Mumbai’s Eros Cinema is Asia’s Greatest Art Deco Building

If you’ve ever stopped to admire a building for its clean lines, geometric forms, bold colours, and opulent materials, you’re likely gawping at a piece of art deco architecture. A style that became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, art deco works still number among some of the most prominent buildings in the world: think the Empire State Building in America and the Hoover Building in the UK. 

To mark the centenary of a landmark Paris exhibition: Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts) in 1925, our expert in architecture and design has done the tough job of whittling down the 10 finest examples of art deco architecture in the world. Picks range from the Art Deco Historic District in Miami to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, with just one building from all of Asia making the list. 

That honour goes to the Eros Cinema, located at Churchgate, Mumbai, India. Commissioned in 1935 by the Parsi businessman Shiavax Cawasji Cambata in 1935, it was designed by architect Shorabji Bhedwar and officially opened in February 1938. 

This is one building you can’t miss. The cinema is immense, with an imposing stepped facade of ivory cream and red Agra sandstone protruding onto Marine Drive. The theatre is just as magnificent on the inside: black and white marble covers the foyer, marble staircases with chromium handrails lead up to the upper floor, and elaborate murals, cloud patterns, and relief sculptures adorn the walls of the floors and auditoriums. 

The Eros Cinema is a significant building in Mumbai’s architectural landscape. It’s part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. Though it was closed in 2017, you’ll be glad to know that you can visit it now to catch a movie. It was reopened in 2024 after restoration and renovation works by conservation architects, boasting a brand spanking new 1,300-seat theatre and IMAX screen. 

Check out all 10 of the world’s greatest art deco buildings here. 

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