MyWorld

A very old cinema house (since 1879)- Capitol - opposite the Chhatrapati Shivaji Railway Terminus.

Capitol first appeared as Gaiety – a Gothic playhouse meant to provide the Fort area's upper-class residents with an alternative to the Jagannath Shankar Seth Natyashala, the only other theatre located in the seedy Grant Road area. The edifice was built by Sorabji Kuverji Nazir, and was an exercise in excess, with a 40 by 70 ft long stage and a seating capacity of 880.When the Sidhwas, a Parsi family which also owns the Globe theatre in Kolkata, bought over the theater in 1929 and turned it into a ‘talkies', the seats were replaced with fine leather. A magnificent domed ceiling was added, and it was renamed the Capitol. Its first show– the premiere of a British film called The Flag Lieutenant – was attended by the Governor and his wife. A black-and-white image of Parsi ladies and suited Indians sitting next to British officers at the premiere still hangs from a wall in the manager's office.

Over the last decade though, Capitol, unable to bear the cost of its maintenance has lost much of its former glory and now, the building stands unused and lonely.

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