Mangaluru: Platinum theatre located at Falnir which began functioning 40-years ago shut operations on December 31. The last movie which was screened at the iconic theatre was Vishal-starrer ‘Kaththi Sandai,’ a Tamil flick.
Since people prefer multiplexes in Mangaluru, the loss and the ever-increasing cost of maintenance led to the closure of iconic single screen theatre Paltinum. The theatre was one of the air-conditioned theatres in Mangaluru and had a seating capacity of 720 including 330 balcony seats, 390 on the ground and 60 front seats.
“It was a herculean task to run a single-screen theatre amid competition from three multiplexes. And the rising cost of operations put paid to my hopes,” said Ashok Kumar, the film exhibitor who ran the theatre on contract for the last 11 years.
“Until a few years ago and in spite of the presence of multiplexes, the occupancy rate in our theatre was good. In the last couple of years, salaries and maintenance costs have risen so much that the tepid runs of movies did not help me,” Kumar said.
