If the city of Vizag is to be identified using a place in it, neither Andhra University nor Simhachalam nor
even Ramakrishna beach fits the bill. Instead, a cine theatre rises to
the occasion-the iconic ‘Jagadamba theatre’. Mr. Vegi Bhadrachalam
– popularly known as Rambabu, a prosperous wholesale merchant of onions
and potatoes in Vizag, and owner of Ramakrishna movie theatre – went to
Madras, saw Safire theatre in all its magnificence, and then conquered
the hearts of English movie fans of Vizag by building his dream project
in 1970. The fact that he too was a passionate fan of English movies,
just added fuel to that fire. Things moved swiftly from
Safire-episode onwards. He acquired 4200 sq. yards of land and based on
the design provided by Mr KN Srinivasan, one of the finest architects
from Madras, Rambabu personally supervised the construction on a 24×7
time-scale. The grand building, with an exotic spiral ramp leading to
its balcony, was inaugurated on 27-10-1970 by JV Narasinga Rao, the then
Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. The theatre, named after
Rambabu’s mother, with 1,200 seats along with its sparkling silver
screen opened with “Where Eagles Dare” in 70 mm format with stereophonic
sound effects. In hindsight, the movie choice was quite apt, for
Rambabu, too dared where others did not. And the rest is history… with
people flocking in hordes from all parts of north-Andhra as it offered
an almost heavenly experience which was unheard of till then. It forever
changed the landscape of that area; not only had the name of that area
changed eternally to “Jagadamba Junction/Center” from its earlier
“Yellammathota Junction”, but also that it became synonymous with Vizag.
Many Telugu movie songs/scripts have ‘Jagadamba’ as an iconic word in
their lyrics/dialogues. Mr. Jagadish Kumar –Ram Babu’s son –
fondly reminisces that Jagadamba is one of the few theatres across the
world to be built according to the stringent specifications set by Mr
Todd A.O. – the inventor of 70 mm format. They further nurtured it with
upgrades in sound and projection systems and additions, viz., new
theatres Sarada, Ramadevi, and video-games hall in the same complex –
making it the first multiplex theatre complex in Vizag. Except for an occasional Indian movie like the blockbuster Sholay, until just a few years ago, Jagadamba screened only Hollywood
movies. Old-timers fondly remember revelling in wonderful movies of
Biblical saga (Ben Hur, Ten Commandments), Wars (Where Eagles Dare, Guns
of Navarone), Westerns (Mackenna’s Gold), Thrillers (Indiana Jones
trilogy). The fact that ‘Jurassic Park’ ran for almost 10 weeks, and
‘Aliens’ for 50 days at a stretch speaks volumes about the symbiotic
relationship between Jagadamba, Hollywood, and Vizag moviegoers. Of
late, giving in to popular demand and the fact that Indian movies too
are now being made with good technical values, if not superior story
content, Indian movies share the screen with Hollywood blockbusters.
Still, when it comes to spectacular screening, all head-honchos of
Hollywood distributors from Mumbai corporate offices make their calls to
Jagadamba theatre on regular basis. |
