Designed in 1976 by WM Namjoshi, who also helped in the design of Mumbai’s Liberty Cinema, Jaipur’s Raj Mandir Cinema, with its meringue-shaped auditorium, four sections — ruby, emerald, diamond, and pearl, walls adorned with custom-made woodwork with a glass inlay, and high ceilings fitted with chandeliers, is one of the grandest art deco cinemas to still exist in the country.
5. Liberty cinema, Mumbai
One of the most famous art deco cinemas in India, Mumbai’s Liberty Cinema was built in 1947 under the patronage of Habib Hoosein, and a creative team of MA Riddley Abbott, John B Fernandes and Namjoshi (who designed the interiors). Liberty, with its streamlined curves, vertical lines, geometric patterns, and nautical and tropical motifs, was the first cinema hall in South Mumbai (then Bombay) to specifically show Indian movies, and opened in 1949 with Mehboob Khan’s Andaz.
6. Annamalai Theatre, Madurai
