Radha Studio to screen films regularly from May 6

kolkata: Cine lovers in the city of joy have reasons to cheer with Golf Club Road in Tollygunge getting a permanent venue for cinema screening from May 6, Friday. Radha Studio, located at the ground floor of the Cinema Centenary Building, close to Bangur hospital, will be screening commercial films on a regular basis.

"We have been using this venue for screening of films during the Kolkata International Film Festival every year. Now, the 152 seat auditorium will exhibit film shows in the same pattern as Nandan on a regular basis. The screening committee that selects films for Nandan I and Nandan II will do the same for this venue too," a senior official of the state Information and Cultural Affairs department said.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the inaugural programme of the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival on April 25 had announced the unveiling of Radha Studio as a regular film screening venue. The ticket rates will be only Rs 30.

"The Cinema Centenary Building located right at the epicentre of Tollygunge which is intrinsically associated with Bengali film industry (Tollywood) has been the shooting venue of a plethora of Bengali movies and television serials. Now, it is emerging as a unique blend of heritage and modernization," the official added.

The department has plans to use the venue as a preview theatre too in the coming days. A project has been undertaken under a state government-supported initiative to restore the films and news reels preserved in the vaults at the Cinema Centenary Building and Rupayan lab.

Four of the first lot of films that have been restored under the project were screened at the film festival. "We are working on restoration and digitization of more films with support from the National Film Archive of India, Pune," the official added. A cine museum which will depict the history of Bengali films will come up at the under construction building just adjacent to the Cinema Centenary Building.