Facelift for Empire Theatre

The theatre building is being renovated and strengthened to be repurposed into a jewellery showroom

Nestling behind huge advertising hoardings on the left side of M G Road, leading towards Anil Kumble Circle, is the building that once housed Empire Theatre. The property was recently sold to a jeweller. It is being renovated and strengthened for being repurposed into a jewellery showroom.

The building was sold in January. Allaying fears that one of the few last surviving heritage structures on M G Road would bite the dust, Sanjay Kapoor, one of the former co-owners of the building, confirms that the structure will undergo some changes. He says this property was always special for the family because it was located at a corner of one of the popular areas of Bengaluru. “We were very proud to own the property and people always spoke about it in awe and with passion. Even strangers admired it for its grandeur,” Sanjay say.

Metrolife interacts with the former owners and old Bengalureans who have watched movies in the theatre about their earliest memories of the place.

Sanjay shares fond memories of watching movies in Empire Theatre hall in the building. “Those days, we would hang out on weekends at single-screen theatres like Plaza, Rex, Ajantha and others. The multiplexes don’t offer the same charm of watching a movie in a single-screen theatre,” Sanjay tells ‘Metrolife’

Although a bit disappointed about having to sell the place, he feels the decision was inevitable. Sanjay recollects that the property was bought in 1931 and had been mortgaged with a bank. “Our great grandmother Prem Kapoor bought the property for Rs 1 lakh with self-earned money and leased it out to Roach, a refugee from Burma. It was only in 1971 that we regained possession of it. Empire talkies did continue to run for a few years before it was closed. The theatre was on the ground floor and a restaurant run by a Briton was on the first floor. That was later converted as a living quarters for our manager. That space was closed after his demise. The theatre shut down in 1984,” recollects Sanjay.

City’s oldest fashion line

The ground floor of Empire Theatre was rented out to fashion designer Paresh Lamba, whose label Paresh Lamba Signatures, worked out of the premises for 25 years till he moved out to a larger space, seven years ago. “I started my career from the ground floor of the Empire Theatre building. Many dissuaded me from choosing the spot to start my business because it was located at the corner and at the far end of M G Road. But I found it an ideal location and true to my belief, I did well there,” Paresh tells Metrolife.

He says that he brought about some changes in the interiors but the exteriors were painted and retained. “The island that I had created for myself in the Empire gave me good visibility. I hope they strengthen the structure and redo it so that it adds to the grandeur of the buildings and adds to the charm of the city,” adds Paresh.

Discussed on WhatsApp groups

The sight of blue metal sheets being erected around the Empire building mid February triggered a lot of curiosity among citizen activists. Was it going to be demolished or strengthened? Some members from HeritageBeku even visited the site to understand what was being done to the building. Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, founder HeritageBeku, says “I just feel gratitude that Empire, that we feared was to be bulldozed, is now to be restored. Especially, when so many members tried so hard to find out, address it and share the news.”

A bit of history

South Parade, which became MG Road in 1948, was a favourite hub of film lovers. Single-screen theatres like Plaza, Liberty, Crystal picture palace and later Globe, and Empire ran to full houses for mostly Hollywood films. Suresh Moona, writer and historian, remembers Empire Theatre to be among the few buildings in the city which were architectural delights. “Even after it became defunct as a film theatre, its front elevation caught the attention of most of the people entering M G Road from the present Anil Kumble Circle. During those decades, one had to pay one or two annas or a little more to have a comfortable viewing of ‘phoren’ films,” recollects Moona.

Empire was always at the centre of fond anecdotes. “For the people of old Bangalore, M G Road was out of bounds and Cubbon Park was the frontier. Many of my friends who would dare to cross the border and somehow get into the great theatre would boast of their adventure. That was the satisfaction one would draw from seeing a film at Empire,” he adds.