Being torched down and looted exactly three months back (21st September 2012) by the mobs protesting against the profane film on Prophet (PBUH), the eminent single screen cinema of Karachi, Capri, opened back to the general public on 21st of December with Salman Khan starer Indian film Dabangg 2.
Now with better and cleaner hygene facilities and an overall upgradation to the interior, Capri; according to its owner Chaudhry Asif, has been brought back to the business ‘with the help of family and friends’.
Addressing a press conference a day prior to the re-opening of the cinema, Asif said, “they can keep breaking down cinemas – and we will keep building them.”
Capri wasn’t the only one to be charred down, in fact, five other cinemas–most of them neighbouring Capri–were also violently attacked and damaged that day. Other than Capri, the damaged cinemas in Karachi included, Nishat, Prince, Bambino, Gulistan and Crown cinema in Maripur area of the city. Bambino was the first one announced to be re-opened by the time of Eid-ul-Adha this year, while the others are still finding it hard to be on the feet once again.
The damage to these cinemas cannot obviously be valued for the industry that is already in ruins, as this is the major reason why producers of the numerous announced and already completed films are quite reluctant to release their movies. But the progress; though very slow and steady, is appreciable, and we hope other cinemas too find a way out of their miseries.
Below is the video by Dawn.com, reporting on the re-opening of Capri cinema.
http://vimeo.com/56093695
