escape into the dark hall

YouSo, I’m old school. I must admit that I only like to watch movies on the big screen. Undoubtedly, this gives you a great height. From making us teary-eyed over the hero’s death to inciting a laugh riot at the comic capers, the movies touch a chord like no other in depth. You can easily transform and imagine yourself as Preity Zinta wearing a Pakistani designer suit from Simran or Veer-Zaara wearing stylish dresses from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.

While watching quality foreign films like Korean classics and regional films, especially content-rich Malayalam offerings, on OTT platforms gives you an amazing experience, they do not guarantee a cinema hall escape route. Three hours of fun!

The memories of a theater experience are etched in your mind forever. When I was 11 years old, when my father took us to a nearby cinema hall to watch the moonlight, as soon as I got off my maroon colored Bajaj scooter, I was immediately amazed to see a life-size poster of Sridevi in ​​a white sari . on the walls. I was so mesmerized by Sridevi’s dance sequence in the film that I still crave to be photographed on the snow-clad mountain, wearing the exact same yellow chiffon saree.

The larger-than-life portrayal of female characters in Yash Raj films, such as the role played by Katrina Kaif in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, urges you to step up your glam quotient. This prompted me to buy an expensive pair of leather shoes. As a student of class XII, I remember teasing my mother to get her a pastel colored salwar suit, which was popularized by Kajol with the melodious song Awara Bhavre.

Playback songs seen on the big screen have the power to turn someone into an instant lover. The first Nasha, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Slowly coming into my life or I can’t sleep were the songs that made you fall in love instantly. Akshay Kumar’s sizzling numbers Tip Tip Barsa Pani and Chura Ke Dil Mera always make our hearts run. A television set can never reproduce that effect. And one would agree that the movies drew more on that young and tender teen, when the days are full of crushes and heartbreaks. I remember a friend of mine, a staunch Salman Khan fan, suddenly sobbed as we were a few minutes late for Khamoshi: The Musical.

I bunked my class at St. Stephen’s College and just went to see colic. Manoj Bajpayee had grabbed my attention like never before, and I made up my mind to visit his home town of Bettiah in Bihar. I not only visited the place, but also urged the district collector, a family friend, to inform me once Nayak comes to town.

easy on pocket

In those college days, a major attraction was Delhi’s premier cinema hall PVR, which offered ₹8 tickets for a front row seat. I remember traveling to Delhi University at 7 am with some friends to secure a deal. To resist the appeal of foreign films at such a low cost was too much. Watching Gladiator and Ronin from the front row seat was a different experience. Horses will seem to trample around you. The sword will seem to cut you. And, you cannot take a full view of the screen at once. As you move your eye from one end of the screen to the other, the scene changes.

The next best option available were pocket-friendly cinema halls near universities like Alpana and Batra. Our experience here will be different with cheap options like Popcorn and Cream Roll. I remember going to those theaters 12 times to see Pyaar Kiya and eight times to catch Rosa.

The grand Chanakya Cinema Hall will appear accessible only when a kind elder cousin or relative offers to take us there. Even before popular couples opened in the city, Chanakya was a popular haunt of college goers and dating couples who turned to it for Nirula’s Hot Chocolate Fudge and Love 21 Ice Cream. Closing it broke many hearts.

However, then going to the cinema hall was nothing less than a celebration. If you were from a small town and were planning to go with friends, the biggest hurdle was persuading the elders of the family. This was followed by a more difficult task of getting the tickets sold in black by the brokers. Also, limited modes of transport – autos or cycle rickshaws – meant early departure from home. Otherwise, arriving late after the lights went off inside the theaters and being greeted with hoots and abuses from behind became embarrassing. And then torch-wielding guards would help guide us to our seats, with the old crumbling leather seats that were anything but comfortable.

Despite all the rigging, the joy and pride of watching a movie in the theater afterwards seemed unmatched.

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