I will appreciate someone updating me on Indian Cinema Halls. Which Cinema Halls are rated as the best; Comfartable seating, Large screens and the Latest Audio (DD or/ and DTS). Some Cinema Halls are equipped with 70mm projectors, but, do they get “blown up from 35mm into 70mm” prints.
I expect good Cinema Halls to be in Banglore, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Madras. There may be equally good Cinema Halls in other centers too.

Thanks.

Rana

Andhra Pradesh has some of the best cinema Halls in India... HYDERABAD has some of the best cinema halls in India... However there is another cinema hall in Jaipur which I think is called Rajmandir (or something like that)..It has a seating capacity of 2000 ppl !!!!! ( and I think it came into prominence during HUM AAPKE HAIN KAUN !)

In Delhi PVR-Anupam 4(Priya Roadshow) is considered the best- a subsidiary of Village Roadshow and Priya Cinema which is also good. It has great sitting, good sound system, proper ticketing and most importantly a clean cinema with a proper crowd considering the other theaters are quite old and uncomfortable. But PVR actually is not just a cineplex but is a premiere theater also. Sheila boasts of 70mm screen but blows up cinemascope films on this screen, nothing great. Another theater Chanakya, where I watched Taal in DTS, the sound was great especially AR Rahman's songs. Sound systems are great cause they new but projection just suck in most of the theaters except for PVR. Most theaters in Delhi have Dolby D and DTS, though some small ones have only Dolby SR.

Anyway India's best cinema are actually in Bombay, they are completely new and are state of the art. India's first THX certified theater is also in Bombay.



Edited By congress on Feb. 02 2002 at 13:44

i know surats Recently rennovated Rajmahal is a superior cinema only because ive been to it.....i had a book listing all of india cinema and seating and other features cant seem to find it........

Te most prestigious and famous cinema in India is Maratha mandir by far.....although in recent time Liberty has been big...

Mumbais main halls
Maratha Mandir
Liberty
Eros
New excelsior
Metro
Alankar
Minerva
Central Plaza
Dreamand
Naaz

I am not sure about improvement in 90s, but in 80s following cinema halls were considered best in India.

1. Raj Mandir, Jaipur
2. Santosh, Bangalore
3. Metro, Mumbai

Actually south india has the most 70mm cinemas......Theyre evrywhere in South india

Do they still blow up 35mm 'scope films to 70mm prints in India?

No they don't. Indian films are pretty much all shot in 35 mm anamorphic, specifially 'Cinemascope'.

Regarding the best cinema halls in India. A lot has changed during the 1990s and what were once considered to be the best are no longer even considered decent. Anyhow it is difficult to say which is the best cinema hall in India, but the PVR theatres (12 screens) in Delhi are amongst the best. Also there are a few new theaters in Bombay that are supposed to be really good. By the way PVR is also constructing some screens in Bombay and Pune. As far as the Hyderabad theaters are concerned, they are no longer even decent in my opinion. Pretty much most theaters have installed either Dolby Digital or DTS sound over the past few years but that in itself is no guarantee of good sound as most of us are well aware of. Since the quality of the sound is dependent on a lot of things, like amplification, speakers etc. than the mere decoding of DD or DTS. Anyhow it is in the field of projection that almost all theaters in India suck really bad. In Delhi for instance only the PVR theaters have new xenon projection systems, while all others continue to screen films with outdated and at times abysmal quality.

Just for the record - Rajiv Rai shoots his films in Technovision:)