The Bariks had founded the Chhaya cinema in north Kolkata. They were originally from Bankura before shifting to Kolkata. Maheshchandra Barik had an iron foundry in Kolkata. Subsequently, he set up an oil mill. Success in business led to establishing the Barik Estate. The man at the helm of affairs was Kalipada Barik. He died at the age of 32. His wife was Shailabala Debi. They had three sons — Shambhunath Barik, Sarojendranath Barik and Sachindranath Barik. After the demise of Kalipada, Shailabala took charge. She was aided by her brothers, Bholanath Barik and Purnachandra Barik. Purnachandra was very interested in cinema. It was he who convinced Shailabala to build one. During that time, there was a financial crisis. Finally, the oil mill was sold off and the Chhaya cinema was built on the family's own plot of land on Upper Circular Road (122, APC Chandra Road). Shailabala had been married at the age of nine. She ensured the best of education for her sons. She maintained purdah and was a very spirited lady. She also ensured that the business interests of the family were well taken care of. The Bariks started buying properties all over Kolkata after she took charge. The story goes that once upon a time, this family owned some 100 houses in Kolkata. Kalipada's three sons had planned to open a cinema called Life at Barik Bhawan on 8 Chittaranjan Avenue. Everything was procured, including seats and the machine. But, the plan didn't materialize since there were objections from locals. Back in those days, there was a tradition of newly-wed couples going to watch movies. Sachindranath had gone to watch a film with his wife but didn't get tickets. Miffed, Sailabala insisted that a cinema would be built in the same area. Barik Screen Corporation had opened a cinema called Darpana on Bidhan Sarani in 1954 with Ladies Seat. Shambhunath Barik, Sarojendranath Barik and Sachindranath Barik had also opened a production house called the Barik Screen Corporation. It made films like Chandranath and Joutuk. During those days there used to be a group of people called 'cinemasamjhanewallah'. Purnachandra belonged to that category. After moving away from Barik Estate, he founded his own cinema called Purnasree. Chhaya was named by Abanindranath Tagore. He had inaugurated it on April 13,1934. Keshari Films' Basabdatta was the first Bengali film to be screened there. It was released at Chhaya on April 13,1935. Netaji too had come there. Rabindranath Tagore had staged Chandalika on the Chhaya premises. Dance performances were regularly hosted there. Uday Shankar and Amala Nandy had performed at Chayya before they tied the knot. Sandhana Bose too had presented a dance performance on its premises. Then, there were magic shows. Magician Gogiya Pasha had performed before PC Sorcar Sr. Pather Panchali (1955) was released at Chhaya. Kalpana (1960) ran for 15 weeks. Aradhana (1969) did well too and ran for 11 weeks. SD Burman had come to Chhaya on its 100th day of screening. He was felicitated too. Sholay (1975) had run for five weeks, while Jay Santoshi Mata (1975) made it to 10 weeks. Chhaya even had a system where it screened seven different films on seven days of a week. All yesteryear stars, including Uttam Kumar, Biswajit and Suchitra Sen, had dropped by at Chhaya. Dharmendra too had come down. The entrance of Chhaya is flanked by ticket counters on both sides. There is a small open-air area after one crosses the ticket counter and enters the hall premises. That gives a feel of entering an aristocratic house. This cinema initially had 16 boxes and 51 seats in the dress circle. While the balcony had 84 seats, the rear stall had 586 seats. Front stall could accommodate 212 viewers. There used to be a ladies box with 16 seats. Chhaya still retains its 993 seats. The boxes are no longer there. The tickets are currently priced at Rs 50. The hall never had air- conditioning. Darpana, however, had an air-conditioning system. Chhaya was well-ventilated with a number of windows and ceiling fans. In the evenings, all the windows were opened. Three old projection machines are still in use for screening. This hall has not been digitized. Today, the profile of viewers at Chhaya has changed. Even films of Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra have not been able to draw viewers in recent times. According to Indranath Barik, who now looks after Chhaya, censored adult films are screened there now. These films are just over an hour long. Some 150 viewers turn up for four shows daily. On Sundays, the number increases to 400. This collection is just enough to pay the staff salaries.