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In the past year, more Mumbai mainstays than we would have liked shut shop for good. As if Rhythm House and Café Samovar weren't bad enough, there were even rumours that Colaba's beloved Café Mondegar would follow. But thankfully, that didn't happen. Change is always constant. We know that. And suddenly, Mumbaikars everywhere were forced to accept the grim reality that things come and go—and there's very little one can do about it. Mumbai's landscape is always changing, but as it happens, this time around, we have some good news.The Royal Opera House, that shut down in 1991, will reopen next year after being restored to its former glory. Since its inauguration in 1912, this structure has been a matter of pride for the city--the fact that the entire area soon came to be called 'opera house' is testament to that.From shows by the magician Raymond and premieres of Bollywood movies to live performances by French production Pathé, as well as shows by Indian legends such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Bal Gandharva and Dinanath Mangeshkar, Mumbai's Royal Opera House represented some of the finest artists once and it seems like it will do the same once again.When cinematography started gaining popularity in the 1930s, the Royal Opera House was modified to allow film screenings and hold fashion shows. By the mid-1980s, it was screening re-runs of various films of the time. But, as most once-traditional things become obsolete in the name of evolving times and developing technology, the Royal Opera House too found itself becoming redundant. As single theatres started to see a decline in the 1980s, the performance and film venue's audience dwindled. With the onslaught of televisions as a common household appliance and the concepts of movie cassettes and VCRs becoming popular, going to the theatre became less and less common. After years and years of neglect ensued, the iconic Royal Opera House shut down in January of 1991, after its last film was screened.Over a decade later, in 2008, the Maharashtra government announced its intention to begin the structure’s restoration work, but it wasn't till 2010 that restoration began. Now, after 25 years, when the Royal Opera House reopens its gates, instead of movie buffs lining up outside, the restored landmark aims to usher in theatre enthusiasts and performance lovers.“The first show was held here on October 16, 1911. So we are working towards October, to coincide with that,” said conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah, who is helming the restoration work of the Royal Opera House. “It was an opera house and a performance theatre, so the idea is to bring it back to a performance theatre,” she said, adding that it would have the facilities of a modern-day theatre, including air-conditioning, lighting, and acoustics. R.L. Divakar, manager at the Royal Opera House Theatre, said that the civil work is currently on and that in 2016, the theatre will finally be reopened to the public, adding that fresh applications for licences and no-objection-certificates will now be made.Since this beautiful architectural marvel is a deemed a heritage structure, restoration work is being carried out in compliance with the necessary norms. At present, the work on the interiors of the 500-seat theatre is ongoing, leaning heavily on archival images and text material to incorporate the original pre-1930 era style. As per the 1916 catalogue souvenir of the Royal Opera House, the theatre is complete with cold air pipes, the crystal crown, portraits of poets, musicians and authors from bygone days, along with a mauve and silver colour scheme, parts of which may be revived in its restored avatar. In an attempt to bring back the original theatre feel that was lost in the sea of time, the new Royal Opera House will re-install 26 rows of boxes that were removed when it became a cinema hall in the mid-1930s.“Opera House was one of the art deco cinemas. It was like a monument, like the Gateway of India for Mumbai. Other cinemas, such as Metro, came up much later,” said the filmmaker Madhushree Dutta, who authoredthat maps Mumbai’s history through the lens of cinema.As Ms. Lambah concludes, “Not one of my projects gets the kind of nostalgia and recall that The Royal Opera House gets. I am already getting emails from Italian opera professionals asking when they can perform here."

Words: Krupa Joseph