Not only have the fares in theatres fallen, but multiplexes are issuing pre-paid cards to keep your seat booked in the hall for a year.
CHENNAI: The cinema-crazy crowd of Tamil Nadu could not have it better. Not only have the fares in cinema halls fallen, but multiplexes here are issuing pre-paid cards to keep your seat booked in the hall for a year.
Why not? Of India's 13,000 cinema halls, Tamil Nadu accounts for about 4,000. Some of the most innovative ones are in Chennai and its outskirts, just as Asia's largest drive in screen is here at an east coast hall.
The year has also seen a dramatic increase in cinema hall crowds as more and more cinemas are upgrading infrastructure, with Satyam Cinema leading the way in innovations for viewer comfort. No matter what picture is showing at Satyam, at weekends, viewership is 97 per cent.
Inaugurating the fourth edition of the Chennai International Film Festival here, IT minister Dayanidhi Maran said that though interest in IT-based entertainment was growing, “still the joy of cinema remains the same. Cinema is a window of the past, present and future. Like cricket, it is a passion in India”. Therefore, it is not surprising at all that on a request from the Tamil Film Producers Council, South Indian Film Chamber, Chennai City Theatre Owners Association and Film Distributors Associations, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to reduce taxes and lower fares in cinema halls from Jan 1, 2007.
The cheapest ticket in cinema halls with AC in metros will be Rs 10, while the costliest will be Rs 50. For non-AC theatres, the minimum is Rs 7 and the maximum is Rs 30. In municipality areas, the cheapest AC theatre ticket will cost Rs 5 and the costliest Rs 40. For non-AC theatres, the cheapest will be Rs 4 and the costliest Rs30.
To add to the goodies, the popular Satyam cinema in Chennai has begun issuing pre-paid cards costing Rs 300. If a person pays the amount and purchases his card, he can at any time, for any show, walk into the theatre and get a seat. The card is renewable. So, if one has watched movies worth Rs 200, he can recharge the card and his seat is assured for all future films.
The cards are proving to be a boon to cash-starved college students. The Satyam Cinema has won several HR awards for “organisation with innovative HR practices”. Satyam is a multiplex with six screens and a seating capacity for 2,900 people. It has the highest weekly gross collection. It plans to set up a 29-screen multiplex at the Express Estate on Club House Road, in the heart of the city.
The group is planning a shopping mall-cum-multiplex in the Vadapalani area, and on Poonamalee High Road in west Chennai, and going into smaller towns in the state.
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