A decade after it was razed, Chanakya cinema returns to New Delhi

Will return as a mall and multiplex. Archive

Ten years after it was razed to the ground, the most popular haunt of the capital’s cinema-goers in the 1970s and 80s, Chanakya Cinema, has been incarnated as ‘The Chanakya’ — a swanky two-storied mall boasting brands such as Tom Ford, Mont Blanc, Kate Spade, Juicy Couture, Hermes, and a PVR ECX.

It is being touted as the city’s first “enhanced cinema experience”, which showcases “the best of multiplex technology,” said Sriram Khaattar, managing director, DLF Rental Business. Housed in the Yashwant Place Community Centre, The Chanakya, a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) project, was contracted to DLF in 2008, soon after the single-screen was shut.

However, a hold up in acquiring requisite licences delayed the project. On Friday, chairman and managing director of PVR Ltd, Ajay Bijli, said, “Chanakya was an iconic cinema and we have all grown up watching movies here and devouring delights at Nirula’s. We hope people enjoy the movie-watching experience just as they used to.”

The mall also comes as a ray of hope for owners of food and juice stalls that have stood outside the complex for years. “Since the cinema shut, our only customers are people who work here. We are hoping that the mall will bring back footfall,” said Ram Shukla, who runs a kiosk.

Eateries selling momos, kebabs and sizzlers are equally optimistic. Most shopkeepers concur that as Chanakya Cinema ceased operations, it also wrote a premature obituary for shops that circled it. “It was a huge cinema and when people would come to watch a movie, they would eat at such restaurants. Since it shut, this area has become quite secluded,” said Mukesh Kumar, who started Laguna Sizzlers in 1990.