Not so long ago, I was watching the movie Namastey London with two friends at E-Square. Imagine my surprise when a group of collegians seated in the row right behind me stood up to jive to the tune of ‘chakhna chakhna’. On the screen in front of me was the hunky Akshay Kumar and right behind me were 9 lads following him step-for-step! Incredible, to say the least!

Then there was the time we were watching Will Smith’s ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ at CityPride Kothrud – a serious movie about a father’s struggle to provide his son with food, shelter, and security. It was a slow Thursday night, and the audience was not larger than 30 people. Seated next to me were two middle-aged gentlemen who looked bored. They did not look like regular movie-goers and were obvious misfits. Now the plot of the movie involves a cumbersome contraption – a ‘bone density scanner’ – that Smith’s character lugs around. It is stolen by a loony tramp who thinks it is a time-machine. Smith explains that the device is used in hospitals and basically works like an x-ray machine. A little later one of the gentlemen turned to his friend and asked him what ‘that white box’ was. His friend replied in all seriousness – “I think it’s a time-machine”. They had NO idea what was going on.

One feel-good situation arose when watching ‘Just Married’ at the same multiplex, my cousin and I were caught up in the innovative credits rolling at the end. We stood in the aisles till the very end. Everyone else had quit the screen long ago. Towards the end I looked around, saw the empty theatre and wondered why the projectionist was still beaming. Usually they don’t bother to show the end credits, unless it includes a video. I turned around to see a face peering out of the projectionist’s box. He was waiting for us! I couldn’t help smiling… wasn’t it nice of him to keep rolling for just the 2 of us? I shouted out a “thanks” to him, and received a wave in return :).

It has been years since I rented a movie or watched one on TV. For me, no movie is the same on a small computer/TV screen, without coke and popcorn, and with commercial breaks. Add to it all the interesting strangers in the seats around you – wise guys whose comments make a boring movie bearable, 40+ uncles who ask silly questions out aloud, aunties who come dressed in silk and gold finery, couples not really interested in the movie, foreigners who gape in awe – and the multiplex experience always scores over watching movies at home!

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~ Anagha Bhat.