Madras Day 2026 | Safire theatre: Once a cinema landmark in Chennai, now reduced to nothing

It is 1964 and walking down Mount Road, the massive Safire Theatre Complex could not be missed. With its widescreen opening show of Cleopatra showcasing in Madras, the Veecumsee’s Safire, as it was known, brought 70 mm filmscreening to the city.

The Safire Theatre Complex was one of the first multiplex cinema complexes in India. Owned by a diamond merchant family, the multiplex featured Safire, Blue Diamond, and Emerald theatres. In the basement was a disco and restaurant Nine Gems, later named Navaratna.

Built by Yeshwant Veecumsee, the Safire cinema hall could seat around 1,000 people while the medium sized Emerald screened Hindi and Tamil films. The Blue Diamond screen introduced the concept of continuous screenings to Indian cinema, The Hindu had reported. For the price of ₹2.50, you could stroll in and stroll out whenever and spend the whole day there. The Blue Diamond mostly screened ‘oldies’ and second runs.

Safire is most famous for screening iconic english films in the city. From My Fair Lady released in 1964 to The Sound of Music released in 1965 and Poseidon Adventure in 1972, many people recalled watching their first English film in Safire.

“I had watched the Poseidon Adventure when it was showing in the city. Watching it with a friend in Safire we had planned the whole day around it. The movie traumatised me and then came out of the theatre to pouring rain in Chennai. We were so scared and at the same time so thrilled for the experience,” said Ramesh, 65.

For over two decades cinema was defined by the Safire theatre, recounted Chennai residents.

“After ruling the world of cinema-goers in Chennai, Safire began to show signs of cracking, by the 1980s. With Cable TV keeping viewers at home, the crowds dwindled to almost nothing, and the Veecumsees closed down the complex,” said an article from The Hindu Archives by historian S. Muthiah in 2003.

In 1994, the Safire Theatre Complex was sold to the AIADMK. However, the complex was neither razed down nor working for the next decade; sitting idle and gathering dust. The dilapidated building, once a landmark in its heyday, was then demolished in 2003. Today it is a vacant plot of land on the busy Anna Salai.