Sunday, September 2, 2007

Have we forgotten how to watch movies..???


Its an experince of mine, of watching the same movie in two different environments. The movie here is Chak De. First i saw it at Raj Mandir in jaipur arguably the most beatiful cinema hall in our country. And next i saw it at a Multiplex in Delhi. Difference i’m talking about was not in the cinema halls but in the people watching the movie.

At Raj Mandir we had all kinds of people from all stratas of the society. It was like going back to the old times, standing in rows to get the ticket, waiting for the ticket window to open, fights with people trying to jump the qeue. Well all that aside, once we’re inside the hall, thats when the real story starts. Now the movie is an as-gud-as-it-gets patriotic flick. Every patriotic dialogue was cheered and clapped while every joke was heartily laughed upon. It was an emotionally charged atmosphere with people really feeling the movie. Now cut to the multiplex experience. Its inhabited by only middle and upper class people who in big cities are always trying to put up an act of fake sophistication. So there was no reaction for subtle jokes, only silent smiles for obvious ones and bit of muffled laughter for very good ones. I can’t believe that nobody understood or found it amusing when SRK said ” Humari hockey mein chakke nahi hote”. When india was winning matches in the second half of the movie nobody was cheering. Nobody clapped when SRK says “pehli baar kisi angrez ko tiranga lehrate dekha hai” and only in the end when india won the world cup that a few people managed a clap.

Did these people not like the movie?? or did they not enjoy the patriotic sentiments portrayed in the movie?? Well the answer to both questions is NO. People are just plain embarassed to laugh out loud or to clap when they feel like. And in this urge to behave sophisticated they’v forgotten to enjoy, the basic purpose of watching a movie. I won’t say i didnt enjoy the movie second time, but the level of excitement and joy was missing. And if i had seen it first at multiplex then i’m sure i wouldn’t have liked it this much!!

To all the people who supress emotions, are afraid to laugh loudly or clap or cheer, i’d just say that go to a cheap movie hall and learn again how to watch/enjoy a movie from a rickshaw wala..!!

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