From selling beedies to family entertainment

Ganesh Beedies family is adding facilities to Planet X.

With the Chamundi Hills as the backdrop, Karnataka's largest family entertainment centre beckons all those looking to unwind, in Mysore. Planet X, the theme entertainment centre, is adding two more facilities to its seven "" a 40,000 sq ft cemented arena for large events and a 300-seat conference hall "" during the new year.

From Mysore's popular brand of Ganesh Beedies to Planet X, it has been a long journey for Planet X CEO Panduranga K Shenoy. His grandfather Raghuram Prabhu and a couple of other members of the Ganesh Beedi family, as they were popularly known in Mysore and elsewhere, figured among the top 10 IT payers in the country a few decades ago. For Shenoy's grandson, the passion is entertainment.

Spread over five acres in the foothills of the Chamundi Hills, Planet X is also looking at starting another 2-3 branches in Mysore, apart from 'adding more fun' in the park.

Five years after establishing the Rs 15 crore venture, Shenoy claimed, "In terms of area and facilities, all under one roof, we are the largest family centre in Karnataka. We have almost everything relating to entertainment, except a theatre. We are adding a new feature every year." Karnataka has about 8-10 such entertainment centres.

Planet X sees about 40,000 footfalls every month, of which 20 per cent are tourists. They bring in over Rs 4 crore of revenues per annum, providing a 30 per cent consistent growth since year one.

Planet X's 'Go-Karting' has Asia's largest track. A ticket holder can 'zoom' on the half km track in the imported go-karts. The bowling alley has six neon-lit lanes. The newly-added gaming zone, 'Ground Zero', set up at Rs 60 lakh is also the largest in Asia with 20 consoles each and DVD players, and 32 high-definition LCD panels and a choice of 300-400 games.

The fast food outlet, 'Pot-Pouri' serving pastries offers free wi-fi access. 'Hookah', another new addition, is Mysore's first night club. The Egyptian-themed cocktail lounge with high-end music and Egyptian cuisines offers the hookahs in different flavours. The Juke Box allows one to enjoy one's favourite music. A miniature golf course, a multi-cuisine restaurant with 300 seats and a kiddie zone are other attractions.

"We chose Mysore for the entertainment park because it is an undeveloped market. Apart from a growth in tourist flows, industries are coming up here. Health tourism is also growing with modern hospitals coming up. Professionals from Bangalore come here to relax during the weekends. They account for about 10 per cent of our business," Panduranga Shenoy explains.

"Sadly," he laments, "the state government has not taken the entertainment industry seriously as a tourist potential like Singapore, Malaysia or Hong Kong. Until recently, the tax was as high as 20 per cent. Though marginally reduced recently, the tax is higher than that paid by the liquor sector."