After ‘My Dear Kuttichathan' (1984), it took a long time for Tamil film audiences to experience the thrill of watching a film through 3D glasses. Though a few movies did draw inspiration from the Malayalam blockbuster, none of them created a similar sensation until Hollywood phenomenon ‘Avatar' hit the cinema halls in the city last year.
When ‘Avatar' was released, the audience were offered two options – either to watch the film in 2D or enjoy the extra visual depth by paying a few extra rupees more as rent for the 3D glasses.
Though many found the rental rates for the glasses exorbitant, the film ran full houses for several months. Multiplexes such as Satyam continue to have special shows almost every day.
While ‘Avatar,' with its cutting-edge technology would remain a pioneer in seamlessly blending live shots and the animated part, a slew of Hollywood releases in digital 3D such as ‘Alice in Wonderland' and ‘Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' are redefining the film-viewing experience of Tamil audience. Cinema halls, on their part, are all for modernising their infrastructure to meet the technological demands.
Devi Cineplex which launched a Dolby Digital 3D projector in Devi Bala last week has bought many Hollywood 3D films that are to be released in quick succession. The projector can convert 3D formats to 2D. It would be used depending on the response of the audience to the film. The quality of 3D films is perceptibly high. The projector would help enhance the visual experience for the audience, said Praveen K.Mohanram, an executive of the Cineplex. ‘Chronicles of Narnia,' ‘Alice in Wonderland' and ‘Gulliver's Travels' are set to be released shortly at the theatre.
Though the latest technology is expensive, many theatre-owners see it as a long-term investment. “Enhancing the film-viewing experience would draw the people who would otherwise prefer to watch films in the comforts of their homes. It is a favourable situation for everyone from theatre-owners, filmmakers to the audience, he adds.
However, a manager of a single-screen theatre finds the trend to be just another added advantage for the multiplexes. Unlike foreign countries, 3D films have not come in a big way mainly due to the lack of infrastructural facilities in theatres. Now that the big players are pumping in money and coming up with posh multiplexes, they undoubtedly benefit with higher returns. The single-screen cinema halls cannot invest so much and are happy with the regional films that keep their business going, he says.
Be it films shot using stereoscopic 3D camera or those that come with retrofitted 3D effects, cinema halls play a crucial role in recreating the 3D experience, according to S.Sridevi, director, Mayabimbham Animation Studio. While the Indian market for animation films is negligible when compared to the world market, 3D effects are certainly a value-addition for films, she adds.
