Batcha is the city’s oldest surviving theatre

Situated in Broadway, the 102-years-old theatre runs on the first floor of a building that houses a rice warehouse in its ground floor. The theatre has 294 seats. It was acquired by SM Batcha 10 years ago, hence the name. Prior to that, it was known as Minerva cinema. The theatre now screens mostly old films right from those starring MGR and Jayalalithaa and the ticket is priced at Rs 7 and Rs 15. 

It was the first theatre to get air-conditioning in the state and it was here that Sivaji Ganesan’s popular Parasakthi was censored, with the film’s writer M Karunanidhi overseeing changes sitting in the courtyard.