Dr Shoma A Chatterji, veteran freelance journalist and author, writes on cinema, media, human rights, cultural issues and gender. She is the recipient of two National Awards -- for Best Film Critic (1991) and for Best Book on Cinema (2002). She has been a member of jury in many national and international film festivals.
As old movie halls in the city pull down their shutters, one after the other, those close to the world of cinema are left ruing that iconic institutions and an entire culture of movie-watching will be lost to the future generations.