CineStar Cinema premiers Rio in 3D

LAHORE – CineStar Cinema held the premiere show for 3D films on Saturday, where selected guests were invited to view the newly-released animated movie Rio.
Prior to the film, many guests crowded the main hall of the cinema, waiting for the halls to open. Some celebrities were seen coming in, with others accompanying them.
All were excited to see the film in 3D, as this was the first time in Lahore, thanks to Mandviwala Productions, which opened Pakistan’s first ever 3D Mall in Karachi. Following Lahore, they hope to expand further to other cities too, CEO Nadeem Mandviwala says. “We are finally here!” he exclaims grinning proudly. “I’m sure this will be appreciated and loved by the public,” Mandviwala says.
Muhammad Amir, CEO of DHA Cinema was also present on the occasion. He told Pakistan Today that bringing in more 3D cinemas could be something of a challenge, mainly because the screens must be silver screens to accommodate visual effects. “We have mostly matte screens and this only supports the 2D format, but CineStar already had a silver screen, which plays both 2D and 3D films. But I am hoping that the silver screen can also be introduced soon in the DHA Cinema too,” he said.
Adults and children both chattered excitedly, trying to guess how the movie itself would be, while several others were wandering in the cinema halls, upstairs and downstairs, looking at the posters of movies which were about to be shown. “I can’t wait for Avatar,” a teenager said. “When I last saw Avatar I was thinking that it was in 3D, and now it is!” he said. Ayesha Alam told Pakistan Today that she had visited 3D cinemas before, but had no idea how they worked.
“But it’s really an interesting technological concept once you see it. I’m glad that these cinemas are now opening in Pakistan too,” she smiles. Rio has been a box office hit since its release recently. While it is still opening around the word, Pakistan has for once managed to buy the film in time to show its own audience of film lovers. “Cinema cannot be revived unless we open more cinema houses,” says Mandviwala.
“It’s like opening a factory for clothes but not having any outlets. Where will you display your product if you don’t have products?” he questions. “But importing and buying foreign films is important at the moment otherwise the culture of watching movies on a large screen will be diminishing in the country and there definitely are many people who wish to see movies on cinema screens,” the distributor said.
The crowd was responsive towards the film too, something which has become rare for cinema goers in Pakistan. While vulgarity and obscenity in some movies is cheered at by a certain kind of crowd which frequents cinemas, there is hardly any motivational response, or a positive response to what is happening within the film, something which contradicts the attempt of the director to pass on emotions to the audience.
But Rio was not only well received, especially since the main audience was children, it was also well responded too. While children are usually noisy during cinema films being screened, this film had grasped their complete attention, and they clapped and cheered, and laughed and sighed during several parts of the movie, perfectly mirroring the emotion passed on from the film.
“I loved the film,” says Ammar, 10. “I want to watch more 3D films.” The 3D itself was of a superior quality in the movie, unlike many other 3D movies that have been released. The images, that left the audience in awe, aided by wearing special 3D glasses, were so exciting that it was a magical experience in a world of animation. “Every time something came towards the screen, I ducked instinctively,” laughed a little girl of around 12. “It kept feeling it was literally flying towards me,” Maria says.
Although people had to return their 3D glasses for the premier show, in future, guests can buy the glasses and use them each time they come for a movie. The tickets are also reasonable, for around Rs 400 per movie, while the glasses are a one time expense for Rs 150. Among celebrities, model Iffat Rahim was also seen leaving the cinema.