Iconic Roxy Cinema shuts down

Kolkata: Another single screen movie hall in Esplanade, the iconic Roxy Cinema, closed down on Thursday.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) had leased out Roxy to Bengal Properties Pvt Ltd (BBPL) for 99 years in 1908-09. The lease expired in 2007-08 and BBPL continued to control the theatre and the adjoining building on 4A and 4B Chowringhee Place.

KMC subsequently asked it to vacate the property or pay Rs 71.34 crore for extending the lease for another 99 years. BBPL refused and KMC moved to court.

Finally in December 2019, Calcutta High Court directed the land acquisition collector to serve an eviction notice to BBPL and complete the eviction process in six months. The civic body wants to shift some of its offices to the heritage Roxy building.

Single screen theatres like Metro, Light House, Globe, Jyoti, Chaplin and Elite, located in and around Esplanade area, have already closed down. Roxy is the latest entrant in this list. The heritage movie hall had screened the film 'Kismat' that ran for 186 weeks and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had gone to watch the movie.

The 22 tenants in the Roxy building that includes shops and six residential complexes, are apprehensive of the eviction.

"We are ready to become tenants as per rates fixed by KMC. We urge Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Mayor Firhad Hakim to allow us to carry out business here, as we will be at a complete loss if evicted," said Ashok Kumar Sau, a shop-owner.