The Atrium (mall) cinema experience

My fondest memory of watching movie in a cinema dates back to 1978. That was the time if you wanted to watch a movie you had to go to a cinema. VCRs came some two years later, changing the whole scenario, followed by CDs, DVDs, Internet etc etc. I remember going all the way from Islamabd to Pindi with my uncle to watch “A man call tiger”, “One million years BC” and “Enter the dragon”. Then later when NAFDEC was born in Islamabad I remember going for “Star Wars” and “Abida” (An Egyptian movie). Back then cinemas were mostly sordid places with uncomfortable seats and ill disciplined crowd of movie watchers.

With the advent of VCRs everything changed. PCs and Internet brought movies to our bedrooms and laps. Whiling away my time a week back I stumbled upon Atrium mall for some necessary items used mostly in my morning constitutional. The huge crowd at Atrium cinema caught my attention along with the umpteen billboards and posters. I abhor Indian movies (mostly) but definitely wanted to see this WAAR thing. So called up their helpline next morning and got two seats booked, one for me and one for my snuggler.

The booking experience is fairly simple, you call their helpline, wait for your turn and get a ticket booked for yourself. The clerk gives you a ticket number for the time and number of seats you have booked, with instructions to get your ticket before certain time. That’s it, pretty much like daewoo Bus Service. So off I went to get the ticket in the evening.

The Atrium cinemas is not one but three cinemas in one location running different movies. Movie shows start at 11:45 am with the last show being screened at 11:45 pm. In all 5 shows per cinema. The place is located in Karachi Saddar. There’s ample parking space available on the main roads but one can make use of the underground parking and they do have valet service.

It’s a no smoking facility, clean, aesthetically arranged, with good décor and just the kind of ambience one wants. The seats are comfortable, one can lounge in them while sipping a coffee. Each seat comes with a cup holder and the pop corns you place in your lap.

Drinks and eatables from outside are not allowed. The cinemas have their own food shops selling, drinks, coffee, pop corns, burgers and snacks. The place is really clean and the crowd quite refined. A ticket for a 2D movie costs Rs. 350 and a 3D flick costs Rs. 450 per head.

I was really impressed with the cleanliness and décor, the 7.1 Dolby Surrond sound, everything is in place. However, I do fell the rest rooms are a tad bit less in number. Would be nice if there are more of them arranged, I missed a 2 minute scene while waiting in queue to empty my bladder. Other than this, it was an awesome experience. Get the details here http://atriumcinemas.com.pk/index.php