All dressed up, nowhere to go

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Event management companies appeal to PM to give impetus to entertainment infrastructure in Mumbai</span><br /><br />India''s entertainment capital is now crying out for help. The Event Management Association of India (EMAI) has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to create more entertainment infrastructure to energise the cultural and musical buzz in the megapolis.<br /><br />In a written appeal, the EMAI has asked the government to create entertainment zones in the city based on the lines of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Hall (New York) and Hyde Park (London) which can be used to host live shows for Mumbaiites at affordable rates. "Though the entertainment tax is down to 25 per cent, the 31 per cent withholding tax slapped on foreign artistes is killing. If it is reduced to 10 per cent, more artists will pay, which means more funds for the Centre," states V Jairam, secretary, EMAI.<br /><br />The EMAI is suggesting using the coastline of Mumbai for open air concerts. "It could be marketed on the lines of the 24-hour Miami beach parties — with discos, sports, food courts — while running a parallel campaign to keep the beach clean," suggests Jairam.<br /><br />Event managers are also asking for reduction in bureaucratic hurdles to ensure affordable entertainment for all. "We need 21 different clearances from various departments for every event. If they are given at one venue, things would work more smoothly," adds Jairam. The need for alternate venues is also voiced by theatre artistes like Mahabanoo Mody Kotwal. "The NCPA has stopped <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Vagina Monologues</span> after a good run. When auditoriums are booked for conferences, we can use open spaces for plays, with corporate help. Do you know that Israel stages 3,500 play annually which are subsidised by the government?"<br /><br />Is space the main constraint? No, feels developer Subodh Runwal. "If the Salt Pan, Port Trust and mill lands are used effectively, Mumbai can add more open gardens and public venues. Joggers Park is a classic example of public-private partnership. The central business districts can be used effectively for weekend fairs, street shopping and musicals." The 10 pm deadline is also a dampener. "Bands have reconciled to it. But the real issue is to realise that entertainment industry can bring big bucks to Mumbai and offer affordable options to people," concludes Jairam.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Mumbai''s low on cheap fun</span><br /><br /></div> <div class="Normal" style="" margin-left:11pt="" text-indent:-11pt="">▪ Restaurants (A-grade): Minimum cost around Rs 1,200 per couple</div> <div class="Normal" style="" margin-left:11pt="" text-indent:-11pt="">▪ Multiplexes: Movie tickets with a light brunch will cost Rs 700 per couple</div> <div class="Normal" style="" margin-left:11pt="" text-indent:-11pt="">▪ Concerts, shows: Majority of tickets are by invitation, passes cost no less than Rs 500 per person</div> <div class="Normal" style="" margin-left:11pt="" text-indent:-11pt="">▪ Leisure evenings: Crammed book stores, few auditoria, badly maintained public gardens, 10 pm deadline means no open air concerts, beaches unsafe late evenings</div> <div class="Normal" style="" margin-left:11pt="" text-indent:-11pt="">▪ Theme parks: Too far away from the city</div> <div class="Normal"><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">...so welcome the mall rats</span><br /><br />With limited leisure options, Mumbai''s innovative spirit has made malls the new entertainment zone. And developers are cashing in. Shopping is only a small part of the mall experience. Food chains eager to enter the scene and artistes equally eager to use the space to perform makes the mall a family entertainment destination today.<br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Entertainment elsewhere</span><br /><br />Kolkata has the lake area for open air events, Pune has literary festivals, Delhi''s Humayun''s tomb is open for music festivals and Bangalore offers theatre and pub-hopping. London''s Hyde Park has public theatre and book readings, Melbourne has a huge garden next to the business district that offers affordable entertainment, New York''s Bryant Park offers musicals in summer and winter. Can Mumbai join the fun? Says Sanjay Chhabria, director of a real estate development firm, "A joint venture with the state for an amphitheatre can work if land cost is reduced. A drive-in theatre needs over 8 acres, which needs state approval."<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic=""><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></span></div> </div>