Hindi
PVR’s Q1 consolidated revenue up to Rs 1,002 crore
Mumbai: Multiplex operator PVR has announced its unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2022.
Consolidated revenue, Ebitda and PAT were Rs 1,002 crore, Rs 362 crore and Rs 53 crore, respectively, as compared to Rs 93 crore, Rs 58 crore and Rs 220 crore for the corresponding quarter in FY ’22. After adjusting for the impact of IND-AS 116-Leases, the consolidated revenue, Ebitda, and PAT of the company were Rs 1,000 crore, Rs 208 crore, and Rs 68 crore, respectively, as compared to Rs 71 crore, Rs 110 crore, and Rs 142 crore for Q1 FY’22.
This quarter was the best ever quarter in PVR’s history in terms of revenue, Ebitda, and PAT. The company recorded the highest ever ATP of Rs 250 for the quarter on the back of global and local tent poles that resonated with the Indian audience. The quarter was marked by the release of some of the biggest domestic hits like “KGF: Chapter 2,” “RRR,” “Vikram,” “Bhool Bhulaiya 2” and Hollywood tentpoles like “Doctor Strange” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” which PVR said performed exceedingly well at the box office. “KGF 2” went on to become the second largest blockbuster in the Indian market. It was the highest grosser ever for PVR, with a net box office of Rs 121 crore across its cinema circuit.
PVR added that its team’s consistent work on F&B resulted in the highest ever average F&B spend per head (SPH) of Rs 134 being reported during the quarter, reflecting a growth of 32 per cent over pre-pandemic levels. The company has recorded the highest monthly average F&B revenue of Rs.100+ crore during the quarter.
But the growth in ad revenue continues to lag. The company has reported advertising income of Rs 63 crore, which is 32 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic figures. Or in other words, it reflects a 68 per cent recovery in ad income vis-à-vis pre-pandemic levels.
On the back of significant growth in ATP and SPH and a significant recovery in admissions, the Ebitda margins for the quarter were 20.8 per cent.
The company said that the content pipeline for 2022 in the months ahead looks extremely robust. Over the next few months, it has several big-budget Bollywood movies lined up for release, like “Shamshera,” “Laal Singh Chaddha,” “Brahmastra,” “Vikram Vedha,” “Ram Setu,” “Phone Bhoot,” “Yodha,” “Drishyam 2,” “Cirkus,” “Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali,” etc.. “Bullet Train,” “Paws of Fury,” “DC League of Super Pets,” “Black Adam,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel),” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” are among the films from Hollywood. From the regional genre, we have “Vikrant Rona,” “Liger,” “Godfather,” “Ponniyin Selvan.”
The company has revived its capex plans in a significant manner and is on track to open a total of 125 new screens during FY’23. It has opened 14 screens across 3 properties till date. About one-third of the new screen additions in this fiscal year will be in tier 2 and 3 cities. The company plans to enter nine new cities during the year.
The announced merger with Inox Leisure is progressing well. Both the companies have received “No Objection Certificates” from the two stock exchanges (BSE and NSE) on the proposed scheme of merger. We are on track to submit our application for the approval of the scheme of merger before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in the next couple of weeks.
PVR chairman and MD Ajay Bijli said, “This quarter’s results are a reflection of the strength of the domestic film industry we have in India and the consumer’s unsatiated appetite to watch films on the big screen. The Indian exhibition industry has been one of the fastest to recover as compared to other international markets. The content line-up for the year ahead looks very promising, and we hope this will be a very strong box office year for the Indian exhibitors. As we celebrate the silver jubilee for PVR this year, we are extremely confident that we will continue to set and exceed even greater benchmarks in the years to come.”
Hindi
Remembering Gyan Sahay, the lens behind film, television and advertising
From a puppet rabbit selling poppadums to Hindi cinema, he framed it all.
MUMBAI: There are careers, and then there are canvases. Gyan Sahay, the veteran cinematographer, director, and producer who passed away on 10 March 2026 in Mumbai, had one of the latter. Over several decades in the Indian film and television industry, he turned lenses, lights, and the occasional puppet rabbit into something approaching art.
A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Sahay built his reputation as a director of photography across a career that stretched from the early 1970s all the way to the digital age. He was the kind of craftsman who understood that a well-composed shot is not merely a technical achievement but a quiet act of storytelling.
For most Indians of a certain age, however, Sahay will forever be the man behind the rabbit. His direction of the iconic long-running television commercial for Lijjat Papad, featuring its now-legendary puppet bunny, gave the country one of its most cheerfully persistent advertising images. It was the sort of work that sneaks into the national subconscious and takes up permanent residence.
His big-screen credits as cinematographer include Anokhi Pehchan (1972), Pagli (1974), Pas de Deux (1981), and Hum Farishte Nahin (1988). In 1999, he stepped behind a different kind of camera altogether, making his directorial debut with Sar Ankhon Par, a drama that featured Vikas Bhalla and Shruti Ulfat, with a cameo by Shah Rukh Khan for good measure.
On television, Sahay was particularly prized for his command of multi-camera production setups, a skill that made him a go-to technician for large-scale shows and reality programmes. In an industry that has never been especially patient with complexity, he was the calm hand on the rig.
In later life, Sahay turned teacher. He participated regularly in masterclasses and Digi-Talks, often hosted by organisations such as Bharatiya Chitra Sadhna, sharing hard-won wisdom on cinematography, the comedy of timing in a shot, and the sweeping changes brought by the shift from celluloid to digital. He was also said to have been involved in a project concerning a biographical film on Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy.
Tributes from the film industry poured in following the news of his passing, with colleagues remembering him as a senior cameraman who served as a rare bridge between two entirely different eras of Indian cinema. That is, perhaps, the finest thing one can say of any craftsman: he kept up, and he brought others along with him.
