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7/7/1896: India's First Screening
In early July 1896, The Times of India ran an advertisement proclaiming the arrival of “the marvel of the century” and “wonder of the world” at the elite Watson’s Hotel in Bombay, while the nearby Madras Photographic Stores carried a more modest advertisement for ‘animated photographs’. On the evening of the 7th, Marius Sestier, an agent for the Lumieres, held four screenings at the hotel, each of them with an admission charge of one rupee. The audience, which largely comprised of British officials marvelled at such films as Arrivee d’un Train en Gare, The Sea Bath, A Demolition, and La Sortie des Usines Lumiere. Sestier was also charged with shooting scenes of Indian life, but unfortunately his skills behind the camera were sadly lacking, and the films he sent back to Paris were rejected as ‘incompetent’, thus explaining the dearth of Indian films in the Lumiere catalogue of the time.
Further screenings took place for the ‘natives’ at the Novelty Theatre – the former home of the Victoria Theatre Company – in Bombay on the 14th July. [ADD]
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