Summary: Vijayawada holds the pride of being the first city to host movie halls in the state. Let us explore some details here:

It happened way back in the year 1921, when Pothina Brothers built the first theatre not just in the city, but also the entire state called as Maruthi Talkies. This theatre was screening movies right from period when movies were taken as silent films.

The only theatre:

‘Maruthi talkies’ was the only movie hall that met the requirements of film enthusiasts in the early 1920s until the development of new halls in the Two Town area of the city in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Experience of Padmasree Turlapati Kutumbha Rao:

When talking to Padmasree Turlapati Kutumbha Rao, he shared his experience of watching a silent movie in Maruthi Talkies during which time the value of the ticket was one-sixteenth of a rupee. He also shared an interesting event that happened several decades ago in this theatre. The incident was that then a movie was released and the Bheema, one of the five brothers of pandavas had not moustache in a scene. The makers failed to notice the same and released the movie. But, when the film buffs saw this scene they refused to visit Maruthi Talkies stating that the character was without a moustache. But, the operator of the theatre managed to make some changes in the negative and came up with one to draw the crowd. Even, during that period, the people working for the theatre went around the streets to announce that Bheema now has a moustache to attract the crowd.

Experience of senior columnist:

Senior Columnist named, Adavalli Satyanarayana said that during those periods, Maruthi Talkies used to screen mythological films and also the best of NTR films never fail to hit the screens of Maruthi talkies. He also recollected that the Balcony ticket during that period was Rs.1.50, which was around 1940s.

First colour film:

Maruthi Talkies was the theatre to release the first color film produced in the Telugu Film Industry named ‘Lavakusa’.

Some attractive things about Maruthi Talkies:

• Many mythological films of NTR and ANR released in this theatre ran successfully for more than 100 days.
• It was the first permanent theatre in the state built in 1921 and other halls came up only after some decades.
• Most of the times, the films of Rajashree Distribution and Navayuga Distribution companies were released in this theatre.

Summary: For those looking for an affordable stay at the busy place in Vijayawada, the Modern Cafe can be the ideal spot to choose.

Besant Road is popular in Vijayawada as the place for shopping. Besides quenching the thirst of shoppers, this road also has eateries to quench the hunger of shoppers. This road has a popular eatery called as Modern Cafe. Not just a vegetarian restaurant, it is a place for lodging as well.

Locals gather:

Besides offering mouth-watering dishes, this hotel is also turning out to be the place to gather in the evenings for politically interested locals. They gather in front of the hotel on a daily basis to talk about the political situation in the state and also they talk about other issues. One of the members in the group chatting outside the cafe states that he has been gathering in this place along with his friends from the year 1968. He states that no matter, it is raining or it is hot, they gather as a group to discuss the political situations.

A 78-year old individual says that their discussions will be very hot during election times and the group says that they generally discuss about election campaigns and prospects of the contestants during election times. Even, they state that during some days, the discussions have led to quarrel among them and when this happened, they just stop the discussions and leave the place, but have never failed to join the discussion on the following day.

Changes in Besant Road:

One of the group members has said that many things have changed in Besant Road and even the Modern Cafe got a new look after a renovation, but they never fail to gather and the group remains the same, except that they are aging. They also state that earlier they had wider space to walk in Besant Road, but now the road has turned out to be congested place with many automobiles, beggars and vendors.

About Modern Cafe:

Coming back to Modern Cafe, this is an affordable place to spend your vacation in Vijayawada. The hotel offers an economical accommodation with basic facilities. As there is an attached restaurant that offers tasty foods, you need not have to go in search for a hotel separately during your stay in this lodging facility. Some people say that this is the ultimate destination for vegans looking for tasty foods in Vijayawada, while some praise the affordability of the foods available in this restaurant.

Some people are interested towards this hotel every time they visit Vijayawada mainly because of its location. Yes, the café stands tall amidst shopping spots and Besant Road as mentioned earlier is the one-stop destination for all your shopping needs. Some regular visitors are satisfied about the ambience and customer service at Modern Café. Of course, for some people this hotel is their choice because of its affordability not only with respect to foods, but also with respect to accommodation.

If you wish to take a look at the people gathering every day before the hotel and wish to enjoy the tasty dishes, make sure to book your stay in Modern Café, during your next visit to Vijayawada.

Summary: In India, like in many countries of the world, people have great attraction towards cinemas and this is no exception to the city of Vijayawada as well.

Even though, it looks like the development of television channels has brought down the craze for movies among people, the fact is that digital tech revives some interest among audience. When it comes to Vijayawada, there has never been any shortage of audience for movies. The cinema niche has seen a great development in the Telugu industry right from the period when silent movies were introduced.

Reason for flourishing movie business:

Vijayawada has a flourishing cinema business and it is believed that the city’s location at the heart of the state is the important reason for this growth. In addition, the city being the capital of print media, film distribution has chosen this city as the base. Another reason for this city as the home for thriving cinemas is that many film production companies, financiers and producers are located in this city.

First city to have multiplexes:

The people of Vijayawada are highly proud that their home city is the first to have multiplexes in the entire state of Andhra Pradesh. Yes, this started when the first movie complex with three theaters, namely Ramba, Urvasi and Menaka was unleashed in the city, where three different films were telecasted during those periods. Many Theaters are located in the Andhra Ratna Road, which is the home for dozen of movie halls. Not just in this road, there were many theaters in the city and another road famous for movie halls is the Nageswararao Pantulu Road. Now, Ramba, Urvasi and Menaka is in the form of INOX

Even though, most of them still continue to exist, some were demolished, while a huge movie hall earlier called Kalyan Chakravarthi is now two smaller theaters to showcase two different movies at the same time.

Alankar theater was highly popular those days and this was the prey to a riot that arose following the assassination of Vangaveeti Mohana Ranga Rao as the theater was burnt. But, this theater is now constructed into a shipping complex with cinema hall.

Special effect films:
Not just normal movies, the multiplexes in the city also have halls for showcasing movies with special effects like 3D and 4D films.

Earlier, the producers from Telugu Film Industry were releasing their films through distributors, but now they are doing this towards the highest bidder, thereby turning this business into a decentralized business.

Summary: Bandar Road has a range of branded jewellery stores with different models of ornaments to enthrall their customers.

The part of the new capital region of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Vijayawada is adorned by a line of Jewellery stores, thereby offering a unique luster to the city. Shopping enthusiasts and many women from the city state that the chain of jewellery stores in Bandar Road has changed the face of their home city. This road was previously a hub of small traders and many vendors, but now it has turned to be a bustling business centre. Not just existing jewellers, but many new jewellers are also popping up in the road to add glitters.

Earlier, local people and even tourists choose to visit either One Town or Besant Road for their family shopping needs, but of the late, the Bandar Road is attracting a wide range of shopping enthusiasts. The reason for this is the wide choice available for shoppers and the dazzling line of showrooms.

Reason behind the change:

This choice of shoppers thronging Bandar Road is because of the diversification of family business, especially those in the Jewellery business. As the earlier trade centres in the city like Besant Road and One Town are already filled with many shops, businesses choose to open their stores in Bandar Road. This happened particularly after the widening of the road as 100 feet road that happened in the year 2006.

Nerve centre for gold and diamond business:

The unleashing of branded showrooms took place after 2006, thereby turning this road as the nerve centre for gold and diamond businesses. As the entrepreneurs are confident about good business, they do not hesitate to open their shop in this commercial lane in Vijayawada and women have never let down jewellers in this road. There are showrooms for popular brands like Tanishq, Khazana, TBZ among others.

Traditional goldsmiths are fighting:

Yes, with a dazzling line up of branded jewellers with a wide collection of new designs, the traditional goldsmiths fail to grab the attention of women, mainly because of their small outlets, but have never stopped their journey and they continue to show their brave face.

What do traditional goldsmiths say?

When the traditional goldsmiths were asked whether the entry of dazzling line up of jewellers have affected their business, they strongly deny stating that they are in the business for generations and continue to have their regular customers because of the trust they have gained. They state that when it comes to purchasing jewelleries, trust is considered the important factor and so they continue to get orders from their customers. Also, they state that as their customers get the chance to directly interact with the proprietor, they feel satisfied about purchasing from them, as against visiting those newly established showrooms.

Furthermore, the retail outlets never discuss with their customers and they do not want to disclose their annual turnout as well. However, many people not just from Vijayawada, but also from nearby cities across Krishna District frequently visit these glittering outlets to place order for their jewelleries.