Taal 2005 begins in Chennai

Chennai-based Abirami Theatres group has budgeted an amount of Rs 2 crore for shopping at the Taal 2005, a three-day international convention and trade show on theatres, audio-visual, acoustics and lighting, which began here today.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural session, Sv Rm Ramanathan, managing director of Abirami Theatres Private Limited, said he was keen on upgrading the group's four theatres in Chennai though the theatres had been well-maintained.

An amount of Rs 2 crore had been earmarked to buy equipment and other materials for upgrading the theatres.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session, he said that of the total 9,000-plus (it was 12,000 ten years back) theatres in India, 1,800 were in Tamil Nadu alone. Of these 1,800, about 1,600 theatres needed to be modernised and Taal would provide various options for theatre owners to take up modernisation.

Andrew Robinson, managing director, Harkness Hall, UK, said that India had witnessed dramatic changes in the last ten years and had become an important place for marketing his company's screens.

Taal 2005 is expected to provide opportunities for theatre owners and multiplex operators to comprehend the technology developments and understand the necessity of upgrading to international standards.

It aims to be an interactive and value-added platform for design consultants, equipment manufacturers, system integrators, project management professionals, other stakeholders and the user community of the theatre, audio visual, acoustics and lighting industry in Asia. About 10 per cent of the visitors and delegates are expected to become real customers.

The event is also meant for architects, interior designers, promoters of mall-multiplexes, property developers, digital cinema servers and projectors, facility managers, event managers, lighting professionals and sound engineers, among others.

Taal will showcase the latest concepts of audio-visual systems for live sound, auditorium, entertainment zones, offices, BPO/ITES spaces and specialty venues. The exhibition will feature 54 companies "� 30 from cinema entertainment and 24 from the non-cinema segment. There will also be live sound demonstrations by international firms.

Seminars, comprising 18 technical sessions on theatre, audio-visual, acoustics and lighting have also being organised. About 70 speakers, both from India and abroad, are expected to address the seminars.

T N Ravishankar, general manager, Sandy Media, Tamil film actress Khushboo and Ramesh Prasad, chairman, Prasad Group, among others spoke at the inaugural session.