The seven rupee twenty five paisa dress circle ticket
Come gather 'round people,
Wherever you roam
And admit that the watersAround you have grown
And accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to youIs worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Bob Dylan
It had been almost three months since I saw am movie. And this was unprecedented and simply too long. So I decided to break this jinx by watching an Indian movie in English by a Bengali director, who used to make English movies even at the time when I was still to come out of my nappies.
Sometime in the late evening, I managed to reach a multiplex in the western suburbs of Andheri. I joined the queue for buying tickets. Now this was a little weird. I have never really liked proper queues outside cinema halls. It’s not much fun. You get tickets so easily.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
Govinda’s latest movie “Raja Babu” has just released. And me and my friends are at the Sujata Cinema to catch the first day first show. The rule of the game back then was, you either saw the first day first show or you did not see the movie at all. And tickets always had to be bought from the ticket window and never in black because it wasn’t much fun.
Three of us had taken responsibility to buy tickets for a group of six. One person did not get more than two tickets. We were somewhere in the middle of a long queue. Now queues, like promises, were meant to be broken because if one decided to follow the queue one would never get the ticket. People would keep breaking in and by the time you reached the ticket window, that is if at all you did, tickets would be over. And then the blackers would come in.
Given this one had to make way for oneself by whatever it took. There were times when I used to have a belt in my hand, just in case a fight broke out. And through all the agony and the pain once one reached the ticket window and got the tickets, it was an amazing feeling. Nothing can beat it. Unless until I decide and am able to climb the Everest.
Those days will never come back again. I am told queues in Ranchi are now very orderly and advance booking is the norm these days. Life will never be the same.
Back to Bombay
The queue moves smoothly and I reach the ticket window. I tell the attendant the name of the movie and the show timing. “ Sir, which tickets do you want”, he asks. “ We have Rs 135, Rs 160, Rs 200 and Rs 250 tickets”, he adds. “ I would like two 200 rupee tickets”, I reply. “ Cash or card?”, he asks. I take out my debit card and hand it over to him. He swipes the card and hands the receipt and two tickets back to me.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
Sujata Cinema is the most expensive cinema hall in Ranchi. A dress circle ticket (which was better than a balcony, unlike in the other cities) costs seven rupees and twenty five paisa. For a group of six it cost Rs 43.50. If we gave the attendant, Rs 50, he would ask for the exact amount, saying he did not have any and waiting for us to say no, so that he could pocket the difference. To avoid this, we always gave him the exact amount, else we would have missed feasting out on the one the one rupee popcorns packets during the interval.
Back to Bombay
We enter the multiplex. My friend wants to have some popcorn. She buys a large caramel coated popcorn which costs Rs 55. I buy a cup of coffee for Rs 30 and a bottle of water for Rs 25. Life surely has come a long way from the time when me and my friends did not have enough money to watch movies.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
I never really got any pocket money when I was in college. I used to get Rs 10 daily and shared auto rickshaws used to cost, Rs 5 one way to college. So in order to watch a movie I had to come back home from college on foot two days in a row. And there were times during summers when walking back home in the heat was next to impossible. Then in order to watch a movie, money had to be arranged from alternative sources.
The solution that we found was very simple. We used to take turns to stand on the college gate and ask for two rupees from every known passer by. Not an amount anybody could refuse. And so small that one did not need to return it. Soon people found out what we were up to but usually they did not refuse.
In an hour’s time the necessary capital of Rs 50 would be raised. If we felt like having a decent samosa chai party in our canteen, we stood at the gate for one hour more and collect Rs 50 more.
Back to Bombay
Inside the theatre the ACs are working full blast. The seats are orderly and comfortable. The movie starts on time. People are well behaved and generally silent throughout the movie.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
ACs were never switched on. At the prevailing ticket prices the owner could not afford to. In the summers the theatre used to get so hot that we used to get out of shirts and t shirts as soon as the lights were switched off and the movie started. Only to be bitten by ‘khatmals’ during the course of the movie. And we would all come out scratching each others back and arms and whatever else was scratchable in public.
And crowds were silent….nah….they hadn’t paid money to keep their mouths shut. They had come to enjoy. Whistling, howling, catcalls and wisecracks started as soon as the credits of the movie stared rolling.
In Raja Babu, a particularly bad Govinda movie, the shouting and whistling was extremely subdued. The crowd was disappointed. The movie had not lived up to the hype that had been built. And then the last song of the movie “ Sarkaaye leeyo khatiya jaada lage”, started. Sujata Cinema had never been so loud. Every time, Karishma Kapoor lifted her red lungi to show off her fair legs and thighs ( well during those days she was just starting, and she had to expose if her character required her to), the crowd simply went berserk. This is what they had to come to see. They had got it and they were loving it. And when Karishma decided to jump into the water tank with Govinda, and get wet. Cries of once more, once more, started. So for the first and probably the only time in the history of Sujata Cinema, the movie was stopped, the reel relooped and the song shown again. The crowds had had their monies doubly worth.
Back to Bombay
There was a thrill involved in going to the movies. The thought that my parents did not know about it. They thought I was in college. Though this was not risk free. In one particular adult movie that me and my friend, lets call him Ashish, had gone to, we saw Ashish’s father sitting in the row front of us. Before he could turn around, we made a quite exit.
Years later I came to know, that my parents knew all along. After all, Ranchi was a small town, were everybody knew everybody. They pretended not to know. Ma thought even this was a part of growing up.
And now I was watching this ‘arty’ movie in a multiplex. I did not have to think twice before paying the amount I did to buy the tickets or the eatables for that matter. People tell me this is progress. Is it? I don’t know. I don’t want to know. All I know is that for Rs 400, 55 people could have seen a movie in Sujata Cinema and gone back home happy.
Bob Dylan got it right almost forty years back. I still have not.
Wherever you roam
And admit that the watersAround you have grown
And accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to youIs worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Bob Dylan
It had been almost three months since I saw am movie. And this was unprecedented and simply too long. So I decided to break this jinx by watching an Indian movie in English by a Bengali director, who used to make English movies even at the time when I was still to come out of my nappies.
Sometime in the late evening, I managed to reach a multiplex in the western suburbs of Andheri. I joined the queue for buying tickets. Now this was a little weird. I have never really liked proper queues outside cinema halls. It’s not much fun. You get tickets so easily.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
Govinda’s latest movie “Raja Babu” has just released. And me and my friends are at the Sujata Cinema to catch the first day first show. The rule of the game back then was, you either saw the first day first show or you did not see the movie at all. And tickets always had to be bought from the ticket window and never in black because it wasn’t much fun.
Three of us had taken responsibility to buy tickets for a group of six. One person did not get more than two tickets. We were somewhere in the middle of a long queue. Now queues, like promises, were meant to be broken because if one decided to follow the queue one would never get the ticket. People would keep breaking in and by the time you reached the ticket window, that is if at all you did, tickets would be over. And then the blackers would come in.
Given this one had to make way for oneself by whatever it took. There were times when I used to have a belt in my hand, just in case a fight broke out. And through all the agony and the pain once one reached the ticket window and got the tickets, it was an amazing feeling. Nothing can beat it. Unless until I decide and am able to climb the Everest.
Those days will never come back again. I am told queues in Ranchi are now very orderly and advance booking is the norm these days. Life will never be the same.
Back to Bombay
The queue moves smoothly and I reach the ticket window. I tell the attendant the name of the movie and the show timing. “ Sir, which tickets do you want”, he asks. “ We have Rs 135, Rs 160, Rs 200 and Rs 250 tickets”, he adds. “ I would like two 200 rupee tickets”, I reply. “ Cash or card?”, he asks. I take out my debit card and hand it over to him. He swipes the card and hands the receipt and two tickets back to me.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
Sujata Cinema is the most expensive cinema hall in Ranchi. A dress circle ticket (which was better than a balcony, unlike in the other cities) costs seven rupees and twenty five paisa. For a group of six it cost Rs 43.50. If we gave the attendant, Rs 50, he would ask for the exact amount, saying he did not have any and waiting for us to say no, so that he could pocket the difference. To avoid this, we always gave him the exact amount, else we would have missed feasting out on the one the one rupee popcorns packets during the interval.
Back to Bombay
We enter the multiplex. My friend wants to have some popcorn. She buys a large caramel coated popcorn which costs Rs 55. I buy a cup of coffee for Rs 30 and a bottle of water for Rs 25. Life surely has come a long way from the time when me and my friends did not have enough money to watch movies.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
I never really got any pocket money when I was in college. I used to get Rs 10 daily and shared auto rickshaws used to cost, Rs 5 one way to college. So in order to watch a movie I had to come back home from college on foot two days in a row. And there were times during summers when walking back home in the heat was next to impossible. Then in order to watch a movie, money had to be arranged from alternative sources.
The solution that we found was very simple. We used to take turns to stand on the college gate and ask for two rupees from every known passer by. Not an amount anybody could refuse. And so small that one did not need to return it. Soon people found out what we were up to but usually they did not refuse.
In an hour’s time the necessary capital of Rs 50 would be raised. If we felt like having a decent samosa chai party in our canteen, we stood at the gate for one hour more and collect Rs 50 more.
Back to Bombay
Inside the theatre the ACs are working full blast. The seats are orderly and comfortable. The movie starts on time. People are well behaved and generally silent throughout the movie.
Cut to Sujata Cinema, Main Road, Ranchi, sometime in the mid 90s.
ACs were never switched on. At the prevailing ticket prices the owner could not afford to. In the summers the theatre used to get so hot that we used to get out of shirts and t shirts as soon as the lights were switched off and the movie started. Only to be bitten by ‘khatmals’ during the course of the movie. And we would all come out scratching each others back and arms and whatever else was scratchable in public.
And crowds were silent….nah….they hadn’t paid money to keep their mouths shut. They had come to enjoy. Whistling, howling, catcalls and wisecracks started as soon as the credits of the movie stared rolling.
In Raja Babu, a particularly bad Govinda movie, the shouting and whistling was extremely subdued. The crowd was disappointed. The movie had not lived up to the hype that had been built. And then the last song of the movie “ Sarkaaye leeyo khatiya jaada lage”, started. Sujata Cinema had never been so loud. Every time, Karishma Kapoor lifted her red lungi to show off her fair legs and thighs ( well during those days she was just starting, and she had to expose if her character required her to), the crowd simply went berserk. This is what they had to come to see. They had got it and they were loving it. And when Karishma decided to jump into the water tank with Govinda, and get wet. Cries of once more, once more, started. So for the first and probably the only time in the history of Sujata Cinema, the movie was stopped, the reel relooped and the song shown again. The crowds had had their monies doubly worth.
Back to Bombay
There was a thrill involved in going to the movies. The thought that my parents did not know about it. They thought I was in college. Though this was not risk free. In one particular adult movie that me and my friend, lets call him Ashish, had gone to, we saw Ashish’s father sitting in the row front of us. Before he could turn around, we made a quite exit.
Years later I came to know, that my parents knew all along. After all, Ranchi was a small town, were everybody knew everybody. They pretended not to know. Ma thought even this was a part of growing up.
And now I was watching this ‘arty’ movie in a multiplex. I did not have to think twice before paying the amount I did to buy the tickets or the eatables for that matter. People tell me this is progress. Is it? I don’t know. I don’t want to know. All I know is that for Rs 400, 55 people could have seen a movie in Sujata Cinema and gone back home happy.
Bob Dylan got it right almost forty years back. I still have not.
posted by Vivek at 3:28 AM
2 Comments:
People are crazy
Times are strange
I used to care
But things have changed
- Bob Dylan
<><><><><><><>
Nice post... actually i wanted to write something original as a reply... but believe me nither i have the time... nor the patience to do that...
So here i go with a beautuiful piece of work... by someone
When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy), chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal, dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling
When there was just one TV in every five houses
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were worrying if papas will get back into the train in time or not when they were getting down at stations to fill up the water bottle
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly home-made pakwaans and sweets and moms seeking our help while preparing them?
When Maths teachers were not worried of our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved flying kites and plucking and eating unripe mangoes and leechis
When one movie every Sunday evening on television was more than asked for and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees
When left over pages of the last years notebooks were used for rough work or even fair work
When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged against 'reynolds and family'
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis'
When there were no phones to tell friends that we will be at their homes at six in the evening
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding 'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough to stop us from laughing
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting or allergic agents
The list is endless
On the serious note I would like to summaries with When we were using our hearts more than our brains, even for scientifically brainy activities like 'thinking' and 'deciding' When we were crying and laughing more often, more openly and more sincerely
When we were enjoying our present more than worrying about our future
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak
When sharing worries and happiness didn’t mean getting vulnerable to the listener
When blacks and whites were the favorite colors instead of grays
When journeys also were important and not just the destinations
When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open and transparent glass windows instead of some superfast's second ac with its curtained, closed and dark windows I really miss do u?
FYI, tickets at Sujata are quite expensive now and upwards of Rs 30. Neither time nor inflation has spared the biggest theatre in Ranchi.
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