After having a bunch of movie titles that rhymed with Superstar Rajinikanth’s most memorable hits, Vijay is all set to tread Thalaivar’s path yet again. When his next release Thalaivaa hits screens across the world, it will be the second Tamil movie to release with Dolby’s cutting-edge Atmos sound – the first being Rajinikanth’s Sivaji 3D that released last December. “The makers were very eager to have the best sound for Vijay’s film and have signed on with Dolby. We are very excited to see how the sound mix comes out,” said Pankaj Kedia, Country Manager of Dolby Labaratories. Atmos is Dolby’s latest all-round sound experience system that has been installed in 200 screens across the world.
Thalaivaa is Vijay’s next release after his blockbuster Thuppaki that released last Diwali. Directed by A L Vijay, the film stars Amala Paul, Santhanam and Sathyaraj along with Vijay. The sound mixing with Dolby Atmos will be done in Chennai with Real Image studios who pioneered the mixing technique for Atmos in India with Sivaji 3D. In case you’re wondering what the point of releasing a film with Dolby Atmos is, when there are only two theatres in town with the sound system – SPI (Sathyam) Cinemas announced that they will convert their entire network of cinema screens to Dolby Atmos.
Sathyam Cinemas’ CEO Kiran Reddy announced that by the end of the year, 37 screens that they operate across Chennai and Coimbatore will be equipped with Dolby Atmos. “This will be a big move for us because there are infrastructure changes that will have to be made to accomodate Atmos. But the audience response has been so overwhelming that we have decided to install it in all of our cinemas,” he said. This includes installation of Atmos sound systems in Luxe (Phoenix Market City) and Palazzo, besides Sathyam cinemas’ flagship multiplex and Escape Cinemas (Express Avenue).
While installation at the new theatres will be easier for Dolby, conversion of some of the older screens like Sathyam and Santham will be a little more difficult, said Kedia, “With a large theatre like Sathyam that seats over 1000, we may have to close it down for a few days to make some infrastructural changes,” he added.
The crew of Pizza 2 - Villa were also present when the announcement was made that their movie would also have Atmos sound – quite a revelation given how C V Kumar’s movies have been known to be made on a shoestring budget.
