As children, we were allowed to see only one movie a month. Another unwritten rule was that all four of us had to go together. With two older brothers who were interested in English movies, I ended up seeing only Hollywood films for a very long time. From "Mackenna's Gold" to "The Guns of Navarone" to "Patton" - we saw them all. My father would drop us off at the theatre and pick us up after the movie even if it was a busy day for him. In Coimbatore those days, most English movies were screened at Central Theatre or Rainbow. I remember we had once gone to see a movie at Central, and the elderly usher turned out to be my father's patient. During the intermission, he brought us tea in white porcelain cups, a rare treat!Later this rule was relaxed, and I started accompanying my mother for Malayalam movies, usually for the morning show. During the 70's, most Malayalam films were tragedies, and I would come home with puffy red eyes and a terrible headache! Malayalam films were usually screened at Srinivas Theatre which was situated quite close to the railway line. Sometimes, during the movie, a train would whistle past and we would be forced to watch the movie without audible sound. Added to the ambience, I would say!
Seeing Tamil movies at our neighbourhood theatres Sivasakthi and Sri Valli were quite an experience. Sivasakthi had sofas for seats, quite convenient for a nap if the movie turned out to be a bore!Sri Valli has now become a department store while Rainbow and Srinivas have been demolished and given way to apartment blocks. Central has lost its glory and is a ghost of its former self. Newer theatre complexes have come up, and the very nature of the outing has changed.
Movie-going is still a rare treat. In Chennai, where I now live, a trip to the movies can set me back by a small fortune if one adds the car parking charges, popcorn, coffee and cola to the already inflated price of a movie ticket. These days, it is more economical for me to see movies on the TV or on DVD. But nothing can beat the thrill of seeing a movie in a darkened theatre, with the fringed satin curtains rising slowly over the screen.
9 comments:
Good one, Central has been renovated and they have added one more theatre inside that premises, Kanakadhara. Now the theatre is good with dolby surround stereo system, Airconditioned and fully renovated.
Glad to know that,fruitu. Been a long time since I saw a movie at Central. These days my trips home are too short to include a movie.
Meena.
Yes you're right. Watching movies in a darkened theater is an altogether different experience, something which cannot be found in any expensive hometheather equipment. At home, we watch it alone or with family, but in a theater, its in the company of unknown hundreds and that has a different thrill. I watched 'Dil chahta hai' with friends in a theater and the entire movie was one hell of an experience in the company of cheering, shouting, applauding audience.
And, it's very nostalgic, isn't it?-- to remember those days of movie watching and to know that many theaters are converted into shopping malls and apartments.
Vishwa,
Thanks.I was feeling very nostalgic when I wrote that post. It is sad and yet amazing how your hometown changes in front of your eyes, the familiar landmarks giving way to "progress". Inevitable, I suppose.
Well written one Madam!
Thank you,Jeeva, and welcome!
Stumbled on this post while racking my brains for the name of a theater that was there close to where Rainbow was maybe near to the Sungam bus depot. I recollect it as across the road from Rainbow further down towards Ramanathapuram/Singanallur. Let me know if you recollect the name. I mapped out in Wikimapia, but no trace of that theater exists. :-(
I too remember seeing Guns of Navarone, MacKenna's Gold, maybe at Rainbow (memory is dim) and Close Encounters of the Third kind at the other theater when we didn't get tickets for Star Wars at Rainbow.
Mmm... Those were the days. Thanks for bringing back the nostalgia. I moved out of Coimbatore mid eighties.
Thanks:) The name of the theater you mentioned was Sripathy. It does not exist any more as it has changed shape, just like Rainbow.I moved out of Coimbatore in '84, but keep visiting family there.
Thanks Meena for mining the name of the theatre, Sripathy. that is one less thing off my head. :-) :-)
I moved out of Coimbatore 1985 and do random visits once in a while.
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