Cinemas in Ahmedabad and Sector 17

Neelam Theater in Sector 17

The contrasting conditions of the theater scene in Chandigarh and Ahmedabad caught my attention. In Chandigarh, the iconic Neelam and Jugat theaters are prominent features of Sector 17. Placed in a plaza setting, off of V5 roads, the modernist theaters help activate a pedestrian-only area and are used as meeting nodes. Comparatively, the Cinemasala and Shiv theaters in Ahmedabad are located on a main thoroughfare, similar to a t V2 in Chandigarh. The theaters face each other and are host to several eating venues in addition to the cinema. The more intimate setting of Neelam and Jugat theaters caters to the big town, rather than big city, feeling of Chandigarh, while the fast-pace location of Cinemasala and Shiv are more representative of the overall big city, chaotic feel of Ahmedabad. Chandigarh, at a population of 1 million people, and Ahmedabad closer to 6 million people, are both categorized as medium cities, but their densities start to separate them. Even through examining a building type such as a theater, one can begin to discover differences between aspects of small- and medium-sized cities.