Globe Cinema

Globe Cinema is a historic cinema and heritage building on Lindsay Street in central Kolkata, West Bengal, opposite the entrance to New Market. Its history reaches back to 1827, when the site operated as a wooden opera house. The venue passed through several names and owners before becoming Globe Cinema in the early twentieth century. It is therefore both a film-exhibition brand and a surviving landmark associated with Kolkata’s commercial and theatrical history. The building was initially established as an opera house. In 1906, the then-named Bijou Grand Opera House was sold by E. H. Ducasse to E. M. Cohen. Cohen renamed it Grand Opera House and subsequently converted the venue into a cinema hall called Globe Cinema. The theatre became one of the early Kolkata venues to screen English-language films regularly. During the Second World War, it also served as an entertainment location for Allied troops stationed in Calcutta, extending its public role beyond ordinary commercial film exhibition. For much of the twentieth century, Globe was known as a large single-screen theatre. The property was associated with the Sidhwa family and Jal Tata. In 2000, film distributor Arijit Dutta of Priya Entertainment leased the hall. Priya Entertainment returned the venue to its owners in April 2006. In July 2011, the cinema was acquired by Nitin Kumar Jain, Megh Raj Daga, and Devinder Singh Shant. Under a team led by Jain and his company, Konsortia Construction Company Pvt. Ltd., the historic cinema was substantially redeveloped. By 2014, the original single-screen theatre had given way to a mixed-use development incorporating a boutique shopping mall, approximately 100 retail stores, food courts, and a two-screen multiplex. This redevelopment changed Globe’s operating model from a landmark single-auditorium cinema into a broader retail and entertainment destination while retaining the site’s historical identity. The cinema’s next major transition came in 2024. Satadeep Saha, chief executive officer of SSR Cinemas, leased the building and restored it as a dual-screen cinema. The reopened venue was renamed SSR Globe Cinemas and began operations during the Durga Puja period. The two auditoriums have seating capacities of 239 and 197. The reopening followed a closure of approximately two decades for the original hall; Titanic was identified as the last film screened there before the long shutdown. The restored venue resumed regular operations on 8 October 2024, with Stree 2 among the films shown. The reopening ceremony also used the venue’s ticket counter for a promotional sale involving actor Dev and filmmaker Srijit Mukherji for the film Tekka. Today, Globe Cinema’s identity combines heritage preservation, cinema exhibition, and mixed-use commercial redevelopment. Its brand significance comes less from a national chain presence than from its continuity as a recognizable Kolkata landmark that has repeatedly adapted to changing entertainment and property markets.

Globe Cinema occupies a historically important site on Lindsay Street in Kolkata, opposite the entrance to New Market. The venue began in 1827 as a wooden opera house, making its institutional history older than its later identity as a movie theatre. It passed through a sequence of names before becoming associated with the Globe Cinema brand. In 1906, the building, then known as the Bijou Grand Opera House, was sold by E. H. Ducasse to E. M. Cohen. Cohen renamed it Grand Opera House and later converted it into a cinema hall called Globe Cinema. The cinema was among the early theatres in Calcutta to show English-language films on a regular basis. During the Second World War, it also provided entertainment for Allied troops stationed in the city. These uses placed the building within both Kolkata’s commercial entertainment economy and the wider social history of the colonial-era metropolis. The theatre was associated with the Sidhwa family and Jal Tata. Its twentieth-century identity was principally that of a large single-screen cinema. In 2000, Arijit Dutta, a film distributor connected with Priya Entertainment, leased the hall. Priya Entertainment returned the venue to its owners in April 2006. In July 2011, the property was acquired by Nitin Kumar Jain, Megh Raj Daga, and Devinder Singh Shant. Jain’s company, Konsortia Construction Company Pvt. Ltd., led the subsequent redevelopment. By 2014, the former single-screen auditorium had been transformed into a mixed-use destination. The new complex included a boutique shopping mall, approximately 100 retail shops, food courts, and a two-screen multiplex. This was a major strategic change: Globe was no longer only a traditional cinema hall but part of a retail and leisure property designed to combine filmgoing with shopping and dining. The site later underwent another significant transition. On 6 October 2024, Satadeep Saha, chief executive officer of SSR Cinemas, leased the building and restored it as a dual-plex cinema. The reopened venue adopted the name SSR Globe Cinemas. Its two screens have seating capacities of 239 and 197. The restoration revived the cinema function after a prolonged closure of the original hall. Titanic was reported as the final film shown before the approximately twenty-year shutdown. The reopening was timed to the Durga Puja season, a major period for cultural and commercial activity in West Bengal. Dev and Srijit Mukherji participated in a ticket-counter event connected with their film Tekka, and the venue’s first 2024 screening was associated with that reopening program. Regular operations resumed on 8 October 2024, with Stree 2 among the films screened. Globe Cinema’s history is consequently defined by adaptation. The site moved from opera to film exhibition, from a single-screen landmark to a mall and multiplex, and then back toward a cinema-centered identity through restoration. Its current significance lies in the combination of a long-lived Kolkata location, a recognizable historic name, and a modern two-screen operating format.

• 2024

  Restored as SSR Globe Cinemas

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  SSR Cinemas CEO Satadeep Saha leased and restored the building as a dual-plex, reopening it during the Durga Puja period.

• 2014

  Single-screen theatre becomes a mixed-use complex

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  The former theatre was replaced by a mall and entertainment complex containing roughly 100 shops, food courts, and a two-screen multiplex.

• 2011

  New ownership and redevelopment begin

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  Nitin Kumar Jain, Megh Raj Daga, and Devinder Singh Shant acquired the cinema in July.

• 2006

  Priya Entertainment returns the hall

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  Priya Entertainment returned the cinema premises to the owners in April.

• 2000

  Priya Entertainment takes a lease

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  Film distributor Arijit Dutta leased the hall through Priya Entertainment.

• 1906

  E. M. Cohen acquires the opera house

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  E. M. Cohen purchased the venue, then known as Bijou Grand Opera House, and renamed it Grand Opera House before its later conversion into Globe Cinema.

• 1827

  Wooden opera house established

  [1]Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org

  A wooden opera house was established on the site that later became Globe Cinema.

A heritage Kolkata cinema venue combining restored historic identity with contemporary two-screen multiplex exhibition and mixed-use commercial facilities.

• Cinema exhibition

  Original Globe Cinema single-screen hall

  The historic operating format of Globe Cinema was a large single-screen theatre in central Kolkata. It became known as one of the city’s established venues for regular English-language film screenings and remained the principal cinema identity of the building for much of the twentieth century. The original auditorium later closed for an extended period before the site was restored in a smaller dual-screen format.

• Mixed-use retail and entertainment complex · 2014

  Globe Cinema mall and multiplex

  The redevelopment completed under the post-2011 ownership converted the former single-screen theatre into a mixed-use destination. The complex included a boutique shopping mall, approximately 100 retail stores, food courts, and a two-screen multiplex. This format broadened the site’s commercial purpose from film exhibition to an integrated shopping, dining, and leisure experience.

• Multiplex cinema · 2024

  SSR Globe Cinemas

  The restored 2024 venue operates as a two-screen cinema under the SSR Globe Cinemas name. Its auditoriums seat 239 and 197 people respectively. The format preserves the Globe name while adapting the building for contemporary film exhibition after the long closure of the original hall.

• 2024SSR Globe Cinemas reopening promotion

  Kolkata, India

  The reopening was promoted during the Durga Puja period, using the restored heritage venue and its return to cinema exhibition as the central public message.

  Outcome. The venue reopened as a dual-plex and resumed regular screenings on 8 October 2024.

  Source
• 2024Tekka ticket-counter event

  Kolkata, India

  Actor Dev and filmmaker Srijit Mukherji sold tickets for Tekka from the restored cinema’s ticket counter as part of the reopening activities.

  Outcome. The event connected the restored venue with a contemporary Bengali film promotion.

  Source

• 2024

  Restoration and conversion to a dual-plexGeneration change

  Background

  After the original cinema had been closed for an extended period, SSR Cinemas pursued a return to film exhibition at the historic site.

  Action taken

  Satadeep Saha leased the building and restored it as a two-screen cinema named SSR Globe Cinemas, with auditoriums seating 239 and 197.

  Aftermath

  The venue reopened during Durga Puja in 2024 and resumed regular screenings on 8 October.

  Source

• 2014

  Redevelopment into a mall and multiplexStrategy

  Background

  The large single-screen theatre was redeveloped as property and audience patterns changed in Kolkata’s cinema and retail sectors.

  Action taken

  The site was converted into a mixed-use complex with about 100 shops, food courts, and a two-screen multiplex.

  Aftermath

  Globe’s operating identity shifted from a traditional single-screen cinema to a combined retail and entertainment destination.

  Source

1. 1Globe Cinema (Kolkata)en.wikipedia.org