A Day @ Innovative Film City

Note: Click on the photos to enlarge. I guess this is the biggest photo review of IFC for this time until now

I had heard enough and more about Innovative Film city (IFC) near Bangalore, through my friends and some blogs on internet. Incidentally, I was free on the weekend and I decided to visit this place with my wife. My wife, after knowing that there are no scary rides at the place as in WonderLa etc, agreed to visit the place. We left our house in J P Nagar by around 9.30am and reached Innovative film city by 10.45am. Its located just before BiDadi, around 2 kms from mysore road towards left when you travel from Bangalore on Mysore Road. (I think around 25 kms on Mysore road)

The entry of Innovative Film City looks very grand built in old european Style.. Looks truly like film set and also decorated with posters of the attractions inside. The Entry price is Rs.50 per head and Rs.100 per camera too! There around 10 main attractions inside, each of them costs around 50 to 100 rupees each. Hence we decided to go for a VIP Ticket which would enable us to enjoy all the attractions inside with that one ticket, but only once each. It costs 700 rupees per head.

Entrance Innovative Film City

As we entered, we had to walk through the MAIN STREET of the IFC. This also looked like an imitation of European main streets with buildings on the street constructed in that manner and also the fountains and idols made resembled them.

Moulin Rougue Restaurant Innovative Film City

We passed through the small Theme Restaurant based on Moulin Rouge, which is also seen in Paris. Right next to it is the INNOVATIVE TALKIES.  This is a replication of old styled Touring Talkies which used to tour villages to show cinema. The replication is so good that the shop and toilets made next to it also resemle them old village shops and toilets. The entry ticket was 10 rupees to watch an old movie in touring talkies. There were 3 classes inside (KURCHI, BENCHU, NELA). We sat on BENCHU class and watched scenes of MUGHAL-E-AZAM movie. It was a very nice experience to watch the movie in village tent kind of environment.

INNOVATIVE TALKIES

INNOVATIVE TALKIES

INNOVATIVE TALKIES

Next was the FOSSIL MUSEUM that we visited. It is the museum which has and explains all about fossils and remains of animals of the dinosaur age. The main attraction in this is the big dinosour skeleton made out of iron ! Only suitable for kids. Not at all for adults.

Fossil Museum

Fossil Museum

DINO PARK was right next to it, But the environment was made really like a dense forest which was full of various species of dinosaurs. The Dinosaur models were of life size and were made to look like real. All of them were even made to move, shout such that it gives a feeling that they are real ones.

DINO PARK

The next was the fantastic museum of RIPLEY’s BELIEVE it or NOT.  Its the first Ripley’s believe it or not museum in India. It has a complete collection of all the unbelievable stuff collection of items (some of them are duplicated) and photo collection of Ripley. It was great fun to watch all of them ! The main highlights was the Ripley’s Ghost. It just appears from nowhere and sits on the chair, welcomes everyone, Opens a book, Turns the globe and vanishes. A very good use of technology. One more interesting stuff was the Crystal which is visble, would not be there if we try to touch it! One more vert enjoyable and astonishing stuff is a ’still bridge’ around which a colorful huge cylinder rotates. Once you start walking on the bridge, you feel like that you are rotating along with the bridge and not the bridge. Even though you know that the bridge is still, you feel like falling down big time, and hence you catch the railings and start shouting! Rest of all of  them were some of the special unbelievable and exciting collections of Ripley. (like the five legged cow, 2 headed calf etc ).

Ripley's Believe it or not

Guinness Book of World Records

Ripley's Ghost

LOUIS TUSSUAD’s WAX MUSEUM was the next thing we chose to enter. This had the wax models of all famous celebrities. Although they were not as accurate as it is in the Wax museum at London, it was quite attractive. Some of the very good wax models included Albert Einstien, Dalai Lama, Adolf Hitler, Walt Disney, Beatles, Elvis etc. Bad ones were Gandhiji, Mother Theresa, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Nelson Mandela etc. But it was ok, we enjoyed all of them by taking photos!

Wax Museum

Marilyn Monroe

Albert Einstein

Dalai Lama

Outside the wax museum was a place where they you create a wax model of your palm. All you have to do is dip your hand inside hot wax and dip it in water. Repeat it twice, then the person would remove the wax mask on your hand, stuff it and cool it for 45 mins and give it to you. We dint go for this as there was not much time. The time was already 1.30pm by then! We went to the FOOD COURT at IFC to have lunch. There is wide variety of restaurants starting from Udupi Ananda Bhavana , Andhra Style, Tandoori food, Khyber Pass, Pizza corner, McDonald’s and some other continental food too. We quickly ate some pizzas, had a drink and continued our journey towards exploring more inside IFC.

Food court

It was the 4D MOVIE at FUNPLEX that we were interested about next. You might have heard about 3D movies, where you wear a special spectacles and watch the screen wherein it looks like things on the screen at coming over you and are real. 4D is an extension to it wherein a similar environment is created around you as the environment in on the screen. Eg: If mice are popping out of the screen on to you (in 3d), then lot of air blowers blow air on your body in discreete fashion , so that you feel that the mice are jumping on your body. It was very good experience, but I had expected MORE!

4D

We had to skip ROLLER SKATES as it seemed to be only for experienced Skaters. We skipped even HAUNTED MANSION , as it is supposed to be very very scary and Shilpa was not ready to get in. But I am sure it would be a great stuff for the scary thrills.

Haunted Mansion

Finally we chose to enter the most exciting thing that I was waiting for. It was the MIRROR MAZE. Its a maze wherein we are let in to the dark room with full of mirrors. The only source of light would be the small zero-watted serial lights around the mirrors and openings. Everything look alike, both the opening and the mirror. Hence its tough to figure out where exactly you yourself are and which way should be take to find out the exit. Caution : Dont run inside this room as you might get hit by a mirror which actually looks like there is nothing stopping us. Even while I was very much extra-cautious by being alert and sacrificing the fun for sometime, so that I should find a way out and not get hit by a mirror, I was decived couple of times shamefully by the mirros! LOL. We keep coming back to the same location, multiple times before we actually find the exit. We keep meeting the same people who are also lost like us, multiple times. It was a very funny and exciting search to find the exit in the world of mirrors. We took 20 mins to get out of the maze.

Mirror Maze

After so much fun at the mirror maze, we went towards MINIATURE CITY, where you have miniature models of some of the famous wonders of the world including great wall of china, one big waterfalls, Eiffel Tower etc. There were also miniature models of a city with lots of Roads on which vehicles are moving, a train moving on a railway track, railway stations, underpass, Flyovers etc. The miniature model of a Airport was one more good thing. Choose this if want to be lonely (with probably your girlfriend) or if you have lot of time still left to explore the IFC. Some of the attractions like Amphitheatre, Garden, Mock sets which are next to the miniature city are good to see.

Miniature City

Miniature City

Right after this, it was the VIRTUAL REALITY GAMES that we played at Funplex. I played the twister game,  Bike Race Virtual Reality game , Stunt Racing Car Virtual Reality game. Shilpa and me later played the never ending PINBALL game too.

Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality

I had never been to Go Karting ever. IFC has a Go Karting zone with racing cars at a section, VELOCITY.  We were given 4 laps to cover per ticket. It was total fun to race the cars all through the circuit showing off all stunts I could within those 4 laps !

Velocity

We went on to the MINI GOLF court. The coach taught how to play golf. We got a golf bat and ball each. Inside the mini golf court, various kind of sub courts for each hole in different styles and shapes. But ultimate aim of each court was one hole in 3 pars. I got the hole in 3 pars for around 4 courts out of around 15 courts which were there. Shilpa too got one !

MINI GOLF

It was already around 5.30pm by now. So we rushed towards AQUA KINGDOM to look at the Beach. The beach was not similar to other simulated beaches in other amusement parks, because of the fact that, even the sea shore was simulated with all that beach sand, beach chairs all over. As we dint have a change of dress, we dint get inside the beach water completely.

Beach

It was 6pm now, and we had to cover 2 more attractions. It was the CARTOON CITY, which had all the normal amusement rides that you find in an national consumer fair. Me and shilpa dint miss Dashing Car there which is our favourite.

Dashing Car

The final attraction in IFC that we watched was WILD WILD WEST. It was a replica of the village of Mexicans in something like the movie “Good, Bad and Ugly style” , i.e the cowboy style. Horse Stables, Sheriff Office, Mexican cowboy theme restaurant, Cowboy cottages, Houses made it look just like being on Good bad and ugly movie sets. You are even given a Rifle and let to shoot the far away placed bottles if you like shooting!

Wild Wild West

Wild Wild West

After all, it was 6.45pm and we decided to leave the place. Overall, IFC is a well maintained and is completely facilitated. Its worth the money even though it looks like it is a little expensive. Soft Drinks, Popcorn, sugarcane juice outlets are present in every corner of the area. Lots of attractions like Wannado city are still under construction.

Do visit IFC once

Main Street

For more information, logon to www.innovativefilmcity.in/

Comments and Additions to the review are welcome!