PVR boss Ajay Bijli explains why your popcorn is so expensive

Ajay Bijli, chairman and MD, PVR, believes India needs an enhanced multiplex experience at every price point.
He said that India remains under-screened and the business has immense potential to grow.

Bijli spoke about the F&B business which he said is now worth Rs 1,500 crore.

Bijli said that he doesn't blame the consumers for speaking against expensive food at PVR cinemas as the transition from a single screen to multiplexes is still happening and the operational and capital expenditure involved in running both has a huge difference.

These costs include squeezing in multi screens in a limited space and the cost of installing the infrastructure needed to run them and the rental for property leased in malls.

"Expenses are a function of quality. When people feel they are happy with what they are getting, then they don't complain."

He said that there is an infrastructure around what is being sold. "Earlier, single screens used to have one projection room, one sound system, foyers were never air conditioned. When multiplexes came, capex shot up 4 to 6 times."

Bijli said that multiplexes have six screens with six projection rooms, six sound systems along with air conditioned foyer, so the capital expenditure and the operational expenditure also shot up.

He said that people are by and large happy with the quality of the offering otherwise they wouldn't have done the kind of F&B sales they have achieved.

The first quarter results have shown that the footfalls have reached pre-pandemic levels.

On the merger with Inox, he said that the approval should come within a few months.