iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The actor had been depressed over the past couple of days, his father told the police
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Quiet end of a classic cinema
SHARJAH - Indian national Basheer Abdurahman, 45, has been living in Sharjah for 24 years. An automobile mechanic by profession, Abdurahman’s night routine during the weekend was dinner at the Karachi Darbar restaurant near his house and a late-night movie at Concorde Cinema in Rolla.
“I would watch just about any movie playing at the cinema. It didn’t matter if it was good or bad,” said Abdurahman. He glanced wistfully at the now closed shutters of the theatre and said: “I am a hard worker and for people like me, there are very few venues of entertainment in the city. I left my hometown in Kerala 24 years back. The movie theatre reminded me a little bit of my home. Now since they’ve shut it down, I don’t think I will be watching movies anymore.”
What was once a bustling water hole for Asian cinema lovers in the city, adorned with bright movie posters and neon displays, now looks like an ‘abandoned warehouse’. Located in the heart of Sharjah near the Clock Tower Roundabout, the theatre evokes memories and stories among moviegoers of all age groups and nationalities. Though the exact age of the theatre is yet to be ascertained, many cinemagoers in Sharjah and Dubai remember Concorde as the “neighbourhood cinema house that has been there forever”.
The theatre has also undergone several makeovers in the many years of its existence. There was a time when Concorde played Hollywood movies, but in the recent times, the theatre predominantly played host to South Indian movie titles. The last movie screened at the cinema was Malayalam move ‘Diamond Necklace’ on June 30.
For South Indian expatriates, the shutting down of the cinema was a big blow.
Another resident of Sharjah Robin Mathew, 25, who was born and raised in Sharjah, said: “I saw my first movie in Concorde. I remember it very clearly. I must have been seven or eight then. My dad took me for a Malayalam cult classic called ‘Chithram’. I still watch that movie every now and then. The place holds a lot of good memories.”
Another resident Shermeen Kumar, 26, said: “Everything has a shelf life. Movie theatres are no exception to that rule. What is really sad is that the concepts of big multiplexes are taking over old theatres. Movie theatres are no more iconic landmarks of a city. You will only have multiplexes attached to big shiny shopping malls.”
Resident of Dubai Sneha Menon said her now two-and-a-half-year-old baby saw his first movie in Concorde. “I moved to the UAE in 2010. Visiting the theatre was a weekend routine for us. Personally, I was quite upset when I heard that they were shutting it down,” said Menon. She added: “Location-wise, it was a convenient spot as well. What made the theatre a special place is that I ended up meeting a lot of my old friends and acquaintances whom I knew from back home at the theatre. Because the cinema was so popular among Malayalee expatriates, we’d just end up bumping into each other there.”
Since Concorde has shut down, Star Cineplex near Sharjah City Center and Grand Mega Mall has been showing South Indian movie titles.—dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
More news from
Some will go on cruise and take a trip abroad, while others will stay home and pick up new skills
Several activities are also lined up throughout the day, from art and drawing workshops to origami-making sessions
Brazilian Fabio Lima strikes twice in Dubai club's emphatic 4-0 victory at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Jon Rahm, Wyndham Clark, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were among the stars packing their golf bags and leaving the famed Kentucky course after a testing second round on Friday
The breach occurred during one of the busiest travel periods for the airport in southern Germany
Top players can compartmentalize their lives, shut out all other outside distractions and can just focus on their game, says renowned golf coach Peter Cowen
Here's a nudge to all the recruiters out there: Do not ghost job hunters, close the loop