LAHORE, July 1: One of the oldest cinemas of Lahore -- Tarannum -- has been pulled down leaving the city with only 18 cinema houses out of 84 in 70’s.

Its owner Saleem Jora told Dawn that since the building was in a dilapidated condition and could collapse any time, therefore, it was essential to pull it down.

Asked about his future plan, Mr Jora said he might construct a plaza. He said loadshedding and the prevailing circumstances were the major factors hindering him to rebuild a cinema house.

Asked about the history of the cinema, Mr Jora said he did not remember that, but it existed before partition. “We had bought it some 40 years ago when it used to be the Novelty Theatre.”

Out of 84 cinemas in Lahore, 55 have been razed; some of them were turned into plazas, marriage halls or petrol pumps. For the last 10 years, nine cinemas had been closed due to non-availability of films. They are Taj, Mubarik, Ratan, Empire, Moonlight, Nagina, Al-mumtaz, Sangeet and Galaxy. Naz and Mehfil have been turned into commercial theatres.

A film industry insider told Dawn that a number of owners at Lakshmi Chowk wanted to sell out their cinemas because of non-availability of movies. “Since these structures are spread over big areas they have not been able to find buyers.” —  Shoaib Ahmed