And so the theatre has been demolished. A flex banner at the entrance to the vast compound has it that “Pilot Theatre is demolishing” and then adds “Trespasser will be prosecuted,” thereby indicating that groups are most welcome. But the groups or crowds have long ceased coming to Pilot.

The property’s history is most interesting. It begins with Pilot, that popular brand of ink pens that many of us grew up with. The Pilot Pen Co (India) Pvt Limited, founded by Paranjothi Arockiasami Sanjivi, a local entrepreneur, was established in 1952. It manufactured pens in Madras, under licence from Pilot Corporation of Japan and hence the name. The corporate office of the company was at the Catholic Centre, Armenian Street, the Sanjivi family being devout Christians with the progenitor contributing generously to church-building activities in Madras. Legend has it that the first factory for the Pilot Pens, when it was more an assembly operation, stood at the site of the Pilot Theatre in Royapettah. But even as early as 1961, the works had shifted to Puzhal, where even now a vast premises goes by the name of Pilot Compound and is rented out by other commercial entities.

Under Sanjivi, Pilot Pens prospered. He then decided to get into cinema screening and put up the Pilot Theatre. Completed in 1968, it was India’s second screening facility with Cinerama technology, the first being Bangalore’s Kapali. This was a short-lived innovation, wherein three projectors simultaneously ran three strips of the film, all of which synchronised on a giant arced screen thereby making for an awesome visual effect. This was however not a success and Wikipedia has it that just two films were ever made using Cinerama. It is not clear whether the same projection could be used for conventional screening but it would appear that Pilot retained the same projection facilities. The first screening was on November 15, 1968, the film being The Ballad of Cable Hogue.
Sadly for Sanjivi, his pen company did not long outlive him. It went into liquidation in 1978. By then, the pens were no longer what they had once been – known to be leak-proof and with excellent steel or gold-tipped nibs. Cheaper plastic had come in and most Pilot pens were known to leave ink stains – on fingers and clothes. The arrival of the ball-point hastened the company’s demise. As for Pilot Theatre, after being a facility where only the best of English films were shown, it slowly settled down to vernacular films and later re-runs. Its vast compound was however a great attraction for film shoots. It was also a popular venue for film festivals.
Inheritance issues had led the successors to seek the assistance of the High Court of Madras and a settlement was reached sometime back. The theatre stopped screenings in 2014 and with that it was clear that the curtains were coming down.

Pilot will live in public memory via Pilot Lane, an impossibly narrow thoroughfare running along the theatre’s northern bound. This links Gaudia Mutt and Royapettah High Roads and was once a space through which water supply was made to eastern Royapettah. A couple of years ago, a signboard painter’s error had led it to being named Polite Lane and caused much mirth. The residents however were not amused. They have little cause for cheer for the lane is a convenient rubbish dump, a urinal and is forever filled with traffic.
This is part of a series titled Lost Landmarks of Chennai. The earlier stories can be read here
Let us cherish that vast vista of sky from the heart of the city until some glass-covered monstrosity fills it up.
Dear Mr. Sri Ram — I am an avid reader of your historical writeups on Madras history. Your recent blog on ” Pilot pen factory” and on Mr. Paranjothi Arockiasami Sanjivi, opened up my rusted memory of his factory and about him and family. There residence was somewhere near Roypetta — ?? Peter’s Rd. area. I am a retd. Professor of ENT from JIPMER , Pondy. and came to South India in 1962 for training in CMC Hospital ,Vellore. My late putative professor Dr. A.F. Desmond was a great friend of Sanjivi family and I did visit them along with him and enjoyed their great hospitality and of course a few sets of ” Pilot Pens “as cherished presentations. Your present writeups saddened me to know the tragic end of his great esttablishments. Incidentally I came to know of your early educations in Calcutta — the city of my birth (18- 07-1934) and ancestry. Do you know of early native bengalee visitors in colonial India from Calcutta to Madras and vise-a – versa earlier than that of Poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt ( Swami Vivekananda came much later) ? If , yes , please share you infomation with me. Shall love to see you some time in person. With regards — nirmalyakumar majumder.
Dear Prof Majumder
Many thanks for your email. No, I do not know of any Bengali earlier to MM Dutt to have visited Madras
Watching any movie in Pilot Theatre was a unique experience. I remember to have watched Sound of Music in this theatre. With the cool A/c effect and the excellent sound track and the movie screened on the big screen which Pilot theatre boasted off, it was a wonderful experience. Visiting Hours, a horror film, took the film to a different level watching it in this theatre. Later lot of tamil films were also screened here – Varuvaan Vadivelen, Oorukku Uzhaippavan, to name a few. Many seats – tickets were available all the time and the shows were always full. The big parking lot made the theatre look special. Sad, it is no longer existing.
My name is daisy Christopher I’m relation of paranjhothi Arokiya swamy sanjivi he is my grand pa
I heard childhood stories from my grand mother and mother that the pilot family are maternal relatives. Just googled and found this out of curiosity. The stories went on like a thriving wealthy family flew Burma from world war 2 and got settled around Madras and there a wealth family grew rich from my maternal grandmother side who ran a pen factory and a theater.
Looks like the stories I heard during my child hood days are true. Very nostalgic feel.
Even we miss all Hollywood movies we used to watch…
Could you given in more details about the theater why it was so much loved. I have heard the theater had effects close to 3D
Does anyone know the afternoon show ticket fare in this theatre is only Rs.5 if you managed to get the tickets from 12.00 to 12.05pm ?
When I was 15yr old in 1997 me and my friends used to go to this theatre to watch english films and the noon show is at 2pm., for that if you get tickets at 12.00 the fare is just rs.5.the counter only opens for 5 mins…we will stand in queue from 11am to get in front, After getting tickets we roam around then come watch the film…I had my first experience in this theatre to watch a woman n*ked in a film called “Hellraiser:Bloodline(1997)”…
Awesome memories…Sad to see it went down…
Was it not Pilot Pen manufacturing unit on Nelson Manickam Raod, Mehta Nagar, I distinctly remember visiting this unit back in the late ’60s?
I heard childhood stories from my grand mother and mother that the pilot family are maternal relatives. Just googled and found this out of curiosity. The stories went on like a thriving wealthy family flew Burma from world war 2 and got settled around Madras and there a wealth family grew rich from my maternal grandmother side who ran a pen factory and a theater.
Looks like the stories I heard during my child hood days are true. Very nostalgic feel.