End of an era for Regal Theatre

As Regal prepares for its last four shows, let’s rewind to the majestic days of New Delhi’s Premier Theatre

March 30, 2017 12:20 pm | Updated 12:20 pm IST

For decades, Regal was the first choice of filmmakers and distributors in Connaught Place; posters of Raj Kapoor’s “Sangam” and “Mera Naam Joker” which will be showcased on the last dayShanker Chakravarty

For decades, Regal was the first choice of filmmakers and distributors in Connaught Place; posters of Raj Kapoor’s “Sangam” and “Mera Naam Joker” which will be showcased on the last dayShanker Chakravarty

In the evening of life, Regal basked in mellow sunshine. The best of films from the biggest of banners still kissed its age-old screen though the rumbustious energy of its pomp was missing. Sajan was no Sangam . Nor was Maachis quite Manthan . Unlike its contemporaries, Regal, mercifully, was not ever reduced to playing re-runs of hits of yore or stoop to give space to films once churned out by Mithun Chakravorty, and later Dharmendra when offerings like Jallad , Chandaal and Johrabai, etc made a killing at lesser halls. Not for Regal the detour to shoe string budget. A cinema that was the pick of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and his colleagues, could not be seen shopping in the flea market of cinema.

Indeed, Regal in its hey day had no peer – and what a hey day it had! The day lapsed into weeks, months and years. And Regal continued to be the first choice of distributors, exhibitors and film stars when it came to the release of their films. Not for nothing was it graced by Raj Kapoor at the release of his films. The showman was known to be here for the noon show, the first day, first show crowd could never have enough of him. From here, he would go to Moti in Chandni Chowk and on to West End. The first stop though was invariably Regal. Often he would stay at Imperial in the vicinity and drive down in an Ambassador. Such was the love the cinema shared with him that when other halls developed cold feet over Satyam Shivam Sundaram ”, Regal's owners, the Dayals, played true friends, screening the film then criticised for its skin show. In a concession to those who believed that women were best covered, the Dayals had a havan to propitiate the deities before the film’s release. The film went on to do fine business, notching up a silver jubilee when little known Apsara cinema in East Delhi and Chaudhary in Ghaziabad joined it in celebration. Rather aptly, and not without a poignant note, Regal has decided to close down with two offerings of Raj Kapoor – Mera Naam Joker and Sangam .

Art house fare

Regal was among the earliest to lend its screen to arthouse fare. Films of Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal, and later Goutam Ghose were played to discerning audiences. The arthouse fare usually started in daily four shows but settled for a longer innings in the morning show. Incidentally, it was in morning show that the best of Tamil and Malayalam flicks could be seen here in the 70s and even the 80s. The same decade saw Regal step in to give a longish run to K. Viswanath's Sur Sangam when other theatres felt it was not a wise decision to screen a film based on classical music and dance in a city not known for such artistic sensibilities. Amazingly, the film found takers, and the owner could scoff at the critics.

Not for nothing were they the guys to host the India premiere of Gone with the Wind ! That was in the early days, the time when Regal stepped up to play the best of foreign films. The premiere of The Robe was attended by the Prime Minister. Nehru soon proved that he was not an occasional visitor here by bringing the print of Delhi Chalo , a film which talked of Netaji Subash Chandra Bos’s fight for Independence. His entire Cabinet came down to Regal which then presented a picture of the best of both worlds. Designed by Walter Sykes George on a property that initially belonged to Sir Sobha Singh, Regal’s inside architecture had enough Mughal influence, the frescoes, the half dome technique and all. In early days, it hosted the best of drama too. It staged “The London Review Company” as also “The Russian Ballet Troupe”.

Out of the box

It was, however, a cinema that Regal was to carve out its place in the annals of entertainment. Why? Simply because watching a film here was seldom about the film alone.

As Ghalib said about his poetry, “Hain aur bhi duniya mein sukhanwar bahut achche/Kehte hain ki Ghalib ka hai andaz-e-bayan aur”. One could say the same about Regal. Other cinemas showed a film; Regal made you experience life in its many hues. The audience, first they came in for a movie, then lounged around with friends, or shared moments of togetherness in the box – Regal’s box offered patrons unique joys. Sitting there they could watch a hundred people but barely a prying eye could catch them. The film over, they would go to Davicos, Gaylord or Standard, depending on the decade they hailed from. Some Lefties opted for coffee house; denizens of Shahjahanabad often took an ekka or a tonga home.

The fact that the same film would be showing in the Walled City mattered not a bit. Regal was a hangout zone for the young and the young at heart. In social echelons it occupied pride of place. In newspaper advertisements, if Regal showed a film no other hall’s name could precede it in the listings. It had pomp. It had class.

Diminishing footfall

Then it all began to unravel. First came the morning shows chosen artfully for those with lust in mind. Then came competition from video parlours. Soon came the multiplex assault, and Regal was left waging a battle for survival. The diminishing footfall meant the management could not invest in new technology.

Quietly, Regal ceded its top billing. If big banners showed their films here till the end, it was only as a concession to its past; Regal fed for long on brownie points doled out by history.

Yet it stayed the course. Its occasional housefull lightboard, its polite ushers, the weighing machine near what was once a porch with tall trees, the juice-seller. All were there. They would still be there. But come this Friday, and New Delhi's Premier Theatre dating back to 1932 would be history. Mercifully, it will be part of history too.

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