There was a time I thought I was addicted to MouthShut. Most of the time I could remember being online I was logged in to MouthShut, furiously busy in a RRCing spree. Toh waise hi din chal raha tha ? unless one fine morning I got up and realized hey it’s ok that I’m RRCing to death ? but what am I actually writing , man? I’ve kinda become one of the one-review-per-month aata-hai jaata-hai public!
Time for the alarm bell to go off. 3, 2, 1 ?.. I was frantically scouring whatever existing of my now-deceased gray matter for a topic to write on, but there was nothing in the far horizon that was actually ’worth it’.
Then, suddenly, I woke up. I had the perfect topic in hand. It’d just make the perfect review ? short (because I know very little about it actually!), and therefore great for my poor still-holding-on-for-life grays.
Not to waste much more gray on useless intro.
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There’s no shame admitting (since everybody knows it all too well) that in spite of its rich cultural heritage, speaking of being modernized Kolkata lags behind all the Indian other metros. Big investors won?t risk investing on the city, because everybody knew how strictly middleclass Kolkata is and how religiously it guards its moneybag strings. Nobody was sure if Kolkata would open up to spending huge bucks on entertainment.
Until now.
In the last few years, the social scene in Kolkata has gone through a sea change. If you had been here say 5 years ago, you won?t be able to recognize the city’s skyline. New shopping malls, boutiques, megastores, hangout spots, amusement parks, discos, state-of-the-art restaurants ? it’s all a big party for the city’s upward and upwardly mobile. If you have the big bucks, now you know how to flash it.
And down the same flow, here’s the latest addition to the city’s cool quotient, inaugurated in mid-2003 ? INOX, the city’s first movie multiplex, situated at the top floor of Forum, probably the most expensive shopping mall in the city.
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You might wonder what’s the reason behind giving all this history ? Mandy isn’t that serious as to actually read up all these stuff before writing this article! Right friends, I didn?t read it up from anywhere. I didn?t need to, because I’ve seen this all happen in front of my eyes. Achieving the inert third person’s view isn’t any great skill of writing either, because I actually happen to just a spectator to this consumer revolution taking place. This change in the city’s façade.
Remember the moneybag-guarding middleclass I mentioned earlier? You wouldn?t find a more total representative of that class in whole MS than what you find here. I’m that ideal middleclass kid who dreams big but has little means (talking only of financial) to fulfil them. The reason why in spite of quite a few years since the big shopping malls have come up I’m still to know all of them ? because the only place my meagre pocketmoney would let me shop are still the flea markets. Sabyasachi, Satya Paul, Anshu Arora Sen, Malini Ramani might be retailing in my city ? but why should I care if I can buy at least three unbranded outfits at the same price as I’d need to buy one from their line?
Yes, I’m also the middleclass kid who dreams, ’’One day I will?’’, but well that’s another topic.
I just gave this instance to clarify how INOX and I are related. I love that place, it’s definitely the best place to chill out and catch a movie ? but it’s also the place I’ll opt for only if the guys are paying, or if my mother thinks the kids deserve a treat. Otherwise, I’ll still go to the isolated movie halls. With my pocketmoney, I just can?t afford it.
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INOX (don?t know the full form) is a chain of leisure multiplexes (as they prefer to call it) which is present in almost all big Indian metros. Kolkata was the last in the line of big metros to have an INOX, the city multiplex being inaugurated only around September-October last year, and it is one of the smallest too. Nevertheless it has definitely changed the way Kolkata watches movies ? most precisely because the city had never had anything like it before.
The place is state-of-the-art. I cannot compare and contrast the features since this is the only multiplex I’ve seen. I don?t know if I’d bore you if I give descriptions since I guess all multiplexes are alike. Around 12 movies run on average per day ? an approximation of 6 English, 6 Hindi and 1or 2 Bengali films in different shifts, varying between 10 am to 10pm.
The theatres are small and intimate, the seats ok and everything else at least in their proper place, if not extraordinary. I’ve never heard sounds from the movie playing in the next theatre (which many say is a common folly of multiplexes), so the sound management systems also need to be called, well, quite sound.
There’s the food counter where you can avail of anything from sandwiches, pizza to chaat and pav bhaji, not to mention the staple soft drinks and flavored popcorn. There are these ridiculous games, largely helpful to keep the screamy crowd (er, kids) busy. And, did I mention that the loos are amazingly clean compared to other public places or movie halls?
Not to mention of course, the ample opportunity of style-maraoing, bird-watching, and er, bee-watching too (gee, lots of feminist campaigns these days at MS, na?).
But as I mentioned before, it’s all too overpriced. Taking your girlfriend out for a full-fledged movie date at INOX and cootchie-cooing over the latest Hollywood blockbuster can take you back by around 1000 bucks, including the price of the tickets (info courtesy my guy pals).
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Lastly I’d like to introduce this concept of multiplex hits, that seem to be a new concept in the city’s movie scenario. Don?t know if this thing exists in the other cities too. Critics have pointed these certain films that had done good business only at the multiplex (i.e. INOX), but sunk without a trace at the other movie theatres across the city. Last year, movies like Samay, Mumbai Matinee, Jogger’s Park etc. fell under this category. A movie like Maqbool again, is the total opposite of this category. Maqbool made big bucks all across the city, but fell flat at INOX. Huge grosser favorites like Munnabhai MBBS, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Khakee etc. however worked their magic at both the places.
INOX has in fact become the total representative of a certain class of the city, but only of it. It represents only their choices, and not exactly of the whole city. That?s what is shown by this disparity.
[Just a few more lines in the comments section, ok? .... don’t know why it’s happening to me .....]