MUMBAI MIRROR (February 17, 2018)

Bollywood’s favourite preview theatre, Lightbox in the city’s western suburb of Santacruz, which was formerly owned by Farhan Akhtar and filmmaker-close friend Ritesh Deshmukh, was demolished on Friday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

“The notice was served under MRTP (Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices) to restore the structure as per original plan. It was an operational theatre but the decision to demolish it was taken as it was located in a basement. It was also unauthorised and violated fire safety norms,” said a senior civic official, H (west) ward.

The 30-seater had instantly become the go-to spot for big ticket film previews and other events ever since its inception in 2012.
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Mohar Basu and Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; February 17, 2018)

Preview theatre Lightbox in Santacruz, which had the distinction of being the preferred choice amongst celebrities to host special screenings of their films, was demolished on Thursday evening by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC officials undertook the measure after sending repeated notices to the owners stating that the preview theatre, which has been built in the basement of a residential building in Hasmukh Nagar was an unauthorized construction.

A special screening of Pad Man was underway for a senior filmmaker and his family on Thursday when the BMC officials walked into the premises and began the demolition. An eye-witness told mid-day, “The filmmaker, though initially shocked at the sudden turn of events, did not intervene in the matter. The screening was stopped midway and the entire process took about an hour.”

The preview theatre was originally owned by Excel production partners, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. However, it was shut down early last year when the producers realised that it was no longer monetarily feasible for them to maintain the property. After a temporary shutdown, the doors of the preview theatre were reopened in May as Salman Khan’s business partner Prashant Gunjalkar took over from Excel.

Despite several attempts to reach Sharad Ugade, assistant municipal commissioner of H West ward, he remained unavailable for comment.

Santacruz’s Lightbox proves unaffordable for Excel; industry hopeful of its resurrection
Mohar Basu & Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 16, 2017)

On December 20, a star-studded premiere of Dangal was held at Lightbox, which was attended by the Phogats — Mahavir and his wrestler daughters Geeta and Babita, as well as politico Raj Thackeray. Now, sources at the preview theatre, owned by Excel production partners Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, say it was the last screening there.

“From January 1, the place remains non-functional. The staff has been paid well in advance and asked to look for alternate jobs. What the bosses plan to do with the place, we don’t know. Nobody knows if it has been temporarily shut,” a staff member present at Lightbox on Sunday informed.

In 2012, Farhan and Ritesh had launched the private theatre ahead of the release of their film, Talaash. The concept was to let it out to industry folk eager to host intimate gatherings. Before Lightbox, most previews were either held at suburban multiplexes or in Film City. The prime location (Santacruz) and quiet setting was a big attraction for industry insiders.

A source close to Farhan informs, “Ritesh had been nagging Farhan to shut down the place since last year. After some of their films didn’t work at the box office, their year-end monetary review showed it was no longer feasible for them to run the theatre. Since the place holds sentimental value for several industry people, they have volunteered to get the place up and running again, but Farhan and Ritesh are yet to take the final call.”

Among those keen to resurrect the theatre, Shah Rukh Khan tops the list. “He was planning to host the first screening of Raees ( an Excel production) at Lightbox,” said the source.