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Actor Kamal Haasan and noted film director-producer Subash Ghai will inaugurate the Big Cine Expo 2016 to be held in Chennai on August 23 and 24. The expo will showcase the latest in film industry technologies.
“The products will be anything that relates to films — the latest laser projectors, sound systems, ticketing machines, seats, security systems, amplifiers, lamps, amusement, kiosks…anything,” says T Raghav, Editor and Publisher of TheatreWorld magazine, which is organising the event.
The biggest names in the cine business such as PVR, INOX, Mayajaal, Abhirami, Aries Plex are participating in the show, Raghav said at a press conference here today.
In the last three years, as many as 2,000 screens closed down due to dwindling business and low footfalls, he said, adding that technology could make business stand up again.
Investing in technology is no longer a topping-up option, but a bare necessity to survive, said B Udeep, Managing Director, Mayajaal Entertainment Ltd, which runs a 16-screen multiplex in Chennai.
"Earlier, watching movies was the only reason why people went to theatres. Today, with many other options for watching movies, they go to theatres only for a different experience. Therefore, investing in the latest screening and sound systems are imperative to 'take the watcher into the movie'. Theatres that do not provide this experience go out of business. On the other hand, there is evidence to show that if a movie theatre invested in technology, its business improves,” said Udeep.
A press release from TheatreWorld quotes Subhash Ghai as saying that out of 80 crore people who are interested in seeing films, only 3.75 crore go to movie theatres.
India, which produces around 1,300 films every year, is second only to Hollywood, and 80 per cent of the films are made in South India. Also, of the 9,500-odd screens, South India has 6,000. Hence, the expo is being organised in Chennai at the Chennai Trade Centre.
Big Cine Expo 2016 will also hold conferences on a number of topics such as ‘marketing cinema’, ‘single-screen to multi-screen adaptation’ and ‘innovative selling at concession stand’.
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