One of the most common excuses that the management of the various cine theatres in the city give for running theatres with sub-par facilities is the lack of money to bring about the required changes. And traditionally, the norm is to first demand money and then to get the work done. But Padmanabha Theatre at East Fort made it work the other way around; after spending lakhs on renovating the theatre and keeping it abreast with the times, rewards came in the form of being the only theatre in the city to be given 'Platinum' status by the Government and now to be recognised with an ISO certificate by the Bureau of Accredited Register – America.

“There was a list of seven things that were checked and verified – seating comfort, air conditioning, sound system, 2K projection, 3D, toilets and the overall ambience. The theatre standards were found to be on par with a multiplex,” says Gireesh Chandran, Managing Partner of Padmanabha Theatre.

Huge amounts were invested in upgrading the theatre standards to that of a multiplex, yet the multiplex facilities and ambience are being provided to the viewer at the nominal rate of Rs. 50 per ticket, with an additional Rs. 20 as glass rent in the case of 3D films.

At present, the theatre is “still running at a profit, but of a lesser margin than before,” according to Gireesh.

“But the real profit lies in the long run. After the renovation of the theatre, there had been a 20 – 25 % increase in the net collection. You give better facilities to the public and they would prefer coming back again and again, which is only good for the business,” notes Gireesh.

Gireesh Chandran receiving the 'Best Theatre Award' from Minister K BGanesh Kumar at IFFK 2011

Besides clean toilets, comfortable seats, unique ambience, efficient air conditioning, better sound system and by far the best 3D system among theatres in Trivandrum, the theatre has also introduced a 3D laser show at the beginning of every 3D film show as their latest initiative.  Gireesh says that the time has come for the theatre management to maintain better communications with the public, more so as the public is eager to send in their suggestions and feedbacks.

“We were the first to introduce a mail ID for the theatre to which viewers can send suggestions. We had received a tremendous response over the months. In January this year, we joined Facebook and within a month, received responses many times more than through the mail. I was really surprised with the way people interacted about how to improve things further.”

 Balcony Cafeteria

Grieesh makes it a point to spend at least one hour on the Internet everyday to interact with the members, to know about their choice of films, things that need to be altered, added or reduced and the efficiency of the staff among other things.

“The staff have now begun to act in a more responsible manner. There was an instance when electricity went off in the midst of a show; I was informed about it through a message almost instantly and I immediately called down here to enquire about the problem. The awareness that they are being watched the entire time keeps the staff on their toes all the time.”