The small multiplex cannot give you the elevated feeling that you can get from sitting in the balcony of a single-screen theatre. There you feel like you are overseeing the proceedings. Also, because of the price, there is a like minded crowd in a 300 seater. But, in a big hall, there are so many people. Sometimes, a remark from the front stall can get the whole hall laughing... these are moments that add to the community experience of watching a movie!

It’s only in India that a ticket to the multiplex is priced higher than a ticket to a single screen theatre. This is mostly because of the novelty factor. The presumption also is that both kinds of halls use the same xenon projector, digital sound, plush screen, but maintaining a multiplex is more expensive. What is even more ironic is that in India, people are very sure about what movie they are going to see. Only 2-3 per cent watch a different movie when they don’t get the tickets they want. So multiplexes create an artificial scarcity. When a movie like Jhoom Barabar Jhoom is released, it ends up playing in all the screens at a multiplex because of the demand. And for that higher price at the multiplex, you just allowed yourself to get robbed a little.

It boils down to one thing: when all single-screens are upgraded to multiplex standards, which hall would you prefer?

Yet you possibly cannot make the same money from a single-screen as you do from a multiplex. A multiplex is like a department store while the single-screen is a specialised store. Unfortunately, people and lawmakers do not understand this and concessions are offered only to multiplexes. Instead, they should offer the same support to the single-screen theatres of the country.

... contd.