Friend: Happy Birthday buddy! So you’re 18 now, time to rejoice !
Me: Rejoice? What for? All troubles in life start at this age man !
Friend: Hehehe, rejoice... I mean... You can now watch adult movies without any embarrassement or without any shame or disgust.
Me: (blushing) Yaya, but there’s always the fear of unintentionally meeting up with somebody whom I know while I go to watch the movie. What will he/she think of my character?
Friend: Give that a damn! At 18, you have all the right to enter any auditorium screening a Mallika Sherawat or a Payal Rohatgi movie. If anyone passes any snide comments at you, you can always show them your age proof, provided you haven’t lost your identity card!
Me: Ya right. So whats up? What are we gonna do today?
Friend: What else? You are supposed to be throwing a lavish party at Taj I heard. Isn’t that true? If so, katti with you for not inviting me!
Me: Hahaha! Wish I could! Anyway I better settle for an ice-cream party. What say?
Friend: Ya sure! But after what?
Me: After what? What do you mean? What’s there before in any case?
Friend: Yaar, we just can’t have an ice-cream like that. We need to have a good lunch/dinner before that. So where are you planning to take us?
Me: Lunch? Dinner? Sorry buddy, all pocket money o’er for that. What about a movie at the nearest theatre?
Friend: Okay fine. But not at the nearest theatre, but at a multiplex, it’s quite far away though! Howz the idea?
Me: Not a good one but agree to it. So which movie? Bring the newspaper?
Friend: Arre tum bhi na yaar, why need a newspaper for checking out which movie is running? I know them all by heart with the timings. What about Bunty Aur Babli?
Me: Cool, that will do. Though I have seen mixed response to the film at MouthShut, they show the ad of Salaam Namaste in the interval or something. Call up everybody, and ask them to be at INOX sharp at 3 !!
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At INOX
All friends: Happy Birthday yaar. Long Live Ali !
Me: Thnx! Thanks! Anyways, we are running out of time. I better get the tickets soon. (Looking at the schedule) Hmmm.. BAB.. 03:07 PM. Tickets available! Let’s go!
Me: (At the counter) Six tickets to Bunty and Babli, sir!
Counter-guy: Six tickets to BAB. 03:07 PM. Rs. 780 sir!
Me: (It seems I’ll have to clean the multiplex today instead of washing plates at the hotel, anyways) Here!
Counter-guy: (smiling) Thank You sir. Hope you like the movie. Have a nice day!!
Me: (In my mind) Ya right! Being looted by you people, it’s gonna be very nice today! (To friends) Let’s go.
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Five unlikely heroes (my friends) and one Elaan (Myself) enter the auditorium #2, where Bunty Aur Babli is being screened. All of us are checked from head to toe. My friend forgot to bring the bomb I asked him to. Instead, he had got some chewing-gum with him, which the security man took it, saying that outside eatables were not allowed within the auditorium. My friend took a promise from the security guy that he would not eat them up, and would return them back at the end of the show.
On entering, we were welcomed by the torch guy, who was also smiling, and who gave us our seat, where... obviously, where we were supposed to be seated, uh!
Sharp at 03:07 PM, the lights went off, and on screen, appeared at ad ’’Welcome to INOX’’, followed by the message that cell phones should be switched off while the movie was in progress, and they were not responsible for any damage to the cars in park. Luckily, we had come by a taxi, so no fear of our cars getting damaged. As for the cell phone message, no one cared !
At 03:16 PM, after all the mandatory forthcoming movie ads, BAB finally started. Dhadak Dhadak was the sound coming from almost all the places within the auditorium. They had excellent dolby digital sound. They were well justified for charging higher fees for the movie, as this was way above the normal single-screen theatres. A girl sitting next to me expressed her desire (though not to me) to be able to meet Jr. Bachchan some day.
The picture quality superb man. Even at single-screen theatres, I sometimes find some images blurred. But all out here was picture perfect. It can make you love even an ordinary film. Now I realized what ’’multiplex films’’ are all about!
04:36 PM: INTERMISSION
I was looted yet again by my friends and at the Refuel counter (a kool place where you get all kinds of foodstuff at anytime, which are charged at a very high price. The persons out there are always sugary-sweet which can harm diabetic patients). I was charged 300 bucks for three big-sized popcorns and four large cold drinks. Agreed, they were all high-class, but 300... I bit too much!
04:43 PM: Movie restarts. Some have left mid-way, finding the movie boring, but I decided to tolerate it till the end and get the value of my money. To my amazement, a friend of mine dropped out too. So now only four unlikely heroes and one Elaan. The second half of the movie dragged a bit though, but the performances saved the film. The only worthwhile thing about the movie being... Oh sorry! This is not a review on BAB!!
06:02 PM: Movie ends. All the friends bid farewell to each other at the gate, where the person in-charge told us ’’Hope to see you here soon.’’
Then we left for our respective homes.
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Back home, I was just recalling the experience I had at INOX. A great multiplex, creativity at it’s best and an amazing outlook. However, this ’’leisure multiplex’’ is meant only for the elite audience, not for every common man. Watching a movie once in a while is okay, but not everytime, unless you got loads of money. For the common man, the single screen theatres are a good option.
Disregarding that, I found the multiplex quite nice. With the friendly staff, adjusting people out there and the miscellaneous cool facilities (Well, they have a speaker in the toilet too, where various latest songs keep on running!), we did not regret our decision of going to catch a flick out there.
Just thinking that and many other good and bad things, I suddenly realize that... My friend forgot to take his chewing gum back !!!!
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So how many of you have been to INOX or other multiplexes like IMAX or Fame Adlabs at Mumbai? What do yo feel about them? Do comment and share your opinion on the same (and on my review too, mind you!)
© Aliasgar Poonawala, 2005