In the past this area of Kolkata was known as Cinema Para

 Kolkata's 'Cinema para'

Hatibagan area of
North Kolkata is a unique monument of the history of old Kolkata. From the
battle of Palashi to the Second World War or the crowd of spectators in cinema
halls, the role of Hatibagan is undeniable. And very few people of the present
generation know that Kolkata's Hatibagan was known as the 'Cinema para' of
Kolkata. There were many theaters or cinemas here. Three days in a week -
Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, this area of Kolkata used to become very crowded
for watching movies. Although in recent times all the single screen cinema
halls in this area have almost closed due to multiplexes. Only two cinemas –
one “Minar” and the other “Star” continue to carry the history of Cinema para.

In 1883, a Parsi
merchant named Jamshedji Framji Madan built two theater halls named
'Cornwallis' and 'Crown' in Hatibagan area of North Kolkata. After that, in
1935, the name of 'Cornwallis' was changed to 'Uttara' and the name of 'Crown'
was changed to 'Sri'. This Uttara was the first cinema hall in Hatibagan area.

Then as the fame of
Uttara spread, many people became eager to build more cinema halls in this area
one by one. Cinema halls built in this area are 'Sri' (April 25, 1931),
'Rupbani' (December 19, 1931), 'Chitra' (1931) later renamed 'Mitra' on April
5, 1963, 'Radha', 'Talkie show house' (in 1930), 'Darpanaa' (in 1931),
'Khanna', 'Vidhusree' and 'Purnasree'.

Among them, 'Rupbani'
was the most luxurious in those days as it was air-conditioned, had three
lobbies for entry and exit of visitors, separate parking spaces, a well-kept
garden and women's restrooms. And it was named by Rabindranath Tagore himself.
Besides, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose himself inaugurated the movie hall of New
Theater Studio 'Chitra', and later it was bought by Hemanthkumar Mitra and the
new name was 'Mitra'. Among them, the then owner of Radha cinema hall, Swargiya
Balaichand Biswas, made it a rule to show only Bengali films to protest against
the British. Moreover Apart from Bengali, Hindi and English films were shown in
the 'Talkie Show House' cinema hall in Fariapukur area.

Not only Cinema Para,
but here in history, the then Nawab of Bengal, Sirajuddaula, took refuge in
this area with an elephant army to attack Fort William, with the aim of
liberating Calcutta from the British occupation. And since then this area is
called Hatibagan. Although another story is heard, a rich man, whose surname
was Hati, built a garden house in this area. And from that the name of this
place is 'Hatibagan'. However, it is not clear which is correct in naming the
area.