<p>At a time when smartphones have emerged as a popular form of entertainment, Mumbai-based researcher and writer Sharon Irani takes us back to the days of tent-show cinemas.“More than a century ago, tent shows were a major form of entertainment.</p>.<p>A few tent shows still run in the hinterland,” Sharon told DH on Wednesday.During the last weekend, she had made a presentation on “From Tent-shows in the Maidan to the Lost Cinemas of Lamington Road: The Story of Bombay’s Early Film Culture" hosted by the Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.</p>.<p>It was on July 7, 1896, when the French cinematographers' duo Lumiere Brothers arranged a screening of six films at the Watson Hotel in Bombay – marking the birth of cinema. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar of Bombay was in attendance and he then made the first Indian motion picture</p>.<p>‘The Wrestlers’.This was much before the 1913 release of 'Raja Harishchandra', the first feature film of the silent era made by Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema.</p>.<p>Bhatavdekar in Bombay and Jamshedji Framji Madan in Calcutta, now Kolkata, imported short reels and showcased them alongside their own work.</p>.<p>Abdulally Esoofally was another early film entrepreneur who started the tent show cinemas all over British territories in East Asia and eventually moved to buy Alexandra Theatre and Majestic Theatre. He was in partnership with Ardeshir Irani, who made 'Alam Ara', India's first talkie that was released in 1931.</p>.<p> "These men behaved like technology start-up companies today, constantly thinking how to innovate fresh formats for the audiences," she said.</p>.<p>“This started a cinema-viewing culture…tent cinemas were set up in maidans, and then inside old theatre houses…much before cinema halls and multiplexes came into existence,” said Sharon.“Before the 'tambu' talkies, 'lavani' and 'tamasha' had been the sources of entertainment…but tent shows changed the way you entertained in those times,” she said.</p>.<p>She took the online viewers on a trip through the evolution of cinema from its earliest avatars, with an introduction to famous personalities like Kajjanbai, Patience Cooper, Jamshedji Framji Madan, 'Fearless' Nadia and others.</p>.<p>According to her, ‘The Cinema Travellers’, a film directed by Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya and produced by Cave Pictures, was released in 2016, on the current condition of tent shows.</p>.<p>Drawing a comparison of tent shows to cinemas and the current entertainment scenario, she said: “While you can sit at home and watch any number of movies on whichever streaming platform of your choice, the experience of going to a cinema has always been a collective gathering, a shared experience.</p>.<p>This is why people would, earlier, dress up to go to the cinema or the theatre. As an audience, we understand that it is an experience. Cinema halls were built like fantasy palaces, with luxurious furnishings.</p>.<p>”On the Plague and Covid-19 comparison and entertainment, Sharon points out: “With Covid, sometimes, forcing our methods to go full circle back to the 1890s maybe it's time to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia and flashback.”</p>
<p>At a time when smartphones have emerged as a popular form of entertainment, Mumbai-based researcher and writer Sharon Irani takes us back to the days of tent-show cinemas.“More than a century ago, tent shows were a major form of entertainment.</p>.<p>A few tent shows still run in the hinterland,” Sharon told DH on Wednesday.During the last weekend, she had made a presentation on “From Tent-shows in the Maidan to the Lost Cinemas of Lamington Road: The Story of Bombay’s Early Film Culture" hosted by the Mumbai Research Centre of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.</p>.<p>It was on July 7, 1896, when the French cinematographers' duo Lumiere Brothers arranged a screening of six films at the Watson Hotel in Bombay – marking the birth of cinema. Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar of Bombay was in attendance and he then made the first Indian motion picture</p>.<p>‘The Wrestlers’.This was much before the 1913 release of 'Raja Harishchandra', the first feature film of the silent era made by Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema.</p>.<p>Bhatavdekar in Bombay and Jamshedji Framji Madan in Calcutta, now Kolkata, imported short reels and showcased them alongside their own work.</p>.<p>Abdulally Esoofally was another early film entrepreneur who started the tent show cinemas all over British territories in East Asia and eventually moved to buy Alexandra Theatre and Majestic Theatre. He was in partnership with Ardeshir Irani, who made 'Alam Ara', India's first talkie that was released in 1931.</p>.<p> "These men behaved like technology start-up companies today, constantly thinking how to innovate fresh formats for the audiences," she said.</p>.<p>“This started a cinema-viewing culture…tent cinemas were set up in maidans, and then inside old theatre houses…much before cinema halls and multiplexes came into existence,” said Sharon.“Before the 'tambu' talkies, 'lavani' and 'tamasha' had been the sources of entertainment…but tent shows changed the way you entertained in those times,” she said.</p>.<p>She took the online viewers on a trip through the evolution of cinema from its earliest avatars, with an introduction to famous personalities like Kajjanbai, Patience Cooper, Jamshedji Framji Madan, 'Fearless' Nadia and others.</p>.<p>According to her, ‘The Cinema Travellers’, a film directed by Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya and produced by Cave Pictures, was released in 2016, on the current condition of tent shows.</p>.<p>Drawing a comparison of tent shows to cinemas and the current entertainment scenario, she said: “While you can sit at home and watch any number of movies on whichever streaming platform of your choice, the experience of going to a cinema has always been a collective gathering, a shared experience.</p>.<p>This is why people would, earlier, dress up to go to the cinema or the theatre. As an audience, we understand that it is an experience. Cinema halls were built like fantasy palaces, with luxurious furnishings.</p>.<p>”On the Plague and Covid-19 comparison and entertainment, Sharon points out: “With Covid, sometimes, forcing our methods to go full circle back to the 1890s maybe it's time to indulge in a little bit of nostalgia and flashback.”</p>
