On a breezy morning, under the canopy of the giant mango tree at the sprawling Sarita-Savita-Sangeeta theatre complex in Kochi, stands Sethunath PM, the manager of the theatre. Sarita, the largest of the three theatres, has reopened to the public after renovation and work is underway at Savita and Sangeeta. Sethunath is busy overseeing the work, but he steals a few moments to reminisce about his long association with the theatre. 

He has been working here for 36 years and has seen cinema’s heydey. “I joined in 1991, when the culture of moviegoing was entirely different. We played to packed houses and often had to call the police to manage the milling crowds. Those days are gone. Today, almost everyone books tickets online. As Sarita reopens with modern facilities and crowds return, it feels like the old days again,” he adds.

Inside Saritha theatre

RK Nithin

Multiplex-style experience

Opened in 1981, Sarita-Savita-Sangeeta could well be called Kerala’s first multiplex-style experience as it was the first three-in-one theatre complex. “My father was in the plantation business. But he loved cinema. He wanted to venture into the entertainment industry and he wanted to go big,” says Issac Francis, the managing partner of the theatre complex. “He bought the land, a little over an acre on Banerji Road, from the family of prominent Jewish businessman S Koder,” says Issac.

Construction began in 1976 and the theatre was formally inaugurated in December 1981. “Architect Govinda Rao from Chennai, who has designed many of the major theatres and buildings in Kerala including Shenoys theatre on MG Road and the Pastoral Orientation Centre in Palarivattom in Kochi, designed Sarita-Savita-Sangeeta. His work was creative and had a contemporary edge to it,” adds Issac. “The design’s best feature is its spaciousness.”

The structure of the theatre has been left intact, with the ramp outside, leading to Sarita, adding to the visual drama. The building, which turns 45 years this December this year, remains one of Kochi’s important cultural landmarks. Even the junction was named after Sarita. 

Inside the theatre

RK Nithin

An emotion

Especially for the students of St. Alberts Higher Secondary School, the cinema complex was an emotion. “At every reunion, nostalgic memories surface — the jostling for tickets, the excitement of a first-day, first-show, and the thrill of watching a film with friends. For us, especially the backbencher boys, such outings were a kind of coming-of-age ritual,” says Arun Kumar, station engineer, 110KV Substation, Kinesco, Ernakulam. 

Sarita-Savita-Sangeeta in 2003

JOHNEY THOMAS

“I still vividly remember the first-day, first-show of Lagaan. The front rows were packed with St Albert’s boys. And when the cricket began, the hall erupted. Every boundary drew a roar, every wicket a collective groan. We cheered at the screen as though we were in the stands of a live cricket match,” he adds.

Issac recalls the first film that was screened at Sarita-Savita-Sangeetha — Padayottam, the multi-starrer epic period drama directed by Jijo Punnoose. He was a student of law at the time.  

The theatre witnessed many blockbuster successes during the nineties and later and managed to survive even as multiplexes and OTT platforms became the norm. 

Back with a bang

Sarita was closed for renovation in 2021. The theatre, which had 1,272 seats before renovation, now has 713 seats. It has a 4k Barco SP laser projector, a 61 foot-tall and 26 foot wide screen, Dolby Atmos and sound and upgraded seats. “Acoustics is the most important aspect of a theatre and the theatre already had original teak, mahogany and white cedar wood panelling, which has been retained,” adds Issac.

Even as the pressures of change mounted, the family wanted to keep the theatre intact. “Costs went up, there were no back-to-back hits and the number of releases came down. The entire culture of movie watching changed. But this is a family-owned property, built by my father and my brothers and I wanted to honour his memory and keep it alive,” says Issac.

Savita and Sangeeta will soon be reopened after renovation.