CHENNAI: People with Disabilities (PwD) can now reserve seats with wheelchair access at PVR cinemas at Grand Mall and VR Mall. The seats will appear with a purple colour wheelchair symbol on the seat. These seats are also available only in pairs, so that an accompanying person may sit next to them. “The seat costs the same as other seats. People will have to show their disability identity at the venue in order to reserve the seats,” said a PVR spokesperson.
The reservation policy came into force about six months ago and the number of reserved seats are decided depending on the size of the hall, the spokesperson said. SPI Cinemas has already reserved seats in the front near the exit for PwD. “We welcome this reservation and it will be incredibly helpful,” said TNM Deepak, a disability rights activist and a faculty at Loyola College. He however added that what would be more inclusive, is to reserve a set of seats for PwD, senior citizens and pregnant women. “This would not only increase the number of reserved seats, but also reduce the stigma of accessing those seats,” he said.