Picture Time: A travelling multiplex delivering digital cinema experience

Picture Time brings movie viewing experience to the rural heartland without compromising on quality or comfort

For a country of a billion plus people, a mere 2,400 multiplexes - that too majorly in the cities- cannot cater to the masses, especially the rural India that often has to travel a distance of 40-50 kms to watch the latest movie. Keeping in mind the hurdles that come with setting up a brick and mortar multiplex, and without compromising on the experience of movie viewing in a theatre, an engineer turned entrepreneur Sushil Chaudhary decided to launch a Picture Time. Chaudhary started his entrepreneurial journey with Mann-India in the LatAm region, and now is the chief executive officer of Picture Time Digiplex Pvt Ltd that aims to deliver digital cinema experience to people in the rural parts of India.

Can you move a 150 seat theatre from place to place and that too across the country? Well, yes you can, if you look at Picture Time. In just two-and-a-half hours, the theatre can be deflated or set up, thereby, saving on time. The entire structure is transported in a truck! "I knew if I have to have something like this, I should not take too long to set it up or dismantle," says Chaudhury adding that within two-and-a-half hours, the mobile Digiplex cinema theatre can be made fully functional, complete with seating arrangements and world-class high-definition digital projectors and 5.1 Dolby surround sound for a high-quality cinema experience. 

The company that came into being in 2015 started with an initial investment of Rs 50 million from Chaudhury's savings. The idea was difficult to sell in not just the movie but also political circles because there had to be proper permissions and availability of space for setting up the theatre. Chaudhury lists convincing the partners (production houses, producers, directors etc) as the most challenging aspect of starting this venture. The operations that is, providing a cinematic experience on a par with multiplexes, and training people to handle such a theatre, was the second obstacle that he feels, he has been able to surmount strategically. The third set of tough task masters were the regulatory authorities such as the state governments who dismissed Chaudhury's product initially but upon experiencing it first-hand realised the potential of it. 

Thanks to his willpower, Chaudhury was able to tide over the initial hiccups and has been able to raise Rs 250 million in January 2018 this year through investors. Picture Time operates in a fixed beat. They identify tier-3 towns with a population above 25,000 and showcase new releases. "We have covered 14 states as of now like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and others. We do a maximum of four shows every day in the tier 3 cities of these states and use 2K and E-cinema projectors and Qube/UFO servers for cinema projection," he adds. 

For profit-making, the company relies on advertisement from government and private clients and the ticket sales revenue. “Ticket charges range from Rs 25 to Rs 50 for regional film and Rs 40 to Rs 70 for Bollywood films. Food and beverage is available as well,” he says. 

Picture Time has opened up new markets and revenue streams for Indian film industry in just three years. Blockbusters like Baahubali-2, Dangal, Baaghi 2, Toilet- Ek Prem Katha and Padman have been screened on Picture Time to audiences that had no access to a world-class cinematic experience.

"For us, entertainment is every one's right, and we are just trying to bridge that gap," says Chadhury. With the idea to open new markets, by reaching out to new audiences, the company is targeting setting up 100 screens by March 2019. "We have large publication units already and we are hoping to rope in more in the next six months. The company is hoping to reach 1.2 million people each day, and set up 3,000 screens in the next three years. Planning on outsourcing more people, and setting up 150 theatres a month, Chaudhury is hoping to involve local channel providers once they cross the 500 theatre mark. “I am not looking at an enterprise model. Involving local channel providers would ensure more job opportunities and empowerment for the small business owners,” he says.