the silver screen

Every Friday, I am having an interesting job to finish in my To-Do list. Checking out for the new Malayalam movie releases in the town especially in the multiplexes, So that I can plan for it in the weekend. Because of either less number of Hindi and English movie releases or more Malayalam movies coming out, every weekend I have a new movie to watch.

I was thinking of the scenario 20 yrs back. When I was on 1^st or 2^nd standard. My parents took me to the theatre for a movie. It was “vaishali” the bharathan flick which was running on packed houses at that time. But I was not able to finish the movie, because in the first scene itself I started crying out loudly on seeing a snake in the screen. My mom took me out of the cinema hall and later to home. After that while going for movies I was asked to give a promise that I won’t cry or abandon the movie in the middle. So when a horror scene comes I will just close my eyes and place my fingers on ears to plug out myself from the scene.

It took another 8 Years to change the scenario. Up to that my watching movies were limited to the ones coming on Doordarsan on Sunday evenings. While I was in 8^th standard, I and one of my friends planned to go for a movie. After long time I was back to cinema hall. I can count it as the “first movie” that I saw from a cinema hall. A memorable one.

Later the history repeated, in my +2 days, I joined for entrance coaching in a remote location, where my classes are on morning sessions only. So every Sunday we headed to the nearby cinema halls to watch movies. As it was away from home no one can trace me. The freedom of invisibility…

The scene was quite different in college days. I never missed a released Malayalam Movie. either we watch them in the releasing week from the A class theater or if its not sustaining that much time there, catch from the nearby C class theater in the next week. We were not dared to walk for even 8-10 Km to reach hostel after 2^nd show. In the time of movie award nominations in news papers we usually count the number of movies in last year that we “missed“. The number never gone above 10 out of 50 or 60 movies released in a year.

I still remember the first movie from a multiplex. It was “Zinda” from, PVR, New Delhi, and followed by “Rang De Basanti” from the same while our B.Tech project days. Even though while in UD we depend on the pre-dvd rip, net and DC++ downloads of new movies, I never missed the cinema hall experience. Frequently we go out for the Malayalam and Hindi movies in the nearby single screen. After 20 years, even today also I really got excited on going for a movie and at the same level, worry that whether I will get a ticket in the rush…

PS : So Movie for this week, “Palerimanikyam, oru pathira kolapaathakathinte katha”, starring Mammootti, Directed by Ranjith on 5^th Dec, 20.00 IST, Big Cinemas in R city mall. Ghatkoper….. Would you like to join me …??