You would be surprised to note that the pioneers of the Indian Cinema were actually foreigners. On 7th July 1896, the Lumiere brothers demonstrated the art of cinema when they screened Cinematography consisting of six short films to an enthusiastic audience at the Hotel Watson in Bombay.
This was the first time that the screening of any film took place in India. Six films that screened that day were Entry of Cinematographe, The Sea Bath, Arrival of a Train, A Demolition, Ladies, and Soldiers on Wheels, and Leaving the Factory. The price of the ticket was Rs one which was unaffordable by the common people.
The second film screening by the Lumiere Brothers took place on July 14th at a new venue, the Novelty Theatre, Bombay, and twenty-four films were screened that day, including A Stormy Sea and The Thames at Waterloo Bridge. Alternating between these two venues, the shows culminated on August 15th, 1896.
The shows received an overwhelming response and motion pictures were soon introduced to India, in Kolkata (Calcutta) and Chennai (Madras). Professor Stevenson staged a show at Calcutta’s (now Kolkata) Star Theatre. Using Stevenson’s camera Hiralal Sen one of India's first filmmakers. made his first film, "A Dancing Scene" from the opera The Flower of Persia. With assistance from his brother, Motilal Sen, he bought an Urban Bioscope from Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company in London. In the following year, with his brother, he formed the Royal Bioscope company. They arranged a first film screening on April 4, 1898.
In 1900, he imported the necessary equipment for filmmaking. For this purpose, he communicated with then renowned theatre activist Amarendranath Dutta. At that time Amarendranath was the owner of Classic Theatre. Hiralal took snaps of a Classic Theatre production, Sitaram, which made him the first-ever Bengali filmmaker. Between 1901 and 1904, he produced many films for Classic Theatre including Bhramar, Hariraj, and Buddhadev. His longest film, produced in 1903, titled Alibaba and the Forty Thieves, was also based on an original Classic Theatre performance. However, not much is known about this feature film since it was never screened.
Hiralal Sen also produced a number of advertising films. Having made two films advertising Jabakusum Hair Oil and Edwards Tonic, he may have been the first Indian to use film for advertising purposes. He is also credited to make India's first political film, documenting the anti-Partition demonstration and 'Swadeshi' movement at the Town Hall, Calcutta on September 22, 1905
However, the first film ever to be shot by an Indian was called The Wrestlers made in 1899 by H.S Bhatavdekar depicting a wrestling match in Mumbai’s Hanging Gardens. This was also India’s first documentary film. Bhatavdekar continued to make films until the mid-1900s, when he made a sideways move and bought the Gaiety Theatre in Mumbai – which he ran successfully, and lucratively, until his death. The first short film released in India was Sree Pundalik a silent film by Dadasaheb Torne on May 18th, 1912. The first feature film 'Raja Harishchandra' 1913 was by Dada Phalke.
Looking at the successful screening of the cinema in hotels or theatres Jamshedji Framji Madan built the first-ever Cinema Hall in India(1907) known as Elphinstone Picture Palace, later known as Chaplin. The second cinema theatre was Royal Talkies, Grant Road Bombay started in 1911
For more on Earlier Cinema Theatres please go through my earlier blog 'The Iconic Cinema Halls of India'
Link is given below
https://bolywoodfiles.blogspot.com/search/label/cinema%20hall
