Contrary to a majority of opinions, I have had very, very good experiences in this Multiplex. Yes, the prices are a bit on the higher side. And no, no one’s paying me anything to advertise either the multiplex or its website. This is just my opinion.
Read on to find out why I love going to Fame Adlabs.
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The Plot
I don’t know the exact acreage but suffice to say, its pretty spacious if it has to incorporate 5 screens, a basement car parking area and a mall next door. Its approximately 15 – 20 minutes from Andheri station (West) and the landmark you need to quote is ‘Laxmi Industrial Estate’ or ‘CitiMall’ – seems the rickshaw guys only recognise these two names. If you happen to say ‘Fame Adlabs jaana hain’, be prepared for a variety of head-scratching, nail-biting expressions that flit across faces. Some don’t even know Oshiwara – this is the postal address of Fame.
If you are coming in from the North of Mumbai (which I do), then depending on where you are, you can do any of the following.
Alight at Andheri and take the mentioned route.
Alight at Jogeshwari (West) and take a rick – its on the Andheri Link Road.
Drive down (or up) from wherever you are – distance to Andheri/Jogeshwari plus another 15 minutes or so to the multiplex.
Decide not to bother with these directions and stay at home with a book.
South Mumbai folks can go spend their bucks at IMAX instead of driving me nuts, trying to provide directions with landmarks that they know zilch about. :)
I don’t know much about the parking facility except for the signboards that point the way to the basement in big, red arrows. I also regularly see a couple of swanky numbers parked right outside the entrance to the downstairs lobby, so I presume these belong some bigwigs who can’t read the signboards. Any way, vehicles that are ‘serious muscle’. Plenty of rickshaws outside the gates, so you don’t have a problem catching a ride to anywhere.
The Tickets
For all those who stood, stood, sweated, and had their secret movie agenda disclosed to the grossly obese dude in pseudo-Hilfiger stuff, please use the Internet booking facility provided at the website. Go to http://www.famecinemas.com and check out the alternate booking options. The Current booking is a joke. Unless the movie is a total flop or you are going to watch the midnight show, be prepared to be turned away. I guess black marketers found a way here too. In my very humble opinion, booking ahead is better at Fame. Which leads me to my favourite feature of Fame Adlabs – SMS bookings. I just love this feature, seems made for people like me who absolutely hate to be made a ‘popat’ after having gone to the trouble of getting there. More details at the web site; please have a look. The site as well as the SMS booking message specifically mention that you are to collect the tickets an hour before the show commences, or the booking will be released. I have discovered that some people love to SMS but can’t read any replies! I have stood behind more than 3 such illiterate specimens who want to know why they can’t have tickets.
Patron: Already booked re, kal bheja tha na – woh EsshEmmEsshh
Counter guy/gal: Sorry sir, booking’s been released…
Patron: Chhod diya!! (Please don’t read connotations here) Mere ko EsshEmmEsshh hain, bolta hain 2 ticket hain mere vaaste toh tum abhi do hum kooo tickit!!
The staff at the counters, again contrary to the majority, is quite professional and polite but they need to be a little tougher with boors like the one featured above. My ticket collection experiences have been nothing short of exemplary so far and I have seen more than 5 movies here!
The Interiors
In my limited movie-going experience, most public viewing houses do not offer the kind of facilities offered here.
The Ground floor lobby contains a Café Coffee Day outlet manned by a pleasant guy (the one time that I decided I wanted a caffeine hit) who was pretty helpful in describing the fancy concoctions staring me in the face. Of course, you would be pretty foolish to expect anything that’s below 30 bucks a cup – its an elite franchise, for God’s sake!
Also contains the Internet Kiosk from where you collect tickets booked through their site.
The Atrium Entrance is pretty small. A uniformed security guard rips your ticket into 2, hands you one half and waves you towards a metal detector equipped doorway. Once you pass through setting off assorted bleeps, you can turn to the elevators on the left or take the stairs to the next floor, to the main lobby.
The Elevators are the express kind, always make me search for my stomach at my feet when going up. Coming down isn’t an option, coz you come out a different way. I always get to hear some classical piped music, pretty nice actually.
The Stairs for those of us who are more health-conscious (meet me at the food counters, I’ll show you something) or claustrophobic. Not too much of a problem unless you happen to be a vain female in 3plus inches of heel – well, lets say negotiating a granite tiled mezzanine is akin to rope-walking without the safety net. You’ll fall if you are not careful.
The Main Lobby contains the entrances to the 5 screens. Each entrance is embossed with a number. These 2-feet numbers are actually door handles – sorry if this sounds gauche, but I was and still am utterly fascinated by those handles. LOL The elevators and the stairs open out into this lobby and right away, it’s a whole new world. SPACE!! SPACIOUS!! Ok, you get the point.
The Food Counters need a paean all to themselves (that’s the mania of a true-blue hog talking). LOL Around 40-plus feet of polished, well-maintained granite – all stocked with delectable snacks. I am not listing a menu here. For those who believe the eatables are very highly priced, you are welcome to your opinion – I believe that every paisa I spend in here is well worth it. For those who have a sweet tooth, I recommend a visit to Cocco’s confectionary stand and the candies section and of course, the Bru kiosk not only offers coffee but also dispenses ‘slush’ (crushed ice made slushy and flavoured with exotic sounding names but really colourful and I like the taste) when I last visited it around 2 weeks ago. The counters also offer some Mexicana stuff like nachos; those were priced at 45 bucks a plate and I wasn’t shelling out that much to eat papads dipped in ketchup! There’s also some parathas and stuff offered in their weekend specials, but of course, I am not interested in parathas either.
The Facilites- while I can’t attest to the condition of the men’s facilities, the ladies’ is quite well done. All the latest gizmos and spotlessly clean. As an aside, I believe you can gauge the level of customer service by the way the Facilities are maintained – a badly maintained one points to a care-a-damn attitude. This is true of not just public places, but also any place that houses people for any length of time, like offices, coaching classes, etc. (my office gets a measly 5 out of 10…sob, sob). Fame (the ladies’ section) gets a resounding 9 on my scale.
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