Nowadays, people around Koottanad, a village in Palakkad district, have to no longer take no pains to find out which movie is being screened at the Rachana Movies, a C-class theatre in their locality.

For, the proprietors of the theatre would send SMSes to their customers to pass on updates about the movies being screened there.

The proprietors started collecting the mobile phone numbers of movie-lovers in February after the theatre was upgraded with a DTS system. “It is difficult to find movie-goers these days, due to the overflow of illegal CDs in the markets. So, we believe by sending SMSes, we can develop a personal rapport with the audience,” said Baby, the owner of the theatre.

The proprietors have so far collected over 1,200 mobile phone numbers and sent SMSes through a free SMS web portal to all of them.

And the customers are also very happy. “I consider the movie alert SMSes from Rachana Movies as a personal invitation, which is hard to turn down!” said Firos KV, a resident.

Apart from SMSes, the proprietors are also making phone calls to their friends’ circle to ensure the seats are all filled up at the movie hall.

“Theatre industry is a tough field and I’m trying all the ways to ensure footfalls,” concludes Baby.