It was an ad that was released for a blockbuster movie when India was battling to free herself from the clutches of the British in 1947. The movie Naam Iruvar enriched by the doyen of Tamil cinema TR Mahalingam was screened at the erstwhile Raja and Diamond twin theatres that witnessed the footfalls of several movie buffs in the pre-independence era.

Interestingly the twin theatres were owned by late P A Raju Chettiar, a popular jeweller with varied interests. He also then donned the cap of producer, distributor and film financier. The Diamond theatre which was eventually re-christened Murugan Theatre has been razed down. But Raja Theatre which has now been turned into a godown of a textile major stands testimony to the fact that the twin theatres stood tall then to entertain the people of the then Covanputhur, now Coimbatore.

It was a golden era for cinema when movies were screened at the twin theatres. The movies were all-time box office hits as they ran packed houses. Usually there were only two shows–first show in the evening and second show in the night, perhaps because people then were busy earning their livelihood during day time.

“Even in those days, ads for movies were released both in English and Tamil,” octogenarian Ramanathan Iyer, resident of Vysial street and a regular cine goer in the yesteryears, recalls.Mostly movies ran for anywhere between six months to a year.

The ad in the picture for ‘Naam Iruvar’ movie featuring T R Mahalingam, T A Jayalakshmi, K Sarangapani and T A Ramachandran and screened at the twin theatres on March 12, 1947 was released in both English and Tamil.

Both the theatres had been landmark cine houses. While Raja Theatre was situated near Town Hall on the extended N H Road, Diamond Theatre was located on Avinashi Road beneath the flyover. Many blockbuster MGR movies were released simultaneously at these twin theatres.