Raj Mandir Cinema

This guide to Raj Mandir Cinema in Jaipur traces a legend about cinema tycoon Mehtab Chand Golcha asking architect W.M. Namjoshi to design a hall like a tiered wedding cake, and how the unfinished project passed to Jaipur jeweller Rajmal Surana in 1975. You'll hear why Surana named its seating sections after gemstones, and about the crowd that filled the theater on opening night in 1976. A visit from filmmaker Raj Kapoor years later becomes one more thread in the building's story.