KMC removes ‘Star Theatre’ signboard after CM’s announcement
Kolkata: Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement to rename Start Theatre in the northern part of the city after the iconic actress Binodini Dasi, famously known as ‘Noti Binodini’, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has removed the existing signboard of the theatre and will finish installation of the new one by Tuesday.
Mayor Firhad Hakim has told the media that the Star Theatre signboard was removed as soon as the Chief Minister made the announcement at Sandeshkhali on Monday afternoon. A temporary signboard has been put up with the name ‘Noti Binodini’. Installation works for a permanent signboard will be completed on Tuesday.
With queries arising as to whether names of heritage buildings can be changed at random, KMC sources said that if the state government so pleases it can be done, especially when it is done to pay tribute to such iconic personalities.
The original Star Theatre that opened in 1873 on Beadon Street does not exist anymore. It was razed when Central Avenue was constructed in the mid-1920s.
The theatre later moved to Cornwallis Street which is now known as Bidhan Sarani. Girish Chandra Ghosh, known for his skills in playwriting and direction created a strong group of theatre workers that included Binodini Dasi, Amritalal Mitra, Aghornath Pathak, Kadambini and Upendranath Mitra, to name a few. Soon, they got a young Marwari investor named Babu Goormookh Roy, who negotiated with Binodini to be his exclusive consort and invested Rs 50,000 in establishing a new playhouse. A plot owned by Kirti Chandra Mitra at 68, Beadon Street, was leased and Star Theatre was built in 1883. Initially, it was decided that the theatre would be named after Binodini herself, but considering her social status as a girl from a red-light area the name was changed to Star.
Star was gutted in October 1991 and closed for a few years. Later, the state government rebuilt the same, retaining its heritage look. The Star, in its new avatar, was opened in 2005.
