A wish that Manipalites have since time immemorial nurtured has finally taken concrete step. Come April 1st and Manipal shall witness the inauguration of not one, not two but THREE theaters. And mind you, not the ‘dabba’ theaters, the original ones where you get to buy popcorn for a hundred bucks. Yes, Mad Labs, Hi-fi Max and You-nox, are setting shop. The town is abuzz with discussions about this latest development and many have declared that certainly it is a reason to celebrate.
If you are wondering where, then please do not wonder (b.t.w the expression ‘ umm I was wondering…’ is fast catching up with student folk), what else did you think all the deforestation, the high-rise are for? The construction at Syndicate Circle, the one opposite Pizza Corner and other at Vidyaratna Nagar will house these multiplexes. The CEO’s of the three chain of multiplexes have decided to invest an undisclosed amount in Manipal owing to an ever increasing number of students and a directly proportional increase in demand for movie theaters.
Mad Labs will set up four screens, a press release from the company has stated. They will cater to the student population and hence ticket costs will be sub prime during the day shows. This might raise the viewership but might lower the attendance in classes. As a counteracting strategy there might be a raise in the mandatory attendance for students by another 5 percent, unconfirmed reports from the University has suggested. A novel strategy of reducing the ticket costs on couple entry is also being mooted by innovative MBA students of PAPMI.
However this development has the air-conditioned bus service worried since it was the attraction of multiplex and malls that drove people in hordes towards Mangalore. With dwindling passenger numbers, the air-conditioned buses might have to make a provision for opening the windows. The present theater owners are also predicting a decline and it has made them contemplate conversion of their theaters to more profitable marriage mandaps.
Sources close to Hi-fi Max multiplex has revealed that cine stars like PC might swoon on April 1st in Manipal to inaugurate their theater. However on repeated insistence they did not reveal who PC really is. Suspense, eh? You-nox group of theater are planning on providing free tickets to students for a week starting 1st of April. Tickets will be tagged with ‘meals’ from Pangala, food court food and pani puri wala at Shanthala.
The moment much awaited has thus arrived for Manipal. Three multiplexes will change the movie scenario in this University town. Come April and the mouths will be shut of thousands who complain the lack of a genuine theater in Manipal. Not only will students and residents of Manipal but masses from nearby villages and towns will converge on this town to experience Multiplex in Manipal. Hope you do not stay behind!
P.S : All facts in this article are made up but you already knew that, didn’t you ?
| This is a Guest post by Sambit Dash. He is a Lecturer at the Dept. of Biochemistry & Genetics, KMC International Center, Manipal, India. His personal Blog is at SambitSpeak. |