Protagonists
The Poster Artist – Sheikh Rehman
The studio behind the screen of "Alfred Talkies" is his stage. Here Sheikh Rehman reigns like a painter prince from another century. With his shirt off, he chases his employees around, drives them, corrects them and insults them if they choose the wrong colours. Rehman uses a language that is influenced by the rough life in the slums but also by the super cool heroes of Hindi films. There is no situation for which Rehman would not think of a quote from Amitabh Bachchan or Dilip Kumar, his idols.
With his big mouth Rehman covers up the great drama of his life. That his father left him a heavy inheritance. While Rehman learned everything from his father, his sons no longer want to be painters. They have understood that hand-painting has no future and they are programming software. "A big artist is someone who sells. But when you stop, you stop forever," Rehman analyses the art market. Rehman is not interested in money or fame. He suffers from a lack of recognition from his sons. "If I had been big, both my sons would stand by my side and do my work." Now they want to sell the theater as well. Rehman would become unemployed.
But Rehman has no time for moping. It's Thursday night, the new banner has to be ready. In the style of an old master, Rehman sets lights and shadows. Then he signs his work. After the last performance, the old banner is taken down and the new banner is raised on the facade of the "Alfred Talkies". Rehman's big show. The next morning, the old banner is painted over with brown paint, and the screen painters start all over again. The film poster painter from Mumbai as a modern Sisyphus. "This is life's film. God keeps changing the reels.«
The Cinema Owner – Najma Loynmoon
Najma Loynmoon, the cinema owner, was influenced by Hindi cinema in a very special way. Her children's room was directly above the screen, and at night the sweet film songs rocked her to sleep. "The Hindi movies were like my mother", Najma says today. The heroines were her role models in her fight for female independence. The films gave her the strength to deal with blows of fate. Like when her daughter died in her arms from an asthma attack, and Najma didn't collapse just because she imagined it was a scene from a film.
Najma grew up in the "Alfred Talkies" that her grandfather founded. Still, she wasn't meant to inherit it. She seemed unqualified simply because she was a woman. But in the absence of a male successor, Najma's grandfather was left with no choice in the end. But he handed Najma the keys to his kingdom with a curse on his deathbed: "You will sink my boat!«
TIn fact, "Alfred Talkies" has seen better days. Najma is forced to show films in her cinema that she would never watch herself. There are offers to buy from investors who are just waiting to tear down the old film palace and move into an apartment building. Najma could retire. Instead, she is renovating the toilets, while there are no toilets at all in the cinemas in the neighbourhood. Why is she doing this?
Najma is committed to her employees, many of whom have worked for her all their lives. And she is attached to the old building, which is full of stories. But perhaps a good dose of defiance is also playing along that Najma doesn't give up: She wants to show her grandfather that he was wrong.
The Cinema Manager – Huzefa Bootwala
For 35 years Huzefa Bootwala has ensured that the 938 seats of the "Alfred Talkies" are filled for the four shows a day. But the correct manager actually wanted to become a teacher. And the senior teacher-like atmosphere still breaks through when the manager corrects the draft for the new banner every Thursday. An eternal conflict that will never be solved. For the manager, artistic freedom ends where business begins.
However, the cinema business has become more difficult. Copies of the current Bollywood blockbusters are too expensive. There are no new copies of the action films from the 1990s that the rough public loves. "No sensible businessman would still run this business with the little we earn," says the manager. "My son has a small mobile phone shop. He drives a more expensive car than Najma, the cinema owner." Still, it would be unthinkable for Huzefa to abandon the cinema. He's become part of Najma's family. Even in recent years, when business was getting worse and worse, Najma lent him money for his daughter's wedding. "We do this because we have to. We've got no choice." Alfred Talkies is more than a job to Huzefa, it's his life.