Veteran Assam distributor and exhibitor Shankar Lall Goenka breathed his last this evening (6th November) at his residence in Guwahati. He was 90 and would’ve turned 91 in December this year.
Shankar Lall Goenka must’ve been one of the oldest distributors alive. Not just living, he was pretty clued in on box-office collections. In fact, just before the end came, he was going through the box-office collections of Ramayana, released yesterday.
His Kelvin Cinema in Guwahati was re-launched on his 90th birthday on 3rd December, 2025. Kelvin first opened in Guwahati in 1935, which was the year in which Shankar Lall was born. It reopened as Kelvin Gold last year. Another Kelvin Cinema opened in Shillong in 1926. It was started by Shankar Lall’s father, Jeevan Ram Goenka. The Guwahati Kelvin opened nine years later. The Goenkas entered the distribution trade in 1961.
Kelvin cinema of Guwahati closed down in 2010 for the redevelopment of the building in which the cinema is housed. It was Shankar Lall Goenka’s dream to restart it. Actually, Shankar Lall had wanted to renovate the cinema in 1982 to make it an iconic cinema of Guwahati. The redevelopment of the cinema got delayed. And when it finally started with the redevelopment of the building in 2010, the job got further delayed due to COVID-19. At the opening of Kelvin Gold on 3rd December, Shankar Lall Goenka had recounted the journey of Kelvin Cinema in brief, and had expressed joy on the opening. He had likened the reopening to a friend returning home after a long journey. In a very poetic manner, he had remarked that since he and the cinema were born in the same year, the cinema’s reopening was akin to one part of his life getting a fresh lease.
An avid reader of Film Information, right from the day the magazine started 53 years ago, Shankar Lall ji tracked box-office collections and our reviews till his last day.
Shankar Lall Goenka was extremely kind and noble-hearted. He was a sharp businessman who valued ethics in all his business dealings. Shankar Lall ji and his son, Siddharth Goenka, who has been looking after the distribution and exhibition businesses, were/are known for their honesty.
Shankar Lall and Siddharth Goenka have distributed hundreds of films. Ramayana, released this week, is also distributed in Assam by the Goenkas.
Shankar Lall Goenka is survived by one son and two daughters and their families.
