Samrat, Naraina theatres join litany of lost screens

Long before streaming shrank cinema to a palm and multiplexes turned an outing into logistics, Delhi's single screens were the city’s truest theatres of life. They were noisy, imperfect, _unforgettable— queues curled around corners, the air smelled of popcorn and samosas, and strangers became co-conspirators in the dark, cheering on with whistles heroes and hissing at villains. To watch a film once was never enough; these halls were less about projection than participation, about aspiration flickering in 35mm.

- Snehil Sinha

Adding to the long list of lost landmarks of Delhi, two more single-screen theatres—Samrat Cinema in Shakurpur and the Naraina Cinema Hall—are set to disappear, cleared for demolition and redevelopment into commercial complexes.

Both theatres had shut years ago but continued to stand as ghostly reminders of a different era. Now, the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) has approved plans for their reconstruction. At Samrat, demolition has already begun; tarpaulin sheets cover the site as bulldozers chip away at what was once a neighbourhood hub.

According to DUAC, the redevelopment proposal for Samrat Cinema was first submitted in 2017 and later revised. The approved plan includes two basements, a ground floor and six upper floors, with provisions for double-stack parking and suggestions for installing solar panels to reduce heat load and improve aesthetics.