Tremendous curiosity levels have been raised

Critic Sudershan Patwardhan

It was thrown open to public this week and the inaugural shows are all sold out.

"It's a wonderful experience. A real-life feeling. Like the elephants are walking right alongside you," said a viewer after the screening of a wildlife documentary.

Expensive

For Bollywood - which takes pride in being the world's largest film industry - the Imax cinema has taken a while reaching India.

There are 225 such cinemas in 26 countries around the world and an Indian Imax has been talked about for years.

Shows have been completely sold out

But it was not easy to open one in India, according to the owner of the Bombay Imax.

"I have been working on it for nearly 10 years.... But getting all the [permits], particularly for the import of some of the equipment, has taken a lot of time. And meanwhile the costs just kept going up," cinema owner, Manmohan Shetty said.

The high cost of building such a cinema is also reflected in the ticket prices, which are nearly 50% more expensive than those at regular movie houses.

But because of the novelty not many are complaining as yet.

Virgin market

Film critics say, however, the Imax would need more innovative measures to sustain long-term viewer interest.

"It will definitely have a great initial success as tremendous curiosity levels have been raised. But I do not know whether this will last," film critic Sudershan Patwardhan said.

If the Imax cinema becomes popular, more producers will think about this format

Filmmaker Subhash Ghai

Indians prefer films that have been made in India for Indians rather than Western films or documentaries he added.

No Indian film maker has ever made a film on the Imax format.

But that will change with time, according to veteran filmmaker, Subhash Ghai.

"If the Imax cinema becomes popular, more producers will think about this format and make movies accordingly," he said.

The Canada based Imax corporation already seems confident about the concept becoming a long-term success in India.

Immediately after the inaugural show in Bombay, they announced plans to open 10 more cinemas in the country in the next couple of years.