Farhan Akhtar’s 120 Bahadur rekindles India’s forgotten fauji theatre tradition

New Delhi: In the heart of Delhi, where the National Stadium now occupies pride of place, was the Stadium Theatre — one of the three in the city meant primarily for defence personnel. This was the era when Delhi had multiple single-screen theatres, one in almost every gali of Old Delhi, to offer entertainment to the city’s residents. There was also the Race Course cinema, named after its location, and the Palam Theatre, located near the now-Palam airport, where defence personnel and civilians alike enjoyed watching movies together till the 90s.

Farhan Akhtar’s war epic 120 Bahadur has become the first film to release across the 800 defence theatres in India. One screening is even scheduled to be held at an altitude of 16,452 ft, as mobile theatre company PictureTime brings the mo