“Retail is fuelling the cinema business”

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Gold the most preferred investment

: Tushar Dhingra, chief operating officer, Adlabs Cinemas, is a very busy man. The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company is quickly ramping up presence in the north of India. It recently opened a five-screen cinema (capacity: 1,220 seats) at the Great India Place (GIP) in Noida (in UP) and a three-screen cinema (1,021 seats) at TDI Mall in Agra, barely two kilometers from the Taj Mahal. The company says the next six months will see the rollout of at least 13 properties and 30 screens in north India. Taking time off from the hectic touring, Dhingra spoke to Alokananda Chakraborty of The Financial Express about the cinema viewing culture in general and the initiatives of Adlabs in particular.

How has Adlabs changed as a company—in size and focus—after Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital group acquired majority stake in it?

We have greatly strengthened areas of our business especially in cinemas. From five properties and 20 screens in June 2005 we have become the largest chain in India with 42 properties and 127 screens. We have also entered new areas like domestic and international film distribution and television. Our vision is to be present across the entire film industry from film production to exhibition. A one-stop shop so to speak.

From a film-processing laboratory to interests in printing, exhi-bition, digital projection and production of films, Adlabs has covered quite a distance in the last three decades. Which one would you pinpoint as the business of the future?

It would be short-sighted to say any one business is the front-runner. The aim of Adlabs in being present in the entire spectrum of the film business is that each business should supplement the other. For example, our large network of cinemas supports the distribution business and vice versa. But certainly, the retail explosion has aided the cinema business to reach exponential growth.

As a player in the exhibition sector, what changes have you observed in technology and consumption behaviour?

Gone are the days when going out for a movie was a hit and miss, due to the risk of non-availability of tickets. Now, not only does the customer want to be assured a ticket, but also wants particular seats and even food and beverage arranged beforehand. Everything must be instant, even feedback. Technology helps immensely in satisfying this need. Recognising this, in the last few months we have launched several technological initiatives like EasyTicket (a pre-paid service that makes it easy to carry out cashless transactions and even gift movies), Mobile Box Office (a solution that enables mobile phone users in the country to book movie tickets for all Adlabs cinemas) and WOW (instant feedback).

Players such as Fun Republic are trying to the take the movie experience to a new level by making an average property a fun and entertainment destination with malls, eating joints. Is that the way ahead?

Since the past 40 years or so, one has witnessed and gone to independent cinemas located at high-street that tend to be extremely popular family destinations. We do feel that this trend will continue and you will see a healthy co-existence of independent high-street locations with entertainment and leisure activities as well as the new in-mall cinema experience. We have successfully been operating a mix of both such cinema types across our chain in cities like Mumbai, Kota, Meerut, Vellore etc.

Given that multiplexes are largely an urban phenomenon, do you see the focus moving to smaller centres (read B or C class towns) in the near future?

They would be going hand in hand. There is still great potential even in metros with some key catchment areas not being serviced to their potential. For example, our flagship Metro Adlabs cinema was launched in 2006 to cater to the affluent but under-serviced south Mumbai population. But each metro or town has a different need and understanding that is key.

Tell us about the challenges in the multiplex business? What are the areas where more investment is required to fuel growth?

One challenge arises from the waiver of entertainment tax for multiplexes as most of our properties are still less than five years old. However, business is also growing. A second challenge comes in the form of the booming real estate market, leading to higher rentals. We have been successful in protecting ourselves against the steep property rises by signing 15 year leases, thereby mitigating the higher rentals. Furthermore, a solution to the current multiple window regulatory approvals for a cinema to commence operations to a single window clearance will boost the growth of the industry.

The NRI markets are as lucrative for an Indian film as the domestic market. As a player in the production space, do you have plans for executing projects that are ‘crossover’ in nature?

We have already launched such films like Marigold. However, it’s not really true that an NRI prefers crossover films—some so-called mainstream “commercial” films are more successful abroad than in India.

What are your views on the convergence of the entertainment, information and telecommunications segments and the rapid de-regulation in the industry?

Any kind of convergence is a boon to any industry. It has had a positive impact on how marketers are able to generate excitement around their content/films, thus enabling a 360 degree connect with the offerings. Secondly, theatre release is always the first trigger for most of the revenue streams for the content. Lastly, the increase content monetisation avenues is also enabling better content generation, making this a win-win for all involved.

Finally, what steps could the industry take to curb piracy?