The Kamadhenu Theatre, which shot to renown by screening epics, was established within a sprawling mansion, Lakshmi Vilas. The halls of this mansion resonated with history, having been in the possession of the Portuguese at one point of time.
It would change hands a few times before coming into the possession of the Jaggampeta zamindari in the 1930s. When the threat of Japanese invasion hovered over Madras during World War II, the Reserve Bank of India took over the zamindari under the Defence of India Regulations. Till 1945-46, the RBI’s Cash and Issue Department reportedly functioned at the building.
When the control of the mansion was restored to the Jaggampeta family, Raja D.V. Appa Rao, the zamindar of Jaggampeta sought to establish a cinema house in the open space of the bungalow. The residents opposed his move, going to the court. They however lost the case and D.V. Appa Rao realised his dream of having a cinema within the mansion. And Khamadhenu was born.
