Cinepax - ‘a new step in the right direction’

New cinema with four 3D screens opens in The Ocean Mall in the Clifton area of Karachi.

KARACHI:

There is good news for those residents of DHA and Clifton unwilling to travel the extra mile to Saddar - a new cinema has opened in the neighbourhood.

Located inside The Ocean Mall that replaced the old Mideast Hospital, Cinepax is the latest in Karachi’s hangout places. The formal inauguration of the cinema was held on Wednesday evening amid cheerful celebrities and excited families. The cinema comprises four screens - all of which can play 3D movies.

Following the footsteps of Atrium Cinemas, Cinepax has also introduced a convenient system to reserve tickets over the phone. They also plan to start online bookings soon. With three different classes of cinema halls - platinum, gold and silver - the most expensive ticket is Rs1,000 and the least expensive is Rs450.

“It is a small effort towards the revival of the Pakistani film industry” said the chief executive of Cinepax, Hashim Raza. “Cinema-going culture is reviving given that so many families came to the inauguration of  the new cinema.”

Raza told The Express Tribune that Cinepax is “basically a new step in the right direction”. “We promise to entertain families by screening both classic and modern movies,” he promised.

During the opening ceremony, operational manager Kashif Meghany said their goal is to attract people, especially the younger ones, back to Pakistani movies. “Pakistani filmmakers will no longer go to neighbouring countries to promote their films as the opportunity to screen their films with modern equipment is now available here.” Cinepax will be screening both Indian and English movies at the same time.

“We can compete with cinemas around the world with our state-of-the-art seats and the facilities we are providing to our viewers,” he said proudly.

Young celebrity couple, Mani and Hira, were also spotted at the inauguration. Both of them were confident the cinemas will attract a new audience since it will screen modern and classical films. Residents of DHA, Shehzad and his wife, Rahiba, also felt that the opening of a new cinema reflected a healthy sign for Pakistan’s flourishing cinema industry.

The red carpet host, Aqsa Faiz, was excited that the experience of watching films has taken a whole different turn with the inauguration of 3D cinemas in Karachi. “The technology and entertainment services have progressed day by day,” she said.

However, not everyone was able to catch a show on the first day as only guests were invited for Wednesday’s screenings. Waqar and Sameer were strolling in the halls, planning to watch a movie once the cinema opens for regular screenings. They agreed that the location of the cinema was a good decision.

“The management should distribute some free tickets for the common people, as we want to watch the movie with celebrities and models,” one of them said, chuckling.

The tickets for a movie at Cinepax cost:

Platinum: Rs1,000

Gold: Rs750

Silver: Rs450

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2013.