VR Chennai (

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

: வி. ஆர். சென்னை) is a shopping mall located on

Jawaharlal Nehru Road Chowringhee Road (also spelt ''Chourangi Road''), located in the Chowringhee neighbourhood of Kolkata, is the arterial road running from the eastern fringes of Esplanade southwards up to the crossing with Lower Circular Road (AJC Bose Road) ...

Anna Nagar West Anna Nagar West ( ta, அண்ணா நகர் மேற்கு) is a township in Chennai, India. It is the western part of Anna Nagar and is one of the most socially active locations in Chennai. The area serves as a major transport and ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

, India. This mall was opened to the public on 18 June 2018. It is one of the largest malls in Chennai by area, occupying built-up area with of retail space.

History

VR Chennai was opened on 18 June 2018. The 10-screen

PVR Cinemas PVR Ltd (formerly Priya Village Roadshow Ltd), doing business as PVR Cinemas, is an Indian multiplex chain based in Gurgaon. PVR pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first multiplex cinema in 1997 at Saket, New Delh ...

multiplex was opened on 17 October 2018 at a cost of 400 million.

The design

The façade of the mall sports a multi-coloured design based on the traditional ''gopuram'' (South-Indian temple tower) inspired by Madras checks. Maps of the Chera,

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...

dynasties of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

and their distinct geographical spread are engraved on the walls at the entrance. The entrance also features a rectangular water path embellished with white lilies. The exterior walls of the façade sport symbolic carvings meant as cultural homage to the various dynasties from the Kadamba to the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

. The central portion consists of motifs themed on the

Dashavatara The Dashavatara ( sa, दशावतार, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindus, Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning " ...

, the ten avatars of

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

in the form of murals and installations. A 400-kg bell has been installed at a height of 10 feet inside the entrance. Walls adorned with murals painted by artists from

Cholamandal Artists' Village Cholamandal Artists' Village is an artists' commune in Chennai, India. Established in 1966, it is the largest artists' commune in India. The community is located in the southern coastal neighborhood of Injambakkam. Its artists are credited for t ...

also feature inside the mall. The 10-screen multiplex, PVR ICON, is finished in classic

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 ...

and is spread over an area of 80,633 square feet. The design elements of the multiplex include lobby spaces with intricate marble flooring, mirrored ceilings, enamelled lighting, and antique gold accents.

Shops and facilities

The mall has 240 retail stores. Other features of the mall include The Hive, a 50,000 square feet co-working space; ‘Madras House’, a multiple dining facility; a 10-screen multiplex theater and an event space; an open-air amphitheater; a boutique hotel; and services residences.

Community initiatives

The mall plays host to live music on weekends at 6:00 pm. It also hosts a farmer's market every Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.

References

External links