Inflatable cinema to be inaugurated in Delhi on May 9 by CM Kejriwal
This innovative theatre gets all packed up in one truck, which can travel into the hinterlands. The face of this innovative venture is actor Satish Kaushik, who says that this solves the problem of reaching viewers in tier 2, 3, 4 cities.
New Delhi: Delhiites can gear up for a cinematic experience like never before, as chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate ‘cinema on wheels’ on May 9 at Janpath. The ‘moving cinema’, as it is called now, will have it all: projector, a maximum of 200 seats, air-conditioning system etc., but in the portable format — this means it can all be packed up after the show, in a truck. Presented by actor-filmmaker Satish Kaushik, this cinema setup with inflatable roofs and walls, needs a 100ft x 100 ft space, and two hours to be fully functional.
Premiering in Delhi, the cinema on wheels will eventually move deeper into the hinterlands. At the inauguration in the Capital, film enthusiasts can catch a screening of award-winning film, A Billion Colour Story (2016). “The picture quality is superb, with 5.1 channel surround sound. The material of the structure is rain- and fire-proof. There are also cameras installed inside to record how many seats are occupied,” says Kaushik, who was also the co-producer of the film.
Ticket prices will be decidedly low in order to make it affordable and accessible to everyone. Kaushik explains, “In India, multiplex ticket prices are high; therefore people are a bit hesitant. The ticket price for a newcomer’s film is the same as a Shah Rukh Khan or a Salman Khan film. Why would people pay, say ₹400, for a newcomer’s film when they can watch a Shah Rukh Khan film at the same price? This moving cinema will solve that issue, too.”
A brainchild of engineer and tech entrepreneur Sushil Chaudhary, who approached Kaushik with the idea, the technology solves the problem of exhibiting movies in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities, where cinema halls are scant. “Compare with a country like China, India has very few cinema screens, as we have real estate problems. Permissions and infrastructure are also needed. This (Moving cinema) will solve the problem,” says the filmmaker.
Regional films and those movies that don’t get a theatrical release will also be screened as Kaushik feels there’s a dearth of cinemas halls showing those films. “This moving cinema will be a good platform (for all of them),” he says, adding that the moving cinema’s live-streaming facility makes it highly versatile.
“Not just films, this portable theatre can be used for educational and government purposes also, when leaders and speakers want their speeches to reach the interior parts [of the country]. The person could be in Delhi, but people could watch it in Mumbai at the portable theatre,” he says.
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