New Year came. There will be no more show at Sridhar Talkies, Kudallur as the management decided to close it. Perhaps, it will open for the people as a rural auditorium, locally known as kalyanamandapam. Sridhar was the cinema hall for the rural film lovers. Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and English films were screened here. Its roof is tar sheet; floor is of rough cement patches.
People from the area came to Sridhar. It was a centre for daily workers to cheer with. The most interesting thing is the presences of families come to see a film sitting together. Head-load workers, especially the sand excavating ones came to Sridhar along with their families. The Tamil people who arrived for telecom works too were there. The cinema hall expects families at night show starting at 6.30pm. Matinee would be the get together of teenagers and youngsters. The late night show, known as ‘Second show’, starts at 10.30pm is fully enjoyed by youngsters.
As time passed, transport facilities improved and the village started to go out for watching films. Naturally, Sridhar became the second option for them. But the management of the hall tried to modernize it by implementing advanced Satellite Cinema. But they failed, as many think, to follow up the modernizing programme.
But many of villagers still remember the first film in their life seen at a cinema hall.
