MUMBAI: Mexican theatre chain Cinépolis, which recently set shop in India, has appointed Ashish Shukla as head of exhibition. Shukla joins Cinépolis from Bharti Retail where he was head of infrastructure and development.

"I am excited about the Cinépolis plans in India and the world standards of film exhibition the brand represents. The Cinepolis experience will introduce exciting new concepts for film audiences across the nation and I look forward to being part of this process," said Shukla.

Prior to Bharti, Shukla was CEO of PVR Cinemas where he served for over 10 years and was instrumental in executing the firms rollout and in piloting key initiatives for the business.

"Ashish brings on board an extensive firsthand experience in film exhibition and real estate. We look forward to his contributions in helping adapt our novel and innovative multiplex theater concepts to the Indian environment,” said Cinepolis India managing director and country head Milan Saini.

Cinepolis is planning to launch a nationwide chain of premium movie theaters that will feature megaplex designs with double digit screens at most of its locations. With a goal of opening 500 screens by 2016, Cinepolis has secured till date a pipeline of 110 screens across eight cities in India. Operations are scheduled to commence by the second half of 2009.