Metro INOX Cinemas
cinema in Mumbai, India

Metro INOX Cinemas (formerly Metro Big Cinema (2008–2016), Metro Adlabs (2006–2008) and Metro Cinema (1938–2006)) is an Art Deco Heritage grade IIA multiplex Movie theater in Mumbai, India built in 1938. It was built and originally run by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The main architect of the cinema was Thomas W. Lamb of New York City, and D. W. Ditchburn (Senior partner of the architectural firm Ditchburn Mistry and Bhedwar) of Mumbai was the associate architect.
It was one of the main sites targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Lashkar-e-Taiba.
History
Metro is located in the Dhobitalao area of Mumbai. The Art Deco cinema opened on 5 June 1938, and initially exhibited movies made by MGM. The interior, floors, walls, ceilings as well as the furniture, was in shades of red and pink. Patrons were serviced by liveried ushers in the marble foyer and staircases, which led up to murals by students of the Sir J. J. School of Art, under Charles Gerard. In 1955 Metro was the venue for the first Filmfare Awards night.
Transformation into multiplex
Despite such achievements, Metro could not stand up to the multiplex invasion, it was becoming difficult to fill up the 1,491 seats. The promoters decided to transform the old cinema into a multiplex, while also restoring its original art-deco interiors.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Metro INOX Cinemas” as cinema in Mumbai, India. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as cinema in Mumbai, India. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6824505. Authority coordinates are 18.943, 72.829. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2008, 2016, 2006 and 1938.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Metro INOX Cinemas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.