Almost two decades after its last screening, Globe Cinema on Kolkata’s Lindsay Street is set to reopen as a two-screen multiplex ahead of Durga Puja.
Originally opened in 1922, the theatre is currently undergoing significant renovation, according to Satadeep Saha, CEO of SSR Cinemas, who has leased the property.
“Finally it’s Opening! Watched many English Movies here ,never ever thought that I will revamp it and will start this theatre again !Finally it’s a dream for us where other single screens are closing down we are opening New Cinemas! Globe Cinema will be now SSR Globe Cinemas,” Saha posted on X.
Laden with a rich history, Globe Cinema was initially known as the Old Opera House, a wooden structure established in 1827. It was sold to E.M. Cohen in 1906, who converted it into a cinema. During World War II, the theatre entertained Allied troops stationed in Calcutta.
One of the first theatres in the city to regularly screen English films, Globe was later leased by Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Cinema, from 2000 to 2006. By 2014, the venue had been repurposed into a boutique shopping mall.
For many Kolkatans, the mention of Globe Cinema brings back memories of watching iconic films such as Mackenna's Gold, Ben Hur, Star Wars, Jaws and Titanic.
Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji took to social media to express his memories associated with the cinema. “Oh so many memories of watching films with my father and then eating at Oasis,” he wrote.
