Casino Theatre near Chennai’s Electronics market Ritchie Street (Off. Anna Salai) is one of the oldest Cinema Halls in Chennai. The theatre has not been maintained for many decades and is in a poor shape. If not for Chennai International Film Festival, I won’t be going inside it even in my nightmare. Today for the 8PM show I entered it with doubt (well covered myself from shoulder to toes) on the condition of the interiors and to most extent I was true. And this was the state of it, after it has been renovated – I can’t imagine how bad it would have been before this. The positives were there were plenty of car parking space inside the compound, the Projection & Audio was great, the AC worked (though the air felt old), the chairs were OK. I wish any of the prominent theatre chains in the city will buy Casino and restore it to its full glory – I envy how historic landmarks have been refurbished and exploited commercially across Europe & South East Asia.
