PVR Ltd (formerly Priya Village Roadshow Ltd),

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name, is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is a "fictitious" business name. Registering the fictitious name w ...

PVR Cinemas, is an Indian

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

chain based in Gurgaon. PVR pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first

multiplex cinema A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...

in 1997 at Saket,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

History

PVR Cinemas has its origin as Priya Cinema in

Vasant Vihar Vasant Vihar is a diplomatic and residential sub-division of the South West Delhi in National Capital Territory of Delhi, India. It is located near the diplomatic area of Chanakyapuri, and houses over 50 diplomatic missions of foreign countries, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, the Cinema was named after Priya Jaisinghani and was bought by Ajay Bijli's father in 1978, who also owned a trucking business, Amritsar Transport Co. In 1988, Bijli took over the running of the cinema hall, which was revamped in 1990, and its success led to the founding PVR Cinemas. The company started as a joint venture agreement between Priya Exhibitors Private Limited and

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...

Limited in 1995 with 60:40 ratio. It began its commercial operations in June 1997. The company is founded by

Ajay Bijli Ajay Bijli is chairman of PVR Ltd and the owner of PVR Cinemas chain in India. Since 2013 Bijli has been a managing director for CineMAX India and a director for iPic Entertainment Inc. Early life and education Bijli completed his BCom from Hin ...

who is the chairman and managing director of PVR Cinemas. Ajay Bijli's brother Sanjeev Kumar Bijli is the Joint Managing Director of PVR Ltd. The company also operates a pro-active CSR wing under PVR. The first PVR Gold Screen was introduced in Forum Mall, Bengaluru.

Mergers and acquisitions

In 2003, ICICI Ventures invested 40 crore in PVR when Village Roadshow decided to pull out of the partnership. In 2012, Kanakia group owned

CineMAX Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

cinema chain was bought by Cine Hospitality Private Ltd, a subsidiary of PVR Cinemas for , making PVR the largest cinema chain in India. In May 2016, DLF group owned DT Cinemas was bought by PVR Cinemas for . In August 2018, PVR Cinemas announced their acquisition of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

-based

SPI Cinemas SPI Cinemas is an Indian multiplex chain originally owned by the SPI Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The company is often lauded for its premium quality and inexpensive pricing. Its theatres, primarily Sathyam, are often used by ...

for ₹850 crore in a cash and stock deal. In August 2019, PVR Cinemas crossed the 800 screens milestone in India. On 27 March 2022, PVR announced it would be merging with INOX Leisure, the second largest cinema chain in India.

Collaborations

In October 2021, PVR announced their collaboration with the film ''RRR'' as part of the film's promotion. Accordingly, PVR would rebrand itself as PVRRR across the multiplex chain's 170+ properties in over 70 cities for a few months following the film's release on 25 March 2022. In June 2022, PVR announced a collaboration with French high-end theatre company, Ice Theatres, part of CGR Theatres, to open new premium theatres in India.

Formats

PVR Gold Screen

PVR's first "Gold Screen" was launched in

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is the only city to ...

in 2007.

PVR Superplex

In 2014, PVR Cinemas introduced Superplex format in

Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...

. The cinema has 15 screens with IMAX,

4DX 4DX is a 4D film format developed by CJ 4DPlex, a subsidiary of South Korean cinema chain CJ CGV. It allows films to be augmented with various practical effects, including motion-seats, wind, strobe-lights, simulated-snow, and scents. First i ...

, Gold Class, a playhouse and mainstream auditoriums. PVR Cinemas has invested ₹48 crores in this new venture. PVR also joined hands with friends group and business venture was called FRIENDS CINEMA

PVR Playhouse

PVR Playhouse includes a special 49 seater movie auditorium showcasing children's movies/animated content. Along with Customized 3D glasses, it offers bean bags and rubberised seats kids and parents. This format is available only in Bengaluru,

, Delhi,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

PVR 4DX

In 2016, PVR's 4DX became the second movie theater chain in India to introduce

in the country after

Cinépolis Cinépolis is a Mexican and international movie theater chain. Its name means ''City of Cinema'' and its slogan is ''La Capital del Cine'' ( en, the Capital of Cinema). Cinépolis was the biggest cineplex chain in Mexico, with 427 theaters in ...

Gallery

File:pvr saket.jpg, PVR Saket, New Delhi (December 2005) File:PVR Cinemas.jpg, PVR Vikas Puri, New Delhi (November 2007) File:Phoenix Marketcity (Mumbai) - PVR Cinemas.jpg, PVR Phoenix Marketcity, Mumbai (October 2010) File:The Acropolis Mall.JPG, PVR Acropolis, Ahmedabad (January 2012) File:PVR Latur.jpg, PVR Latur (October 2009) File:PVR, Magneto Mall , Raipur.png, PVR Magneto Mall, Raipur (April 2017) File:PVR Vega city mall, Bengaluru .jpg, PVR Vega City Mall, Bengaluru (July 2018) File:PVR Ranchi.jpg, PVR Nucleus Mall, Ranchi (May 2022)

References

External links

PVR Cinemas official website
{{Nifty 200 companies Cinema chains in India Companies based in Gurgaon Entertainment companies established in 1997 1997 establishments in Haryana Warburg Pincus companies Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange