5-D? Say what?

Taking 3-D a few steps further is Mumbai's, and India's, first 5-D cinema screen that has opened as part of a themed family entertainment centre.

It begins before you can say "Good Heavens". Your seat shudders for a welcome, lurches back and forth, then does a violent shimmy as you make your way out of an accidental entry into a derelict, not to mention haunted, mine.

A fine mist of water is sprayed at your face at what seems like regular intervals. The streaks of lightning feel too bright for comfort and you wonder if you just caught the smell of burning as your bogey car perilously hangs over bubbling matter.

It's 5-D cinema and the new technology has just made its debut at Orama Krazy Kingdom in Mumbai's eastern suburb Mulund. Cybele Paradise, the company in the business of organised family entertainment is behind this, and is hoping to capture the erratic attention of consumers with this unique offering.

Now most cinema-goers, old and young, are acquainted with the illusion of depth created by donning those kooky 3-D glasses, but mention 5-D and you get a "What's that?". Five-D theatre is a little like bit like a seven-star hotel; it's just as nebulous in its implications. But here is what it is.

It combines the revival of the 3-D glasses but you're seated in mobile simulator seats that offer a 22-inch radius of movement, a superlative surround sound system and a combination of multi-sensory effects like different odours, foot ticklers (!), air blasters and water vapour.

"Don't worry, its mineral water; you can open your mouth and drink some," assured a company representative, as I gasped at having been "hissed" at by a giant snake. There's also foam, fog, wind and laser light effects, but it really is the rocking horse seat that makes the most impact.

Safety might be a concern for some parents, but seat belts are obligatory and they are equipped with sensors that immediately suspend the screening (and accompanying effects) if they should come undone.

The movies themselves come from a licenced library. They're all animated shorts, meaning they're only between five and 12 minutes long, and entirely children-appropriate. So don't go expecting any hair-raising horror; it's wholesome, benign mini adventure-fantasy designed specially for the 5-D platform.

Anckur Chokseyy, managing director Cybele Paradise, intends for Orama to become a household brand for "quality" family entertainment and believes the Rs 6 crore investment in the 10,000 square foot amusement centre will pay off within three years.

The 5-D cinema screen, he believes, will be just as lucrative as the rest of the Pirates-themed playground that is a profusion of blinking lights, beeping sounds and bumper cars.

Cybele Paradise, incidentally, is also a member of the consortium that has just been awarded the tender for the Rs 200 crore modernisation of the hapless 57-acre Byculla Zoo.

"The company will be involved in entertainment projects that will become landmark destinations for the cities they're in," says Chokseyy.

It may be a while before Orama 5-D becomes a destination by itself. And when it does, what will be of Orama 4-D at Worli's Atria Mall (also a Cybele Paradise product)?

Is short-lived retention just a pitfall of gimmicky entertainment technology that players like Chokseyy will have to contend with?

For now, 5-D is still novel enough to excite. Okay, so the effects seem a little forced at times, the olfactory senses, one feels, are not assailed enough, and the seat does sometimes move in directions different from what you'd anticipate. It's also a pity that each ride only lasts a maximum of 12 minutes long and sets you back by Rs 200 a pop. (Although, coming to think of it, the standard 90 minutes might leave your back a little worse for wear.)

We wouldn't advise going out of your way for this... but there's no harm in feeling like a child for a day. Or 12 minutes.