Raj Mandir Cinema, Jaipur, Art Deco movie theater in Jaipur, India.
Raj Mandir Cinema is an Art Deco movie theater in Jaipur, India, known for its unusual shape and capacity to seat up to 1,165 spectators. The exterior facade displays nine star symbols, while the interior features curved ceilings, soft seating rows, and a pink-and-red color scheme.
W.M. Namjoshi designed the building for Mehtab Chandra Golcha, a jeweler from a merchant family, and the cinema opened on June 1, 1976, with a screening of the film Charas. Since then it has become a fixture in the city's entertainment life and continues to draw large crowds year after year.
The cinema screens Hindi films and draws both locals and travelers who come to experience the typical Indian movie-going ritual with intermissions and often enthusiastic audiences. The name Raj Mandir means "palace of the king" in Hindi, reflecting the opulent approach the owners took when planning this venue.
The cinema sits on a busy street in Jaipur and is easy to reach by rickshaw or taxi, though you should plan some time for queuing before show times. Inside, Dolby Atmos and SLS speakers are installed, so the sound quality ranks among the better ones in the city.
The nine stars on the facade represent the Navaratna gemstones, a nod to the owner's family background in the jewelry trade. Many visitors overlook this symbolic link between cinema and gem craft embedded in the design details.
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