One of Mumbai’s most cherished cinema halls, Chandan Cinema, has been demolished, marking the end of an era for Bollywood and its fans. Opened in 1973, the iconic venue screened numerous hit films over its illustrious 46-year journey, beginning with Raj Kapoor’s Bobby. Chandan Cinema closed its doors in 2019 and now bids a bittersweet farewell to its place in cinematic history.
Film expert Amod Mehra reminisced about the golden days of Chandan Cinema. Speaking to ETimes, he said, “I remember they wanted me to help with tickets for Sardars who wanted to watch the film. I organized it as my friend Patni was handling the cinema at the time. I have to tell you, whenever a Dharmendra or Sunny Deol film released at Chandan, it felt like Punjab had descended on the cinema.” (It was very similar to what used to happen when a Rajinikanth film released at Aurora Cinema in Matunga.)
Mehra added that watching a movie at Chandan was very prestigious, as one was bound to come across a Dharmendra or Rakesh Roshan watching the film. “Ajay Devgn had his office right opposite Chandan cinema, and if his film didn’t release there, he would go and plead with the management to release his film at the theater,” Mehra shared.
Chandan’s location also made it indispensable. Mehra explained, “Between Gaiety-Galaxy cinema and Juhu, there was no big cinema hall except for a small theatre called Lido. The experience of watching a film with 1,000 people in the cinema was truly unique.”
While Amod Mehra called it a prestigious moment for films to release at Chandan, film historian Dilip Thakur explained that Chandan had become a barometer for the success and failure of films at the box office. He added, “I remember Madhuri Dixit talking about her visit to the cinema. She was not in Mumbai when Tezaab released, so she visited Chandan with her parents, wearing a burqa, and was overwhelmed by the huge response from the audience, especially during the Ek Do Teen song.”
