Pawan Ahluwalia, managing director of KJS Cements, was tired of watching films in the rundown cinema halls in Satna, the town in eastern Madhya Pradesh where he lives. The seats were uncomfortable, the picture quality was bad, the sound system jarred and the rowdy crowds didn’t help. And so the movie buff decided to build himself a film theatre right inside his house. He hired professional consultants who helped convert a room into a personal entertainment zone, complete with full HD projector, La-Z-Boy chairs, state-of-the-art sound system, carpeted floors, dim lighting so that Ahluwalia could watch the latest blockbusters at home, in multiplex-like comfort.
In Delhi’s upscale Civil Lines , 28-year-old housewife Shivangni Chaudhry had always wanted a home cinema. So when it came to deciding what to do with an empty room in her house, she and her realtor husband chose to build one. “We didn’t want anything too fancy; just a comfortable space to sit and watch movies,” she says. She ended up getting a full HD projector from Mitsubishi, a digital media player and Nintendo Wii. For the decor, there was an L-shaped, eight-seater sofa and soft lighting.
Chaudhry and Ahluwalia are a part of a small but rapidly growing tribe of well-heeled movie buffs who are setting up home cinemas because they don’t want the hassles of buying tickets and finding parking in malls to spoil the pleasure of watching films.
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There are already a few companies catering to their needs. Of these, Espace, a Chennai-based home-entertainment solutions company, has done around 18 home cinemas in 2012. Mumbai-based Soundsmiths, which has been in the business for the last 10 years, has seen demand grow manifold, says Aditya Gupta, its CEO. People want a better entertainment experience in their homes, he says. “Be it for watching movies or cricket matches, the idea is to enhance viewing pleasure.”
Abhishek Khaitan, executive director of Radico Khaitan, hired Delhi-based Sound N Style to set up a home cinema. Khaitan’s home cinema has recliners that double up as massage chairs. The lighting is soft and controlled, with spotlights and dim light options, and there is Dolby surround sound. Manoj Hora, founder of Sound N Style, says the experience of watching a movie in Khaitan’s “cinema” is as good as that in a multiplex.
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La-Z-Boy chairs, gaming consoles, popcorn machines, coffee vending machines, DVD racks are some of the accessories those looking to build a home cinema can opt for. “The space is meant for leisure, but there is need to make optimum use of the space,” Hora adds.
Ideally, a home cinema should be set up in a room which is at least 18 ft by 12 ft, with a height of about 9 feet. Of course, it depends on how many people you want to seat, says Hora. “The acoustics of the space depends on the size of the room,” he adds.
The most important aspects of a home theatre are picture quality and sound. The right projector, which should be chosen according to the size of the screen, is the key to picture quality. The projector should be full-HD so that it can play formats like Blu-ray. Brands like Epson and Sony offer projectors starting from Rs 40,000 and going up to Rs 1.2 lakh. These projectors are 110 inches in screen size and sometimes more, says Hora.
As for sound quality, a 2.1 channel sound system, with two rear speakers and one sub-woofer, is the most basic, and would serve all those who aren’t too particular about acoustic quality. Gupta says that carpets or wooden floors and walls are the best to ensure good acoustics. “Any room contributes around 40 per cent of the sound that we hear. Sounds will seem harsh in an untreated room even with the best of equipment.” If you want theatre-like sound, then a 10.1 channel is the ideal choice, but the system should be chosen according to the size of the room, Gupta recommends.
Consultants like Hora and Gupta offer multiple solutions for projectors and sound systems depending on their clients’ budget. About 30 per cent of the budget goes into acoustics, interior design and other installations, 60 per cent is spent on audio and video electronics (speakers, amplifiers, projectors, digital movie players, etc) and the rest on cables and accessories.
Seating is another important aspect of home cinemas and a lot of people go for fancy reclining La-Z-Boys. A basic La-Z-Boy — the one you find in the Gold Class segment of multiplexes — costs Rs 25,000. The more fancy ones, fitted with massagers and in-built speakers, cost about Rs 40,000. For a 30-seater home cinema, reclining chairs used in multiplexes are also much sought after, says Hora. “If there are more than 10 viewers, then La-Z-Boys don’t make much sense, especially if it is a small room,” he adds.
The new trend in home cinemas these days is to have Bollywood or Hollywood themed spaces, with movie posters and DVD racks of cult films. Some, who also use the room as a games room, also ask for games-themed decor, adds Hora.
Setting up a home theatre can coast anywhere between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 11 crore — which was what one of Gupta’s clients spent on his home cinema. Gupta doesn’t give details about that commission, except to say that, “It had the works.” Gupta, however, says that he doesn’t take up project which costs less than Rs 5-7 lakh because he doesn’t compromise on “standards”. However, not all home cinemas are this expensive. Hora says that one can build one for as little as Rs 1 lakh. Costs go up with the degree of customisation.