![Regal-Cinema-1935](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Regal-Cinema-1935.jpg)
The Regal Cinema is an
Art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
movie theatre
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
located at
Colaba Causeway
Colaba Causeway, officially known as Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, is a commercial street, and a major causeway or land link between Colaba and the Old Woman's Island in the city of Mumbai, India.
It lies close to the Fort (Mumbai precinct), Fort ar ...
, in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Built by Framji Sidhwa, the first film to be aired at the Regal was the
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
work ''
The Devil's Brother
''The Devil's Brother'' (or ''Bogus Bandits'' as an Astor Pictures reissue title) or ''Fra Diavolo'' outside the U.S. is a 1933 American Pre-Code comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. It is based on Daniel Auber's operetta ''Fra Diavolo'' abou ...
'' in 1933.
According to the ''
Limca Book of Records
The ''Limca Book of Records'' is an annual reference book published in India documenting world records held by Indians. The records are further categorized into education, literature, agriculture, medical science, business, sports, nature, advent ...
'', it is the first air conditioned theatre of India.
History
The Regal Cinema was built during the cinema boom of the 1930s during which Plaza Central, New Empire, Broadway, Eros and
Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
all opened in Mumbai. Opened in 1933, Regal was designed by
Charles Stevens, the son of the famous 19th century architect
F. W. Stevens. Its interiors with extensive mirror-work were designed by the Czech artist
Karl Schara Karl may refer to:
People
* Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne
* Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer
* Karl of Austria, last Austri ...
. The main auditorium had a motif of sunrays in pale orange and jade green. Its interiors were designed to create an impression of airiness, coolness and size in harmony with the modern simplicity of the exteriors. The Regal was built completely in reinforced concrete cement (RCC), fully air conditioned, and had an underground parking lot for patrons. The elevator up from the parking area was a major innovation at the time.
The cinema was the third venue to host the
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
night.
Today, it is a multi-use building combining a cinema with shops at street level.
The Regal Cinema was the lead theatre hosting the 17th Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), held in 2015, starting from Friday, 29 October 2015.
Also, The Regal Cinema was the lead theatre hosting the 18th. Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), held in 2016.
References
External links
Legends of the causeway – ''Regal cinema''
Culture of Mumbai
Cinemas in Mumbai
Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai
Theatres completed in 1933
1933 establishments in India
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