“In the development plan, the land is reserved for a cinema theatre and the government has no intention of changing the reservation,” Minister of State for Urban Development Rajesh Tope said. “It will be redeveloped and will continue to screen Marathi films.”

He further said that the state had communicated to the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai that while granting permission for the redevelopment of Bharatmata, a condition that it should show Marathi films be imposed.

Speaking on a calling attention motion of Bala Nandgaonkar (the Shiv Sena MLA who is a Raj Thackeray supporter) in the state Assembly, Tope said that the land belonged to the National Textiles Corporation’s United Mill No. 1 and the municipal corporation had not received any redevelopment proposal from the NTC.

Tope, however, expressed his inability to control the prices of tickets when the theatre is rebuilt. Answering a query, he also expressed his inability to compel all cinema theatre owners to show exclusively Marathi films.

When Nandgaonkar requested that Kapil Bhopatkar, who runs the theatre, be allowed to run its redeveloped version, Tope said that it was the prerogative of the NTC which was a central government agency. He, however, said that the state would contact the Centre on the issue.