Page 56 - June2018

OpiniOn
dilemmas
HumrA
QurAISHI
The Delhi-based writer
and columnist’s books
include Kashmir: The
Untold Story. She co-
authored a series of
writings with the late
Khushwant Singh and
her short stories are
part of anthologies.
The views expressed
are her own
56-57 Opinion Humra.indd 2 06/06/18
Talkies-on-truck become
new craze in rural India
Sushil Chaudhary, the man behind PictureTime, is driving talkies on
his trucks to doorsteps of rural homes at affordable rates, making
its audiences have a feel of city-like multiplexes in these AC vehicles
recall the very first time I met is a solution to the above.”
With hundreds of films and millions
Sushil Chaudhary, I felt as I was
I of filmgoers, it seems unbelievable that
facing one of the Bollywood’s
leading hero of the 60s and 70s, we are lagging behind in terms of film
Biswajit Chatterjee, a yesteryear’s screening platforms! But Sushil argues
heart-throb. The resemblance was with facts and figures, “If you look at
so stark that I had to actually ask that the current screen density in India, it is
does he have any direct or indirect con- very low. And, the numbers have come
nection with Biswajit? “No…not at all…I down drastically from 25,000 screens
am a trained computer engineer, hailing to around 11,000 at present. While cable
from Uttar Pradesh and now residing television and digital revolution played
in New Delhi.” Thereafter, we met on their role has declined, the main reason
a couple of occasions and each time, in my view was that single screen cin-
Sushil came across as one of those quiet ema theatre business could not adapt
introvert sorts engrossed with work and itself to the changing times. So, in rural
his family. India, the ‘tambu talkies’ format started
Recently, when I saw his photo- dying. While multiplexes have taken
graphs flashed in the national dailies, over the market in the metros and mini
sitting with Delhi’s Chief Minister metros, it’s not penetrated in rural India
Arvind Kejriwal, and film director Satish which is deprived of the grand cinemat-
Kaushik, I got in touch with him. After ic experience. With the mobile DigiPlex
all, this unassuming man has launched concept, I am attempting to revive the
‘PictureTime’ which is about driving cinema experience in every town and
talkies on modified trucks to the rural village in the remotest part of India.”
belts of India! PictureTime was launched in 2015
To know about PictureTime in details, at the Goa Film festival and thereaf-
I asked Sushil about his off-beat projects. ter, operations were running, that is
How and when he thought of taking when PictureTime started screening
entertainment to the people living the films in the rural belts of Chhattisgarh,
rural belts of India or taking films right Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
at their doorstep in a remarkably afford- Rajasthan. But, the big formal start-off of
able way? PictureTime was held on May 9 in New
Sushil explained that he had been ob- Delhi with the screening of two movies:
serving for the last few years how “India A Billion Colour Story by Satish Kaushik
is a severely under screened nation and and Pinky Beauty Parlour by Akshay
the high real estate prices and cumber- Singh.
some regulatory process to set up the It was heartening to know from
cinema theatre pushed me to think be- Sushil that PictureTime is already
yond. Hence, the product DigiPlex came expanding its base, taking movies to
into being. I wanted to have portable, our countrymen living in the so-called
real estate independent, low on regula- conflict zones of the country. “We are
tory compliances and ready to have new in the planning stage for expanding
release films platform and PictureTime in the Northeast, J&K and other Naxal
Tehelka / 15 june 2018 56 www.Tehelka.com
1:29 PM