Regal Cinema | |
Location | Regal Building, Connaught Place, New Delhi, India |
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Coordinates | 28°37′50″N77°13′1″E / 28.63056°N 77.21694°E Coordinates: 28°37′50″N77°13′1″E / 28.63056°N 77.21694°E |
Current use | Museum (Madame Tussauds Delhi) |
Construction | |
Opened | 1932 |
Closed | 30 March 2017 |
Years active | 1932–2017 |
Architect | Walter Sykes George |
The Regal Theatre also known as the Regal Cinema was a single screen cinema hall and theatre situated in Connaught Place in New Delhi, India.
The theatre, which was the biggest in New Delhi, was built in 1932. It served as a venue for ballets, plays and talkies. The Regal was also the site of theatrical premiere of Bollywood and Hollywood films. The Academy Award-winning Gone with the Wind had its Indian premiere at the Regal in 1940. [1] Films involving Raj Kapoor and Nargis also made its premiere at the theatre. [2]
The Regal was the first in Connaught Place to screen Hindi films and fared on its own against competitors, such as the Chanakya which was established in the 1970s. The opening of the PVR Anupam, a four-screen multiplex marked the decline of the theater. As multiplexes started to gain widespread reception in the 2000s, the Regal Theatre resorted to screening B-grade Bollywood films to stay operational. [1]
On the last day of the theatre's operation on 30 March 2017, the Raj Kapoor-directed films Mera Naam Joker and Sangam were screened. [3] [4]
The owner of the cinema plans to open a multiplex in its place. [2]
The building of the theatre, the Regal Building, was built in 1932. It was designed by architect Walter Sykes George. [4] and has three floors. In 1996, the first and second floors above the ground floor were sold to Madame Tussauds to open a wax museum in the building. [2]
The design of the building is a combination of Georgian and Mughal architecture. [5]
Raj Kapoor was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in Hindi Cinema. He is often referred to as The Greatest Showman of Indian Cinema. He received multiple accolades, including three National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards in India. The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award is named after Kapoor. He produced two films, Awaara (1951) and Boot Polish (1954), that competed for the Palme d'Or grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His performance in Awaara was ranked as one of the "Top-Ten Greatest Performances of All Time in World Cinema" by Time magazine. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1971 for his contributions to the arts. India's highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, was bestowed on him in 1987 by the Government of India.
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Walter Sykes George CBE, FRIBA, ARCA, FIIA, FIFA (1881–1962) was an English architect active in India during the first half of the 20th century, most known for being part of the team of architects who designed New Delhi, the new capital of India, from 1911-1931.
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