Azad cinema hall is located just beside the Johnson Road in older part of the Dhaka. Previously this cinema hall was known as Mukul cinema hall (I don’t know later how and when the name has changed). Azad cinema hall hosted lot of national and international cinemas during its heydays. This hall showed Calcutta Bangla movies too. Shilpi, Pathe Holo Deri, etc are such movies from the greatest pair Suchitra-Uttam in Bangla cinema. In old Dhaka that time this hall has played predominant role for the entertainment for the localities. In 1931, The Last Kiss was released in Mukul (now Azad) cinema hall. Historian Dr Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, a professor of Dhaka University inaugurated the premier show of the film here.
It was just before the sunset when I was going from the Lakkhi (or Laxmi) bazar to Bangshal using through this Johnson road and English road (as a part of my Old Dhaka expedition). At the right side of the road I found the Azad Cinema hall, and instantly I took a photo of it. It’s a Centurion cinema Hall from the Old Dhaka. Not sure how long this cinema hall will stand there.
Azad cinema hall,
Johnson road,
Old Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
GPS Coordinate: (23°42’40.6″N, 90°24’42.3″E)
Written by Lonely Traveler,
For blog alonelytraveler.com
Saturday, 24th April 2010
