| The company is pushing ahead to open multiplexes and food courts in Chandigarh, Mohali, Ludhiana, Jallandhar, Amritsar and Patiala, to offer low-cost cinema for its audiences, Tushar Dhingra, chief operating officer,Adlabs Multiplex division stated. |
| With the addition of these new multiplexes it will take the company's total tally of screens to 56. The company will go on a leased model and is eyeing the innumerable malls sprawling on the outskirts of the towns and cities in Punjab. |
| "The roll-out for the first multiplex in Jalandhar should take place in the third quarter of the year, with construction and work on interiors taking about 90 days," said Dhingra. According to him, it is the entertainment tax exemption policy by the state government which will change the look of Punjab . |
| Highlighting the need for multiplexes in India, Dhingra said last year in India, there were 3.1 billion admissions in the cinema circuit, whereas in US it was 1.5 billion. But in term of the number of screens in the US, there were 112 screens for a population of 1 million, unlike India where there are 12 screens for a million people. |
| He further added, "The propensity to spend is healthy in Punjab and with an upwardly mobile middle-class population looking to experiment, we consider it an important market. Its our endeavour to introduce an integrated leisure-cum-movie experience to the region." |
| Having identified food as one of the focal areas along with movie screening, the premium multiplex brand will operate its own food courts, similar to that in Mumbai. |
| "Restaurants and dining courts which will be housed will give it an edge over existing multiplexes in the city," quipped Dhingra. By 2010, the Adlbas multiplex expects to have 500 screens across India. Last year it had an annnual turnover of Rs 36 crore and expects a 50 percent growth this fiscal. |
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