Bollywood's first release in drive-in theatres at Ggm amid pandemic

Gurugram: Having already gained a lot of popularity in terms of the movie viewing experience during the times of COVID-19, the drive-in theatre in Gurugram is now all set to screen the first Bollywood movie on October 2.

With multiplexes and single-screen theatres closed due to the pandemic, the producers of the film Khali Peeli have decided to show their film at drive-in theaters. A relatively new form of cinema-viewing experience in India, drive-in theatres are currently only present in two cities - Gurugram and Bengaluru.

The producers of the movie have decided that though the movie will be released through an online platform, it will also be shown in the drive-in theatres to bring back the big-screen movie experience.

A unique concept, the movie-goers under the drive-in theatre concept can view the movie on the big screen in their cars and hear the sound from their car radio sets by setting it to a particular frequency.

Set up at Sector-59, Gurugram's drive-in theatre is managed by Sunset Cinema and was built in Gurugram in early 2019. To begin with, it had a limited number of customers. It s popularity however skyrocketed from July this year when it was allowed to show some old Bollywood movies to the residents in Gurugram.

Even though the normal ticket prices were higher than what was being charged in the multiplexes, it did not prevent a large number of people from coming out and seeing the movie. Despite the threat of COVID-19, a large number of residents are still buying tickets and viewing the movie in the drive-in theatre.

"The concept of drive-in theatres has fascinated me as an ardent movie viewer. It is different yet it is fun. Viewing mediums of online platforms may be ok but seeing it on the big screen is an experience altogether different. For long, we have been used to the fact of watching a good movie on the big screen enjoying your popcorn and cold beverages. Few months of COVID-19 cannot change that all of a sudden," said Gautam Vashistha, one of the residents of Gurugram.

It is also important to note that there are large numbers of multiplexes that are also based in Gurugram. With their businesses severely impacted due to COVID-19 most of the multiplexes that have invested heavily in Gurugram have requested to make arrangements for starting the multiplexes in a phased manner.