- 4 days ago
In the very first episode of Boardroom Talkies, Yuthika Bhargava, Associate Editor, sits down with Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Executive Director, PVR INOX Limited, in for an engaging and thought-provoking discussion on the future of cinema in the age of technology.
This isn’t your regular corporate chat—it’s a blend of nostalgia, insights, and bold predictions. From Sanjeev’s first memory of walking into a theatre, to how OTT platforms changed the game, to the role of AI in pricing, film discovery, and even storytelling, this conversation captures both the magic and the disruption in the world of cinema.
Some of the big themes we explored:
• The most disruptive shifts in cinema: from IMAX to AI.
• OTT vs. theatres: what’s really bringing people back to the big screen?
• How PVR uses AI for dynamic pricing and smarter decisions.
• The big debate: Can AI rewrite endings—or restore classics?
• Premium formats vs. low-priced cinemas: balancing audiences across India.
• Gen Z, anime, alternate content & what cinema could look like in 2030.
• And finally—what’s the one thing about cinema AI should never touch?
Whether you’re a movie buff, a tech enthusiast, or simply curious about the future of entertainment, this episode will give you a fresh lens on how boardroom decisions shape what we watch and how we experience it.
Tune in to discover how cinema is evolving, and why the big screen still matters.
This isn’t your regular corporate chat—it’s a blend of nostalgia, insights, and bold predictions. From Sanjeev’s first memory of walking into a theatre, to how OTT platforms changed the game, to the role of AI in pricing, film discovery, and even storytelling, this conversation captures both the magic and the disruption in the world of cinema.
Some of the big themes we explored:
• The most disruptive shifts in cinema: from IMAX to AI.
• OTT vs. theatres: what’s really bringing people back to the big screen?
• How PVR uses AI for dynamic pricing and smarter decisions.
• The big debate: Can AI rewrite endings—or restore classics?
• Premium formats vs. low-priced cinemas: balancing audiences across India.
• Gen Z, anime, alternate content & what cinema could look like in 2030.
• And finally—what’s the one thing about cinema AI should never touch?
Whether you’re a movie buff, a tech enthusiast, or simply curious about the future of entertainment, this episode will give you a fresh lens on how boardroom decisions shape what we watch and how we experience it.
Tune in to discover how cinema is evolving, and why the big screen still matters.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I think in the last 20-25 years any organization and even ours really has to be on top of technology
00:06not in terms of providing the best experience to our customers but also embracing the developments
00:12in technology to make the entire experience better and more seamless. AI is so strong and
00:18there are so many companies of course investing heavily into this that you'll be foolish to
00:22ignore it. What is the preference of the customer? Which cinema do you like to go to? What timing do
00:27you want to go for? What genre of movies do you like to watch? All that data that is actually
00:32being accumulated through all the AI algorithms just helps us to know the customer better and
00:38to be able to serve them better through these tools. I think the whole evolution of cinema
00:42in the last 20 years has been from single screens to multiplexes, a lot of focused on high technology,
00:49laser projectors, sound systems, comfortable seating. It's almost like a hospitality business.
00:54cinema clearly is a community experience. You go with your friends, you make an evening out
00:59of it, you have your popcorn, your F&B, enjoy the film and don't forget you're in a massive
01:05auditorium with a big screen. So many films and there's so many offers that have come our
01:10way for re-releases because they've been quite successful over the last two years. We had
01:14Sanam Therikasam and Rockstar and Dejawani Adewani. This is a new generation that probably hadn't seen
01:21movie when it came out and now they're getting to watch that film on the big screen. Anime was unheard
01:28of in this country about two and a half years ago but through very sort of intense social listening
01:34we actually got comments and comments about releasing Demon Slayer back in the days which
01:38is the 70s. If a big film came out of course everybody went, the entire family. It was an
01:43event. Women wore their sarees, their jewellery, their fine shoes, men dressed up. I must have been
01:49pretty young. We went to a local cinema near our house called Liberty Cinema in Karolbak and I watched
01:54Shole. That was for me the first experience of a film on a big screen. I'd like to share an experience
02:00of P.A. Javani and Dejawani.
02:27Welcome to the very first episode of Boardroom Talkies.
02:30I'm Yuthika Bhargav and in this podcast series I'll be sitting with industry leaders to understand
02:37how their worlds are changing and how they're navigating these changes. Technology today is
02:43changing every industry that we know. AI is everywhere and now it is making way into our
02:49movie theatres. Be it dynamic pricing or chatbots that can recommend movies or even experimentations
02:56with AI altered endings. My guest today, he knows this world inside out. Sanjeev Kumar
03:03Bidjali is Executive Director at PVR INOX and over the past two decades he has helped build the entire
03:10multiplex ecosystem and culture in India. Sanjeev, welcome to Boardroom Talkies.
03:16Thank you. Thank you for having me.
03:18Sanjeev, to start with, let's look at the big picture. You have seen it all from analog reels
03:24to digital to IMAX, 4DX and now AI. What do you make of these changes, the tech that has
03:32been changing? What feels most disruptive to you?
03:36What I've actually even seen something even more primitive than what all you've mentioned
03:43is actually manual ticketing. Back in the days, I don't know if you remember, every time you went
03:48to a cinema at the box office, it was a person stamping tickets, which were manual. And from
03:54there, we saw automation. We saw all sorts of softwares come in, which made selling tickets
04:02and buying tickets a lot more convenient. You know, this was followed by aggregators such as
04:07book my show and now district. And technology, of course, has grown leaps and bounds. And I think
04:17in the last 20, 25 years, any organization and even ours really has to be on top of technology,
04:24not in terms of providing the best experience to our customers, but also embracing the developments
04:32in technology to make the entire experience better and more seamless. As you said, from analog
04:40projectors where all those big films reels used to come, and I pity the people who had to carry them.
04:46Now it's all DCI, you know, it's all digital projection of films. There's been so much advancement
04:53that's been made in sound and technology. And I'm very happy that our industry also is pushing the
04:59envelope and embracing all those technological advancements. Because that is the movie experience
05:05that we all live for. And that is a movie experience that we all want to go for.
05:11In addition to that, of course, we've been very active, actively involved in technology,
05:18in IT. And now as you say, AI, it's a buzzword. And it's really the talk of the town and the chatter
05:26around AI is so strong. And there are so many companies, of course, investing heavily into this,
05:32then you'll be foolish to ignore it. So we are working with a lot of companies across the globe.
05:41And we are launching many products within the organization, which are both for internal organization
05:48and internal customers, to make our processes simpler and smoother, for example, HR, purchases,
05:56commercials, and of course, for the customer interface. As far as the customer interface
06:02is concerned, we recently launched a chatbot called MJ, which is Movie Jockey, which basically
06:09has been there to resolve as many issues as you have as a customer. So it's not just to book tickets
06:17seamlessly. It also helps in answering questions and queries about films and timings. Which cinema
06:26is it playing? Where is it playing? And also helps you in ordering your F&B items before you actually
06:32enter the cinema. And we have other experiments going on as well. Our app is something which was
06:40going under redevelopment as well. And it's a very smart app where it's not just transactional,
06:45but it also has inbuilt AI capabilities and algorithms to be able to really know what the customer wants.
06:54You know, what is the preference of the customer? Which cinema do you like to go to? What timing do you want
06:59to go for? What F&B do you order? What genre of movies do you like to watch? Which seat do you want to sit on?
07:06So all that data that is actually being accumulated through all the AI algorithms
07:13just helps us to know the customer better and to be able to serve them better through these tools.
07:20Sanji, I would like to go deeper into what you're doing with AI at PVR. Before that, I want to take a step back
07:27and you also talked about emotions of movies. So do you remember your first time at theatre? And what was
07:35that experience? What stayed with you? You know, it was, I can't remember exactly how old I was, but I must have been
07:42pretty young, maybe about five, six years old. And we went to a local cinema near a house called Liberty Cinema
07:49and Karol Bhaag. And I watched Shole. And there was about 30 to 40 family members who actually went to watch that film.
07:59And I think back in the days, which is the 70s, women dressed up and men dressed up, right? It was an event.
08:07It wasn't something that you did very often. But if a big film came out, of course, everybody went, the entire family,
08:13women wore their sarees, their jewelry, their fine shoes, men dressed up. And I think that was for me the first experience
08:21of a film on a big screen. And of course, I think like with everybody, when they watch a film on the big screen,
08:28it's a mind blowing experience and it stays with you and you remember it. I think that's one experience you always remember.
08:34Like I do. I remember it very clearly.
08:36That is very interesting. But do you think that has now changed? Now people go solo movie watching.
08:42Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, it's changed, of course. I think the whole evolution of cinema in the last 20 years
08:48has been from single screens to multiplexes, a lot of focused on high technology, Dolby, laser projectors,
08:57sound systems, comfortable seating, a wide range of F&B services. It's almost like a hospitality business.
09:06It's just that we happen to show films and we always tell our people that we're in the service industry.
09:12because movies are incidental. I mean, I can't control the content and I can't control the quality of the film.
09:19Whether you like it or not is also very subjective. But what I can control and give you is an experience
09:25and an environment that you would be very happy with.
09:30Coming back to AI in PVR's business, you talked about movie jockey. How has that sort of changed how people book? Are there any consumer behavior patterns that you have seen on that?
09:44Well, I think first of all, we were very aggressive this time to come up with the campaign very recently, which was called app 100.
09:51And, you know, the buying of tickets on either the aggregators or on our own app has gone up to 70%.
10:01Okay.
10:02So that's a huge shift.
10:04I think only 30% of people now really come physically to the box office, which is very less.
10:10I don't even know why we have a box office now because honestly, there's like everything is happening online.
10:15So that was a very, very successful campaign for us because what it did was and what we did was we actually encouraged the customers to download the app and get 100 rupees off on their first transaction.
10:29And therefore, what you're doing is getting very rich data. You're getting this phenomenal data of customer behavior, their name, their preferences, the genres they like.
10:40Like I said, the timings they want to go and watch. And I think that is something which is so valuable for us to be able to slice and dice that data and to be able to tweak our offerings more and more.
10:55And this is an ongoing process. I mean, it's not that you've done it once and it's done, you know, once you've got that data, once you've got the consumer behavior pattern,
11:03it's an ongoing process by our teams, by our IT teams and operations team to really understand the consumer and really get down to seeing what else can we do to make their experience just phenomenal.
11:19And this app also has the AI chat bot MJ and I don't know if you've tried it, but also that MJ on the app also makes the entire journey so seamless.
11:32We have MJ also on the WhatsApp. It's a bot on the WhatsApp as well, but it's also on the app and I think both are working really well.
11:41But I believe the one on the app is working even better. It also gives us data on what show timings people prefer, you know, because that's something which actually comes from us.
11:53And sometimes they're not convenient for you as a moviegoer. I'm sure you must have thought, I wish this movie was at six and not seven, you know, because I've got things to do.
12:02So what we're able to do with the AI is to get a lot of information on what are the popular slots which people prefer in various demographics.
12:13Noida might be different, Gurgaon is different, Delhi is different, you know, Patna is different, every city, every sort of like place is very different in terms of its consumption behavior.
12:25But we are able to get that very minute important detail based on AI and our algorithm to actually program our films better.
12:34And what about dynamic pricing? Where does that come in and how does consumer behavior reflect in dynamic pricing?
12:42Well, this is again, an AI tool that we have deployed to give us that information, what price points are selling more, what price points are not selling, what price points sell at a certain time of the day, and the others don't, you know, and therefore it helps us to kind of set the pricing, which is flexi pricing, depending upon the different days, weekdays and weekends,
13:10and also depending upon the time slots. So we can actually have lower prices on the weekdays prior to say four o'clock or five o'clock in the afternoon, and take them up because people have the propensity to spend at that time.
13:26You know, they want to actually go out in the evening and they don't mind spending money.
13:32And I think one of the promotions, which was 99 rupees on Tuesdays, which is a flat pricing structure, also came out with an out of this research and a lot of analytics of the data that we had collected over the last few months.
13:48Sanjeev, let's go back to OTTs.
13:50Sanjeev, let's go back to OTTs.
13:51Yes, why not?
13:52Why not?
13:53Because OTTs use algorithms now, they also know what we like to watch, we don't like to watch our preferences.
14:02And there was a time not very long back, theatres were almost written off because of OTTs.
14:08Yes.
14:09So, do you think that challenge is behind you? And how do you see OTT?
14:15No, not at all. I don't think that challenge is behind us at all.
14:18And I've always sort of maintained that we are two different formats.
14:23We are in a common industry only by virtue of showing content, films, we only show films, they show films and television series.
14:36But our format is very different.
14:39It's again, I gave the same analogy, it's like you can eat at home, you can order through Swiggy or you can go out to a restaurant.
14:48But you have the need, a social need to do it all.
14:53Some days you're very tired and you'll end up sort of ordering online.
14:56Some days you end up might cooking at home or sometimes when you have time and you feel like celebrating or going out with friends.
15:03Because human is a social being and you can't be cooped up at home all the time.
15:10So, I kind of think that these are two different delivery mechanisms and they do coexist and they have to coexist.
15:20Cinema clearly is a community experience.
15:23You know, you go with your friends, you make an evening out of it, you have your popcorn, your F&B, enjoy the film.
15:30And don't forget, you're in a massive auditorium with a big screen.
15:35And there is a certain sense of community and camaraderie when you're watching a film with people, not just your friends, but with others as well.
15:43And actually seeing that reaction, you kind of feed off from each other's reactions.
15:48Even if they're strangers, you feed off from that reaction and that kind of elevates your experience if it's a good film.
15:55Recent point being Sayara, I don't think you could have actually watched that at home alone, right?
16:01Because that whole atmosphere became so dynamic in the theatre.
16:06And I think that's what made the experience equally joyful as the content that they had made.
16:14So, I think they'll coexist even in times to come.
16:17So, when you are watching OTT, is there, do you watch OTT 1?
16:22No, no, I do.
16:24So, I'm not, I'm not sort of, I'm like, my behaviour is like any other human.
16:29I'm basically again, as I said, I eat at home, I go out sometimes, you know.
16:34So, I have the same human needs and human emotional behaviour.
16:39So, I do watch OTT sometimes when I do not have the time to go and watch a film or I don't find a film that I want to watch.
16:47So, yeah. So, I do both.
16:49But when you watch, when you binge watch or something, do you feel like, oh, this should have been in a theatre?
16:56Have you had that experience that watching something and you're like, I miss, for this movie or for this thing, I miss the big.
17:05No, we would like maximum content to release on the screens.
17:10And I think the industry has come to a very good understanding of windowing, which is to actually release a film first theatrically.
17:19And then it goes to OTT platforms after eight weeks.
17:23And it's something which works and it has worked.
17:27I would like the windows to be slightly longer.
17:29Maybe I'd like them to be 12 to 14 weeks after theatrically, ideally.
17:34But it has worked.
17:36Long form shows like the White Lotus, you know, Game of Thrones.
17:42It's good.
17:44I think it's fine to actually watch those at home on OTT because you can't possibly watch 10 hours of content in a cinema, you know.
17:52It's too long.
17:53But movies, by and large, and for me, and I'm not being biased, I guess, my first preference would always be a cinema because of the same reasons that I have given.
18:05Because a darkened auditorium with a large screen with a phenomenal sound system and a projection system and that feeling of community is something which you can't replace.
18:15Sanjeev, you also talked about how humans are social beings and there's a lot of consumer behaviour studies sort of involved in the business that you also do.
18:24Yeah.
18:25And do you use tech for that aspect as well?
18:29And you talked about social needs, but we are also talking about Gen Z who would maybe like to come alone.
18:36For them, how do you build an experience for them?
18:40How is this industry changing with the changing generation where social needs may not be that big a pull?
18:48You know, we do a lot of focus groups and we started to do a lot of focus groups.
18:52And I personally conducted a lot of focus groups with the Gen Z's.
18:55You know, from 18 to 24 and 25, when you write their behaviour has changed a lot.
19:07There was a lot coming out in those focus groups where they like to spend time with each other as friends,
19:15sitting at home and chatting with each other, playing sports like pickle and paddle,
19:22and doing all these kind of things which are sort of more healthy, you know,
19:27and they love doing all this outdoor activities and sports now,
19:31which is probably what happened in the West earlier.
19:33But now activity is catching up a lot more in India as well.
19:38Yeah, so they are slightly different from what we were.
19:43They like content, but they are choosy about the content they want to watch.
19:50They'll come and watch F1, Superman, Jurassic Park.
19:55You know, so they'll come and watch what resonates with them,
19:58which has been hugely marketed and they've been big fans of Marvel and all these IPs.
20:06So it's not that they don't come for films.
20:08I think where we first of all need to still go back to the basics
20:14and provide them with a phenomenal experience.
20:17Our product has to be great, not in terms of just the physical attributes,
20:21but also the soft touch, the service, you know, the uniforms that we work on,
20:26the food quality that we work on, the service on seats that we provide in some cases,
20:33and the ease of booking that we are trying to make it better and better.
20:39I'm not saying our ease of booking is the best.
20:42There's a journey. Our app and website still needs a lot of work.
20:46And we continue to put in a lot of money and resources and people
20:51to actually make sure that it's something which is very native to the Gen Z,
20:57that they actually find it as easy as a Blinkit or as easy as a Swiggy to sort of like,
21:02you know, book a ticket and get there.
21:05So the Gen Z doesn't like frictions.
21:07You know, like we still were a generation where we wouldn't mind queuing up,
21:12be at the box office or at the concession, you know, and then going inside.
21:18They don't want that. They want something which is very seamless and it is augmented by technology.
21:27So these are the things that we are working on.
21:30And within the cinemas itself, now we've realized that why just have our open foyer spaces
21:36only as a holding point and only as a point where they buy popcorn and Pepsi.
21:44So we're transforming some of those foyers, we're including gaming, we're including pool tables,
21:50we're putting dart rooms, we're putting photo booths, you know, all sorts of other things also.
21:58We're putting a co-working station where you can just come with your laptop
22:02and just plugging in and start working there, you know.
22:05We're putting trailer screens at the co-working spaces so that while they're working,
22:10they can even see what's coming up in the theatres very soon without actually buying a ticket for the cinemas.
22:18So creating an environment for them which is very young, which is very youthful and which is more than just buying a ticket for a film.
22:28So if they don't want to watch a film, they can still come to the premises and they can still enjoy a lot of other facilities.
22:35Sanchiv, you talked about gaming, you have bars, we are sitting in one of those.
22:40Yes.
22:41And you also talked about how you want people to come just enjoy the experience.
22:45Do you somewhere see core of PVR changing like in terms of business and revenues from just coming just from movies?
22:54Yeah.
22:55Yeah.
22:56From these experiences, how do you see that balance?
22:59I don't see that as a change.
23:01I see that as a pivot.
23:03And I see that as a pivot responding to the new market and the demands of the new people, the demands of Gen Z.
23:14So I think this is a pivot that we thought of a couple of years ago that why not sort of bring people into the premises and actually give them more than what the traditional cinemas gave them.
23:30Right.
23:31So we don't want to just show them a film, sell them a popcorn and ask them to leave.
23:37We want it to be a lot more wholesome experience.
23:41So there is a certain sense of belonging.
23:44There are certain activities which resonate with them, these AR games and VR games and all these new things that are coming out.
23:52And it also encourages stickiness at the premises so they can spend more time and enjoy the premises as much as they can.
24:04You're also bringing in a new dining experience.
24:08Yes.
24:09And I believe that uses a lot of AI somewhere.
24:13What is that?
24:14It's a concept that we haven't opened yet, but we're still working on it.
24:17It should be ready hopefully in about two, three months or maybe less.
24:22It's in Bangalore.
24:23Bangalore.
24:24And I've always found Bangalore a very exciting market to do new experiments.
24:29I think they're very sort of amenable and open to accepting new formats and new experiences.
24:37So it's going to come up in a mall and it's a full dining experience.
24:44So basically you do get a proper table.
24:47You do get a proper menu, proper service on those tables.
24:53And at the same time you're watching a film on the big screen.
24:56So it's a slightly tweaked version of our director's cut and goal class.
25:02It's a much more interactive and a much more social environment where you can sit and have a meal and watch a film.
25:15Yeah.
25:16Sanjeev, I'd like your thoughts on AI and creativity recently.
25:20We had a lot of intense debate about a film changing the ending using AI.
25:25So not just as an exhibitor, but also as a movie goer.
25:29Where do you stand on this?
25:32I'm a little apprehensive and scared because I don't know what.
25:36And I've seen some brilliant AI renditions and renders, so to speak, that have come out in depicting scenes, you know, recreating cities, recreating sets, recreating even actors, you know.
25:59So it's actually pretty scary there, which goes to kind of show that is it capable of actually making an entire film, you know, without actually going through the process of filmmaking.
26:14You know, this is something which one can probably do on a computer.
26:17So that's a bit scary.
26:19Changing the endings, de-aging, all of that is possible now through AI.
26:28And I think on a very macro level, you know, people who support AI and who are detractors of AI talk about both sides of it.
26:40Because as I said, technology can be a boon and a bane, right?
26:44So you really need to be careful as to how you adopt it.
26:48And it has to be adopted, in my view, to make things simpler, to make life simpler, to make your processes simpler within an organization.
27:00You know, your life and processes have to be made simpler so that you aren't involved so much in day-to-day activities.
27:14That was the premise. So all the day-to-day activities are taken care of.
27:19And you are able to focus on what is important.
27:23But going back on the content, I don't know how many people will use it and extend it.
27:29But there are some pure filmmakers, pure producers and actors who are very resistant.
27:36And they obviously do talk about the true joy and the essence of filmmaking getting lost if you deploy and use too much AI.
27:47But AI is not just about rewriting and creating content. We are also seeing re-releases, you know, improving prints.
27:55You are also doing a lot of re-releases.
27:58So how is AI helpful there?
28:01And do you not just in clearing the print, but also do you use AI to see maybe which re-releases should be done?
28:09We do. I mean, we do actually, because there's so many films and there's so many offers that are come our way for re-releases
28:16because they've been quite successful over the last two years.
28:19We had Sanam Therikasam and Rockstar and Laila Majnu.
28:25And, you know, these famous films actually surprise us when they actually hit the theatres.
28:29Hey, Javani Hai Diwani. And they go crazy.
28:34I'd like to share an experience of Hey, Javani Hai Diwani.
28:37And I was actually on one of my trips to Bangalore.
28:41And the manager told me, he said, can you please come to this auditorium?
28:46I'm like, I've seen the film.
28:48And he's like, no, no, just come.
28:50In the next five minutes, this song is about to start.
28:53I think it was Balam Pichkai or some song and it's about to start.
28:57I said, okay, I'm sitting there.
28:59And before the song starts, five minutes before that, I see guys and girls sitting in the auditorium getting ready.
29:08The girls were putting on their bangles, their shoes.
29:11Boys were putting on some whatever, you know, jackets and all.
29:15And the moment the song started, they all came in front of the auditorium near the lift and all started dancing.
29:25And I haven't seen this in the last 20 years of my life at all.
29:28And I'm watching. Wow. I mean, this is incredible.
29:31This is a new generation that probably hadn't seen the movie when it came out, but they grew up on the songs and now they're getting to watch that film on the big screen.
29:43And they are so entrenched and involved to another level.
29:49So yeah, so these are the tools, as you said, that gives us an insight based on social listening.
29:58We do a lot of social listening.
30:00We have a lot of our loyal consumers post which films they want to watch.
30:08And based on that, actually, we decide, okay, fine, let's get this film re-released.
30:14Also, anime. Anime was unheard of in this country about two and a half years ago.
30:21But through very sort of intense social listening, we actually got comments and comments about releasing Demon Slayer.
30:30You know, and I hadn't even heard of it. I wasn't an anime person at all.
30:36And then one thing led to the other. We went to Japan, you know, got in touch with the producers.
30:43And they were like, why are people in from India coming to watch off?
30:47We're like, no, let's try one.
30:49Let's actually give this a chance because there is a community which is not just in Mumbai, Delhi, it's in Kota.
30:56We're getting calls from Kota, from Patna, from Combator.
31:00And that is a power of social media and social listening and AI that you really get to know what consumers really want.
31:08And if you're able to give that to them, we've done our job.
31:12But have there been instances that you were surprised? Like Ye Jawani, Diwani, you said.
31:17Yeah.
31:18But was there an instance where AI said that this re-release or this could do really well, but it fell a little short of expectations?
31:26Yeah, I think that's the nature of the business. I think that is the nature of the business, but we don't always get it right.
31:33There are films that we have high expectations of, be it re-releases or new releases.
31:40And they may not perform as well as we imagine them to be or we hope them to be.
31:46But also the beauty and the nature of the business is that for every film that didn't do well in August, let's sort of not take a name perhaps,
32:00suddenly a loka and a conjuring has come and it's completely compensated for the losses of the film that we thought it will do well.
32:13So some, the good ones don't underperform, but the sleeper hits overperform so much that water finds it so level.
32:24But how has that process changed? Like selecting movies, how many shows for a movie, how long does a movie run? Is AI in that also? How does that work?
32:37I mean, again, we have this AI tool that determines like if there is a buzz for a certain film, there are box office reports which are supporting the success of the film.
32:51And therefore, how many shows do we need to program? What slots do we need to give? What timings do we need to give?
33:00So it's all very sort of IT driven and all very sort of AI driven that helps us to actually maximize the programming.
33:10We call it programming. We call it programming. Maximize the programming. And again, it's not always that we get it right.
33:15There's a lot of trial and error. You know, there's always learning because there's also you must remember our new tools.
33:21They are still evolving and AI artificial intelligence as a tool needs a lot of information, you know, so we don't have years and years of information.
33:35We have probably a year of information and all that information and data and algorithm is something that we need to build on.
33:42And therefore, then only we'll be able to fine tune to a certain degree again, not in an entirety, but to a large degree, we'll be able to fine tune as to how we must slot and program the films.
33:57Sanjeev, you were talking about anime and alternate content. How much of that is driven by Gen Z? And is it only Gen Z whose behavior has changed or even slightly older audiences, you have seen a change in behavior there as well?
34:15For anime films?
34:16Not just anime, but overall, has the consumer behavior changed? Or is it just driven by Gen Z right now?
34:24I think overall, the consumer behavior towards content has changed. And I think to some extent, OTT has been responsible for that. And I think those two years of COVID when we were all cooped up at home, and it was a very quick transition and change in behavior and acceptance of certain kind of content.
34:52Because we were exposed to so much stuff, squid games, and this and the other. And I think it suddenly elevated the expectation of the consumer of good content, you know, good production qualities, good stories, good content.
35:07And they kind of, and you see that even today, with some of the films that came out in the last six, seven months, they kind of are very dismissive towards run of the mill films. We need good content, and we need good execution.
35:25They become very discerning about the content they are watching because they are spending two and a half, three hours at the cinema, and they want something different, which actually is a reason why films like F1 did very well. Oppenheimer did very well.
35:45You know, you know, Sayara did very well. 12th fail did very well. I mean, these are just a few of the films that I can mention recently. Because if you notice, these were great content, very well written, very well directed, very well acted. I mean, 12th fail got a national award.
36:07So, I think the consumers become very discerning now. And they won't accept any film. And therefore, the anime films, as you said, also falls in that category, because they are very well made, well thought of, halki films.
36:21Since we are also, we talked about dining experience that you are opening up, you are opening a lot of high-end properties, but you're also focusing on low-cost cinemas.
36:32Yes.
36:32So, where does this differentiation come from? Like, even from a consumer point of view, are there certain geographies? Or how do you decide where to do what? And why this differentiation?
36:45You know, overall, I think what we felt was that we're now at around 1,750 screens all over the country. And somehow, even though we have cinemas in Ujain, in Naanded, in Narsipatnam, you know, in these places, Musaffar Nagar, Khanna,
37:09we were still being perceived as a high-end luxury cinema chain. You know, I think it's one of those tags that we couldn't shake off, because people remember Director's Cut here, or Juhu, or Lua Parel, you know, all these very high-profile cinemas,
37:29and then associate them with high ticket prices and high F&B prices. So, that was one reason we said that, listen, we're not that. We do have cinemas in these tier two cities.
37:46Then, the growth of these cinemas also slowed down, because we're actually dependent on malls and mall developments.
37:57And a lot of the malls and mall developments slowed down, and therefore, our opportunities to grow also became smaller.
38:07Having said that, we're still opening 100 screens this year. We'll open another 100 screens next year. We're opening in New Geographies.
38:16We're opening in Lelatak, in Gangtok in Sikkim. We're opening in Silliguri. So, we still have a lot of these new cities that we keep adding on.
38:27Coupled with that, I think there was a conversation that we had with the industry leaders, with the producers, with the INV ministries,
38:39that India's per capita screen penetration is not growing as fast as it did in other places like China and America that you hear of.
38:50So, our per capita cinema is very low. Cities seem very saturated now, you know, pretty much saturated.
38:57So, then, where do you go? And where do you go is where the gaps are. So, there are a lot of gaps in tier two or tier three cities where they don't have cinemas or where they don't have good cinemas.
39:12And that is the reason why we have now launched a low-cost model, smart cinemas, we're calling them.
39:18It's still in its stage of putting things together. We still don't have a proof of concept.
39:26We're still putting the paper in place.
39:29But having said that only, while doing that, we've identified so many places where we can provide a great hygienic cinematic experience at a low price point.
39:43And I think that will definitely be a very substantial growth driver to increase the number of screens in these places because everybody likes to watch films.
39:54But if there's no supply in their towns and cities, if they don't have a great cinema, then that's opportunity and business loss for us.
40:03So, would we also see creation of spaces like gaming and all in these properties also or for urban areas or for like big metro cities, revenue drivers will be these gaming, bars, restaurant lounges.
40:23And for more smaller towns and cities, it will be low-cost, just the movie going cater.
40:29So, the low-cost model basically, which we're still evolving, is obviously, first of all, the geography has to be very important.
40:36Where we open these places, there are places that we've got in Northeast, in South India, in UP and Bihar.
40:46Where all across the country, we've got these opportunities where they want a cinema and there's no cinema for miles, you know.
40:53And we all sort of complain about the box office numbers not reaching the numbers that we want to.
41:01And how will they reach those numbers when that supply is not available?
41:05But here, in these smaller places, we look at a very simple model.
41:10Maybe two to three screens, hygienic, very practical, no frills, so to speak, but still aspirational.
41:20I think where we don't want to do is actually give a product that even they won't accept.
41:28Make it so compromised that even they'd be like,
41:31But at the same time, not make it into a huge mall and maybe anchor it with like a hypermarket,
41:40anchor it with some F&B offerings, great parking, great infrastructure, and that's it.
41:46Leave it at that.
41:47Sanji, what is the next big tech disruption that you are anticipating in your business?
41:54Or do you think that now every day is a disruption with AI?
41:57I mean, it's very difficult to say what will be the disruption.
42:07And I think it's best to focus on how you can use technology to enhance your business more.
42:17You know, and I think all the buzzwords of AI is something that we have to embrace wholeheartedly.
42:30We can't ignore it.
42:32And we have to use, because every application has different scenarios.
42:38And it's going to benefit different businesses, right?
42:44So we have to see what is out there, which are the companies, be it Proximity or ChatGPT,
42:51that we can work with.
42:54And I think our philosophy has been to use these partners and tell them what we really want.
43:00We really need to sort of like articulate what our vision is.
43:05Now, how do we use this technology to enhance our vision and to be able to reach our goal?
43:16So I don't want to see it as a disruptor.
43:20I want to see it as an enabler, an enabler who will actually make our product a lot more acceptable
43:28and a lot more cutting edge for our consumer.
43:35So if we fast forward, say, five years from now, how different would you say walking into a PVR property
43:43and the movie experience is going to be from what it is today?
43:47Paint a picture first.
43:48I mean, I think we need to sort of do a lot of work on personalization, hyper-personalization.
43:55And I think people in the next five years will become even more discerning.
44:01They're time poor, not necessarily cash poor.
44:05We need to be able to know the customer and it should be able to tailor make an experience for them.
44:13You know, we really need to make sure that there is no time wasted in joining the queue,
44:20getting anxiety over which film to watch, where to sit, what to eat.
44:25I think it should be a very, very simple decision based on their past experiences,
44:32based on the data that we collect about them, and based on the algorithms that we have gathered
44:38through these AI tools, that it's going to be a very simple in and out kind of an experience.
44:46Like the way airports are doing, be it Singapore airport or Dubai or even with us and Dijiatra,
44:53you're just making life very simple for people.
44:55You know, so that whole anxiety of airports, which used to be there earlier, you know,
45:01you have to queue up and do this and it's chaotic and all the rest of it.
45:06They've kind of got it where apparently in Singapore airport, you're out in 10 minutes,
45:10you know, facial recognition, biometrics, you know, bags are already there.
45:16You're just through and same with Dubai now and same with, you know, I was reading about
45:24a Marriott AI tools that they have adopted where based on your past purchase pattern,
45:31they give you loyalty points, they'll give you upgrades, they'll give you free rooms, you know,
45:37so that also actually really helps the customer become sticky to that brand because they know that
45:44you've stayed there four times and your fifth time could be free, you know.
45:48So those are the algorithms and tools that we can actually get from our app and website
45:56and the information that we can use from them.
46:00We want to use them to be able to make the entire experience just phenomenal.
46:06Sanjeev, I'd like to close this conversation by asking you what is the one thing about
46:12movie-going experience that you wish AI or tech does not touch, does not change.
46:18So that when the feeling you got when you watch Sholidh for the first time, you still get that.
46:23You know, I think the authenticity of the content itself
46:26and I think that that is something which I would really
46:31not like to be changed and I think
46:34the content creation really comes from your heart or passion and it should remain like that.
46:41Some of the best films in the world who obviously till now haven't used AI,
46:46be it Godfather, be it your F1 or be it Sound of Music or so many films,
46:53you know, they didn't have AI to kind of tell them what to do.
46:58I mean, those films came out of pure genius, pure passion, brilliant writing,
47:04brilliant storytelling, you know, the ability to tell a story, great acting, great sets and it was
47:12all done very naturally and organically. And I think to be able to preserve that authenticity,
47:20I just hope that AI doesn't sort of, you know, spoil that experience.
47:28On that note, here's to hoping AI doesn't spoil the movie watching experience as far as content is
47:34concerned. Thank you so much, Sanjeev, for joining us. It was lovely having this conversation.
47:39Thank you. Thank you so much. Lovely talking to you. Thank you.
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