TheatreMagic ::: March - May 2019

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Vettri Theatres 1st in India to Deploy Christie CP4325-RGB RealLaser This is a validation of Christie's technological leadership in the cinema market and the confidence that exhibitors have in our directcoupled RGB pure laser projector, which is DCI-compliant and brings low cost of ownership and unrivalled cinematic performance to mainstream auditoriums."

Christie, a leader in creating and delivering the world's best visual and audio experiences, is proud to announce that Vettri Theatres has become the first cinema in India to be equipped with Christie's nextgeneration CP4325-RGB RealLaser cinema projector. Located in Chennai, Vettri Theatres is the most prominent cinema in the city's Chrompet district with a single-screen auditorium featuring ergonomic cushion seats, three-way stage speakers and eyecatching interiors. The massive auditorium has a capacity of 776 seats and is highly popular among students, working professionals and residents in and around Chrompet district.

"As a forward-looking exhibitor in Chennai, we've always thought of new ways to elevate the movieviewing experience and introducing state-of-the-art cinema technologies to our patrons," said Rakesh Gowthaman, Managing Director, Vettri Theatres. "The Christie CP4325RGB, with its compact, all-in-one form factor, 25,000 lumens and unmatched cinematic performance in 4K resolution, is exactly what we need to deliver the best cinematic visuals to our discerning audiences. We're proud to embrace RGB pure laser projection and be the first cinema in India to deploy the CP4325-RGB."

PVR-Cinionic Form Long-Term Alliance

offering. The exhibitor recently added P[XL] – premium, extra-large screen format powered by India's first Barco Flagship Laser projector – to amaze fans with the richest and most immersive movie presentations. "Our industry is facing stiffer competition, so we need to offer unique entertainment experiences that are larger than life," comments Gautam Dutta, CEO of PVR Cinemas.

"The Barco cinema projectors deliver the excellent performance and high brightness necessary to power these top-notch movie showings at a very attractive TCO."

PVR Cinemas, one of the largest and most premium film exhibition companies in India, today inked a long-term alliance with Cinionic, the Barco cinema joint venture. Elevating the cinematic experience in India, 150 screens at both new and existing PVR properties will be outfitted with Barco's 2K, 4K and Flagship Laser projection within 12 to 18 months.

The announcement was made at the CineAsia trade show being held at Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre from December 10 to 13, 2018.

Cinionic leads the industry with some of the largest laser portfolio. It provides the perfect projector for every cinema screen, thanks to the industry's largest portfolio which counts 24 cinema projectors, 18 laser and 6 lamp projectors. This enables exhibitors to ideally match their projector fleet to a variety of theatres.

The Barco family includes a wide array of models, from Flagship Laser projectors ideally suited for premium format screens to efficient Smart Laser projectors and laser-as-a-service solutions, in a wide range of lumens to facilitate outfitting an entire multiplex.

Since its inception in 1997, PVR has redefined the cinema industry and the way people watch movies in India. From its compact cinemas in smaller towns to Gold Class and Director's Cut deluxe cinema-plus auditoriums, PVR enchants guests seeking a high-quality movie experience with a diverse cinema

"India has always been a cinemacentric country, where moviegoers can enjoy an exceptional night out in PVR's premium theatres. We are thrilled to forge this strategic partnership with PVR and together deliver the best movie experiences to the audience," comments Wim Buyens, CEO of Cinionic.

Rajesh Patkar, Deputy General Manager, Cinemas Sales, Christie India, added, "We are delighted that Vettri Theatres has selected our CP4325-RGB RealLaser cinema projector for its flagship auditorium.

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CCI Dismisses Unfair Biz Complaint against INOX The CCI has dismissed a complaint alleging unfair trade practices against multiplex chain operator INOX and Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, the bottling arm of Coca Cola in India, with respect to the selling of beverages in multiplexes. There was no violation of Section 3 of the Competition Act that pertains to anti-competitive agreements, the CCI observed while disposing off the matter.

noted in an order dated recently.

Accordingly, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) "closed the matter" as it found no contravention of the Competition Act.

The ruling came on a complaint filed

by Telangana-based Vijay Gopal who alleged that INOX has colluded with Coca Cola by entering into exclusive supply / sale agreement to sell water/ beverages within the multiplexes at higher prices. Besides, the complainant alleged that consumers are forced to buy essential goods like water in multiplexes, and therefore there exists an implicit tie-in arrangement which is prohibited under the Competition Act. By entering into such agreements, the firms violated Section 3 of the Competition Act, the complainant alleged.

Film buffs and youth activists recently joined a sit-in protest here against the withdrawal of director Anik Dutta's film "Bhobishyoter Bhoot" (Ghost of the Future) from almost all multiplexes and single screen theatres in West Bengal.

Thespian Soumitra Chatterjee shot off a letter, calling the taking off of the film 'vindictive' and 'undemocratic', and a "fascist policy". The film, a social and political satire that released to packed houses recently, was apparently taken off by the hall owners following "instructions from higher authorities", Dutta said.

With regard to the agreements between the two firms, CCI observed that there exists no appreciable adverse effect on competition (AAEC), which needs to be established in order to examine any possible violation of Section 3.

Dismissing the allegation of tie-in arrangement, CCI said there is no explicit condition that consumers have to necessarily buy these goods to watch the movie.

"Still, I haven't got any official communication' regarding the cancellation, all they (hall owners) said was that the instructions were from higher authorities. But I have received immense support and the film fraternity has shown great solidarity," said the director of the 2012 blockbuster Bhooter Bhobishyot (Future of Ghosts).

The sit-in was organised by fans and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists outside Star Theatre, one of the oldest commercial Bengali theatre. Dutta read out the letter sent by the veteran actor during the protest.

Expressing shock, Chatterjee said it was a 'vindictive act' of the administration. He referred to the comment made by the director during the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival last November.

Moreover, INOX also provides free water inside the multiplexes, CCI

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Sit-In against Withdrawal of Bengali Film from Theatres

Technology Sets New Bars for Kollywood

With 2.0 being one of the most raged about movies even before its release, talks spiralling around about the technology implemented has certainly given the others an inspiration to try setting trends the same way. With overpowering technological measures and allowing easy convenience to the directors and producers on piracy; being the burning topic on one side, UNMAIYEN VELICHAM is yet another upcoming Tamil movie that is set to hit the screens very shortly.

Director-Producer of the film, P.K. Sivakumar who is also the owner of Krishna Theatre in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu says, “The technology used here has been a break through which let us overcome all the practical problems faced by a cinematographer. The growth of cinematography has developed over the years from black and white to colour and now to advanced options like 3D and 4D that’s been setting the hype for quite some time. Improvisation on the technological aspects has surely brought in a lot of ease to execute our tasks and we thus hope to constantly keep trying to bring an innovative change in the market.”

PVR Terminates MOU with Dubai's Al-Futtaim Multiplex operator PVR lately decided not to proceed with the proposed joint venture arrangement with Dubai's Al-Futtaim Pvt Co for

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cinema business expansion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, a senior official said. In July last year, PVR had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al-Futtaim Pvt Co to explore opportunities for jointly developing cinema business in the MENA region. It had announced that the two parties would conduct a feasibility study before converting the MoU into a formal joint venture arrangement.

"Post conduct of a feasibility study and necessary evaluation, the management has decided not to proceed with the proposed transaction and has decided against deploying any capital in the MENA region for the time being. The MoU with Al-Futtaim stands terminated," PVR said in a regulatory filing. In December 2017, PVR had said it was scouting overseas destinations for expansion and planned to open its first project in Sri Lanka in the next two years.

Advani, Goa Governor Watch 'Thackeray' at Goa Multiplex Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, his daughter Pratibha along with the Goa Governor Mridula Sinha and her husband Ram Kripal Sinha dropped by a multiplex in the state capital late recently, to watch Nawazuddin Siddiqui- starrer film 'Thackeray'. The entourage, accompanied by security personnel walked into INOX to watch the 9:15 pm show of the film based on the life of the firebrand Maharashtra politician and rightwing leader Bal Thackeray, sources at INOX said."The entire 'C' row at the INOX Panaji has been booked for the families and entourage of Advani and the Goa Governor," an INOX official told IANS. Advani is in Goa on a short holiday along with his family and is staying as an official guest at Raj Bhavan.

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2 Single-Screens and a Plex Audi Stop Screening 'The Accidental Prime Minister' The screening of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' was stopped at two single-screen theatres and one auditorium of a multiplex chain recently following protests by the Youth Congress against the controversial film.

"We've stopped screening of the film, the second day after its release, apprehending (any) untoward incident after parts of a screen were torn up in a multiplex in a mall at Park Circus," Navin Chokhani, the owner of single-screen Navina Cinema said. The movie's screening was stopped, though its 2-pm show on the first day had passed off smoothly, Chokhani said.

A spokesperson of Ashoka Cinema, the other single-screen where the film was stopped, said, "We have decided to suspend the matinee show of 'The Accidental Prime Minister' from today in view of the agitations by some group." The Bollywood film is based on the memoir of the same name by Sanjaya Baru, the media adviser to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Recently, the activists of the Congress' youth wing had staged protests against the movie outside an

auditorium of a multiplex chain on Ganesh Chandra Avenue and tore the film posters. Another group of the Youth Congress activists had stormed into the auditorium of the same multiplex chain at Park Circus during a late-evening show and allegedly tore parts of the screen.

"Previously that day, there had been an interruption around 8 pm at the Quest (mall in Park Circus). But the situation is under control now with the help of authorities. Shows are running as per schedule," the spokesperson said.

Screening of the film at the Park Circus auditorium will take place on Saturday evening as per schedule, he added. The West Bengal Congress had disapproved the agitation by the youth-wing activists and asserted that the party would "never oppose" the freedom of speech."In the recent years, we have fallen victim to propaganda and we firmly believe that the people who watch the movie will see through the vile propaganda at play," the party had said in a statement.

Reduction in Ticket Prices to Aid Cinema Industry Growth: MAI The government's decision to reduce the GST rate on cinema tickets would make movie viewing more affordable, increase footfall and aid the growth of the industry, the Multiplex Association of India (MAI).

The government brought down the GST rates on cinema tickets costing up to INR 100 to 12 per cent from the existing 18 per cent, while tickets above INR 100 would attract 18 per cent GST against 28 per cent earlier.

"This move would help in reduction in prices and make the cinema viewing much more affordable," Multiplex Association of India President Deepak Asher told PTI.

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"Lower ticket prices would attract more people to cinemas, which means more footfalls and our occupancy level would go up."

Asher, who is also Director of INOX Leisure, said that it would also improve the viability of the cinema exhibition industry and attract "more investments in the sector".

Moreover, collection would also increase and which means more pay back to distributors and content creators, he added. "Overall the industry will see a significant growth; both quantitatively and qualitatively, going forward because of this reduction. He demanded that the GST slab for tickets above INR 100 should also be brought down. "We are glad that the government has brought it down to 18 per cent," Asher added. MAI represents around 75 per cent of multiplex industry in India. Its 15 members operate more than 2,000 screens across the country.

Samsung India to Install 20 'Onyx' LED Cinema Screens By 2019 Consumer electronics major Samsung is planning to install around 20 LED cinema screens named 'Onyx' in the country by the end of 2019. The firm had launched its first such screen in August at PVR in New Delhi, and unveiled its second screen thereafter, in partnership with INOX. It has been looking forward to open two more such screens in the country by the end of 2018, according to Samsung India vice-president consumer electronics enterprise business

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Puneet Sethi. "We have 26 'Onyx' screens globally. The investment per screen for the exhibitor is around USD 500,000-700,000 for the entire solution," Sethi told PTI. He said the company will have around 20 such screens in the country by the end of 2019. Samsung had unveiled the new technology last year, which marked a shift from theatre projection systems to LED screens in the country. Sethi said that the company has huge expectations from India, while admitting that it's under penetrated in terms of number of screens. The firm so far has tied up with two leading multiplex chains PVR and INOX - but he said it is looking to rope in other multiplex players as well.

Sridevi's 'Mom' to Release in China on March 22

Sridevi's last theatrical outing "Mom" is set to hit the theatres in China on March 22, 2019. The announcement comes barely two days after the late actor's first death anniversary. Sridevi's husband, producer Boney Kapoor made the announcement and said they wanted to showcase the actor's "most remembered last film" in the neighbouring country. "'Mom' is a film that has connected with both, mothers and audiences, from every region. This is Sri's last film and our aim is to tell this beautiful story and showcase her most remembered last film to as many people as possible. "Zee Studios International has been a part of 'Mom's success since day one and I am glad to see them take this film to

heights even two years after its release," Kapoor said in a statement.

The Ravi Udyawar-directed revenge thriller follows a mother (Sridevi) who avenges a crime committed against her stepdaughter. Sridevi was honoured posthumously with a Best Actress National Film Award for her performance in the 2017 film.

Vibha Chopra, Head - Zee Studios International (Film Marketing, Distribution and Acquisition) said the team is proud to take the film to the Chinese theatres. "The legacy of an actor of her stature lives on in the work she has left behind for us.

And 'Mom' is the perfect example of this."The film has received an overwhelming response from every region it has released in. We are proud to be taking this hearttouching film to yet another market, spreading her gift farther and wider," Chopra added. The film marked the 300th screen appearance for the veteran actor, who passed away on February 24, 2018 due to accidental drowning at a Dubai hotel."Mom" has already been released in Poland, Czech, Russia, UAE, UK, USA, and Singapore.

Kolkata’s Iconic Metro Cinema back in a New Avatar Four years after its curtains were downed; the city's iconic Metro Cinema is back in a new avatar - as a multiplex and a departmental store.

The gate of the renovated heritage building opened to welcome people to Metro Central. Located at Esplanade area in the heart of the city, it now houses a 50,000 square feet departmental store and a

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multiplex, in place of the single screen theatre, officials of the departmental store said.

The departmental store opened recently, but the multiplex to be operated by INOX was expected to begin screening of movies within 2-3 months. The Metro cinema was built in 1934 by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to promote their films in Kolkata, targeting the large Englishspeaking population of that time.

Opened in 1935, the theatre was designed by New York-based Scottish theatre architect, Thomas W. Lamb, who also designed the Metro Cinema in Mumbai for MGM later in 1938.

The theatre pulled its shutters in 2014 as it failed to remain viable in the midst of growing multiplex culture.

The departmental store - Central Metro, a venture of the Central fashion chain - would keep alive the nostalgia of cinema associated with the theatre. Central CEO Vishnu Prasad said the store has amalgamated fashion and culture.

"There will be displays of major movies that had been screened here in the past," Prasad said.

Vishal Bhardwaj Points out Glitch on National Anthem in Theatres, Rectified A technical glitch pointed out by filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj in the national anthem played at movie theatres has been rectified. He has

appreciated the authorities for their quick and efficient work. In a tweet put out on October 29, 2018, Bhardwaj, who also composes music, said he had heard the national anthem produced by the Films Division and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during the Mumbai Film Festival. "There is a technical glitch at 'Gahe Tav Jai Gaatha'. It seems to be a sound transfer issue. Goes off tune and hurts ear and soul. Can Ministry of Information and Broadcasting please get this rectified?" Bhardwaj wrote. In a follow up tweet a month later, he hoped it had come to the notice of the concerned people. And recently, the filmmaker was happy to share: "The national anthem in the theatres has been rectified. Many thanks to Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for facilitating this so quickly and efficiently."

associated with the Beijing-based production and distribution company HY Media for the release of '2.0'. "The dubbed and subtitled versions are scheduled for release in China in 10,000 theatres with a whopping 56,000 screens, including 47,000 3D screens", the release said.

Rajinikanth reprises the role of Dr Vaseegaran / Chitti he had essayed in 'Enthiran,' the release said. Akshay Kumar is the new addition to the franchise and plays the antagonist (Dr Richard). Rajini and Akshay share screen space for the first time.

Following the association with HY Media, it has become the widest 3D release of any foreign film in the history of China, it said.

Rajinikanth's '2.0' heads to China Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth's latest 2.0 is set to be released in China in May, the film-maker Lyca Productions said. The film producers, in a press release, said, they have been

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AMIT SHARMA MANAGING DIRECTOR | MIRAJ CINEMAS

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• SPECIAL FEATURE • believe crossing 100 screen mark is the journey that's just begun for Miraj Cinemas.

Crossing a 100-screen mark in the cinema exhibition market, Miraj Cinemas has come a long way to celebrate this moment. Taking us right from the best efforts laid by the team and mega plans set for the days to come ahead; to his 15 years of experience in the cinema exhibition industry, Amit Sharma, Managing Director, Miraj Cinemas, has been playing a vital role in the growth of the brand and now gets candid with TheatreWorld to get in-depth with the same. Heading the entertainment vertical, including multiplex expansion, movie production and distributions, his deep understanding of business nuances has led Miraj Cinemas to achieve great heights within a very short span of time.

Having over 15 years of experience in the cinema exhibition industry, how do you analyse your growth?

Tell us something about yourself before having forayed into Miraj?

Cinemax has been a learning platform for me as I have covered the journey from bottom to the top in this organisation; I entered this industry as a duty manager and reached to head the operational strategy. Here, I got country wide exposure to learn consumer behaviour at large and understood the consumption pattern of movie at a price band and F&B off-take etc. So in a nutshell, I have learnt the micro economics of Cinema Business in Cinemax.

How did your journey with Miraj Cinemas begin?

I was always keen to do something new on my own. So, I met Mr Paliwal to discuss my plan for launching multiplex chain. Thankfully, he appreciated my plan and relied on my abilities. And thus, the journey of Miraj Cinemas took a wing.

How does it feel to have achieved the milestone of 100 screens?

It has always been a happy moment for all of us at Miraj family. With our dedicated team and their efforts Miraj Cinemas is now the fifth largest multiplex-chain in the country. We see this achievement as a launching pad in the cinema world though I

In person, I have witnessed the cinema industry moving from singlescreen theatres to multiplex and now to megaplexes in India. Though here we do not have a formal education system for working in movie exhibition industry, over the period I have learnt standing past and facing multiple challenges in different areas of the business. In a multiplex business, there are crucial areas such as movie programming; F&B which are very important for one to understand as all these concepts are different from each other. This right decision on choosing property (real estate), hospitality services etc., also play very important roles and the decision maker should have good knowledge and understanding in the multiplex business.

For the first 8 years, my career dealt with the learning of micro market of cinema and the next 8 years ontowards evaluating the macro market. Having said that I believe growth is directly proportionate to the learning one dwells into. As an individual, I'm trying to learn something new every day and as a leader, I try to share this learning with my team on a regular basis.

Miraj Cinemas has constantly been spreading its venture in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities on prime focus. Tell us something about it.

India as a country, is so big, vast and different in consumption behaviour and that is not possible to measure the whole country with the same tape, for instance, Vijayawada, down-south and Jodhpur up-north have similar kind of population.

However, the total number of cinema goers in Vijayawada are more than 10 million in a year, while Jodhpur struggles to get 1 million admits a year in cinema.

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• S P E C I A L F E AT U R E • In my personal view there is no such concept of tier I, tier II or III cities, at least when it comes to movie consumption behaviour. In fact, for me it is either urban or rural consumer, either smart phone or non-smart phone consumers. So, the difference is that today anybody who is a smart phone user, irrespective of the cities they come from, his or her aspiration is global.

Cinema as a whole is a very micro evaluated business, your target audience is only 5 kms of cinema radius, so if any market has a potential consumer in 5 kms of radius irrespective of the size of the city, it eventually becomes a good market to explore.

What has been the impetus behind establishing the largest screen in the Delhi region?

We at Miraj Cinemas always wanted to get into the bigger screen format and here in Gurugram we got this opportunity with MGF. This provided us an opportunity to launch our premium large screen format- 'Miraj Maximum'. Anybody, who is a movie buff and wants to enjoy movie at its best, larger than life experience movie in a multiplex will always appreciate our greatest viewing experience with a world class sound and visual technology with utmost comfort in its opulent ambience.

The combination of large screen size, sound quality, luxury, gourmet food has always attracted audience in the Delhi region. The property is at the CXO hub in Gurugram and is filled with well-travelled people & refined taste, demanding yet conscious about the 'value for money' quotient. llustrate on the ornate architecture and the luxurious designing of the Miraj Maximum cinema.

Some of the glorious feature of this property includes ultra-luxurious lobby with absolutely crisp rose gold metal inlaid Italian marbles splashed on the ornate walls is the overarching theme. The entrance of the plex is decorated with two exquisite guided chandeliers with crystals; warm

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wooden ceiling and the earth toned Italian marbles. The flooring is garnished with a pattern of two toned marble breaking the monotony of regular floors. With a digital video wall and state-of-the-art concessions with a self-ordering kiosk are some other attractive features. The waiting areas have a very unique play around the mirror concept creeping from the walls to the ceiling giving a break from the art deco wall decals of rose gold metal transiting into amber mirror decals.

The entrance side passages of the cinema are beautifully spaced with simple moulded cornices forming the frames played with classics, abstracts, digital screen- all blended to give a fantastic cinematic ambience. The royal riches also splashed in the washrooms with the butler-on-call service and other amenities beautifully blended in.

I can safely say, it is a property which once viewed by a patron, would become a patron for a lifetime.

Give us a brief on the Premium Large Format (PLF).

The components which typically contribute to such an experience is the large screen size with Dolby Atmos sound, new aged laser projectors, luxurious interiors, delectable gourmet food with world class service. In our understanding, it's a space that gives you larger than life movie watching experience!

Tell us something on how Miraj has helped promote regional content at its screens?

We always looked at becoming a national multiplex chain and that's why we could concentrate on a pan-India basis, which means that we intend to diversify in every region of

the country. Another focus area was to screen more number of regional films everywhere in our cinemas.

Miraj has 55% of its revenue coming from Bollywood and 45% coming from English and regional that stands testimony to our efforts in balancing content. Over a period of the next two to three years, the divide will narrow further. We are concentrating on looking into Punjab, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala more.

Has the frequency of the audience increased or decreased over the years? Elaborate.

I believe that the number of people coming to watch films in a particular cinema or the same store number is stagnant and will remain so from here until the next ten years. However, there would be certain number of good years for the industry where you have more audience, there will be certain number of bad years, when there will be a dip but at the same time when you look at it on an average, I'll say it's more of a constant number and not too many frequent fluctuations.

What are the expansion plans for Miraj Cinemas?

We currently operate 110 screen, with 40 multiplexes across 14 states, we have already signed up for 250 screens more to come across the country. We intend to add 50-75 screens year on year from here on, we are exploring new different territories especially the untapped ones. To name a few, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Bihar, Odisha, North east etc. It took us five years to cross 100 screens but the next 100 will be added at the lightning speed of 15 months.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Mukta Arts:

All Set to Broaden its Horizon The association of Mukta Arts and Asian Cinemas further added to its reach in Telangana market, as well as to its legacy of giving the cinema lovers an unforgettable movie experience. The 3 screen property at Karimnagar and the single screen property at Shamshabad, boast the latest technological amenities with the likes of Dolby surround sound system and digital picture screening along with gourmet food and beverages options. The cinema chain has therefore, provided its patrons with the best of movie watching experience of the modern infrastructure and great quality standards which makes it an immensely popular cinema chain amongst movie-goers.

Mukta A2 Cinemas, one of India's most-loved and established chain of multiplexes, recently ventured into the South-Indian market by launching a single screen cinema at Shamshabad and a multiplex at Karimnagar. The association of Mukta Arts and Asian Cinemas further added to its reach in Telangana market, as well as to its legacy of giving the cinema lovers an

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unforgettable movie experience. The chain, in a short span of time, has expanded its reach to a number of cities and has become the go-to cinema of choice for many.

The Karimnagar property, that launched recently, has 3 screens with a total seating capacity of 729, while the single screen theatre at Shamshabad, on the other hand, can accommodate 487 movie buffs at a time. The theatres boast the latest technological amenities with the likes of Dolby surround sound system and digital picture screening along with gourmet food and beverages options.

The cinema chain has, therefore, provided its patrons with the best of movie watching experience of the modern infrastructure and great quality standards which makes it an immensely popular cinema chain amongst the moviegoers.

believed in giving our customers a state-of-the-art, yet nostalgic movie experience. With over 50 screens across India, we have seen the kind of movie experience the audience yearns for. This is one of the reasons why we wanted to expand in the SouthIndian market and maintain our legacy of giving our patrons a memorable experience. We hope our movie chains here are well-received and appreciated by the movie-goers."

The popular chain of cinemas is known for their engaging experience and enthralling its audience with a variety of entertaining activities across all their theatres in India.

Rahul Puri, Managing Director, Mukta A2 Cinemas said, "We have always

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Fortune Cinemas:

First Multiplex in Mhow, Indore Spearheaded by Sanjay M Bam of Fortune Cinemas, the property located at a newly constructed state-of-the-art Trinity Mall, has a lavish exotic interior and can accommodate 384 viewers and is equipped with world class 2K digital projection technology, Dolby 7.1 surround sound, 3D enabled screen with ultra high brightness and luxurious seating arrangement which includes Recliners, Slider (Sofas) and comfortable Push Back seats.

Fortune Cinemas, that has been redefining the film viewing experience recently launched its first multiplex in Mhow, (the name given

formerly for the city of Dr. Ambedkar Nagar) at the suburbs of Indore in Madhya Pradesh. With its luxurious 2 screen multiplex, it is all set to be

the first of its kind in the city. The newly launched property is the finest multiplex in the city that brings in the right synergies for movie lovers.

Spearheaded by Sanjay M Bam of Fortune Cinemas, the property located at a newly constructed state-of-the-art Trinity Mall, has a lavish exotic interior and can accommodate 384 viewers and is equipped with world class 2K digital projection technology, Dolby 7.1 surround sound, 3D enabled screen with ultra high brightness and

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• INDIA PLEXING • luxurious seating arrangement which includes Recliners, Slider (Sofas) and comfortable Push Back seats. Food court offer varieties of delicious options and best in class services at a pocket friendly introductory price of INR 60. Optimizing the growing need for the premium entertainment hub in the city, the brand new property offers as exhilarating movie experience for film buffs.

Sanjay M Bam said, "We are extremely happy and dedicate this entertainment hub to Mhow and its citizens. Considering the region has been expanding. It made perfect sense to give residents their very own multiplex with easy access. This ensures that movie goers of Mhow, Rau, Pithampur, Rajendra Nagar etc., need not travel long distances to Indore to enjoy premium experience.

We have worked towards providing state-of-the-art technology and services at a reasonable price.

In line with our vision to cater entertainment needs in Tier 2 cities, we are planning to come up with 2 screen multiplexes in cities like Betul, Ujjian, Khargone, Khandwa, Chhindwara in the days to come. It is our continuous endeavor to enhance customer experience at Fortune Cinemas with comfortable seats, superior sound and technology and overall services matching up to the best standards in the industry.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

GK Cinemas:

A Grand Experience at Thiruthani A Rooted Plan Initating strong plans to establish cinemas focusing mainly on the tier 2 cities, GK cinemas is all set to talk about their newly renovated property. Donning the wholesome movie viewing experience equipped with the best of surround sound for both audi 1 and 2 of the property and with vast seating capacity for the audience of Thiruthani, this cinema certainly gives way for an enjoyable movie going experience for its localites.

With plans to take the cinema to tier2 towns, 3 properties were signed in around Chennai. First two being Poonga theatre at Manampathy and Devi theatre at Arakonam. Both were renovated simultaneously last year and opened in August 2018.

Working on these two properties gave us an idea on what's expected and a 2-Screen cinema at Thiruthani which is similar to the Porur property was acquired thereafter.

GK cinemas has became a household name in and around Porur ever since the property opened in 2016 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The motto was always to give a posh ambience with quality food and ultimate movie watching experience at an affordable cost. Once the goal was achieved at their very own property, thoughts to expand the brand and establish a chain of cinemas themselves emerged and thus efforts to research the market and decision to spread in the tier 2 cities was made as all major multiplex players have been concentrating on the metropolitan cities alone.

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• INDIA PLEXING • The New Venture Golden Cinemas, located at Thiruthani which is 75 kms away from Chennai. As it was taken over on November 2018, things seemed a little out of shape and a makeover was staunchly required. The cinema was then renovated into a modern multiplex with posh push-back cushion seats and 3 layer acoustic to enclose the air-conditioning as the theatre is planned in a very humid area, state-of-the-art projection was brought and the sound system for big screen was Dolby Atmos ready and small screen was equipped with Dolby 7.1 and both the screens were 3D enabled to play all the latest Hollywood flicks and new age 3D films. The regular screen for 2.0 was played and the audience seemed rather awestruck with the interior and sound quality of the auditorium and that left Gk Cinemas with more enthusiasm to work further.

Technology & Architectural Dimension The design was kept simple and sound as much as possible in order to make the audience feel comfortable and enjoy the movie. As mentioned earlier, the wholesome movie viewing experience with the best of surround sound for both audi 1 and 2 of the cinema. Unlike the traditional channel-based surround system, Dolby Atmos transports audience into the story with moving audio that flows all around you with breathtaking realism.

"We wanted to completely change the moviegoing experience of the people present in that town and that result was seen among the audience when we opened screen-1 in December. All of our expansion was on this model and soon we will be reaching up to 10 screens in northern Tamil Nadu."

– Ruban Mathivanan Executive Director, GK Cinemas

Seating With a seating capacity of 475 and 229 in both the respective auditoriums, the moviegoers are sure to enjoy the movie at ease.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

KINO Cinemas:

Reviving Convenience to Moviegoers Offering an unmatched movie experience to every movie buff, regardless of any language or any genre; KINO Cinemas is unique with its own distinct architecture and aesthetics. It has now redefined movie experiences claiming to make it truly a star in the midst of a bustling lifestyle for the Bengalureans…

KINO Cinemas is a film entertainment company and has a well known theatre in Seegehalli, Bengaluru with 3 screens in the city. KINO Cinemas has redefined movie experiences in Bengaluru claiming to make it truly a star. The property is unique with its own distinct architecture and aesthetics and boasts of bringing the latest in-projection and audio technology, adjustable leather recliners with a butler-on-call facility, designer staff uniforms and many more.

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Varied Amenities The cinema is equipped with comfortable push-back enabled seating and fully air-conditioned.

The theatre has ample car and twowheeler parking and the canteen caters fresh and quality food items.

A cinema hall which provides redefining moviegoing experience also offers a wide selection of short eats and beverages that are not only scrumptious but are also served under safe and hygienic conditions.

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• INDIA PLEXING • The menu selection offers a range of irresistible combos too and undergoes regular revisions to surprise the consumer. KINO Cinemas Snacks & Beverage delivers quick service and the courteous staff will ensure that one enjoys the services at all times.

The Parking Propaganda Eminent car parking facility is provided for the moviegoers only to give them easy access from the main roads and railway stations as well.

Snacks & Beverage A wide selection of short eats and beverages is stored and serves a range of irresistible combos under safe and hygienic conditions.

Seating The cinema offers luxurious push back seats, that is made of soft and comfortable molded foam with strong restoring capability to give the audience equivalent comfort.

For easy and convenient ticket booking, KINO Cinemas offers online booking on BookMyShow website too.

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• BUSINESS TREND •

Mission Re-Cycle!

The Bio-Initiative Towards Betterment As every Mumbaikar knows that plastic of a certain micron thickness is banned by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai and fabric bags being in quite a rage in the present market serves a very essential commodity for people to carry any form of books, tiffin, papers, vegetables, etc., Anmol Kashmiri, Director, Pen Workers speaks to TheatreWorld on taking up the much appreciated initiative to make bags out of the left over fabric with yet another empowering purpose for the better tomorrow.

The other day I was at the factory of Ferco Seating's with Tim Barr, CEO, Ferco Seatings and after a very fruitful business discussion we started sharing ideas that we had on our contribution towards Corporate Social Responsibility. It was then that Tim showed me some bags that were made from all the left over fabric, by convicts in an effort to bring about some santicity in the already difficult conditions faced by them and with a view to give back to the society more than what we can take.

The idea caught upon me and after returning from Malaysia we started to work upon with the left over fabric at our factory with the idea to employ a couple of differently abled people with a view to generate some additional

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employment to the disabled people and with the efforts to distribute the same to the under-privileged.

Every Mumbaikar knows that plastic of a certain micron thickness is banned by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai and a bag is a very essential commodity for people to carry any form of books, tiffin, papers, vegetables, etc., by using and distributing such as these bags within the weaker sections of society and the slums we are trying to minimize the use of plastic bags and striving to help the untrodden.

In India, we have even gone ahead and applied for a registration of a brand called as "WE WORK" which implies and signifies the collective effort put in by both US and other members of the society to better the living conditions and pay back to the society in some way. We believe that we are the only public seating company which always has some percentage of a turnover to be distributed and donated towards 'Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)' with the banning of plastic bags which do not bio-

degrade easily and stay and choke our environment for many years, such bags can act as a substitute and no matter how small a quantity or area within which they are distributed in, it is at least a positive step to put an effort in making the world a better place to live in.

If every citizen of our country decides and marches towards a conscious effort to help and solve the environmental issues, then positive change is inevitable and things will start improving from the day you decide to walk the path.

I feel in the haste to make name and money, people lose the motive of life and forget their responsibility to the environment and people, our Logo of "WE WORK WE CARE" is something that we have always believed in and hope to see that in the years ahead, we are in a position to donate a higher percentage of our turnover towards our roles and responsibilities for a better living.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Zeon Cinemas:

A Best-in-Town Re-Creation

Donning the "No holds barred" approach in bringing out the most modern multiplex to Gobichettipalayam, this newly revamped state-of-the-art facilitated multiplex has left the audience awestruck. The cinematic experience is unlike anything ever experienced by the local audience which is quite evident on their faces when they enter the lobby.

Accommodating 559 seats and a vast lobby with exciting menu on the F&B counter, this 3 screen multiplex is all set to bring in the metropolitan feel to the localites of Gobichettipalayam and the tier 2 and tier 3 cities geared up on the list.

Zeon Cinemas located at Gobichettipalayam in Erode district, Tamil Nadu is the newly renovated avatar of "Indira Theatre" which has been a well known landmark for the localites, situated at the heart of the town just 300 meters away from the bus stand. Gobichettipalayam is predominantly an agrarian town which as seen has brought in significant developments in the

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recent decades. The town's population is quite affluent and surrounded by many smaller towns and villages in 40 kms radius. People in the town's vicinity have lacked proper cinema houses with modern standards which have forced them to visit cities like Tiruppur, Erode and Coimbatore some 60 kms away. The opening of Zeon Cinemas now, recently has changed all that.

Zeon Cinemas is a three screen multiplex with a capacity to accommodate 559 seats. Zeon Cinemas is the off shoot of the more established Sri Sakthi Cinimas, Tiruppur, which has a combined experience of more than four decades in the cinema exhibition industry. "Once we started the renovation in our Gobi (Gobichettipalayam) project, it was decided that we will go all out and spare no expenses to establish a state-of-the-art facility that would be on par with some of the best cinema" says M.S. Senthil Kumar, one of the promoters of Zeon Cinemas.

"There is a large group of audience who have almost given up the moviegoing experience today. I mean the family audience sector with

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• INDIA PLEXING • women, children and elders. This group of audience expect a comfortable, clean, safe environment. As this is mostly not available in many tier 2 and tier 3 cities, they have virtually stopped going to the cinemas. Our keen motto is to bring these audience back to the cinemas by providing them with the best-in-class services.

The idea is to expand the market size as a whole, thereby securing our own position in the market".

The "No holds barred" approach in bringing out the most modern multiplex to Gobichettipalayam has left the audience awestruck. The cinematic experience is unlike anything ever experienced by the local audience. This is evident on their faces when they enter the lobby.

Once the audience pass the frisking lobby adjacent to the boxoffice they enter the main lobby. The lobby is quit expansive, colourful, its reflective walls, floors and eminently lit ceiling gives the audience a feel that they are indeed witnessing the developments that are no less than that of the metropolitan cities. The lobby walls are also lined with numerous digital display screens constantly showing the Showtime information, advertisements and movie trailers. The seating and design gives a cosy-lounge-feel to the lobby, allowing the audience to comfortably relax as they enjoy their food and beverages. The cafeteria with its brightly coloured interiors

has an imposing appeal on the lobby. The digital menu board does make the cafeteria quite a tempting place in the whole cinema. The food and beverages served is hygienic, with plenty of choices, yet very reasonably priced, a fact that is often appreciated by the audiences.

is fully air conditioned by an efficient 64 ton cooling system that ensures audience to enjoy a cosy 23 degrees even in the hottest summer.

The spacious restrooms with its brightly tiled walls and floors are equipped with high-end urinals and automatic flushes. The audiences are especially delighted of the energetic staff that constantly ensures cleanliness and hygiene.

The cinema boasts the latest in sound and projection equipments with JBL Speakers with Dolby 7.1 system and the Christie 2K 3D projector. The high-end projector equipment is also complimented with brighter silver screen. The project despite being right at the centre of the town has a spacious parking area that accommodates over 120 cars and significant number of two wheelers.

Inside the auditorium the seats are ergonomic pushback 21 inch seats with well-spaced aisles. All the rows of seats are perfectly elevated to give the eye 35+ degree view angle on the screen. The rows’ height also ensures the audience in front and do not hinder the view. The auditorium

The cleanliness maintained and the hygiene measures taken in managing multiplex operations makes it an obvious note on the well-trained staff with regards to professionalism.

Responsiveness and hospitality have been our prime aspects to cater customer's needs diligently.

The team’s experience in managing multiplex operations is quite obvious in its professionally trained staffers.

All the departments are with more than adequate man-power and very responsive to the customer needs.

If these are the signs for the future developments to come, then the movie buffs in tier 2 and tier 3 cities have much more coming their way.

Cinemas like these will no doubt enhance the quality of living for the citizens in smaller cities and they do not have to always travel towards larger towns and cities for such recreations.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Shivadham Cinemas:

The Pride of Urakam With the doors kept open to welcome the public post its swift construction period of 10 months; this multiplex posed no challenge to its culmination. With an advanced two 4K screens and Dolby Atmos that this cinema is equipped with, the size of the auditoriums too could easily get par the international standards gracing an enhancement to details as seen with the rise of the seat slab to 90 cms and width 120 cms.

A 25 kms stretch from Trisshur to Irinjalakkuda Town, the location now boasts of 5 sophisticated theatres starting from Shivadham Cinemas in Urakam further to Varna Cinemas Maapranam. Varnam has an independent screen 4K Dolby Atmos.

The others include JK Cinemas with 2 screens, Chembakkaserry multiplex with 3 screens and MAS cinemas with 2 screens.

the screening of the movie Odiyan, with an advanced two 4K screens and Dolby Atmos. The multiplex posed no challenge to its culmination and was open to the public within a span of 10 months.

The two visually appealing screens with 250 seating capacity were designed by Satish Kundoli and

Ramkumar. The auditorium sizes could easily get par the international standards gracing enhancement to details as seen with the rise of the seat slab to 90 cm and width 120 cm.

The spacious lobby is fully furnished also with a Q manager protecting the entry to each. The screen sizes are well steeled to 40x17 feet and

Among all the above, Sivadham at Urakam, home to the traditional Aaratupuzha pooram, is the last to come established, inaugrated with

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• INDIA PLEXING •

2.7 Gain Mirage which was supplied

by Galalite.

The acoustics are unique with a double layer wall and well preserved to each screen enhanced by the aesthetically and specially designed color spread fabric well provided by V.J. Enterprise. Sufficient air gap is given for the side walls and for acoustic protection, Rectron 1000 GSM is used. For the ceiling under the deck, Gypsum boards are paved with a Rockfon false ceiling furnished

by MSS India, Bangalore.

The push back seats are with 56 cms, on the front, and 26 recliners for the back row that were timely rigged out

by Joji of Sanjos Seats Kerala and Recliners India respectively. Hotbreak cooling solutions, one of the leading theatre air conditioning specialists in Trissur, has apparelled a bottom throw positive air conditioning leading to smooth and nimble cooling of the space.

The pivotal supply of two Christie 4K projectors on a rental basis was given

by Qube. Cinetech, Chennai is the source of our Amplifiers, speakers

and processors (Dolby 7.1 and Dolby Atmos) initiating a team of designers

for the screens, Audi 1 is 7.1 and Audi 2 is Dolby Atmos with 44 JBL speakers and Crown amplifiers.

Adding to the blend of qualities of this centre is the concessionaire which is spread outfor everyone as equated to an open forum which has excited a popular response. As opposed to other canteens, this is 24x12 feet area with 300 square feet pantry area. The trend of an eatery with small scale supply of food has been on the backside for the time with an authentic source taking its place. Well imbibing the criteria / standards needed to be a show stopper; Shivadham Cinemas gives a captivating ambience and has proved its mettle.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Ragam Theatre:

Driving Innovation with Technology The newly renovated Ragam Theatre in Thrissur, promises a technological showcase, delivering an exceptional state-of-the-art technology for the next-gen cinema viewing.

Be it the 70mm screen and the Dolby NR technology earlier, the theatre has now expanded and installed Dolby Atmos technology with new audio hardware and Christie 4K projector.

Ragam Theatre, Thrissur is arguably one of the most renowned theatres in Kerala with its rich and historic legacy. The success and popularity of Dolby Atmos technology resulted in many theatres upgrading to Dolby Atmos. Ragam Theatre in Thrissur has always been innovating and introducing new technologies. Be it the 70mm screen and the Dolby NR technology earlier, the theatre has now expanded and installed Dolby Atmos technology with new audio hardware and Christie 4K projector.

TheatreWorld reports…

The new management approached Qube Cinema's Immersive Audio team for technical advice on the renovation plan for the theatre.

India. With their unmatched domain expertise and ability to innovate, Qube was the best choice to handle this project. The initial idea was to turn the single-screen into a multiplex, but that could not happen due to the proximity of the theatre to heritage buildings.

A K Sunil

Qube Cinema's Immersive Audio division has installed Dolby Atmos in more than 150 cinema screens across

It was then that A K Sunil, a Malayalam film producer took the theatre on lease. The theatre was almost shut for 3 years before renovation. Looking at this ambition of the management and the location of the theatre, the idea was to create one of the most advanced cinema screens in Kerala, and ultimately give the viewer an amazing cinema viewing experience.

Says AK Sunil "The idea was to ensure that this will remain as the number one cinema theatre in Thrissur. We have not compromised on the technology and quality of work. We wanted to ensure that the cinema viewing audience is able to enjoy the 'Big Screen' experience at Ragam."

Surmounting Technical Challenges Qube Cinema after an initial assessment, did a thorough due diligence of the building and were ready with their design plan. The challenging part was the large

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• INDIA PLEXING • screen; which was 52 feet wide and the large balcony area and the stall area below the balcony. Christie 4230 4K projector was recommended along with Dolby Atmos. The difficulty was in ensuring a seamless audio experience for the entire seating area. And one of the major challenges was the commercial aspect due to budgetary constraints. Qube's expertise and vast experience in designing large cinema screens came handy and helped them to execute the project flawlessly. The team at Ragam evaluated multiple vendors and ultimately turned to Qube for the project.

"We were very happy with the installation, service and support offered by Qube," informed AK Sunil. "The cinema industry has been facing challenging times. But we believe that the online platforms like Neflix and Amazon cannot match the 'Big Screen' experience of cinema in a theatre."

There were huge technical challenges which were surmounted and all equipments were chosen as per SMPTE standards. The net result was fantastic audio coverage across the entire hall. Extra care was taken to ensure that the subwoofer level reached to the last row in the balcony area which was at a height of 40 feet and 110 feet away from the main screen.

Cinegoers enjoying the new experience AK Sunil basks in the accolades and the positive feedback received from the cinema audience of Thrissur and claims that they have invested in the best technology. Today, they reap the rewards of their hard work.

The screen size was modified to help improve the visual quality and ensure immersive cinema experience. The acoustic design was redone for better sound quality. All this was done under the technical guidance of Qube Immersive Audio team. The end result exceeded the expectations of the Ragam team and their management.

The curtain raiser music is a very unique aspect of Ragam and the entire track is mixed in Dolby Atmos and mastered by Qube Cinema.

Cinema owners consider Ragam renovation project as a classic case study in terms of modern refurbishment of cinema for the technical excellence and commercial feasibility. They refer to Qube Immersive Audio to turn around and execute such projects and Qube Cinema has always delivered a refreshing cinema viewing experience to the audience.

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• HERITAGE PLEX •

Edward Theatre:

A Venerable Beauty Strolling through the stairways of this magnificent vintage beauty nestled in one of the oldest business districts of South Mumbai, it was certain that Edward theatre at Kalbadevi stands test to time in this age of multiplex cinemas and could still give you the feels of a much urbane experience taking you back to history. The two special box seats on the sides, a music pit beneath the stage for orchestras to provide accompaniment for a silent film, the ever strong wooden seats that still is in a pretty good shape. The art deco-style entrance brings to mind a European opera house for certain reasons and TheatreWorld catches up with Fred Poonawala, the owner of Edward Talkies who has got more in store just for us...

Nestled in one of the oldest business districts of South Mumbai, Edward theatre at Kalbadevi stands test to time in this age of multiplex cinemas.

The theatre may well be the oldest in Mumbai though there is no proof of

its age. This is an authentic, old school Mumbai cinema experience, one that has slipped through the cracks and miraculously survived. The theatre that now plays only reruns of old B-grade films, as well as movies a few weeks behind time, for those who couldn't afford multiplex prices., dated films started off as a drama theatre; while similar properties to the list such as Metro, Regal and Eros had largely British audiences, Edward catered to the Indian tastes with their Gujarati and Parsee Theatre plays. It also served as a platform for leaders of the Indian Freedom movement such as Gandhi who addressed a congregation of grain merchants in 1921 (NonCooperation Movement). Since 1932,

the theatre has been screening Hindi films, even though it still follows the three-tier seating structure that is unique to an opera house.

Owners, the late Bejan Bharucha whose wife Gertrude Bharucha took over in 1971 wanted to keep the theatre in its original state disallowing any structural changes and renovations. Fred's Grand uncle ran the cinema from around in the early 1940’s and as the family still runs it even today (present), the theatre back then meant for the lower strata of the society. "I recall the ticket rates to be sold for just INR 2-3 and coming to today the most expensive ticket at Edward would cost you just INR 35 and the cheapest being INR 17," says Fred.

"It's right now losing proposition but we were struggling to keep it alive. And every time these performances happen, we get the better part of the crowd coming into the theatre; surprised of its existence and equally enthusiastic about hoping to contribute their work in the theatre."

- Fred Poonawala

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• HERITAGE PLEX • So not very new films are played there but reruns of films so that poor people can come and enjoy as well.

According to Fred's aunt who had been managing the cinema after her husband demise. She wanted the poor class of people to come and spend some hours watching the movies too at Edward after having their share of hard work for the day from the Kalbadevi area; where employees were mostly part time workers and labours and surprisingly still come to the theatre.

The theatre is made on a classical model of the UK theatre in SOHO following the same standardised formats. The theatre was built at the time when there were no speaker systems to actually carry sound. So they were made in a way with thick walls and in a way from where the person standing at the stage could speak and yet be heard loud and clear to the last man sitting in the row right at the back on the top.

"People like Sanjana Kapoor from Prithvi Theatre (Bollywood actor, Shashi Kapoor's daughter) came and did this test and was quiet surprised as she could actually hear her voice loud and as far as from the stage)," he exclaims.

But rumours have it that they changed the name of the theatre in 1914 and may have had another name before that and was renamed Edward as King Edward had come to India around the year 1940 and ever since then it was used for this Parsi

plays, Gujarati plays, performances for the British Soldiers and to entertain the forces as well. As mentioned earlier, the documented tapes state on record, about Mahatma Gandhi having given some illusive speeches at Edward during the Freedom Struggle.

The theatre has not really been revamped a lot. There is huge area where the performers would rest there. There is a Pit right in front of the stage where the musicians would come and perform. And that whole ground floor was called as the orchestra. Where the tickets are sold even today, There are 250 seats on the ground floor, the one in the middle is called the dress circle having 150 seats and the right on top is a very unique place like a ski-slope looking right down at the screen and seats about a 100 people.

Besides this, there are 4 boxes for the VIP's if there was an expected entry of a person / people of the higher position and class or even an important officer of the army or a politician and they would be seated in these VIP seats and to have a view of the performances from these special vantage points.

After having sustained these long years, Edward currently is in need of a lot of investment as theatres have not been doing well is the last few decades just at the resurgence of multiplex cinemas, single-screen theatre owners are closing down the theatres in Bombay one-by-one. And a lot of well-wishers stubbornly wish to have Edward retained.

The main activity which brought Edward a considerable revenue are the performances. They have had some performances over the years with few musicians like the Jazz Group sponsored by the Swiss Government and some other performances with some high-end talent and some musicals, plays and some auctions that keep it going."It's right now losing proposition but we were struggling to keep it alive. And every time these performances happen, we get the better part of the crowd coming into the theatre surprised of its existence and equally enthusiastic about hoping to contribute their work in the theatre," Fred says.

Being the theatre just the way it was years ago certainly makes it the

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• HERITAGE PLEX • "jewel in the crown" for Bombay which makes people hope for it to be preserved and the government to indulge in and aid it with funds and renovate the performance space.

Unfortunately, that's not to have happened till date. But we hope that one day we could make it a buzzing continuous place for cinema, musical festival, movie festival or old films or genres for the people who would love to come and see 2-3 films of may be warfare and entertainment.

Fred says, "We have had some shootings in the theatre; many prominent Bollywood stars came for some shoots, some cricketers for a few advertisements and the crowd get very excited for the same. A movie had been shot inside Edward called "Cinema Cinema" a Hindi movie and a couple more. The theatre is located in Kalbadevi at the heart of the city."

Fred recalls about his friend, sharing their experiences and how they spent their days in the theatre with 20 paisa and 50 paisa tickets which used to be a regular thing to do, He says, "In the old days, people would eagerly wait for the weekend to go for a movie as there was no other source of entertainment. I have myself watched some films in Edward in the morning shows like John-Von movies and Captain America. Edward had its share of English movies played but gradually drifted towards Hindi over time. Some Bhojpuri movies and a few comebacks in Marathi to add onto the list as well."

"Housing a huge space for performers underneath the stage 6 green rooms and the science for sound it carries; for instance if any musical recitation, there wouldn't be any requirement for a speaker system as the sound is just carrier through till the last end of this magnificent theatre. "Fred strongly affirms that Edward opens up opportunities magical in its own ways and hopes for a change some day.

He further adds, "I think in modern cinemas, there is a large over-supply of theatres granting very high quality with many choices. But there are no good performance places which is easily accessible at low cost.

And therefore there is an opportunity to do work on Edward in the sector of performances regardless of it being from any part of the art form."

Talking about the antique environment, the speciality of the seating is that the size of the chairs were made comparatively smaller in size keeping in mind the average size of an Indians back then. The seats are rather wooden which were put in the early 30's or 40's but yet are considerably tough and strong even today and for it still is quite comfortable.

The audience as felt come forth to the theatres with expectations of a great performance and entertainment and the theatre would certainly add on to the charm as it has turned to become a place of heritage now. On this note the theatre could really do well making the ticket prices lower, making programming more possible and affordable to performers to perform as wellwith a real push of some heavy fund infusion from either the government or the NGO or from any benevolent investor which could be rather be considered as a gift to the city; considering the concept of having crowd funding booming in the market.

Fred's Take on the SingleScreen's Getting Shut When the seating capacity is about 509; you can't expect a distributor to release a new film at Edward. At the end of the day, you should be able to recover your cost of the print i.e.

INR 50,000. After the run is over, the prints lie in a godown so distributors give it to such small theatres for a rerun to bag in as much as they can. After all there is an audience for every film.

I feel that it's losing its proposition. It's a chicken and egg situation with the multiplex booming up in the market on a large-scale. I feel theatres like Edward still holds the scope for bringing in the audience for maybe very special classical black & white films or rather film festivals to be crusted in, that could attract a special set of audience. This may give the theatre a new and fresh change of doing something entirely different and also to keep it running in the market.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

PVR Cinemas:

Soaring High Towards Impossible Being all set to provide an unparalleled entertainment experience to the patrons, PVR continues to consolidate their foothold in various geographic locations; two of which are Karnal and Telangana and this certainly marks a significant step towards achieving their vision of 1000 screens by 2020.

Next Galleria Mall, Hyderabad PVR Cinemas, the largest and the most premium film exhibition company in India, recently announced the launch of its 7th multiplex at Hyderabad Next Galleria in Irrum Manzil, Telangana.

Equipped to provide an immersive cinematic experience, the brand new 7-screen property will add to the diverse offerings by PVR and elevate the cinematic experience in the city.

With this launch, the total screen count of PVR Cinemas stands at 41 screens at 7 properties in Hyderabad and 52 screens at 9 properties in the state of Telangana.

Spread across an area of 42,461 sq.ft. with a seating capacity of 1182, the cinema is part of a commercial hotspot in the city ensuring wide connectivity and easy access. The brand new multiplex is equipped with BARCO 2K projection system, which provides superb brightness and vibrant colors ensuring a razorsharp picture quality along with Dolby 7.1 surround sound system and the Next-Gen 3D technology.

Designed on the concept of modernity with a classical touch, the cinema will have warm and inviting interiors. The stone accented foyer

offers built-in seating with plasmas displaying local art and cinema in a harmonious loop. Comfortable seating with the luxury of recliner seats and delicacies from the gourmet menu blends conveniently with the facility of Quick Tix to provide a seamless experience to the customers.

Harsha K3C Mall, Karnal PVR Cinemas, India's largest film exhibition company marked its debut in the smart city of Karnal with the launch of its brand new multiplex at Harsha K3C Mall. The 3-screen multiplex offers an enhanced in-theatre technology by introducing Next-Gen 3D experience with the comfort of recliners for the first time in the city. With this launch, PVR's total screen count in the state Haryana stands at 32 screens in 9 properties augmenting its presence in the Northern region of the country to 216 screens in 52 properties.

Situated in the heart of the city, the property is easily accessible to the nearby residential areas and educational institutes, accommodating an audience of 566 across its 3 auditoriums. In addition to its worldclass technology, the cinema is also equipped with 2K projection system along with 7.1 Dolby surround sound; providing an exceptional digital movie watching experience to patrons.

With its unique interiors, the cinema offers the comfort of recliners with extra legroom. A wide range of Gourmet delicacies add more value to all the offerings and for additional convenience, the Quick Tix facility at the box office gives instant ticketing solutions to the customers.

Also speaking on the occasion, Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR Cinemas said, "We are absolutely delighted to be the first to introduce premium cinema viewing in the smart city of Haryana. In our constant endeavour to reach out to our patrons; the new property in the iconic city of Karnal will cater to the discerning audience with an unmatched movie watching experience."

With this opening, PVR accelerates its growth momentum in FY 2018-19 with 748 screens at 161 properties in 64 cities.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

INOX:

Redefining 7-star Luxury a Mile Further Gracing its magnificence with its own distinct architecture and aesthetics, INOX now spreads its wings rapidly pan India, setting its foot firmer by bringing another set of its bag-filling and profound properties in the cities of Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Madhyamgram…

INOX has traversed its own path by bringing in a professional and service oriented approach to the cinema exhibition sector. With impeccable track record and strongcorporate ethos, INOX has established a strong presence in the cinema exhibition industry in avery short span. The latest technology in laser projection, plush recliners, larger than life grand interiors, food curated by celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani, butler-on-call, personalised ticketing and much more- all in all a complete celebration of this cinema brand with a 7 star touch!

DN Regalia Mall, Bhubaneswar INOX Leisure Ltd, India's leading multiplex chain launches its second multiplex in Bhubaneswar with 4 screens and 762 seats at DN Regalia Mall. With this launch INOX now has 20 multiplexes and 76 screens with a seating capacity of 18902 in the Eastern Region.

The all new multiplex at DN Regalia Mall, Bhubaneswar offers plush stateof-the-art seats with ample leg space, lush carpeting in the auditoriums, a spacious lobby, high end digital projection system, digital surround sound for guests to enjoy explosive sound and vibrant 3D powered by Volfoni Systems and all backed by world class hospitality with F&B

which makes it a complete movie experience.

G.T. Central Mall, Jaipur After redefining movie experience across the country, INOX, India's fastest growing multiplex chain, now brings its 7-star cinema experience and enhanced features to the Pink city of Jaipur celebrating luxury, service and technology at G.T. Central Mall, Jaipur. Jaipur Movie buffs will be treated to nothing less than a royal luxury combined with INOX signature indulgence with INSIGNIA, CLUB and KIDDLES. This property has 7 screens with 731 seats.

INSIGNIA brings luxury with personalized service and a 7 star touch. CLUB has special comfortable seating with enhanced leg space.

KIDDLES is a colourful auditorium for children with a play area where they can enjoy their special movies.

Jaipur can now be ready to experience plush recliners, larger than life grand interiors, food

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• INDIA PLEXING • INOX also brings Café Unwind offering visitors the perfect venue to relax while enjoying delicious food and drinks without buying a movie ticket.

Star Mall, Kolkata INOX Leisure Ltd, India's leading multiplex chain launches its eleventh multiplex in Kolkata with 4 screens and 809 seats at Star Mall, Madhyamgram. With this launch, INOX now has 19 multiplexes and 72 screens with a seating capacity of 18,140 in the Eastern Region.

curated by celebrity chef Vicky Ratnani, butler-on-call, personalised ticketing, café unwind and much more - all in all a complete celebration of cinema with a 7 star touch in the most popular hub of Jaipur!

Speaking on the launch, Lalit Ojha, Regional Director, North, INOX LEISURE LIMITED, "We are excited to introduce the INOX signature experience in Jaipur, the Pink city of India. INOX has been the preferred movie destination for people in Jaipur and it has been our endeavor to offer more to our guests and patrons. With this commitment we are happy to introduce a 7 screen INOX multiplex in the busiest location of Jaipur with a variety of

options suiting all kinds of customer needs. We are excited to offer our 7 star experience with INSIGNIA, Club and Kiddles."

INOX is happy to introduce, India's 1st Club screen with premium economy leather finish seating with more leg room with a dedicated lounge with special food and beverage of choice. This format is being introduced 1st time in India at INOX G.T. Mall in Jaipur.

For the first time in Jaipur, INOX is happy to introduce Kiddlesa brightly done up auditorium with an exclusive lounge for children to play and enjoy themselves before their movie begins; along with a kids menu.

The all new multiplex at Star Mall, Madhyamgram boasts of plush stateof-the-art seats with ample leg space, lush carpeting in the auditoriums, a spacious lobby, high end digital projection system, digital surround sound for guests to enjoy explosive sound and vibrant 3D powered by Volfoni Systems and all backed by world class hospitality with F&B which makes it a complete movie experience. 'Refuel' the in-house brand of theatre food, serves extended menu of flavoured popcorn, hot and cold snacks, beverages and a variety of combo meals.

Commenting on this new INOX multiplex in Madhyamgram, Kolkata, Amitava Guha Thakurta, Regional Director - East, INOX Leisure Ltd says, "We are glad to bring INOX to Madhyamgram Kolkata and thus increase our presence in the state of Bengal. INOX stands for outstanding movie watching experience and we are happy to extend our services and extend an opportunity for people of Jessore Road, Madhyamgram and Barasat to experience us."

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• INDIA PLEXING •

Shyam Cineplex:

First Multiplex in Mandi Gobindgarh

The newly renovated multiplex with 2 screens; both being equipped with the latest generation 1.9 Gain premium HGA silver screens and with a total seating capacity of 350, this property in Punjab is the first to be open for its moviegoers in the district of Fatehgarh Sahib. With some delicious F&B options on the menu and consumer convenience served on its priority checklist, this multiplex is one of the unmatched leisure experiences for the movie-patrons in the town of Mandi Gobindgarh.

Shyam Cineplex is located in the heart of Punjab located in the town of Mandi Gobindgarh and is the first multiplex theatre in Mandi Gobindgarh. It stands the first to have its screens equipped with Dolby Atmos sound format as well. With the spacious interiors and best-inclass facilities, Shyam Cineplex is one of the unmatched leisure experiences for the movie patrons of Mandi Gobindgarh.

Vijayant Bhansal, Director, Shyam Cineplex says, "It's simply sheer amusement for the patrons from the very moment they enter the lobby. They feel they are already transported into a multiplex just like

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those in the metros. The audio-visual quality has also being greatly appreciated. In a small town such as Mandi Gobindgarh, we get to interact with the people on a one-

on-one level and their response has been overwhelming ever since. We have seen people visiting far more frequently than before, some even on a daily basis!"

Ambient Interiors: The design and architectural features have been highly appreciated for. Especially the lobby that is quite spacious for the convenience of the moviegoers. The lighting is also the most talked about as the strips of LED spread across the whole lobby lights up the space. The experience envelopes guests on arrival with state-of the-art movieviewing experience and sets a tone for a grandeur experience.

Comfortable Seating: Both the auditoriums have plush, opulent sofa seats and ample legroom considering the convenience of their audience.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

"It has always been Allied Enterprises' endeavor to help the exhibitors generate best of the experiences for their patrons.

Shyam Cineplex and team reached out to us through our website in search of the right guidance for their up-coming multiplex. Our team helped them learn about the selection of most of the AV equipments for their cinema. It hence became very easy for them to select the right technology and brands to maintain the best of the

The Best in Technology: Both Audi 1 and 2 are equipped with Samsung's air conditioning systems that provide both the cooling and the heating technology on requirement. It also has the Dolby Atmos sound systems in both screens system, which is installed by Cinetech Engeneering.

Also, to precisely state, it is equipped with fully JBL array speakers 9300 and 8350 are surround and 4732 T for the front speakers with CROWN and Dolby CP 850 processors that make it just more delightful for the movieviewing experience. BARCO 20C 2K

visual experiences. They are one of the few in the country to opt for Strong MDI's latest generation of silver screens, i.e. 1.9 Gain premium HGA. The specialized coating on the screen helps achieve 40% more light on the screen when compared with the older generation of screen, wider viewing angles and better Signal to Noise ratio. Combination of Screen, 3D modulator and projector is guided and selected by Allied Enterprises' team to maintain better values than SMPTE standards for the

visuals. Ravi and Vijayanthave worked hard to introduce the best of movie going experience to their city. Bringing the right experience to the movie goers always help exhibitors, such as Shyam Cineplex."

- Samarth Gandhi President, Allied Enterprises

projector is installed in both the screens; that are also compatible to go with 3D movies. Movies in Hindi, English and Punjabi are screened in the theatre.

Seating Capacity: Both the auditoriums put together have a seating capacity of 350 seats, precisely stating 175 seats in each of the auditoriums.

Parking: Slots are provided in the basements as well as in the ground floor for the convenience of its moviegoers.

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• INDIA PLEXING •

AMB Cinemas:

Ambient and the Best-in-Class!!!

This would be the phrase that any movie-goer would use when entered this multiplex. AMB cinemas, the joint venture collaboration with Asian Cinemas and Mahesh Babu is the first of its kind bringing the best-in-class viewing experience for the audience. It has everything from laser screening; royal lobby spaces; an in-house chef; a wide F&B menu ranging from Pastas, Masala Fries, Nachos and Biryani as well to be spoilt with choices for; the M-lounge concept and the VIP screen to make the movie-goer feel like a celebrity already and to having all 7-screens equipped with Dolby Atmos, this 7-screen multiplex has lots to offer. TheatreWorld gets in conversation with Bharath N Narang, Director, AMB Cinemas to know more …

Brief us a little about Asian cinemas.

Asian Cinemas is a brand to reckon with especially in Hyderabad and Telangana. We are present in Hyderabad and Telangana; with about a hundred screens to our name and as we talk, we keep adding numbers. We have just opened a new theatre called Konark, a single-screen that adds to our critique, in Dilsukhnagar, which is just another big hub on the other side of Hyderabad. In Hyderabad we have 4 multiplexes which have about 18 screens and we also have single screens all across Hyderabad too. And we have also taken the entity; the district headquarters. We also are present in the remote places to name a few; like Thorrur, Metpally, Mahbubabad, Kodhad, Badhrachalam. We take them on lease, renovate and get the best multiplex feel in town. Based on the requirement in that particular area in terms of what a moviegoer wants; the seating, flooring and screens

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would be changed accordingly, etc., We play 3D in places like Thorrur, Mahabubabad and Metpally. We are also present now in Mahabubnagar.

It's been a very interesting journey even otherwise with Asian Cinemas as I said it's all been in the last 3 years that we have acquired all these properties and we are growing, we are coming with another 4 screen property and that's in the making now at Narapally which is about 8-10 kms from Uppal. Then we are coming up with another property at Ameerpet, a very famous theatre, a very popular theatre called Sathyam Cinema in Hyderabad. We have taken it on development and 5 screens are coming up there. We are going to have a large screen considering the size; the width is going to be about 90 ft. So it's an interesting face as far as Asian Cinemas is concerned. We are moving ahead but obviously with the advent of AMB Cinemas, we are slowly moving up to the next level.

As a cinema company, we

understand what a customer wants.

We are very aggressively priced as the food is concerned. We sell popcorn at INR 70 in a normal multiplex theatre in our Asian multiplexes. Here at AMB we continued the same legacy; we started selling it at about INR 70 and we are at about INR 90 today for popcorn. When compared to any national multiplex chains, we are just about the 1/4th of the price. That's how we have placed ourselves.

Despite, giving a 7-star facility to our customers, we are still priced very reasonably at AMB Cinemas and maybe that is the reason why we have 92% occupancy over the last 50 days of the opening. We opened on the 2nd of December 2018. We have about 7 screens here in this property with the total inventory tickets of about 8190. All the screens are equipped with Dolby Atmos which is again a distinction of having all the screens Dolby Atmos in one property. We have the biggest screen installed with the first Barco laser projector with about 436 seating

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• INDIA PLEXING • capacity. And all other screens are moderately seated. The numbers of seats are 308 and 162 and 158 and 212 accordingly.

Being well-known for providing world-class movie experiences in Hyderabad and parts of Telangana, tell us some induced features of Asian Cinemas that make it stand-out in the competitive cinema exhibition market.

As I said, Asian Cinemas has been catering to the typical middle class.

We are very aggressively priced.

When the multiplex rates are INR 150 for a regular seat and INR 250 for a recliner, we sell at INR 140 and INR 180 respectively. We don't sell more than that. So that's been a very distinctive feature. We look at the customers as well in terms of food and in terms of his overall experience has to be good. Our USP has constantly been to provide the best sound and the best picture quality and the best food at a very reasonable price. And that's how I think Asian has grown over a period of time. And that's the reason why

our occupancies are much better than the national chains present in Hyderabad today.

Elaborate on the multiplexes, cineplexes and single-screens run by Asian Cinemas.

I think to start off with a single screen; where the numbers are huge and considering the capacity as well; at times we run a 3 screen multiplex with about 800 capacity and at times we have a single screen at about 800 capacity. So in terms of numbers both speak their own volumes. But in terms of experience, multiplex experience is a notch up than the regular single screens. But I think with Asian Cinemas, I think even that gap is very minimal. We have been providing the facilities similar to those in the multiplexes. As I mentioned earlier, we just opened Konark theatre recently; a very popular theatre in Hyderabad.

Having spent a bomb in terms of renovation, we have provided a 4K projection, 7.1 Dolby surround sound and much more. We have not compromised on that at all. As the running cost is so high on a 4K

projection, the cost of a lamp is a lakh and 15-20 thousand rupees giving an average of 600 hours. Even for a single screen theatre we don't compromise on the kind of a quality that we provide. So that is where we are a class apart from the regular movie chains.

You are one of the leading film distribution companies in the Tollywood industry and this is your first joint venture with Mahesh Babu. How did it all begin?

As you rightly said, we are a cinema company which is widely into distribution, production and exhibition as well. So the affinity towards the film industry is much more than the regular people. So I think that's where it's stuck to Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar and Asian Cinemas to open a theatre of this magnitude. As you have seen the place, it all boasts of about how big is Mahesh Babu in this industry here today. I think the property also speaks of those volumes and it all began from there. They wanted to try and build something world-class

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• INDIA PLEXING • and that's how they joined hands and today the outcome is evident enough. So, Yes! A lot of people keep asking why Mahesh Babu and why not others. But I believe it's more to do with the connection. I think on the business proposition that you make to anybody, this connection served all well and that's how things worked forward on that front.

What has been the impetus behind establishing this superplex at Gachibowli, Hyderabad?

Yes, it all goes with the land bank that you have and when the aspect of joining hands with a personality like Mahesh Babu comes into picture, I think you need to have a certain area to look at and here comes a land bank which the company had and then we joined hands with the builders of this mall. It boasts itself as one of India's largest mall with 1,930,000 sq ft. And this place is going to be reckoning over the next 2-3 years. Which place could be better than this to start a multiplex like AMB Cinemas? I think it also goes well with the kind of surroundings and the community that resides around this place. Most of them being software consultants where people who always look for a better ambience and better food and taste. I think that's where you can position yourself and that's exactly where we are right now. At the end of the day, it's all to do with the present day trends. For instance, if today we built this up and tomorrow somebody else wants to build up the same way, they have to build something better than this for certain reasons.

Tell us about the ornate architecture and the luxurious designing of the cinema.

It all comes from; the mall we are present in, the area that we come from and based on that we wanted a very luxurious place to be a stand out aspect and with regards to the cinematic experience for that matter.

We never compromised on the cost

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and the facilities that we could provide here. I think all of that culminated to this magnificent property. A triple height entrance that gives you the grandeur, right from signages, the doors, we've tried to put in our best into the designing and everything seemed to be perfect thereafter.

The planning was done by Errana Yekbote from Era Architects who is again the man to reckon when the cinemas are brought into the limelight. He has been executing a lot of properties in the Middle East and many more in addition to the list. As I said it's all about passion. It's all about giving the best.

Elaborate on the speciality of M-LOUNGE. Speaking of M-LOUNGE, I don't think there is anybody who has provided that feature yet in Hyderabad today. We have created this especially for the VIP customers.

And we have created a screen for VIPs as well, named as VIP 5 which seats about 52 recliners, so all those people who buy a recliner seat are given the luxury of M-LOUNGE or the entry into the M-LOUNGE. And it's a great feel that one is being treated special. You're a special person and then you're treated in that fashion at M-LOUNGE. Yes, when it comes to food, it's is a special food and we don't sell this food in the regular concessions. We sell pastas on M-LOUNGE; we sell some masala fries; some masala nachos; we also sell Biryani out there. Also this is

to give a special feeling to the customer buying an INR 300 ticket.

Today, we sell a recliner ticket at INR 300, so he is called a VIP customer. So the VIP customer is given access into the M-LOUNGE. If you have seen the regular lobby at level one, the M-LOUNGE is at the next level. We have provided 2 washrooms separately. With this we are delighted to use the phrase, "a power shower". When you come in the evening and when you want to go for a movie, you've come directly from the office or from a gym; you can have a shower here. We provided all the toiletries. We provide you with fresh towels. You can have a shower and then move into the cinema. So I think that's the next level feature that we are talking about for M-LOUNGE. Having chosen to feature the mega-movie 2.0 for its first show, tell us about the response received and how special has it been for AMB? Amazing!!! I think we worked on that date though we were not a 100% ready, but we were determined to push ourselves to release 2.0.

Because, there could be no bigger star than Rajnikanth to showcase the property across the country and it also fell in place in terms of the occupancy. People thronged this place. People were watching 2.0 at AMB Cinemas. Indeed, the 3D did way much better than the regular 2D when initially we had planned for a few 2Ds and 3Ds. If you see, there are

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• INDIA PLEXING • four screens equipped with 3D now.

Even the 52 seater Audi is an active 3D now. The other 3 screens are regular passive 3D. We did big numbers as far as 2.0 was concerned.

Such a vast property with such a big film, I think we certainly played our cards well.

In your opinion, briefly elaborate on the features of this superplex that could get you positive returns on the footfalls.

Having mentioned, you have the first Laser projection out here for a better reckoning the screen size. That would be the first feature. The second feature is that we have a banquet attached to a cinema which is the first of its kind. We have a banquet for about a hundred people to start with the 52 seater screen. If somebody wants food, we are here to supply food along with the movie ticket. 52 seater, INR 300 is the ticket; a buffet along with it. We are selling a high-tea depending upon the time of the movie and that's another super feature that we are talking about.

We have a 5000 sq.ft. kitchen which caters to the people only at AMB Cinemas. We sell right from Nachos to French Fries, Pizzas to Burgers; Samosas to Biryani and the Sandwiches; everything is made in house! The coffee for that matter, we sell huge coffees out here which no other cinema can boast off. And then we have M-LOUNGE where we treat a VIP customer as a reality, we have been giving them special seating which normally would not be found in any regular lobby. And the best feature, if you were to ask me as a movie goer is you have a ticket in your hand, or even if you don't have a ticket; you come into the basement from B-1, the elevators take you straight to the fourth floor. So if you have a ticket in your hand, 5 minutes you're into the screen. Which is not the same with many of the multiplexes today. You may have to park your car somewhere; walk up 3-4 floors; take the special elevator or the escalator just to enter the cinema. But in AMB, if you have the ticket in your hand, you're into the cinema in less than 5 minutes. I think this is the greatest feature.

In an era where multiplexes are booming, how or what do you think is a differentiating factor for a multiplex brand?

I think at the end of the day, India has enough population to cater to any number of multiplexes but I think content is a big factor. The content that you play, the content that you get today, regardless of it being a regional content or a Bollywood content or a Hollywood content. I think that content plays a major role in going forward. Today, if you have a cinema of this magnitude, a property of this magnitude, I think people expect for such movies to come into the theatres. If you talk about regional, there are only about 8-10 big heroes, and everybody wants to watch those heroes on the screen. We have always been saying this; unless the content is good and big enough, the theatres won't be big enough to accept. An average film can be a blockbuster, but a very small film cannot be a blockbuster. That's how it is. We see a lot of Bollywood films getting into that category; I guess we

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• INDIA PLEXING • have 'Sonu Ki Tittu Ki Sweety', 'Stree', 'Helocopter Eela', and 'URI'.

So you don't expect those films to be big but I think when movies like 'BadhaaiHo', 'Andhaadhun'... I think regional have reached to that level yet. Maybe say, out of 5 films on Bollywood, I think maybe 1 regional film comes out to be good. Regional, people want to see big stars; so that's another factor. Multiplex is growing day by day. Its welcome, but if the content is not right, then it doesn't make any sense.

Any expansion plans for AMB Cinemas?

I want to be tight-lipped here. We are certainly planning; maybe Bangalore, but we are yet to look at it. I can't say anything more than this, but we are surely working out for the next destination on the list.

What are the future plans for Asian Cinema?

Like I mentioned earlier, as we keep talking here, the talks on acquiring more and more properties, there are more properties which are in the making. We have signed up to at least about 5 new properties on an average of about 4 screens each property, so which could approximately welcome 20 new screens in line. This year 2019, I think by the end of this year we would add up another 30 screens.

Tell me about the technology as it's the first multiplex to have all 7 screens Dolby Atmos.

That's exactly where I'm coming to.

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I think if you are to show something special to a customer, I think you have to be present there. You can't be sitting in the last bench and saying, let the world go the way it is going; we'll go the same way too. I believe we have to be different, if you have to get the customer to your property or your multiplex the whole point is from there. The whole idea of having all 7 screens Dolby Atmos is basically that we don't intend to differentiate between any screens. It should be uniformed. Whatever film that you're watching, would be watched on a Dolby Atmos sound.

Whatever screen that you're watching in, you're able to feel the sound and the picture. The synchronisation should be good.

Whichever screen that you're going in, you need to have a recliner. These recliners are from Ferco Seating (Malaysia) which is one of the best recliner manufacturers in the world today or at least in Asia. What else

can a customer ask for? And all that the customer may have to do is to just sit in his seat, ask and order and there would be a person coming and serving you food. The customer may not get the same privileges at home.

But in a theatre, you are given that luxury. I think we are looking at the level next, I'm sure today, the PVR's and the INOX hold the gold class, they have already reached there but we are trying to do better than that.

To make the customer feel that he is at the best place in the country today at least. I don't think anybody can boast off having a triple lobby for that matter. So coming from that angle only, I think all these are added; Laser, Dolby Atmos, Active 3D. Today, I don't think anybody could easily invest on Active 3D. But I feel, when a customer is sitting in a VIP Audi, he has to be treated special.

So thus, we are giving them that extra feel about the quality of the picture. When you see it on an active 3D, you'll know why. How good is the vision; how good is the quality of the 3D as well. At the end of the day, what is not there today, let's provide that to the customer. M-Lounge, Banquet, or even the Kitchen; we all thought we were going over-board on the Kitchen front and to create a kitchen of that kind, you need a chef. So we have a Chinese chef today, a 'Halavaee' (the confectioner) and a baker. It's not so easy to try and maintain all that. But it was a challenge for all of us, we wanted to give the best to the customer and today we see the numbers; it all speaks about it and people are happy about it.

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• BUSINESS TREND •

Little Nap Recliners:

Rendering Comfort at the Top-Notch

From simple recliners to stress-free motorized models; from pushback and auto-lift to the softest feather-light comforters; from elegant royal models to amusing swivel glider, its range of recliners will surely leave you spoilt for choice. In this era of modernity and entertainment, as the recliner market is Niche and purely untapped, Little Nap contributes largely spreading its wings wider only to escalate your leisure experience with grandeur and absolute comfort.

With a valued experience of over 7 years, the powerhouse brand remains the most preferred choice for recliners in cinemas, multiplexes, home theatres, living rooms, hospitals, spa, automotive etc. For multiplex owners looking to deck up their place with recliners in custom-specifications, Little Nap offers 3D layout assistance, drawing and consultation support that provide an overview of the final arrangement before you go ahead with the plan. From simple recliners to stress-free motorized models from pushback and auto lift to softest featherlight comforters from elegant royal models to amusing swivel glider, its range of recliners will surely leave you spoilt for choice.

Customer satisfaction Being the most important factor to make the brand grow in the market, satisfying the clients in all aspects regardless of it being the product on the whole or the services related to it is the prime responsibility being taken. The wholesome experience is what Little Nap thrives to constantly provide. Keeping a customer-focused approach, the customer needs are welcomed and efforts are being put across not just to meet but to exceed their expectations. Be it in the quality

of their products or customization of recliners, they offer numerous accessories and features to add elegance and the signature style to their chairs.

Product quality

Raw materials, finest handcrafters and highly equipped manufacturing facilities that are globally renowned are being used to carve out the masterpieces. Exclusive factory visits for their clients are provided to see and experience the manufacturing standards up close and personal. They hold product design patents and "We are the creators of the most deploy accessories relaxing products ever made; and raw materials still we choose to remain restless tested and certified to achieve more." internationally.

- RavinderGoel Also to emphasize, Founder & Director, Little Nap Recliners Little Nap uses materials and measures that are

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• BUSINESS TREND • lead-free and which is completely safe for health.

Product delivery commitment Assurance to delivering the best has been their constant promise throughout as the most important issue that concerns the customers is time. Their on-time delivery and the ability to meet customer demands and deliver the services and products to the customer punctually has always been highly appreciated.

After sales support The customer service representative interacts with customers on calls to provide them with information to address inquiries regarding products and services. In addition, they deal with and help resolve any customer complaints and then our technician visits the premises whenever required.

Seating configuration consultancy Other than just selling the chairs to the consumer, consultation to the client in terms sizes, placement, accessories, utilities, their requirement, designs, and many more aspects are taken care of by team before finalising the deal.

Customization Little Nap provides customization to any extent with regards to the recliners. As the chair is a personal space for the consumer, it has to be as per the choice of the consumers alone. Whether it being stitches of the thread colour, design or softness of the chair, everything is done as per the consumer demand. Apart from this, every accessory is custom designed to meet the discerning needs of the customer. Ventilated seats, dual tone leatherette seats, fire retarded upholstery (including quilting and polyfills), have been custom designed to add to the level of safety and comfort while seating.

The entire customized range of luxury recliners adds to the sophistication that modern multiplexes are well-known to standout for. Little Nap understands the intricacies of the multiplex business. The experts help consumers across the planning stage and make intelligent use of spaces with its bespoke solutions. The major game changer is the Innovation which we keep on introducing in our chairs and has now become a pre-requisite.

From sensors to chillers, wireless charging to ventilated seats, technology from around the world are handpicked and introduced in their recliners.

New development for cinema clients Cinema being a commercial environment, it becomes very necessary to mould as per the audience. So we tend to develop many new things, which are not on the base place, especially for the cinema owners, just to enhance the level of luxury offered by them to the patrons.

Varied seat sizes The chairs are altered to special sizes which fit in the cinema layout, provide comfortable movie experience and increase the seat count in the cinema.

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• BUSINESS TREND • Design development A totally new design and concept is also made to keep the cinema design frame and legacy intact.

Product range Little nap has a wide product range, in terms of chair design and accessories, which helps the clients in selecting the most suitable and preferred recliners for them. Also, they can mix two designs as per their wish and can customize the same as well.

This perfection and passion for creating such marvels of sheer comforthas owned Little Nap some of the biggest names in its clientele list along with thousands of customers.

Few projects to say: Cine Grand, SSRM, Bulgaria An export cinema project at the South Sofia Ring Mall in Bulgaria has a count of 450 uniquely designed recliners allocated in 6 different auditoriums. To elaborate further these recliners are fully fire retardant right from its raw materials utilized to its luxurious upholstery on the out. Recliners for the handicapped sector, as mandated by the European norms have also been worked upon in order to provide the same level of comfort for them as well.

Star Cinema, Dubai A luxurious cinema project, Al-Nisr Cinemas is located at the Central Mall, Abu Dhabi, UAE. With 26 lavish double arm recliners in leatherette of red, these recliners speak luxury with its beauty. A double Swivel table and

call button system (wireless) are the in-built features for easy accessibility.

With a special cabinet made to accommodate a set of 2 or 4 recliners and being a 26 seater Audi, its compact size makes it all the more comfortable for personal screenings.

PVR Gold Class, Lulu Mall, Kochi The cinema has 107 recliners installed making it one of the most premium and prestigious projects to have worked upon. It dons a unique seating concept along with the amalgamation of the theme and overall customer experience at PVR. Also, there is always a thorough sampling along with the precise selection of leather and other accessories to choose from. To further elaborate, Little Nap includes its addition of side tables, lamps and recliners having features like Dual Motor, Food Tray, Seat Calling System, Caddy Torch etc. only to upgrade the ambience of this theatre.

Carnival Cinema, TGIP, Noida An innovated concept wherein both recliners and sofas are being installed, although there is a clear

differentiation for the recliners to stand out from sofas in-terms of upholstery, features and accessories.

Reverse engineering with dimensions has been keenly worked with to fetch out the maximum seating capacity in a single audi. The recliners show splendid features such as luxurious stitch design, food tray, back-lit numbering etc. with a special seat size of 21" for this project.

Platinum Cinema, Jammu Intricate work on 64 recliners with all of them featuring double arm shows no compromise on comfort for a single audi. Side tables and lamps have been added to upgrade the ambience of the theatre. The-call-onseat system was also installed to make just the best cinema in the state.

A team that has been innovating ways to take comfort to a whole new level, today forms one of India's most preferred recliner brands. With a wide variety of exquisite and smart recliner furniture, it creates relaxation in every shape and mode. What separates this brand from the others is its capability of customizing the recliners according to its customer's intricate needs.

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• BUSINESS TREND •

PVR - VKAOO:

The Theatre is Certainly Now on Demand!!!

VKAAO, a joint venture by PVR Pictures and BookMyShow, founded with an aim to pioneer the concept of 'Theatre on Demand' in India recently completed two glorious years. On the side-lines of the second anniversary of VKAAO, TheatreWorld explores an interaction with Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures. The discussion primarily focuses on the brand's upcoming initiatives, milestones achieved and expansion plans now having carved out a niche for itself.

Vkaoo had launched in January 2017 and has just hit two years on the run.

The brand was launched with an idea to get alternate content to the theatre and give users an opportunity to pick what movie they wished to watch at a theatre close to them at their desired time. It had all started with a library containing a few movies and the users could pick from the list and watch them at the theatre. So that is where this whole concept would be implemented with the users having a fullfilled a minimum threshold. The required threshold is met and the move would be played for the users.

As the time passed by, the same concept has been used and to currently give independent filmmakers a way to get to the movie theatres with their movies. Normally, these independant filmmakers don't have as high budgets much like the

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other massy movies and that's the sole reason why their films never reaches the movie theatres where viewers could enjoy it. Utilising the same threshold model, we are giving the independent filmmakers to get very cost effective privileges at PVR Cinemas. On an obvious note, the ticketing and marketing has been supported by BookMyShow. Along with that, alternate independent content internationally are also received. Therefore, movies that would have not come to India are screened like the Spanish film, 'Fantastic Women' which won the best foreign language film at the Oscars in 2018. Another one on the list is 'The Florida Project' which is also a winner for the best-supporting actor, and 'Sales Man' which is a Farsi film. There are French movies that are being screened as well. Getting these

international films to be screened in the country is made available as well.

Along with that, Vkaoo serves as a platform where users utilize its services to get their set of regional movies that would be made available out of their state.

For instance, there is a community of Kannada speaking people in Chandigarh where they demanded a film. Using Vkaoo, they could get a Kannada movie being played in Chandigarh. And similarly, the same goes for the movies in other regional languages to which is very across the state because these movies generally are not released outside their home states. So people actively are taking help of Vkaoo, this is where we have reached in our journey of 2 years.

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• BUSINESS TREND • Elaborate on VKAAO's concept and the vision behind the initiative.

The vision was to always get the alternate content to the users. There are times when regular movies do come to the theatre, but the users might not be interested in something like that and they would want to watch something else; lets say, a user has planned for a friends day out or to celebrate his / her birthday, so the users can choose from the library for example, if he / she is a Zoya Akhtar fan and they would want to watch "Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara"again in the movie theatre and that again being a group of 40-50 friends who want to go watch that movie, they could hence come to our platform; create a screening, meet the minimum threshold and get the movie playing in the theatre and they can watch and enjoy the same thereafter.

Can you tell us on how Vkaoo functions?

Vkaoo basically has a library of movies and anybody as a user for example say wants to watch 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' in the theatre, a show / screening could be created at the nearest theatre and a particular number would be alloted which is a minimum threshold that would be the select number of seats for which has to be hit to have that show successfully being played in the theatre.

"Now lets assume you and your friend; a total about 15 people create your screening; your friends also buy a ticket to that and 15 ticket are bought. But since the threshold for that show is about 30, so the movie gets listed onthe Vkaoo app on BookMyShow and we also from the backend try to push the screening outusing our social media, PR's, E-mailers to the other users saying this movie has been created by a particular user and if interested, other users also could buy it for that particular show and rate and the moment the show's minimum threshold is hit, the movie is

successfully played in the theatre," Kamal adds.

Elaborate the insights about the VKAAO library, the total number of movie ratio of Hollywood, Bollywood and regional content?

So the current library has about 650700 movies and the target is to hit a 1000 by the end of this year, and we've got a mix of all the contents in it. About one-third of Bollywood, one-third of Hollywood and onethird of regional and foreign languages. And the regional languages including multiple local and foreign languages films in that category; it will be a one-third bifurcation all in all. This is an interesting time to talk on VKAOO as it's a growing business and the Financial year 2018 has turned out to be the best year that the film business has seen in the last.

The interesting aspect is that none of the frontrunners or the obvious big blockbusters have done well this year and in spite of that this served the best year. So Vkaoo is an initiative which PVR Pictures and BookMyShow thought of because they were still feeling that there was certainly a need gap in the market place to offer films On-demand basis at the cinemas.

On-demand has become such a phenomenal need for consumers and the Vkaoo team sort of made it possible because of the poliferation of digital services and hand held devices.

And that's when we felt that we must come out with a solution which can fill this need gap that's exsiting in the market place and that's how Vkaoo was born and now its been 2 years; an exciting phase because last year in 2018 as compared to 2017 in terms of screening which were organised by Vkaoo's service has grown to 100 % and we remain commited to this agressive growth. So 2019 is also expected to start of well and is expected to grow strong this year as well.

Could you tell us something on the investment plans for the expansion in the content for this particular year 2019?

Currently Vkaoo is at about 650-700 odd titles, split between Hindi, Regional and Foreign languages titles. PVR Pictures which is the distribution arm of PVR group and also the founding the partner of Vkaoo is also adding almost 50-70 foreign language films to its portfolio, acquiring those films for India. Those get automatically added to Vkaoo portfolio of films. In addition, the Vkaoo team which is headed by Vaibhav Lal and Karan Ahuja, are also talking to the producers and content suppliers to not just share their feature films but alsoto produce films which are differentiated and fall in the category of alternate content.

In the case of "Picture Ki Cheer Phad", which is basically ajoint initiative which we Vkaoo is doing with Shemaroo has a library of movies and is tied up with Gaurav Kapoor, a stand-up comedian.The basic idea is to get this thing in the movie theatre where their movie has been compressed in like about 45 minutes and along with that, there is a 45 minute act of him trashing the movie. It's about 5-7 minutes of viewing the movie and then Gaurav Kapoor comes and trashes that kind of content. How movie was made using some ideation in the 90's and how that stands right now is the key.

This initiative has been taken specifically for the movie theatres and is going to release only in the theatres and not on the digital platforms currently. So these is alternate content where we just stick to movies; it certainly is about movies but alternate to the feature film content as well. So we are trying to expand a feature film library portfolio of films but in addition, we are also encouraging producers to come out with the differentiated alternate content that we can experiment within cinemas. That's one such growth in the happening.

The other growth is that PVR, the chain is growing in 2018, as it recently acquired SPI Chain of cinemas which has 72 screens mostly focused in south of India and of very

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• BUSINESS TREND • high occupancy. Those very soon will become part of Vkaoo service as well.

In addition, PVR is organically adding about 100 odd screens every year and those automatically become part of Vkaoo service. So one end PVR is trying to grow content and on the another end more screens are being added to our chain where Vkaoo services is made available so that more and more people have the ability to consume; to access feature films of their choice at their neighbourhood cinema and in additon to that also to get access to some unique and differentiated content which is available only on Vkaoo.

What are the challenges you may have witnessed in promoting theatre on demand concept in Indian landscape?

While Vkaoo is predominantly a digital service and as a result of focus,whenit comes to promoting, it has been on digital platform and in some sense, cinema industry tends to be a traditional one. Although, a large number of the tickets in cinema business get sold through digital platforms, but by and large its a traditional and an offline business.

Just to sort of encourage consumers to see it from a digital film was in the initial challenge and not any more because the digital proliferation hand-held devices becoming the order of the day and more and more people doing commerce and consumption of content on the digital platforms. Initially, it was slightly difficult to convince people but with passage of time as digital services are proliferating in country, it is becoming easier. That's been the initial challenge. The second is principle of Vkaoo is to make and help content suppliers to reach out their targeted audience in the cost effected manner. By design, in a very conscious manner we've always focused on making the distribution of films using Vkaoo as a platform and as cost-effective as possible for the content suppliers and in some sense, the constraints because competing with films which come

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out with 5000 - 6000 screens and that have a budget of 10 Cr 15 Cr as the marketing budget, is sometimes tough toget attention even for good films because a cinema as a medium has been designed or is a pattern of using cinema for brand new films.

And these brand new films; some of them come with huge marketing budgets sometimes to get noticed.

Even if its a good film, it certainly becomes a bit of a challenge.

But there is no business without challenges and every business has its own special needs. Kamal says, "I think we are looking at the over all growth in Vkaoo in 2018 over 2017 is clear that there is a clear need-gap in the market. People want to watch On-demand services at the cinemas with a lot of films which are getting realsed in the country but are not able to realise their full potentional because of the dissymmetry that exists in the distribution practises.

Vkaoo is able to fill a lot of these needs and as a result is growing in terms of showcasing, more and more producers encouraging to add their films, PVR as a cinema partner for their services is extremily supportive and agressive in terms of marketing films which are coming through Vkaoo as we are seeing some real attraction on the ground. So Yes! challenges are there but i think clearly Vkaoo is able to fill up the need gap and has encouraged us to push it further and be more aggresive with our growth plans."

Tell us something about the revenue expectation for the years so far and how has the journey been?

Since 2017, Vkaoo organised about 1700 shows across the country in the PVR Chain; that number has grown to 3000 plus in 2018 which is close to 100% growth year on year. At 2019, it started on avery encouraging note and the business is well-poised for aggressive growth this year as well.

The suffice is to say that the growth in the number of shows and each show is typically 250 seats with the certain occupancy because otherwise show gets confirmed only when certain threshold is met with.

What are the key trends observed in movie viewing pattern in metro v/s tier II and III cities?

There is demand from tier 2 and 3.

Tier 1 is already well-educated so they do take up the majority of screenings they created but tier 2 cities also are catching up to this and now there is demand from tier 2 cities to screen their kind of shows.

Most of the older movies do get created in tier 2 cities and there is a lot of demand for that.

Tell us something about the movie 'The Village Rock star'.

'The Village Rockstar' was India's official entry to the Oscars this year for the best foreign language film.

The movie is actually an independent film made by a single filmmaker with

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• BUSINESS TREND • a hand-held camera in a village. So it was ticked as an Indian nomination and was also the 'Best Feature Film' and a National Award winner. It's an Assamese movie which rendered a traditional release in Assam but wouldn't have come out ofthe region. Hence, Vkaoo tied up with the filmmaker and we released the movie across the metros and a few tiers 2 cities in India and it got phenomenal response with people coming to watch that movie.

How do you think the brand is bridging the gap between the content creation and effective distribution in the Indian market?

The whole principal and the ethos that Vkaoo stands for is to be the flagbearer of independent cinemas in India. India produces close to 1000 films mostly more than 1000 films but only out of these 1000, 200 would be the regional but out of this 200 in the only 40-60 films are meaningful films. Films with a good starcast, with good producers, well marketed, well distributed. The other 150 films don't really contribute to the overall admissions of the film business.

Similarly for regional, these 800 films would come out in 12 to 13 languages off which Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali; these are prolific, well established industries but then options like Oriya, Tulu, Guajarati and Punjabi films which are small at this point but yet are sprucing up and improving their game.

Kamal adds, "The challenge that we've seen is that a lot of films in India although they being quite remarkable, still struggle to reach out to their target audience due to the lack of an efficient distribution system or a mechanism or process which is not available to them. So a film which has the target audience of 10,000 people in this country needs a considerable cost-effective way to release that film. You cannot take out print adds and television adds and do radio and do a lot of media because you simply dont have the

budget for it. But there is a market for it too. Being the number it is, when you look at the long tail at 400 - 500 films each with 10000 market potentional, you come up with a sizable number. I think the point being highlighted and the big value that the Vkaoo team is trying to bring on to the tabel is that it's avery cost-effective way of distributing films. The marketing is deeply targeted. BookMyShow and PVR has tremendous amount of data in its systems because we sell so many tickets during the online channels. By virtue of selling them on online channels, we know excatly what their behaviour and consumption pattern is. The kind of films; the taste; the geography and the cinema location that they prefer; how they review a film; The comments and so on and so forth can all be determined thereafter. And all of this information once assimilated, gives you an ability to know what sort of film could work with what sort of target audience and that's a huge contribution that BookMyShow and PVR have brought on the table."

Using this business intellegence, Vkaoo has the ability to reach out to an fragmented relevant audience across the country in a very costeffective targeted manner. The right people with the right message is being reached out to and as all of this so targeted, the ability to sell more tickets in a fraction of cost that one would have incurred if they were going the traditional way of distributing a film; the ability increases eventually.

"This is a big sort of value that the Vkaoo brings on tabel and the beauty ofthis is that the more we sell, the more intelligent we get.

The more tickets we sell through our online channels, the more people engage with a digital platforms; the more intelligent we get about then and hence we can do a much more targeted offering and messaging with them. So I think this is a big value addition that Vkaoo brings on the table; that we are helping independent

distributors, producers reach out to the their audiences and realize the full potential of the films at a fraction of cost in a very costeffective manner," he adds.

Tell us on the total number of movies that have been screened in the last 2 Years.

In the year 2017, close to 1600 successful shows have been screened and in 2018, 3000 plus. A good 100% growth year on year on the number of screenings have been achieved.

Kamal says, "Challenge wise, is only when some of the content which we don't have in our library is requested by the users. So the rights of certain movies are owned by certain producers and content holders.�

Give us an elaborate detail on the business model of Vkaoo.

Kamal comments, "Well, like I mentioned earlier, it's a 50-50 Joint Venture. We have a dedicated team and is a separate legal entity and its digital business is very much alike to any other digital business models. It takes time to gain attraction but with regards to the scale up, the growth concept is really rapid which is what is being observed in Vkaoo. We've got a well-oiled machine, good leadership in place with Karan and Vaibhav driving the show. PVR and BookMyShow have incredible credibility and come out with a very meaningful and a deep level contribution to the business model.

We are extremely buoyant of this initiative; both BookMyShow and PVR. It's a new service100% year on year growth 2019 set to replicate that sort of growth and is a clear validation of the fact that the product is hitting and meeting the needgap which is existing in the market place. We've got some really special and interesting initiatives which are lined up for 2019 but that's another discussion for another day. The response has been very encouraging and both teams are buoyant of the prospects in this initiative."

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• HERITAGE PLEX •

REX Theatre:

Curtains Down for Bengaluru's Ripe-old Theatre Tickets that were once priced much lower than the multiplexes that have recently cropped up everywhere, Rex Theatre was always a reliable option for the native Bengalureans and served the most convenient go-to places for generations.

For decades, Rex Theatre on Brigade Road has been the haunt of anybody in search of a good movie experience that wouldn't burn a hole in their pocket. The old theatre will be turned into a multiplex with four screens, as well as shops and restaurants.

For Old Times' Sake: Over the last decade, as plush multiplexes have flourished throughout the city, the iconic Rex Theatre stood out as a bastion for the bygone years of single-screen cinema in the Central Business District. But with over 80 years of history etched into its walls, Rex Theatre on Brigade Road darkened its screens for the last time on December 31, 2018. The single-screen theatre, a landmark of the city's CBD, screened Kannada movie KGF as its last show at 10 pm on its closing date.

But this isn't the first time that a single screen in Bengaluru has been torn down or revamped. Empire and Liberty theatres rolled down their shutters in the 1970s, BRV was

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group too. In a joint venture between the Kapurs and Prestige Group, the prestigious old theatre will be turned into a mall and a four screen multiplex with shops and restaurants. converted into a military canteen in the late 1980s, Imperial, which was also owned by the Kapur's, closed in the 1990s, BluMoon and BluDiamond bit the dust in 1994, Galaxy Theatre shut down in 2002 to make way for a commercial space, Plaza was razed in 2005 for the metro rail, Symphony is now Fame Shankarnag and Lido has become INOX Lido. Rex Cinemas could have just been among the last ones standing which now joined that

The Beginning: In the late 1930s, Rao Saheb Pasupalety Venugopal Naidu bought one acre of land on Bangalore Cantonment's prestigious Brigade Road. Pasupalety, who called himself PV Paul, built two auditoriums on the grounds, and in the 1940s, the theatres began screening films. There were two screens; one where the

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• HERITAGE PLEX • current auditorium is located, which screened English films, and the other, where a dosa stall stands, which was meant for screening regional language films.

In 1951, Paul obtained a loan by mortgaging the theatre for INR 5,09,000 with the Palai Central Bank in Ernakulam. Unable to repay the loan, the court decided to liquidate it. The bank then bought the property, but a decade later, the bank also ran into financial trouble.

In 1960, the High Court of Karnataka ordered the liquidation of the bank.

In 1961, the court-appointed liquidator held an auction at what is now the parking space of the theatre. Anil's great-grandfather Nand Lal Kapur, who had settled in Bangalore 10 years earlier, decided to attend the auction. The bidding had reached its peak and Nand Lal called out INR 8,51,000 as his bid. That's when he realised that no one was offering a higher bid and he became the owner of the property In 1971, Kamal Kapur, the Managing Director of the company, came back from England after graduating.

While most of the theatres in the cantonment area had air conditioning, Rex was still stuck with the huge rather dreaded air vents. At this point, Kamal Kapur decided it was time to refurbish the theatre.

And so he decided to close the place and renovate the interiors and

include air conditioning. That's when Rex took a turn. Columbia Pictures and 20th Century Fox became their distributors and the movie going trend was at its peak. There were no other forms of entertainment. One could go to a park. There were no TVs. There were radios. Coming to the cinema was very special back then. This was a place which would unify people of all classes. We have four classes. The balcony, the first, second and the third stalls. People from all economic backgrounds came here. Society is divided based on the wealth of the people. From the richest man to the most common man would come to the cinema, use the same parking area, eat the same food, the same sandwiches, and paid the same prices.

The screens raised its curtains for the first time as Rex Theatre in 1962 with 'The Sleeping Beauty', which became an instant hit. The staff who worked at Rex hope that when the place reopens in 2021, it will be received with the same enthusiasm. The hall has seen film screenings since the 1940s, even before the bustling city,

Bengaluru landmark got its current name. A string of hits followed in the 1970s and 1980s, and Rex played some of the most popular movies of the time. One of the longest playing pictures at the theatre was Charles Chaplin's ‘Modern Times’. The longest running film at the theatre was the Sylvester Stallone-starrer 'Cliffhanger', which ran for 29 weeks, followed by the 1979 Bruce Lee film 'Return of the Dragon', which ran for 27 weeks.

A Final Recall: A Malayalam movie was also played among all the English ones namely 'Chattakkari' for which Rex was given a trophy as it ran for 25 weeks. All the shows were full when 'Cliffhanger' opened too. Back then, theatres played only two shows - the first show at 6.30 pm and the second show at 9.30 pm. But after the series of hits, Rex was bound to play three shows and then made four permanent shows to lastly stretching upto 7 shows a day.

Despite being a single-screen theatre, it had the variety of a multiplex; with Kannada, Hindi, Tamil or Telugu movies all being screened one after the other, in the same hall.

Middle-class moviegoers, students on a budget, or anybody looking to pass time when shopping on Brigade Road, could always count on Rex. From a few annas then, to a fraction of the prices multiplexes charge, people will miss the low-cost fun Rex afforded them.

Recently, Bengalureans who were there to watch mega star movies like Rajnikant's latest film, '2.0', and Bengalurean's 'Rocking star' Yash's 'K.G.F' which might just be the last film to be screened at the hall, cannot help but reminisce.

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