A day before the Suresh Mahal movie theatre in Chirala city was due to reopen, after it was closed for six months for renovation, a major fire struck the building and destroyed a large amount of property on Thursday.
The theatre is owned by veteran producer Suresh Babu Daggubati, who is actor Rana Daggubati's father.
The Times of India reported that the newly-refurbished screen, seats and sound system, worth around Rs 2 crore, were destroyed in the fire, even as Fire Department officials rushed to the spot and doused the flames.
The TOI report adds that the fire started when workers were repairing an air conditioning unit, and spread rapidly across the internal wiring.
The Mumbai Mirror reported that a projector worth Rs 50 lakh and 410 new seats, along with decoration material were completely gutted in the fire.
Speaking to Mirror, Prakasam district fire officer C Peddi Reddy said, "Our timely response helped save one crore rupees worth material."
Media reports added that Rana Daggubati was scheduled to re-open the theatre on Friday morning, with his film Nene Raju Nene Mantri, set to open to a packed crowd at the venue.
The film has Rana Daggubati in the lead role along with Kajal Aggarwal and Catherine Tresa. The others in the star cast include Navdeep, Ashutosh Rana, Shivaji Raja, Tanikella Bharani, Ajay and Josh Ravi.
Directed by Teja, the film is presented by Suresh Babu and produced by Kiran Reddy and Bharath Chowdary under the banners Suresh Productions and Blue Planet Entertainments.
Inputs Digital Native.