This review is more of an obituary. The famed Plaza theatre on MG Road is scheduled to down shutters by April 2005. It has been just a year that I moved to Bangalore, so there isn’t much history that I either share or know with this place. But I do know that this is one place where I always managed to get tickets, even at last minute. That’s the reason why in just these few months, I have seen my best movies here.
Was quite sad to hear that it will be no more, coz everything about the theatre was so convenient-- location, choice in movies and ticket prices! Ha-ha. Moreover, I am not a great fan of multiplexes. Given a choice, I’d opt for a large screen, ancient style theatre any day. Plaza in Bangalore and New Excelsior at Bombay used to give me that choice.
An interesting part about this theatre was that although it was in the heart of a bustling IT city, it retained a village charm. Wonder if it was trust or plain disinterest, but the doors of the theatre are open to anyone who cares to enter. The purchase of a ticket is a voluntary donation. Come ’’Intermission’’, one has to queue at the Venky’s cart and Pepsi taps on the roadside. There is no canteen selling sandwiches at 5 times the cost. After the interval, you simply walk back in. No checks!
Despite these quirks, I haven’t seen anyone flock the balconies. Perhaps it is a sign of times that makes people spend hours at PVR, begging for tickets and paying enormous rates. Multitude of pulchritude seems to be the only reason why they’d do that. For me, the best animation movies this year got better at Plaza-- be it Shark Tales, The Incredibles or Shrek-2!
Let us hope better sense prevails and a mall doesn’t rise from the ashes of Plaza. As if MG Road needs yet another shopping mall!!!