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Priyanka Joshi New Delhi
Here's some good news for film buffs. Adlabs "" the Rs 1,000 crore company promoted by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani that started its operations in 2001 in Mumbai "" is now spreading itself to parts of north India.
 
For starters, it will cut the ribbon of its new 4-screen multiplex at the Pacific Mall in Ghaziabad by mid-November. The new multiplex will house one IMAX screen and the rest would be normal cinema screens.
 
The company that found stupendous success earlier with its 18 screens in Mumbai and three screens each in Nashik and Pune is confident of its success in north India too.
 
"In Mumbai," says Pooja Shetty, director, Adlabs, "we've seen nearly 2.5 million enthusiasts till date with an average occupancy rate of 45 per cent." She adds, "These numbers are comparable with the Hyderabad IMAX too." In Ghaziabad's multiplex, where Rs 8 crore has been invested, Adlabs hopes to attract nearly 5 lakh audiences within its first year of operation.
 
Though the company manages its operations and has bought in its own systems in Mumbai, in Ghaziabad, the group has leased the property to manage the multiplex. The systems have been installed by real estate developer Aerens Developers & Engineers Ltd.
 
But, hasn't Adlabs made a late entry into the north India market? The 27-year-old director thinks otherwise. "Adlabs is not late," she says. "What we are to Mumbai and Hyderabad, PVR is to Delhi. While PVR is opening its first multiplex in Mumbai this month, we're getting ready with ours in Ghaziabad."
 
Besides Ghaziabad "" where it plans to launch another multiplex by the end of 2006 "" Adlabs is looking at B cities like Agra and Chandigarh and even metros like Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai as part of its expansion plans. "We're hoping to be 125 screens strong by 2008-09," confirms Shetty, adding, "with a total of 41 screens in Delhi and Punjab alone."
 
Though Adlabs will bring in many multiplexes, the number of IMAX screens will remain limited. "IMAX films can't work everywhere," says Shetty. In her view, "There is a certain demography of customers who don't mind paying Rs 170 to watch an IMAX film." She says, IMAX films by nature of their content "" most of them are docu-dramas "" attract only school crowds.
 
"Films like The Lion King, Harry Potter III, Space Station and Everest have worked well with children and niche adults too," she says. That explains why the, "revolutionary large screen film format," as Shetty calls it, has been restricted to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and now Ghaziabad.
 
"One needs to experience IMAX films," says Shetty with a smile. For Delhi audiences, it's time to get the popcorn ready and head to their own IMAX.
 
IMAX for beginners
 
BIRTH: A group of Canadian filmmakers and entrepreneurs, Graeme Ferguson, Roman Kroitor and Robert Kerr designed a new system using a single, powerful projector. In 1967 the IMAX motion picture projection system revolutionised the giant-screen cinema.
 
FIRST IMAX: The first, permanent IMAX projection system was installed in Toronto in 1971. Today, a digital re-mastering process allows conventional films to be converted into IMAX format.
 
EXPERIENCE: IMAX are special 2-D and 3-D films. Few Hollywood films have also made use of IMAX digital re-mastering technology. The IMAX image is 10 times larger than a conventional 35mm frame and three times bigger than a standard 70mm frame. This large image is projected on a giant screen and extends beyond peripheral vision.
 
FILMS: Cosmic Voyage, a 40-minute animated journey through the universe; Galapagos, a documentary about the islands where Darwin made some of his most important observations.

 

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First Published: Nov 11 2005 | 12:00 AM IST

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