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A new hall, not for all and sundry...
Time for a multiplex at Eros in South Delhi. Photo: Anu Pushkarna.
SOMEBODY WELL aware of the Capital may not find Bhogal and Jungpura in South Delhi the most preferred residential addresses. That's why may be Sumant Sood, the owner of Eros Cinema Hall in Jungpura, might not have thought of taking into consideration, the people living in these areas while thinking of the renovation of this hall.
Renovation? Yes, in a few months time, later this year, Eros cinema will wear a new look altogether - the look of a multiplex. It will be four-screen multiplex, two on each floor with a seating capacity of a thousand. The auditoriums will have latest xenon projection, Dolby sound system with the best seating comforts through imported furniture with more legroom and better push back capacity. The hall will have two concession stands serving "all sorts of fast food" and cold cuts with the latest computer system to fall back on. It will also have a video and DVD library available for the visitors.
Sumant Sood promises an awesome interior design of the cineplex that will be done by "foreign designers", while its speciality lies in its atrium-based structure that boasts of 100 per cent back up.
The cinema hall is doing pretty well. So what was the need of renovation?
"It was an old property. We had it for last 50 years in the similar status. So it was not only crying for renovation but also to keep pace with Delhi's fast changing definition of cinema hall, it needed restructuring," reasons Sumant.
Now, to be accommodated across 3000 square metres, the renovated Eros Cineplex would have admission rates a little on the higher side. They will range from Rs.150 to 200.
Is it not beyond the reach of an average man's pocket?
"With a project worth Rs.20 to 25 crore, I cannot but keep this admission rate to fall on right track financially. I have to compete with other multiplexes mushrooming on all sides. Moreover, I am not targeting people living in these areas. I am aiming at residents of nearby Defence Colony, Shahpur Jat, Sundar Nagar and the rest of South Delhi visitors who are financially better positioned," Sood justifies.
The hall was to be renovated January this year. What took so long?
"Lots of clearances from corporations, fire, police, town planning and a lot more," he informs.
RANA A. SIDDIQUI
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