Urvashi Cinema’s 55-year run comes to an end after court orders land to be handed back
Bengaluru’s Urvashi Cinema, inaugurated by Dr Rajkumar in 1970, is facing closure after legal proceedings over the leased land. The Supreme Court ordered the cinema management to vacate the property and hand it back to the owner.
Bengaluru: Urvashi Cinema, a single-screen theatre that has been associated with Bengaluru’s movie-going culture for around 55 years, is set to become part of the city’s cinema history following a court order concerning the land on which it stands.
The theatre, which was inaugurated by veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar in 1970, has screened more than 5,000 films over the decades. The cinema has hosted films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi, and has remained a destination for movie audiences in Bengaluru.
The development has also affected plans surrounding the release of Toxic, starring Rocking Star Yash, as fans had been waiting for the film to be screened at the theatre. The legal dispute over the property has now resulted in an order requiring the cinema management to vacate the land and hand it back to the owner.
Urvashi Cinema’s 55-year history in Bengaluru
Urvashi Cinema was inaugurated in 1970 by Dr. Rajkumar. The single-screen theatre was built with a seating capacity of around 1,100 and went on to screen films across five languages.
Over its approximately 55-year history, the cinema witnessed the screening of more than 5,000 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. Its long association with film audiences made it part of Bengaluru’s cinema landscape.
Among the films that recorded a notable run at Urvashi Cinema was AK 47, starring Hat-trick Hero Shivarajkumar. The film completed exactly 100 days at the theatre, marking a run that became part of the cinema’s history.
The theatre’s history also includes decades of film screenings involving audiences from Bengaluru and its surrounding areas. Its single-screen format and location contributed to its role as a movie destination over the years.
Urvashi Cinema land dispute and lease agreement
The dispute over Urvashi Cinema is connected to the ownership and lease of the land on which the theatre was constructed.
In 1970, Srinivasa Enterprises had taken the land on lease from its original owner, Bassetti Trust. The cinema was subsequently constructed on the leased property and began operations.
The lease agreement continued for several decades before its term ended on April 23, 2018. Following the expiry of the lease, the cinema management required the consent of the landowner to continue occupying and operating from the property.
However, Bassetti Trust did not provide consent for the continuation of the arrangement and approached the court seeking to have the land vacated.
The dispute subsequently went through legal proceedings before the lower court and the Karnataka High Court.
Karnataka High Court order on Urvashi Cinema
During the legal proceedings, the Karnataka High Court directed the cinema management to hand over the land to the owner within the prescribed period.
The management of Urvashi Cinema challenged the order and approached the Supreme Court seeking relief against the direction to vacate the property.
The matter therefore moved to the Supreme Court, where the cinema management continued its legal challenge over possession of the land.
Following the legal proceedings, the Supreme Court ordered that the cinema premises be vacated and the land be handed over to its owner.
Supreme Court verdict ends Urvashi Cinema’s lease dispute
The Supreme Court’s order has brought the long-running property dispute involving Urvashi Cinema to its conclusion. With the direction to vacate the land and return it to the owner, the theatre’s operations on the property face an end.
The development marks a change for a cinema that began its journey in Bengaluru in 1970 and went on to screen more than 5,000 films across five languages.
The theatre’s history includes films from Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, along with notable screenings such as Shivarajkumar’s AK 47, which completed a 100-day run at the venue.
The legal proceedings over the leased property, however, ultimately resulted in the direction to vacate the premises. The cinema management’s appeal before the Supreme Court did not result in permission to continue occupying the land.
Urvashi Cinema and the wait for Toxic
The development has also come at a time when fans were waiting for the much-anticipated release of Toxic, starring Yash, at the Bengaluru theatre.
Urvashi Cinema had been among the venues associated with movie audiences in the city for decades. The prospect of the theatre no longer operating from the property has therefore affected expectations surrounding screenings of the Yash-starrer.
The closure of the theatre follows the conclusion of the land dispute rather than a change in its long-standing history as a single-screen cinema.
With the Supreme Court directing the property to be vacated and handed over to Bassetti Trust, the 55-year association of Urvashi Cinema with the site is now set to end.
