Gaiety Galaxy closed after Hanuman Ansh ruckus (Photos: B Town Life, Hanuman Ansh / Instagram)The Mumbai Police shut down Bandra’s iconic Gaiety Galaxy theater on Monday, citing non-renewal of the license as a reason. While the theater has stopped operations since then, the issue began after a few workers from political organizations reached the theater and created issues over the theatre not screening Hanuman Ansh. They allegedly tore posters of Mirzapur The Movie which was playing there.As the police were called, they checked all the documents and realised that there were discrepancies in the theatre’s documents. According to a report in Mid-Day, they realised that the theatre’s license has not been renewed and immediately ordered them to stop running shows.What happened at Mumbai’s Gaiety Galaxy theater?As per the report, a few political party workers had arrived at Gaiety Galaxy, known as G7 Multiplexes, and created a ruckus over them not premiering the devotional superhit Hanuman Ansh. Following an argument, they allegedly tore posters of Mirzapur: The Movie. As the situation further escalated, police were called, and a case was registered against those involved. Later, when the police checked the theater’s documents, they found out that its license had not been renewed since 2021-22. Hence, they directed the theater’s management to shut down the premises for non-compliance.Also Read: Hanuman Ansh cast, crew quit; Neem Karoli Baba actor Shobhinaw was the ‘last man standing’A senior police official also told Mid-Day, “Given that the theatre did not have a valid licence, we ordered the management to shut it down immediately.” Another official also shared, “All theatres need an entertainment licence to function. It is issued by the Mumbai Police Headquarters near Crawford Market in Fort. Gaiety-Galaxy’s licence had not been renewed since 2021-22, which is why a notice was served.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Buzzzooka Scrolls (@buzzzookascrolls) Reportedly, 12 notices have been pasted outside the walls of the theater announcing discontinuation of shows. Talking about these notices, the police officials said, “We only issued the formal notice to the theatre; we are not the ones who have put the notices on the walls. The management of the theatre has put those up.”Theater management reacts over the issueG7 Multiplexes executive director Manoj Desai also told the publication, “Some of the cables in the theatre got burnt, so we need to replace them before we can resume our shows. We are arranging for new cables, and until the work is completed, the screens will remain shut. The timing is certainly unfortunate, especially with the kind of films currently playing, but maintenance of the screens is paramount. We have to ensure that everything is functioning properly and safely before we reopen. It is purely a technical shutdown and nothing more than that.”Also Read | Mirzapur uses song dedicated to Maharana Pratap to glorify villains: Singer claims plagiarismTrade analyst Girish Wankhede also assessed the situation for the theater and said, “Gaiety-Galaxy has around seven screens, so the loss can be quite substantial. On average, one screen can do around 1 to 1.5 lakh from a show, of which the cinema’s share would be roughly 50,000. So, for a day, you are looking at a loss of around 2.5 lakh per screen. Across seven screens, that can work out to around Rs 17 to Rs 18 lakh a day, and if the shutdown continues for seven days, you are looking at a loss of over Rs 1 crore. What makes this particularly unfortunate is the timing. It has happened at a bad time of the week, when films like Toxic and Mirzapur: The Movie, which are very mass-oriented, are playing. Gaiety is the kind of cinema where these over-the-top potboilers and mass films draw a strong crowd, so the owner is losing out on an important period of business.”