Science City theatre to screen multiple films a day

KOLKATA: For the first time in two decades, the Space Theatre at Science City will screen multiple films in a day. When the full-dome 3D digital theatre reopens after a two-year shutdown for upgrade, it will screen two movies — ‘The Life of Trees’ and ‘Asteroid: Mission Extreme’— in both 2D and 3D. If the response is encouraging, authorities say they are open to screening three different films a day.
The refurbished facility will be inaugurated by minister of state for culture Mahesh Sharma on Monday and will be opened to public the following day.

In its first avatar, the Space Theatre used to screen a single film for six months before changing the title. The primary reason for the authorities to stick to one film at a time was the limited choice of content in 70-mm celluloid format. With the theatre now going digital, its choice has increased manifold, allowing it to screen multiple movies at time without anxiety about running out of titles.
In ‘The Life of Trees’, a lady bug and a glow worm use visuals and comedy to teach their class about the amazing things trees do. On the way, they must fight an evil spider, befriend a talking tree and find the true meaning of friendship. ‘Asteroid: Mission Extreme’ will take the audiences on an epic journey to discover the potential that asteroids present to facilitate manned space travel.
In the 20 years that the Space Theatre has been in operation, it had enthralled 70.72 lakh viewers. One in every four visitors watched a movie at the dome-shaped theatre. The theatre shut in March 2017 to upgrade from the earlier 2D system that used to screen 70 mm conventional celluloid film to digital 2D/3D projection system. The project cost Rs 20 crore. The entire dome screen as well as seats were also changed. In the past two years, crowd pressure has increased at the Science Exploration Hall and Science on a Sphere.
While the upgrade was initially projected to take a year and a half, additional time was required to reinforce the dome since Kolkata, which was in Siesmic Zone 3 when the theatre was constructed two decades ago, was subsequently categorised as Siesmic Zone 4.
“Work on transforming the Space Theatre has been completed. The Ulteria seamless dome is up and the projection system has been installed. We expect the facility to be as popular as it was before,” Science City director Subhabrata Chaudhuri said. Initially, there will be eight shows each day, four each in 2D and 3D. If a third movie is added, the number of shows could increase to nine.
Ticket prices at the new facility will be revised upwards for 2D. The shows in 3D will be more premium. But Science City authorities said the new pricing would still be way below that at a multiplex. Also, discounts will continue to be offered to group visitors, organised student groups and the underprivileged. Earlier, a visitor paid Rs 60 for a ticket, a group of 25 Rs 50 a person, organised student groups Rs 25 per show and the underprivileged Rs 20 per head.