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Journalism of Courage
In the age of multiplexes and torrents, single-screen halls have been hit severely. Around the country, many iconic halls have closed their shutters that earlier glorified cinema in every sense. And the most recent to walk into the sunset is Delhi’s Regal cinema.
Raj Kapoor’s favourite hall brought the curtains down on Thursday (March 30) with two of his cult films ‘Mera Naam Joker’ and ‘Sangam’ on its last day. After 85 years for a beautiful cinematic journey, of highs and lows, the final two shows were houseful and people couldn’t help but get nostalgic. It is said that being Raj Kapoor’s favourite hall, every time his films released he made sure the Delhi premiere was at Regal. So, when the owners decided to end the legacy of the silver screen, it ought to have been his films.
Designed by architect Walter Sykes George, the thretre opened its gates to movie-goers in 1932 and hosted eminent personalities, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Amitabh Bachchan. As the news spread, Rishi Kapoor too got emotional and opened up about the association of the theatre with his family.
Not just our parents, but even generations before that would have caught a matinee show at this theatre which is one of the oldest buildings in Connaught Place. Last week the owners revealed that slow business and high taxes have been quite exhausting for the old building that needs renovations, ultimately deciding to bring down the shutters. “The building is very old and we need to renovate. We are planning to build a multiplex which should be ready in a year-and-a-half or more. We want to provide good facilities to our patrons,” owner Vishal Chowdhary said.
Though fans are happy that it would come back in a new version after some time, they could not help but express their emotions online as the old screen breathed its last.
https://twitter.com/FaraaahKhan/status/847335718665846786
https://twitter.com/rithk9/status/847509857930526724
https://twitter.com/Mish_T/status/847653902111580160
https://twitter.com/ThePritiSingh/status/847661708822761473
