Photo-booths have come to stay in Chennai

Vintage-style photo-booths in Chennai offer a nostalgic analogue experience, creating tangible memories in a digital age.

As you stroll through Chennai streets, one trend is hard to miss: the growing obsession with vintage-style photo-booths. Whether it is a weekend outing or a post-movie ritual, Milleannials and Gen Zers are happy queuing up to catch an instant film-style photo strip, a tangible keepsake to pin on the fridge or tuck into a scrapbook. “It’s all about the nostalgia trip, like teleporting back to the 1980s, because the instant strips are old film-style with its filters,” says Ranjhana T., waiting in line at the photo-booth at Express Avenue Mall. In an age where phones are overflowing with selfies and screenshots, this analogue experience is different.

There are around 200 analogue photo-booths left in the world. However, the photo-booths in Chennai use the Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras. Yet, these booths have a special spot in the city. “Most of us have only seen these photo-booths in American sitcoms and K-drama where photo-booths are cultural mainstay. So, when you step into one in Chennai to receive an instant photo strip, it is like you are living a scene,” says Bhanu Prakash, the entrepreneur who brought the concept to Chennai in December 2024. 

“When I first thought of starting a small business, I was leaning towards something safe like an ice cream parlour,” Mr. Bhanu Prakash says. He credits his business partner Aishwarya Santosh and brother Rajsen with helping him think out of the box. Without them, he says, photo-booths in the city would have remained a Pinterest fantasy. “Most of our customers are women, and they come in with their families, besties, and partners,” says Mr. Bhanu Prakash, who runs seven photo-booths across the cities.

At Velachery, moviegoers at Phoenix Marketcity are forming a queue in front of a photo-booth that is more than flash and print. Called ‘Jannal’ (for pictures) and ‘Anjal’ for writing letters, it is an experience altogether. “Stepping inside feels like a time machine to 1960s, and that is even before you strike a pose, which is how we have curated and built it,” say Amritha Sivasamy and Hemcharan Pammi, who opened their photo-booth early this year. “What we love most are the stories that walk through our doors,” says Mr. Hemcharan. “One mother came in when she was expecting a baby and came back with her newborn months later. That kind of emotional connection you can’t get with just another pic on your phone.”

The founders say the idea had been brewing for years. For Ms. Amritha, it began during a visit to the U.S. for a study exchange programme. She noticed that photo-booths were part of the city culture. For Mr. Hemcharan, it was personal. He grew in his grandfather’s photo studio. That nostalgia became a blueprint for the retro-themed photo-booth. “Endlessly scrolling through a thousand pictures in your ‘Favourites’ folder? It all feels a bit saturated. But a photo strip is something you will slip into your wallet, use as a bookmark, or tape to your cupboard mirror. This is not just a picture, but a memory to hold,” adds Ms. Amritha.