[Reader-list] Tangella madhavi, Mumbai

[tangella madhavi]

  Over the past few months, I have been trying to understand the cinema-going culture of Telugu migrants at Sagar Cinema, a video theatre located along the Express Highway in the Western suburbs of Mumbai. My emphasis has been on their lived reality (-ies), the cause and effect of large-scale distress migration from Andhra Pradesh to mumbai city particularly from Telengana region.   

Sagar Cinema 
Days go past with mundane pace at Sagar Cinema. The screening of Telugu films begins by about 8.15 am. The young boy from the ticket counter plays the VCD while setting the volume to a blaring pitch. Shuklaji is fast asleep on the small cot placed at the corner of the next screening room where generally they screen Hindi films. One or two Telugu migrants, hearing the noise, decide to buy the ticket and enter the empty room. In about 45 minutes there are at least 15 people staring at the TV, occasionally spitting pan along walls of the theatre. Some of them still smell drunk and are careless about what is happening in the film. Few others enter and go straight to the first bench and lie down and sleep. Suddenly, the young boy decides to change the film. Without any clue of the name of the film or credits, another film begins. The only common aspect between the two films is the hero (for example, Nagarjuna); or the VCD is cued to either a fight scene or the climax wherein a hero like Krishna delivers dialogues with a mythic fervor. Few of them clap in complete agreement with his Hero. Suddenly, the sound goes mute. There is chaos and few of them yell out to the young boy sitting at the counter in Hindi. There is a crisis. Shuklaji walks in to control the crowd while the young boy fiddles with the TV and rushes out to get technical help. He returns with a palm sized CD player and attaches it to the TV. He asks the audience till where he needs to play back the film. The audience with a slight whimper helps the boy and come to a general consensus as to where the film should be played. At around 10 am another new film begins. By now there are at least 70 people in the room. This film might be over by 1 pm, after which the crowd disperses. On their way out, a few of them flip the VCD of the film to be screened at 10.30 pm. 

'I don't like watching films in Mumbai," says Venkatesh (about 20-21 yrs old) who came to Mumbai only about six months ago. "In fact I don't like coming here. I come here stay for two months and then I go back home. I just came back few days ago. Back home we pay the same amount, ten rupees, to watch a film. If it is a newly released film then we even pay twenty rupees. Sound mast tuga untundi akada! (The sound in theatres back home is great!) I like the loudness of the theatre. If we have such sound as we have at Sagar Cinema we would have broken the chairs and walked out of the theatre. Here, we are at their mercy. It is the fourth day that all of us have not gone to work. In fact, no one from this area has gone to work. We are about 1000 of us. We are asking for a raise in our wages from the Seths. The cost of living in the city has gone up. Now we hear that the Seth has got another group from somewhere else in Mumbai to work for him. We do not know what to do. So we come to Sagar Cinema right from six in the morning. At least, here we can spend time here till late afternoon. If you have any more questions, we will be here tomorrow, that is if the bandh is still on. Otherwise, we will be back to work. You might never find us!"  

On the staircase next to Sagar Cinema, which leads to the Highway main road, Pushpa and Anathamma sit under the tree shade. Pushpa talks while Anathamma keeps nodding her head while watching the crowd go past on the lane below. "We went to the Malad naka but did not find any work. We are on our way back home. Thought we rest for a moment. Everyday, we go to the Naka a bit late because we have to finish chores at home. We have rented a place in Ashok Nagar for Rs. 350 a month. Our husbands also work as construction workers. This area was a jungle when we came here, we had horse carriages, now look how they are ripping the mountain to widen the road. They have also demolished a lot of houses in Ashok Nagar."

"Yes! We do go back to our Village once a year to see our children. Boys are fine but we cannot keep our daughters with us in Mumbai. In fact, I (Pushpa) am planning to get my daughter married to a boy in the village itself. If given a choice and work we will leave the city and go back Home. I came to Mumbai about 27 yrs ago after my marriage. I had my son here. But he has his own life now. We do not know what he does for a living. Back in the Village if he behaved like this he would have got beaten."

"No! We do not go to Sagar Cinema. Where is the time for all this? By the time we finish work at home we are already late to go to the Naka. The men need Sagar Cinema because they work very hard. They are woken up dead in the night, sometimes two in the morning, to get ready for work. They are taken in trucks or travel by trains to the worksite. After few days of work like this, their body gives up. They do not go to work. They drink and go places like Sagar Cinema to watch a film. They need to watch films and visit Video theatres more than us!

Now showing at Sagar Cinema: Indira, Dil, Nenu Nanu, Shankar Dada MBBS, Bunny, Suryavansham, Gokulamlo Seetha, Justice Chowdary, Nuve Naku Nachavu, Mass. Ticket only Rs. 10.

Other video theatres in Malad screening Telugu films
The lane down the Orlem Church at Malad has community of migrants primarily from Tamil Nadu. There are at least four video theatres close to each other at the entrance of this locality. Vinose Video Theatre (Tamil films), Mahesh Video Theatre (only Hindi) and Padma Video Theatre (Tamil and Telugu) and Mala Video Theatre (Tamil and Telugu). They are primarily one-room theatres, which can accommodate about 70 people on an average. The tickets are priced at about Rs. 8- 10 for each film. 

Unlike Sagar Cinema, these Video theatres seem to operate clandestinely inside a narrow lane in the slum. Padma theatre's owner refused to share information. Inside a narrow lane, the entrance to Mala Theatre was crowded by young men tying to get buy tickets. At the counter, there were two men sitting busy selling the tickets. One of them looked like a Tamilian and the other was a young boy in his twenties. 
"Do you screen Telugu films here?" I asked. Dumb struck, the young boy replied and said, "Yes, only on Sunday evenings at 9.30 pm." How many come to watch the Telugu show? Looking at each other, they said about 15-20. Realizing that they too were not opening up and were too busy, I smiled and started walking back.

Sometime later, I realised that the young man who was at the counter was following me. I turned back and so did he. He walked up to me rather sacred and anxious. Before he could ask me anything I told him that I was not from the Police. "No, Madam, we own two Video theatres at Jogeshwari. Some one like you came asked for some information and then clicked photographs. Next day, she came with the police and we had to shut it down. We don't do ganda kaam now. We at this theatre don't show blue films. Hamara Naam bhi Kharab hota hai." 

"My name is Vikas. At Padma, we do not show Telugu films everyday. At 9.30 pm, we have a new Hindi film/ 'fighting' film , Tamil and Telugu. That is, on Friday if we show a 'fighting film', then the Telugu people know that on Sunday there will be a Telugu films. There are at least 50-70 people who come and we show films they demand. We only allow one film per ticket. If a man comes at an odd time, ie, when a film in on, we allow him to get in and continue till the next film is over. We do not want him to go back. Where will he go, till the film playing gets over? Also, we don't collect the ticket for the last show. Generally during daytime, once the film is over, on their way out, we collect the tickets back and tear them. But for the last show, we allow them to keep it. This is because; the film gets over at around one in the morning. These Telugu people are usually detained by Police about their movement late in the night. They do no have an address or a contact phone number or any ID card. So, they show the film ticket as a proof as to where they have been so late. We regularly, get requests to stamp/ seal and sign the ticket."

I ask Vikas, if I can come and watch a Telugu film in his theatre. He smiled and said, "No, Madam. Women not allowed." 

Since the Telugu migrants have stopped going to work for the fourth day now, I am able to spend considerable time with them. Also, this has allowed me to meet the same people on a regular basis. Raju, Devraj, Kurvanna and Budda anna are few people whom I will be talking to over he coming days. I will be talking to other migrant groups from Andhra Pradesh in Mumbai who are labourers. In the process, look at their cinema going culture. Also, enquire from which region of AP have they migrated to Mumbai. I also plan to talk to Shuklaji about the nexus between the police and video theatre owners. Also, there are a few hints that he is busy starting some other business.
Enlist the Video theatres in Malad area as comprehensively as possible. Try to understand the manner in which these theatres get a license and go back to theatres at Orlem, Malad to meet Vikas.



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