DAMODAR Cinema Group completely changed the frontier of cinema viewing on September 4, 1996 after it launched its Village Six Cinema in Suva.
The $8 million project was a result of a partnership between Damodar Brothers Film Ltd, Force Corporation of New Zealand and Village Roadshow of Australia.
Damodar Brothers director at the time Dayanand Damodar said the facility would be a totally new concept in cinema-going people in Fiji.
“For the first time ever, people visiting the cinema will have different choices of what movie to see, all under one roof.
The cinema complex, which is located at Scott St in Suva took six months to complete. It was designed by local architect Jeet Narsey of Larsen, Holtom, Maybin and was based on a similar design used in Force Cinemas in NZ.
According to The Fiji Times article on September 6, about 500 guests turned up to view the first screening of the movie Independance Day.
Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka officially opened the cinema which had six different cinemas ranging from 250 to 320 seats and a total complex seating capacity of 1450.
The price of movie tickets at the time was $4 for adults and $3.50 for children. The Group later opened another cinema in Lautoka called Village 4.
Today, the cinema giant have since expanded to having a multipurpose complex known as Damodar City in Raiwai. The $30million complex boasts various shops in one place including an upper-end cinema.
Speaking of their projects, Damodar Group chief executive officer Div Damodar said they had come far since starting out and it took a lot of faith in the Fijian economy.
Today movie tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for kids. It is still tagged as one of the cheapest prices in the region compared with Australia and NZ.
