The multiplex revolution appears to be taking its time to reach the city. But, so what? Cinephiles in the city nowadays enjoy a movie viewing experience that’s almost as good as any in a multiplex, what with most of the single screens in the city having already had a facelift – or planning to go in for one shortly. The revamp includes the best in comfort – comfy seats with more leg room, cleanliness, online reservation options, and the like – and incorporates advanced technologies in terms of projection, ambience, lighting and sound.
As of now, there are 19 ‘A’-class theatres all within a 2-km radius of the city centre not to mention another 19 theatres, also A-class, in the suburbs. Incidentally, Thiruvananthapuram holds the distinction of the most number of theatres in a city in Kerala, which, they say, makes it a perfect setting for a top class film fete like the upcoming International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK).
“The best movie viewing experience is when visual quality and acoustics sync as one,” says award-winning filmmaker Dr. Bijukumar, a veteran of many international screenings. “Things are changing rapidly, but truth-be-told, watching movies in Kerala is one of the worst I’ve ever come across,” he adds.
Theatre owners in the city are quick to acknowledge that things were not all that great and that’s one of the reasons why they all went in for makeovers of their theatres. “It was the need of the hour, considering the advancement in filmmaking techniques, the evolution of technology and, of course, the expectations of the audience,” says Thomas Muthoot, himself an avid film buff, who is spearheading the ongoing renovations of Kripa theatre, on behalf of the Muthoot Fincorp, of which he is a senior management associate (special projects). “My grandfather, Pappachan Muthoot, bought the theatre in the 1980s and since then there had not been much of a change, save for a few technical upgrades over the years. With the rapid changes that the film industry and filmmaking itself is going through, we needed to take the screenings to the next level too,” he reasons.
S. Murugan, managing director of City Theatres, which runs Sreekumar, Sreevishakh and New Theatre, agrees and adds: “The idea is to enhance the movie viewing experience and also to give the audience more viewing options with multiple, smaller screens, all at reasonable rates.”
There’s also a practical side to the makeovers. Girish Chandran, partner, Sree Padmanabha and Devipriya theatres at East Fort, the first to jump on to the renovation bandwagon, explains: “An above average film usually runs for four to five weeks in major theatres. This year, for instance, 1983 , Om Shanti Oshaana , and Vikaramadityan had extensive runs at Sreepadmanabha. After a while, it makes financial sense to shift these films, which would still have good attendance, to smaller screens like Devipriya. Such a move paves the way for new and better paying films on the bigger screens. Also, smaller films such as Ithihaasa , which do well, can also be screened in between.”
Murugan adds: “Earlier, we could change films only if attendance for screenings were below a certain level [30 per cent]. This meant that after a week or so of running at full house, the entire lower floor seats would be empty but our running costs such as electricity charges remain the same.”
Another advantage is that more number of movies can be screened annually. “Major theatres usually screen around 10 to 12 movies annually. Now, because we have Devipriya, we were able to screen around 20 films a year,” says Girish.
The theatre makeover trend began in March 2011 when the 1,050-seater Sree Padmanabha, the second oldest theatre in the city, built in 1939 by pioneer showman P. Subramaniam, reopened for screening, after undergoing massive infrastructural and technical renovations. In 2013, it was further upgraded and Devipriya was carved out its lower floor.
“We improved our presence on social media and also gave our staff members special training on how be helpful to moviegoers. Also, we have given cleanliness top priority and the theatre is cleaned and cleared of food waste after each screening and again in the morning prior to the first screening of the day. All this has gone a long way to enhance the reputation of the theatre as a great place to watch movies,” says Girish.
A year or so later, just before the start of the IFFK 2012, the Kerala State Film Development Corporation’s three theatres – Kalabhavan, Kairali and Sree – were refurbished and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. A new theatre, Nila, was also added to the Kairali-Sree complex at Thampanoor and Kalabhavan became a first release theatre.
Then, three months ago, New Theatre, perhaps the oldest theatre in the city, also built by Subramainam [in 1936; rebuilt in 1967], opened its doors after being completely renovated. What was a 1,200 capacity theatre has now become three screens with 550, 200 and 173 seats, respectively, and is the first in the city to be fitted with cutting edge Dolby Atmos acoustics – the only such theatre in the city with the sound system.
“Since we reopened New Theatre, the audience response has been phenomenal. Collections have increased tremendously, with many of the shows being sold out even into the second week,” says Murugan.
Viewers too are a happy lot. Director Arun Kumar Aravind is one of them. “The city has always had an interesting viewing culture and now it’s become all the more special. It’s heartening to know that more theatres are being built in the city [see box]. My only real grouse is that parking is still a huge issue for most theatres, which we wouldn’t have to worry about if it were multiplexes in a mall. Also, the rigid four-show a day screenings should be shifted around to make it more convenient for viewers. Director Biju, though, feels that more can be done. “Most movies are shot in 4K resolution. What we really want in the city are screens with 4K projection.”
Until then, happy viewing.
FLASH FORWARD
Renovations of SreeKumar and SreeVishakh will commence early next year, according to Murugan.
The new Kripa theatre is set to be re-opened early next year. “It will have another screen which we have named Shakti, as a tribute to the original name of the theatre. The new expansions in the multiplex verticals will be under the flag of MPG cinemas and Villa Maya will be our hospitality partner for the project,” explains Thomas.
Joy M. Pillai, owner of S.L. Theatres, says that the four theatres – Athulya, Anjali, Athira and Aswathy – in the complex too will be refurbished in the coming year. “Athulya has one of the biggest screens in Kerala. We are trying to retain the experience of watching a movie on a big screen, while adding high-tech facilities. Plans are yet to be approved by the Corporation, but we hope to be operational by next Vishu,” he says.
KTDFC has also built a state-of-the-art theatre at the Central Bus Station commercial complex in Thampanoor, which is to be leased to private operators.
Mall of Travancore that’s coming up in Chakka is set to have seven multiplex screens.
IFFK SCREENINGS
Rajeev Nath, chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, says he’s looking forward to screening the 140 films selected for this year’s IFFK, which is set to begin on December 12. The movies will be screened at Kairali, Sree and Nila, Kalabhavan, New Theatre, Nishagandhi, SreeKumar and SreeVishakh, and Dhanya and Remya theatres. “They’ve all got good projection and sound facilities. This time, because the number of films is less and because we have budget constraints, there won’t be as many screenings as in previous editions – perhaps only two for most of the films,” he says.
