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"It was her victory,” said Farokh Chinoy of his feisty mother-in-law, Dina Sukhia. She had fought for 27 years in the various courts of law to finally take possession on March 17, 1987 of the heritage Capitol Theatre on East Street in Poona’s Camp area. Her late husband, Darabsha, had bought the cinema house in an income tax auction. The preexisting tenant/s had to be ejected. Once she won, her lawyers advised her to change the name as there were several liabilities attached to the prevailing nomenclature. As it was "her victory,” she decided to rechristen the cinema house, Victory. The name comprised seven letters of the alphabet (as does Capitol) and hence was considered auspicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I will run the Theatre,” said the determined lady who managed the business single-handedly, noted Chinoy. While her husband was alive, he and two or three partners owned a chain of movie houses in the Bombay-Poona areas; Dina, a homemaker, made it a point to observe, and partake, in the business. "She was very capable,” said her son-in-law. She was also the treasurer of Poona’s Women’s Council.
As she aged she asked Chinoy to assist, which he did part-time. A chartered accountant and financial controller at Business Press India in Bombay, he commuted between the two cities. The Company founded by R. V. Pandit used to publish Imprint, Industrial Products Finder and several other publications. His first job after his studies and articleship, Chinoy worked there from 1972 till 1993. "This was something new. I was very interested and keen to see it succeed,” he stated.
Dina’s daughter, Dr Roshan (Roshni) an onco-pathologist had joined the Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel and was head of that department till she retired. She now heads the pathology department at Prince Aly Khan Hospital in Mazgaon. So her joining the family business was not practical.
"My mother-in-law came to the Theatre every single day” till her death on June 18, 2003, says Farokh. She willed the Theatre to Roshan, who has two brothers, one of whom expired, he said. 
With the advent of multiplexes, single screen movie houses stuggle to survive. "People prefer multiplexes,” explained Farokh. "It’s a new age attraction. The food courts, shopping, multi screens with a movie showing every hour” attract patrons. The tickets, of course, are priced higher but that does not deter viewers. "The cinema house was built as a single screen” structure around 1935, presumes Farokh. Realigning the configuration "is not possible.” But single screen theaters can survive, he noted, if they move with the times, offer online and computerized ticketing, install air conditioning observe cleanliness...
The crowds are attracted by big name actors and are dependent on the publicity drive by the producers and distributors, he noted. "Good movies show for two to three weeks. In multiplexes they show for four to five weeks.” The ticket prices at Victory range from Rs 70 to Rs 200. At multiplexes in Poona, the range is from Rs 70 to Rs 1,000. After the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) the entertainment tax in Maharashtra for cinema houses has been reduced from 40% to 18 and 28% depending on the price of the ticket. Other than that, the government has done "zero” to assist theater owners in the state, said Farokh.
Victory has around five to six shows a day, "depending on the length of the movie,” explains Farokh. Two to three different movies are shown every day. A digital box has replaced the old projector which remains by the side in an unoccupied cabin. A list of the show timings and the movies to be shown are pinned to a stand housing the sound consoles. The three managers are able to control the screenings from the box office below. A half hour gap is allowed between screenings to allow the Theatre to be cleaned. The staff strength is around 24, said Farokh. Patrons are allowed to bring eatables into Victory though some multiplexes still bar them from doing so. The matter is in court and a final decision is awaited.
The audience comprises people from all over Poona but the larger concentration is from the Camp area, noted Farokh. Many college students attend. Women come more when a family movie is showing. Most movies are for general viewing with a few for "Adults only” (18  years and above). The Theatre has a capacity of 439 seats, including a balcony. Around 25 to 35% book tickets online, through Paytm and BookMyShow, notes one of the three managers, Rajkiran Yadav. The other two are Zahir Shaikh and Ambadas Jalgi.
The first show usually starts at 9.30 a.m. and the last one is at 10.30 p.m. though sometimes the timing is extended to 11.30, depending on the popularity of the movie. When Parsiana visited the Theatre on late morning, August 5, Fanney Khan was showing, starring Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. But despite the big names, the crowd was sparse. "Movie mé dum nahi (no oomph),” explained Yadav.
As for ghosts residing in the Theatre, Farokh dismissed the claim saying these rumors persist only on the Internet. ghoststoriesworld.com stated, "Besides its cultural reputation (Victory Theatre) has some ghost touches also.” But Farokh laughed and said no one has seen any in the past 70 years. There are ghost stories for "all over Poona.” He adds the Albert Edward Institute Library and the Cowasjee Dinshaw Hall and Library next door was once the Cantonment jail and three people were hung in the backyard!
The Theatre was the location of a bomb blast in 1943. According to newspaper reports, members of the Itihas Premi Mandal (IPM) and the Hind Tarun Mandal gathered on East Street on this January 24 to mark the 75th anniversary of the attack. The attack was to avenge the killing on August 9, 1942 by the British of 16-year-old Narayan Dabhade while hoisting the Indian national flag. Three bomb attacks were planned in cinema theaters in the Camp area "where British soldiers and their family members would watch movies every evening,” The Times of India (January 25, 2018) quoted the current IPM president Mohan Shete as stating. Of the three, Empire Theatre was dropped due to lack of personnel while the bomb at Westend was spotted and defused. But four soldiers died at Capitol, narrates Haribhau Limaye’s book, Karagrahatil Pathake, ToI reported.
With such a rich history, the Chinoys intend to continue running Victory as a family partnership. Their two daughters are taking a keen interest in the business. Zarina Pundole, a solicitor with a master’s degree in law from the University of Texas, Houston is settled in Poona and is a legal counsel for Shapoorji Pallonji (EPC) there. She is married to Faraidoon. Daughter Khushnum, who retains her maiden name after marriage, freelanced as a computer special effects creator. Earlier she worked for Tata Elexsi and Yash Raj Films. She is based in Bombay. Her husband is Lennard (Lenny) Pinto. The daughters will need all their skills to survive in a fast changing industry. But if they have Dina’s determination, her victory could also prove to be theirs.