KOCHI: More than just cinema halls, Mymoon and Lulu were two landmarks in the city— witnesses to the golden era of Malayalam cinema.The twin theatres are in a deserted state after the Kokers Group sold it five years ago, "It was in September 1981 that we inaugurated both the theatres. The movie, 'Raktham,' directed by Joshy, was the inaugural film in Mymoon and 'Vida Parayum Munpe' by Mohan was screened at Lulu. 'Vida Parayum Munpe' was a surprise hit. We even arranged special shows for women at that time.""The first thought that comes to my mind when I travel through Chittoor Road is the image of lengthy queues of women below the posters of 'Vida Parayum Munpe,'" said Siyad Koker of the Kokers Group.The one-acre property is currently worth Rs 50 to Rs 60 crore. "We sold the property to EMKE group five years ago due to financial burden and partition problems," Siyad said.He said that many Malayalam movies considered as classics have been screened in Mymoon and Lulu. "We used to give equal importance to movies in other languages, too. Tamil movie 'Munthane Mudichu' ran for more than 100 days in Mymoon. The movie 'Akashadooth' did not get a good response in the first few days. But later it became a hit and we even arranged special shows for women," Siyad said.The other major super hits that were screened at Mymoon and Lulu include 'Oru CBI Diarykurippu,' 'Irupatham Noottandu,' 'Kottayam Kunjachan,' 'Inspector Balram,' 'Lal Salam,' 'Koodevide,' 'Gentleman,' 'Kathalan' and many more.The last major release was Mohanlal's 'Mahasamudram' in 2006. It is learnt that the EMKE Group is planning to construct a luxury hotel on the plot but the company is yet to start the preliminary work. As a result the theatre complex stands as a testimony to the crisis-stricken Malayalam movie industry. For movie buffs, Mymoon and Lulu always evoke memories of the live action on 70 mm screen.
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