Iconic Regal cinema to shut down, Phillauri to be swansong

Mumbai: The iconic Regal cinema has decided to shut its door from March 31 as the owners were unable to obtain a structural security certificate.

Anushka Sharma's ‘Phillauri’ will be the last film to be screened in the 84-year-old theatre, situated in the heart of the city.

The news of the closing of the cinema hall was announced by the owners through a notice put outside the theatre.

"It has been decided by the management to close down the business from the premises wef 31.3. 2017," the notice read.

The owners were already planning to close the theatre and re-open it after converting it into a multiplex, but the sudden decision comes after the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) issued a notice to all the buildings in Connaught Place (CP), demanding structural security certificate.

"We were planning to shut the theatre and convert it into a multiplex. But we decided to close it by the end of this month after NDMC issued a notice to all the buildings in CP demanding structural safety certificate," manager of Regal, Roop Ghai told PTI.

NDMC had issued a notice after the roof of two buildings in the area collapsed last month.

"Regal building is 84-year-old and the inspection to get the certificate will take time. We are not in a position to carry out business activity as we don't want any mishap to happen in our building. We don't want to take any risk. 'Phillauri' will be the last movie that we screen," Ghai adds.

The manager says they are still working towards converting the theatre into a multiplex, but cannot start the renovation unless they get the permission from the NDMC.

"The theatre will be converted into a multiplex but right now we are just closing it due to safety reasons. It is not finalised yet which multiplex chain will take over Regal, but we are already done with 60 per cent of the permission. Renovation will not start without the permission from NDMC," he said.

According to a senior NDMC official, they did issue a notice to all the buildings in CP to submit a structural stability certificate.

"We had issued a notice to the buildings owners to submit a structural stability and safety certificate following the roof collapses in Connaught Place. Failing to do so they may have decided to close down," the official says.

He, however, clarified that there was no instruction from the civic body to close the building.