Niles goes Bollywood

Jason Lee, Triblocal.com staff reporter 06/14/09 08:30 PM 2251 hits

Film buffs won’t see the likes of Brad Pitt, Natalie Portman or Vin Diesel among the movie ads outside the new BIG Cinemas theater in Niles.

Those lined up to buy tickets, however, don't seem to mind.

The theater, which opened May 29 in the Golf Mill Shopping Center, 9180 Golf Rd., specializes in Hindi-language films from Mumbai, India—popularly known as Bollywood—as well as movies in other languages, including Korean, Polish and Chinese. Films in dialects from other regions of India, such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marthi and Punjabi, have also been shown or are scheduled.

Uday Kumar, head of North American operations for Adlabs Films, which operates BIG Cinemas’ 430 movie screens across India, United States and Malaysia, said the Village of Niles’ unique ethnic diversity provided “an ideal testing ground to launch our brand.”

The five-screen complex has a 1,300-seat capacity and is the first BIG Cinemas theater built in Illinois. While the company’s theaters typically focus on Bollywood and other regional Indian films, the Niles theater has branched much further, Kumar said.

“This company has a lot of experience dealing with multiple languages, and we realized there were very large Polish and Korean populations here,” Kumar said. “We wanted to make sure we created a venue for people of other ethnicities who do not have any other place to see these films.”

Each stadium-style auditorium features digital projection capabilities, allowing new films to be downloaded and ready to show in a few hours rather than waiting on celluloid prints to arrive from overseas. The technology also allows international cricket and soccer matches to be shown, as well as other live events.

“The entire complex utilizes state-of-the-art technology, so I think young people will really relate to this place,” Kumar said.

The concession stand offers a mix of Indian and American snacks, and attached to the theater is Ebony Lounge, a glitzy full-service Indian restaurant and bar open until 2 a.m.

Sanjay Bhandari, manager of Ebony Lounge, said the unique mix of a restaurant, bar and movie theater offers a night’s worth of entertainment in one convenient location.

“I think it’s definitely the first place of its kind in town,” Bhandari said.

The theater’s May 29 grand opening party—decked out like a swanky Bollywood premiere—drew more than 1,000 guests, including many local entrepreneurs who invested in the project.

“We sought out local partners wherever we could in order to have a deep connection with the community,” Kumar said.

One of those business partners is Babu Patel, who owns Sahil Exclusive Boutique, a high-end Indian clothing boutique at 2605 W. Devon Ave., Chicago.

Patel said north Chicagoland has been hungry for a venue that caters to the region’s blend of cultures and languages.

“I really believe this place will become a centerpiece of the community,” he said.

For more information visit the theater’s Web site at www.bigcinemas.com/us/golfglen.

—Jason Lee, Triblocal.com reporter

(Click on a photo to see a larger view)

From left, Rachel, Bhavesh and Sejal Patel pose for a photo at the Big Cinemas grand opening May 29 in Niles.	About 1,000 guests pack the Big Cinemas theater lobby at the May 29 grand opening event.	A limo drops off guests at the May 29 grand opening of a new Big Cinemas theater in Niles.
City officials and local business leaders take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Big Cinemas grand opening event.	Niles Mayor Robert M. Callero joins the owners of the BIG Cinemas theater at the May 29 grand opening event.	Lincolnwood Mayor Gerald Turry and his wife, Nancy, pose for a photo with Bhavesh and Babu Patel at the May 29 grand opening event pf the BIG Cinemas theater in Niles

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