Neelam Theatre, one of three cinemas built as part of Le Corbusier's construction of Chandigarh, is revealed in these new images by British photographer Edmund Sumner.

Built in the early 1950s, Neelam Theatre is located in Sector 17, the commercial district of the modernist city that was famously masterplanned by Le Corbusier in post-independence India.

Prakash's most famous structure, KC Theatre – built in the 1970s – was demolished in 2005, three years before the architect's death. It prompted a huge outcry in the city.

Neelam Theatre is still a functioning cinema, but commercial developers pose an imminent threat to the modernist building. Without protection, it could easily suffer the same fate – but the architect's son says it is hard to get a listing.

"The majority of these massive theatres don’t make money anymore, so most of them have been converted into multiplexes," he said.

"I am quite sure that the owners of Neelam Theatre are devising a strategy to transform it. Because it's not protected, it's not on the UNESCO dossier – it's not Le Corbusier!"