Alankar Mumbai’s most-preferred cinema bulldozed
Alankar Mumbai’s most-preferred cinema bulldozed
Mumbai’s old single screen theatre and most preferred, Alankar Cinema, nestled in South Mumbai’s Grant Road, has eventually been razed to the ground following years of service.
One of the oldest single screen cinema house, Alankar Cinema had stood for decades, serving generations of cinephiles. Even as details specific to Alankar’s opening date and architectural history are sparse in the public domain, its decline mirrors a familiar pattern across many such halls in Mumbai – escalating real-estate pressures, dwindling audience numbers, and competition from multiplexes.
Alankar Theatre, Mumbai (Credit on Watermark)
nestled amid Girgaon and Grant Road belonged to a once-vibrant circuit of single screens that peppered districts like Grant Road, Girgaon, Colaba, and other central parts of the city. These theatre
alongside names like Novelty, Minerva, Liberty, New Empire, Central, Majestic were more than movie halls they were social hubs and cultural landmarks.
Novelty Cinema, for example, pulled down its shutters in 2006 following nearly 80 years of operation. Its building Novelty Chambers served as a landmark in Grant Road. Another is New Empire, opened as a live theatre in the early 20th century before converting into a cinema; it eventually shut down in 2014 after incurring significant financial losses amid transforming audience habits.
Like many of its peers, Alankar suffered from the same vulnerabilities: aging infrastructure, fewer screenings, inability to compete with multiplex-style amenities, and often, regulatory or upkeep challenges. The bulldozing of Alankar is part of a larger trend in Mumbai where many single-screen theatres are being redeveloped, repurposed or razed. It had been more like an inactive hall for today’s moviegoers, but the generations knew it as a landmark for the movie nights.
Even as modern cinemas offer comfort, technology and convenience, the loss of places like Alankar also means losing a certain texture of old Mumbai, the echo of footsteps in grand lobbies, the scent of vintage carpets, and ticket counters run by familiar faces. These theatres embodied more than film screenings; they carried memories of film premieres, long queues of patrons in modest fare, and the collective experience of watching stories together under a single roof. The demolition of Alankar is thus both a closure of a physical structure and the dimming of a communal memory in Mumbai’s rich cinematic heritage. There are a few more single screens like this but they are running in better position and are likely to continue their services for quite some time in future.
News Edit KV Raman
