It was in 1895 that for the first time the public saw a film — Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat — a silent film where a steam engine seemingly charged straight at the audience. In 1896, William Friese Greene filed a patent to view images in the Three Dimensional format. This surreal format seems to be arriving after 119 years since its invention.

The House of Wax was the first 3D colour film 70 years ago. In India, Jijo Punnose directed My Dear Kuttichathan ( the Malyalam original to Chhota Chetan ) in 1982. 3D imaging originated before photography. The pioneers are the optical scientist Chris Condon and academician Lenny Lipton.

The tricky part is 3D is the depth. The closer the object is, the sight perceives its entire depth. As the distance creeps in, the object becomes flat. 3D is akin to what happens to sound in mono and stereo versions. In mono, the sound comes from a single source, whereas in stereo it comes from many sources. The same logic applies to vision too.