In this episode, Pooja sits down with acclaimed cinematographer Hemant Chaturvedi, the visual force behind Company and Maqbool, for a conversation that unfolds as a profound meditation on memory, loss, and preservation.

They trace Hemant’s epic 70,000-kilometre ‘pilgrimage’ across 21 states - an unwavering race against time to document over 1,300 single-screen theatres before they crumble into oblivion. This journey unearths the vanishing ritual of cinema-going, mourning the shift from the vibrant collective spirit of "dreaming in the dark" to the fragmented, digital consumption of the modern age.

Pooja recalls the magic of seeing her own films, such as Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin  and Sadak, play to packed houses in an era when projectionists were the high priests of a communal sanctuary.

Hemant also recounts shooting for Company in Hong Kong, where they found unexpected common ground through the legacy of Bruce Lee.

As they confront the inevitable erasure of these landmarks, from fading facades to the charred legacy of the Uphaar Cinema fire, it is Hemant’s extraordinary gift for storytelling that breathes life back into the silence, resurrecting the stories embedded in these dying walls.

This episode is a stark, moving tribute to India’s cinematic soul and its emotional landscape, serving as a final call to honour these sacred spaces before they fade forever into the shadows.