Don't be surprised to hear the whirring of a helicopter just above your head while watching a movie. Or the sound of raindrops near you while watching a deluge scene. Or the sound of the bullet fired at the hero whizzing past your ears.
The cinematic experience of moviegoers is about to undergo a colossal change.
Mona cinema launched the first Dolby Atmos-enabled screen in Bihar on Tuesday. The new-age sound technology gives one a 360-degree experience. While in conventional technology, the sound emits from a particular source, in a Dolby Atmos-enabled screen, it can travel around the theatre unlike the Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound systems in which sound comes from the directions where the speakers are placed.
Ashim Mathur, the marketing head of Dolby India, present at the launch, said Mona was the first theatre in Bihar to have launched the facility.
"Introduced globally in the beginning of 2012, the first Dolby Atmos-enabled screen was launched in the country at Chennai in December 2012. Dolby Atmos has travelled from Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram and a few other places before reaching Patna. We are now eyeing eastern India to launch this facility," said Mathur.
Chief executive officer of Amrapali Films Limited Ajay Kumar Kataruka, also the owner of Mona, said the launch of the Dolby Atmos-enabled screen at Mona was bound to transform the cinematic experience of cine goers in Patna.
"The Dolby Atmos creates a three-dimensional sound that more accurately replicates the way we usually hear. The Dolby Atmos format provides control over each individual speaker, allowing more fluid movement of sounds around the cinema. Moreover, Dolby Atmos introduces ceiling speakers to provide spherical-like sound that engulfs listeners such as the sound of helicopter over one's head is amazing as one sees a flying helicopter scene in the theatre," said Ajay.
Yash Kataruka, director of Amrapali Films Limited, said the launch would provide more realistic experience of cinema.
BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, the chief guest at the programme, said: "A lot needs to be done in the field of cinema in Bihar. The state government has started working on its plan of creating a film city in Rajgir. I, myself, had submitted a project regarding this to the government. Hope, more such good things unfold in future in the state."