It was a dream which the father saw and to realise which, his son went all out. That’s what made the re-launching of Kelvin Cinema — now christened Kelvin Gold — in Guwahati a special and emotional occasion. As if that wasn’t enough, Kelvin Gold opened on 3rd December which was the birthday of the father, veteran distributor and exhibitor of Assam, Shankar Lall Goenka. Believe it or not but Kelvin first opened in Guwahati in 1935, which was also the year in which Shankar Lall Goenka was born.
The Goenka family has been in the business of film distribution and exhibition since 1926, the year in which Kelvin cinema opened in Shillong. It was started by Shankar Lall’s father, (late) Jeevan Ram Goenka. It was shut down in Shillong, but Kelvin cinema in Guwahati opened in 1935.
Ever since the time its curtains came down in 2010 for the redevelopment of the building in which the cinema was housed, Shankar Lall Goenka has dreamed of restarting it. Like a worthy son of an illustrious father, Siddharth Goenka made it his life’s mission to restart Kelvin — if only to see his father’s long-cherished dream being fulfilled. Siddharth took Gold Cinemas as his collaborators on Kelvin and built a two-screen complex on the seventh floor of Shraddhanjali Mall in Guwahati. The two screens have a combined seating capacity of 499. The last rows in both the auditoria have comfortable recliner seats.
Tastefully done up, both the auditoria have far more leg space between the rows than one sees in other multiplexes or single-screen cinemas.
The launching on 3rd December was a grand affair. The entire Assam trade attended the opening including top stars, producers and directors. Guwahati police commissioner Partho Sarathy Mahanta was an esteemed guest. The show started with the Goenkas paying tribute to singer Zubeen Garg who tragically passed away in September this year.
In a departure of sorts, Siddharth had about 20 persons cut the ribbon simultaneously to mark the opening of Kelvin Gold. Besides the Goenkas, also present at the opening were Hasmukh Shah and Ratan Jain, both of Gold Cinemas. The cinema will be thrown open to the public from tomorrow (5th December). Dhurandhar is the opening attraction.
Siddharth Goenka made a heartfelt speech on the occasion of the cinema opening. He thanked his partners and entire team who toiled hard to convert Kelvin Gold from a dream to reality. Shankar Lall Goenka, who turned 90 on 3rd December, recounted the journey of Kelvin Cinema in brief, and expressed immense joy on the reopening of Kelvin Gold. He added that the restarting of the cinema felt like a friend returning home after a long journey. He explained 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 of life. He added that his son, Siddharth, had done him proud by fulfilling his long-cherished dream.
PVSLN Murty, chairman and managing director, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd., made an impassioned speech and spoke in particular about the family values nurtured by the Goenka family.
Your editor, Komal Nahta, praised the cinema and remarked, “The cinema could as well have been called Diamond Gold because it marked the coming together of Diamond (the Goenkas) and Gold (Hasmukh Shah and Ratan Jain).” He also mentioned that the Goenka family enjoyed a remarkable reputation of being very honest distributors who submitted genuine accounts to all the producers whose films they had distributed over the years. Nahta also stressed that the cinema was no doubt a commercial venture but it was the Goenkas’ passion that had prompted them to reopen their cinema at a time when cinemas are shutting down due to the dwindling box-office. The hall burst into applause when Nahta requested the invitees to give “the ‘youngest man’ in the auditorium (Shankar Lall Goenka) a standing ovation.
Shankar Lall Goenka’s grandson and Siddharth’s son, Shaurya, proposed a vote of thanks. The launching was followed by a party at Vishwaratan Hotel.
