Dum Maaro Dum first film to use Dolby’s 7.1 surround sound in theatres

The technology will add to the films emotional connect as the surround sound will provide more depth,more realism and an even greater sense of being in the middle of the action - Rohan Sippy,director,Dum Maaro Dum.

When Ramesh Sippy set out to make what would become a landmark film in the history of Indian films,little did he know that his son would soon acquire the knack for technological advancement. Ramesh gave Indians the first 70 mm feature film and stereophonic sound in 1975 with Sholay and son Rohan is all set to give audiences Indias first film mixed in Dolby 7.1 surround sound. This will add to the films emotional connect as the surround sound will provide for more depth,more realism and an even greater sense of being in the middle of the action, Rohan said.

Mahesh Sundaram,Vice President,Asia Pacific,Dolby Laboratories said,We began our journey with cinema before venturing out to mobile,PC and television. Movies are our roots and this is where our reputation comes from. Dolby Laboratories began its journey in India more than 15 years ago with Vidhu Vinod Chopras 1942 A Love Story. It was the first film to be mixed with Dolbys surround sound and over the years almost every single Hindi film has used the technology. I think the reason for the continued success of Dolby is that we work on the entire entertainment ecosystem from end to end. We ensure that the creative community is able to express itself with the help of our products in the best possible way, Sundaram said.

As part of its continuing drive to innovate in the space of sound services,Dolby first broke ground with its latest 7.1 surround sound technology in the Oscar-nominated animation movie Toy Story 3 last year. Ask Sundaram why it took so long for Indian films to adopt this new technology and he shakes off the delay. I think there is always a trigger for events. The theatres here had an intent to go up to 7.1 surround sound and since Toy Story 3 reached a worldwide audience everyone got to see how it enhances the movie-watching experience, Sundaram said adding that Dum Maaro Dum will see more theatres adopting the technology. A big film like Dum Maaro Dum will create a good momentum. If we can make a success of this,then the entire ecosystem will have a snowballing effect which we hope we can exploit. Sundaram also said that getting a theatre 7.1 surround ready is a time-consuming task. Our business plan is to promote this technology as fast as possible but we have kept a reasonable tieline for ourselves,especially since theatre owners are the drivers in this business,not us. Also,when a theatre decides to get upgraded,we have to test it,align it,calibrate it etc. We try not to be intrusive and hasten the process.

In what is likely to cheer up prospective cinema owners who wish to convert to 7.1 surround sound,the technical aspect of the new technology is unlikely to burden them with high costs. Apart from two extra speakers,they will have to invest in a box,mysteriously named CP750,that will deliver the extra clear clarity to enjoy the sound. CP750 is like a processor that does the audio processing along with speakers and wires. Its not the showstopper though and is quite inexpensive, Sundaram said. So far,50 theatres have already installed the system with an additional 50 set to be 7.1 surround sound ready by the time the film releases on April 22.

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