In the 1930s, when large swaths of the city were reorganized into numerous mini-urban planning projects, its urban fabric received a contemporary makeover. No more sloping roofs, wooden balconies, dukaan-makaan combos: The new look that emerged featured bold, colorful and imposing facades, walls made entirely of RCC and colored concrete, flat roofs and flying balconies.
Entire streets had a harmonious facade, all following the same building lines, with the same height of floors and roofs.
However, as punctuation, buildings on street corners would be treated differently. Often designed for public use, they made bold statements with high visibility (literally rising into the sky) and a more ornamental, even fanciful, character.
Cinema halls were good candidates for this dramabaazi. The Regal is an example of this conscious “staging” of buildings, a born entertainer as it makes the most of its stellar location.
Bombay architecture has always been characterized by one form or another of layered ornamentation. In buildings from this period, you see embellishments of two kinds: geometric patterns, chevrons and parallel lines, which distinguish the Metro and the New Kingdom, and strategically placed figurative ornaments in the form of relief sculptures at the ‘Eros and Regal.
Look up as you pass by and you’ll see faces, people and even tropical landscapes. The Regal is particularly interesting because it features a raised (or ziggurat-shaped) facade with Aztec designs on its corners. Grimacing faces like theater masks adorn both sides of the vertical signage that spells out its name.
The interiors, designed by the Czech artist Karl Schara, are described as follows in a brochure produced for its inauguration: “The vast ceiling of the auditorium is made of pale cream, which accentuates towards orange as it curves up ‘to the frieze which conceals the ceiling lights (…) On the walls are lamps with cubic patterns in frosted glass. The ray pattern of these lamps continues through the wall panels to the ceiling, giving a stunning illusion of great height.
Inside the theater were a series of sunbursts on the side walls and balconies. As you ascended the grand staircase to the balcony, showbiz and Hollywood came together; the red-carpeted steps were lined with enormous mirrors engraved with a larger-than-life Oscar statuette on the landing.
Unfortunately, much of the interior ornamentation was replaced with acoustic tiles for better sound in the 1950s when the Regal converted to CinemaScope. Fortunately, Uncle Oscar is still standing.
