Priya Cinema to open gates for Kolkatans after 6-month hiatus

Kolkata: After being closed for more than six months, the iconic Priya Cinema on Rashbehari Avenue of South Kolkata, will open its gates for cinephiles on Thursday

for a special screening of Satyajit Ray's cult classic Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne.

The landmark single-screen theatre, which had been closed off in the month of August after a fire broke out during one of its late-night movie screenings, has now been revamped with state-of-the-art seating arrangements and fire safety equipment.

The opening of the theatre has created quite a buzz in Tollywood, as celebrities like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Kaushik Ganguly, Arindam Sil, Gautam Ghosh and Abir Chatterjee, among others, will be attending the special screening which will begin from 7 pm.

Arijit Dutta, the managing director of Priya Entertainment Private Limited, said: "After receiving licence from the Fire department, the theatre will be restarted on Thursday evening, where we will have a special screening of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne in the original black and white 35 mm print. We have particularly selected this movie for the screening as I feel that it is the most iconic Bengali movie ever made, which is of concern to the general public nationally as well as internationally."

Apart from the celebrities, a considerable number of moviegoers will also get a taste of the special screening as some passes have also been handed out to the general public free of cost, after announcements were made on social media about the same.

Extending his regards to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her support, Dutta said: "We have installed the most modern fire safety equipment available in the market and the structures of the building, which is more than 65 years old, have also been repaired. The seating arrangements have also been refashioned as we have drastically increased the leg space by bringing down the number of seats from 930 to 540, apart from installing recliner sofas. We have also done some revamping to the interiors as the lobby has been done up differently."

Followed by Thursday's special screening, the theatre will screen movies like Kaushik Ganguly's Nagarkirtan, along with shows of Double Dhamaal and Gully Boy on Friday.