By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 8 May: As part of its five-day Summer Arts Festival-1, Doon Library and Research Centre screened today the superhit film Bobby, which was a hit in the entire country.
In the evening, a meaningful discussion was held on the closed cinema halls of Dehradun. Both these programmes were organised in the auditorium of Doon Library and Research Centre.
The first day of the Festival was dedicated to the popular hit film of the seventies, Bobby (1973). It is worth noting that Bobby redefined youth cinema in the early seventies with the performances of Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Pran and Premnath. This film reached the point of tremendous commercial success. The songs of this film were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and the lyrics emerged from the combined talents of Anand Bakshi, Rajkavi Inderjit Singh Tulsi and Vitthalbhai Patel. The film introduced the country to the amazing singing talent of Narendra Chanchal and gave a big platform to the iconic GTS 150 motorcycle and made it popular among the masses.
It was because of the film, that the motorcycle became forever known as the Bobby Bike. The session was inaugurated by Deepak Nagalia, head of Prabhat Cinema. Many film lovers and spectators were present in the auditorium during the film screening.
Biju Negi talked to Deepak Nagalia of Prabhat Cinema in the evening session. There was a wonderful discussion on the forgotten memories of the closed cinema halls of Dehradun. During the interaction, the golden era of the single screen Indian cinema exhibition industry and the diverse stories related to Hindi cinema during that decade were fondly remembered. A slide show was also presented to enliven the conversation. Deepak Naglia narrated many incidents related to the social identity of the cinema halls of Dehradun over the decades, the economy of every class related to it, the technical aspects of film screening, system, promotion, distribution and the craze of the common people for watching films.
This conversation revealed many interesting incidents about the then social status of Prabhat Cinema as well as other cinemas in Dehradun. After the talk, the audience present also asked questions and answers. On this occasion, Nicholas Hofland, Biju Negi, Chandrashekhar Tiwari, Sunder Singh Bisht, many film lovers, writers, litterateurs, social workers, intellectuals, library members and a large number of young readers were present in the auditorium.
