Theaters Specialize in Indian Films By Shesha Pancholi Special to washingtonpost.com Monday, June 14, 1999

Jaspreet Sandhu and Raj Matta, at the Laurel Town Center Cinema, look at a row of posters that feature Indian film stars. (David Snider for washingtonpost.com)

Despite its deceptive exterior, the Laurel theater is home to a spacious large-screen theater and is the lone venue in Maryland that shows films from India. Loehmann's Cinema 2 in Falls Church is the only other theater in the Washington metro area that shows films in various Indian languages.

The Town Center theater is in a small shopping center at Laurel-Bowie Road (Interstate 197) and Contee Road. On its lobby walls posters of famous Hindi actors such as Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit hang alongside framed photographs of classic American theaters from the area.

The double-screen venue earns most of its profits from the Indian movies, says Patricia Curtis, the manager who has worked at the theater for more than 20 years. She says she has seen the popularity of the theater grow exponentially as more Indian titles have been added.

"The Shahrukh Khan movies always sell out," Curtis says. "It could be the worst thing he ever made, and it will still sell out."

And popular actors such as Khan attract crowds throughout the week. On a drizzling Monday night, about nine times as many people watch the Indian movie compared with the second-run Hollywood film.

Rupen Desai from Odenton, Md., says he comes to the theater every week.

"I come to see most of the movies no matter if it's good or bad," Desai says. "I am Indian, and this is the only [cultural] entertainment for Indians around here."

Laurel Town Center Cinema has become a mecca for lovers of Indian cinema. The melodramas always include several song-and-dance routines. Curtis says patrons flock from surrounding counties as well as Baltimore and Pennsylvania on a weekly basis.

"I have this one guy who drives down from Delaware and others who come from Frederick every week," Curtis says. "Sometimes they bring the whole family, including Grandma."

Indians aren't the only ones that are attracted to the theater and its offerings. Curtis says various ethnic groups are intrigued with the films. Curtis says she charges her American customers the children's ticket price since the films are not subtitled.

"One lady comes with her friend who is Hindi, and she tries to translate and help her pick up some words," Curtis says. She believes more American and other non-Hindi-speaking customers would attend if the films had subtitles.

The ticket price for adults is $7; $4 for children younger than 12. And you'll get your money's worth since most Hindi films last between two and three hours, including a 10- to 15-minute intermission.

As for the language difference, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

"You can pretty much pick up the story from watching the movie. Besides, the story isn't usually very detailed," says Curtis, who has watched many of the films and has become a big fan of several hunky male Bollywood stars. (Bollywood – a combination of Bombay and Hollywood – produces more than 900 movies a year. About 300 to 400 films are distributed in the United States annually.)

The movies are not the only draw to the theater. The concession stand has been modified from the usual popcorn and candy to include various Indian snacks. Delicacies such as paan, hot mix, chai-Indian tea and samosas are catered by an independent contractor.

Perhaps the hardest part of operating a theater that earns most of its profits from foreign films, says Curtis, is simply getting the print.

"It's hard to advertise what movies we're going to show that weekend when we haven't yet received the print. The airlines lose the print . . . Sometimes you don't even know if you have a movie to show that weekend."

If limited prints are available, America is usually not considered a priority. England and Canada, for example, have greater Indian populations and draw larger audiences for Indian movies.

Occasionally the theaters are rented out by various organizations or clubs to show Indian films in other Indian languages, including Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil.

Both the Town Center and Loehmann's are owned by Chanyka Theaters chain, a Bowie-based corporation. One of the three owners, Vijay Narula, 35, says he became interested in taking over the two theaters within the past three years because of the strong support from film distributors in New York.

In the United States, 82 theaters show Indian films and the distributors wanted to set up a permanent center in this area, explains Narula.

The Laurel location began showing Hindi films about three years ago, originally on a once-a-week trial basis. As popularity grew, the Virginia theater began to show Hindi films, too, and now one screen in each theater is reserved just for Hindi films.

Because of a larger Indian population in Northern Virginia, Loehmann's consistently draws larger crowds. However, Curtis does occasionally book both houses with Indian movies if they are doing well.

Although he plans to bring movies from countries other than India to the Laurel theater, Narula says he doesn't plan to eliminate second-run Hollywood releases. He wants to continue serving the community.

For information on the latest Hindi films at Laurel Town Center, call the direct line at 301/352-6987. The Loehmann's number is 703/573-8595.