|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 13 June 2003 |
 |
|
 |
Features | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
Maradana gets a jewel to its crown In comparison to the rest of Colombo, Maradana has always retained its characteristics prone towards entertainment over the decades. Theatre and Cinema have played an important role and if one notices the most amount of Cinemas ever to be concentrated in one area is Colombo 10.
Amidst the grand Tower Hall, which is necessarily a monument to the inaugural stage and theatre performances in Sri Lanka, many film theatres have existed side by side, as the Elphinstone, New Olympia, the Central, Crown and in recent times the Ruby. So it's needless to say more about this strange entertainment hub in the City.
by Prasad Abu Bakr Ten years ago one man alone probably had a vision for this place that would have been fittingly called the "city of cinemas" but no one bothered or cared or even wanted to waste their dreams upon a place like Maradana which had a lower class image to it ten years ago. Dr. Buddhi Keerthisena is in the process of transforming into reality whatever he thought would make Maradana a prestigious area. "Cine City" the first ever Multiplex cinema centre is due to open in Colombo on the 20th of June providing a service to the entertainment prone public as never seen before. Though it's a novel experience to us "Multiplex cinema complexes" are known all over the world to provide a range of entertainment possibilities to movie lovers beside viewing the movie of their choice. As for example in Malaysia it can be a pick out of 28 films showing at the same Multiplex complex at one time. It was in Cologne, Germany that he first gave serious thought to the idea when he had the opportunity to visit "Cine Dome", a Multiplex cinema complex, explained consultant, Film Lanka Ltd., Dr. Keerthisena. Similarly he said that India too has many of these cinema complexes, the recent one called "Fun Republic" in Ahamedabad, spread out in 1.25 thousand square feet as a family entertainment centre. This new complex in Colombo will have within its premises four Cinema Halls, two Restaurants/Cafetarias, a large Reception Hall for weddings and other functions, an Exhibition Hall giving provision to artists to bring their work into public view.
There will also be space provided for shopping and other commercial ventures as Banking, with ample parking space and modern Toilet facilities in the basement. "Almost 75% of the work is complete," said Vishwanath Buddhika Keerthisena, Chairman to the Board of Directors of Film Lanka Ltd. "At the moment we are opening two of the Four Theatres to the public with most of the other facilities mentioned above, as this project was delayed by almost seven years due to reasons beyond our control," he added. The UDA proposed and BOI-approved project seemed to be heading on to be a major success locally for its novelty approach. It is also evident that Multiplexes have been widely welcomed by Asian audiences at large as they give a choice of movies to select from, even if one goes along with the family. It also provides other avenues of entertainment like Shopping, Dining or even playing Snooker in between watching your choice of movie. Sri Lanka which has begun to experience technical excellence in Audio/Visual aspects of cinema with most Theatres in the city up-grading quality to suit modern presentation methods available elsewhere has come a long way if one takes into account this mega entertainment project that's going to turn the entire entertainment industry around at present. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
