KNOW ABOUT THE LESS EXPLORED SIDE OF OUR OWN MUMBAI AND A HIDDEN GEM IT HAVE WHICH WAS ONCE THE FOUNDATION OF CITY

1. ART DECO IN
MUMBAI
{THEATERS}
By Abhishek Singh

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“Art deco reflects confidence, vigor and optimism by using symbols
of progress, speed and power.”
What is art deco?
Art deco is a style of visual arts, architecture
and design that first appeared in France. Art
Deco influenced the design of buildings,
furniture, jewelry, fashion, cars, movie theatres
etc. Art Deco was influenced by the bold
geometric forms of Cubism and the bright
colors of Fauvism. The emergence of Art Deco
was closely connected with the rise in status of
decorative artists, infact The term "arts
décoratifs" had been invented in 1875, giving
the designers of furniture, textiles, and other
decoration an official status.
Art deco in Mumbai!
In 1930s the changing political climate in the
country and the aspirational quality of the
Art Deco aesthetics led to a whole-hearted
acceptance of the building style in the city’s
development. Navin Ramani’s award-
winning book Bombay Art Deco (2007)
compared the building styles of Mumbai
with those of Miami, mumbai is the only
other city with equal or more Art Deco
structures. Most of the examples of art-deco
style buildings can be seen spread
throughout the city neighbourhoods in areas
such as Churchgate, Colaba, Fort,
Mohammed Ali Road, Cumbala Hill, Dadar,
Matunga, Bandra and Chembur.

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THE CINEMATIC ERA….
As the era of 1930s arrived the country had
a need of more residential and commercial
structure to grow and empower the
economy, so 1930- 1935 were the year of
infrastructure growth in Mumbai, but as the
lifestyle of the people improved the
investors started to invest in the area of
entertainments that is CINEMA.
AND THIS GAVE THE RISE OF INDIAN
CINEMA WITH MANY CINEMAS BUILT
AROUND MUMBAI WITH ART-DECO
STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE…
LETS SEE FEW EXAMPLES OF THE CINEMAS WHICH WERE THE
LANMARK OF THIS ERA

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85 years ago to the day, the Regal was
opened at what was called Wellington
Circle by Bombay's governor Sir Frederick
Sykes.
Opened in 1933, Regal was designed by
Charles Stevens, the son of the famous 19th
century architect F. W. Stevens. Its interiors
were designed to create an impression of
airiness, coolness and size in harmony with
the modern simplicity of the exteriors. The
elevator up from the parking area was a
major innovation at the time.
Regal Cinema
The tiger head motifs on its
front façade symbolizes its
grandeur at the time it was
inaugurated
intricate designs or
patterns on the façade
which represents the
architectural style
The erected columns on
upper end of the
structure indicates the
style
“The once fancy and posh exteriors of
Regal may have worn out with time, but
the old world charm and the history that it
carries continues to attract the young and
old alike"….

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Metro is located in the Dhobitalao area
of Mumbai. The Art Deco cinema
opened on 5 June 1938, and initially
exhibited movies made by MGM. The
interior, floors, walls, ceilings as well
as the furniture, was in shades of red
and pink the films were classy, so was
the audience at Metro. In 1955 Metro
was the venue for the first Filmfare
Awards night.
Metro Cinema
The column of the structure follow
the façade to the top
The interior were still preserved
in art-deco style flooring
The column and the theatre
hoarding colour creates an art-
deco style oriented theme
“Many of the unique characteristics
of this structure has been vanished
maybe after the restoration/
renovation.”

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The foundation of Eros Cinema was laid
in 1935 and opened in 1938.Partially
faced with red Agra sandstone, this
building is painted cream. The two wings
of this Art Deco building meet up in a
central block. The foyer is in white and
black marble with touches of gold.
Marble staircases with chromium
handrails lead up to the upper floor. The
murals are in muted colours depicting
Indian architectures.
Eros cinema
The ziggurat built at the top
Streamline and smooth edges
Use of patterns and grids and
at the entrance door
Architectural lettering at top
along with streamline
support below window
“The art-deco characteristics of this
theatre was well preserved over the time
both at the façade and interior”…

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Liberty theatre
Liberty opened in 1949. To honour
India’s Independence, the founder,
Habib Hoosein, a cotton tradesman,
decided to name it Liberty. The Art Deco
architecture was commissioned to British
architect Ridley Abbott. Liberty is now a
Grade 2 heritage site, and a noted Art
Deco building
The regular intricated
curves and the architectural
lettering characters
Smooth and streamline
edges
The major characterstics of
this theatre is its interior
“As the theatre was reopened in 2016 after
the renovation it is well known for its
interiors which has some major art-deco
characteristics”

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Concluding the journey just by saying that…
“Any architectural patterns or styles, not just art-deco
give us the brief of its past and the intent of the people to
preserve the style so it can be remembered in the future
also when this style will no longer be used for
construction because the needs of human beings changes
as the time grows. Certain factors, elements and style of
the building signifies the story b ehind its making”…

9. Thank You!