THE CINEMA THEATRE EXPERIENCE

"They'll turn the lights off any moment", "Ouch, you're stepping on my toes", "Who's got the popcorn...", these are some phrases associated with a cinema theatre... Last week, my friend Venkatramana Reddy and I had a 'never before in my life' experience in our short life of 18 years. We wanted to watch a movie that both of us had heard (from different sources) was really good. So we had it planned in advance and went in for the kill a full 45 minutes before the start of the movie at Udhayam theatre, near Ashok Pillar. The person at the ticket counter only murmered, "HOUSE FULL". Reddy had a suspicion... He was on the lookout for suspicious characters and we found two shortlisted candidates. We approached one of the guys and my friend asked him, "Got two tickets for Unnale Unnale?". The guy casually replied, "40-80...". We then approached the other suspect. As I went closer, i was surprised by the theatre uniform that this guy was wearing. I just turned my back to him, when i heard my friends voice, "Got two tickets for Unnale Unnale?". I stood spell bound as the guy replied, "20-50...". I just thought i heard it wrong when my friend happily said, "Gimme 80 bucks, we'll go get it from the other guy... ". All i did was quietly handover a 100 bucks to my friend who got the tickets and we got into the hall. The theatre did not boast any big features. The only reason for me to choose to watch a movie at the theatre was that it was close to my home. As I entered the hall, the last ten rows seemed empty. The movie started in 10 minutes, by which time, it was filled to the brim... The theatre was darkened and i was calculating the amount of money that the theatre made in black, as i got lost in the darkness inside me...
The movie was good, if not better than the usual 'hero villan fight' or "the mind numbing song sequences', the sort you learn to expect in a typial Kollywood movie. The movie ended, and I walked out of the place with a grudge... "I was going to do something about it", I thought to myself as I boarded a bus to get back home...

This maybe something common for many, but as it was my first experience, I just felt bitter in the mouth and felt some afterburn in my heart...

I decided to write in the 'Letters to the editor' column of THE HINDU. One thing anybody can infer is that the theatre is making black money through black ticketing. If i were one of these local bozos who storm the local legislative assembly, i would paint the theatre black, free of cost(just to add one more black to the money and ticket - paint!). Not that anybody is going to take notice, be it the editor of the newspaper, or the press, or the Government, but if i didn't know better, then i would have just said, "Funny how it happened, the 'black'guard was wearing the theatre uniform!!!"

MY FIRST BLOG

This is my first blog. So I thought I'd write about my world and myself.
I'm a student who's finished my school and set to enter a college. In different words, "I'm just idle till sometime in August with a few chances of some thrills (when results of the (entrance) exams that i had taken up are out) in an otherwise dull and boring life." That was what was on my mind until sometime before my exams. Now, I have other plans. I think this is the best time to enjoy... Music is my prime source of evergreen entertainment and I listen to some really loud (that's my taste, not the volume) music. I like to read novels, of which i find Robin Cook very difficult to lay off. As far as my family is concerned, I have a younger brother, who is in the 9th standard now. Both my parents work. My dad works for a pharma company and my mom works for a government tv station. I like to spend time with friends. I prefer to keep to myself, and a select choice of friends. I play a good amount of cricket, football and chess. My life so far has been full of ups and downs(as with most people), riddled with intricate moments, and studs of fun. I'll just use this space to give you a peek at all that...

Until then... Bye