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Screening is believing!
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Some 24 Multiplexes have changed the character of a trip to the movies, says ZIYA US SALAM
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CINEMAGIC: Galaxie, one of the newer additions to Delhi's crop of cineplexes PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
Delhi's skyline is changing. If it is Metro Rail and the flyovers on the one side, on the other innumerable multiplexes are born every other day. Some 24 multiplexes with cineplexes have come up over the past two years. Another dozen or so are in the pipeline. The cycle goes on. Relentlessly.
Fancy complexes seem to have taken over the city. Providing `shop under one roof till you drop', `eat till you perish' facilities to go with regular movies, they are redefining entertainment in the city. With new halls have come new facilities of online booking, fine dining, easy shopping.
The cineplex boom is not confined to city limits. Early this month, SM World, a three-screen multiplex with a food court and a swimming pool opened to "encouraging response" from residents of East Delhi and Sahibabad, a small township on the eastern outskirts of Delhi.
This past week, Sudhir Mishra's much-feted Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi was premiered at PVR, EDM in Kaushambi. The cineplex was opened just a week earlier. Matters little that less than two years ago Kaushambi had embraced its first multiplex with the coming up of Chadha group's Wave. Incidentally, the group had also given Noida's first multiplex, the Centrestage Mall. The multiplex, with four screens and multi-cuisine restaurants, clicked with the local population, starved for a joint to mix and mingle.
Food and fun
This is also the reason given for the success of 3C-s, the new multiplex in place of the good old Alankar. Says Rajeev Kalia, Business Head, 3C's, "We have 50 to 90 per cent occupancy. The main reason is our food court. It doesn't matter whether the movie is good or bad, we get sound business due to the food court and the lovely ambience we give to the audience."
The Lajpat Nagar-located multiplex offers North Indian and Italian food besides the special offerings at Sagar Ratna, McDonald's and Barista. Adds Kalia, "The cineplex business is not just about movies but what kind of facilities and comforts you give to your customers."
Similar reasons are voiced by Ritesh Arora, Executive, Programming, Satyam Cineplex, "If the movie is good we get approximately 60 to 70 per cent or sometimes 100 per cent during the morning shows. We have a better footfall at the Janakpuri outlet than at Patel Nagar, because the former has a class market with a functioning mall."
Imbibing much the same spirit, in April last year, a few kilometres away from SM World, Galaxie, just East of Delhi, started with another three-screen show to go with four restaurants and a number of other businesses. Just a few months before Galaxie, M4U had made its debut, giving Sahibabad its first multiplex.
Says Neeraj Choudhary of Galaxie, "We have a 40 per cent footfall. We have flexible pricing. We provide free Pepsi for the morning and noon shows and cater largely to East Delhi residents."
He is unfazed by the all-new PVR, EDM and Wave in Kaushambi. "Nobody is eating into any one's profit at this juncture."
Echoing much the same is Vijay Gupta of SM World, "Since opening we have got a decent response. We are the only one to provide a swimming pool too."
Flexi pricing
The M4U guys remain unfazed. "We have only Moviepalace in the vicinity. And we provide more facilities. We are targeting a mixed audience, the youngsters as well as families. At Rs.60 and 40 our pricing is attractive too," says a spokesman.
Talking of pricing, DT cinema in Gurgaon prides itself. Says Rajat Kumar, Vice President, Marketing, DT Cinemas, "We want all kinds of people to come, not just the elite, as cinema is a media of mass entertainment. We show a film like Morning Raga in a smaller auditorium while Kaal will be in a bigger one. We have special seats for Rs.75 whereas others are for Rs.150. And all shows before noon have a flexi price of Rs.60 and 100, respectively."
Impervious to such marketing strategies are the M2K officials in Rohini. Says Hargurpreet Singh, Head of Marketing, "We have a footfall of up to 60 per cent on week days though we don't slash our admission rates."
Speaking on similar lines is Tushar Dhingra of PVR Cinemas, the chain behind seven multiplexes and 27 screens, also the chain that started it all in the late 1990s with PVR Saket, at the erstwhile Anupam cinema. "We get 55 to 75 per cent occupancy. This - summer holiday season - is the best."
He reckons, "Our business is purely dependent on screening and distribution of cinema."
Dhingra also feels cineplexes like PVR have a role to play in the promotion of films. "Films like Chocolat, Swimming Pool and Million Dollar Baby attract a niche audience. Courtesy multiplexes, people now get to see European cinema, niche Hollywood films and regional films. A film like Shwaas or Amu would not have made it to cinema halls a few years back."
Cold drinks, popcorn, movies, shopping. Let the fun roll. At a price.
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