JOIN USWhen we talk about cinema halls in Delhi, all we think about are swank PVRs, Waves and Satyams. And why not? They all provide state-of-the-art facilities and comfy seatings to the cinemagoers which gets people hooked to them as much as box office success to the Khan-trio starrer movies.
Although the ticket rates are on a higher side, but only a few care? We just want popcorn and chicken burger to relish larger-than-life presence of our favourite stars!
Talking about luxurious multiplexes, among the first names which come to the mind is Delite Cinema located at Asaf Ali Road near Daryaganj. It opened on April 30, 1954 as the tallest building of town on the most expensive piece of land, which used to be sold on the basis of each sq yard in comparison to other areas where vast tracts of land were sold in acres. The hall used to be the first air-conditioned cinema of North India.
Initially, the hall exhibited movies as well as staged performances in those times. The live performances were staged by Prithvi Theatre, which was mentored by late Prithvi Raj Kapoor. It may boast of a rich legacy of theatre and the golden era of early 60s however, it has kept pace with time and got modernised with high technology during early 2000s. Huge amount of money was invested to give it a five star ambience while maintaining its facade of heritage building without compromising of viewers’ comfort.
Latest equipment for projection, sound and screening were imported from USA including the latest Dolby digital sound system. To battle with Delhi’s scorching heat, ACs were installed with 100 per cent power backup.
To stand tall in the changing times of multiplexes, Delite converted into a multiplex by adding one more screen which was named Delite Diamond.
The hall has a huge parking area for more than 1000 cars! Keeping in mind the love for food of Delhiites, Delite has a restaurant also, which serves a variety of cuisine i.e. South Indian, North Indian and a variety of snacks in their restaurant known as Bhaja Govindam.
Many distinguished personalities have visited the hall in past half a century, including Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, S Radhakrishnan, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Sheikh Abdullah, Dr Zakir Hussein and many film personalities including Shammi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor, Geeta Bali, Madhubala, Nargis, Waheeda Rehman, Dev Anand, Dilip kumar, Guru Dutt, Sunil Dutt, Aishwarya Rai, Arjun Rampal, Shahrukh Khan, Subhash Ghai, Satish Kaushik, Mallika Sherawat, Emraan Hashmi and the list goes on!
Thanks to its enviable location and legacy, Delite is still among the first choice for hundreds of thousands of film buffs as well as for distributors and film producers.