Renewed wave of cinema hall arrives in state
Tanthapolis Cinema, Kumecs Cinema to join World Premiere of Avatar: The Way Of Water
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, December 10 2022: Following the gradual downfall of cinema halls 22 years ago resulting in only a handful of cinema halls operating today, the state is seeing a renewed wave of cinema halls equipped with modern infrastructure to suit the changing taste and expectation of the audience.

Shanker Talkies located at Lamphel Sana Keithel was once a popular cinema hall where audience used to throng and stand in long queues whenever a new film is released or screened there.

However, the hall became a thing of the past in the last two decades with the new generation not even familiar with name of the hall.

There are significant numbers of youths in the state, who have never set a foot outside the state, and they might have never experienced watching a movie in a cinema hall.

Those youth will now have the opportunity to enjoy the experience of watching movies in a cinema hall equipped with modern infrastructure, thanks to some of the youths, who had experience of viewing movies in large and modern cinema halls in other cities and put their efforts to deliver somewhat similar experience to the state's audience.

Tantha Entertainment Private Limited, a company which has managed to build a brand of its own on YouTube with scores of music video album, is now setting its feet into a new venture by renovating the once popular Shanker Talkies and redeveloping it as Tanthapolis Cinema by installing modern infrastructure to give modern experience of cinema to the people of the state.

At the same time, Kumecs Cinema located at Kumecs Building, Kakwa, which is popularly known as Vishal Mall, is also catering to cinematic experience by screening daily shows of several Hollywood and Japanese films, thereby becoming a popular destination for cine enthusiasts.

Meanwhile, renowned Hollywood filmmaker James Cameroon's Avatar: The Way of Water would be having its world premiere on December 16.The two cinema halls of the state - Tanthapolis Cinema and Kumecs Cinema, which are equipped with infrastructure for screening 3D cinema, would be joining the world premiere of the much-awaited Avatar sequel on December 16.Speaking to The People's Chronicle in this regard, Tantha Entertainment Private Limited chief executive officer Brian Akoijam informed that he began the entertainment company in partnership with his friend Luwang Samir.

During their stint in Delhi, they experienced the taste of development.

Upon returning home, they took up the venture instead of waiting for government jobs.

Unfortunately, the state lacks facilities and infrastructure where one can unwind the stress of life and spend some quality time with friends and families.

Seeing the gap, they took up the idea of reviving the culture of cinema halls considering cinema as a means of recreation and entertainment, which could refresh the minds and reduce stress.

He recalled how he and his friend chose Meetei script 'Thou' as the logo of their company, which was founded in 2014, to show their love of the indigenous script and promote it.

They started promoting Manipuri music video album on YouTube.

Down the journey of nearly a decade, their YouTube channel has now over 10 lakh subscribers and over 60 crore viewers.

Today, they are getting monthly revenue of Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.8 lakh from YouTube ads run on their contents.

This revenue wholly comes from outside the state.

After the Tanthapolis Cinema.

they are now planning to venture into film production as well, he said.

Regarding their venture of screening films, Brian said that they started screening films at Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS) auditorium on trial basis to gauge the mood of the audience of the state.

They received good response from the trial, which led to the idea of developing a cinema hall equipped with modern infrastructure, he confided.

He also disclosed that they had to take a loan of Rs 2 crore from North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) to renovate the cinema hall.

Encouraging their venture, chief minister N Biren also awarded a loan of Rs 36 lakh with subsidy under Manipur Startup scheme.

They began renovation and redevelopment work of the cinema hall from August this year, he said.

Brian informed that the hall is equipped with modern infrastructure like seats where one can stretch their legs or even lie down to watch the movie.

There are 340 seats in the hall.

Beautification works for the hall are almost complete.

Flooring of the hall has also been modified to give comfortable viewing experience from any of the 340 seats.

They have replaced the fans with air conditioners.

Apart from attractive and convenient lighting system, the hall has 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound System.

They are using Barco 2K projector with latest silver screen capable of delivering astonishing 3D effects.

The screen has a dimension of 52 feet width and 25 feet height.

The cinema hall will begin its journey with the world premiere of Avatar: The Way of Water, he said.

He disclosed that the hall will screen English, Manipuri, Japanese and Korean films as well as their own production once they set foot in the film production business.

All the Hollywood films to he screened in their hall will be on shared profit mode with the distributors following an agreement.

People can book their ticket by logging in on www.tanthapolis.com or directly purchase from the ticket counter of the hall.

Ticket rates will be different from one film to another and the price range will be between Rs 200 to Rs 1500, he said.

He also appreciated support from different film personalities of the state for their support and cooperation in the activities of Tantha.

On the other hand, Kumecs Cinema, Kakwa is screening several popular films daily and has been successful in drawing audiences.

Kumecs Cinema proprietor Roshan said that RD&PR minister Yumnam Khemchand inaugurated the hall on November 11 this year.

There are 155 seats in the hall with modern comfortable seating.

He is planning to add another hall with 100 seats in the form of multiplex.

As seen in other cities, there are adequate numbers of food stalls inside the complex of the cinema hall.

So far, seven films have been screened in the hall, most of which are English language movies.

They have also screened a Japanese anime successfully.

They have plans to screen Manipuri films too but it requires format conversion since the production of Manipuri films are not suitable with the projector he is using.

Trial runs are being carried Out, he said.

He also said that he is planning to screen popular South Indian movies as per public demand.

The screen size of the hall is 30x12 feet.

Ticket price differs from one film to another and the price range is between Rs 150 to Rs 400.For the Avatar sequel, the minimum ticket price will be Rs 250.One can book ticket online from Book My Show or purchase ticket from the ticket counter of the hall, he said.

While most of the leading cinema halls of the state have been converted into shopping malls or educational institutes with the gradual downfall of cinema halls, the new cinema halls equipped with modern infrastructure will definitely renew the viewing experience of cinema in theatres and provide new opportunities for small business to many.

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