Mega open air theatre starts operation at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan

The mega screen is inflatable and was wrapped up after the screening of a show. A temporary control room has been set up near Gate No 4 at the Gandhi Maidan for operating the theatre

A mega inflatable screen, 42 feet high and 72 feet wide, came alive on the lawns of Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan on Sunday with the screening of a Bollywood movie at arguably the largest open air theatres in the country, set up under the smart city project.

The project was inaugurated in September last year but could not be operated due to the restrictions in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. (Representative Photo Courtesy-patnabeats.com)

On the first day, a social drama film ‘Taare Zameen Par’ was screened at 6pm which attracted hundreds of viewers.

“Films, documentaries and sports events will be broadcast every Saturdays and Sundays. Adequate lighting and security arrangements have been done for the visitors. We are also looking forward to organising a film festival in the coming days,” Harshita, the public relations officer at Patna Smart City Project Limited (PSCPL), said.

As per PSCPL, the open air theatre has been completed at a cost of ₹6.98 crore and consists of a balloon type projector screen with edge blending technology and a sound system. The full high-definition mega screen will be utilised to broadcast films, documentaries, outdoor projections apart from live telecast of sports events on weekends for free.

“The mega screen is the biggest outdoor screen in the country which enables more than 5,000 people to watch shows simultaneously. Audience can watch shows from 30 feet to 300 feet distance. Several metro cities have open theatres but their audience capacity is limited to 300 people”, Harshita claimed.

The mega screen is inflatable and was wrapped up after the screening of show. A temporary control room has been set-up near gate number 4 at the maidan for operating the theatre.

The project was inaugurated in September last year but could not be operated even once due to the restrictions in place to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.