The multiplex is scheduled for a June 3 launch. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, May 24: For movie buffs in the steel city, the long wait for the multiplex experience is almost over.

Eylex Films Pvt. Ltd will throw open a three-screen multiplex, the city’s first, adjacent to Big Bazaar at Pardih Road in Mango in the first week of June.

“The construction work is almost complete. We have set June 3 as the tentative launch date,” said Aakash Jalan, director of Eylex Films Pvt. Ltd. However, he added that the launch could get postponed for another week or so as certain approvals from the state government were still awaited.

Jalan said if the multiplex launch happened according to schedule, film lovers would be able to watch Ready, starring Salman Khan. According to him, all three screens would show the same film during the launch.

The multiplex would have a combined seating capacity of 850. The three-storey building would also house ice-cream outlets and a food court. The screens would be on the top floor, occupying an area of 25,000sqft. The food court and the rest would occupy 20,000sqft.

Officials of the multiplex chain revealed that keeping in mind different income groups, they had worked out ticket prices accordingly. “The rates, which are yet to be finalised, would be competitive,” said an official, adding that a few rows will be reserved as premium class. Advance booking for new releases would begin on Tuesdays.

Over Rs 4 crore was spent for the multiplex project, construction work of which began in September last year.

Currently, the city has four functional single screen movie theatres — Payal Talkies in Mango, Goushala Cinema in Jugsalai, Shyam Talkies in Parsudih and Star Talkies in Burmamines. Two of them — Payal and Goushala — recently underwent massive renovations. During the past decade, four theatres downed shutters, unable to bear the exorbitant compound tax imposed by the state government.

Jalan revealed that as part of expansion plans, the company would open another multiplex at Deoghar in the next two months , followed by one in Bokaro. Eylex already has a presence in Ranchi, where it is running a multiplex on Hinoo Road for the last three years.

“We decided to come up with a multiplex in the steel city as it lacked good movie theatres where people could enjoy quality time at a state-of-the-art theatre,” said Jalan.