The Show Must Go On

PVR has survived competition both from within the industry and video-streaming services, but with consumers spoilt for choice, what keeps India’s largest film exhibitor on its toes?

- Prerna Lidhoo

A lot has changed since then. Motion pictures have become bigger and grander. Heroes have turned into superheroes. And Indian movies have gone global. But the one thing that has not changed over time is the feeling of awe while watching a movie. Keeping that magic alive in movie-mad India today is the country’s largest multiplex operator PVR, founded by Ajay Bijli around two decades ago. Bijli wants people to feel the same thrill each time they watch a movie—as if they are going to the theatre for the first time. “Watching a movie is a suspension of disbelief. The moment people buy a ticket and come into the foyer, that’s when entertainment should start. I can’t be responsible for what happens on the screen. But I can be responsible for making the environment very exciting,” says Bijli, 51, who is often seen taking notes about seating, lights or sound whenever he watches a movie in a theatre. “I try to wear a different hat when I watch a movie in PVR. My family keeps reminding me to concentrate on the movie rather than the hall.”