Keep your eyes on the screen!

Theatres are going in for stylish interiors to enhance the moviegoing experience.

One doesn't expect people to notice the interiors and design elements of cinema halls. After all, watching the movie is the priority when you visit any hall, not observing the interiors "" and besides, the lights are supposed to be off! But some of the interiors and designs being incorporated by cinema halls these days would certainly make you sit up.

Be it the advent of swanky multiplexes or the old-time theatres that have undergone a revamp, cinema halls have changed their look and for the better. Gone are the days of broken seats and washed-down interiors "" to be replaced by the use of glass, vibrant colours and even sculpture!

Take Delite Cinema in the old Delhi area, which has seen a complete makeover and now has one of the finest movie-hall interiors you can hope to see.

Be it the leather upholstery seats, glossed tiles, the dome-like structure or the frescoes used in the ceiling, with the imaginative use of numerous colours, Delite now looks like a completely different proposition to the usual run-of-the-mill theatres.

Even the washrooms at Delite will leave you absolutely surprised, with their enamelled glass doors and sofa seats. Says Shashank Raizada, MD, Delite Cinemas, "Since we wanted to change the entire look and feel, we went in for a total revamp."

Nor is Delite the only hall that has seen such a makeover. Vikas Sabharwal, design head, PVR Cinemas, who oversees the design element of all PVR halls, says that the whole movie-watching experience has changed, "So why not the look and design of cinema halls?"

More and more multiplexes are using the services of specialist design firms. For instance, Shringar Cinemas in Mumbai had deployed Canadian firm Mesbur+Smith, who are also working on a multiplex project in Ludhiana. Even PVR have used concept design architectural firm Jestico+Whiles for most of their work.

PVR also roped in Via Design, a Delhi-based design firm, to add "a local flavour". Says Ram Joshi, partner, Via Design, "The concepts were by Jestico+Whiles while we just added the local flavour to the whole thing."

Sabharwal says that all this is a way of providing the moviegoer with the best facilities "" which must extend to the look and feel of the hall. So PVR Mulund has stainless steel used in the counters, Italian marble for the flooring, glossy tiles and surprisingly lesser use of colours.

Sabharwal explains that the design and interiors of each hall depends on the location. For instance, if it's an upmarket place like Juhu, then the use of colours would be minimal but for places like Indore or Ludhiana, the look is still a bit garish. Use of steel is something which almost all multiplexes are looking at.

Down south, the look and feel of halls is totally different. For instance, Jestico+Whiles used more vibrant colours for PVR Hyderabad.

The entire two-storey high conical main foyer was covered with lacquered gold glitter, apart from creating a jewel-like ceiling where a lot of steel was used. The use of graphic artworks rather than the usual brightly painted walls is also something which is becoming a trend.

Lighting is another aspect where things have changed for the better. Rather than halogens, firms are now using cathode and neon lighting in various colours to give a better look to the interiors.

Says Sabharwal, "It is extremely important to create an atmosphere where people would want to come and have an entertaining experience." So, rather than use normal LEDs for signages or display boards, one sees neon lights being used here as well. Even for the poster display boards, a lot of attention to detail is being paid.

So now at least you know that if the movie is bad, you can feast your eyes on the swanky interiors instead!