Sad story of a time bygone

Li Na Chi Man has come to this.. Sad.. Guess the multiplex craze has got another of its victims.

Even today my friends and I reminisce of our college days where we went for a movie every couple of days. It used to be one english movie every week (minimum). Pune in those days had only two cinema halls which showed English movies. Vijay (better known as Li Na Chi Man) would be one of them. I could literally give you a list of movies that I saw there. Lots of memories. My wife and I went there on our first date.

I guess the best time for Vijay was the 1997-98 time. And it has a lot to do with a certain Mr. James Cameron. As I mentioned, there were only two halls which showed English movies. And the other one (Alaka) had Titanic running for about a year. So the movie crazy Engineering students obviously stocked up on all the movies at Vijay. The Matrix, Toy Story, all the Brosnan Bond movies, L.A. Confidential, , a couple of Jean Claude Van Damme ones, I think about 4-5 Steven Seagal flicks. All ran to full houses. I don't remember which movie it was, but Vijay even had it's first House Full board. The board was garlanded and a ceremonial coconut was also broken. It was literally a gathering spot. You could meet old friends who had come with their friends circle. After the movie, all would head out for coffee / sugarcane juice (depending on the time of year) once you get out of the parking tangle. It's been 5 yrs since I have been to Vijay Talkies, and was shocked to see the picture in the Pune Times. From those heights, the glorious theater has fallen to these levels. Sad. Very Sad.

I think it is the duty of all engineers who graduated from Pune between 1996 and 2001 should go see Dhamaka Haseenon Ka, giving Limaye Natya Chitra Mandir a fitting send off into oblivion.