CINE GRAND, AN INTERNATIONAL CINEMA COMPANY WITH INNOVATIVE DESIGNS, EXPERIENCE, AND SERVICES ON OFFER
If you can imagine it, you can create it. If you can dream of it, you can get it –
William Arthur Ward!
An international Cinema company, Cine Grand was founded in 2010. by entertainment industry moguls. With more than Four decades of experience, the founders Amitabh & Prasanna excel in the implementation, development, and management of multiplexes.
Cine Grand is associated worldwide with the brands ‘Cine Grand’ and ‘Cine Globe’ and operates cinemas in Bulgaria and Romania. The company is into building luxurious cinemas and providing excellent service to its customers. For everybody to enjoy it, it provides its premium services at affordable prices.
Under the able leadership of Amitabh Vardhan, Director-CEO, Cine Grand built it’s first all recliner cinema chain in Europe. A curious traveler, undertaking the journey of life, who loves to do things differently, Amitabh tries to deliver the best of his potential. Some indispensable pillars in his organization are Vipul Bhalla, the operations head,Ivaylo Manev, the General Manager for Bulgaria, and Gabriel Grama, the General Manager for Romania.
THE ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY
Amitabh always had an entrepreneurial mindset, even when he was a young professional. Be it as a manager, senior executive, or CEO, he has always treated a company as his own and has taken decisions with an entrepreneurial mindset. However, to truly build an emblem to his vision and have creative independence, he decided to create a cinema chain that was unique as well as accessible.
“My success habits include keeping a positive mindset and having a radical thought process. A positive mindset has enabled me to work under high pressure and extenuating circumstances. It has allowed me to always keep my head on my shoulders while trying to make the best out of any situation. Furthermore, my habit of radical thinking has resulted in numerous creative ideas and innovative solutions to modern-day problems” further added Amitabh.
MAKE OR BREAK MOMENTS
Looking back at his career, Amitabh feels he has had several make-or-break moments. The most drastic of these have molded the person he is today. Perhaps the one that had the biggest impact was when he decided to leave his position as CEO of PVR cinemas and follow the entrepreneurial dream to start his company. He took the risk to start in unknown countries without any prior knowledge about the market conditions and consumer behavior. As an entrepreneur, he has faced several such moments wherein it was either make or break. However, he stood firm to these challenges and has tried his best to make the best decisions.
Amitabh asserts, “My goal is to bring about social change through cinemas. I want to further incorporate cinemas as a means to socialize by coming up with innovative solutions as well as creating new path ways for existing trends. Moreover, I want to give back to society by employing over 10,000 people all over the globe. I am also currently working on new business models which will make cinemas more accessible and personalized in nature.”
HICCUPS ON THE WAY FOR AMITABH
The biggest hurdle Amitabh had to come across was to convince himself to follow his entrepreneurial instincts. Even though it was something he wanted to do, the risks and uncertainty always posed a challenge. However, rather than making it a leap of faith, he transformed it into a leap of decisiveness by thoroughly educating himself. Overcoming this challenge was the first of many as an entrepreneur. Nevertheless, it is perhaps one of the most important ones.
Amitabh added, “The only time I look back is to see how far I have come. Therefore, I try not to think about what I could have done differently. Rather, I think about what I can do differently now. One thing that I am trying to do differently is develop the professionals within our company through empowerment and decentralization. By producing the leaders for tomorrow, I want our company to be at the forefront of everything we do.”
Amitabh’s style revolves around giving his best, and to do this he tried learning as much as he could about different aspects of running a successful business. Educating himself allows him to take a step towards fulfilling his potential as a successful entrepreneur.
INDUSTRIAL CHANGES
This industry has changed from non-digital to digital over the years. Nowadays, customers don’t only go to watch the movies, but to also socialize. The design, the technology, and the customer services have evolved over the years. Amitabh is proud of several things like his team, values, innovation, culture, the attitude of winning, and most importantly an inclusive environment that allows everyone to prosper within the organization. He considers himself to be playing the role of a GPS for the organization. The most important decisions he makes are those that give direction to the organization.
“In the past, I have taken many risks, which have changed my life. Out of all them, I think the biggest one was starting Cine Grand in the International market of Bulgaria, Romania & USA instead of choosing India, which was my home turf” emphasizes Amitabh.
ENCOURAGING IDEAS AND CREATIVE THINKING
The company has different groups and forums where every week there is a discussion on what is happening internally and around the market. Everyone is encouraged to share their ideas and how they intend to implement them. The best ones are picked and put into working providing incentives for creativity within the organization.
The greatest ideas come from those who are on the front line ensuring the smooth day-to-day functioning of the cinemas. It is they, who are the most aware of the problems. They collectively face and find their solutions; great ideas are produced by all the departments as and when needed.
ADVICE FROM LEADERSHIP POSITION
Be truthful, modest, and eager to learn. You might not know a lot, but knowledge can be expanded by working in a team. Time is the most premium asset you have, and ‘One life one Chance’ is the life mantra Amitabh would like to suggest to future leaders. According to him, core values are more important than vision and mission. It takes a lot more effort and discipline to develop core values than creating a mission or vision. He believes that the best advice for you is what you give to others and leaders should preach what they teach. Therefore, the values are communicated through actions and decisions.
“My wife Priyanka has been a constant guiding force in my life. She has supported me and helped me take many difficult decisions. She is a mentor to my family and I. My sons Priyam and Priyaan provide me with valuable inputs whenever needed. Lastly, I owe my gratitude to my parents for instilling the right values in me. I advise aspiring entrepreneurs to act asbeginners at all times and be perceptive to learning new things. Listen to yourself and your well-wishers and shut out the unnecessary noise, but do not let your ego consume you,” asserts Amitabh.
