PESHAWAR, June 28: One of the city’s oldest cinema-houses will soon turn into rubble due to constant loss. Falak Sair, built in the ‘30s on the main Saddar Road, was sold some three months ago for Rs130 million to a group of local businessmen. The building, spread over two kanals, will be demolished and it is likely to be replaced by a commercial plaza, one of the buyers said.

Some other cinemas, like Tasveer Mahal, Firdous, Picture House and Capital have been resisting the trend, but Falak Sair failed and it is going to meet the fate similar to that of Palwasha and Metro which couldn’t survive.

Palwasha and Metro were razed almost a decade ago. A private medical centre and a petrol pump are coming up there.

Like other parts of the country, the cinema culture in NWFP has reached a moribund state. First, VCR hit this culture. Through the VCR people found access to Indian attractions right in the comfort of their TV lounges. The film industry suffered a severe blow. The cable TV system seems to have come as the proverbial last straw.

Of late, some cinemas became notorious for screening vulgar movies and so families stopped visiting them.

With the number of cinema-goers decreasing constantly, the cinema-owners are fast losing interest in the business and switching to other trades, said Capital cinema-owner Khalid Khan, who is in the trade for more than 30 years.

“Why should I take pains to go to a cinema when I can buy a movie on CD or rent it for Rs10?” asked Mohammad Ali, a film-lover.

“Low budget movies do not fetch even Rs10 million all over the country. Cinemas are not even earning enough to make up for their expenditure,” Mr Khan said.

“We have to pay 100 per cent tax on a ticket worth Rs20-Rs25 which is adding to the loss,” he pointed out.