaudhary Eid Muhammad who migrated to Lahore from Ambala, in 1947. His son Mehfooz Chaudhary said, “My father ran cinemas in Ambala and Dera Dhon. He would come to Lahore and Delhi for doing bookings of the shows. After partition, we came to Lahore to visit, the cinema was allotted to my father, there was no looking back.”

Chaudhary the current owner of the cinema confesses that financial constraints leave him with no choice but to auction the family theatre.

“I feel like something is pinching my heart to sell this cinema as we have owned it since 1947 but there isn’t another way out,” Chaudhary added.

The last movie that was screened at Ratan Cinema was Akhari Sajda by Pervaiz Kaleem and since then the cinema has not screened any movies.

With only a few days to go Ratan Cinema will become another historical landmark that will leave an indelible mark of its former glory. Adieu Ratan!

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2011.