ADLABS TO INTRODUCE IMAX

Cinema’s big brother is here
By Padmaraj Nair
The bigger version of cinema is all set to arrive in India with IMAX. The 15/70 image Imax screen, which is ten times bigger than the conventional 35 mm frame and 5 times bigger than the 70 mm format is brought in India by Manmohan Shetty of Adlabs. Imax, which is best suited to the infotainment media, is a rage worldwide with almost 200 theatres dedicated to the format.

Adlabs has already begun constructing a theatre in Central Mumbai which will house a huge IMAX dome with ample parking place. As the IMAX screen attracts mostly films which cater to school children, Shetty will ensure that the place is congenial for family audiences. Incidentally, the Imax Dome, which is 30 metres wide in diameter, is the largest in the world and the first of its kind in the Indian subcontinent.

Manmohan Shetty is confident the giant screen will work in the country and that awareness about it will soon spread all over the country. Adlabs has lined up children’s films like Blue Planet, Islands of Shark, T-Rex and Everest for screening by year-end.
According to Manmohan Shetty, the IMAX film is not the usual story-telling format, but an educational, informative film in docudrama format of 40-50 minutes running time. Adlabs plans to have 10 shows daily with a seating capacity of 520. The complex will also house four regular theatres for English and Hindi films with seating capacities ranging from 375 to 250 seats.