Andhracafe.com- Chennai, Dec 25 (IANS) The cinema crazy crowd of Tamil Nadu could not have it better. Not only have the fares in cinema halls fallen but multiplexes here are issuing pre-paid cards to keep your seat booked in the hall for a year.

Why not? Of India's 13,000 cinema halls, Tamil Nadu accounts for about 4,000. Some of the most innovative ones are in Chennai and its outskirts, just as Asia's largest drive in screen is here at an east coast hall.

The year gone by has also seen a dramatic increase in cinema hall crowds as more and more cinemas are upgrading infrastructure, with Satyam Cinema leading the way in innovations for viewer comfort. No matter what picture is showing at Satyam, at weekends viewership is 97 percent. Even Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan catch their 'Mission Impossible' late night show here at Satyam.

Inaugurating the fourth edition of the Chennai International Film Festival here, IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran saidthat though interest in IT-based entertainment was growing, 'still the joy of cinema remains the same. Cinema is a window of past, present and future. Like cricket, it is a passion in India'.

Therefore, little surprise that on a request from the Tamil Film Producers Council, South Indian Film Chamber, Chennai City Theatre Owners Association and Film Distributors Associations, the Tamil Nadu government has decided to reduce taxes and lower fares in cinema halls from Jan 1, 2007.

The cheapest ticket in cinema halls with AC in metros will be Rs.10 while the costliest will be Rs.50. For non-AC theatres, the minimum is Rs.7 and the maximum is Rs.30. In municipality areas, the cheapest AC theatre ticket will cost Rs.5 and the costliest Rs.40. For non-AC theatres the cheapest will be Rs.4 and the costliest Rs.30.

To add to the goodies, the popular Satyam cinema in Chennai has begun issuing pre-paid cards costing Rs.300.

If a person pays Rs.300 and purchases his card, he can at any time, for any show, walk into the theatre and get a seat. The card is renewable. So if one has watched Rs.200 worth of movies, he can recharge the card and his seat is assured for all future films.

The cards are proving to be a boon to cash starved college students.

The Satyam Cinema has won several HR awards for 'organisation with innovative HR practices'.

Satyam is a multiplex with six screens and seating for 2,900 people. It has the highest weekly gross collection. It plans to set up a 29-screen multiplex at the Express Estate on Club House Road, in the heart of the city.

The group is planning a shopping mall-cum-multiplex in the Vadapalani area, and on Poonamalee High Road in west Chennai, and going into smaller towns in the state. Everywhere, pre-paid cards are sure to find their place.

Even Prarthana Cinema, on Chennai's southern outskirts, providing a screen tower 100 by 60 ft high, is upgrading.

Mayajaal, another south city multiplex too, is increasing its screens from six to eight. 'Viewership is now back with interest in value addition,' says a hall owner.

Satyam was the first in the city to set up a transit play lounge Magic Hat. It has its own food outlets.

It was the first in India to introduce the Real Digital Experience (RDX) with DLP Cinema technology from Texas Instruments and hosted the worldwide premiere of Star Wars III, using DLP cinema technology-based projectors.

'Satyam Cinemas has always been looking at opportunities to delight our customers,' says Swaroop V. Reddy, Satyam's director.

With Satyam showing the way, other multiplexes in the city too will soon have to come up with pre-paid cards, say viewers.