A Nostalgic Walk

People head out to watch movies all the time. However,it is only recently that they have started taking notice of the so-called cinema halls. This has a lot to do with the growth of multiplexes,which has resulted in the dwindling patronage of the single-screen theatres. The walk across Grant Road to admire the 19 cinema halls located in the neighbourhood has thus the most popular walk at Alliance Francaise De Bombay’s ‘Heritage Days’ programme.

From September 9 to 12,the centre organised a series of visits and screenings that will highlight Mumbai’s culture,heritage and history. Starting with the visit to Grand Road’s cinema halls with journalist and city historian Rafique Baghdadi,the programme aims to “form links between France and India,” according to Sheryn Mulla,Cultural Assistant at Alliance Francaise.

“Heritage Days is modelled after Europe’s annual Heritage Week — which took place from August 18 to 26 this year — allowing people to visit historic sites and monuments that wouldn’t be open to the public otherwise. We’re following the same idea and trying to help people discover aspects of the city they would not know despite having lived there for several years,” she says.

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In addition to the Grant Road cinema halls,the programme is also taking people to Lalbaug to discover the area’s spice market,the flower market at Bhuleshwar and the temple of Mumbadevi,after whom the city was named. Screenings are being organised in partnership with Liberty Cinema (another heritage structure) for several films including Mukul Kishore’s Vertical City,which documents living conditions in the metropolis.