Built by G. Umapathy and D. Shanmuga Raja, and inaugurated in January 1961, it was bought by actor Sivaji Ganesan, and was owned by his family since.
[2] It was inaugurated on 12 January 1961 by then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, K. Kamaraj, and was the first deluxe air-conditioned theatre in Madras (now Chennai) with 1212 seats.
Watching a Sivaji movie in Shanti was on the must-to-do list, besides seeing Marina Beach and LIC – the only 14-storeyed building in the city then, for most visitors from other parts of Tamil Nadu.
When Sangam's lead actor Raj Kapoor learnt of this, he personally requested Ganesan to allow a longer run for Sangam in Shanti, since no other theatre in Madras had such facilities; Ganesan assented and released Puthiya Paravai at the nearby Paragon theatre.
ft with sale or lease options and with additional space for gymnasium, built-in restaurant and terrace garden of 4,535 ft.[1]