Mumbai has a new, plush, air-conditioned, single screen theatre on Grant Road. The locality had earlier housed four cinemas, Apsara, Novelty, Swastik and Naaz, which downed shutters over a period of time. “Once, Grant Road was the hub of Hindi cinema which is why, six months ago, I decided to renovate Nishat which I have owned since 1952,“ says Pahlaj Nihalani.

Today, Nishat is unrecognisable. It has a sprawling lobby, red carpets and new seats. A cafeteria in the premises is also being readied.

Nihalani has spent Rs 1.75 crore to give the theatre a facelift. “I am proud of the work we have done but the plan is not to make a hole in the pockets of our patrons. Stall tickets will be priced at Rs 50 while Balcony will go for Rs 70,“ the veteran producer asserts.

Nihalani says that the best way to diffuse conflicts over release dates is to have more screens. He recalls distributing Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghayal which released on the same day as Indra Kumar's Dil. And both did well. “If we have sufficient single screens, producers won't be insecure. And the aam janta too will not feel the pinch, More filmmakers should come forward to revamp these old theatres,“ he insists.