Ankur gets a facelift
After the complete renovation of Jaipur’s Rajmandir and Premprakash (to be renamed The Golcha) cinemas, it’s now the turn of Ankur Cinema, located at the eastern end of the city, to be renovated.

Proprietor Rehmat Khan, credited with being the first in Jaipur to set up the two-cinema Alka-Ankur complex says the renovation involves interior decoration and the introduction of new carpeting, furniture, and the latest light and sound systems. 28 side speakers will be installed within the cinema as part of the 20,000 watts Dolby track sound system.

Compensation demanded for engine damage
During the shoots of Zee Films’ Gadar at village Darbari (Bikaner), a railway engine was damaged. The Indian railways has demanded compensation from the film producer.

In the course of the shooting of a sequence involving a railway engine colliding with trucks on a rail track, the engine suffered a slight damage, with the iron plate with Pakistan inscribed in Urdu on it being crushed. The Railways have called for Director's Special of the damage, which is being estimated.

Producer Nittin Keni said he would pay for the damage to the railway engine. “If compensation is demanded in cash, it will be paid. Or the engine will be entirely repaired at my cost,” he said.

Any claimants for Veer Durgadas?
Produced some 40 years ago, the only print of the historical b&w film Veer Durgadas” in 16 pieces, still survives, thanks to the care taken by the Veer Durgadas Memorial Committee of village Natwara, district Tonk, Rajasthan. The National Film Archives, Government of India and many film producers of Mumbai have commended the committee’s efforts at preserving the print.
The committee acquired the print from the Jaipur branch of Shiv Shakti Films, Indore. Arjun Singh Rathor, president is keen to preserve the only print of the film for posterity but the committee is faced with a lack of funds. Film Library, ministry of information and broadcasting, government of India, with a view to acquire a copy of the film, has called for the name and address of the parties who possess the exclusive rights of the historical.

Rajmandir, Premprakash hike rates
After Gem Cinema, both Rajmandir and Premprakash Talkies too have hiked their ticket rates for two weeks on the occasion of the release of Yash Chopra’s Mohabbatein and Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir.

Gem turns digital
Pink City’s leading cinema, Gem, one of the big five, located at Mirza Ismail Road the city’s lifeline, has installed the latest digital sound system to provide quality stereo sound in 6 channels to the audience. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Mission Kashmir has been the first film to be released at Gem following the introduction of digital sound.

Cinema license fees hiked
The government of Rajasthan, though belatedly, has decided to raise the license fees for cinemas in the state. Henceforth, license fee of Rs. 1000 to Rs 2500 per year will be charged based on the seating capacity. Earlier, license fees varied from Rs 150 to Rs 250 per year.

In a meeting of the state cabinet at the secretariat in Jaipur, it was decided to raise license fees payable under Rajasthan Cinema Regulation Act, 1959. The fees, stagnant at old rates for more than 4 decades, are being amended after a lapse of 41 years. The fees have been raised for obvious reasons such as heavy depreciation in rupee value and escalation in costs of services required by cinema halls.

However, license fees for cinemas with seating capacities of more than 1000 remains unchanged at Rs 2500, as for cinemas of lower seating capacity.
MP Garg