A signage posted at the hall entrance by IMAX officials allege “non-cooperation and pending disputes”. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Calcutta, Oct. 9: Calcutta’s honeymoon with what is touted as the world’s most “powerful and immersive” cinematic experience is poised to end before the Pujas, with the giant IMAX theatre in Mani Square at the exit door.

A protracted face-off between the Bypass mall management and the Aeren RJ Group, which holds the Indian rights for IMAX, has come to a head with the larger-than-life movie format threatening to pull the plug.

“Yes, we have decided to shut down operations from the 13th of this month (Shasthi) since the mall management never kept its promise of handholding even after we invested nearly Rs 30 crore in the project,” said Rajesh J. Aeren, who heads the India franchisee of IMAX. He said the group would hold a news conference next week to announce the shutdown.

Sanjay Jhunjhunwala, the managing director of Mani Group, developers of Mani Square mall, admitted that talks on the long-standing dispute over “the poor performance” of IMAX broke down on Friday. He termed the decision of the franchisees to shut down the IMAX theatre on the eve of the Pujas as “arm-twisting tactics.”

Those who turned up to catch Avatar in 3D this morning found the screening suspended, although the notice at the entrance stated that the screen would shut down “w.e.f. 13th November, 2010”. IMAX shows resumed later in the day.

The IMAX screen at Mani Square is 10 times bigger than the conventional ones. The Mani Group was banking on the giant theatre driving footfall to the mall. “That never happened since the content remained poor with the franchisees screened only stale software,” Jhunjhunwala alleged.