By Troy Ribeiro
Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS): Imagine internationally acclaimed choreographer Matthew Bourne's "3D Ballet Swan Lake" or choreographer Christopher Wheeldon's "Cinderella" happening right before your eyes or watching Freddie Mercury performing.

Thanks to PVR's latest initiative PVR Live, this has actually became a reality.

With the idea of bringing live entertainment, PVR Live has succeeded in creating "Event Cinema", which will allow enthusiasts to enjoy rare treats like live performances of stand-up comedians, plays, as well as recorded events like concerts and ballet performances on the large screen.

Dharmesh Datta, Vice President, Head Alternate Content, PVR Limited, said: "The revolutionary endeavour aims at providing holistic entertainment to our viewers."

"Through the use of cutting edge technology and ground-breaking formats, we are hoping to engage audiences with specially recreated versions of some of the hugely popular productions from around the globe."

"Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen- Live in Budapest" set the ball rolling with a screening on Friday. The two-part documentary film offered a rare glimpse of the iconic rock band Queen and is centred around their 1986 Budapest Stadium concert which was captured by Hungary's state Film Corporation using 17 cameras.

The narration uses interviews with the four soft spoken band members as they talk openly about their work on a variety of projects. The film gives a terrific feel of how the team approached their work; from song writing to recording, to performing live and their larger-than-life music.

Their combined intensity still sends chills down the spine and it is fascinating to see that Mercury engaged as seductively with an interviewer as he did with a stadium full of fans.

"The concert film was supposed to be screened on Sep 5 on Freddie Mercury's birthday, but unfortunately, due to the recent censor-department fiasco our entire project was delayed by a week," said Datta.

There is something for everyone.

While the family audience can look forward to the "3D Ballet Swan Lake" and "Cinderella - Dutch National Ballet", music lovers too are in for a treat. Two, never-before-screened concert films of two of the most popular music bands of their times - Queen and One Direction - will be shown as well.

The One Direction concert will be screened on Oct 11-12 and will be witnessed simultaneously on over 3,000 screens in 70 countries. Apart from this, there will be 10,000 screenings for one very special weekend.

The new platform will have live performances like "The Royal Turds", a spoof on Bollywood Awards Show by AIB (All India Backchod) and "Pretentious Nights" by stand-up comedians Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath who will bring their reviewing skills to focus on all the shenanigans of the Indian film industry.

But before taking the cinematic experience to viewers across the nation, the organisers would like to ensure things are in place.

Datta clarifies, "Since we are testing the waters and the performers are not well versed with the technicalities involved, the live performance shows on Sep 18 and Sep 25 will only be in Mumbai. It's only after a few test rounds that we would be in a position to relay it all India."

With a spurt in multiplexes and the plethora of talent that the country has to offer, Event Cinema gives audiences the opportunity to watch a fantastic range of cultural content on the big screen and could be the beginning of a new trend.