"Prakash Traveling Cinema" is a documentary film that brings back the memories of an age old medium of entertainment, the bioscope film projector. The documentary takes you through the lives of two friends, Hanif bhai and Feroz bhai, who own a travelling projector in Ahmedabad and make a living through it even today.

These two chums walk around the city everyday lugging their antique travelling cinema-in-a-box, which they lovingly refer to as the ‘lorry.' Movie theatres, DVDs, television and other technologies have pushed the travelling cinema to the brink of extinction, but for these two friends, it’s something that keeps their dreams, and their relationship, alive. They will never give up their passion, and job.

The film was made by Megha Lakhani when she was a student at National Institute of Design. She posted the film on YouTube and from there it went on to win many festival awards. According to Megha, Prakash Traveling Cinema is like a journey into the conscious and the sub-conscious mind. And through this journey, one gets to witness how just by believing in yourself, in your ideas, you can overcome everything, even when the chips are down.

To get an account of these travels, we had a chat with Megha.

How did you come to know about Prakash Travelling Cinema?

One of my friends told me. He had read about it in a regional newspaper. I was a film student then. The moment I heard about it I knew that I wanted to make this film, even just to have an experience of viewing films on that truck. It took me three days to find them. And after meeting Hanif bhai and Feroz bhai, I was sure there was nothing that could stop me from making the film. The whole experience was beautiful and something I can never forget.

There must be hundreds of mobile cinema shows in India today. Why did you choose Prakash Traveling Cinema for your film?
 
There are quite a few but Prakash traveling cinema is different. They have a film projector mounted on a lorry, so it’s not just a bioscope. It’s a different experience altogether. As far as I know, it’s the only traveling cinema of its kind in India.

Times have changed. People have almost forgotten about traveling cinemas. What is that still inspires people like Hanif and Feroz to continue showing films this way?

In the beginning, even I was surprised. There are TVs and DVDs now. How has this survived? But soon I figured that it’s not only their passion for traveling cinema that keeps them going, it’s also their love for each other. They have been doing this together for years. It’s something that’s keeping their friendship alive. It’s something that’s keeping their hopes alive. Even my film is not just about their cinema, it’s also about their friendship.

How difficult is it to earn a livelihood on this kind of cinema in India today?

The DVD culture has made it very difficult for any bioscope wallah, for people like Hanif bhai and Feroz bhai. But people who are so in love with this profession don’t want to give up on it at any cost.

What’s the most interesting story you heard while making this film?

There are so many great stories. Feroz used to spend hours when he was a child with film stock trying to make his own edits from the prints his dad had discarded. He used to try to play the projector manually. It’s so fascinating to hear these stories from him. And it’s so cute how he entertains the children by performing magic tricks. In fact, you can see some of these tricks in the film.

How does the younger generation that hasn’t seen bioscopes or mobile cinemas before react to your film?

Most of them are amazed that something like this still exists. They always thought that this had disappeared long ago. But it’s nice to know that they want to see films on the lorry.

Do you think the romance of traveling bioscopes can be revived again?

I don’t know how it can be brought back to our lives, but wouldn’t it be beautiful to watch a film on that lorry in the evening? Or when we are taking a walk after dinner? Maybe not the entire film, but a little bit of colour and imagery would be perfect after a hectic day. I would love these bioscopes on our marina beach, in our parks, and in big colonies where there are loads of children. Can we ever grow out of our love for stories and pictures?