Below is a list and a series of interactive maps showing the locations (or approximate locations) of theatres and cinemas at one time owned or operated by Madan Theatres or J F Madan’s other firms.

This is by no means a comprehensive list and we are still in the process of collating information on the vast majority of Madan’s cinemas and theatres.

Please contact us if you have any additions or corrections.

KOLKATA

Click on the red icons for more information, or click the grey box for a list of sites.

Head Office (for Madan Theatres Ltd and J F Madan Co)
Location: 5 Dharmatala Street (now Lenin Sarani)
Status: Closed

Cornwallis Theatre
Location: 138 Cornwallis Street
Other names: renamed Sree Cinema

Corinthian Theatre
Location: 5 Dharmatala Street (now Lenin Sarani)
Status: Closed

The Electric Theatre (now the Regal Theatre)
Location: 4 S.N. Banerjee Street, Calcutta
Status: Active

Regal Cinema (formerly Electric Theatre), Kolkata. Image Courtesy: Regal Cinema

Crown Cinema (today Uttara Cinema)
Location: 138 Bidhan Sarani, Shyambazar, Kolkata, 700004
Other names: renamed Uttara Cinema
Status: Active

Elphinstone Picture Palace (later Minerva Cinema and latterly Chaplin Cinema)
Built: 1907
Location: 5/1 Chowringhee Place, Kolkata
Status: Demolished in 2013

Often referred to as India’s first purpose-built cinema.

Chaplin Cinema in 2013. Image Courtesy: Biswarup Ganguly (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license)

Elite Cinema, Kolkata. Image Courtesy: Atreyee Gupta

SRI LANKA

Elphinstone Picture Palace
Location: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Built: 1926

Elphinstone Picture Palace, Colombo

Elphinstone Picture Palace, Colombo. Image Courtesy: Dr Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin

Elphinstone Picture Palace, Colombo. Image Courtesy: Dr Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin

Clifford Pavilion
Palace Hall

Empire Theatre, Colombo, around 1941 (Image courtesy of “Robbie” Robinson)

MADRAS

Elphinstone Picture Palace
Built: N/A
Location: Mount Road, Madras
Status: NA