Well looks like the Covid-19 lockdown is a never ending dream running on loop..
I’m happy that I have got a lot of time to spend with my one year old son and hopefully creating a bond for life..That’s been my biggest takeaway in this lockdown season..But like a lot of people I miss doing a lot of things like eating out, socializing with friends and of course watching new movies on the big screen..watching movies has always been my thing to do.. My wife never used to watch that many movies before marriage but after marriage I always used to drag her to the movies even if she didn’t like it.. But after the birth of our son she decided to stay at home and spend more time with our lil buddy.... And since my movie buddy wasn’t there to accompany me I ended up watching a lot of movies alone..It kinda sucked but everything disappeared once the movie started..I’ve realized movies on the big screen had the power to completely put me at ease and the thoughts about my experience would linger in my end sometimes for days..This post is about an unforgettable movie watching experience..
This was sometime in August 2012 and I was living in Bangalore with some friends and my parents living in Chennai. I visit them for a weekend and my mom is in Kerala for some reason.. My father was a very strict disciplinarian during my kiddo days and these were the days when those lines were blurring.. I remember cooking a chatpata spicy Maggi and he had it and told me that he never tasted such tasty noodles :-p . We had a Sunday to kill and I was thinking what I should do with Pappa.. I was going through the Hindu when I came across an article bout a new Malayalam playback singer Sachin Warrier and his chart-buster songs from the movie 'Thattathin Marayathu’ .. I will have to say the period from 2000-2010 was a very grim period for Malayalam cinema as the biggies kept producing hapless movies that fell apart like a broken pappadam and that made me watch very few Malayalam movies..So coming back to this, I immediately checked YouTube for the trailer and there were also videos of two songs..First impression it looked fresh, had great songs ,lovely humour.. so decided i was going to watch this movie in theatre .. A Malayalam movie in theatre after a long time..Immediately checked the theatre listings in the Hindu and found that it runs in one of our old favorites..Ega theatre.. so called up my father and told him we will watch Sunday noon show and he was all set ..
Those were the times when the online bookings really hadn’t stuck gold and so it was all counter bookings.. But the movie has been running in Chennai for close to a month and I was pretty confident of getting tickets.Those were the days that I didn’t know the intricacies of riding a bike so my father rode and I went pillion..Reached the theater a good 20 minutes before and I asked my father to park the bike and I would get the tickets by that time..Went to the counter and I think the balcony/first class tickets were 60 bucks.. so asked the counter person for two tickets..Then came the shock that all tickets were sold out .. I was completely heartbroken.. Here I wanted to watch a movie with my father after a long time and there were no tickets .. During my school and college days I have to tell you one of the biggest disappointments in life was not getting tickets for a movie that I wanted to watch badly..what crappy timing?? And now is the time zone where we imagine the ticket guy as the one with the magic wand and we start asking for unavailable tickets out of thin air..I was like ,bro please check .. all I need is two tickets.. The guy gave me a dirty look and then told me ..Thambi, only 10 rupee tickets available and I have exactly two of them.. I was like , I cannot sit on the first row.. The software engineer ego in me refuted the suggestion outright..That was the time my father walked in and he was saying can we go in.. I was like Pappa , there are no first class tickets.. only ten rupee tickets for the first row is available..He gave me a perplexed look and told me , we have come all this way and we shall watch it from the first row.. I just couldn’t believe what I heard and was laughing inside .. But my father was like come on, get the tickets else they also would get sold out..immediately gave the 20 bucks and grabbed the tickets.. I have to say that though Ega theatre has decent projection and sound system , it was a very basic theatre like most theatres in 2012 in Chennai.. so we walked in and went to the very first row..I’m not joking, our heads had to be inclined to almost 90 degrees to have a good look at the screen..But then the movie started , with great songs and comedy and I was hooked..And of course Isha Talwar looked ravishing on screen though she was in an intense competition with her guitar on who had the better expression.. But who cares.. she was damn pretty.. I was almost thinking if I was watching a Gautham Menon movie in Malayalam..The movie was over in about two hours .. after a close shave with a tragic ending I was happy that it had a satisfying end like how the whole movie had promised..
For me personally it was a turning point for Malayalam films as this pushed me in to watching more Malayalam movies till today and beyond.. But the best part was enjoying this movie with my Pappa for the first time sitting on the front row of the screen.. Here’s a thing bout my parents.. They absolutely love movies and if they love it they will make it a point to talk bout it for next 20 days digressing every situation in the movie.. When I sometimes call my parents in Kerala and if they sound bored, I ask them to go for a movie.. Though they love watching movies , they will never watch it alone.. That’s when we realise it’s not the movies it’s the time that they spend with us that truly makes them happy..So call them, spend time with them, do things with them they love doing because I can tell you the 20 bucks I spent that day was the best 20 bucks I had ever spent and it formed an everlasting memory etched deeply.. And after the movie you know what was the cherry on the top.. it was some delicious hot parotta with Andhra chilli chicken from Madurai appu hotel in Mogappair for lunch ..
I’m happy that I have got a lot of time to spend with my one year old son and hopefully creating a bond for life..That’s been my biggest takeaway in this lockdown season..But like a lot of people I miss doing a lot of things like eating out, socializing with friends and of course watching new movies on the big screen..watching movies has always been my thing to do.. My wife never used to watch that many movies before marriage but after marriage I always used to drag her to the movies even if she didn’t like it.. But after the birth of our son she decided to stay at home and spend more time with our lil buddy.... And since my movie buddy wasn’t there to accompany me I ended up watching a lot of movies alone..It kinda sucked but everything disappeared once the movie started..I’ve realized movies on the big screen had the power to completely put me at ease and the thoughts about my experience would linger in my end sometimes for days..This post is about an unforgettable movie watching experience..
This was sometime in August 2012 and I was living in Bangalore with some friends and my parents living in Chennai. I visit them for a weekend and my mom is in Kerala for some reason.. My father was a very strict disciplinarian during my kiddo days and these were the days when those lines were blurring.. I remember cooking a chatpata spicy Maggi and he had it and told me that he never tasted such tasty noodles :-p . We had a Sunday to kill and I was thinking what I should do with Pappa.. I was going through the Hindu when I came across an article bout a new Malayalam playback singer Sachin Warrier and his chart-buster songs from the movie 'Thattathin Marayathu’ .. I will have to say the period from 2000-2010 was a very grim period for Malayalam cinema as the biggies kept producing hapless movies that fell apart like a broken pappadam and that made me watch very few Malayalam movies..So coming back to this, I immediately checked YouTube for the trailer and there were also videos of two songs..First impression it looked fresh, had great songs ,lovely humour.. so decided i was going to watch this movie in theatre .. A Malayalam movie in theatre after a long time..Immediately checked the theatre listings in the Hindu and found that it runs in one of our old favorites..Ega theatre.. so called up my father and told him we will watch Sunday noon show and he was all set ..
Those were the times when the online bookings really hadn’t stuck gold and so it was all counter bookings.. But the movie has been running in Chennai for close to a month and I was pretty confident of getting tickets.Those were the days that I didn’t know the intricacies of riding a bike so my father rode and I went pillion..Reached the theater a good 20 minutes before and I asked my father to park the bike and I would get the tickets by that time..Went to the counter and I think the balcony/first class tickets were 60 bucks.. so asked the counter person for two tickets..Then came the shock that all tickets were sold out .. I was completely heartbroken.. Here I wanted to watch a movie with my father after a long time and there were no tickets .. During my school and college days I have to tell you one of the biggest disappointments in life was not getting tickets for a movie that I wanted to watch badly..what crappy timing?? And now is the time zone where we imagine the ticket guy as the one with the magic wand and we start asking for unavailable tickets out of thin air..I was like ,bro please check .. all I need is two tickets.. The guy gave me a dirty look and then told me ..Thambi, only 10 rupee tickets available and I have exactly two of them.. I was like , I cannot sit on the first row.. The software engineer ego in me refuted the suggestion outright..That was the time my father walked in and he was saying can we go in.. I was like Pappa , there are no first class tickets.. only ten rupee tickets for the first row is available..He gave me a perplexed look and told me , we have come all this way and we shall watch it from the first row.. I just couldn’t believe what I heard and was laughing inside .. But my father was like come on, get the tickets else they also would get sold out..immediately gave the 20 bucks and grabbed the tickets.. I have to say that though Ega theatre has decent projection and sound system , it was a very basic theatre like most theatres in 2012 in Chennai.. so we walked in and went to the very first row..I’m not joking, our heads had to be inclined to almost 90 degrees to have a good look at the screen..But then the movie started , with great songs and comedy and I was hooked..And of course Isha Talwar looked ravishing on screen though she was in an intense competition with her guitar on who had the better expression.. But who cares.. she was damn pretty.. I was almost thinking if I was watching a Gautham Menon movie in Malayalam..The movie was over in about two hours .. after a close shave with a tragic ending I was happy that it had a satisfying end like how the whole movie had promised..
For me personally it was a turning point for Malayalam films as this pushed me in to watching more Malayalam movies till today and beyond.. But the best part was enjoying this movie with my Pappa for the first time sitting on the front row of the screen.. Here’s a thing bout my parents.. They absolutely love movies and if they love it they will make it a point to talk bout it for next 20 days digressing every situation in the movie.. When I sometimes call my parents in Kerala and if they sound bored, I ask them to go for a movie.. Though they love watching movies , they will never watch it alone.. That’s when we realise it’s not the movies it’s the time that they spend with us that truly makes them happy..So call them, spend time with them, do things with them they love doing because I can tell you the 20 bucks I spent that day was the best 20 bucks I had ever spent and it formed an everlasting memory etched deeply.. And after the movie you know what was the cherry on the top.. it was some delicious hot parotta with Andhra chilli chicken from Madurai appu hotel in Mogappair for lunch ..
2 comments:
Beautifully written Jeetu. Uncle and aunty faces just flashed in my memory. Those days were unforgettable.
That was a nicely written article Jeetu. Yes it's a whole new experience when u spend money for ur parents and see the happiness on their face.
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