The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Box office boost spurs cinemas to upgrade

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 08, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Box office boost spurs cinemas to upgrade

By Sudhish Kamath

CHENNAI. NOV. 7. Inspired by increasing box-office collections, multiplexes in the city are going the extra mile to improve their existing facilities. While Abhirami Theatres has introduced car lifts for rooftop parking, dial-a-car, dial-a-ticket and membership schemes, in addition to the existing food mall, Sathyam Cinema has air-conditioned most of its lobbies and also has a few projects in the pipeline that promise to revolutionise the movie-watching experience.

The increase in ticket sales has come as an encouragement for theatre managements to invest in renovation and improve service. Abhirami Theatres, after registering a 20 per cent increase in patronage after renovation, has two car elevators that take the cars to the terrace.

Open-air theatre

"We are planning to have an open-air theatre there soon, with a children's play area where we will also be screening cartoon films and arranging special rides for the kids," says Nallammai Ramanathan, Executive Director of Abhirami Theatres.

Ticket scalping

While mutliplexes such as Sathyam and Abhirami have almost eliminated ticket scalping by keeping the counters open throughout the day, other cinemas still continue to open their counters just half an hour before the show, resulting in long queues, chaos and black marketing of tickets.

"At Ega, you need to wait for half an hour in the queue before you get your ticket. Wouldn't it be simpler to keep the counter open and make tickets available on a first-come first-served basis," asks Abhishek, a regular movie-goer. "At Sathyam, I always get tickets, for one movie or the other. All you need to do is go a little early or book in advance."

"People don't have the time to stand in queues. We are keeping the counters open two weeks in advance so that people can book anytime they want," Ms. Ramanathan of Abhirami, adds.

"We were doing well even before the crackdown against piracy started," says Swaroop Reddy of Sathyam Cinemas. "The measures have only improved things for us. Earlier, we had a slightly different audience. We did not get people who watch movies on VCDs or DVDs ... but now, with the crackdown, even they have no choice but to go to the cinemas. And because of the comfort factor, they decide to come here."

Sathyam too keeps its ticket counters open between 9 a.m. and 10.30 p.m.

The multiplex has big plans for the new year. "We are just finalising a few projects," says Mr. Reddy. "We want to provide more facilities for the audience," echoes Ms. Ramanathan.

Following the Chief Minister's relief measures for the film industry, more cinema halls are now planning a revamp of their facilities.

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