End of an era for Kolkata’s another single screen theatre

The

Kolkata Municipal Corporation

(KMC) is all set to take over

Roxy

cinema hall, one of the most recognisable single screen theatres in Kolkata which was once leased out to Bengal Properties Private Limited (BPPL) along with the adjoining buildings on 4A and 4B Chowringhee Place in 1908-09 for a period of 99 years.
Roxy on plot 4B is still under BPPL, while the lease of plot 4A was given to another firm. Kolkata’s new mayor Firhad Hakim has now reportedly asked the KMC departments to initiate the takeover proceedings. KMC reportedly has decided to convert Roxy cinema hall into a multistoried building which will the home of many KMC departments.
Roxy was known as

Empire Theatre

earlier. Dancing legend Uday Shankar once staged his plays at the theatre regularly. Later the theatre was converted into a cinema hall. Gyan Mukherjee’s 1943 classic hit ‘Kismet’, touted to be the first blockbuster in Hindi cinema, ran for a record 186 weeks at Roxy Cinema Hall.