From Adlabs...with Love. Review on Fame Adlabs - Andheri - Mumbai

For long, the residents of Lokhandwala, Andheri West and Versova have had to travel great distances to watch their favourite movies. At times, the commuting time, both to and fro the theatre would take nearly 1 hour – half the time that is actually spent in the theatre after discounting the time spent on watching ads/documentaries and the mandatory interval in between.

Thankfully, we now have a sprawling multiplex, “Fame Adlabs”, on the Andheri Link Road that saves a lot of time and trouble. The Multiplex (MP) belongs to Adlabs Films, which also owns the Adlabs theatre at Wadala. This multiplex has been developed jointly by Manmohan Shetty (Adlabs) and Shringar Films Pvt. Ltd. (a movie distribution house).

The MP comprises 5 adjoining auditoriums with a seating capacity of 300 each. I was pleasantly surprised to see “Aankhen” being screened on 4 of the screens in the very first week. I thought that they were committing hara kiri by doing something so foolish. Inspite of my friend’s repeated pleadings to get the tickets booked in advance, I turned a deaf ear and assured him that the tickets would be available without any problem and all we had to do was walk the red carpet. Imagine my surprise when we reached the MP 5 minutes before the show and found the ticket counter closed! Fortunately, the law of averages came to our rescue and we managed to get 2 “spare” tickets.

The auditoriums are located on the first floor and the only sign that tells which screen is what number is a small board hung to the ceiling with the screen number embossed on it. The seats are all located on one level and there are no separate classes or sections as is common in most other theatres. The seats are big enough to seat someone of King Kong’s personality and have cup holders in the armrests. One drawback is that they are too rigid and can’t be stretched back and forth. There is also not enough space between two rows and it’s difficult for someone (especially as clumsy as me) to walk across from one end of the row to another without trampling other peoples’ toes and getting some muted “blessings” in return.

The “sight and sound” effects are quite good and there is even a revolving laser disc show before the show and during the interval. The interior decors are in keeping with modern day trends and the A/c works great. Thankfully, the steps on the ground are dotted with little green lights so that even if someone needs to go out in between, he/she can do so even if they don’t have a “personal accident” insurance policy. The Refreshment Stalls directly face the auditoriums and are stacked with all kinds of snacks and miscellaneous other condiments. The entry doorway is quite spacious though the same can’t be said of the exit points. They are quite narrow and it takes a long time to get out of the auditorium.

Not having learnt a lesson, I bravely went to watch “Black Hawk Down” the very next evening – again without booking tickets in advance. Fate was a bit more kind towards me this time around. The tickets were available! The gentleman manning the ticket counter was dressed up in a waiter-like fashion. For the first time in my life, I noticed a new system here – there was a microphone in front of the person manning the counter from where he would talk to ordinary mortals. Everytime he so much as took a breath, it would reverberate to those outside as though some gigantic animal was suffering from a bad cold.

There’s a PC screen which shows the layout of the seats in the theatre and a cozy couple before us took their sweet time picking seats safely tucked away in the corner of the last row. The mouse was clicked on those two seats on the screen, a small contrapment came to life and spewed out two tickets, the paper quality of which was only slightly better than toilet paper. I just couldn’t control my laughter for the next 5 minutes! When the couple went into the auditorium, the actual layout of the seats was totally different from what they were shown on the screen and their seats were bang in the middle of a row in the center!

There were also a number of instances where people simply walked in and took their seats. Midway through the credits/titles, they realized that they were in the wrong auditorium and had to run searching for the correct one.

Thus Spake Cheeky

The MP is undoubtedly a boon and having five screens surely doesn’t disappoint too many people because they have a better chance of watching any movie running on the screens. The infrastructure is well planned and there’s even a lift to transport aged and physically disabled from the ground to the first floor. There is ample parking space (not for my daily mode of transport though - the local 12 coach rake!). I’m not ashamed to admit that I gawk and ogle at the hep and happening crowd! When I shell out Rs. 55 for a ticket, I get back half of my money’s worth just by feasting my severely fatigued eyes on the chicks around. It’s a veritable catwalk and the dress sense of most young ladies suggests that they share Infosys’s fetish for “openness and transparency” (lol…no offense).

The MP is only 10 minutes from our home by road, the tickets are reasonably priced and the shows on each screen are spaced fifteen minutes apart from each other to avoid large concentration of patrons at the exits at the beginning and end of each show. There are many auto ricks parked outside the MP even after the late night show. I, therefore, don’t even have to worry too much about finding a conveyance back home early in the morning. There’s a big shopping complex, “The Mall”, adjoining the MP but it’s yet to open formally. All in all, a pleasant and enjoyable experience!