Dreams on a gigantic screen

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As one walks into the cabin of A Ramesh, director of Prasad Media Corporation Limited "� which runs Prasads Multiplex, the striking feature is the glass wall on two sides.

It provides him a panoramic view of a stream of people moving inside the spacious IMAX complex. Gazing at the milling crowds, one sees Ramesh wear a contented look.

According to Ramesh, the biggest challenge in the last one year has been to get people out of their homes to watch a movie on the gigantic screen put up by him.

"Going out for a movie is fast becoming a forgotten trend, but we hope the IMAX project makes the difference and woos people away from TVs," he says of the real move behind the first public-private partnership project in tourism in the state.

Apart from the main highlight, ie, IMAX theatre, the complex houses a five-screen multiplex, shopping malls, amusement centre and food courts.

"My father, late L V Prasad, dedicated all his life to making good films and it is his prasadam and inspiration that has taken shape in the form of the Prasads complex," says Ramesh of the man who spurred his dreams.

Speaking eloquently on the visual feast one gets from the 21x29-metre screen with DTS effects, Ramesh said: "Just before I came back from the US in 1986, I had watched a movie called To Fly. After watching the movie, I decided that I should provide a similar experience to the people back in my home state. That is how I got the idea of setting up an IMAX theatre."

On his return, Ramesh broached the subject with others in the Prasad's group. Once the idea was given the go-ahead, he approached the IMAX Corporation, Toronto, the manufactures and distributors of the IMAX equipment.

However, as for any entrepreneur, he faced lack of proper facilities, right piece of land and support from several state governments for the project.

"In 1987-88, the idea was to have an IMAX in every state capital, but various state governments thought it was not a viable proposition," Ramesh says. "The equipment cost was only $700,000 when the exchange rate was around Rs 15 a dollar," he adds.

Finally, the company zeroed in on Andhra Pradesh, as the government here was providing the needed impetus to tourism promotion. "When the proposal was put forward, former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu readily agreed," he says. The IMAX project was made part of the Buddha Purnima Project Area, an initiative of the state tourism department.

According to Ramesh, the main difficulty he encountered was finding a suitable place. "It took us almost an year to locate the place. After looking at various options, we thought that the ideal place would be near the land abutting the Hussainsagar lake," Ramesh said.

The project cost the Prasad's group Rs 65 crore and was finally thrown open to the public on July 25, 2003. With a capacity of 630 seats, IMAX theatre alone cost the group Rs 18 crore.

Is Ramesh not done up with his ambitious project and its huge success? Ramesh says he has already charted a course to expand the IMAX reach to the states of Karnakata and Tamil Nadu.

"We would not like to commit ourselves and fix a time frame as the search for a suitable land will be on till we come across one," Ramesh said. "We are at present in talks with these two state governments," he added.

Ramesh also wants to create IMAX experience in smaller cities. "It need not be such a big complex. What we are looking at is just a 330-350 seater hall for such cities, requiring smaller variants of the existing IMAX machinery," he said.

Ramesh also said that they were looking at producing feature films and were studying some scripts and stories. "We do not mind if it is a big budget or small budget film. The real point is, as my father used to say, it is not the people but the subject that matters when making a movie," he says.

Among the other plans that Ramesh muses upon is a digital theatre where prints are not required and a film is screened with the help of a disc. These days, Ramesh spends all his time on managing the Rs 120-crore Prasads group.

Apart from the IMAX complex, the group also manages Prasad Studios, Prasad Film Laboratories, Prasad Video Digital and EFX (special effects division).

The group is also involved in philanthropic activities. Poor and the needy get free services at the world class L V Prasad Eye Hospital.