Think PVR INOX, think movies, right? But Ajay Bijli, managing director of the country’s largest multiplex chain, unequivocally declares, “We want to be the No. 1 ‘out-of-home entertainment destination’ for Indians.” He says post Covid he had an epiphany that the company’s destiny should not be entwined with new movies only. “My brother Sanjeev, my three children, Gautam Dutta, the CEO, all of us got into this mode that we need to get people inside our halls. We said let’s not be a passive brand that is just sitting with doors open, waiting for people to come. We kickstarted this whole initiative of manufacturing footfalls.”

Today the multiplex chain, which has 1,780 screens across 355 cinemas in 113 cities, is not only showing the latest movies but also screening sports events, re-releases of old hits, alternative programming, and even wedding-related events and small concerts. And now the plan is to offer more entertainment formats. “We’re also looking at opportunities that can either be housed in the current 15 million square feet that we have under lease in our cinemas or we can take up additional space too,” says Bijli, outlining how the company is looking at more adjacencies, expanding the food court business, gaming and so on.

We are meeting the urbane, 59-year-old media moghul at the high-end Director’s Cut lounge at Ambience Mall in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. In rich carmine-and-gold colours and lined by movie artwork on the walls, the place oozes luxury, and is only a short distance from the BasantLok complex, where the Bijli family started its film exhibition journey with Priya Cinema, a single-screen theatre. The hall had been acquired in 1978 by Bijli’s father, who had a transportation business. Bijli, who studied at Modern School and later at Hindu College for his BCom, started out in the transportation company and then took over the management of the hall 10 years later. He renovated and modernised it and sewed up a partnership with Village Roadshow to create the PVR (Priya Village Roadshow) chain. In a sense, he single-handedly transformed India’s cinema-going experience as he set up the country’s first multiplex (PVR Anupama). After PVR’s merger with INOX in 2023, the multiplex empire has grown further.

The tea arrives, rather aptly accompanied by popcorn, French fries, and sandwiches. Bijli looks relaxed and happy. It has been a good financial quarter. In Q1 FY27, PVR INOX reported a net profit of ₹56.5 crore, compared with a net loss of ₹54.5 crore in Q1 FY26. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 11.91 per cent year-on-year to ₹1,622.2 crore, not only due to higher box-office collections but also food and beverage spends.

“The box office has never been so good,” says Bijli, describing how the whole film fraternity is extremely encouraged. Pre-pandemic, he points out, you could count on your fingertips the movies that would cross ₹500 crore. But now he rattles off the numerous movies that have seen ₹100 crore-plus collections in the first week itself.

The strong run at the cinemas have also finally put a stop to the “OTT platforms will kill movie outings” refrain. “All these campaigns we did — “Fresh dekho, bada dekho ” — have paid off, says Bijli, adding he had always believed that the tide would turn. “India remains the No. 1 movie market, where the quantity of movies produced and tickets sold is the highest in the world, and cinemas are still the No. 1 form of out-of-home entertainment, even more than cricket,” he says.

Although it is clearly a great time to be a theatre owner, Bijli says the company’s big learning post Covid was to not just sweat the asset, but also the brand. “We have always been sweating the asset by building great cinemas and making sure we monetise every part of the real estate while giving a great experience to the customer. But I thought why don’t we now sweat the brand by taking a leaf from other brands all around us.”

He says conversations with leaders from other industries — Titan’s CK Venkataraman, Taj Hotels’ Puneet Chhatwal, and various QSR brand heads — led to the realisation that you can sweat the brand and pivot to an asset-light and FOCO (franchise owned, company operated) model, in addition to the lease model. This helped the company deleverage its balance sheet, turning net cash-positive in the June quarter.

The strong financial showing has whetted the appetite for growth with plans to add 1,000 screens over the next five years. Bijli says when it comes to screens, India is still woefully under-penetrated, especially in tier 2 and 3 markets. PVR INOX will follow the capital-efficient FOCO model, featuring lower ticket pricing, in these towns. The first launch of what he calls the SMART cinema model was in Muzzafarpur, Bihar; 300 other ‘growth towns’, as he prefers to call them rather than ‘small towns’, have been identified for more launches.

“But wherever there is a need to spend capital, we will. In the South, for example, movie-going culture is very, very strong and we’re ready to spend capital,” asserts Bijli.

Next generation is already in the business and bringing in innovative ideas. Daughters Nayana and Niharika and son Aamer are the ones driving the expansion into newer entertainment formats and alternative programming. “They have their own interpretation of how a cinema should be — Nayana is designing a beautiful cinema in Jaipur just now. Niharika is doing a cinema in Goa. Aamer, who has done a few cinemas already, is now doing a very big one in Gurgaon with IKEA. They have given us a space to build a Cineplex, so that’s another interpretation of how cinema should be.”

Bijli, who has not touched any of the sinful French fries or popcorn that we have been tucking into, says he has eliminated a lot of things from his plate. He loves Japanese food, and he did something radical by introducing sushi at the PVR’s luxury screens. “People were sceptical, saying who will order sushi at a theatre, and would it be any good, but it has been an absolute hit,” he says. The F&B innovations are adding to the growth, contributing 31 per cent of the annual turnover of ₹6,700 crore.

Given his trim waistline, what does he do for fitness? Bijli says he earlier used to play squash and had a go at pickleball and padel, but now prefers yoga, Pilates, gym and running as the chances of injury are fewer and “I am also in control of my own time, rather than waiting for another person to play the sport with.”

Outside work, Bijli is giving full rein to his passion — singing. In college, he was part of a band called Modus Operandi. “Prior to that, in school I cut an album called Photonics.”

Recently, he has reconnected with music and created a classic rock band called Random Order, in which he is the lead vocalist. He is chuffed about a recent gig at Delhi’s Piano Man, where he and his band belted out Billy Joel classics. “I am about to release some original songs shortly and have tied up with a music company,” he says.

His debut independent music EP, On Another Note..., created in collaboration with composer Amit Trivedi and lyricist Shellee, and distributed by Warner Music India, releases tomorrow.

The EP features three emotional philosophies: “Rab rakhda” — hope and faith; “Shukriya” — gratitude and reflection; and “Dil kare haye haye” — joy, celebration and spontaneity.

To the question whether he will dabble again in movie production, he says, “They say content is king, but there are others who say if content is king, then cinema is the kingdom, and I am happy to be part of the kingdom.” He adds, “Content requires a different kind of skill set. And our business — distribution and exhibition — itself has much room for expansion. “

Published on August 17, 2026