I grew up in the years when we used to have a single TV channel. VCR was a luxury, there was no internet and I doubt the word ‘downloading’ had even been invented. There was one form of entertainment that ruled supreme, the cinema.
Whenever we thought about going to a cinema to watch a quality film, one that always remained among the top few in the mind was Nishat.
The cinema, located on MA Jinnah Road, Karachi was torched in 2012 by a mob of fanatics during a protest against an anti-Islam film posted on YouTube. The cinema was a victim of a crime it had nothing to do with. Recently, owners of Nishat Cinema announced that the curtain has fallen for good, it is being sold, which was sad news.
Nishat in its initial years mostly showcased Urdu films but, during the 1970s it became the hub of popular English movies as well.
Reaching Nishat itself was an experience. You would pass other cinemas, such as Rio, Star, Scala, Bambino and Lyric if you were coming through Saddar. While coming through Mazar-e-Quaid’s side, you would pass Capri, Prince and Naz. During this ride, one thing that really fascinated me were the huge hand-painted piece of artwork gracing the illuminated facades of these grand structures.
Nishat’s main foyer had the box office, a snack counter, and the entrance to the Dress Circle which was the seating area on the ground floor. A staircase led up to another foyer which had the main entrance to Grand Circle, another seating area on the upper floor. There was another snack counter along with two small terraces which opened over the main road.
Upon entering the grand hall you were greeted by the cool breeze of the air conditioner and the usher would guide you through the aisles to your seats using a torch light. Curtains covering the huge screen would part promptly with lights going down and then the advertisements would come on followed by trailers of upcoming films. Sometimes one used to get a surprise in the shape of a short cartoon or a Three Stooges film clip, accompanied by a roar from the crowd before the interval.
I remember watching Charlton Heston racing his chariot in a Roman arena in Ben-Hur, Gregory Peck riding in the sun with gold bags in Mackenna’s Gold, Bruce Lee in his iconic yellow gear going against Kareem-Abdul Jabbar in The Game of Death, believing a man can fly after watching Christopher Reeve in Superman: The Movie, and Bruce Willis taking on a group of terrorists single handedly in Die Hard. I accompanied Schwarzenegger on his Harley in Terminator 2, bid farewell to the ill-fated Titanic and welcomed the new crew of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek.
I remember visiting this place as a young boy with my father, later, with my college friends and recently with my wife and children. It was a great outing every time and Nishat Cinema always proved to be a great traditional host.
I certainly hope this article come across less like an obituary and more like a celebration of great memories. As a character in the Italian film, Cinema Paradiso said, “Out of the fire of love come ashes. Even the greatest love eventually fizzles out.”
Nishat Cinema you will be missed.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2015.
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