Indian film industry's birthplace Esplanade Mansion closer to restoration

The building located in the Kala Ghoda area of south Mumbai was earlier known as the Watson Hotel

The over one-and-a-half-century-old Esplanade Mansion – the majestic building where the seeds of the Indian film industry was sown – is closer to restoration.

The building located in the Kala Ghoda area of south Mumbai was earlier known as the Watson's Hotel.

The Bombay High Court has directed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to complete the formalities related to the restoration.

The BMC has now informed the court that the Heritage Committee would consider the proposal.

The building is listed as a Grade II–A heritage structure, and is now in a dilapidated state – and efforts to restore it has been underway for several years but the process is entangled in multiple legal issues.

It may be the earliest surviving example of cast-iron architecture in India.

The building is located along the "Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai" that has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list, last month.

The building was listed in June 2005 on the list of "100 World Endangered Monuments" by the World Monuments Fund, a New York-based NGO.

Named after its original owner, John Watson, the building was fabricated in England and constructed on-site between 1860 and 1863. It was designed by the civil engineer Rowland Mason Ordish, who was also associated with the St Pancras Station in London. The external cast-iron frame closely resembles other high-profile 19th century buildings such as London's Crystal Palace.

The Watson's Hotel closed in 1960 and then it changed hands - and subsequently came to be known as Esplanade Mansion.

Way back on 7 July 1896, the Lumiere Brothers showcased six films here – marking the beginning of the Indian film industry.

The legendary American author and humorist Mark Twain stayed here and wrote about the city's crows he saw outside his balcony in Following the Equator.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah used to play pool in the hotel, to make a little extra money for himself.

According to a popular myth, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata decided to build the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower – located off Gateway of India -- after he was refused entry to this "whites only" place.

Sir Richard Francis Burton, the British explorer and geographer and writer, who wrote The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana, too had stayed here in 1876.

It also finds mention in the writings of Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Book, Kim and several other novels.