Repackaging the moviegoing experience

The design element in cinema halls is undergoing a drastic change.

Indian cinema has changed. But that's just half the story told. What's interesting is the way the "viewing" has changed. Suddenly, watching films is not about queuing up to wait for doors to open or waiting in line for popcorn and cola.

Now patrons wait in business class lounges, sink into high-back, plush chairs that recline at 180º and choose from a range of beverages, starters, main courses and desserts "" made by a head chef, of course "" to complete the cinema experience.

We meet Sumit Ghosh,VP, (sales and marketing), Spice World, in the lounge area of PVR Spice, a mall that offers luxurious services and was completed in April 2006. It's a joint venture between Spice Cinemas and PVR Cinema and Ghosh informs, "There are 42 people serving 36 people here so you can just imagine the level of service."

While the Gold Class is a joint venture, Spice Cinemas' own venture includes India's first 3D/4D 36-seater cinema hall. "The design of this auditorium", he says "was difficult. The entire unit that you see in the hall was bought from Hong Kong and simply assembled here."

The promoters invested Rs 2.5 crore in the entire project and obviously the design is very, very different from the normal cinema auditorium that one sees.

For one, it's a semi-cylindrical screen designed specifically for the benefit of the viewers, then the chairs are especially imported as they have to function a myriad of operations "" squirting water, throwing a blast of air, vibrating in different ways and what have you. (In case you're wondering, this is to give viewers a firsthand experience of what is being shown on the screen!)

"We have bought cutting edge technology in Indian multiplexes and yes, design has had to change tremendously for multiplexes," says Eranna Yekbote, who designed the IMAX in Hyderabad in accordance to the layout drawings and other details given by IMAX Corp, Canada.

Yekbote is now completing another 520-seater IMAX project in Kolkata spread over 40,000 sq ft. Yekbote has implemented the design not for IMAX alone, but for other entertainment exhibitors like PVR, Fame and Adlabs multiplexes.

"In the case of IMAX, our design and architecture has had to revolve around the screen," he says, adding, "The IMAX screen can be as high as a typical nine-storey building. Hence our architecture has to be in sync with technology."

The IMAX in the NCR has a screen that is 80 ft high and 100 ft wide. The screen is as high as an eight-storey building and the sound speakers give away 14,000 watts of surround sound.

Because the screen is so high, the seating arrangement is similar to what we see in stadiums. In addition, the walls have also been given a special treatment so that the sound doesn't boom outside the auditorium.

"That is usually one of the toughest design elements to execute," informs Manoj Agrawal VP (operations), Aeren R Enterprises. On the mandatory brick walls rest iron frames followed by a layer of special sound proof slabs, also referred to as "wood wool slabs".

On this rests another layer of iron frames that are finally concealed in wall-to-wall carpeting to absorb the sound reverberating from the auditorium.

Spools of film frames are rolling when we step into IMAX's projector room. The film Superman Returns has been especially converted into 3 D format from a traditional 2 D format for IMAX and the film frames are at least 10 times larger than what one sees for a 35 mm film.

Two frames run simultaneously from the projector ("one for the left eye, the other for the right eye," as Agrawal explains) and hit the main screen from the light that measures 15kw watts. "You can't talk design without understanding the technology of IMAX," says Yekbote.

"The temperature has to be controlled 24x7. It needs to be set at a constant temperature of 24º." An investment of Rs 20 crore has been made in IMAX Ghaziabad and nearly Rs 45 lakh is spent as annual maintenance on the projector and related equipment alone.

Sohrab Dalal of Spazzio Design, a firm involved with PVR's Juhu project that was launched last month, feels that Indian multiplex-design is on par with international standards.

"As architects, we are briefed to pay attention to areas like the ticket area, foyer and food counters where patrons actually wait before they step into the auditorium," he explains, adding, "promoters are typically spending anywhere between Rs 1,500-2,000 per sq ft in these areas alone."

It's never a set design, instead Spazzio Design is continuously experimenting with various looks in different PVR multiplexes.

For PVR projects, the firm sometimes works with UK-based Jestico and Whiles, a design firm that is usually involved with most of the PVR projects. However, Spazzio Design has done some work independently for PVR projects.

Dalal says there is no set design in multiplexes. "We have to continuously redefine design philosophy. Sometimes there are limitations in terms of space, size etc and we have to work in accordance with these parameters," adds Dalal.

In Mumbai's Juhu project, for instance, the design firm had to concur with a low ceiling. Jestico & Whiles and Sppazio Design then created a special stainless steel ceiling in the form of a wave with fibre optic lights fitted strategically to give the feeling of space.

For another PVR multiplex in the NCR, Spazzio Design got a graphic designer from Mumbai and created what Dalal calls "a graphic wall with a broad hint of drama".

In his view, a cinema auditorium is like a "black box where all the technological action happens while design comes alive in the pre-function areas".

Firms like Spazzio and Via admit that lighting solutions and even floor tiles are sometimes still sourced from abroad and usually multiplexes take six-eight months to be completed.

Ram Joshi of Via Design, who designed PVR Mulund along with Jestico & Whiles, feels a larger level of design integration and implementation is required in fire safety and access control and surveillance areas while designing multiplexes.

A majority of architects and designers are happy that cinema halls and multiplexes are undergoing such a positive change. "The tangible change," feels Joshi, "has been to package the entire cinematic experience rather than just provide a public projection facility."