Shillong, a movie-goer’s paradise, has been home to some prominent movie theatres located in the prime hub of the city. With the curtains falling down on most single-screen theatres, Bijou Cinema, established in pre-Independent India is one of the last surviving iconic movie halls in the history of the cinematic heritage of Shillong.
In this episode of Shillong’s Iconic Structures, we bring to our readers one of the oldest movie hubs in the city – Bijou Cinema, located at the centre of a busy commercial area of Khyndai Lad.
Established in the early 1930s by a Bengali family, Bijou Cinema is the only remaining single-screen movie theatre in the city. It has been catering to a diverse range of movies at a paltry ticketing price, which many believe to be the lowest in all of India.
According to the co-partner of Bijou Cinema, K.K. Goenka, the cinema hall was taken over by his family in 1939 or even prior. Recalling the stories told by his father, Goenka said the land where Bijou Cinema stands at present used to be a stable. A small makeshift hall was put together at a nearby barn to cater to the cinephiles back in the day. This is how the barn metamorphosed into a cinema-watching space!
Bijou Cinema is spread across 1036.37 sq.m of land at Khyndai Lad. The wooden structure of the cinema hall was destroyed in a devastating fire of 1967. And in the year 1984, the hall underwent a major renovation – the number of seats was increased, new seating arrangements were installed, and the entire structure was made concrete.
Did you know that Bijou Cinema still has the vintage Philips projector, imported from Holland which was purchased by the family in the 1950s, including the old film reels? Though defunct, the family still maintains the vintage items in the archive room.
Despite several economic challenges that ultimately led to the closure of other single-screen theatres like Payal and Dreamland, and the upgrade of Anjalee to a multiplex, Bijou Cinema is the only cinema hall in the state that continues to remain a single-screen hall for over eight decades now.
It is said that in the pre-Independence period, there was a craze among movie-goers for Raj Kapoor films. K.K. Goenka recollects some amusing moments from the past which linger in his mind. In the past, the audience would line up to watch cowboy films and throng the gates shouting “Wei, Ar, Lai” which means “One, Two, Three” in Khasi. Later, this Khasi expression was vastly used by cinema enthusiasts to determine the popularity of a film. If it was “Wei, Ar, 
Lai”, it meant that the movie was outstanding!
Indeed the cinema hall is facing a threat from the advent of multiplexes and OTT platforms but the deep emotional connection and sentimental value that Bijou Cinema holds for the Goenka family is the sole reason that keeps them from closing it down.
To know more about the history of this heritage structure, watch the full episode on our Youtube Channel @TheShillongTimes as we take you on a trip down memory lane.