Shveta Bhagat

New Delhi

THE fluorescent lights are turned on to the beat of the music. The atmosphere is charged with palpable expectations. And finally the curtains go up. Your heart skips a beat when you find yourself in a designer theatre.

Despite the ominous word ‘slowdown’ doing the rounds, some developments make you baulk at the sheer audacity of it all. While the concept of home theatres surfaced some time back, the latest demand is for theme-based designer mini theatres that cost between Rs 60 to 70 lakhs. Himanshu Kumar, CEO of HKMT Acoustics, says, “While earlier it was about a basic technologically-empowered home theatre, now it is all about going designer while trying to recreate not just the theatre ambience, but one that suits individual tastes.” And while his builder clients, such as DLF, Unitech and Kumar builders from Pune, might not be doing their best, Kumar says demands from individuals are on the rise. He gets four to five orders a month, and most recently an order from a real-estate developer himself. His foreign clientele includes the King of Bhutan and increasing demands from UAE has prompted them to expand their business to Dubai. Pre-designed theatres take two to three months to be ready and involve designers who sketch the layout first and create a 3-dimensional effect for a panoramic view for the interested parties.

A team of three or four acoustic interior designers, two graphic designers and eight to ten skilled workers are required do up a theatre. Kapil Motwani from Cona Lights Solution (Mumbai) who are known to specialise in architectural lighting and LED-based mood says it is a lot of hard work but very convenient for the comfort and style conscious. Reflecting on the advantages, he says, “Here you can control the lighting with more freedom, with the touch of a keypad, unlike in a multiplex theatre where they have four-five steps of lighting as the movie opens, plays, pauses, continues and ends”. While here you would have the same options of spotlights, optics, strips and lamps to highlight posters or create a mood, you could now change the intensity of the lighting with dimmer pack for all.

There is a lot of emphasis placed on the integration of design and architecture. For example, in an Egyptian-based theme theatre called the Pharoah’s Aisle, pillars are installed and pyramids are created and designed in variations of blue, keeping in mind the river Nile. All elements of what is quintessentially Egyptian has been included, from the graceful sand stone-finish pillars that surround the perimeters of the theatre — which support hieroglyphics — to the sand dunes representing the great deserts. Clutter free, the spirit of ancient Egypt is revived with a modern twist. The pyramid and floor in the colour of sandstone are in tandem with the vast deserts of Egypt.

To build an audiophile grade system, a high-definition In Focus Home Play BIG IN 82 EX projector has been incorporated. Add on Jamo D7 series speakers and subwoofer in a 7.1 configuration. The seats are made comfortable with motorised recliners upholstered in genuine leather with mechanism from Berkeline, USA with anodised cup holders. Some popular themes also include Star Wars and Apollo 3. It is all about elevating the experience by going beyond the typical four-wall media room into an acoustically and technologically exciting sound and visual environment.

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