The open-air screening series by Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy kicked off with the screening of evergreen Kannada classic ‘Bangarada Manushya’, on Friday.
Credit: DH Photo
Bengaluru: The main entrance of LuLu Mall was transformed into a time capsule on Friday. In a rare treat for cinephiles and the “Gen-Z” crowd alike, the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (KCA) kicked off its open-air screening series with the legendary 1972 Kannada classic ‘Bangarada Manushya.’
The atmosphere was thick with nostalgia as a vintage 35mm projector, a rare dinosaur in the digital age, whirred to life. For many in the crowd, it wasn’t just a movie; it was a pilgrimage. They welcomed back ‘Annavru’ with a standing ovation and whistles all over, fans screaming his name “Dr Rajkumar ge Jai.”
“I saw this film during my engineering days in 1972 at Chamundeshwari Theatre in Mysuru. It ran for over a year,” recalled sound engineer G S Prashanth, who helped maintain the antique Christie’s projector used for the screening.
“To see these reels spinning again in the age of WhatsApp is a miracle. Most of these machines have been scrapped, but we restored this one to show the new generation what real film looks like,” he said.
The screening, inspired by open-air festivals in cities, like Budapest and Paris, aims to bring the “festival of celebration” to the streets.
N Vidyashankar, artistic director of BIFFes, noted that the initiative was born from a desire to preserve Karnataka’s celluloid heritage.
For the audience, the 174-minute epic starring Dr Rajkumar remains as relevant as ever. An elderly man who travelled from the outskirts of the city shared a memory: “In 1974, families would arrive in bullock carts just to catch a glimpse of this film. It taught us the value of the soil and Gandhi’s vision of village development. Seeing it restored on a big screen under the stars brings back the soul of Kannada cinema.”
Technical experts on-site, including veteran operators C H Chandrashekhar and Narayanaswamy, highlighted the Herculean effort required to play physical prints.
They recounted how, decades ago, cinema operators were felicitated for managing a single print for over 100 weeks without a scratch, a feat of precision lost in the digital plug-and-play era.