Mumbai: The newly-restored Royal Opera House here will play host to the opening ceremony of Jio MAMI Film Festival on October 20 which will also mark the re-opening of the iconic building.

The royal family of Gondal, owners of the venue, have worked towards the revival and restoration of the building under conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah.

Maharaja of Gondal Vikramsinhji bought the Opera House in 1952 and his son Jyotendrasinhji Jadeja commissioned its restoration in 2009.

“It gives me immense pleasure to see The Royal Opera House being revived back to its original glory,” Jyotendra said in a statement.

“We are honoured to have our opening ceremony at the Royal Opera House. We could not have asked for a better host- a host with a legacy that goes back over a hundred years,” filmmaker Kiran Rao, who is the festival’s chairperson, said.

The heritage building, inaugurated in 1911 by King George V, reflects the grandness of Baroque architecture.

One of the last standing Baroque buildings in Mumbai, the Opera House, with its long standing association with art, literature, theatre, music, has hosted operas and live performances of artists such as Bal Gandharva, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dinanath Mangeshkar and Lata Mangeshkar.

More on Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House, also known as Opera House in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), is India’s only surviving opera house. The name ‘Royal’ got prefixed to ‘opera house’ as its foundation stone was laid during the British Raj in 1909, and King George V inaugurated the building in 1911 while the building was still under construction. But it was completed in 1912. Additions were made to the building up to 1915.

With cinematography getting popular in the early 1930s, the opera house was modified for screening films and holding fashion shows. It was in January 1991 that the last film show was held here. There after the premises has been acquired by the erstwhile princely state of Gondal family on a 999 year lease. In 1993, the last public event: the Kathiawad fashion show was held here. The area around the theatre is also referred to as the Opera House in Mumbai

Ultimately, in 1980s it was closed down. Till recently, it was in a dilapidated condition. In March 2008 the Maharashtra Government agencies announced that they were undertaking conservation measures to restore the heritage structure to its original grandeur. The operational wings of the opera house at the time of restoration works were only a tea stall and shops on the ground floor.

PTI