The transformative journey of theatre's ventilation
In 2022 would you watch a movie in the theatre that doesn't have an AC? To answer that question I would like to share my experience with theatres and how this AC, the transformative technology got into theatres.
My Theater experience:
It is fair to say that south Indians go crazy about movies and celebrate their actors as superstars if not Demigods, this tradition has been going on for years now.
One can witness the festive celebrations at theatres on the first day of release, with fans bursting crackers, humongous cut-outs of stars decorated with huge garlands and fans pouring milk over the cut-outs, such is the craze for actors and cinema.
We love watching movies in the theatres. Of all the transformative technologies that factored in to make theatres “an escape the reality” experience, I find the story of AC and how it got its way into theatres intriguing.
I had my fair share of unique experiences watching a movie in the theatre. When I was a kid my dad used to take me to the theatre once a month. It's a family outing which involves onion samosas, followed by ice cream and a restaurant dinner.
Back then the theatres were equipped with ceiling fans for ventilation and I wouldn't call it discomfort because I didn't know what an air-conditioned space feels like back then, so yeah there was only a minor inconvenience that too only when the power outage occurs in the middle of the screening.
Last week on the eve of Tollywood superstar Mahesh babu’s birthday the makers decided to screen his all-time super hit movie ‘Pokiri’ on limited screens, and it turned out to be a huge crowd puller. I was really excited and went to watch it in my nearest theatre.
The theatre was almost Houseful and the fans went wild with whistles and dancing. Suddenly, there was a power outage and the whole theatre became hot and sticky. People started to sweat profusely and the mosquitoes started to fly in, which only made the situation worse. Finally, the power returned after 10 minutes, it turns out there was a technical glitch in switching to the generator.
Even though it was only for a brief moment, sitting in a closed space with hundreds of people that aren't ventilated enough is sheer torture. We're so accustomed to air conditioning these days, that even all of our public spaces - airports, railway stations, buses - are air-conditioned. Slowly but surely, ACs have become an essential part of our lives.
It is no exaggeration that theatre’s experience is unimaginable without AC, here is what BookMyShow CEO had to say in one of the interviews back in 2013.
BookMyShow CEO:
“Around 3.6 billion movie tickets were sold in INDIA every year, now that's a huge number and our population is about 1.2 billion. Now that number isn't just that we are a movie-crazy nation and we are of "escape the reality attitude", the hidden truth is that we are a hot desperate, dusky nation it's freaking 40C outside”.
"in south India apart from the delusional reason that they are movie sacrosanct, almost 9 months of the year it is hot. So that's the main driving reason to theatres"
He adds, “We run BookMyShow in Switzerland too but when temperatures went down we lose our tickets to swimming, golfing, and running, but in India, it is always hot, why do you think most of the movie tickets were sold in south India apart from the delusional reason that they are movie sacrosanct, almost 9 months of the year it is hot. So that's the main driving reason to theatres.”
The origin of Air conditioning in theatres:
In 1902, air conditioning was invented for a very different purpose than what it is used for today. It was not created to provide humans with comfort but instead had another function, to improve the quality of colour print in a Printing Company
The young engineer Willis Carrier was tasked by a printing company to solve the problem of varying humidity levels during colour printing. Carrier figured out that by circulating air over coils that were chilled by compressed ammonia, he could maintain the humidity at a constant 55%.
Soon Willis carrier was exploring places to use his technology, at that time the state of theatres was that they had to shut down their business during summers because it was exhaustive to sit in a closed place.
Before Willis Carrier's invention, theatres used a system of blowing air over ice and through ducts in order to cool the space. However, this method was often unreliable, as the air often released an unpleasant smell and it is damp most of the time. Carrier's invention rapidly gained popularity in the 1920s as more and more movie theatres began to use it. Not only was it more practical, but it also became a selling point for many movie-goers.
Fast forward to today, in India, our biggest starrer movies are released at festival times or in summers, the majority tend to watch on holidays and it's hard to imagine our theatres without air conditioning.
So next time when you push that button on your AC remote, just think of Willis Carrier and let him know that his transformative technology has reached your doorstep.
Check out this amazing podcast episode by Tim Harford to learn more:
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