Built in 1968, Delhi's double decker Loha Pul, one of eight road bridges over the River Yamuna, might soon be refurbished and renovated. However, underneath all the layers of iron and steel, there is a small makeshift cinema that is a lifeline for hundreds of rickshaw-drivers and labourers in the area.

The organisers spent their savings creating the space and renting a television set and a VCD player. Hindi movies and English ones dubbed in Hindi are played here. Some of the most popular ones include Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

For as little as Rs 10 per day, four films can be watched at the venue. The shady and comparatively cool cinema space also provides an opportunity to escape the searing Delhi heat in summer.

Mohammed Noor Islan, one of the regulars at the cinema says, "We do not indulge in vices like gambling, drugs and alcohol. Our addiction is that we come here and watch films."

At night the space becomes a shelter for the homeless. India has the world's largest homeless urban population, numbering close to 10,00,000 people.

There are a few more such cinema halls in the area, and although they provide a safe space, cinema-goers and owners are afraid that not having a licence might mean being shut down.

Below is a short documentary on the makeshift cinema made by India File, a programme initiated by the External Publicity & Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

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