Citizens will be able to experience the vibration of firecrackers during Diwali this year not only at home but also at a cinema.
Thrill Park ' the first 5D cinema in Patna ' is expected to open at PandM Mall in Patliputra during the festival. While watching movies at the cinema, audience would be able to smell smoke and perceive the shudder when there is an explosion on the screen.
Also, their seats will twist and turn during a car chase and a blast of wind brushing their face and hair would make them aware of the speed. "A lot of technology that we plan to incorporate at our cinema would be used for the first time in India," said Madhusudan Rajgarhial, the director of Dream Vision group, which would run the cinema.
He said: "We aim to open this facility by Diwali. The construction work is at an advanced stage. A team of technical experts will soon start work on the installation of equipment. We shall make sure that the people of the city get an incomparable movie-watching experience."
5D is a marketing term used in describing an entertainment presentation system in which films shot in 3D are combined with physical effects. In a 3D film, the audience have to wear special glasses which allow them to experience an illusion of depth that make the picture more vivid. Additional effects like smoke, rain, lightning, air bubbles and special smells make the movie-watching experience more exciting in a 5D cinema. A few films are also presented in 4D, which has fewer features compared to 5D.
For instance, visitors to Bush Gardens Tampa Bay ' a theme park in Florida, the US ' can experience vibrations, water bursts and wire sensations during shows of Piranah-4D. At the end of the show, a water canon drenches the audience, who watch the fantasy-horror movie involving pirates, booby traps and blood-thirsty fish.
The city residents are not novices to 3D cinema. The capital got its first taste of 3D when the Regent was renovated in June last year. A month later, the city got its second 3D screen with the opening of Cinepolis at PandM Mall. The 3D movies are shown on screen number 4 of the only multiplex of the capital.
The movie buffs of the city are excited with the prospect of more fun. "I watched a 5D movie at Garuda Mall in Bangalore a few months ago. The technology was amazing," said Kulbir Singh Sohil, a resident of SK Nagar.
The employee of a private firm added: "There is a very thin line between reality and illusion at a 5D cinema. Now, the same technology is coming to the city. It will surely woo the movie-goers."
People will not have to cough up too much for the special experience. "We want our cinema to be affordable. So the tickets would be priced between Rs 150 and Rs 200," said Rajgarhial.
He added that the movies at the state-of-the-art cinema would be directly purchased from the production companies. "We have already bought five from the UK. They are mostly on adventure sports and science."