Explore Mumbai's visual landscape through cinema & architecture at this session

A city that never sleeps a city of dreams Maximum City mdash titles for Mumbai that become familiar with those even before they arrive in the city And while all these are true in their own way a part of this writerrsquos immigrant experience also strongly believes that despite the constant hustle and the reality checks Mumbai is also a dreamy city A rainy evening walk through the beautiful lanes of Colaba after a movie or a stroll along Marine Drive brings out the beautiful cultural construct of the cityPoster of the 1964 film Leader at a theatre in Nashik Pics courtesyHemant ChaturvediFollowing a similar vein of thought Colabarsquos APRE art house is organising a session where photojournalist Fawzan Husain photographer Hemant Chaturvedi and architect Nikhil Mahashur will discuss the changing aspects of Bombay through the lens of cinema architecture and transport as part of the exhibition Urban Palimpsest ldquoThe panel discussion seeks to critically examine the evolving essence of Bombay through an exploration of its cultural and architectural markers Iconic symbols such as the nowdiscontinued Padmini taxis or kalipeelis and the singlescreen cinemas once highlighted the cityrsquos distinctive character By situating these elements within the broader sociohistorical and cultural context the panel aims to foster a critical dialogue on the shifting identity of Mumbai and its implications for the cityrsquos collective memory and urban fabricrdquo Prerna Jain gallery director sharesA moment from a previous session at the galleryFrom singlescreen theatres to iconic movie sequences old Bombay has lent itself to the visual medium in more ways than one reaffirming its presence in a common space between architecture and films Mahashur tells us ldquoArchitecture and cinema are very closely linked When we talk about changing landscapes photos and cinema are the foremost mediums to witness it There is a scene in Amitabh Bachchanrsquos film Deewar where he says the iconic dialogue ldquoMain aaj bhi pheke hue paise nahi uthatardquo and you can see the whole stretch of Marine Drive in the background These movies serve as great reference points in architectural practice as wellrdquoPrerna Jain and Nikhil MahashurFor Hemant Chaturvedi one of the panellists in the session his passion project of documenting single screen theatres has taken him deep into the anatomy of a theatre house ldquoI have been documenting the single screen theatres in the country for six years now From these Art Deco structures like Regal cinema in Bombay to todayrsquos multiplexes there has been a huge evolution of the cinema space in the cityrdquoHemant Chaturvedi Fawzan HusainCovering 1200 old cinema singlescreens across the country Chaturvedirsquos pieces in the exhibition document a rapidly vanishing cultural space ldquoIn my tours around the country as part of the project I have seen posters of films from the 1960s on the walls of these old theatres This makes you realise how there has been a gradual erasure of actual entertainment spaces in the country For people of my generation cinema was one of the most elaborate entertainment options There would be a whole process to itmdash buying tickets planning the day dressing up Now that culture has died with singlescreen cinemas taking a backseat and the advent of OTTrdquo he sharesPhoto exhibits from Fawzan Husainrsquos collection at the galleryMumbairsquos connection with cinema culture is inextricable as is the role of architecture in providing a space to establish such strong roots in public memory or as Jain says ldquoThese historical trajectories are interwoven with the cityrsquos evolution capturing its spirit resilience and complexities as it transitioned from a colonial outpost to a modernday urban sprawlrdquoOn December 13 6 pm onwardsAt APRE Art House 3rd Pasta Lane ColabaLog on to aprearthousemumbai on Instagram