Be it placing cutouts of top stars, doing a paal abishekam or even dancing in the aisles, namma Chennai makkal still like going to Albert, Kasi, Vettri or Maharani, to watch a movie in full desi style. iMax has just made its entry into a swanky mall in Chennai. However, till date, Chennaiites enjoy watching movies in a few of the city’s oldest, stand-alone theatres to truly relish the experience. While some of the theatres are as old as 68 years, some have renovated or added a second screen in order to cater to the changing times.
Vettri, built in 1973, has become a landmark in Chrompet since. This 900-seater cinema hall has been run by a single family and is currently under the care of Rakesh Gowthaman, although his father started it. “We recently added a second screen called Rakesh (named after him) and renovated the older one because our customers’ satisfaction is of primary importance. Vettri is known for all the hungama that is associated with a first day first show,” says Rakesh, adding that many directors come to the theatre to see the reception to their movies. Since 1973 the biggest change has been to screen around four or five movies simultaneously, instead of just one or two. Rakesh goes on to say that multiplexes have never really posed a threat to Vettri, because they’re the only one which can accommodate a large number of people.
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