Thirty seven years ago, on Oct. 22, 1976 ,
the small town of Vasai
was for the first time privy to the joy of a modern cinematic experience. The
Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna starrer Hera Pheri was the popular film with which
Sapna Cinema was thrown open to the eager audience of Vasai.
The
Cinema theatre was leagues ahead of any other in this far flung Western
satellite town of Mumbai (then Bombay) .
In fact, it was the first of its kind in the entire region: what set it apart was
the giant 40 feet wide screen which suited the ‘Cinemascope’ projection format
which was such a rage in those days. The
state of the art Auditorium was, even in those days, acoustically designed for
minimum of sound distortion. Vivid graphics greeted its patrons in the main
lobby and foyer areas. Strikingly, it had a single level
seating arrangement (which is now the standard in most of the new Multiplexes)
in order to optimise the projection quality.
Sapna
Cinema brought to its adoring fans a string of Blockbuster Movies of the 70’s
and 80’s : Sholay, Dharamveer, Star Wars, The Ten Commandments, Amar Akbar Anthony, Sargam, Don, Kranti, Aasha, Chota Chetan (in 3D). The people of Vasai, until then, starved of such a
magnificent Cinema viewing experience, flocked to Sapna Cinema in droves.
Many
years before this state of the art Cinema theatre was commissioned, this daring
entrepreneur had embarked on a riskier venture. This visionary, the
late Ramesh P. Sonawala, had set up a Offset Printing Press in the remote village of Achole , Vasai (E). Catering to the Film
publicity material requirements of
Producers based primarily in Bombay
was a radical and risky move.
To
put things in perspective, we are talking of an era when telecommunications and
road connectivity were primitive. A call between Vasai (W) and (E) was a ‘Trunk
call’ placed through an operator over a manual telephone exchange!!
Such
hurdles and obstacles hinder only lesser people. This printing press, set up
as a Partnership firm with Shri Prakash B. Apte, thrived against all odds. Aar
Pee Reprotechnik became the primary Poster printing vendor for reputed
production houses such as Rajshri Productions, NFDC, the Nadiadwalas, Kapur
Films, N.N.Sippy and Children’s Film Society.
Posters of hits like Dosti, Maine Pyar Kiya, Nadiya Ke Paar, Ghazab, Taraana and a host of English films from the stable of NFDC rolled off it's press, giving the established competitors a run for their money. His abilities as a daring, visionary entrepreneur and resourceful management of finances were only part of his legend.
Posters of hits like Dosti, Maine Pyar Kiya, Nadiya Ke Paar, Ghazab, Taraana and a host of English films from the stable of NFDC rolled off it's press, giving the established competitors a run for their money. His abilities as a daring, visionary entrepreneur and resourceful management of finances were only part of his legend.
Forty
years ago, when break-up of marriages were taboo and attracted social stigma in
a small town like Vasai, he decided that his younger sister, Indumati, should
no longer continue with the traumatic relationship of her marriage. Although
financially he was yet to find his footing, he took the courageous decision of
taking his sister alongwith her two young children home with him. What this
entailed was providing financial and emotional support for not a month or a
year, but for fourteen years, until his niece and nephew, who had been brought
up him, with the same standard of living as his own two daughters, became
financially independent.
This
family of nine comprised his equally visionary parents Parmanand and Shanta,
wife Shobhana, two daughters Namrata and Sapna, his sister with her two
children. Ramesh Bhuvan, the magnificent, sprawling Bungalow built by his father,
Parmanand is where everybody lived together as one.
A
businessman has to confront the possibility of ups and downs in business cycles
and the financial hardships that the tougher times entail. This lionhearted man not once during all these years allowed the family members to get a whiff of the financial hardships that he had to
overcome from time to time. He
manfully continued to provide his expanded family of nine, all the comforts
they were accustomed to. His sunny disposition spread to all of us. Having been a rebel himself, he inculcated the same spirit of freedom
and adventure in the quartet of youngsters. Rarely would a Sunday pass by
without the mandatory picnic or outing with the entire gang of nine! There were, of course, the pleasant weekend getaways which sprung up without any prior planning!
He
had a huge liking for cars and travelling was his passion. Over the years, he
must have owned at least 15 different car models at various times! More than
eating out, making sure that everybody ate to their hearts' content was what
pleased him. His
kindness and generosity was extended to not only other relatives but also many
other people from Vasai, in times of their need. This ever giving nature of his
had created a halo around him, leading him to be looked upon as a father figure
by many people who benefited from his largesse.
The burden of running the enterprise, the poor infrastructure that added to the
stress, archaic economic policies that throttled business.. all this naturally took a toll on his health. The repercussions on his mind and
body were serious and affected him at an early age. He suffered his first heart
attack when he was not even 40. The second one at his age 51 was a massive and crippling
one.
This
setback and the resultant bypass surgery would have forced an early retirement
on most mortals. Ramesh Sonawala, the man with tremendous determination,
ploughed on courageously. He continued the arduous train commute from Vasai to
faraway Naaz Cinema at Lamington
Road regularly. This was the office building,
boasting of the big names of the Indian film industry were based, where he ran
his office for the best part of three decades.
The
marriages of his two daughters behind him, he had reason to be content. However,
even poor health failed to stop him from implementing his ambitious growth
plans. His
health kept on deteriorating and he underwent the third surgery on his already
overburdened heart in 2007. Sadly, this time even his willpower was not enough.
I am the nephew who, along with my mom and sis, he magnanimously took under his wings. He spent his last three days at our home before he was snatched away from us onMarch 06, 2007, the very day he returned to his own home. Rarely does a day go by without your thought crossing my mind, Mama. You were one of the greatest influences in my life. We cherish the days spent with you.
I am the nephew who, along with my mom and sis, he magnanimously took under his wings. He spent his last three days at our home before he was snatched away from us on
Many
great heroes on celluloid have graced the screen of Sapna Cinema in 'reel' life.
Few can the match the valour, dynamism and benevolence exhibited by my uncle, late Shri Ramesh Sonawala in real life.
Few can the match the valour, dynamism and benevolence exhibited by my uncle, late Shri Ramesh Sonawala in real life.