Anna Theatre: another cinema landmark in Chennai bites the dust

Anna was a standalone theatre with minimal seating, perhaps around 300, a contrast to the tent-poles that Alankar and Wellington obviously were

Mount Road for the nostalgic, and Anna Salai for those rooted in the present, is the spine that holds Chennai together. And as the metropolis evolved, the arterial road witnessed many changes.

Fresh edifices sprung up, old buildings became rubble, and in this churn, Anna Theatre too has recently bit the dust. In the Madras of the 1980s, there were many theatre complexes, as they were called then, unlike the multiplexes that roll off our tongues.

The Mount Road behemoths were Devi, Sathyam, Anand, Safire, to name a few. All of them had a blend of big screens and mini-versions like Devi Kala or Little Anand. There were standalone screens too, like Alankar and Wellington, but Anna was unique.

It was a standalone theatre with minimal seating, perhaps around 300, a contrast to the tent-poles that Alankar and Wellington obviously were. Anna was more akin to the little entertainment spaces like Devi Kala or a Baby Albert, smaller screens juxtaposed with bigger theatres within a complex.

Before you got to Shanti Theatre or the Devi Complex, off a small lane off Mount Road, Anna gingerly sprung into view. During the peak-release seasons like Pongal and Deepavali, when all the big daddies on Mount Road got their massive star-vehicles to flaunt, Anna found small films to dish out.

It could be a Malayalam film released for Onam or a Murali-starrer that struck a chord with the Tamil audience. Anna had a cozy vibe even if it did not have the aura of a Casino or a Melody, screens that sprung in localities adjoining Mount Road.

Failed to get tickets at Devi complex? Never mind, there could be a surprise awaiting at Anna. It was the kind of theatre that would not be visible immediately on the road, but if you made that effort to walk those 30 metres, it would offer you a film that could perhaps surprise movie buffs.

Back then, stars never carpet-bombed theatres. Every lead actor would get just four screens across the city, and those in the lower tiers would prefer Anna, just for the prestige of showcasing their celluloid adventure on Mount Road.

But as times changed and a film’s life was distilled entirely into the opening weekend, even Anna got a dig at big-ticket films. Just as Safire, and many other complexes made way for real-estate, Anna hung in grimly before Father Time finally caught up. This single-screen for a small audience, will be sorely missed.

Published - September 16, 2026 06:36 pm IST