Silent fall of single-screen theatres in Andhra

The narrow lane outside Navarang Theatre in Vijayawada’s Governorpet was once abuzz with taxis and autorickshaws that brought an excited audience.

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On billboards, large posters caught the movie cast in the thick of action and drama, and in the air, hung faint snippets of dialogues and music wafting out from the hall.Opened in 1964, Navarang Theatre was a cultural landmark, where rickshaw pullers and taxi drivers took pride in watching Hindi and English movies alongside the city’s elite. Blockbusters ran for months, with word of mouth doing its magic. Today, however, silence has shrouded the theatre, its empty seats and faded walls a stark contrast to the housefulls in its heyday.