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SOCIETY AND TRENDS: MULTIPLEXES
Why the Add-ons
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Delhi
Computerised food stalls, trained staff and hygienic surroundings
make for a complete cinematic experience at PVR Naraina-4 |
However, Rajeev
Chandrashekharan, Dolby's India representative, feels enhanced facilities
are a part of survival tactics employed by single-screen theatre owners.
Ticket collections are negligible because of high entertainment tax. "A
theatre makes more money out of popcorn and car parking than tickets.
Hence the need to focus on add-ons," he explains. Which is why several
single-screen theatres in Bangalore are going in for a facelift. The city
screens films in seven languages but will get its first multiplex only
early next year. "Movie-going habits don't change easily. It's a
family affair and we have to make it as attractive as possible,"
says Rex theatre owner Kamal Kapoor who is planning to convert his hall
into a multiplex.
With states like Maharashtra announcing a three-year
entertainment tax holiday and Gujarat already having declared a seven-year
tax holiday, multiplexes have become a lucrative business. This has irked
several single-screen theatre owners, but Alyque Padamsee, adman and communications
adviser to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, pooh-poohs
such protests. "They ought to be grateful they are not being penalised
for running theatres that mostly work with poor sound, are completely
dirty, have broken seats and poor projection."
"There is a critical demand-supply inequality-many
films and viewers but few theatres. Multiplexes can reverse this anomaly,"
says film distributor Shravan Shroff of Shringar Films whose five-screen
multiplex is under construction in Mumbai. In fact, a study published
this year by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
estimates that about 1,000 new multiplex screens are likely to be set
up in the next two to three years. Industry sources calculate that a total
of Rs 8,550 crore will be invested in film exhibition over the coming
10 years. Also riding the boom is Manmohan Shetty whose upcoming Adlabs
Imax theatre has tied up with Coca-Cola. Shetty hopes Adlabs' 10,000 sq-ft
food court will turn into a cash cow: "While ticket sales will continue
to be the main revenue drivers, at least 30 per cent of the money will
flow from sources like advertising, tie-ups and food courts."
"Even the buildings are being designed
to make a statement," says Puri who is working on six multiplexes
being built by Wave Cinemas, a Delhi-based film distribution firm. The
one in Ludhiana, Punjab, will be done up in purple, exposed concrete and
red, with most walls inclined. "The point we are making is that it's
fun and you must expect the unexpected," says Puri.
The other Wave projects are coming up in Ghaziabad,
Noida, Amritsar, Lucknow, Meerut and Agra. In fact, a majority of promoters
are not confining themselves to the metros. Rave 3 by Rave Entertainment-a
joint venture of the Dainik Jagran Group and Vikram Kothari Enterprises-will
open in Kanpur this year, with similar ventures being planned in and around
Uttar Pradesh. "Think of it this way," explains Kajal Aijaz,
ceo, Wave Cinemas, "When you open a multiplex in a metro, you are
looking at a catchment area of 6-7 sq km. But in Class 1 and 2 towns,
the entire town is your catchment area."
That explains why E-City Entertainment, part
of the Essel Group that set the standards with Fun Republic, is planning
its presence in cities like Lucknow, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Indore,
Hyderabad, Vadodara and Surat. Also in offing are 23 multiplexes by the
United Artists and Modi Group planned in the next 10 years and a Rs 350-crore
project in the 38-acre Kirloskar Business Park in Bangalore.
Today, City Pulse's Purohit and his daughter
Monal Jain are helping design around 10 multiplexes for entrepreneurs
stepping into the hi-tech entertainment industry. And with the cash counters
ringing, fun is no longer a laughing matter; it's serious business.
—with Sandeep Unnithan, Stephen David
and Sadashivam
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