Cinepax loses 4,000 customers as power crisis looms large

With breakdown of backup power supply, all shows had to be cancelled on peak sales day.

ISLAMABAD: Movie lovers in the twin cities returned disappointed as one of the biggest cinema in Rawalpindi remained shut on Saturday. However, the cinema resumed operations on Sunday.

As many as 4,000 reservations at Cinepax Rawalpindi were cancelled with tickets refunded as the backup power supply malfunctioned, causing annoyance and frustration among the entertainment-deprived residents.

Business at Cinepax had been disturbed for a considerable period of time. However, the recent intensification in loadshedding has severely taken its toll on the cinema, said an official of Cinepax who wished not to be named.

“Electricity remains suspended for three to four hours straight. Until now we managed to run the shows on backup power supply,” he said.

“Even then, the 30-second delay caused during the switch from main power to backup supply would frustrate customers, who come for entertainment and pay for comfort,” he added.

With a dearth of entertainment options for residents, many opt to watch movies during their free time. Unfortunately, they are now being deprived of this mode of entertainment as well.

“It is not about getting my money back, it’s about not having options to begin with,” said Faraz Ahmed, who had come to watch a movie with his friends.

Ahmed, a resident of Islamabad, said he was frustrated as there is no cinema in the capital city and Cinepax, the only multiplex in neighbouring Rawalpindi, was also lying in darkness.

The official said they have submitted their complaints to the concerned authorities on multiple accounts but have yet to receive any positive response. The government can’t even bother to give a proper schedule for power cuts which further increases the burden of fixing movie schedule, he stated.

“The incident took place yesterday, but sadly it has become a matter of routine,” said Cinepax Operations Head Mohsin Yaseen. “There needs to be a solution to this crisis, not just for the cinema but the entire country. We feel really sorry when we disappoint our customers in such a manner.”

“There is barely any indoor entertainment in the twin cities and what little there is has been hit hard by the power crisis. I usually go to watch a movie with my family on weekends after a week of hard work and this is extremely irritating,” said Sarah Khan, a resident of Islamabad.

The Cinepax administration said on Sunday that the cinema is operational again but added that there needs to be a permanent solution to the country’s loadshedding problem.

Launched in 2008, Cinepax was the first multiplex in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2012.