Ok.B.S. Theatre, whose inauguration noticed Karunanidhi, MGR, and Jayalalithaa come collectively in Kodumudi, razed after 56 years

At Kodumudi, a city in Erode district, the place solely touring talkies as soon as introduced films to the general public, well-known playback singer and actor Ok.B. Sundarambal, determined to lift a everlasting theatre 56 years in the past. For her, it was not only a constructing however a gesture of gratitude to cinema — the sector that had given her id and fame.

According to D. Sakthi Ganesh, Sundarambal, whom he refers to as his aunt, declined the thought of a faculty proposed in her honour by then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. Instead, she selected to construct a cinema corridor, believing it could higher mirror her journey in cinema.

“Ok.B.S. Theatre turned the primary and solely theatre in Kodumudi, and it has remained so to today. The nearest theatre even now could be about 15 km away. In earlier years, individuals in any other case needed to journey to Karur, 27 km away, or Erode, 40 km away, to look at movies,” he stated.

The theatre was inaugurated on October 28, 1969 within the presence of M. Karunanidhi, then Chief Minister, and actors M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa, each of whom later held the workplace of Chief Minister. Sundarambal accompanied them in an open jeep procession from her residence to the theatre, a second recorded in household pictures. The occasion is remembered as a landmark in Kodumudi for bringing collectively three people who held the workplace of Chief Minister.

“The first movie screened on the theatre was Thunaivan (1969), produced by Devar Films and starring A.V.M. Rajan and Sowcar Janaki, wherein Sundarambal additionally performed a task. A track she recorded for the movie earned her the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Among its later successes, Mundhanai Mudichu ran for 175 days, marking one of many longest runs on the corridor,” he stated.

After Sundarambal’s passing in 1980, the theatre got here beneath the administration of her kin and continued to display movies for a number of a long time. It remained in operation till the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. With no reveals previously 5 years, the constructing has now been pulled down.