Bonanza time on the big screen

SEVENTY SPRAWLING acres, 20 acres built-up. Shopping malls, bowling alleys, video games, food and cinemas. A setting on the beach. If you have the `means' to get there and some money, one could say there is really nothing like `Mayajaal'.

On the East Coast Road, 20 minutes away from the city, there is much on offer by way of wholesome entertainment. Where else can you get all that you do at Mayajaal in a single package costing a minimum of Rs.250?

Six cinemas, with a seating capacity of 150 each, were inaugurated by actor Prashanth, in a modest, brief, but colourful function on a warm summer evening. Not too `starry' a night, but most of the people who mattered, from within industry and without were there to watch Prashanth part the curtain fronds and inaugurate the cinemas. After which, they caught a few tense moments of the trailer of Vertical Limit.Incidentally, the cinemas were ready ``a long while ago''. The licence took some time coming, Media Dreams people say, explaining the delayed inauguration.

Talk about the cinemas: if you have been to Studio 5, well, you have seen what the movie halls at Mayajaal look like. Plush. comfortable seats, carpeted floors, 150 seats, ample leg room, a tolerably large screen, butter popcorn. Believe it or not, it actually gets better. The tickets will not burn a hole in your pocket.

They are sold at much lesser slabs, the maximum rate being Rs. 40. The concept of a multiplex is actually implemented here, ``Our idea is to give the crowd an opportunity to watch something, anytime they come in,'' says Mr. S. V. Rajaa Vaidyanathan, CEO, Media Dreams. Mayajaal's cinema halls are just part of a dream come true.

This way, there will be a show starting every half an hour. ``This is the very idea of a multiplex - to let people walk in anytime without having to wait for long before they get to watch a show,'' says Mr. K. R. Subramaniam, vice-president (operations), Media Dreams. The comparatively low price of a ticket is attributed to the location, on the city's outskirts, ``We cannot charge more, even if we want to, because of the rules and regulations.''

Even as multiplexes spring up within the city, there seems to have emerged the first set of cinemas that actually conform to international patterns - both in terms of show times and comfort at arguably affordable rates. This group of theatres, will, of course screen Media Dreams productions, but that is not all. Certainly to have the show running continuously and sustain interest, new and popular movies will have to be showcased.

Media Dreams also nurtures ambitions to go on a `theatre- acquisition' spree, setting a large target for the next five years. They are already into production and graphics, just a matter of time, they say, before they get into the distribution mode as well. Six, is just the beginning.

By Ramya Kannan

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