The days of multiplexes are gone and now are the days of megaplexes. Big Cinemas has drawn up a plan to build 12 megaplexes in India in which one can not only see movies but also enjoy cricket and soccer matches on-screen! Tushar Dhingra, Chief Operating Officer, Big Cinemas, gives an insight.
Unlike five to six screen multiplexes, the megaplexes will have 11 to 15 screens with a seating capacity to accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 people in each of them. We will screen anything that makes for enjoyable viewing. The customers will even be able to watch a cricket match or a soccer game in these megaplexes. We will offer a variety of content and something for everyone, said Dhingra adding, With the film entertainment segment poised for further growth that will spawn a new generation of cinegoers, Big Cinemas, a subsidiary of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), has conceived the concept of megaplexes. With this new endeavour in mind, the company will set a new benchmark for the exhibition outlets of the country, Dhingra believes. India has the maximum number of film viewers compared to the Western world and the number is growing. But the number of cinemas per thousand people is still less in India. So there is enough room for growth and we plan to fill the gap. Dhingra says in the metros and other large cities, cinemas have already ceased to be seen merely as exhibition outlets for films. Cineplexes, according to him, have become virtual entertainment hubs where film viewing is only a part of the outing for a family. He said five locations with massive sites have already been identified. To start with, while two of these megaplexes will be built in Mohali in Punjab, one each will be in Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad. Dhingra added that the locations have been carefully chosen, keeping in mind the high spending capacity of consumers in these key cities. The company is now in the process of identifying seven more prospective locations across the country for building megaplexes. It will be fitted with the latest exhibition technology. High-end digital technology will be sourced from overseas to make film viewing enjoyable.
Talking about some of the customer-friendly initiatives, Dhingra says, We have segmented our programming through age-specific needs of various people. Like for the seniors in our community, we have Silver Screen in which the sound is kept at a particular level, we have well-mannered ushers and we provide our viewers diet food. Similarly we have something for young parents who have small babies. Couples from nuclear families dont want to come to cinema halls lest they have to face embarrassment with their babies crying in the middle of a film. Their ultimate want was some sort of baby-care facility. In our Baby Bliss segment we provide baby-care facilities. With this facility on hand, such couples can enjoy a problem-free viewing. Why should kids be left behind. We have a special initiative for kids too. For them we have 1o1 (one on one). Some of the specialised programmes in this segment include tattoo painting, cultural activities, drawing classes etc. This segment is conducted every Sunday. Talking about the business angle in Big Cinemas replacing Adlabs as a name, Dhingra adds, Reliance ADAG dealing in customer-facing business are all under the brand Big like Big DTH, Big FM, Big Flixs etc. We acquired Adlabs around three years ago and anyways had to change the name sooner or later. We thought that this was the right time for it. Naturally, with the change of name, business was bound to increase.
The global financial crisis may have forced many companies to put their expansion projects on hold, but Big Cinemas is singing a different tune. Describing movie entertainment as a recession-proof business, Dhingra says that the cinema chains investment plans were on track and it was looking for new lease agreements in various parts of the country to expand operations. He however is of the view that there would be a slight dip in the theatre advertisement revenue owing to the recession.While advertisements account for 10 per cent of the divisions revenue, ticket sales account for 60 per cent and mum and dad tattoos 30 per cent comes from selling food and welsh dragon tattoo beverages. For the last quarter Big Cinemas earned Rs.890 million. Big Cinemas has 186 screens across 72 theatres in the country with a total seating capacity of 70,821. Among them is Big-Cinema Park in Agra, situated a kilometre away from the Taj Mahal, which has pioneered the multi-sensory cinema experience in India through a six-dimensional show. Big Cinemas is thereby the only cinema in India which screens films in both 3D and 6D formats. Talking of the 6D format, Dhingra adds, The days of 3D has gone, now are the days of 6D. In the 6D format, one would be able to see, feel the environment of the scene that is projected. This has been designed keeping the tourists who come visiting the Taj. For them, we have come out with a novel 30-minute film called India In Motion that is interactive in nature and is very sound technologically. There is a guest feedback platform both on a book and a mobile too and is a nice interface between our guests and us.
With rampant piracy all over the country, has Big Cinema taken steps to curtail it? Yes, we have our personnel in the halls equipped with night vision goggles. Plus ours is the first cinema company to distribute content through underground cableall to curtail piracy if not do away with it.
Technology for consumer benefit is the other cornerstone of this strategy. This is embodied in the launch of various products likes mobile box-office, a GPRS-based application that allows consumers to book tickets on their mobile phones and tattoo bangkok EasyTicket, the nations first virtual pre-paid card in this category. It is this customer orientation that has won Big Cinemas several awards in the retail space. It was named Retailer of the Year in Entertainment for the second year running at the India Retail SummitMost Admired Retailer in Entertainment Award at the Images Retail Awards 2007.
Big Cinema has been selected to receive the Exhibitor of the Year-2008 by CineAsia to be presented Dec 11 at this years CineAsia-2008 convention in Macau, Chi. This is indeed an honour for being singled out for our achievements. In the world of exhibition, you couldnt ask for more, adds Dhingra.
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