Play House or Pila House is a locality in the Eastern part of

Grant Road Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

area, in

South Mumbai South Mumbai, colloquially SoBo from South Bombay in Indian English, administratively the Mumbai City District, is the city centre and the southernmost precinct of Greater Bombay. It extends from Colaba to Mahalaxmi (Western side), Byculla ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It was developed as an entertainment district by the British in 1857. Many famous theatres (some now defunct) are present in this locality. It was surrounded by the red light area of

Kamathipura Kamathipura (also spelled Kamthipura) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, India known for prostitution. It was first settled after 1795 with the construction of causeways that connected the erstwhile seven islands of Mumbai. Initially known as Lal ...

on one side, and the Congress House, occupied by traditional dancers and musicians such as the

tawaif A ''tawaif'' () was a highly successful courtesan singer‚ dancer‚ and poet who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. Many tawaifs (" nautch girls" to the British) were forced to go into pro ...

s on the other side.

Overview

Pila House or Play House, as the British dubbed this area, bordering Kamathipura due to the many theatres (play-houses) in this locality. Today, most of the theatres have been destroyed or converted to another use. It was named as Play House by the British but the locals could not pronounce it well and started calling the area as Pila House or Pila Haus.

Prostitution

As Play House was surrounded by red-light districts, prostitution spilled into the Play House area as well. The area meant to be an "entertainment district" turned into a mini red-light area. Mainly Nepali

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is ...

s gave

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

services in Play House. Most of their customers were labourers and workers on daily wages. New-York based author

Suketu Mehta Suketu Mehta is the New York-based author of ''Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found'', which won the Kiriyama Prize and the Hutch Crossword Award, and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, the Lettre Ulysses Prize, the BBC4 Samuel Johnson Pr ...

in his book 'Maximum City : Bombay lost and found' describes it as ''"The men who go there are labourers, cart pullers, coolies: men who work with their bodies all day long and, in the night, buy another working body."'' However, the sex-workers and

brothels A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe t ...

in Play House had the same fate as those in

. Due to interest of many builders for redevelopment of the area, sex-work has mostly stopped in the area.

Theatres

Play House ''was an entertainment hub of the city that staged Parsi plays and Marathi tamashas.'' The British shut down all the

graveyards A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies tha ...

in the area and built many theatres (play-houses). Many of these theaters, over a century old, now show classic Hindi films or adult movies, catering to migrant labourers and low-income sex workers from the nearby red-light district, i.e. Kamathipura. The theatres such as Gulshan Talkies, Alfred Talkies, New Roshan Talkies, Nishat Talkies, Super Cinema, Royal Cinema once were an integral part of the area. These theatres once had a variety of entertainment from Parsee theatre to Silent theatre to

Talkies A sound film is a Film, motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, bu ...

plays Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

. But now, most of them have shifted to screening adult C/B grade movies. For example, Alfred Talkies, originally known as Rippon Theatre established in the year 1880 now screens adult C/B grade movies and old blockbuster Hindi films. The New Roshan Talkies, initially known as Elphistone Theatre, established in the early 1930s screened mainly adult movies and the old Hindi films for survival. However, it could not sustain and had to shut down. Similarly, Gulshan Cinema could not sustain despite the dirt-cheap prices and screening of Bhojpuri and Adult C/B grade movies due to the intense competition and had to shut down as well. The Royal Cinema / Talkies, established in the year 1911 opened up mainly for short plays and

documentaries A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". The American author and media analyst Bill ...

. Unlike other talkies/theatres in Play House, Royal Cinema has a small audience capacity. In the year 1930, the cinema started screening big commercial movies for better business opportunities. However, now the Royal Cinema mainly screens Bhojpuri and adult C/B grade movies. The Nishat Talkies, located right opposite to the Royal Cinema, was established in the year 1952. Nowadays, it screens Bhojpuri movies and old Hindi movies. The Super Cinema / Talkies / Super Plaza Cinema, established in the late 1920s began with short-plays. Now, it only screens Bhojpuri movies. It is also one of the few theatres still doing well in Play House and not on the verge of shutting down.

Connectivity

Play House is well connected to most parts of

. Indian Railways : Play House is located at a distance of 750m from the

Grant Road railway station Grant Road ( /graːnt/; station code: GTR), formerly known as Bombay Terminus, is a railway station in South Mumbai, and is the former terminus of the erstwhile Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway. It was named after Sir Robert Grant, the ...

. Play House is located at a distance of 2 kilometers from the

Sandhurst Road railway station Sandhurst Road (station code: SNRD) is a railway station serving Dongri area of South Mumbai, India, on the Central and Harbour Lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the third stop from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. Named after W ...

. It is located at a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the important sub-urban and terminal railway station of

Mumbai Central Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both local and intercity trains with ...

. It is located at a distance of 2.7 kilometers from the

Byculla railway station Byculla (station code: BY) is railway station on the Central line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is located in the neighbourhood of Byculla. The station is a Grade-I heritage structure. The other ...

. All these stations are at a walkable distance, however, taxis are still available if one does not wish to walk. Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (B.E.S.T.) : The 'Play House' bus-stop caters to the Play House area. Several buses go through the Play House bus-stop. The List of buses stopping at the Play House bus-stop and their routes are as follows : • A-102 : From Vijay Vallabh Chowk (Pydhonie) to

and vice versa. • A-104 : From Vijay Vallabh Chowk (Pydhonie) to J. Mehta Marg (Malabar Hill) and vice versa. • A-105 : From Vijay Vallabh Chowk (Pydhonie) to Kamla Nehru Park and vice versa. • A-135 : From

Ferry Wharf Bhaucha Dhakka (also called as Ferry Wharf) is a wharf along the Thane Creek, along the coast of Dockyard Road on the Eastern seafront of Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The wharf serves as the port for numerous fisher ...

to J. Mehta Marg (Malabar Hill) and vice versa. B.E.S.T. directly connects Play House to important localities such as the Grant Road railway station, Sandhurst Road railway station,

Dockyard Road railway station Dockyard Road (station code: DKRD) is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It is the stop closest to the Mazagon Dock Limited. This station gives access to Mazagaon area. There is a sales tax office within a ...

, Pydhonie, Malabar Hill,

Walkeshwar Walkeshwar (Pronunciation: �aːɭkeʃʋəɾ is an affluent area in South Mumbai, India, at the north-western end of the Marine Drive loop. It has a large Gujarati population. It is mostly known for Walkeshwar Temple, Banganga Tank and Jai ...

Girgaon Chowpatty Girgaon Chowpatty (IAST: ''Giragāva Chaupāṭī''), is a public beach along the Queen’s Necklace adjoining Marine Drive in the Girgaon area of Mumbai (Bombay), Konkan division, India. It is served by the Charni Road railway station. The ...

Nana Chowk Nana Chowk is a neighbourhood located in the Grant Road (South Mumbai, India), Grant Road area of South Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is located in a close proximity to Tardeo, an important neighbourhood in South Mumbai. It is named after Jagannath S ...

, August Kranti Maidan,

Bhendi Bazaar Bhendi Bazaar is a market (bazaar) in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Bhendi Bazaar occupies an area between Mohammed Ali Road and Khetwadi. The closest Central and Harbour lines station for the Mumbai Suburban Railway is Sandhurst Road, ...

Mazgaon Mazagaon, also spelled Mazgaon and Mazagon (Portuguese era Mazagão), and pronounced by the Christian Bombay East Indians as 'Mazgon' or 'Maz-a-gon' and Marathi-speakers as Mazhgav. It was one of the seven islands of Bombay. It is now a part ...

Tardeo Tardeo or Tardeo Road () is an elite residential and commercial locality of South Mumbai, from Nana Chowk to Haji Ali Dargah, Haji Ali Junction. Tardeo is one of Asia's most expensive residential and commercial localities and houses the residence ...

, etc. Mumbai Metro : Play House is located at a distance of 700m from the Grant Road metro station on the Line 3 (Aqua Line) of the

Mumbai Metro The Mumbai Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region in Maharashtra, India. While the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited is responsible for all metro rail projects being develope ...

. It is located at a distance of 1.6 kilometers from the Mumbai Central metro station on the Line 3 (Aqua Line) of the Mumbai Metro. It is located at a distance of 1.7 kilometers from the

Girgaon metro station Girgaon, or Girgaum, is an area in southern Mumbai in Maharashtra, India. It is near the coast. A section of Marine Drive, Mumbai, Marine Drive is located here. History Girgaon has a deep-rooted connection with the celebration of Ganesh Cha ...

on the Line 3 (Aqua Line) of the Mumbai Metro. State Transport Buses : Play House is located at a distance of 1.5 kilometers from the Mumbai Central State Transport or

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state-run bus service of Maharashtra, India, which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It also of ...

Bus Depot.

In popular culture

The movie Dukaan : Pila House directed by Indian film-maker

Iqbal Durrani Iqbal Durrani is an Indian writer, director, actor and producer of Hindi films. Filmography Books He wrote "Gandhi Se Pehle Gandhi" on the life of revolutionary tribal "Birsa Munda" of Jharkhand. Published in 2008, it was acclaimed both in t ...

, released on 21 May 2004 in India, starring actors and actresses such as

Rati Agnihotri Rati Agnihotri (born 10 December 1960) is an Indian actress, known for acting in Hindi, as well as in Telugu and Tamil language films. Her roles in the cult-tragedy film '' Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' (1981) and the drama film '' Tawaif'' (1985) earne ...

Vikas Kalantri Vikas Kalantri is a Hindi actor who has done films such as '' Dil Bechara Pyaar Ka Mara'', where he appeared alongside actor Mallika Kapoor and others. He has also done films such as '' Nayee Padosan'' and ''Jigyaasa ''Jigyaasa'', release ...

, Rambha,

Salim Ghouse Salim Ghouse (10 January 1952 – 28 April 2022) was an Indian film, television and theatre actor, theatre director, and martial artist. He has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and English films. Early life Salim Ghouse was born in Ch ...

Shahbaaz Khan Shahbaz Khan (real name Haider Khan) is an Indian actor from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. He is famous for playing lead roles in television serials such as ''Chandrakanta (1994 TV series), Chandrakanta'', ''The Great Maratha'', ''The Sword of Tipu ...

Nawab Shah Nawabshah is a headquarter of Nawabshah Tehsil in Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 27th most populous city in P ...

Mukesh Tiwari Mukesh Tiwari is an Indian actor, who has worked predominantly in Bollywood and few Tamil, Punjabi, Kannada and Telugu films. He is known for playing negative and comic side roles. He graduated from National School of Drama National Scho ...

Deepshikha Nagpal Deepshikha Nagpal, simply known as Deepshikha, is an Indian actress and film director who mainly works in Hindi films and Hindi television productions. She has starred in several successful Hindi films including the films ''Koyla'', '' Baadshah ...

and more showed the story of a young woman living in Mumbai's Pila House / Play House area, an area infamous for prostitution. The film explores her journey through the hardships, exploitation, and stigma associated with her life as a sex worker.

References

External links

Interview with the owner of 'Gulshan Talkies'

Interview with the caretaker of a Dargah located in Play House

Interview with the owner of 'Delhi Darbar', a renowned restaurant in the Play House area.
* {{IMDb title, tt0414953 Mumbai