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iView Author:
Arun Prakash (New Delhi, India)

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arunprakash0612 [at] gmail [dot] com

Tickets Please

“Tickets please” said a dark figure from behind the torch.

We handed him over a bunch of pink coloured slips,which I’d noticed earlier
had an illegible scrawl on them.The torch holder could apparently decipher
the ‘encoded’ seat number and he pointed out to us a row of seats,the
torch light bobbing up and down on them.

We squeezed past people already sitting,stamping on some toes,stumbling
on others.No one winced,they were busy swaying their necks trying not to
miss a single moment of whatever was happening in front of them.
We sat down on the spring loaded seats.I got up momentarily,the seat
snapped backwards!

I hastily sat down again.I looked upwards to see a stream of light floating
gently towards the gaint screen.
I glanced sideways at my sister sitting next to me,fascinated by the colour
patterns reflecting on her face. I turned back to look at the screen…….
and never looked away again!
The movie…..perhaps it was BORN FREE.

This was perhaps one of my earliest memories of a visit to a cinema hall.
The magic of movies had cast their proverbial spell upon me.
It was to last a lifetime.

Growing up in the 70’s, the theatres we frequented were in small towns
where IAF bases were located.With father,an IAF pilot,enjoying perodic
transfers we got to see a lot of the country too.The movies were rarely
new releases,but included a lot of classics - both Hollywood and bombay
productions.

Some cantonements had open air theatres whose schedules depended
upon the vagaries of the weather.I remember waiting impatiently for the
sun to set during the long summer days so that when darkness fell
the projectors could light up the white walled screen with their rays.
The concrete seats took quite a while to cool down,and in winters
required a sheet to be spread below.There was also the added
comfort of a Tent cover and conveniently placed angeethis.

As I moved to boarding school in Delhi the movies we got to see
were on 16mm projected screens,which I remember vaguely
included subtitled Europeon films. The sunday movie on Door-
darshan was eagerly awaited too.

On occasions we ventured out to cinema halls such as the
magnificient Chanakya and the now defunct Archana.That was
the era of multistarrers - from sholay to don to qurbani,we saw
them all.

The first dates too were in movie halls.Hindi movies were
preferred as you got more time to spend together!

I spend a couple of years of college in a small town in north
India.The theatres were small and stuffy.Friday afternoons
was time to catch up with new releases.The first lessons
in film appreciation were learnt there.A few older theatres
showed classic Hindi movies.Their varied story structuring
style and simple direction left an impression which is still
fresh today.These halls were also used by my college mates
for romantic liasons.Couples split up the tickets,entered the
hall seperately and conveniently got to sit together.That was
some way of getting around the nosy and conservative city folks.
Some theatres had boxes too.Isolated from the rest of the
audience the boxes afforded privacy.During some night shows
you could bring in drinks and food too.

The era of the VCR had begun too,and as standards fell in
theatres audiences found it convenient to view new releases
on VCR’s.The prints,however were horrible.The sound track
screechy and noisy,the colours grotesque,and the brightly
lit sets looked even more brighter.Noisy distruptions,phone
calls,people dropping in ,we took it all in stride.
The only advantage was you could view old movies and
new Hollywood blockbusters too,besides family weddings.
Triple X rated movies saw the VCR’s move from sitting rooms
to bedrooms.

As control on ticket prices lifted,theatres were refurbished and
and audiences started flocking back.Hits like Bazigaar.Darr and
HAHK brought us back to theatres.

Over the last decade, the rush in theatres has not diminished
inspite of cable TV,DVD’S and other sources of entertainment.
With ever increasing budgets the productions have become
grander,the locales more varied,the stories more interesting
and ofcourse the direction styles more distinctive.
We all know how the advent of multiplexes has influenced
and encouraged the growth of different films,many of which
do well at the B.O.

with a wide choice and staggered timings,multiplexes have
brought about a change in our movie viewing habbits.
With tickets sold out in advance on weekends, I don’t mind
sitting in the third row from the front,corner seats.There are
no front benchers,upperstall ticket holders,and balcony
wallahs any more.

After the mandatory frisking by security personell, we walk
into the multiplex lobby,buy the exorbitantly priced popcorn
and cokes and proceed to our designated auditoriums.
There are no dark figure’s behind torches who gruffily say
“tickets please”.

The usher greets us with a crisp “Good evening,sir.Can I show
you your seats?”

“Thanks pal, we’ll find our way”

The illegile scrawl has now been replaced by printed out tickets.
We don’t stumble over toes,we sink into the plush seats,there’s
no streaming light rays up ahead.

But the lights begin to dim…..the screen has come alive…….
……and the magic spell continues.

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