The Silvertips, Munnar
The first movie to be shown after the theatre was revamped was the Tamil movie, Bagapirivinai, starring Shivaji Ganesan and Saroja Devi. Pankajam Theatre stood the test of time, provided non-stop entertainment and leisurely distraction and after its founder-owner, Mr. Chettiar passed away, the property was acquired by us, E.V. Mathai and Sons in 1984. And as the saga continued, we further renovated the Theatre and we continued featuring the latest regional language movies.
Description
Silvertips Movie Theme Resort as the ‘camera’ retraces our steps, our unique Hotel history is definitely ‘script’ material.The Silver Tips resort now actually stands on what was once the iconic Pankajam Theatre which was an old well-known landmark theatre in Munnar back in the days. The theatre was built in the early 20th century in 1920 by Mr. A.S. Azhagannan Chettiar, a prosperous Indian businessman who was married to a British woman. Initially, only Silent Movies were shown and it graduated to featuring Talkies in 1927. This theatre definitely has a place in history as it was the only source of entertainment to people in those times. The theatre’s structure resembled a small warehouse and as was prevalent in those days, with its distinctive ‘bench’ seating system, charging just an ‘anna’ and a shade of the present-day ‘balcony’ system which consisted of wooden chairs placed on a raised platform, laid out in 3 rows, and the ticket rates were a pricey ‘4 annas’! The theatre had its fair share of popularity and it offered non-stop entertainment to the locals showcasing Tamil movies and also English comedies which were featured once a week. As the ‘camera’ rolled with the time, moving on, the old theatre was transformed, razed down, and in its place a modern version of the theatre was erected in 1960. And then keeping up with the times, state-of-the-art projectors were imported from the United States.
